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COMMENTARY 


ON  THE 


HOLY   SCRIPTURES: 

CRITICAL,  DOCTRINAL,  AND  HOMILETICAL, 

WITH  SPECIAL  KEFERENCE  TO  MINISTERS  AND  STUDENTS. 

BY 

JOHN  PETER  LANGE,  D.D., 

IN   CONNECTION  WITH  A  NUMBER  OF  EMINENT   EDROPBA^    DinNES. 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  GERMAN,  AND  EDITED,  WITH  ADDITIONS, 


PHILIP  SCHAFF,  D.D., 

ASSISTED  BT  AMERICAN   SCHOLARS  OF   VARIOUS  EVANGELICAL  DBNOMINATIONB. 


VOL.  X.  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT:  CONTAINING  PROVERBS,  ECCLESIASTES,  AND 

THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON, 


NEW  YORK: 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 
1886. 


THE 


PROYEEBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


THEOLOGICALLY  AND  HOMILETICALLY  EXPOUNDED 


BY 


DE.  OTTO   ZOCKLEE, 

IROFESSOR  or  THEOLOGY  AT  GREIFSWiLU. 


TRANSLATED  AND  EDITED  BY 
Eev.  CHARLES    A.  AIKEN,    D.D., 

PBESJMara  OP  UNIOS  COLLEGE,  SCIIENBOTAIlY,  n.  i". 


NEW  YORK: 
CHAELES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS, 

1886. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  ot  Congress,  in  the  year  1870,  by 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER,  &  CO., 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  Bistrict 

of  New  York. 


TroW's 

Primtinc  and  Bookbinding  Co., 

PxrMTERS  AND   BoOKBINDBKSi 

205-213    East  I2tft  Sf., 

NEW   YORK. 


LIST  OF  CONTRIBUTORS 

TO    THE    CRITICAL,    DOCTRINAL,    AND    HOMILETICAL    COMMEN. 
TARY    ON    THE    BIBLE. 


GENERAL    EDITORS: 

Eev.   JOHANN    PETER    LANGB,   D.D., 
ComistorM,  Counselor  and  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  University  of  Bonn. 

Rev.  PHILIP   SCHAFF,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
Professor  of  Sacred  Literature  in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  New  Tmk. 


I.     CONTRIBUTORS  TO  THE  GERMAN  EDITION. 


Rev.  C.  A.  AUBBRLEN,  Ph.D.,  D.D., 

Profeasor  of  Theology  in  the  University  of  Basle, 
Switzerland. 

Rev.  KARL  CHB.  W.  F.  BAHR,  D.D., 
Ministerial  Coxmselor  at  CarlHnihe. 

Eev.  KARL  BRArNB,  D.D., 
General  Superintendent  at  Altenburgr,  Saxony. 

Eev.  PATJLT7S  CASSBL,  Ph.D., 
Professor  in  Berlin. 

Rev.  OHR.  PB.  DAVID  ERDMANN,  D.D., 

Gen.  auperintendent  of  Silesia,  and  Prof.  Honorarins  of 

Theology  in  the  University  of  Breslau. 

Rev.  P.  R.  PAT, 
Pastor  in  Orefeld,  Prussia, 

Eev.  (J.  P.  C.  FRONMULLBB,  Ph.D., 
Pastor  at  Kemnatli,  Wiirtemberg. 

Eev.  KARL  GEEOK,  D.D., 
Prelate  and  Chief  Chaplain  of  the  Court,  Stuttgart. 

Eev.  PAUL  KLBINBRT,  Ph.D.,  B.l3., 

Professor  of  Old  Testament  Exegesis  in  the  University 

of  Berlin. 


Eev.  CHRIST.  FR.  KLING,  D.D., 
Dean  of  Marbach  on  the  Neckar,  Wiirtemberg. 

Eev.  GOTTHABD  VICTOR  LECHLER,  D.D., 
Professor  of  Theology,  and  Superintendent  at  LeipEiff, 

Eev.  GAEL  EBRNHAED  MOLL,  D.D., 
General  Superintendent  in  Konigsberg. 

Eev.  C.  W.  EDWARD  NABOELSBACH,  Ph.D., 
Dean  at  Bayreuth,  Bavaria. 

Eev.  J.  J.  VAN  OOSTEEZEB,  D.D., 
Professor  of  Theology  in  the  University  of  Utrecht, 

Eev.  C.  J.  EIGGENBACH,  D.D., 
Professor  of  Theology  in  the  University  of  Bar.l9. 

Eev.  OTTO  SCHMOLLER,  Ph.D.,  B.D., 
Urach,  Wiirtemberg. 

Rev.  FE.  JULIUS  SCHBOEDBE,  D.D., 

Pastor  at  Elberfeld,  Prussia. 

Eev.  FE.W.  SCIIULTZ,  D.D., 

Professor  of  Theology  in  Breslau. 

Eev,  OTTO  ZOECKLEE,  D.D., 

Professor  of  Theology  in  the  University  at  Greifswald. 


II,     CONTRIBUTORS  TO  THE  ANGLO-AMERICAN  EDITION. 


Rev.  CHAKLES  A.  AIKEN,  Ph.D.,  D.D., 

Professor  of  Clirisciaii  Ethics  and  Apologetics  at 

Princeton,  N.  J. 

Rev.  SAMTTEL  RALPH  ASBtTRY,  M.A., 
Philadelphia. 

EDWIN  CONE  BISSELL,  D.D. 
Professor  in  the  TheoL  Seminary  at  Hartford,  Ct. 

Rev.  GEORGE  R.  BLISS,  D.D., 

Professor  in  Orozer  Theological  Seminary,  Upland,  Pa. 

Key.  CHAS.  A.  BRIGGS,  D.D., 

Professor  of  Oriental  Languages  in  the  TTniou  Theological 
Seminary,  New  York. 


Rev.  JOHN  A.  BROADTTS,  D.D., 
Professor  of  New  Testament  Exegesis  at  Louiaville,  Ky 

Rev.  TALBOT  W.  CHAMBERS,  D.D., 

Pastor  of  the  Collegiate  Reformed  Dutch  Church, 

New  York. 

Rev.  THOMAS  J.  CONANT,  D.D., 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  B.  R.  CRAVEN,  D.D., 
Newark,  N.  J. 

Rev.  HOWARD  CROSBY,  D.D.,  LL.D.. 
Chancellor  of  the  University  of  New  York. 


LIST    OP    00NTRIBUT0R8. 


Eev.  GEO.  B.  DAT,  D.D., 
Professor  in  Yale  Divinity  School,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

Eev.  CHAS.  ELLIOTT,  D.D., 
Professor  of  Biblical  Literature  and  Biegesis,  Chicago,  HI. 

Bev.  L.  J.  EVAUS,  D.D., 

rrofessor  of  New  Test.  Exegesis  in  Lane  TheoL  Seminary, 

Cincinnati. 

Bev.  PATRICK  FAIEBAIRN,  D.D., 

Principal  and  Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  Free  Chnroh 

Coll(*|ge,  Glasgow. 

Rev.  WILLIAM  PINDLAT,  M.A,, 
Pastor  of  the  Free  Church,  Larkhall,  Scotland. 

Eev.  JOHN  FORSYTH,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

Chaplain  and  Prof,  of  Ethics  and  Law  in  U.  S.  Military 

Academy,  West  Point,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  FREDERIC  GARDINER,  D.D„ 

Prof,  of  the  Literature  of  the  O.  T.  in  Berkeley  Divinity 

School,  Middletown,  Ct. 

Eev.  ABRAHAM  GOSMAN,  D.D., 
Lawrenceville,  N.  J. 

Eev.  W.  HENRY  GEEEN,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  Oriental  Literature  in  the  Theol.  Seminary  at 

Princeton,  N.  J. 

Rev.  JAMES  B.  HAMMOND,  M.A., 
New  York. 

Rev.  HORATIO  B.  HACKETT,  D.D  , 

Professor  of  Biblical  Exegesis  in  the  Theological  Seminary, 

Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Rev.  EDWIN  HARWOOD,  D.D., 
Rector  of  Trinity  Church,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

Rev.  W.  H.  HORNBLOWEB,  D.D., 

Professor  of  Sacred  Rhetoric,  etc.,  in  the  Theol.  Seminary 

at  Alleghany,  Pa. 

Eev.  JOHN  F.  HURST,  D.D., 

President   of   the   Drew  Theological    Seminary, 

Madison,  N.  J. 

Eev,  A.  C.  KENDRICK,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
Professor  of  Greek  in  the  University  of  Rochester,  N.  T. 

TAYLER  LEWIS,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  Oriental  Languages  in  Union  College, 

Schenectady,  N.  Y. 

Eev.  JOHN  LILLIB,  D.D,, 
Kingston,  N.  Y. 

Eev.  SAMUEL  T.  LOWRIB,  D.D., 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Eev.  J.  FRED.  McCURDT,  M.A., 

Aas't  Professor  of  the  Hebrew  Language  in  the  TheoL  Bern. 

at  Princeton,  N.  J. 

Bev.  CHARLES  M.  MEAD,  Ph.D., 

i*ol*!ssor  of  the  Hebrew  Language  and  Literature  in  the 

IheoL  Sam.,  Andover,  Mass. 


Eev.  J.  ISADOR  MOMBERT,  D.  D., 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Eev.  DUNLOP  MOOEB,  D.D,, 
New  Brighton,  Pa. 

Miss  EVELINA  MOOEB, 
Newark,  N.  J. 

JAMES  G.  MUBPHY,  LL.D., 

Professor  in  the  General  Assembly's  and  the  Qneen's 

College  at  Belfast. 

Rev.  HOWARD  OSGOOD,  D.D., 

Professor  of  the  Interpretation  of  the  Old  Test,  in  tha 

Theol.  Sem.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Eev.  JOSEPH  PACKAED,  D.D. 

Professor  of  Biblical  Literature  in  the  Theological 

Seminary  at  Alexandria,  Ya. 

Rev.  DANIEL  W.  POOR,  D.D., 

Professor  of  Church  History  in  the  Theological  Seminarj 

at  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Rev.  MATTHEWS.  RIDDLE,  D.D., 

Professor  of  New  Testament  Exege.sis  in  the  Theol. 

Seminary  at  Hartford,  Conn. 

Rev.  CHAS.  F.  SCHAEFPEE,  D.D., 

Professor  of  Theology  in  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 

Seminary  at  Philadelphia. 

Bev.  WILLIAM  Q.  T.  SHEDD,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  Systematic  Theology  in  the  Union  Theological 

Seminary,  New  York. 

Rev.  CHAS.  0.  STARBUCK,  M.A., 
Formerly  Tutor  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Andover, 


Bev.  P.  H.  STEENSTRA, 
Professor  of  Biblical  Literature  at  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Rev.  JAMBS  STRONG.  D.D., 

I»rofessor  of  Exegetical  Theology  in  the  Drew  Theological 

Seminary,  Madison,  N.  J. 

Eev.  W.  G.  SUMNER,  M.A., 
Professor  in  Yale  College,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

Eev.  0.  H.  TOY,  D.D., 

Professor  of  Hebriiw  and  Old  Testiiment  Exegesis, 

Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Eev.  B.  A.  WASHBUBN,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
Eector  of  Calvary  Chnrch,  New  York. 

WILLIAM  WELLS,  M.A.,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  Modern  Languages  in  Union  Collcgci, 

New  York. 

Eev.  O.  P.  WING,  D.D., 
Carlisle,  Pa. 

Eev.  E.  D.  YEOMANS,  D.D., 
Orange,  N.  J. 


PREFACE  BY  THE  GENERAL  EDITOR. 


The  present  volume  corresponds  to  Parts  XII.  and  XIII.  of  the  Old  Testament  Division  of 
Dr.  LANaB's  Bihlework,  and  contains  the  Solomonic  writings,  Provehbs,  Ecclesiastes,  and  the 
SoNO  OF  SoLOMOH".  They  form  an  important  part  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  give  us  the  poetry 
and  practical  philosophy  of  the  wisest  of  men,  with  none  of  his  follies  and  sins,  which  were  over- 
mled  in  his  writings  for  the  advancement  of  wisdom  and  virtue. 

The  English  translation,  with  additions  and  improvements,  was  intrusted  to  three  eminent 
Oriental  and  Biblical  Scholars,  too  well  known  in  America  to  need  an  introduction.  They  have 
done  their  work  well,  and  have  added  very  materially  to  the  value  as  well  as  the  size  of  the 
original. 

In  this  volume  the  text  of  the  Authorized  Version  is  superseded  by  a  new  metrical  version  in 
accordance  with  the  laws  of  Hebrew  poetry.  The  same  will  be  the  case  in  the  other  poetical 
books  of  the  0.  T.  To  retain  the  prose  version  of  King  James'  revisers,  and  to  insert  the  cor- 
rections in  brackets,  would  conceal  to  the  reader  the  beauties  of  the  original  as  a  work  of  art.  In 
Ecclesiastes,  Prof.  Taylbe  Lewis  has  thought  best  to  retain  the  common  version  for  the  Com- 
mentary, and  to  give  his  metrical  version  as  a  separate  appendix. 

Some  remarks  will  introduce  the  author  of  this  part  of  the  Bibleworlc,  and  explain  the  relation 
which  the  several  parts  of  the  American  edition  sustain  to  the  German. 

Db.  ZOCKLEE. 

The  author  of  this  Commentary  on  the  Solomonic  writings  belongs  to  the  younger  generation 
of  German  divines,  and  appears  now  for  the  first  time  in  an  English  dress ;  none  of  his  previous 
writings  having  been  translated. 

Dr.  Otto  Zooklee  was  born  at  •Grvinberg,  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Hesse,  May  27,  1833.  Af- 
ter a  thorough  training  in  classical  and  oriental  philology,  philosophy  and  theology,  he  entered 
the  career  of  an  academic  teacher  of  theology,  A.  D.,  1856,  as  priuatim,  doeens,  in  the  University 
of  Giessen ;  he  advanced  to  the  position  of  professor  extraordinarius  in  1863,  and  in  the  autumn 
of  1866  hS  was  calkd  by  the  Prussian  Government  as  professor  ordinarius  to  the  University  of 
Greifswald,  in  Pomerania,  where  he  still  labors  with  fidelity  and  success.  He  is  a  very  able  and 
learned  divine,  a  fertile  author,  a  modest,  retiring  and  amiable  gentleman,  of  unblemished  cha- 
racter, a  little  hard  of  hearing,  and  hence  the  more  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  the  inner  life  by 
study  and  contemplation,  yet  wide  awake  to  all  the  living  questions  of  the  age.  His  learning  covers 
a  large  ground,  especially  Exegesis  of  the  O.  and  N.  Testaments,  Church  History,  Apologetics,  Na- 
tural Sciences.  His  biography  of  St.  Jerome,  wiih  which  I  am  quite  familiar,  is  one  of  the  best 
historical  monographs.     He  is  now  engaged  on  Daniel  for  Lange's  Bihlework. 

The  following  is  a  chronological  list  of  Dr.  Zocklbe's  writings  to  the  present  date : 

De  vi  ac  notions  vocahuli  Mn-if  in  N.  To.  diss,  inauguralis.    Giss.,  1857. 

Theologia  nattjealis.  Entwurf  einer  systematischen  Naturtheologie  vom  offenharungsgldu- 
bigen  Slandpuncte  aus.     Bd.  I.     Frankft.  a  M.,  1860. 

Kritischb  Geschichtb  dee  Askesb  [Qritical  History  of  Ascelicdsm) :  ein  Beitrag  zxir  Qe- 
schichte  christlicher  Sitte  und  Cultur.     Frankft.  1862. 

Hieeonymcs  ;  sein  Lehen  u.  Wirken  aus  seinen  Schriften  dargestelU.     Gotha,  1864. 


PREFACE  BY  THE  GENERAL  EDITOR. 


Die  Evangelienhrilik  und  das  Lebensbild  Christi  naah  der  Schrifi.  2  Vortrdge.  Darmstadt, 
1864. 

Commeniar  zu  den  Speueohen  Salomonis.     1866.  -i 

Commentar  zum  Hohenlied  tj.  Peedigee.     1868.  >•  iu  Lan&e's  Bihleworh. 

Commentar  zum  Propheten  Daniel  (in  course  of  preparation).  J 

Die  Urgeschichle  der  Erde  u.  des  Menschen  { The  Frimitive  History  of  Earth  and  Man). 
6  Vortrdge  gehalten  in  Hamburg.     Giitersloh,  1868. 

Prof.  ZocKLEE  is  also  the  principal  editor  of  a  valuable  apologetic  monthly  entitled :  Der  Beweis 
des  Olauhens  {The  Evidence  of  Faith),  Giitersloh  (Westphalia),  since  1865,  and  of  the  AUgememe 
Literarische  Anzeiger  fur  das  evang.  Deuischland  [General  Literary  Intelligencer  for  Evange- 
lical Germany),  published  at  Giitersloh,  since  1869. 

PEOVERBS. 

Prof.  ZocKLEE  introduces  his  commentary  on  this  storehouse  of  practical  philosophy  and 
heavenly  wisdom  with  the  following  preface  : 

"A  theological  and  homiletic  exposition  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  has  difficulties  to  contend 
with  which  exist  in  an  equal  degree  in  but  few  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  in  none  in  quite 
the  same  form.  Even  the  most  searching  investigation  is  able  to  gain  only  partially  and  ap- 
proximately fixed  points  for  the  determination  of  the  time  when  the  book  originated,  and  of  the 
editorship  of  its  several  main  divisions  as  it  is  now  constructed.  In  almost  every  new  group  of 
Proverbs  the  linguistic  and  theological  exposition  of  the  individual  Proverbs  encounters  new  dif- 
ficulties— and  these  difficulties  are,  in  many  cases,  of  such  a  sort  that  we  must  utterly  despair 
of  fully  assured  exegetical  results.  And  finally,  to  treat  the  book  homiletically  and  practically, 
in  so  far  as  it  regards  only  brief  passages,  is  rendered  more  difficult  by  the  obscurity  of  many 
single  sentences;  and  in  so  far  as  it  attempts  to  embrace  large  sections,  by  the  unquestionable 
lack  of  fixed  order  and  methodical  structure,  which  appears  at  least  in  the  central  main  division 
of  the  collection  (chap.  x.  1 — xxii.  16),  as  well  as  in  the  supplement  added  by  Hezekiah's  men 
(chaps.  XXV. — xxix.)." 

"  To  this  is  to  be  added  the  imperfection  of  previous  expository  works,  both  the  scientific  and 
the  practical."  [The  author  then  reviews  the  recent  commentaries  of  Hitzig,  Umbreit,  Ew- 
ALD,  Beetheatj,  Vaihingee,  and  Elsteb,  as  well  as  the  older  works  of  Miohaelis,  Geiee, 
Staeke,  Stockee,  Melanchthon,  and  concludes :] 

"  In  view  of  this  condition  of  exegetical  literature,  heretofore  so  unsatisfactory  in  many  ways, 
the  author  has  at  least  attempted,  with  the  most  conscientious  application  of  his  powers,  and 
with  the  use  of  the  most  important  works  that  have  hitherto  appeared,  to  effect  what  might  ba 
done  to  relieve  these  difficulties,  which  exist  in  all  directions  in  considerable  numbers.  .     . 

Over  many  of  the  obscurities  that  exist,  he  hopes  that  he  has  thrown  substantially  the  right 
light ;  with  regard  to  others,  that  he  has  turned  attention  to  the  most  promising  avenues  to  an 
appropriate  exposition  and  a  useful  application  ;  and  that  for  the  whole  he  has  proposed  a  mean- 
ing essentially  sound,  scientifically  defensible,  and,  for  that  very  reason,  edifying." 

The  work  on  Proverbs  was  first  committed  to  the  hands  of  the  late  Robinson  P.  Dunn,  D.  D., 
Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  English  Literature  in  Brown  University.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
accomplished  scholars  of  New  England,  and  "  oiie  of  those  rare  men  who,  by  a  happy  combina- 
tion of  the  gifts  of  nature  and  of  grace,  seemed  adapted  to  usefulness  in  every  department  of 
life."  But  he  had  scarcely  collected  a  complete  apparatus  and  finished  the  rough  draft  of  his 
translation  as  far  as  the  opening  sentences  of  J  9  of  the  Introduction,  when  he  was  suddenly 
called  to  his  rest,  Aug.  28,  1867,  in  Newport,  R.  I.,  the  place  of  his  birth,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
three.  His  last  words  were  similar  to  those  of  Dr.  Nbandbe:  "Good-by,  I  am  going  home." 
His  pen  was  found  in  the  Commentary  oh  the  Proverbs,  at  the  page  he  had  reached,  as  a  sign 
of  his  last  study  on  earth.     His  initials  are  attached  to  the  notes  he  added.* 

*  An  elegant  memorial  volume,  published  by  hia  widow,  pp.  237,  contains  a  biographical  sketch  by  Dr.  Samuel  L.  Cald. 
T7ELT.,  tlie  Commemorative  Discourse  delivered,  at  the  request  of  the  Faculty  of  Brown  University,  by  the  Rev.  J.  L.  Dimaw 
Profpssor  of  History  in  the  University,  and  selections  from  the  writings  of  Dr.  DtjnN,  wMeh  give  evidence  of  his  accurate 
sciUolftrship,  elegant  taste,  lovely  character  and  elevated  piety. 


PREFACE  BY  THE  GENERAL  EDITOR. 


After  the  lamented  death  of  Professor  Dunn,  I  secured  the  valuable  services  of  Dr.  Aiken, 
then  Professor  of  Latin  Literature  in  Princeton  College,  and  since  called  to  the  Presidency  of 
Union  College,  in  the  State  of  New  York.  A  hasty  glance  at  the  translation  and  the  grammati- 
cal and  critical  notes  is  sufficient  to  convince  the  reader  how  much  of  original  research  and  learn- 
ing, in  addition  to  the  labor  of  a  faithful  translation,  has  been  bestowed  upon  this  part  of  the 
American  edition  of  Lange.  In  compliance  with  my  suggestion,  the  purely  grammatical  parts 
of  the  Commentary  have  been  transferred  as  far  as  practicable  to  the  textual  department,  in 
ffmall  type,  which  the  lay  reader  may  pass  by.  The  same  rule  has  been  followed  in  Eoolesiastes, 
and  the  Song,  as  it  had  already  been  done  in  Genesis.  An  unusual  number  of  grammatical  re- 
ferences has  been  made  to  Bottchek's  encyclopaedic  Orammar,  which,  in  the  exhaustive  fullness 
of  its  citations,  amounts  almost  to  a  commentary  on  the  Hebrew  Scriptures. .  The  same  scholarly 
hand  is  seen  in  the  large  number  of  supplementary  and  illustrative  notes  which  are  scattered 
through  the  exegetical  parts.  The  elder  English  commentators,  like  Teapp,  Muffet,  are  cited 
not  for  their  scientific,  but  for  their  sterling  practical  value.  Of  recent  commentators,  Stuaet 
and  Mtjenschee,  of  our  own  country,  both  unknown  to  Dr.  Zocklee,  have  justly  been  laid  un- 
der contribution.  Considerable  additions  have  also  been  made  to  the  homiletical  department 
from  our  rich  and  varied  literature. 

ECCLESIASTES. 

After  the  translating  and  editing  of  Zocklee's  Koheleth  had  been  undertaken  by  Prof.  Tat- 
LEB  Lewis,  who  had  so  admirably  edited  the  greater  part  of  Genesis,  it  was  found  that  the  state 
of  his  health,  and  the  heavy  additions  which  he  felt  it  necessary  to  make,  rendered  assistance  in- 
dispensable. By  my  advice,  therefore,  there  was  procured  the  valuable  aid  of  his  col- 
league, Prof.  Wells,  of  Union  College.  To  him  that  important  part,  the  translation,  is 
due.  For  the  added  introductions,  dissertations,  annotations,  the  Metrical  Version,  and  the 
editing  generally.  Prof.  Lewis  is  responsible.  It  is  trusted  that  these  will  afford  no  little  aid  to 
a  better  comprehension  of  this  strange  and  wonderfully  impressive  portion  of  Holy  Scripture. 
We  have  here  the  ripe  fruits  of  long  continued  biblical  studieis  from  one  of  our  most  venerable 
scholars,  who  is  a  man  of  genius  as  well  as  learning.  The  Metrical  Version  in  Iambic  measure, 
with  an  introduction  thereto,  is  a  new  feature,  to  which  we  direct  the  special  attention  of  the 
lovers  of  Hebrew  poetry. 

As  a  help  to  the  reader,  it  is  thought  best  to  give,  as  was  done  in  the  volume  containing 
Genesis,  an  index  to  the  principal  additions  of  Prof.  Lewis.  Some  of  these  are  of  considerable 
extent  and  unusual  interest,  and  they  may  all  be  divided  into  two  classes,  according  as  they  are 
contained  in  the  body  of  the  pages,  or  in  marginal  notes. 

I.    EXTENDED  DISSEETATIONS   ON   LEADING  IDEAS. 

1.  Appendix  to  Zookier's  Introduction,  defending  the  Solomonic  origin  of  the  book 

against  the  objections  drawn  from  the  style,  and  the  alleged  later  Hebrew pp.  28-35 

2.  Excursus  on  the  Olamic  or  .iEoniau   Words  in  Scripture — Eternities,  or  World-times  in 

theplural.     Ch.  i.  3 44-51 

3.  The  Inquisition  of  the  Ages.     Ch.  iii.  11-15.     Cyclical  Ideas  in  Koheleth 72-76 

4.  Alleged  Historical  Allusions  in  Koheleth.     Ch.  iv.  14,  15 84r-87 

5.  Koheleth's  Idea  of  the  Dead.     Ch.  ix.  15 129-131 

6.  The  Alleged  Epicureanism  of  Koheleth.    His  Mournful  Irony.  Ch.  ix.  7-10;  xi.  9, 10.  131-136 

7.  The  Unknown  Way  of  the  Spirit.     Life.     The  Divine  Secret  in  Nature.     Ch.  xi.  5...  147-151 

8.  Koheleth's  Description  of  Old  Age  intended  for  the  Sensualist 152-154 

9.  Beth  01am,  or  "the  Eternal  House."     xii.  6 158-160 

10.  Introduction  to  Metrical  Version,  maintaining  the  Poetical  Character  of  the  Book....  171-181 

11.  Metrical  Version,  divided  into  40  Meditations 183-199 

II.    THE   PEINCIPAL    MAEGINAL    NOTES. 

1.  The  metaphor  of  the  Horses  of  the  Sun.     i.  5 38 

2.  The  Reining  of  the  Flesh  ;  the  Word  It^D.     Ch.  ii.  3 54-55 

3.  nnifl  mty,  il.  8,  falsely  rendered  '^musical  instruments" 56-57 


PREFACE  BY  THE  GENERAL  EDITOR. 


4.  The  word  chance 54 

5.  Exclamatory  style  of  Koheleth 54 

6.  "  There  is  nothing  better  for  a  man,''  etc.  (controverted),     ii.  24 56 

7.  "  The  world  in  their  heart."     iii.  11 67-68 

8.  Here,  there — Diesseits,  Jenseits,  or  the  coming  retribution,     iii.  17 69-70 

9.  "  Who  knoweth  the  spirit  of  man  that  goeth  upward  !"     iii.  21 71-72 

10.  The  Melancholy  of  Epicureanism,  as  contrasted  with  the  style  of  the  Sacred  Poetry 80-81 

11.  Vain  Predictings,  Superstitions,  eic 91 

12.  The  King,  and  the  Field 92 

13.  Spirituality  of  the  Hebrew  Accents,  "The  Good  thaXis  Fair  " , 94-95 

14.  The  Naming— Adam.  vi.  10 101 

15.  The  "Light  of  thy  countenance" 101 

16.  The  oppression  of  the  wise  man 106 

17.  "  Wisdom  giveth  life."     yii.  12 107 

18.  Over-righteousness,  Over-wisdom 108 

19.  Soliloquizing  style  of  Koheleth 113-114 

20.  "The  wicked  buried" — the  "going  to  and  from  the  Holy  Place."     viii.  10 119 

21.  "The  days  of  thy  vain  life."     Pathetic  Repetition,     ix.  9 126 

22.  False  logical  and  ethical  divisions  of  many  commentators 137 

23.  "Dead  flies."     i 138 

24.  "Knows  not  how  to  go  to  the  city;"  interpretation  of  x.  14,  15 141—142 

25.  Speech  of  the  prattling  fool.     False  view  of  Hitzig 142 

26.  "  The  sight  of  the  eyes,"  and  "the  way  of  the  .heart."     xi.  9 152 

27.  "  Keepers  of  the  house" — "  the  Grinders  " — "the  Light  darkened  " — "Clouds  after  rain."  154 

28.  "  Those  who  look  out  of  the  windows."     "  The  doors  shut  in  the  streets." 155 

29.  The  Mill,  and   the  constant  grinding  of  an  ancient  household  ;  with  illustration  from 

the  Odyssey 155-156 

30  The  Almond  Tree 157 

31.  Images  of  the  Silver  cord,  the  Golden  bowl,  the  Fountain,  etc 160 

32.  Creationism.     xii.  27 164 

33.  The  "  making  many  books  " 168 

To  these  may  be  added  many  minor  marginal  notes,  together  with  the  notes  on  particular 
words,  the  ancient  versions,  and  various  readings,  as  they  are  attached  to  each  division  of  the 
text,     Special  attention  is  here  paid  to  words  alleged  to  belong  to  the  later  Hebrew. 

THE  SONG  OP  SOLOMON. 

The  Commentary  on  the  Song  of  songs  [D'Ttyn  ^^^''a,  Sept.:  'Acf/ia  g,aiiaTuv^  Vulg. :  Canticum 
canticorum],  as  this  most  beautiful  of  poems  of  pure  and  holy  love  is  called,  was  prepared  by  the 
Eev.  Dr.  Green,  Professor  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton. 

The  difficulty  of  the  book  is  such  as  to  allow  considerable  latitude  of  individual  opinion,  but 
it  is  all  important  to  have  a  proper  view  of  its  spirit  and  aim.  The  German  author  justly  rejects 
both  the  profane  rationalistic  exposition  which  can  see  no  more  in  the  Song  than  a  sensual  erotic 
poem,  and  the  opposite  allegorical  interpretation  which  regards  the  persons  and  objects  described 
as  mere  figures  or  names  for  spiritual  persons  and  objects,  leaving  a  large  margin  for  random 
guess-work  and  unbridled  extravagance.*    Most  nearly  agreeing  with  his  friend,  Prof.  Dblitzsch, 

*  The  allegorical  interpretation,  it  must  be  admitted,  baa  tbe  autbority  of  many  of  the  greatest  divines,  both  Jewish  and 
Christian,  Catholic  and  Evangelical,  and  is  also  sanctioned  by  the  headings  of  our  English  Bible.  It  will  probably  always 
retain  the  ascendancy  in  the  pulpit,  and  in  books  for  popular  devotion.  IHany  of  the  most  eloquent  sermous  (aa  St.  Ber- 
nard's Sermones  in  cant,  cant,,  and  Kbummaoher's  Salomo  und  Sulamitli),  and  of  the  sweetest  hymns  (by  Qekhardt  Dess- 
LEU,  Drese,  Zinzendorf,  Weslbt,  and  Gustav  Hahn's,  Das  Hohe  Lied  in  Liede.rn,  Halle,  1853)  are  based  upon  this  view.  If 
we  distinguish  carefully  between  exposition  and  application,  we  may  allow  a  considerable  latitude  for  homiletic  and  ascetic 
purposes.  One  of  the  very  best  legitimate  practical  applications  of  the  passage  ii.  15, 1  have  seen,  is  in  a  little  book  of 
Mrs.  H.  Beechftr  Stowe,  where  the  "  little  foxes  that  spoil  the  vines  "  (ii.  16),  are  applied,  in  a  series  of  entertaining  homilies 
to  little  faults  that  disturb  domestic  happiness.  But  in  an  exegetical  point  of  view  most  of  the  allegorical  interpretations  turn 
out  to  be  arbitrary  impositions  rather  than  carpositions.  Just  as  I  write,  a  new  attempt  in  this  line  comes  to  my  eyes  in  the 
British  and  Foreign  Evangelical  Quarterly  Review  tor  Oct.  1869,  pp.  773-796.    The  writer  of  this  article  ijiscovers  in  the  Song 


PREFACE  BY  THE  GENERAL  EDITOR. 


he  adopts  the  typical  or  typico- Messianic  view,  which  is  not  so  old  and  generally  received  among 
orthodox  divines  as  the  allegorical,  but  which  has  the  sanction  of  such  eminent  names  as  Light- 
foot,  BossuET,  LoWTH,  and  is  more  natural  and  in  harmony  with  the  typical  and  prophetical 
character  of  the  whole  ancient  theocracy,  as  foreshadowing  the  substance  of  Christianity,  and  pre- 
paring the  way  for  its  introduction. 

The  Canticles  are  probably  a  nuptial  song  or  lyric  drama  (melo-drama)  from  Solomon's  best 
period,  and  present  the  ideal  Hebrew  view  of  marriage  as  established  by  God  Himself  in  Paradise 
on  the  basis  of  the  strongest  and  tenderest  passion  He  has  implanted  in  man ;  and  this  ideal  is 
realized  in  the  highest  and  holiest  sense  in  the  relation  of  Christ  to  His  Church  (Comp.  Eph. 
V.  32). 

The  American  editor,  while  recording  his  approval  of  Zockler's  method  and  standpoint  in 
general,  especially  his  typical  view  (see  pp.  19-25),  has  expressed  his  dissent  from  certain  parts 
of  his  scheme.  He  inclines  to  regard  the  Canticles  as  a  series  of  unconnected  scenes  rather  than 
a  well-arranged,  continuous  drama,  with  a  regularly  unfolded  plot,  as  is  done  by  Zooklee  and 
Delitzsch,  also,  with  various  modifications,  by  Lowth,  Ewald,  Umbbeit,  Bottchee,  HiTZia, 
Renan.  He  is  moreover  of  the  opinion  that  the  Song  should  be  more  favorably  interpreted  by 
itself  than  from  the  history  and  later  character  of  Solomon  as  given  in  the  first  book  of  Kings. 
In  this  last  point  I  entirely  agree.  Any  reference  to  Solomon's  polygamy,  unless  it  be  in  the 
way  of  rebuke,  would  mar  the  beauty  and  purity  of  the  poem,  and  make  it  unworthy  of  its  place 
in  the  canon. 

The  next  most  considerable  addition  is  to  the  bibliography  at  the  close  of  the  Introduction 
(pp.  43-47),  where  a  pretty  full  account  is  given  of  English  and  American  Commentators  on 
the  Song.  The  critical  and  grammatical  notes  have  been  very  materially  enriched  both  from 
the  editor's  own  researches  and  from  the  early  English  translations,  and  from  English  commen- 
tators, 

I  must  add  that  Dr.  Geeen  had  inserted  a  considerable  number  of  Arabic  and  Persian  words, 
but  erased  nearly  all  of  them  in  the  proof  sheets,  because,  after  the  type  had  been  procured  at  con- 
siderable trouble,  it  was  found  almost  impossible  to  obtain  accuracy  in  characters  unknown  to 
the  compositors,  and  because  they  rather  disfigured  the  pages. 

I  now  commit  this  new  volume  to  the  churches  of  the  English  tongue,  with  the  wish  that 
it  may  be  as  cordially  welcomed,  and  prove  as  useful,  as  the  other  parts  of  this  Commentary. 

Philip  Schapp. 
5,  Bihle  House,  New  Yoek,  Nov.  19,  1869. 

a  progressive  driima  beginning  at  tlie  gates  of  Eden  and  running  through  the  light  and  shade  of  the  history  of  Judaism  and 
Christianity  till  the  glory  of  the  millennium.    He  distinguishes  in  it  the  following  parts : 

1,  The  Church  before  the  advent,  waiting  and  longing  for  the  coming  of  Christ.  2d,  The  theocracy  under  Solomon,  whicli 
in  the  temple  and  its  worship,  afford  the  fullest  and  clearest  typical  revelation  of  Christ  which  that  dispensation  admitted 
of.  3d.  The  gradual  decadence  that  followed,  in  both  type  and  prophecy,  which  went  on  till  at  last  it  deepened  into  the 
darkness  of  the  captivity.  4th.  The  sudden  opening  of  the  gospel  day  in  the  advent  of  the  Saviour,  and  the  preaching  of  the 
apostles— the  voice  of  the  turtle,  and  the  flowers  that  now  begin  to  cover  the  earth.  5th.  A  second  night,  during  which 
Christ  is  again  absent;  this  lasts  longer  than  the  first,  and  during  it  a  deeper  sleep  oppresses  the  church.  On  awakening, 
she  is  seen  seeking  her  beloved,  wounded  and  bleeding,  from  the  sword  of  persecution.  6th.  The  bursting  out  of  the  day  of 
the  Reformation— the  morning  of  the  millennium— and  then  the  church  is  beheld  "terrible  as  an  army  with  banners," 
clothed  with  truth,  and  shining  with  a  light  which  makes  her  the  admiration  of  the  nations, — "  fair  as  the  moon,  clear  aa 
the  sun." 

A  few  specimens  of  interpretation  on  this  scheme,  will  suffice.  The  kisses  of  the  Bridegroom  are  the  promises  of  Christ's 
coming ;  the  "  Virgins  "  who  love  the  spouse  (ch.  i.  3),  like  the  Virgins  in  the  Apocalypse,  represent  those  who  had  not  de- 
filed themselves  with  the  idolatrous  rites  of  pagan  or  papal  worship ;  the  "  wilderness  "  from  which  the  bridegroom  comes 
on  the  day  of  his  espousals  (iii.  6),  is  Jewish  formalism.  Gentile  scepticism,  and  pagan  idolatry ;  and  the  clouds  of  smoke, 
which  attended  the  royal  progress,  are  the  symbols  of  mysterious  providences. 


THE 


PEOYERBS  OF  SOLOMOK 


INTEODUCTION. 

J  1.    THE    ETHICAL    AND   EELIGIOUS   BANK  AND   SIGNIFICANCE    OF   THE    PROVERBS    OP   SOLOMON. 

The  collection  of  Proverbs  -which  beara  the  name  of  Solomon  is  the  chief  storehouse  of  moral 
instruction  and  of  practical  wisdom  for  the  chosen  people  of  God  under  the  old  dispensation.  It 
forms,  therefore,  the  principal  documentary  source  of  the  Ethics  of  the  Old  Testament,  just  as  in 
the  successive  steps  of  a  gradual  revelation,  it  is  the  peculiar  office  of  the  Pentateuch  to  exhibit 
the  fundamental  truths  of  its  Theology,  the  Psalter  those  of  its  Anthropology,  and  the  Propheti- 
cal Books  those  of  its  Christology  and  Soteriology.  Some  of  the  more  general  principles  and 
postulates  of  Ethics,  especially  much  of  what  belongs  to  the  province  of  the  so-called  doctrine 
of  the  Highest  Good,  and,  as  might  be  expected,  the  whole  doctrine  of  the  Moral  Law,  are  indeed 
found  in  the  Books  of  iVIoses.  Single  topics  connected  with  the  doctrine  of  virtue  and  obligation 
are  occasionally  more  fully  discussed  in  the  Psalms  and  the  Prophets.  But  the  special  doctrine 
of  virtue  and  duty,  which  must  ever  hold  the  chief  place  in  the  system  of  Ethics,  finds  nowhere 
else  in  the  Old  Testament  so  thorough,  so  individualizing,  and  so  lively  a  presentation  as  in  the 
Proverbs ;  and  even  the  more  general  principles  of  Ethics,  as  well  as  the  fundamental  maxims 
of  rectitude  and  law  are,  if  not  directly  referred  to  in  them,  at  least  incidentally  assumed.* 

Resting  on  the  basis  of  the  widest  and  most  diverse  experience,  and  adopting  the  form  of  the 
most  thoughtful,  pithy  and  suggestive  apothegms,  they  apply  to  the  life  of  man  in  all  positions, 
relations  and  conditions,  the  moral  precepts  contained  in  the  law.  In  other  words,  what  the  law 
reveals  as  a  universal  rule  for  the  national  life  of  the  covenant  people  in  a  religious  and  a  politi- 
cal aspect,  the  Proverbs  apply  to  the  relations  and  oUigations  of  the  private  life  of  each  indivi- 
dual of  that  people.  The  principle  of  consecration  through  fellowship  with  Jehovah,  the  God  of 
the  Covenant,  which  was  revealed  through  Moses,  and  established  in  general  in  his  legislation,  is 
individualized  and  developed  in  detail  by  Solomon  with  reference  to  the  special  domestic  and 
social  relations  of  his  countrymen. 

Note. — It  has  been  often  observed  that  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon  are  the  chief  source  of  the 
Old  Testament  Ethics.  Okigen,  in  the  Preface  to  his  exposition  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  in  the  Proverbs  Solomon  had  aimed  to  discuss  the  ^iSi/c^,  in  Eoclesiastea 
the  <pvaiK^,  and  in  the  Canticles  the  1oyiK.fi  or  ^eupMij  (the  science  of  the  contemplation  of  Divine 
things),  and  Jebome  adopted  from  him  this  view  (Preface  to  the  Comm.  on  Eccles.,  Ep.  30  to 
)-t 


*  [This  threefold  division  of  Ethics,  originating  with  Schleiermacher,  and  closely  adhered  to.  by.  Rothe,  is  generally 
adopted  in  Germany.  "  GiiterleJtre  "  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Good  as  an  object  of  desire  or  a  thing  to  be  attained,  "  Tugend- 
lehre  "  is  the  doctrine  of  the  sentiments  and  inclination  towards  virtue.  '*  Pflichtenlehre  "  is  the  doctrine  of  the  right  as 
the  foundation  of  law.    The  first  and  the  last  are  objective ;  the  second  is  subjective. — R.  P.  D.] 

f  In  his  107  Ep.  to  Lseta  in  reference  to  the  education  of  her  daughter  Paula,  Jerome  aays;  "Discat  primo  Psalterium^ 
hisse  cwniicis  sanctaTtivocatt  et  in  Proverbiis  Salomonis  erudiatur  ad  mtom."  Compare  the  title  Trfltfiayto.YfKTj  cro^io  which 
Grbqort  of  Nazianzua  was  wont  to  give  to  the  Book  of  Proverba. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


LuTHEB,  in  his  Preface  to  the  Books  of  Solomon,  written  in  1524  (Erlangen  ed.,  Vol.  LXIIl., 
p.  35),  says  of  the  Proverbs  :  "  It  may  be  rightly  called  a  book  of  good  works ;  for  he  (Solomon) 
there  teaches  the  nature  of  a  godly  and  useful  life, — so  that  every  man  aiming  at  godliness 
should  make  it  his  daily  Handbook  or  Book  of  Devotion,  and  often  read  in  it  and  compare  with 
it  his  life."  Starke  (Introd.  to  the  Proverbs,  dynops.,  Pt.  IV.,  p.  1591)  thus  describes  its  con- 
tents :  "  It  is  for  the  most  part  a  school  of  Christian  Morals ;  upon  the  basis  of  faith  it  founds  the 
wisest  counsels  in  reference  to  the  believer's  duties  towards  God,  towards  his  neighbor,  and  to- 
jrards  himself  ...  By  means  of  a  great  variety  of  sententious  maxims  this  book  teaches 
man  how  to  esjupe  from  sin,  to  please  God,  and  to  secure  true  blessedness."  The  elder  Ml. 
CHAELis  (Chhistian  Benedict)  gives  a  like  estimate  of  the  ethical  value  of  the  Proverbs.  He 
passes  from  an  exposition  of  the  Psalms  to  one  of  the  Proverbs  with  these  words  :  "  From  the 
oratory  of  David  we  now  proceed  to  the  school  of  Solomon,  to  find  in  the  son  of  the  greatest  of 
theologians  the  first  of  philosophers."  On  account  of  the  ethical  wisdom  of  the  Proverbs  of 
Golomon,  the  Wiirtemberg  Theosophists,  Bengel  and  OETiNaER,  preferred  them  to  most  of  the 
other  books  of  the  Old  Testament.  They  made  them  the  theme  of  their  devout  meditations,  and 
(wmestly  sought  to  penetrate  their  deeper  meaning.  (See  for  Bengel  :  OsK.  Waechtee's  "Joh. 
Alb.  Bengel:  Life,  Qharacter,  &c.,  p.  166).  Oetingee,  when,  as  a  youthful  master  of  arts,  he 
resided  at  Halle,  thought  of  lecturing  on  " JPhilosophiam  sacram  et  applicaiam,  drawn  from  the 
Scriptures,  especially  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon."  This  plan  he  did  not,  however,  carry  out.  At 
a  later  period,  when  he  was  a  pastor  first  at  Hirsau  and  then  at  Walddorf,  he  diligently  studied 
the  Proverbs  as  the  chief  repository  and  source  of  what  he  called  "Sensus  communis."  He  used 
them  for  purposes  of  religious  instruction  ;  he  wrote  them  on  separate  slips  of  paper,  put  them 
in  a  box,  and  made  hia  scholars  draw  them  out  as  lots.  He  also  published  a  little  book  of  a  cate- 
chetical nature,  with  the  title  "  How  shall  the  head  of  a  family  exemplify  at  home  the  Proverbs 
of  Solomon?"  and  a  larger  work  called  "Common  Sense  in  the  Proverbs  and  Ecclesiastes," 
Stuttgard,  1753.  "  ^'he  Proverbs,"  he  once  observed,  "  exhibit  Jesus  with  unusual  clearness,  and 
he  who  cannot  perceive  this  knows  not  Paul's  meaning  when  he  says,  1  Cor.  xiv.  20,  '  In  under- 
standing be  men'"  (see  Ehmann's  "ii/e  and  Letters  of  Oelinger;"  also  the  essay  in  Vilmab's 
Past-theol.  BU.,  1865,  I.,  pp.  265  sq.,  on  "Theosophy;  Oetinger  and  the  Lutheran  Church." — 
Still  earlier  the  Rostock  theologian,  Samuel  Bohl,  had  attempted  in  his  Ethica  Sacra  (1640)  a 
systematic  exhibition  of  the  ethics  of  Solomon,  in  the  form  of  a  continuous  commentary  on  th« 
first  nine  and  the  last  two  chapters  of  Proverbs.  Most  of  the  modern  interpreters  have  in  liko 
manner  justly  appreciated  the  superior  ethical  value  of  this  book.  According  to  Kahnis  {Luth. 
Dogmatik,  I.,  282)  its  peculiar  excellence  lies  in  the  skill  with  which  its  author  "has  presented 
the  maxims  of  a  practical  wisdom  which  aims  in  all  the  human  relations  of  the  Kingdom  of  God 
t-o  govern  the  lives. of  men  in  harmony  with  the  intentions  of  its  founder."  Elster  {Deutsche 
Zeilschr.  fur  Christl.  Wissenschaft,  1859,  and  in  his  Commentary  on  the  Proverbs)  ascribes  the 
importance  of  this  book  of  Solomon  to  the  fact  that  "it  consists  of  a  didactic  religious  discussion 
of  practical  experience,"  in  the  form  of  proverbial  wisdom,  which  is  not  mere  human  prudence, 
but  "  a  new  emanation  from  the  Divine  essence  itself,  a  new  communication  of  eternal  wisdom, 
which  alone  is  true  wisdom."  It  is  a  proverbial  wisdom  which,  "  like  the  Law  and  the  Pro- 
phets, has  its  own  peculiar  and  most  important  province,"  and  has  upon  the  varied  and  symmet- 
rical development  of  the  individual  man  an  influence  which  should  be  deeply  felt  and  fully  re- 
cognized. Bruch  (  Weisheitslehre  der  Hebrder,  pp.  102  sq.),  Oehler  [Die  Orundziige  der  alt- 
teslamend.  Weisheit,  pp.  5  sq.),  Delitzsch  (Article  Spruche  Salomo's  in  Herzoo's  Real-Ency- 
clopddie),  express  themselves  in  similar  terms  with  reference  to  the  high  ethical  and  religious 
rank  of  this  book.  Even  Hitzio,  while  denying  its  inspiration,  and  perceiving  in  it  nothing 
but  human  wisdom,  recognizes  in  it  "  a  religious  consecration  and  an  irresistible  attraction  of  the 
heart  towards  morality,"  which  distinguish  this  monument  of  Hebrew  proverbial  wisdom  above 
all  similar  productions,  whether  of  Arabian  literature  or  of  the  Semitic  mind  in  general  {"Die 
Spriiche  Salomo's  itbersetzt  und  avbsgelegt,"  p.  xii.). 

[Coleridge  says :  "  The  Book  of  Proverbs  is  the  best  statesman's  manual  which  was  ever 
written.  An  adherent  to  the  political  economy  and  spirit  of  that  collection  of  apothegms  and 
essays  would  do  more  to  eradicate  from  a  people  the  causes  of  extravagance,  debasement  and 


1  1.  THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON.  3 

ruin,  than  all  the  contributions  to  political  economy  of  Sat,  Smith,  Malthus  and  Chalmers 
together." — Prol  M.  Sttjaet  says  (Preface  to  his  Comm.  on  Proverbs,  p.  9) :  "All  the  hea- 
then moralists  and  proverbialists  joined  together  cannot  furnish  us  with  one  such  book  as  that 
of  the  Proverbs."  In  his  Introd.,  p.  64,  he  says :  "After  all  the  Lght  which  Christianity  has 
ehed  upon  us,  we  could  not  part  with  this  book  without  a  severe  loss."  "  The  book  contains  a 
etriking  exhibition  of  practical  wisdom,  so  striking  that  it  can  never  be  antiquated." — J.  Muen- 
6CHEB,  in  his  Introd.  to  his  Comm.  on  Proverbs,  says,  p.  xliv.:  "  The  moral  precepts  of  Solo- 
mon rest  on  the  foundation  of  religion  and  true  piety,  and  in  this  respect  differ  heaven-wide  from 
the  systems  of  the  ancient  heathen  moralists." — R.  P.  D.J 

[Dr.  Gray  observes.  The  Proverbs  of  the  inspired  son  of  David  "  are  so  justly  founded  on  prin- 
ciples of  human  nature,  and  so  adapted  to  the  permanent  interests  of  man,  that  they  agree  with 
the  manners  of  every  age,  and  may  be  assumed  as  rules  for  the  direction  of  our  conduct  in  every 
condition  and  rank  of  life,  however  varied  in  its  complexion  or  diversified  by  circumstances ;  they 
embrace  not  only  the  concerns  of  private  morality,  but  the  great  objects  of  political  importance." 
— Dr.  JoETiN  says :  "  They  have  not  that  air  of  smartness  and  vivacity  and  wit  which  modem 
writers  have  usually  affected  in  their  maxims  and  sentences ;  but  they  have  what  is  better,  truth 
and  solid  good  sense."  "  Though  the  composition  be  of  the  disjointed  kind,  yet  there  is  a  gene- 
ral design  running  through  the  whole,  which  the  author  keeps  always  in  view ;  that  is,  to  in- 
struct the  people,  and  particularly  young  people,  at  their  entrance  into  public  and  active  life, — 
to  give  them  an  early  love  and  an  earnest  desire  of  real  wisdom,  and  to  lay  down  such  clear  rules 
for  their  behaviour  as  shall  carry  them  through  the  world  with  peace  and  credit."  (See  D'Oylt 
and  Makt,  Introd.  to  Proverbs). 

Bridges  (Exposition  of  the  Proverbs,  Am.  Ed.,  Pref.,  pp.  iii.,  vii.,  ix.,  etc.)  says:  "This 
wonderful  book  is  indeed  a  mine  of  Divine  wisdom.  The  views  of  God  are  holy  and  reverential. 
The  observation  of  human  nature  is  minute  and  accurate."  "  Doubtless  its  pervading  character 
is  not  either  explicit  statement  of  doctrinal  truth  or  lively  exercises  of  Christian  experience. 
Hence  the  superficial  reader  passes  over  to  some  (in  his  view)  richer  portion  of  the  Scriptural 
field."  "  While  other  parts  of  Scripture  show  us  the  glory  of  our  high  calling,  this  may  instruct 
in  all  minuteness  of  detail  how  to  '  walk  worthy  of  it.'  Elsewhere  we  learn  our  completeness  in 
Christ  (Col.  ii.  10) ;  and  most  justly  we  glory  in  our  high  exaltation  as  "joint  heirs  with  Christ," 
etc.  (Rom.  viii.  17 ;  Eph.  ii.  6).  We  look  into  this  book,  and,  as  by  the  aid  of  the  microscope,  we 
see  the  minuteness  of  our  Christian  obligations ;  that  there  is  not  a  temper,  a  look,  a  word,  a 
movement,  the  most  important  action  of  the  day,  the  smallest  relative  duty,  in  which  we  do  not 
either  deface  or  adorn  the  image  of  our  Lord,  and  the  profession  of  His  name." 

Wordsworth  (Introd.  to  Proverbs,  pp.  ix.,  x.)  says :  "  The  Book  of  Proverbs  is  an  inspired 
book  adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  the  times  of  Solomon."  "  The  Holy  Spirit,  in  inspiring 
Solomon  to  write  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  supplied  an  antidote  to  the  poison  of  those  influences 
(temptations  attending  the  splendor  and  prosperity  of  the  times),  and  has  given  to  the  world  a 
moral  and  spiritual  manual,  which  has  its  special  uses  for  those  who  dwell  in  populous  towns 
and  cities,  and  who  are  busily  engaged  in  worldly  traffic,  and  are  exposed  to  such  temptations 
as  are  rife  in  an  age  and  country  like  our  own,  distinguished  by  commercial  enterprise  and  me- 
chanical skill,  and  by  the  production  of  great  works  of  human  industry,  in  Art,  Literature  and 
Science,  and  also  by  religious  activity,  especially  of  that  kind  which  aims  to  give  to  Religion  ex- 
ternal dignity  and  beauty,  such  as  reached  its  highest  pitch  in  the  Temple  of  Solomon."  Again, 
"  The  Proverbs  of  Solomon  come  from  above,  and  they  also  look  upward.  They  teach  that  all 
True  Wisdom  is  the  gift  of  God,  and  is  grounded  on  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  They  dwell  with  the 
strongest  emphasis  on  the  necessity  of  careful  vigilance  over  the  heart  which  is  manifest  only  to 
God ;  and  on  the  right  government  of  the  tongue,  whose  sins  are  rarely  punished  by  human  laws ; 
and  on  the  duty  of  acting,  in  all  the  daily  trasiness  and  social  intercourse  of  life,  with  an  eye  stea- 
dily fixed  on  the  throne  of  God,  and  with  habitual  reference  to  the  only  unerring  standard  of  hu- 
man practice.  His  Will  and  Word.  In  this  respect  the  Book  of  Proverbs  prepared  the  way  for  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel ;  and  we  recognize  in  it  an  anticipation  of  the  Apostolic  precept  concern- 
ing all  domestic  and  social  relations,  '  Whatsoever  ye  do,  do  it  heartily,  as  unto  the  Lord.'  " 

Dean  Stanley  (History  of  the  Jewish  Church,  II.,  269,  Am.  Ed.),  looking  at  the  other  side  of 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


the  shield,  says,  This  book  "  has  even  something  of  a  worldly,  prudential  look,  unlike  the  rest  of 
the  Bible.  But  this  is  the  very  reason  why  its  recognition  as  a  Sacred  Book  is  so  useful.  It  ia 
the  philosophy  of  practical  life.  It  is  the  sign  to  us  that  the  Bible  does  not  despise  common  sense 
and  discretion.  It  impresses  upon  us  in  the  most  forcible  manner  the  value  of  intelligence  and 
prudence,  and  of  a  good  education.  The  whole  strength  of  the  Hebrew  language,  and  of  the  sacred 
authority  of  the  book,  is  thrown  upon  these  homely  truths.  It  deals  too  in  that  refined,  discrimi- 
nating, careful  view  of  the  finer  shades  of  human  character,  so  often  overlooked  by  theologians,  but 
80  necessary  to  any  true  estimate  of  human  life." 

Dr.  GuTHEiB  [Sunday  Magazine,  Oct.,  1868,  p.  15)  calls  attention  in  his  forcible  way  to  other 
qualities  of  the  book,  and  bears  a  valuable  testimony  to  its  experimental  worth  in  a  wide  sphere. 
"  It  fulfils  in  a  unique  and  pre-eminent  degree  the  requirements  of  efifective  oratory,  not  only  every 
chapter,  but  every  verse,  and  almost  every  clause  of  every  verse  expressing  something  which  both 
'  strikes  and  sticks.'  "  "  The  day  was  in  Scotland  when  all  her  children  were  initiated  into  the  art 
of  reading  through  the  Book  of  Proverbs.  ...  I  have  no  doubt  whatever — neither  had  the  late 
Principal  Lee,  as  appears  by  the  evidence  he  gave  before  a  committee  of  parliament — that  the 
higli  character  which  Scotsmen  earned  in  bygone  years  was  mainly  due  to  their  early  acquaintance 
with  the  Proverbs,  the  practical  sagacity  and  wisdom  of  Solomon The  book  has  unfortu- 
nately disappeared  from  our  schools ;  and  with  its  disappearance  my  countrymen  are  more  and 
more  losing  their  national  virtues — in  self-denial  and  self-reliance,  in  foresight  and  economy, 
in  reverence  of  parents  and  abhorrence  of  pubUc  charity,  some  of  the  best  characteristics  of  old 
manners  and  old  times." — A.] 


A.— GENERAL    INTRODUCTION    TO    THE    PHILOSOPHICAL    LITERATURE 
ASCRIBED    TO    SOLOMON. 

{  2.     THE    PHILOSOPHY    OP   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT    IN    GENERAL,    IN    ITS   RELATION    TO    THE    PHI- 
LOSOPHY  OF   OTHER   NATIONS. 

The  peculiar  form  in  which  the  ethical  doctrines  and  precepts  of  the  Proverbs  are  presented 
is  that  of  the  Hhokmah,  or  Proverbial  Philosophy  of  the  Hebrews.  It  is  a  species  of  moral  and 
philosophical  instruction  in  practical  wisdom,  which  though  distinguished  by  its  thoroughly  re- 
ligious character  from  the  secular  philosophy  of  all  other  races,  stands  in  the  same  relation  to 
the  spiritual  development  of  the  covenant  people  as  that  occupied  by  this  philosophy  in  refer- 
ence to  the  general  culture  of  men  who  are  without  the  Scriptures.  For,  whatever  answer  te 
given  to  the  somewhat  perplexing  question,  whether  the  Hebrews  can  be  properly  said  to  have 
had  a  philosophy,  it  is  certainly  true,  that  the  essential  feature  of  philosophy,  the  striving  after 
objective  wisdom,  or  after  a  true  conception  of  the  absolute  fitness  of  the  world  to  accomplish 
its  ends,  in  both  a  theoretical  and  a  practical  aspect,  is  most  completely  presented  in  the  Hhokmah 
of  the  old  dispensation  ;  and  that  in  fact  it  is  only  the  peculiar  form  in  which  this  striving  de- 
velops itself  in  the  Old  Testament  literature,  which  distinguishes  this  Hhokmah  from  the  phi- 
losophy of  Greek  and  Roman  antiquity.  The  wisdom  of  the  people  of  God  under  the  Old  Tes- 
tament is  the  art  of  so  shaping  life  in  harmony  with  the  divine  will,  and  in  obedience  to  its 
pecuUar  laws  learned  by  experience  and  reflection,  as  to  make  one  an  upright  subject  of  the 
kingdom  of  God,  in  other  words,  so  as  to  secure  at  once  the  divine  favor  and  earthly  blessed- 
ness. [When  NoYEs  [A  new  Translation  of  the  Proverbs,  etc.,  Introd.  to  Proverbs,  p.  xiv.) 
•ays :  "  It  is  true  that  the  religion  and  moraUty  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  will  not  bear  a  favora- 
ble comparison  with  those  of  Jesus  Christ.  Its  morality  is  much  less  disinterested,  being  for  the 
most  part  founded  in  prudence  rather  than  in  love.  "Its  motives  generally  are  of  a  much  less 
elevated  kind  than  those  which  Christianity  presents  ....  Prudential  motives,  founded  on  a 
strict  earthly  retribution,  are  the  principal  encouragements  to  a  life  of  virtue  which  he  presents  " 
etc.,  we  recognize  the  truth  which  he  exhibits,  but  notwithstanding  his  supplementary  and 
balancing  statements  prefer  Isaac  Taylor's  mode  of  exhibiting  the  truth.  Speaking  immedi- 
ately of  the  23d  Psalm  he  says  [Spirit  of  Hebrew  Poetry,  Am.  12mo.  ed.,  p.  38) :  "The  bright 


I  2.  THE  PIIILOSOPIIY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 


idea  of  earthly  well-being  pervades  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  ;  and  this  worldly  sunshine  is 
their  distinction  as  compared  with  the  New  Testament ;  but  then  there  are  many  cognate  ideas 
which  properly  come  into  their  places  around  the  terrestrial  idea  ....  A  feeling  is  here  indicated 
which  was  of  that  age,  and  which  was  approvable  then,  although  it  has  been  superseded  since 
by  sentiments  of  a  higher  order,  and  which  draw  their  reason  from  the  substitution  of  future 
for  present  good." — A.]  In  so  far  as  God  is  alike  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  this  pursuit  of 
wisdom,  or  in  so  far  as  it  both  necessarily  springs  from  the  fear  of  God, — Prov.  i.  7 ;  ix.  10 ; 
comp.  Job  xxviii.  28 ;  Ps.  cxi.  10 ;  Ecclesiast.  i.  16,— and  leads  to  a,  purifying  fellowship  with 
Him,  Prov.  viii.  35 ;  iii.  16,  «te.,  it  has  an  essentially  religious  and  practical  character.  Its 
sphere  of  reflection  and  of  action  must  therefore  be  also  more  limited  than  that  of  the  old  classi- 
cal or  of  the  modern  philosophy,  both  of  which  delight  in  profound  theoretical  inquiries  in  refer- 
ence to  created  existence,  and  investigations  of  not  only  the  end  but  also  the  origin  of  both 
nature  and  man.  Those  questions  concerning  the  origin  of  the  world  and  the  origin  of  evil 
which  play  so  conspicuous  a  part  in  the  philosophy  of  ancient  and  of  modern  times,  are  only 
incidentally  discussed  in  the  Hebrew  literature  of  wisdom,  whether  in  the  works  ascribed  to 
Solomon,  the  book  of  Job,  or  the  kindred  Psalms ;  and  then  only  in  their  relation  to  the  motives 
and  tendencies  to  practical  morality.  The  divine  wisdom  which  establishes  the  relation  of  God 
to  the  world,  and  is  at  once  the  chief  source  and  fundamental  law  of  both  the  subjective  and 
the  objective  wisdom  of  men,  (Prov.  viii.  21;  ix.  12;  Job  xxviii.  24  sq. ;  Ecclesiast.  xxiv.)  is 
always  represented  rather  as  the  medium  of  the  foreknowledge  and  the  providence  of  God,  than 
as  a  creative  power,  or  even  as  the  ideal  pattern  of  the  world  (the  icda/xoc  vot/rdg  of  Plato).  In 
fine,  the  essential  character  of  the  Hebrew  philosophy  is  far  more  practical  than  speculative ;  it 
is  as  little  inclined  to  pursue  or  to  prompt  genuine  speculation  as  it  is  to  identify  itself  with 
secular  philosophy  in  general,  and  with  unaided  human  reason  to  investigate  the  final  causes  of 
things.  It  is  essentially  a  divine  philosophy  planting  its  feet  upon  the  basis  of  the  divine  revela- 
tion, and  staying  itself  upon  the  eternal  principles  of  the  divine  law;  and  it  is  this  determinate 
and  positive  character  of  its  method  of  conceiving  and  teaching,  that  chiefly  distinguishes  it  from 
the  philosophy  of  other  nations  and  of  other  times.  Moreover,  the  habitual,  and  not  as  was  the 
case  with  many  ancient  philosophers,  the  occasional,  adoption  of  the  poetical  form  of  the  Gnome 
or  didactic  apothegm  for  conve}'ing  its  instructions,  must  be  regarded  as  a  marked  and  import- 
ant feature  of  this  whole  body  of  Old  Testament  literature,  and  as  a  decided  indication  of  its 
method  and  of  its  tendencies. 

Note  1. — The  Strasburg  theologian,  J.  P.  Beuch,  in  his  "  Weisheiislehre  der  Hehrder ;  ein 
Bpitrag  zur  Geschichte  der  Philosophie,"  Strasburg,  1851,  thoroughly  discusses  the  question 
whether  or  not  the  doctrine  of  the  Hhokmah  in  the  Old  Testament  is  to  be  considered  philoso- 
phy in  the  strict  sense,  and  decides  it  in  the  affirmative.  This  was  the  prevailing  opinion  in 
former  times  among  the  theologians  of  all  the  churches.  Jesuits,  t.  g.  Menoohius  in  his 
learned  work,  "  De  Republica  Hebraorum,"  Book  VII.,  Chap.  1 ;  many  of  the  Reformers  of  the 
17th  and  18th  centuries,  especially  the  followers  of  Descaetes  and  Coccbius  ;  and  Lutherans 
like  the  aforementioned  Bohlids  in  his  "JElhica  Sacra,"  or  the  eminent  Budd^tjs  in  his  "Intro- 
dioctio  ad  Historiam  philosophioe  Hebraeorum,"  2d  ed.,  Leipsic,  1720,  all  spoke  without  hesitation 
of  the  Hebrew  philosophy,  of  the  philosophy  of  Solomon,  David,  Moses,  Joseph,  and  Abraham. 
Indeed  they  often  ventured  to  trace  the  philosophy  of  the  patriarchs  as  far  back  as  to  Adam. 
Even  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  Blessig,  in  his  Introduction  to  J.  G.  Dahlbb's 
"Denk-  und  Sittenspruchen  /Safomo's"  (Strasburg,  1810),  unqualifiedly  characterized  the  prover- 
bial poetry  of  the  Hebrews  as  philosophical ;  De  Wettb,  in  his  Hebrew  Archeology,  spoke  of 
"  the  speculative  and  practical  philosophy  of  the  Hebrews ;"  and  Stabudlin  wrote  a  dissertation 
on  "  The  Philosophy,  the  Origin  and  Design  of  the  Book  of  Job."  (See  his  "  £eiirdge  zur 
Philosophie  und  Geschichte  der  Religion  und  SUlenlehre,"  II.,  133  sq. ;  compare  the  same 
author's  "  Oeist  der  Sittenlehre  Jesu,"  I.,  74  sq.).  Theologians  of  the  most  diverse  schools 
agreed  in  assuming  in  general  the  existence  among  the  early  Hebrews  of  a  style  of  wisdom 
which  might  claim  the  undisputed  title  of  a  philosophy. 

The  opposite  view  is  represented  not  only  by  many  later  philosophers,  especially  those  of  the 
critical  school  of  Kant,  but  also  by  such  theologians  as  limit  the  notion  "philosophy"  to  the 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVERBS  OP  SOLOMON. 


scholarly  scientific  speculative  inquiries  peculiar  to  modern  times,  and  must  therefore  considef 
not  only  the  Hebrews,  but  all  the  Semitic  races,  and  indeed  the  Orientals  in  general,  as  totally 
destitute  of  a  philosophical  habit  of  mind.  Such  was  the  opinion  of  Bp.ockee  before  the  time 
of  Kant,  when  he  asserted  in  his  Critical  History  of  Philosophy  (Leipsic,  1767,  I.,  64),  "  non 
eonfundeiidam  esse  Hebrmorum  sapienliam  cum philosophia proprii  nominis  aique  significationis. ' 
Krug  [Philosophisch-Iiincychpddlsehes  Lexicon,  II.,  328)  thinks  that  anything  like  philosophy 
&x  philosophical  wisdom  is  not  to  be  looked  fdr  among  the  ancient  Hebrews."  Sbikhold 
(ijehrbuch  der  Geschichte  der  Philosophie,  p.  15)  denies  in  general  the  existence  of  any  proper 
old  Oriental  philosophy  side  by  side  with  the  Greek.  Hitter  [Geschichte  der  Philosophie,  I., 
48)  bluntly  says,  "  Of  the  only  Asiatic  nations  whose  literature  is  known  to  us,  we  may  venture 
to  assert,  without  fear  of  much  contradiction,  that  in  the  early  times  they  had  no  philosophy. 
Among  these  are  the  Hebrews,"  etc. 

Of  the  more  recent  theologians  R.  P.  GKAtr  ("  Semiten  und  Indogermanen  in  ihrer  Beziehung 
zu  Religion  und  Wissenschaft,"  p.  28  sq.)  has  warmly  and  zealously  supported  the  proposition 
that  "the  Secnitic  mind  in  general  has  no  capacity  for  either  philosophy  or  science,"  and  Lu- 
THAEDT  (in  the  "  Leipziger  Vortrage  uber  die  Kirche,  nach  Ursprung,  Geschichte  und  Gegen- 
wart,  pp.  18  sq.  [pp.  19  sq.  of  the  translation  published  by  Messrs.  T.  &  T.  Clark,  Edinburgh, 
1867])  adopts  his  opinion  at  least  in  reference  to  the  Hebrews. 

All  these  scholars  manifestly  have  too  limited  and  partial  a  conception  of  philosophy.  They 
with  one  consent  understand  by  it  an  exercise  of  the  human  intellect  controlled  by  the  rigid 
laws  of  logic  and  carried  on  in  a  scientific  method  such  as  was  never  seen  among  the  early  He- 
brews, or  indeed  among  any  of  the  older  Eastern  nations.  But  philosophy  means  far  more  than 
this.  It  is  in  itself,  as  its  etymology,  <l>iXoao<pla,  i.  e.  studium  sapietUice  [love  of  wisdom],  indicates, 
and  as  the  whole  practice  and  method  of  the  oldest  Greek  philosophers  down  to  the  time  of 
Aeistotle  demonstrates,  nothing  but  a  love  for  wisdom;  an  earnest  endeavor  to  find  a  theoreti- 
cal and  a  practical  solution  of  the  problems  of  our  earthly  life ;  that  intellectual  effort  which 
strives  to  re-establish  the  proper  relation  between  the  absolute  omniscience  of  God,  and  the 
relative  knowledge  possessed  by  the  reason  of  man.  A  philosophy  and  philosophical  science  in 
this  wider  sense  must  be  claimed  for  the  people  of  God  under  the  Old  Testament.  We  cannot, 
however,  quite  agree  with  Bruoh  (ut  supra,  p.  20  sq.)  when,  having  defined  philosophy  in  its  objec- 
tive aspect  as  "  the  science  of  the  Absolute,  or  the  science  of  the  supreme  necessary  causes  of  all 
that  is  or  that  must  be,"  and  in  its  subjective  aspect,  "  as  the  unaided  inquiry  after  the  absolute, 
or  rational  thinking  in  so  far  as  renouncing  all  external  authority  it  investigates  the  supreme 
necessary  causes  of  all  that  is  or  that  must  be,"  he  ascribes  both  to  the  Hebrews.  For,  in  the 
first  place,  that  which  among  them  corresponds  to  the  philosophy  of  other  nations  is  not  pro- 
perly science,  but  rather  a  knowledge  and  comprehension,  an  intellectual  effort  and  reflective 
process  in  general ;  and  in  the  next  place,  it  is  not  so  much  the  "  supreme  necessary  causes  "  as 
the  chief  practical  ends  of  our  earthly  life  and  being  which  occupied  the  mind  of  the  Hebrew 
thinker.  It  is  then  only  philosophy  in  its  subjective  character,  as  above  defined,  which  can  in 
the  main  be  ascribed  to  the  Hebrews,  and  even  this  in  a  form  quite  unlike  that  in  which  it  pre- 
sents itself  to  BRncH,  one  which  secures  the  full  recognition  of  its  predominant  practical  and 
theological  character.  A  philosophy  consisting  in  such  an  essentially  practical  or  ethical  ten- 
dency of  the  mind,  which  by  an  examination  of  the  highest  moral  and  religious  ends  of  all 
human  and  superhuman  existence,  seeks  to  determine  the  normal  relation  between  God  and  the 
world,  and  thus  to  point  out  the  way  to  truth  and  blessedness,  may  without  hesitation  be 
ascribed  to  the  people  of  the  Old  Covenant.  It  is  indeed  a  philosophy,  which  though  its  shape 
and  dress  are  religious  and  poetical  rather  than  didactic  and  scientific,  contains  within  itself  all 
the  elements  which  are  essential  to  strictly  scientific  development,  or  to  an  entrance  into  the 
sphere  of  dogmatic  and  moral  and  theological  speculation. 

In  this  properly  limited  sense  has  Ewald,  among  others,  ( Geschichte  des  Volkes  Israel,  III , 
82)  recognized  the  existence  of  an  old  Hebrew  Philosophy.  "  Philosophy,"  says  he,  "  may 
exist  even  where  the  rigid  laws  of  thought  (logic)  are  not  observed,  or  where  no  attempt  is 
made  to  reduce  all  truths  and  conceptions  to  a  symmetrical  whole  (a  system).  This,  it  may  be 
admitted,  is  its  final  aim, — though  this  aim  like  every  other  human  aspiration  is  so  often  tho- 


g  2  THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 


roughly  erroneous  and  misleading  ; — it  is  not,  however,  its  beginning  nor  its  constant  living  im- 
pulse. Its  beginning  and  very  life  is  rather  the  intense  and  unquenchable  desire  for  investiga- 
tion, and  for  the  investigation  of  all  objects,  both  higher  and  lower,  remote  and  near,  human 
and  divine.  Where  the  problems  of  existence  allow  thoughtful  men  no  rest,  where  they 
provoke  among  the  mightiest  intellects  of  any  people,  or  of  several  nations  at  once,  an  un  - 
wearied  rivalry  in  the  attempt  to  solve  them.  Philosophy  is  in  the  bloom  and  vigor  of  youth. 
In  that  earlier  time  the  noblest  of  the  Semitic  races  had  plainly  reached  that  stage  when 
the  Greeks  were  far  from  having  approached  it;  and  Israel,  whose  higher  religion  fur- 
nished besides  a  special  impulse  to  reflection  on  the  relations  of  things,  now  entered  with  them 
upon  this  nobler  field  of  honor  in  the  most  generous  rivalry." 

Similar  views  are  expressed  by  Umbeeit  in  his  ingenious  and  instructive,  though  somewhat 
prolix  observations  "on  the  wisdom  of  the  East"  (Oommentar  iiber  die  Spruche  Salomo's,  Ein- 
leitung,  pp.  iii.  sq.) ;  by  Deliizsch  (Article  '' Spruche  Saloma's,"  in  Hbrzog's  Real-EncycL, 
XIV.,  pp.  712  sq.),  as  well  as  by  the  editor  of  this  Biblework  in  his  General  Introduction  to  the 
Old  Testament  (Genesis p.  19,  [Am.  Ed.]).  Oehler  in  his  wori  "-Die  Orundziige der  alttesiam. 
Weisheit,  pp.  5  sq.,  as  well  as  his  follower  Kahnis  [Luiherische  Dogmalik,  i.,  304),  essentially 
agrees  with  the  above  statements.  The  latter  says  excellently,  among  other  things,  "  To  find 
in  the  life  of  nature  and  of  man,  in  the  revelations  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  in  the  whole  world, 
the  divine  '  wherefore,'  the  divine  fitness  to  accomplish  the  proposed  end,  was  the  great  aim  of 
the  wisdom  of  Solomon.  Here  unquestionably  existed  a  tendency  to  science,  to  philosophy. 
But  the  national  life  of  Israel  rested  on  too  divine  a  foundation  to  permit  great  freedom  of  in- 
quiry, and  the  kingdom  of  God  had  too  many  practical  aims  to  favor  a  purely  theoretical  explo- 
ration of  the  objects  of  existence.  Springing  from  the  practical  this  wisdom  sought  to  further 
the  practical,"  etc. 

Note  2. — In  harmony  with  his  above-quoted  definition  of  the  philosophy  of  the  Hebrews,  as 
an  inquiry  into  the  highest  necessary  causes  of  all  that  is  or  that  shall  be,  Bruch  (pp.  69  sq.) 
introduces  the  cosmogony  of  the  first  two  chapters  of  Genesis  into  his  representation  of  the 
philosophy  of  the  Old  Testament.  He  thus  regards  the  substance  of  these  chapters  as  a  portion 
of  a  philosophical  system,  and  indeed  in  its  essential  features  as  the  earliest  instance  of  philo- 
sophical reflection  among  the  Hebrew  race.  (Herder,  as  is  well  known,  held  similar  views. 
In  his  "  Ideen  zur  Philosophie  der  Oeschickte  der  Menschheii "  he  termed  the  Mosaic  cosmogony 
"  an  ancient  philosophy  of  the  history  of  man  ").  This  view  of  Brtjch's  is  connected  with  his 
assumption  of  the  purely  human  and  moreover  half-mythical  character  of  the  Mosaic  narrative. 
It  is  therefore  to  be  decidedly  rejected,  together  with  his  opinion  that  the  Old  Testament 
"wisdom "is  the  product  of  unaided  human  speculation,  and  that  no  divine  or  specifically 
supernatural  factor  is  to  be  recognized  in  the  Old  Testament  revelation  in  general. 

Note  3. The  word  ilDpn  primarily  denotes  (in  accordance  with  the  fundamental  meaning 

of  the  root  DJn,     .^Sv-^-     ^'^  Arabic,  where  it  means  to  fasten,  to  hold  fast,  and  then   to 

separate,  to  decide)  the  fixing  of  an  object  for  cognition,  and  secondarily,  simply  knowledge, 
insight.  It  is  therefore  in  Prov.  i.  2  used  as  precisely  synonymous  with  ^in,  and  elsewhere,  as 
in  Isa.  xi.  2  sq.,  as  at  least  parallel  with  nra.  The  Qjn  is  then  in  the  first  instance  the  wise, 
the  learned  man  in  general  (comp.  Jer.  viii.  9),  whether  he  be  a  judge  (1  Kings  iii.  28  :  comp.  the 
corresponding  Arabic  word  which  always  signifies  a  judge),  or  an  artificer  (Ex.  xxviii.  3 ;  xxxi. 
6  ;  Jer.  x.  9),  or  finally  a  cunning,  subtle  man  who  can  use  his  craft  for  his  own  or  for  others' 
advantage  (Job  v.  13,  comp.  2  Sam.  xiii.  3;  xx.  16).  In  the  religious  realm  HMn  naturally 
denotes  insight  into  that  upright  dealing  which  pleases  God  and  conforms  to  the  divine  law,  a 
knowledge  of  the  right  way  which  is  to  be  followed  before  God,  and  of  tbe  wrong  one  which  is 
to  be  shunned.  In  short  it  is  that  practical  uprightness,  founded  on  religious  enlightenment,  in 
which  the  true  happiness  of  man  consists,  and  which  is  therefore  frequently  represented  by 
n'E?W  (i,  e.  well  being  and  wisdom  in  one),  e.  g.  Prov.  ii.  7 ;  iii.  21 ;  viii.  14 ;  xviii.  1 ;  Job 
xi.  6 ;  xii.  16 ;  xxvi.  3.    Compare  in  general  Hitzig,  Die  Spruche  Salomo's,  Einleitung,  p.  Iii. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVERBS  OP  SOLOMON. 


sq.  The  latter,  however,  gives  a  somewhat  different  and  less  correct  etymology  of  the  word. 
He  defines  DDU  as  one  who  possesses  the  spiritual  power  of  control  and  determination,  and 
riDDn  as  the  power  of  moral  self-subjugation.     He  thus  gives  to  the  notion  of  government  a 

prominence  which  is  by  no  means  justified  by  the  Arabic    j^Slj"-  . 

Note  4. The  Vk'O  or  Hebrew  gnome,  as  the  distinctive  artistic  form  adopted  by  the  Old 

Testament  philosophy  and  proverbial  poetry,  will  be  particularly  discussed  in  a  later  section. 
We  may,  however,  here  observe  that  of  all  the  titles  borrowed  from  kindred  secular  literature, 
and  applied  to  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon  on  account  of  their  peculiar  form,  none  appears  more 
just  and  appropriate  than  that  adopted  by  Beuch,  who  terms  them  (p.  104)  an  Anthology  of 
Hebrew  Gnomes.  In  the  explanation  and  justification  of  this  title  he,  however,  as  he  does 
elsewhere,  disparages  the  theopneustic  character  of  this  Book  of  Scripture. 

g3.     THE   AGE   OF   SOLOMON,    OE   THE    GOLDEN   AGE    OP   THE    HEBBEW   LITEEATUEB    OP   WISDOM. 

As  among  other  nations  philosophy  is  not  wont  to  assume  its  proper  form  till  a  long  time 
after  the  religious  and  civil  foundations  of  national  culture  are  securely  laid,  so  in  Israel  no 
season  of  undisturbed  reflection  and  of  philosophical  inquiry  and  instruction  could  be  enjoyed, 
before  the  protracted  storms  and  conflicts  of  the  period  of  the  Judges  had  fixed  the  religion 
of  the  law  in  the  depths  of  the  popular  consciousness,  or  before  the  reigns  of  Saul  and  Da- 
vid, the  earliest  kings,  had  firmly  established  the  tteocratic  national  life.  The  power  of  ex- 
ternal enemies  must  first  in  some  way  be  broken  and  overthrown,  and  the  prosperity  of  the 
citizen  and  the  political  and  social  infiuence  of  the  nation  upon  the  life  of  the  surrounding 
nations  must  be  to  a  certain  degree  secured ;  but  this  could  not  be  effected  before  the  bril- 
liant and  glorious  though  warlike  reign  of  David.  Furthermore,  as  an  element  of  the  inter- 
nal culture  of  the  nation,  the  spirit  of  the  law  must  have  begun  to  receive  a  new  invigora- 
tion  and  a  fresh  inculcation,  which  it  derived  from  the  schools  of  the  prophets  which  sprung 
up  after  the  time  of  Samuel.  Hand  in  hand  with  the  directly  religious  activity  of  this  pro- 
phetic company  the  national  poetry  must  make  its  earliest  start,  and  create  for  that  philoso- 
phy a  proper  literary  and  aesthetic  form. 

These  conditions  were  not  all  of  them  fully  realized  until  the  time  of  Solomon,  when  the 
people  were  blessed  with  a  long  period  of  peace,  rich  in  earthly  possessions  and  enjoyments  of  all 
sorts ;  they  then  began  a  lively  and  widely  extended  intercourse  with  foreign  nations,  and  with  an 
extending  view  reaching  even  to  Tarshish  and  Ophir,  their  thought  and  their  activity  received  the 
most  various  impulses  in  a  direction  which  was  no  longer  narrow  and  strictly  national,  but  more 
or  less  universal  and  as  broad  as  humanity  itself.*  There  was  therefore  associated  with  the  priests, 
the  prophets,  the  warriors,  the  judges,  a  new  class  of  notables,  that  of  the  Hhakamim  (D'D^n,  1 
Kings  iv.  30,  31 ;  Jer.  xviii.  18  ;  Prov.  i.  6 ;  xiii.  20 ;  xxii.  17),  the  wise,  or  the  teachers  of  wisdom, 
who  began  to  bear  their  part  in  the  whole  work  of  training  the  nation.  A  pretty  large  number 
of  such  wise  men,  of  considerable  importance,  must  have  appeared  under  Solomon,  and  have  been 
associated  with  him  as  the  most  famous  of  all.  For  the  books  of  the  Kings  mention  besides  him 
someof  his  contemporaries,  TOz..-  "Ethan,  the  Bzrahite,  and  Heman,  Chalcol  and  Darda,  the  sons 
of  Mahol,"  as  representatives  of  the  wisdom  of  that  time  (1  Kings  iv.  31 ;  oomp.  1  Chron.  ii.  6), 
and  compare  the  wisdom  of  these  Hebrew  Hhakamim  with  that  of  all  the  children  of  the  East  coun- 
try, and  all  the  wisdom  of  Egypt "  (1  Kings  iv.  30).     Whether  they  did  or  did  not  form  a  well  de- 

*  ["That  stately  and  melancholy  figure  (Solomon's) — in  some  respects  the  grandest  and  the  saddest  in  the  sacred  vo- 
lume— is,  in  detail,  little  more  than  a  mighty  shadow.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  of  his  age,  of  his  court,  of  his  works,  wo 
know  more  than  of  any  other."  (Stanley,  Jewish  Church,  II.,  184).  And  the  accomplished  author  goes  on  to  indicate  the 
multiplying  points  of  contact  with  the  outer  and  the  later  world,  and  with  secular  history ;  and  adds  (p.  186) :  "To  have  had 
many  such  characters  in  the  Biblical  History  would  have  brought  it  down  too  nearly  to  the  ordinary  level.  But  to  have 
one  such  is  necessary,  to  show  that  the  interest  which  we  inevitably  feel  in  such  events  and  such  men  has  a  place  in  the 
designs  of  Providence,  and  in  the  lessons  of  Revelation."  See  also  pp.  252  sq. — Prof.  B.  B.  Edwards  (Writings,  etc.,  II.,  402), 
speaking  of  the  fitness  of  the  age  to  develop  this  species  of  poetry,  says:  "It  was  the  period  of  peace,  extended  commerco, 
art,  reflection,  when  the  poet  could  gather  up  the  experiences  of  the  past,  and  embody  them  in  pithy  sayings,  sharp 
apothegms,  instructive  allegories,  or  spread  them  out  in  a  kind  of  philosophical  disquisition." — A.] 


g  3.  THE  AGE  OF  SOLOMON. 


fined,  exclusive  class  of  popular  teachers  gathered  about  some  leader  or  master,  whether  there  were 
thus  special  schools  for  the  wise,  or  the  schools  of  the  prophets  were  also  chief  places  of  culture  for 
the  disciples  of  the  Hhokmah,  these  Hhakamim  of  the  age  of  Solomon  and  of  subsequent  ages  must 
be  considered  a  very  important  factor  in  the  limited  mental  development  of  the  people,  and  as  a 
factor  possessing,  like  the  prophetic  and  the  priestly  order,  an  independent  importance  (comp.  Jer. 
xviii.  18 ;  Ez.  vii.  26).  They  had  doubtless  offered  a  vigorous  resistance  to  those  frivolous  im- 
pulses of  the  CVi?.  the  freethinkers  and  insolent  scoffers,  that  had  manifested  themselves  since  the 
times  of  Saul  and  of  David.  Their  positive  agency  was  exerted  in  the  propagation  and  dissemina- 
tion of  that  deeper  religious  knowledge  and  practical  wisdom  of  life,  beside  which  all  worldly  pru- 
dence, fine  culture  and  enlightenment  must  appear  as  foolishness  (comp.  731  Tn^i,  ^'^^^h  «^c.; 
Prov.  xiii.  20  ;  xvii.  21 ;  Ps,  xiv.  1 ;  Is.  xxxii.  6).  The  first  decided  manifestation  of  this  new  in- 
tellectual tendency,  together  with  the  literature  produced  by  it  under  Solomon's  peaceful  reign, 
marks  this  bright  summit  of  the  entire  theocratic  development  in  the  Old  Testament  as  the  golden 
age  and  the  really  classic  epoch  of  this  especially  important  branch  of  the  intellectual  culture  in  the 
life  of  the  covenant  people. 

Note  1. — The  independent  significance  of  the  HDOn  as  a  special  tendency  of  the  mind,  exerting 
with  the  nx-lDJ,  or  the  gift  of  prophecy,  an  important  influence  has  been  recently  estimated  with 
special  correctness  by  Ewald.  In  his  dissertation  "  on  the  popular  and  intellectual  freedom  of 
Israel  in  the  time  of  the  great  prophets  down  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  "  (Bibl.  Jahrbiicher, 
I.,  96  sq.),  he  says,  among  other  things,  "  It  is  not  easy  to  conceive  correctly  how  high  a  development 
was  reached  in  the  pursuit  of  wisdom  (Philosophy)  in  the  first  centuries  after  David — and  it  is  not 
usual  to  consider  how  mighty  was  the  influence  which  it  exerted  on  the  entire  development  of  the 
national  life  of  Israel.  The  more  closely  those  centuries  are  reviewed,,  the  greater  must  be  the  as- 
tonishment at  the  vast  power  so  early  exerted  on  all  sides  by  wisdom  as  the  peculiar  concern  of 
many  men  among  the  people.  It  first  openly  manifested  itself  in  especial  circles  of  the  nation, 
whilst  in  the  peculiarly  propitious  age  after  Solomon  eager  and  inquisitive  pupils  gathered  about 
individual  teachers  until  ever-improving  schools  were  thus  formed.  But  its  influence  gradually 
pervaded  all  the  other  pursuits  of  the  people,  and  acted  upon  the  most  diverse  branches  of  author- 
ship.'' The  existence  of  especial  schools  of  the  wise,  like  those  of  the  Prophets,  thus  asserted,  can- 
not be  satisfactorily  proved.  Delitzsch's  remark  in  favor  of  this  assumption  [ut  supra,  p.  717), 
that  the  usual  form  of  address  in  the  Proverbs,  'J?,  my  son,  which  is  not  that  of  a  father  to  a  son, 
but  of  a  teacher  to  a  scholar,  implies  that  there  were  then  nran  \:3,  i.  e.,  pupils  of  the  wise,  just 
as  there  were  "  sons  of  the  prophets,"  and  that  there  must  also  have  been  "schools  of  wisdom,"  is 
and  must  remain  a  mere  hypothesis.  It  is  moreover  an  hypothesis,  which  from  the  acknowledged 
wide  apphoation  of  the  conception  [a,  son,  in  Hebrew,  and  its  almost  absolute  lack  of  all  support 
in  the  Proverbs  as  well  as  in  the  other  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  must  always  be  regarded  as  a 
rather  unsafe  one.  Comp.  Beuch,  pp.  57  sq.,  who  is  at  all  events  so  far  correct  that  he  observes : 
"The  Hebrew  wise  men  were  not  philosophers  by  profession;  they  constituted  no  class  distinct 
from  others,  but  might  belong  to  different  classes."  For  there  is  the  less  reason  for  supposing  from 
the  above  cited  passage  (Jer.  xviii.  18)  that  there  was  a  special  class  of  Hhakamim,  beside  that  of 
the  priests  and  the  prophets,  from  the  fact  that  in  the  parallel  passage,  Ez.  vii.  26,  the  notion  of 
"the  wise"  is  represented  by  that  of  "the  ancient,"  D^Jp.!- 

Note  2.— The  antithesis  between  fl  and  U2T\  which  runs  through  the  entire  body  of  Old  Tes- 
tament literature  pertaining  to  wisdom  has  been  discussed  in  an  eminently  instructive  manner  by 
Pelitzsch,  ul  supra,  pp.  713  sq.  He  shows  very  strikingly  how  "  in  the  age  of  Solomon,  which 
was  peculiarly  exposed  to  the  danger  of  sensuality  and  worldliness,  to  religious  indifference  and 
freethinking  latitudinarianism,"  the  number  of  D'X^  necessarily  increased,  and  their  skepticism 
and  mockery  must  have  assumed  a  more  decided  and  aggravated  form.  "  For  those  men  who  de- 
spised what  is  holy,  and  in  doing  so  laid  claim  to  wisdom  (Prov.  xiv.  6),  who,  when  permitted  to 
speak,  indulged  in  contention  and  bitterness  (xxii.  10),  who  earefuUy  shunned  the  company  of  the 
Hhakamim,  because  they  fancied  themselves  superior  to  their  reproofs  (xv.  12),  the  age  of  Solo- 


10  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVJEKBS  OF  SOLOMON. 

mon,"  he  says,  "  first  invented  the  title  yh  [scorner].  For  in  the  Psalms  of  the  time  of  David  theit 
common  designation  is  Sa:  (which  occurs  in  Prov.  xvii.  21  only  in  the  general  sense  of  low  fellow, 
Germ.  Bube  [Eng. '  Booby.'  It  occurs  also  in  Prov.  xvii.  7,  and  xxx.  22,  and  the  corresponding 
verb  in  xxx.  32— E.  P.  D.],  while  the  word  x'l  is  found  in  no  other  than  the  1st  Psalm,  which  has 
a  later  origin.  One  of  the  proverbs  of  Solomon  (xxi.  24,  comp.  xxiv.  8)  gives  a  definition  of  the  new 
term ;  "Proud  and  haughty  scorner  (fl?)  is  his  name  who  dealeth  in  proud  wrath."  The  conscious 
self-sufficiency  of  his  ungodly  thoughts  and  deeds  distinguishes  him  from  the  'n^,  the  simple,  who 
has  been  only  misled,  and  may  therefore  be  reclaimed  (Prov.  xix.  25 ;  xxi.  11).  His  disowning 
the  Holy,  in  opposition  to  a  better  knowledge  and  better  opportunities,  distinguishes  him  from  the 
Vd3  ["  foolish,"  i  e.,  gross  or  stupid],  the  V).X  ["  foolish,"  i.  e.,  lax  or  remiss],  and  the  37— IDq  [the 
man  "  void  of  understanding,"  lit.,  lacking  heart,  i.  e.,  sense],  all  of  whom  despise  truth  and  in- 
struction through  want  of  understanding,  narrowness  and  forgetfulness  of  God,  rather  than  from 
essential  perverseness." 

Note  3. — Of  the  four  wise  contemporaries  of  Solomon  mentioned  in  1  Kings  v.  11  (iv.  31  accord- 
ing to  the  older  division  of  chapters  [the  one  followed  in  our  English  Bible])  Heman  and  Ethan 
appear  in  Ps.  Ixxxviii.  1  and  Ixxxix.  1  as  "  Ezrahites,"  i.  e.,  descendants  of  Ezrah  or  Zerah,  the  son 
of  Judah  (Num.  xxvi.  13,  20).  Chalcol  and  Darda  (in  the  parallel  passage,  1  Chron.  ii.  6,  Dara) 
are  designated  as  Vina  '':3,  i.  e.,  either  "sons  of  Maohal,"  a  man  otherwise  unknown,  or  if  Vina 
be  taken  as  an  appellative,  "  sons  of  verse,"  i.  t.,  singers,  leaders  of  the  chorus  (comp.  Eccl.  xii.  4). 
Luther's  translation,  "  poets,"  and  his  reference  of  the  title  to  all  the  four,  are  unsupported  by 
the  original.     Comp.  Keil,  Commentar  zu  den  Buchern  der  K6nige,.^'p.  42  sq. 

I  4.   SOLOMON  AND  THE  POBTEY  OP  WISDOM  WHICH  MAY  BE  CALLED  SOLOMON's  IN  THE  STEICTESl 

SENSE. 

As  the  chief  representative  and  promoter  of  the  Jewish  literature  of  wisdom,  we  have  Solomon 
himself  ["not  only  the  AuausTOs  of  his  age,  but  its  Aeistotle"  (Stanley)].  The  Old  Testa- 
ment exalts  the  wisdom  of  this  monarch,  as  a  direct  gift  of  Divine  grace  *  (1  Kings  iii.  5-12 ; 
iv.  29),  high  above  that  of  all  other  wise  men,  whether  of  his  own  or  of  other  nations, — especially 
above  that  of  the  teachers  of  wisdom  already  named,  Heman,  Ethan,  Chalcol  and  Darda  (1  Kings 
iv.  30,  31).  This  is  described  as  consisting,  in  the  first  place,  in  the  highest  virtues  of  the  ruler  and 
the  judge,  or,  as  it  is  expressed  in  1  Kings  iii.  9,  in  "an  understanding  heart  to  judge  thy  people, 
that  I  may  discern  between  good  and  bad ;"  and  in  the  second  place,  in  an  unusually  wide  and 
varied  knowledge  as  the  basis  of  his  teaching,  which  related  to  all  the  possible  relations  of  created 
existence.     [Comp.  Stanley's  Jewish  Church,  II.,  pp.  254  sq.] 

It  is  this  vast  erudition  which  is  referred  to  in  the  expression  "  largeness  of  heart  f  (37  3n'i)  even 
as  the  sand  that  is  on  the  sea  shore,"  which,  with  the  words ""  wisdom  and  understanding  exceeding 
much,"  is  used  in  1  Kings  iv.  29  to  describe  his  extraordinary  endowments.  With  the  same  intent 
it  is  said  of  him,  ver.  33,  that  "  he  spake  of  trees,  from  the  cedar  tree  that  is  in  Lebanon  even  unto 
thehyioop  that  springeth  out  of  the  wall ;  he  spake  also  of  beasts,  and  of  fowl  and  of  creeping  things 
and  of  fishes."  Among  these  discourses  of  his  upon  all  possible  manifestations  of  life  in  nature  are 
doubtless  meant  wise  sayings  in  reference  to  their  deeper  sense,  and  the  Divine  majesty  and  wisdom 
reflected  in  them,  physico-theological  observations  and  descriptions,  therefore,  sach,  for  example,  as 
still  present  themselves  to  us  in  the  concluding  chapters  of  the  Book  of  Job  (chaps,  xxxviii. — xli.), 
and  in  several  of  the  sublimest  Psalms  (viii.;  ix.;  civ.,  etc.) ;  or  shorter  aphorisms,  parabolic  reflec- 

•  ["  He  showed  his  wisdom  by  asking  for  wisdom.  He  became  wise  because  he  had  set  his  heart  upon  it.  This  was  to 
him  the  special  aspect  through  which  the  Divine  Spirit  was  to  be  approached,  and  grasped,  and  made  to  bear  on  the  -wants 
of  men;  not  the  highest,  not  the  choice  of  David,  net  the  choice  of  Isaiah  ;  but  still  the  choice  of  Solomon.  '  He  awoke, 
and  behold,  it  was  a  dream.'  But  the  fuifllment  of  it  belonged  to  actual  life."  Dein  Sianiet,  HisUyry  of  the  JewiaK 
Church,  II.,  195.— A.] 

f  Luther's  translation,  *^getrostes  Herz"  [a  comforted,  then  a  courageous  or  confident  heart],  must  be  rejected  as  cott. 
trary  to  the  sense  of  the  original.  Comp.  Keil  in  loc,  who  correctly  explains  "largeness  of  heart"  as  "  comproheusiT* 
uuderstandiog,"  "  intellectual  capacity  to  grasp  the  widest  realms  of  knowledge." 


?  4.  SOLOMON  AND  THE  POETRY  OF  WISDOM.  11 

tions  and  pointed  sentences,  such  as  are  quite  numerous  in  the  Proverbs  and  in  Ecclesiastes  (e.  g., 
Prov.  vi.  6-8 ;  xx.  1  sq.;  xx vi.  1  sq. ;  xxvii.  3  sq.;  xxx.  15  sq.;  comp.  Eocles.  i.  5  sq.;  vii.  1  sq.;  x.  1  sq.; 
xii.  1  sq.).  It  la  the  manifold  materials  and  themes  of  both  the  lyrical  and  the  didactic  poetry  of 
Solomon  (or,  according  to  1  Kings  iv.  32,  his  "  Proverbs"  and  "Songs"),  which  in  that  noteworthy 
passage  are  mentioned  as  proofs  of  the  unusual  extent  of  his  knowledge,  this  theoretical  foundation 
of  his  wisdom,  or  are  pointed  out  by  the  prominence  given  to  a  few  noted  examples  from  th,e  vegeta- 
ble and  the  animal  world.  Josephus  indeed  rightly  understood  the  passage  as  a  whole,  when  he 
found  that  it  ascribed  to  Solomon  a  comprehensive  knowledge  and  a  profound  philosophical  view  of 
natural  objects  (.4?!^^.,  VIII.,  2,  5  :  ovdsfiiav  tovtuv  (fiu^iv  T/yvdijasv  ovde  TrQ.p7/?<,i^ei^  avE^haarov  aXX  kv 
naaaiq  eiptXaaofr/aev  [he  was  not  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  any  of  these  things,  nor  did  he  pass  them 
by  unexamined,  but  he  philosophized  concerning  them  all].  A  similar  correct  estimate  of  the  na- 
ture and  extent  of  the  philosophical  knowledge  of  this  great  monarch  is  found  in  Iken^us  [Adv. 
haer.,  IV.,  27, 1),  who,  on  the  authority  of  the  same  passage  says  of  Solomon,  "  ea7n  qua  esi'in  con- 
dilione  (i.  e.,  Kriaet)  sapientiam  Dei  exponebat  physiologice."  He  thus  in  like  manner  ascribes  to 
him  not  perhaps  a  purely  descriptive  or  historical  knowledge  of  natural  objects,  but  a  knowledge 
of  nature  serving  as  a  basis  for  fine  religious  and  philosophical  observations  and  ethical  instructions 
in  wisdom. 

Many  of  the  fruits  of  this  learned  pursuit  of  wisdom  must  have  had  a  literary  character. 
According  to  1  Kings  iv.  32  "he  spake  three  thousand  proverbs,  and  bis  songs  were  a  thou- 
sand and  five."  Not  only  then  had  he  inherited  from  his  father  David,  in  undiminished  fer- 
tility, the  power  of  composing  songs,  the  gift  of  both  sacred  and  secular  lyrical  verse,  but  he 
also  originated  and  established  a  new  species  of  Hebrew  poetic  art,  that  of  gnomic  didactic 
poetry,  of  which  before  his  time  there  had  existed  but  mere  germs,  imperfect  attempts  com- 
pletely eclipsed  by  his  achievements.  Proportionably  few  specimens  of  either  class  of  his 
poetical  productions  have  come  down  to  us.  Instead  of  one  thousand  and  five  songs  we  have 
in  the  Canon  but  two  Psalms,  which  bear  his  name,  the  72d  and  the  127th.  The  exclusion 
of  so  large  a  number  of  his  lyrics  from  the  collection  of  the  religious  verse  of  his  nation  may 
have  been  occasioned  either  by  their  lack  of  a  directly  religious  character,  or  by  their  too  in- 
dividual bearing.  In  reference  to  another  monument  of  the  lyrical  poetry  associated  with  the 
name  of  Solomon,  the  Canticles,  it  is  still  an  undecided  and  controverted  question  whether 
Solomon  was  the  proper  and  immediate  author  of  it,  or  rather  some  contemporary  poet  who 
chose  him  as  its  subject  (see  J  5). 

The  remains  of  his  gnomic  didactic  poetry,  as  they  are  presented  in  the  Proverbs,  are  much 
more  numerous.  Even  this  collection,  however,  contains  not  more,  perhaps,  than  one  quarter 
of  those  3,000  sayings  which  Solomon  uttered ;  inasmuch  as  several  parts  of  the  book  are  by 
their  titles  expressly  ascribed  to  other  authors,  and  of  the  remaining  746  verses  hardly  the 
whole  can  be  directly  ascribed  to  him  (see  ?  12).  It  will  always  be  uncertain  whether  those 
3,000  proverbs  of  which  it  is  expressly  said  that  he  "  spake  "  them,  were  all  actually  recorded 
by  him  or  one  of  his  contemporaries,  or  whether  many  of  them,  as  matters  of  merely  oral 
tradition,  were  not  gradually  lost. 

•  That  in  general  he  spoke  more  than  he  wrote,  so  that  the  greater  part  of  the  utterances  of 
his  wisdom  consisted  in  pithy  maxims  and  acute  sayings,  like  the  riddles  of  the  modern  Ori- 
entals, maybe  pretty  safely  inferred  from  the  statement,  that  "there  came  of  all  people  to 
hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon,  from  all  kings  of  the  earth,  which  had  heard  of  his  wisdom  "  (1  Kings 
iv.  34).  The  same  inference  may  be  drawn  partly  from  the  Scripture  narrative,  and  partly  from 
the  old  Jewish  tradition  preserved  by  Josephus  in  reference  to  the  Queen  of  Sheba's  visit  to  his 
court  (1  Kings  x.  1  sq.),  as  well  as  from  the  account  of  his  contest  with  King  Hiram,  and  with 
the  Tyrian  Abdemon,  in  the  proposing  of  ingenious  riddles.  (Josephus,  Anil.  VIII.,  5,  3). 
.  Note  1. — Besides  songs  (D'T'?),  gnomes  or  maxims  (D'Wd),  and  riddles  (niTIl),  Hitzig, 
ut  supra,  p.  xvi.,  ascribes  fables  to  Solomon.  "  The  discourse  concerning  beasts,  trees,  fowl,  etc., 
ascribed  to  him  (in  1  Kings  iv.  33),"  he  thinks,  "  cannot  be  properly  referred  to  the  substance 
of  his  maxims,  but  is  most  naturally  understood  of  his  invention  of  fables."  This  is  a  rather  ar- 
bitrary conceit  of  HiTZia's,  which  he  unsuccessfully  tries  to  sustain  by  the  hypothesis  which  he 


12  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


throws  in,  that  "  perhaps  in  the  :i"?<,  1  Kings  iv.  33  (hyssop),  the  name  of  ^aop  lies  concealed  " 
{AlaGiTTog^vaaoinoc  ?  ?).  Notwithstanding  the  contrary  assertion  of  Hebdeb,  in  his  well-known 
work,  "The  Spirit  of  Hebrew  Poetry"  (II.,  p.  13),  the  Old  Testament  offers  no  example  of  a 
proper  fable.  The  story  of  the  bramble  invited  by  the  trees  to  be  their  king  (Judg.  ix.  8-15)  is 
in  its  whole  plan  and  tendency  much  more  of  a  parable  than  a  fable. 

Note  2.— According  to  Oriental  traditions  in  reference  to  Solomon  and  the  Queen  of  Sheba, 
her  name  was  Balkis  or  Belkis ;  she  became  Solomon's  concubine,  or  his  actual  wife  (the  first  is 
asserted  by  the  Himyaritic  Arabs,  the  latter  by  the  ^Ethiopians)  ;  she  bore  him  a  son,  Menile- 
hek,  with  the  surname  Ibn-el-hagim,  son  of  the  wise ;  she  first  brought  to  Palestine  the 
root  of  the  genuine  balsam,  afterwards  cultivated  at  Jericho  and  near  Engedi  (comp.  1  Kings 
X.  10,  and  in  addition  Josephtts,  Antt.  VIII.  6,  6),  etc.  Legends  of  this  sort,  invented  especially 
by  the  Rabbis  to  heighten  the  kingly  glory  and  wisdom  of  Solomon,  and  found  some  of  them  in 
Josephtts  {ut  supra),  others  in  the  Talmud  (e.  g.  Jalkub  Melachim,  p.  195),  others  in  the  Koran 
(Sura  27),  others  in  later  Arabic,  jEthiopic  and  Persian  documents,  abound  in  the  comprehei'  3ive 
Turkish  work  Suleiman  name,  i.  e.  the  Book  of  Solomon,  which,  according  to  VoN  Hammeb, 
consists  of  70  folio  volumes.  Comp.  Von  Hammeb  "  Rosenol,  or  Oriental  Legends  and  Tradi- 
tions from  Arabic,  Persian  and  Turkish  sources,"  Vol.  I.,  pp.  147-257.  See  also  H.  Ludolf, 
Hist.  ^Ihiop.,  II.,  e.  3,  4 :  Pocooke,  Specimen  hist.  Arab,,  p.  60 ;  Caussin  db  Perceval,  Essai 
sur  I'histoire  des  Arabes,  I.,  pp.  76  sq.;  and  P.  Cassbl,  Magabal,  in  the  Elberfeld . "  Fortra^e 
f.  d.  gebildete  Fublihum,"  1864,  p.  182. 

Note  3. — [The  question  of  Solomon's  moral  qualification  to  be  the  author  of  some  of  the 
books  contained  in  the  canon  of  the  Scriptures  has  sometimes  perplexed  honest  disciples,  and 
been  made  a  specious  argument  in  the  mouths  of  cavillers.  The  point  is  well  put  and  the  an- 
swer well  given  by  Aenot,  Laws  from  Heaven  for  Life  on  Earth,  pp.  11-13.  "  The  choice  of 
Solomon  as  one  of  the  writers  of  the  Bible  at  first  sight  startles,  but  on  deeper  study  instructs. 
We  would  have  expected  a  man  of  more  exemplary  life — a  man  of  uniform  holiness.  It  is 
certain  that,  in  the  main,  the  vessels  which  the  Spirit  used  were  sanctified  vessels  :  '  Holy  men 
of  old  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.'  ....  But  the  diversity  in  all  its  extent,i8 
like  all  the  other  ways  of  God ;  and  He  knows  how  to  make  either  extreme  fall  into  its  place  in 
the  concert  of  His  praise.     He  who  made  Saul  an  apostle  did  not  disdain  to  use  Solomon  as  a 

prophet If  all  the  writers  of  the  Bible  had  been  perfect  in  holiness, — if  no  stain  of  sin 

could  be  traced  on  their  character,  no  error  noted  in  their  life,  it  is  certain  that  the  Bible  would 
not  have  served  all  the  purposes  which  it  now  serves  among  men.  It  would  have  been  Godlike 
indeed  in  matter  and  mould,  but  it  would  not  have  reached  down  to  the  low  estate  of  man — it 
would  not  have  penetrated  to  the  sores  of  a  human  heart Practical  lessons  on  some  sub- 
jects come  better  through  the  heart  and  lips  of  the  weary,  repentant  king  than  through  a  man 

who  had  tasted  fewer  pleasures,  and  led  a  more  even  life Here  is  a  marvel ;  not  a  line  of 

Solomon's  writings  tends  to  palliate  Solomon's  sins The  glaring  imperfections  of  the  man's 

life  have  been  used  as  a  dark  ground  to  set  off  the  lustre  of  that  pure  righteousness  which  the 
Spirit  has  spoken  by  his  lips." — A.] 

g  5.   THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON  IN  ITS  BBLATION  TO  THE  LITEEATDEB  OF  WISDOM  ASSOCIATED  WITH 

SOLOMON.* 

The  opinion  that  the  Song  of  Solomon  is  not  only  a  production  of  the  age  of  Solomon,  but 
most  probably  the  work  of  Solomon  himself,  is  favored  both  by  its  numerous  allusions  to  the 
personal  and  historical  relations  of  this  king  (e.  g.  iii.  2;  iv.  4 ;  vi.  8 ;  vii.  5;  viii.  11),  and  by 
its  general  aesthetic  character,  its  lively  conception  of  nature.  Thus  it  manifests  a  decided  pre- 
ference for  comparisons  with  natural  objects  of  all  sorts,  especially  with  such  as  are  distinguished 

*[While  there  must  be  conceded  to  be  weight  in  the  objections  urged  by  laAiO  Taylob  (chap.  iii.  of  his  "  Spirit  of 
Helrrew  Poetry")  to  the  recognition  of  a  proper  drdma  in  the  Scriptures,  wo  cannot  agree  with  him  that  it  is  only  with  "a 
very  forced  meaning  "  that  such  books  as  Job  and  Solomon's  Song  can  be  caUed  dramatic.  There  is,  on  the  other  hand, 
need  to  guard  against  the  fondness  of  some  for  assimilating  the  Scriptures  in  their  descriptive  terms  to  secular  litera- 
ture; is  there  not  in  the  other  direction  such  an  error  as  hyper-iastidiousnesa  ? — ^A.] 


?  5.  RELATION  TO  THE  LITERATURE  OF  WISDOM.  18 

either  by  their  beauty  or  their  variety  ;  it  refers  not  only  to  numerous  important  places  of  both 
Northern  and  Southern  Palestine,  but  also  to  regions,  cities  and  persons  beyond  the  limits  of 
Palestine  (e.  g.  Kedar,  Damascus,  Pharaoh,  etc.).  Had  it  been  composed  merely  with  reference 
to  Solomon,  it  would  not  have  been  ascribed  to  this  monarch  either  in  the  title  of  the  Masoretio 
text,  or  by  the  unanimous  tradition  of  Jewish  antiquity.  It  is  manifestly  a  product  of  that 
extremely  rich  and  fruitful  poetical  activity  of  Solomon,  described  in  1  Kings  iv.  32,  S3.  In 
virtue  of  its  erotic  contents  it  belongs  essentially  to  that  division  of  his  poetry  which  is  there 
(indicated  by  the  mention  of  the  songs  which  were  a  thousand  and  five,  and  thus  to  the  lyrical 
class,  whose  characteristic  features  must  be  recognized  in  it,  though  with  Umbeeit,  Ewald, 
Dblitzsch  and  others,  we  regard  it  as  a  dramatic  composition.  For  even  though  this  pre-emi- 
nently probable  view  of  its  artistic  form  be  adopted, — a  view  which  alone  offers  a  thoroi:\gh  and 
generally  satisfactory  refutation  of  the  recently  somewhat  popular  theory,  which  divides  the 
entire  composition  into  a  simple  cycle  of  "  love  songs," — the  essentially  lyrical  and  erotic 
character  of  its  separate  parfs  is  ever  unmistakable ;  so  that  the  name  of  a  drama  in  the  nar- 
rower and  stricter  sense  of  the  word  is  not  on  the  whole  applicable  to  it,  but  rather  only  that 
of  a  "lyrical  drama"  (Bottchee),  a  garland  of  erotic  songs  joined  in  dramatic  unity  (Db- 
litzsch). But  notwithstanding  this  its  lyrio  and  dramatic,  or  perhaps  even  melo-dramatio 
form,  and  notwithstanding  its  somewhat  wide  deviation  from  the  Maschal  form  of  the  Proverbs, 
there  exists  between  its  fundamental  idea  and  that  of  the  strictly  didactic  or  aphoristic  poetry 
of  Solomon  a  significant  inner  connection.  The  Song  of  Solomon  must  undoubtedly  be 
classed  with  the  Hhokmah  poetry  in  its  wider  sense,  because  its  fundamental  idea  when 
rightly  viewed,  must  be  admitted  to  belong  to  the  circle  of  those  ethical  ideas  which  form 
the  chief  and  the  favorite  subjects  of  Solomon's  doctrine  of  wisdom.  This  fundamental  idea 
consists  in  the  exaltation  of  conjugal  love  and  faithfulness  as  the  most  excellent  and  sure 
foundation  of  earthly  prosperity,  as  a  moral  force  in  life  triumphing  over  all  the  misery 
and  mischief  of  this  earth  and  even  death  itself.  This  fundamental  idea  is  prominent  in 
passages  like  chap.  vii.  7,  8,  and  viii.  6-8,  which  are  closely  related  to  expressions  like  those 
found  in  Prov.  v.  18,  19 ;  xviii.  22 ;  xix.  14 ;  xxxi.  10  sq.  This  must  be  admitted  to  be  ths 
chief  topic  in  the  poem  and  the  central  point  in  its  descriptions,  whether  we  assume,  with 
EwALD  and  others,  that  the  design  is  to  celebrate  the  changeless  constancy  and  innocence 
of  the  Shulamite,  that  was  proof  against  all  the  flatteries  and  artful  temptations  of  the 
luxurious  Solomon,  or  with  Delitzsch,  that  the  work  belongs  to  an  earlier  period  in  the 
life  of  that  king,  before  he  had  sunk  into  the  foul  depths  of  polygamy  and  idolatry,  and  that 
consequently  it  refers  to  his  chaste  relations  to  a  single  wife.  It  is  evident  that  the  latter 
view  is  more  harmonious  with  the  opinion  which,  on  both  internal  and  external  grounds, 
asserts  the  authorship  of  Solomon,  than  is  that  of  Ewald,  or  than  the  interpretation  most 
nearly  related  to  it  adopted  by  Hug,  Bottohee  and  the  author  of  this  general  commentary ; 
it  also  favors  equally,  if  not  still  better,  the  recognition  of  a  secondary  or  a  mystical  reference 
of  the  poem  to  the  Messiah.  For  as  a  representation  of  the  rapturous  joy  and  bliss  arising 
from  the  conjugal  relation  between  Solomon,  the  prince  of  peace,  and  his  beloved  Shulamite, 
the  poem  admits  of  innumerable  typical  and  prophetic  applications  to  Christ  and  His  Church. 
And  these  applications  render  superfluous  all  other  expositions  of  its  Christological  contents, 
such  as  have  resorted  to  various  allegorizing  expedients,  from  the  earliest  periods  of  the  Churcli 
down  to  the  time  of  H.  A.  Hahn  and  Hengstenberq  [with  whom  must  be  reckoned  as 
in  general  sympathy  a  considerable  number  of  British  and  American  expositors,  among  the 
most  conspicuous  and  emphatic  of  whom  is  Bishop  Woedswoeth].  The  mystery  of  the  Song 
of  Solomon  is  that  of  the  marriage  relation,  and  therefore  the  poem  not  only  admits  of  that 
somewhat  general  Messianic  sense  which  belongs  to  every  poetical  celebration  of  bridal  love 
and  conjugal  faithfulness  within  the  range  of  the  Scriptures  (comp.  Eph.  v.  32),  but  also 
appears  as  a  Messianic  prophecy  of  a  specific  typical  significance,  as  a  prediction  in  which  the 
marriage  of  a  theocratic  king  of  Israel  is  described  as  an  especially  suggestive  analogue  and  type 
of  the  relation  of  Christ  to  the  Church  of  the  New  Testament.  In  this  aspect  it  closely  resem- 
bles the  45th  Psalm,  which  likewise  celebrates  an  Old  Testament  royal  marriage  as  a  type  of  the 
New  Testament  covenant  relation  between  Christ  and  His  Church ;  this  Psalm,  however,  pro- 


14  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVERBS  OP  SOLOMON. 


bably  refers  to  a  later  prince  than  Solomon,  and  both  by  this  its  origin,  in  a  period  after  Solomon, 
and  by  the  unmistakable  decrease,  in  its  delineations,  of  the  favorite  ideas  and  characteristio 
imagery  of  Solomon's  poetry,  it  shows  that  it  must  have  sprung  from  another  sphere  of  spiritual 
culture  and  production  than  that  of  the  classic  Hhokmah  literature  of  the  earlier  age. 

[All  comment  on  this  view  of  Solomon's  Song,  together  with  all  comparative  and  supplemen- 
tary presentation  of  views  that  have  been  held  in  Great  Britain  and  America,  is  deferred  to  the 
Introduction  and  Bxegetical  notes  connected  with  our  author's  companion  Commentary  on  the 
Book,  which  is  contained  in  the  present  series  and  will  be  found  translated  in  the  present  vol- 
ume]. 

Note. — In  these  hints  with  reference  to  the  relation  in  which  the  Song  of  Solomon  stands  to 
the  literature  of  wisdom  which  bears  his  name,  we  have  mainly  followed  Delitzsch.  In  his 
"  Vntersuchung  und  Auslegung  des  Sohenliedes,"  1851,  p.  171,  he  does  not  hesitate  to  designate 
it  as  "  a  production  of  the  Hhokmah," — a  species  of  literature  cultivated  and  employed  by  Solo- 
mon with  conspicuous  skill.  This  he  does  in  virtue  of  the  broadly  human  and  ethical  character 
of  the  idea  of  conjugal  love  and  union  which  forms  its  chief  theme.  "  For,"  he  adds,  arguing 
pertinently  in  support  of  his  view,  "  the  Hhokmah  of  the  age  of  Solomon  is  devoted  to  the  ex- 
position of  those  creative  ordinances  of  the  Cosmos,  which  have  a  broader  range  than  the  national 
limits  of  Israel,  and  of  the  universal  axioms  of  religion  and  morality.  The  poetry  of  the 
Hhokmah  is  therefore  didactic;  and  both  proverbial  poetry  and  drama  were  developed  by  it." 

Delitzsch's  view  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  and  of  its  ethical  and  theological  value,  is 
in  general  more  interesting  and  in  all  respects  more  satisfactory  than  any  other  modern  one;  it 
is  also  preferable  to  that  of  the  respected  founder  of  this  general  Commentary,  who,  on  p.  36 
[Am.  Ed.]  of  the  General  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament,  expresses  the  view  "  that  the 
poem  doubtless  sprung  from  the  theoretic  indignation  provoked  by  the  anticipated  allowance 
of  religious  freedom  by  Solomon,  his  polygamy  implicating  him  with  heathenism."  The  fun- 
damental idea  is  therefore  held  to  be  that  "  the  Virgin  of  Israel,  or  the  theocracy,  refuses 
to  be  numbered  with  the  heathen  wives,  or  religions,  as  the  favorite  of  Solomon,  but  turns 
to  her  true  betrothed,  the  still  remote  Messiah," 

We  cannot  adopt  this  view,  chiefly  because  the  arguments  for  the  genuineness  of  the  poem 
or  the  authorship  of  Solomon,  seem  to  us  to  outweigh  all  that  lie  against  it.  As  little,  and 
indeed  still  less,  can  we  approve  the  two  conceptions  most  nearly  related  to  this  of  Lange. 
That  of  Hug  ("Das  Hoheliedin  einer  noch  unversuchten  Deutungi"  1813)  refers  the  poem  to 
the  time  of  Hezekiah,  and  considers  it  as  a  symbolical  expression  of  the  desire  of  the  ten  tribes 
of  Israel  for  reunion  with  the  kingdom  of  Judah  represented  by  the  king  of  peace,  Hezekiah — 
Solomon.  That  advocated  by  Bottoher  [Die  dllesten  Buhnendichlungen,  1850)  regards  it  as  a 
lyrical  drama,  produced  and  represented  in  the  kingdom  of  Israel  about  the  year  950  B.  0. 
some  time  after  Solomon's  death,  and  aimed  at  the  royal  house  and  the  manners  of  the  harem 
so  hostile  to  the  life  of  the  family.  A  more  extended  critical  discussion  of  these  views  would 
here  be  out  of  place.  An  examination  of  the  various  modifications  of  the  Messianic  allegorical 
interpretation,  as  well  as  of  the  purely  historical  or  profane  erotic  view  (Theodobe  of  Mopau- 
esta,  Castellio,  J.  D.  Michaelis,  .Hebder,  Eichhorn,  Hitzig,  etc.),  must  be  left  for  the 
Introduction  to  this  book  of  Scripture. 

5  6.    THE  BOOK  OF  JOB,  CONSIDERED  AS  A  PBODTJCT   OP   THE    POETET   OP  WISDOM,  KNOWN  IN  THE 

BEOADEE  SENSE  AS  SOLOMON'S. 

The  Book  of  Job  must  also  be  without  doubt  classed  with  the  productions  of  the  poetica\ 
Hhokmah  literature,  and  indeed,  as  a  whole,  with  even  more  justice  than  the  Song  of  Solomon. 
P'or  although  its  composition  cannot  be  confidently  referred  to  the  time  of  Solomon,  since  verbal 
and  other  considerations  seem  to  indicate  a  later  period  for  its  origin,  its  inner  relationship  to  the 
chief  characteristic  productions  of  that  literature,  to  the  Proverbs  on  the  one  hand  and  to  Ec- 
clesiastes  on  the  other,  is  so  much  the  less  doubtful.  Its  ethical  and  religious  tendency,  developed 
in  the  representation  of  the  conflict  and  the  victory  of  a  godly  man  in  sore  trial,  and  in  the 
justification  of  the  divine  dealing  in  the  face  of  the  apparent  injustice  of  such  suflferings  as  his, 


?  6.  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB  AS  A  KIiNDRKD  PRODUCTION.  16 


and  the  peculiar  method  in  which  it  develops  this  fundamental  thought,  by  means  of  conversa- 
tions and  discourses  which  are  made  up  now  of  gnomes  or  moral  maxims  strung  together  like 
pearls,  and  again  of  lively  and  symbolical  pictures  from  nature  and  from  human  life,— both 
alike  prove  the  close  connection  of  this  didactic  poem  with  the  proverbial  poetry  of  Solomon, 
as  we  have  above  (§§  3,  4)  characterized  it.  Moreover,  the  manner  in  which  the  poet  in  chap.' 
xxviii.  rises  to  the  idea  of  the  absolute  wisdom  of  God,  and  represents  a  participation  in  it  as 
dependent  on  a  godly  and  upright  course,  is  very  closely  related  to  that  which  appears  in  pas- 
eages  like  Prov.  viii.  22;  ix.  12;  Eccl.  xii.  13  ;  Prov.  i.  7 ;  iii.  16,  etc.  The  fundamental  prin- 
ciple and  the  didactic  tendency  of  the  book  seem  in  all  essential  features  to  have  sprung  from 
the  same  style  of  seeking  after  wisdom  and  of  religious  and  philosophical  inquiry  as  the  Pro- 
verbs and  Ecclesiastes ;  and  if,  in  consequence  of  a  certain  tinge  of  skepticism  peculiar  to  its 
theological  views  and  reflections,  in  which  the  decidedly  skeptical  attitude  of  (he  Preacher  to  a 
certain  extent  betrays  itself,  it  forms  a  sort  of  connecting  link  between  these  two  books,  so  on 
the  other  hand  it  is  by  virtue  of  its  poetical  form  most  nearly  related  to  the  Song  of  Solomon. 
For  like  this  it  appears  in  the  poetical  garb  of  a  drama,  of  a  drama,  however,  which,  in  so  far  as  it 
bears  an  impress  of  an  epico- dramatic  rather  than  of  a  ft/rico-dramatic  (melodramatic)  kind,  de- 
viates from  the  pure  central  and  typical  form  of  this  species  of  poetry  in  a  different  direction  from 
that  taken  by  the  Song  of  Solomon.  It  is  on  this  account,  therefore,  to  be  likened  to  such  in- 
tellectual creations  as  Dante's  Divine  Comedy  (or  even  as  the  philosophical  dialogues  of  Plato, 
so  far  as  these  may  be  considered  as  artistic  poetical  productions  in  the  wider  sense),  rather 
than  to  the  erotic  lyrical  dramas  or  idylls  of  other  nations.* 

At  all  events  the  interlocutory  dramatic  style  of  the  poem  prompts  one  to  fix  the  time  of  its 
composition  as  near  as  possible  to  that  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  and  to  regard  it  as  havincf 
originated,  if  not  under  Solomon,  at  least  in  the  age  immediately  following  him.  This  period  is  in- 
dicated on  the  one  hand  by  the  sublime  character  of  its  descriptions  of  nature,  reminding  one 
strongly  of  the  universally  extended  horizon  of  the  epoch  of  Solomon  (compare  especially 
chaps,  xxxviii.-xli.  with  1  Kings  iv.  33),  and  on  the  other  by  the  traces  appearing  in  passages 
like  ix.  24  ;  xii.  17  sq. ;  xv.  18  sq.,  of  a  decline  already  begun  in  the  glory  of  the  kmgdom,  and 
of  heavy  national  calamities.  That  the  whole  book  must  in  any  case  have  appeared  long  before 
the  Babylonish  captivity,  is  evident  from  such  a  familiarity  with  its  contents  as  a  whole,  and 
with  individual  descriptions  in  it,  as  is  exhibited  by  the  prophets  Ezekiel  (xx.  14,  20)  and 
Jeremiah  (xx.  14  sq.,  comp.  Job  iii.  3  sq.).  This  origin  before  the  exile  is  to  be  claimed  also 
for  the  discourses  of  Elihu  in  chaps,  xxxii.-xxxvii.  the  more  confidently,  in  proportion  as  they 
unmistakably  form  an  essential  and  indispensable  link  of  connection  between  the  conversation 
of  Job  with  his  three  friends,  and  the  manifestation  of  Jehovah  which  brings  the  final  solution 
of  the  whole  problem. 

[Among  English  authors  who  agree  in  this  classification  of  the  Book  of  Job  few  are  more 
emphatic  in  their  assertions  or  more  felicitous  in  their  illustration  than  Dean  Stanley  {Jewish 
Church,  II.,  270-1) :  "Nothing  but  the  wide  contact  of  that  age  with  the  Gentile  world  could, 
humanly  speaking,  have  admitted  either  a  subject  or  a  scene  so  remote  from  Jewish  thought 
and  customs,  .as  that  of  Job."  "  The  allusions  to  the  horse,  the  peacock,  the  crocodile  and  the 
hippopotamus,  are  such  as  in  Palestine  could  hardly  have  been  made  till  after  the  formation  of 
Solomon's  collections.  The  knowledge  of  Egypt  and  Arabia  is  what  could  only  have  been 
acquired  after  the  diffusion  of  Solomon's  commerce.  The  questions  discussed  are  the  same  as 
those  which  agitate  the  mind  of  Solomon,  but  descending  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  difficulties 
of  the  world,"  etc. — On  the  other  side,  apart  from  formal  commentaries,  one  will  hardly  find  a 
clearer  and  more  vigorous  presentation  of  the  reasons,  both  in  the  style  and  substance  of  the 
Book  of  Job,  for  assigning  it  an  earlier  date,  "an  age  as  early  at  least  as  that  of  the  Israelitish 
iettlement  in  Palestine,"  than  is  given  in  chap.  8  of  Isaac  Tatloe's  iSpirit  of  Hebrew 
Poetry. — A.] 

Note. — If  the  Book  of  Job  belongs  to  the  epoch  of  Solomon,  there  is  the  more  reason  for  re- 

*  Compare  the  excellent  esaay  of  G.  Blvr,  "  Das  Buch  Hidb  und  Dante's  goUlicJie  KoTnSdie,  eine  Farallde,"  in  the 
Studien  und  Kritikm,  1856,  III. 


16  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


garding  this  period  as  one  of  unequalled  richness  in  the  manifold  variety  of  its  poetical  ideas,  its 
species  and  forms  of  poetic  art.  For  besides  the  religious  lyric  and  the  proverbial  poetry,  both 
of  the  chief  forms  of  the  Old  Testament  drama,  the  religious-erotic  and  the  religious-didactic  or 
philosophical,  must  have  attained  their  maturity  during  this  period  ;  and  there  is  the  more  truth 
in  what  Ewald — who,  moreover,  refers  the  Book  of  Job  to  the  period  just  before  the  exile — re- 
marks in  characterizing  this  epoch  :  "  Thus  at  this  time  poetry  expands,  seeking  new  paths  in 
every  possible  direction,  though  she  could  only  enter  them.  This  is  the  period  of  the  full  forma- 
tion and  broadest  development  of  Hebrew  poetry,  when  it  reveals  all  its  latent  capacities,  and 
gathers  up  all  its  scattered  forces;  and  it  is  just  this  that  is  here  new  and  peculiar"  (Die  poet- 
ischen  Biicher  des  alte7i  Bundes,  I.,  p.  19).  Compare  Haevbbnick,  Einleit.  in  das  A.  T., 
kerausg.  von  Keil,  Bd.  lit,  p.  12 :  "  Thus  Solomon  excels  his  father  in  fruitfulness  of  poetic 
inspiration,  and  this  fruitfulness  testifies  to  the  great  wealth  of  this  period  in  poetical  produc- 
tions. As  the  splendor  and  richness  of  Solomon's  peaceful  reign  is  a  fruit  of  David's  strifes  and 
victories,  so  the  poetry  of  his  time  is  but  the  rich  unfolding  of  the  fruit  planted  and  nourished  by 
David.  It  proves  itself  to  be  such  by  its  peculiar  character  of  peaceful  objectiveness,  while  the 
poetry  of  David  is  the  thorough  expression  of  deeply  stirred  subjective  emotion.  The  blessedness 
of  the  peace,  which,  after  long  and  bitter  conflicts,  the  theocracy  enjoyed  under  Solomon,  reflects 
itself  as  clearly  in  the  72d  and  127th  Psalms  as  in  the  Song  of  Solomon,  and  gives  to  the  latter, 
notwithstanding  its  thoroughly  emotional  contents,  a  repose  and  objectiveness  of  attitude  which 
has  long  since  overcome  all  struggle  and  conflict.  With  this  is  also  connected  the  broader  hori- 
zon which  poetry  gains  under  Solomon,  as  well  as  the  complete  development  and  rounding  out 
of  its  form  which  likewise  marks  this  period,"  etc.  Many  of  the  characteristics  here  mentioned 
belong  as  well  to  the  book  of  Job  ;  this  is  not,  however,  the  case  with  all  of  them.  The  passages 
above  quoted  [on  the  preceding  page],  for  example,  refer  rather  to  a  disturbed  and  troublous  pe- 
riod, than  to  the  peaceful  repose  and  glory  of  Solomon's  reign.  On  this  account  we  do  not  ven- 
ture to  adopt  without  hesitation  the  view  that  the  book  originated  in  this  period,  as  held  by 

LUTHEB,  DOEDEELEIN,  StAEUDLIN,    HaEVEBNIOK,  KeIL,  ScHLOTTMANN,    HaHN,  VAIHINeBE, 

and  others.  We  regard  as  more  probable  the  assumption  of  a  somewhat  later  composition  (adopted 
by  the  general  Editor;  see  Inirod.,  etc.,  p.  35).  We  do  not,  however,  for  that  reason,  with  Ew- 
ald, Hiezel,  Heiligstebt,  Blbek,  and  others,  assign  its  origin  to  the  seventh  century  before 
Christ ;  or,  with  Cleeicus,  Gesenius,  Umbeeit,  Vatke,  Bunsbn,  and  others,  refer  it  to  the 
exile  or  the  period  that  immediately  followed  it. 

I  7.    THE   LITEEATUEB    OP   WISDOM   APTEB   SOLOMON  ;     O)  EcCLESIASTES. 

To  the  productions  of  the  Hhokmah  that  undoubtedly  belong  after  Solomon  is  to  be  referred 
Koheleth  or  the  Preacher  (n^np,  ''EKKltiaiaaTfi^).  This  is  a  didactic  poem,  which  not  only  by  its 
extended  monologue  in  the  Maschal  form,  but  also  by  its  express  designation  of  the  speaker  as 
"  the  son  of  David,"  and  "  King  in  Jerusalem,"  seems  to  betray  an  origin  direct  from  Solomon. 
The  entire  weight  of  all  those  considerations,  whether  of  an  internal  or  a  verbal  character,  which 
claim  attention,  compel  the  assumption  of  an  origin  not  only  after  Solomon,  but  even  after  the 
exile.  For  the  numerous  Chaldaisms  in  its  diction,  the  references  to  the  oppressive  rule  of  un- 
worthy kings  of  a  non-IsraeUtish  race,  e.  g.,  iv.  13-16;  v.  8  ;  viii.  1  sq.;  x.  4  sq.,  as  well  as  many 
allusions  to  circumstances  and  events  after  the  exile,  such  as  vi.  2,  3 ;  viii.  10 ;  ix.  13  sq.;  xii. 
12 — all  together  compel  us  to  recognize  the  book  as  a  literary  monument  of  the  later  Persian 
period.  Complaints  of  the  vanity  of  all  earthly  things,  in  the  form  of  disconnected  monologues, 
not,  however,  exactly  separate  aphoristic  sentences  like  those  of  the  Proverbs,  but  rather  as  some- 
what extended  reflections,  are  here  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  wise  King  Solomoft.  The  rhetori- 
cal dress  by  means  of  which  this  is  accomplished  appears  the  more  suitable,  since  a  king  who  had 
not  only  acquired  an  unusually  extended  knowledge  of  earthly  things,  but  also  had  surrendered 
himself  to  the  inordinate  enjoyment  of  them,  should  be  regarded  as  a  pre-eminently  appropriate 
preacher  concerning  their  nothingness  and  transitoriness.  The  complaints  which  the  book  con- 
tains on  this  topic  sometimes  rise  to  doubts  in  reference  to  the  moral  government  of  the  world  ■ 
e.  g.,  iii.  10  sq.;  iv.  1  eq.;  vi.  8  sq.;  vii.  15  sq.;  ix.  2  sq.,  or  where  this  is  not  the  case,  at  least 


?  7.  THE  LITERATURE  OF  WISDOM  AFTER  SOLOMON.  17 

leave  apparently  unreconciled  the  contradiction  between  the  Divine  perfection  and  the  vanity  of 
the  world.  Its  philosophy  of  life  has  therefore  with  a  certain  degree  of  justice  been  explained  as 
a  sceptical  one.  It  has  indeed  even  received  the  name  of  a  "  Song  of  Songs  of  Scepticism."* 
The  entire  absence  of  the  Divine  covenant  name,  Jehovah,  and  the  occurrence  of  frequent  exhor- 
■  tations  to  the  cheerful  enjoyment  of  life,  instead  of  possible  admonitions  to  obedient  subjection  to 
the  law  (ii.  24-26;  iii.  12  sq.;  iii.  22;  v.  17-19;  viii.  15;  ix.  7-10  ;  xi.  7  sq.;  xii,  7  sq.),  might 
besides  seem  to  justify  the  suspicion  of  an  attitude  religiously  indifferent  and  morally  lax,  which 
is  not  seldom  charged  upon  the  author.  He  was,  however,  far  removed  from  proper  Epicurean- 
ism, or  indeed  from  atheistic  impulses.  He  in  fact  never  contents  himself  with  uniting  the  tra- 
ditional faith  and  his  sceptical  view  of  the  world  in  a  merely  external  "  Concordat  between  the 
fear  of  God  and  the  cheerful  enjoyment  of  the  present"  {Kahnis,  ut  supra,  p.  309).  But  in  a 
time  inclined  to  the  abandonment  of  faith  in  God's  holy  and  just  government  of  the  world,  he 
clings  to  such  a  faith  with  a  touching  constancy,  and  defends  the  fact  of  the  wise  rule  of  the 
Eternal  and  Omnipotent  God  against  all  the  frivolous  scoffs  of  fools  (ii.  26 ;  iii.  20  sq.;  v.  1 ;  v. 
17-19;  viii.  14;  ix.  1-3;  compare  ii.  13;  iv.  5;  x.  2  sq.;  x.  13,  14).  And  in  an  age  when  his 
people  had  little  or  nothing  to  hope  for  in  the  way  of  external  national  prosperity  and  increase, 
when  moral  dullness,  apathy  and  despondency  might  thus  easily  master  the  individual  members 
of  this  people,  he  is  never  weary  of  pointing  out  the  righteous  retributions  of  the  future  as  a  mo- 
tive to  the  fear  of  God,  the  chief  and  all-comprehending  virtue  of  the  wise  (iii.  14-17  ;  v.  6  ;  vi. 
6, 10;  viii.  12  sq.;  xi.  9;  xii.  13,  14),  and  of  commending  unwavering  constancy  m  individual 
callings  as  the  best  prudence  and  the  surest  defence  against  the  sufferings  and  the  temptations 
of  our  earthly  life  (compare  ii.  10 ;  iii.  22 ;  v.  17,  18 ;  viii.  15,  etc.).  It  is  especially  the  high 
estimate  which  he  puts  upon  this  faithful  endeavor  to  fulfil  one's  earthly  duty,  this  "  cheerfulness 
in  labor,"  which  reveals  the  close  relationship  between  his  practical  view  of  life  and  that  of  the 
Proverbs  of  Solomon,  and  reveals  his  place  within  the  circle  of  those  Hhakamim  whose  spiritual 
thought  and  action  in  the  earlier  age  has  left  its  worthiest  monument  in  that  collection  of  Pro- 
verbs, and  in  the  Book  of  Job. 

Note  1. — The  assumption  that  Solomon  was  the  immediate  author  of  the  Book  of  Eoclesiastes, 
which  once  exclusively  prevailed,  and  is  still  at  this  time  defended  by  L.  Van  Essen  {Der  Pre- 
diger  Salomo's,  Schaffh.,  1856),  H.  A.  Hahn,  Commenlar,  etc.,  1860),  and  E.  Bohl  [Dissertatio 
de  Aramaismis  libri  Koheleth,  Erlangen,  1860),  is  refuted  not  only  by  the  arguments  above 
given,  which  favor  its  origin  in  the  period  of  the  Persian  sway,  but  still  more  especially  by  many 
passages  in  which  the  use  of  the  name  of  King  Solomon  is  manifestly  but  a  free  and  poetical  one ; 
e,  g.,  i.  12;  i.  16;  ii.  6;  and  particularly  xii.  9-14,  in  which  the  author  speaks  of  his  own 
person  in  distinction  from  the  Preacher.  Compare  Bleek,  Einleitung,  p.  643 ;  Keil,  JSinlei- 
tung,  p.  435. 

Note  2. — The  charges  which  have  of  late  been  often  brought  against  the  Book  of  Eoclesiastes, 
viz.,  that  it  teaches  merely  a  "religion  of  the  present,"  that  its  moral  and  religious  tendency  is  sim- 
ply negative,  that  it  inclines  to  fatalistic  scepticism  and  to  the  lax  morality  of  Epicureanism 
(LowTH,  DoEDEBLEiN,  Db  Wettb,  Knobel,  in  part  also  Hitziq  and  Bbuoh,  according  to  whom 
"  the  scepticism  of  this  book  rises  even  to  bitter  anguish  and  utter  despair  of  finding  any  aim  or  or- 
der in  human  life"  [ui  supra,  ^^p.  68,  238  sq.,  383  sq.]),  are  met  by  the  passages  above  cited,  in 
which  patient  devotion  to  one's  personal  earthly  calling,  together  with  a  cheerful  mind  and 
thankful  enjoyment  of  God's  temporal  gifts,  is  recommended.  These  passages  are  of  special  im- 
portance, since  they  significantly  exhibit  the  peculiar  practical  tendency  of  the  book.  It  is  the 
New  Testament  virtues,  vwofiovri,  xaipsiv  rfi  iXiriSi,  ipjd^ca&ai  fiera  yavx'ac:  (Pom.  xii.  12 ;  2  Thes. 
iii.  12,  etc.),  in  their  peculiar  Old  Testament  form,  and  in  accordance  with  that  view  of  the 
world  inculcated  in  the  more  advanced  Hhokmah  doctrine,  which  are  here  substantially  exhibited 
and  commended  to  the  tempted  saints  of  the  theocracy  after  the  exile. 

Compare  Luther's  Preface  to  the  writings  of  Solomon — "  The  other  book  is  named  Koheleth, 
which  we  call  the  Preacher;  and  it  is  a  book  of  consolation.     When  a  man  would  live  obediently 

•SoHeinbich  Heine  designates  it  in  his  "VermisclUe  Schriftea,"  lSbi,\.  In  like  manner  Delitzsch,  Oammmtar  iwn 
Buck  Hiob  (in  Keil  and  Deuizsob's  Bibl,  Oomm,  mm  A.  T.),  p.  6. 

2 


18  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 

according  to  the  teaching  of  the  first  book  (i.  e.,  the  Proverbs),  and  perform  the  duties  of  hia 
calling  or  of  his  office,  the  devil,  the  world,  and  his  own  flesh  oppose,  so  that  he  is  wearied  of  his 

condition Now  as  Solomon  in  the  first  book  teaches  obedience,  as  against  foolish  desire 

and  curiosity,  so  in  this  book  he  teaches  patience  and  constancy  in  opposition  to  discontent  and 
tem.ptation,  and  a  peaceful  and  joyful  waiting  for.  the  final  hour."  Comp.  the  Preface  to  the  La- 
tin Commentary  [0pp.  exeget.  ed.  Schmid  el  Irmischer,  T.  XXL,  p.  5):  Hunc  librum  Ecdesias- 
ien  rectius  nos  vocaremus  Politica  vel  CEconomica  Salomonis,  qui  viro  in  polilia  versanti  consulat 
in  easibus  tristibus  el  animum  erudial  ac  roboret  ad palienliam,  etc.  ["This  book,  Eoclesiastea, 
■we  should  more-  correctly  call  the  Politics  or  Economics  of  Solomon ;  for  he  is  giving  counsel  in 
adversity  to  a  man  engaged  in  public  life,  and  is  training  and  strengthening  his  spirit  to  patience," 
ete.]  For  similar  passages  see  Elstbe,  Commenlar  uber  den  Prediger  Sal.,  1855,  Introd.,  pp. 
14  sq.  Besides  this  expositor  (see  especially  pp.  27  sq.),  Ewald  (Einl.  zu  Koheleth,  pp.  177  sq.)^ 
Haeveenick  [Einl.  III.,  449  sq.),  Vaihingeb  (Ueber  den  Plan  Kohelelh's,  Stud,  und  KrU., 
1848,  pp.  442  sq.),  and  HENasTENBEP.a  {Ber  Prediger  Salom.  ausgelegt,  1859),  have,  among 
recent  writers,  with  cogent  arguments,  defended  the  ethical  character  and  contents  of  the  book 
against  such  attacks.  Compare  also  the  profound  essay  of  Vilmae,  "  Ueher  Koheleth,''  in  the 
Pastorallheol.  Bll,  1863,  1,  241  sq. 

?  8.     CONTINUATION.      6)  THE   ESAliMS   OP   WISDOM. 

Proverbial  poetry  most  clearly  combined  with  lyrical  appears  not  only  in  the  writings  of  Solo- 
mon, but  also  in  those  of  many  poets  of  the  later  age.  Certain  intermediate  forms  of  composition 
therefore  occur  which  may  be  classed  with  one  as  well  as  with  the  other  species  of  poetry.  Such 
are  those  Psalms,  which,  though  they  do  not  directly  teach  wisdom,  yet  sing  the  praise  of  the 
fear  of  God  as  the  source  of  all  wisdom,  and  exhibit  a  didactic  tendency,  both  by  the  Maschal 
form  which  they  adopt,  and  by  proclaiming  the  praise  of  the  law  of  the  Lord  and  their  exhorta- 
tions to  its  faithful  observance.  They  may  be  briefly  designated  as  Hhokmah-Psalms,  and  may 
be  regarded  as  gnomes  expanded  into  lyrics,  or  as  the  combination  of  several  wise  adages  into  a 
lyrical  didactic  whole.  The  shortest  of  the  two  Psalms  ascribed  to  Solomon,  the  127th,  appears 
to  be  in  a  measure  a  gnome  thus  expanded  into  a  lyrical  form.  Of  the  later  Psalms  those  belong 
to  the  same  category,  which  consist  of  praises  of  a  life  led  in  the  fear  of  God  and  the  faithful  ob- 
servance of  the  law, —  Ps.  i.,  cxi.,  cxii.,  cxxv.  and  cxxviii.  Of  these  the  second  is  especially  worthy 
of  notice,  in  that  it  closes  with  the  same  commendation  of  the  fear  of  God  as  the  beginning  of  wis- 
dom (ver.  10),  which  is  found  at  the  beginning  of  Solomon's  Book  of  Proverbs  (Prov.  i.  7,  comp. 
ix.  10,  etc.),  and  at  the  end  of  Eoclesiastes  and  of  the  28th  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Job.  The 
119th  Psalm  is  also  a  Psalm  of  wisdom  on  a  magnificent  scale,  an  alphabetical  arrangement  [lost 
of  course  in  our  versions]  of  inspired  praises  of  the  Divine  word,  and  of  the  blessings  which  re- 
sult from  obeying  it,— which  LtriHEE  has  well  styled  "  the  Christian  A.  B.  C.  of  praise,  love, 
power,  and  use  of  the  word  of  God."  Here  belongs  also  the  49th  Psalm,  which  describes  the 
transitoriness  of  the  happiness  of  the  ungodly,  and  contrasts  with  it  the  hope  of  the  righteous 
resting  on  God.  For  this  purpose  it  adopts  a  form  which  is  expressly  termed  "  speaking  of  wis- 
dom" (ver.  3  [E.  V.]),  a  "parable,"  a  "dark  saying"  (ver.  4  [E.  V.]).  The  78th  Psalm,  which  be- 
longs to  Asaph,  asserts  its  didactic  character  by  the  use  of  similar  expressions.  Yet  its  contents, 
which  are  descriptive  of  the  history  of  redemption  rather  than  gnomioally  instructive  or  contem- 
plative, show  that  it  ought  not  to  be  classed  with  the  proper  psalms  of  wisdom,  even  though  its 
tendency,  like  that  of  several  other  of  the  Psalms  of  Asaph,  might  in  general  be  called  didactic. 
Those  Psalms  of  David  also,  which  contain  didactic  matter,  diflfer  almost  throughout  both  in 
their  contents  and  their  form  from  the  Hhokmah  poetry  of  the  age  of  Solomon,  and  of  that  im- 
mediately succeeding,  and  only  incidentally  coincide  with  a  few  of  the  above  named  psalms  of 
wisdom ;  e.  g.,  Ps.  xv.  2  sq.,  with  Pss.  i.,  cxi.,  cxii.;  Ps.  xiv.-8  sq.,  with  Ps.  cxix. 

The  title  Vs^D  borne  by  some  of  David's  psalms,  e.  g.,  Pss.  xxxii.,  lii.,  as  well  as  by  Asaph's, 
the  78th,  affords  no  ground  for  regarding  these  songs  as  productions  of  the  Hhokmah  poetry,  or 
m  general  as  merely  didactic  poems;  for  V^a/D  is  to  be  rendered  neither  as  "  Instructio.i "  nor 


?9.  CONCLUSION.  19 


»s  "  Didactic  poem,"  but  most  probably  with  DBLiTZScn  as  "  Meditation,"  or  even  with  HiTzie 
and  others,  as  "  Form,  Image,  Invention."  The  Psalter  then  contains  in  general  no  Hhokmah 
poems  of  the  period  before  Solomon,  since  the  above  named  psalms  of  this  class,  all  belong  more 
probably  to  a  later  age,  and  indeed  for  the  most  part  to  the  period  after  the  exile ;  they  are  conse- 
quently contemporary  with  Ecclesiastes  rather,  perhaps,  than  with  the  Book  of  Job,  or  with  the 
original  materials  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs. 

J  3,   CONCLTISION. — C)  THE  APOCETPHAL  LITEEATTJEE  OF  WISDOM  (SIEACH,  BAETTCH,  THE  BOOK  OTf 

WISDOM,  etc.). 

In  the  Apocryphal  writings  of  Jesus,  son  of  Sirach  CSoipia  tov  ^etpdx,  Ecclesiastious),  and  of 
the  anonymous  author  of  the  book  of  Baruch,  and  of  the  "Wisdom  of  Solomon,"  the  Hebrew 
literature  of  wisdom  celebrates  its  second  spring-time  upon  Alexandrian  Hellenistic  soil. 
No  one  of  tb?s(?  works  can  have  originated  earlier  than  the  second  century  before  the  Christian 
Era,  at  least  in  the  linguistic  form  and  structure  in  which  they  now  exist.  For  the  Ptolemy 
under  whom  the  younger  son  of  Sirach*  clothed  in  its  present  Greek  garb  the  Hebrew  work  of  his 
grandfather  of  the  same  name  (a  Jew  of  Palestine),  can  be  no  other  than  Ptolemy  Physoon,  or 
Ptolemy  Euergetes  II.  (B.  C.  170-117).  The  Book  of  Wisdom,  according  to  internal  evidence, 
belongs  rather  to  the  more  advanced  than  to  the  earlier  period  of  Alexandrianism ;  it  must  pro- 
bably have  been  produced,  therefore,  not  until  near  the  age  of  Philo,  rather  than  have  been  com- 
posed by  a  contemporary  of  Aristobulus,  or,  as  some  claim,  by  Aristobulus  himself  The  book 
Baruch,  finally,  which  has  as  little  to  do  with  the  old  Baruch  of  the  school  of  the  prophets,  as 
the  "  Letters  of  Jeremiah  "  which  it  contains  have  to  do  with  the  old  prophetic  teacher,  is  very 
certainly-  quite  a  late  post-canonical  production.  No  one  of  these  works— ^nd  this  is  quite  as 
true  of  the  book  Tobias,  and  the  "  Prayer  of  Manasseh,"  which  exhibit  at  least  some  points  of 
contact  with  the  later  Jewish  literature  of  wisdom — reaches  back  even  as  far  as  the  time  of  Ec- 
clesiastes, the  latest  production  of  the  canonical  or  classical  Hhokmah  poetry.  In  their  literary 
artistic  character,  and  their  religious  didactic  substance,  the  three  works  named  above  are  distin- 
guished one  from  another  in  this,  that  the  collection  of  gnomes  by  Jesus,  son  of  Sirach,  in  regard 
to  contents  as  well  as  form,  appears  to  be  mainly  an  imitation  of  the  Proverbs,  without,  how- 
ever, attaining  the  classical  excellence  of  its  model;  that,  furthermore,  the  "Wisdom  of  Solo- 
mon," less  rich  in  genuine  theological  and  ethical  substance,  in  its  didactic  form  (as  a  monologue) 
and  its  free  poetical  appropriation  of  the  person  of  Solomon,  approaches  Ecclesiastes  quite  as 
much  as  it  differs  from  it  in  the,  not  sceptical  but,  Platonic  speculative  stamp  of  its  argument; 
and  that  finally  Baruch,  which  attempts  to  array  the  fundamental  ideas  of  the  doctrine  of  wis- 
dom in  the  form  of  the  old  prophetic  admonitions,  commands,  and  letters,  reaches  nothing  better 
than  a  dull,  spiritless  reproduction  of  these  prophetic  forms,  of  as  little  theological  as  philosophi- 
cal value. 

Note. — The  collection  of  proverbs  by  the  son  of  Sirach,  in  spite  of  the  occasional  originality 
and  beauty  of  its  contents,  still  falls  far  below  the  poetic  perfection  and  the  theological  ripeness 
of  the  model  furnished  by  Solomon.  It  therefore  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  composition  bearing 
the  stamp  of  inspiration  and  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  Canon.  These  points  are  conceded  even 
by  several  of  the  most  recent  defenders  of  the  Apocrypha  against  the  criticisms  of  the  English 
Reformed  School;  e.g.,  Hengstenbbrg  [Evang.  Kirchen-Zeitung,  1853,  Nos.  54  sq.;  1854, 
Nos.  29  sq.)  and  Bleek  (Studien  und  Kritiken,  1853,  II.).  Beuch  also,  in  particular,  has 
commented  very  justly  on  the  literary  value  of  Ecclesiasticus  as  compared  with  the  Proverbs. 
He  says  in  his  "  Weisheilslehre  der  Hebrder,"  p.  273 :  "  The  true  Hebrew  gnome  did  indeed 
stand  before  this  sage  as  a  lofty  ideal.  This  was  the  goal  toward  which  he  pressed,  but  which  he 
was  not  able  to  reach.  Only  now  and  then  (Joes  he  attain  in  his  proverbs  the  condensed  brevity, 
the  suggestive  fullness  of  meaning,  and  the  telling  rhythm  of  proposition  and  antithesis,  which 


*  [A  genealogy  based  on  the  assomed  correctness  of  the  first  prologue  to  the  Book  of  Ecolesiasticns  has  been  constmcted 
as  follows:  1.  Sirach.  2.  Jesus,  son  (father)  of  Sirach  (aMiftw  of  the  book).  3.  Sirach.  4.  Jesus,  son  of  Sirach  ((ramZotor 
of  the  book).  See  B.  F.  Wibtoott'b  articles,  "Jesus,  the  son  of  Sirach,"  and  "  Ecclesiastious,"  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of  tht 
Bible.— A.] 


20  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


distinguish  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon.  In  many  cases  it  is  only  with  difficulty  that  he  succeeds 
in  comprehending  a  thought,  in  its  rounded  fullness  of  meaning,  within  the  narrow  limits  of  a 
single  proposition.  Still  less  frequently  does  he  bring  corresponding  members  into  a  true  anti- 
thetic relation.  He  usually  carries  out  his  thoughts  through  a  series  of  complementary  pro- 
verbs, which  not  seldom  run  out  at  last  into  dull  prose.  The  true  poetic  spirit  is  altogether 
wanting  to  the  son  of  Siraoh.  He  frequently  expresses  himself,  it  is  true,  in  imagery,  but  then 
he  heaps  figure  upon  figure  improperly,  and  in  his  similes  falls  into  the  inflated  and  fantastic. 
The  quiet  attitude  of  reflection  would  better  befit  the  whole  individuality  of  this  Jewish 
sage,"  etc. 

Furthermore,  that  Sirach,  notwithstanding  his  comparative  lack  of  originality  and  independent 
creative  power,  was  still  no  mere  imitator  of  Solomon's  Proverbs,  but  that  besides  this  he  made 
use  of  other  collections  of  ancient  and  esteemed  maxims,  appears  from  some  hints  in  his  own 
book  (e.  g.,  xxiv.  28  ;  xxxiii.  16).  It  appears  also  from  the  fragments  of  ancient  Hebrew  pro- 
verbs which  still  occur  here  and  there  in  the  Talmudic  literature  of  the  Jews,  which  fragments 
point  to  the  existence  of  similar  collections  of  gnomes  by  the  side  of  and  before  that  of  the  son 
of  Sirach.  Comp.  Bruch,  p.  274;  Delitzsch,  "Zur  Oeschichte  der  Hebrdischen  Poesie,"  pp. 
204  sq.;  Beetheau,  "Uxeget.  Handhuch  zu  den  Spr.  Sal.,"  Introd.,  pp.  xlii.  sq. 

In  regard  to  the  literary  and  theological  character  of  the  Book  of  Wisdom,  in  its  relations  to 
the  canonical  literature  of  wisdom  in  the  Old  Testament,  comp.  Beuch  (the  work  above  cited), 
pp.  322  sq.,  and  Geimm,  in  the  "Kurzgef.  exegel.  Handhuch  zu  den  Apocryphen,"  Vol.  6,  In- 
troduction ;  and  likewise  Ktjebel  (Pastor  in  Wiirtemberg),  " Die  elhisclien  Grundanschauungen 
der  Weisheit  Salomos :  ein  Beiirag  zur  Apocryphenfrage,"  Sludien  und  Kritiken,  1865,  IV., 
pp.  690  sq. 

In  regard  to  the  book  Baruch,  see  0.  P.  Feitzschb,  in  the  "Kurzgef.  exeg.  Handh.  zu  den 
Apocr."  I.,  167  sq.,  and  Beuch,  in  the  work  already  cited,  pp.  319  sq.  [Dean  Stanley  {Jewish 
Church,  II.,  272)  says  of  the  Book  of  Wisdom :  "It  is  one  link  more  in  the  chain  by  which  the 
influence  of  Solomon  communicated  itself  to  succeeding  ages.  As  the  undoubted  '  Wisdom,' 
or  Proverbs  of  Solomon,  formed  the  first  expression  of  the  contact  of  Jewish  religion  with  the 
philosophy  of  Egypt  and  Arabia,  so  the  apocryphal  '  Wisdom  of  Solomon '  is  the  first  expression 
of  the  contact  of  Jewish  religion  with  the  Gentile  philosophy  of  Greece.  Still  the  apologue  and 
the  warning  to  kings  keeps  up  the  old  strain ;  still  the  old  '  wisdom '  makes  her  voice  to  be 
heard;  and  out  of  the  worldly  prudence  of  Solomon  springs,  for  the  first  time,  in  distinct  terms, 
'  the  hope  full  of  immortality '  "  (Wisdom  i.  1 ;  vi.  1,  9 ;  iii.  1-4 ;  v.  1-5,  etc.) — A.] 

{  10.  system  of  the  liteeatdre  op  wisdom  in  the  old  testament,  and  the  eblative 

PLACE  or  THE  PE0VEEB3  OP  SOLOMON. 

So  far  as  the  entire  literature  of  wisdom  in  the  Old  Testament  can  be  treated  as  an  organic 
whole,  and  this  whole  be  viewed  as  the  didactic  part  of  the  religious  literature  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, as  distinguished  from  its  other  main  divisions,  we  recognize  first  a  classical  and  a  post- 
classical  period  [post-heroic,  compared  by  the  author  to  the  age  of  the  Epigoni  in  Greek  legend. 
— A.]  as  the  most  strongly  marked  phases  in  the  course  of  its  development.  And  within  each 
of  these  two  periods  there  grows  up  side  by  side  with  gnomic  poetry,  or  the  Hhokmah  litera- 
ture in  the  narrower  sense,  a  similar  literature  of  broader  range.  In  the  classical  period,  or 
within  the  bounds  of  the  canonical  literature  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  Hhokmah  poetry  in  the 
strictest  sense  is  represented  by  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon,  with  their  maxims  of  wisdom  aiming 
to  secure  a  conception  and  treatment  of  nature  and  of  the  life  of  man  that  shall  be  conformed 
to  the  will  of  God.  Side  by  side  with  its  profound,  concise,  vigorous,  marrowy  sentences  we 
find  the  glowing  delineations  and  soaring  lyrical  effusions  of  Solomon's  Song,  this  glorification 
of  the  mystery  of  love,  as  it  is  contemplated  from  wisdom's  point  of  view.  The  traditional 
triple  chord  in  the  harmony, — the  trilogy  in  the  drama, — of  the  writings  ascribed  to  Solomon, 
is  completed  by  the  broader  reflections  to  which  the  Preacher  (Ecolesiastes)  gives  utterance 
concerning  the  nothingness  of  all  that  is  earthly,  and  the  duty  of  a  cheerful  but  also  grateful 
and  devout  enjoyment  of  life.    Outside  this  trilogy,  which  contains  at  least  one  work  not  im- 


i  10.  SYSTEM  OF  THE  LITERATURE  OF  WISDOM.  21 

mediately  from  Solomon,  we  find  some  other  products  of  the  Hhokmah  literature  in  the  wider 
sense.  There  are  the  didactic  Psalms  of  later  date  than  Solomon,  which  most  resemble  the 
Masohal  poetry  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  since  they  are  mainly  nothing  more  than  gnomes,  de- 
veloped in  poetic  form.  And  there  is  the  Book  of  Job,  the  dramatic  form  of  whose  dialogue  is 
analogous  to  that  of  Solomon's  Song,  while  it  reveals  a  certain  internal  likeness  to  Eoclesiastea 
in  its  devotion  to  the  problems  of  the  day,  although  at  the  same  time  it  gives  expression  to 
many  sceptical  thoughts. 

Of  the  productions  of  the  post-classical  age,  or  the  literature  of  wisdom  contained  in  the 
Jewish  Apocrypha,  the  collection  of  proverbs  by  the  son  of  Siraoh  [Ecclesiasticus],  represents 
the  Hhokmah  poetry  in  the  narrower  sense ;  for  it  is  a  direct  imitation  of  the  Proverbs,  and  in 
part  a  later  gleaning  from  the  same  field.  Of  the  writings  which  are  to  be  classed  here  only  in 
the  broader  sense,  the  Book  of  Wisdom  stands  parallel  to  Ecolesiastes,  and  Baruch  to  the 
Song  of  Solomon;  still  further,  if  one  will,  in  Tobit  a  counterpart  may  be  found  for  Job,  and  in 
the  Prayer  of  Manasseh  for  many  of  the  didactic  Psalms. 

The  Proverbs  of  Solomon  appear  therefore,  as  the  central  spring  and  storehouse  of  the  gnomic 
wisdom  of  the  Old  Testament ;  or,  as  the  true  and  main  trunk  of  the  tree  of  Hhokmah  poetry, 
widely  branching  and  laden  with  fruit.  And  it  is  mainly  on  account  of  this  radical  impulse, 
and  because  of  this  main  trunk,  consisting  so  largely  of  elements  really  furnished  by  Solomon, 
that  the  whole  development  deserves  to  be  called  in  a  general  and  comprehensive  way  an  intel- 
lectual production  of  the  wisest  of  all  kings  in  Israel. 

Note  1. — Exhibited  in  a  tabular  form  the  above  representation  of  the  literature  of  wisdom 
in  the  Old  Testament  would  stand  somewhat  as  follows, — according  to  its  genetic  development 
and  its  organic  relations : 

I.  Classical  or  Hebrew  canonical  period  of  the  Hhokmah. 

1.  Hhokmah  poetry  in  the  strictest  sense,  or  in  the  primitive  form  of  the  Masohal  (the 

true  gnomic  poetry  of  Solomon) : 
The  Proverbs. 

2.  Hhokmah  poetry  in  the  broader  sense ;  or  in  various  transformations  and  modifica- 

tions of  the  primitive  type  : 

A.  The  Maschal  form  transformed  to  dramatic  dialogue  : 

a)  Solomon's  Song, — a  didactic  drama,  with  strongly  marked  lyrical 

and  erotic  character. 

b)  Job, — a  didactic  drama,  with  a  preponderance  of  the  epic  character. 

B.  The  Maschal  form  expanded  in  monologue : 

a)  Ecolesiastes, — a  collection  of  reflective  philosophical  monologues, 

constructed  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Hhokmah. 

b)  The  didactic  Psalms, — specimens  of  the  lyrical  development  of  some 

fundamental  ideas  and  principles  of  the  Hhokmah. 

II.  Post-classical  period,  or  Hhokmah  literature  of  the  Jewish  Apocrypha. 

1.  True  Hhokmah  poetry,  with  a  direct  imitation  of  the  old  Maschal  form  : 

Ecclesiasticus. 

2.  Hhokmah  compositions  in  the  broader  sense  : 

A.  With  evident  leaning  toward  the  elder  literature  of  the  prophetic,  or  epic  and 

dramatic  style : 

a)  Baruch. 

b)  Tobit. 

B.  With  leanings  toward  elder  didactic  and  lyrical  compositions,  reflective  and 

philosophical : 

a)  The  Wisdom  of  Solomon. 

b)  The  Prayer  of  Manasseh. 

Note  2.— The  grouping  of  Proverbs,  Solomon's  Song  and  Ecolesiastes  as  a  trilogy  of  com- 
positions by  Solomon  cannot  be  critically  and  chronologically  justified.     Nevertheless  it  finds 


22  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 

its  partial  truth  and  justification  in  the  fact  that  precisely  these  three  works  constitute  the  normal 
types  of  the  entire  literature  of  wisdom,  in  respect  both  to  substance  and  form  (see  the  Table  in 
note  1).  If  they  be  contemplated  ideally  from  this  point  of  view,  we  cannot  refuse  to  recognize  a 
degree  of  truth  in  the  old  parallel  drawn  by  Oeigen  and  Jerome  between  this  trilogy,  and  the  phi- 
losophical triad,— ^ZAics,  Logic,  Physics.  Attention  has  been  already  called  to  this  in  the  note  to 
i  1.  Compare  also  page  67  of  the  General  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament  section  of  this  Com- 
mentary, where  the  author  has  given  a  classification  of  the  writings  of  Solomon,  or,  as  he  puts  it, 
"  of  the  general  didactic  system  of  Solomon,"  which  likewise  includes  the  above  trilogy. 

An  analysis  of  the  literature  of  wisdom  in  the  Old  Testament  which  differs  in  several  points  from 
our  own,  while  it  also  brings  out  clearly  many  correct  points  of  view,  is  proposed  by  Beuch,  pp. 
67  sq.  I.  Period  before  the  Exile :  a)  Monuments  of  the  practical  philosophy  of  this  period :  Pro- 
verbs; 6)  Theoretical  philosophy:  Job;  c)  compositions  of  partly  practical,  partly  theoretical 
nature  :  the  older  didactic  Psalms.  II.  Period  after  the  exile  :  a)  Practical  philosophy ;  Eoclesi- 
asticus ;  h)  Theoretical :  Solomon's  Song ;  c)  partly  practical,  partly  theoretical ;  the  later  didactic 
Psalms,  and  also  the  Book  of  Wisdom,  which  at  the  same  time  forms  the  transition  to  the  Alexan- 
drian philosophy. 

By  others  the  apocryphal  literature  is  ordinarily  excluded  from  the  classification,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  all  the  lyrical  poetry  of  the  Psalter  brought  in,  so  that  the  result  is  a  classification  of 
all  the  poetical  literature  of  the  Old  Testament  Canon.  See,  e.  g.,  Haeveenick  and  Keil's 
Einleitung,  Vol.  III.,  page  81,  where  the  two  great  departments  of  lyrical  poetry  TK',  and  gno- 
mic poetry  ^IJD  are  distinguished,  and  to  the  iirst  are  assigned  Psalms,  Solomon's  Song,  and  La- 
mentations,— to  the  latter,  Proverbs,  the  discourses  of  Job,  and  the  reflections  of  Ecclesiastes. 
Feedeeic  Schlegel  {Lectures  on  the  History  of  Literature,  4th  Lecture),  and  following  him, 
Delitzsch  (in  Heezog's  " Beal-Encyclopddie,"  XIV.,  716),  propose  two  main  classes  of  Old  Tes- 
tament writings  :  1,  historico-prophetic,  or  books  of  the  history  of  redemption, — and  2,  poetical, 
or  books  of  aspiration. 

The  latter  class,  according  to  them,  includes  Job,  the  Psalter,  and  the  writings  of  Solomon,  and 
these  correspond  to  the  triple  chord  of  faith,  hope  and  love.  For  Job  is  designed  to  maintain  faith 
under  trials  :  the  Psalms  breathe  forth  and  exhibit  hope  in  the  confiiot  of  earth's  longings ;  the 
writings  of  Solomon  reveal  to  us  the  mystery  of  Divine  love,  and  Proverbs  in  particular  makes  us 
acquainted  with  that  wisdom  which  grows  out  of  and  is  eternal  love. 

With  reference  to  the  position  to  be  assigned  to  Proverbs  within  the  circle  of  the  poetical  litera- 
ture of  the  Old  Testament,  these  classifications  are  very  instructive.  And  this  is  especially  trUe 
of  that  last  mentioned,  which  is  as  evidently  correct  in  its  exhibition  of  the  relation  of  Proverbs  to 
Job  and  the  Psalms,  as  it  is  defective  with  respect  to  the  third  of  Solomon's  writings,  Ecclesiastes 
(which  surely  has  very  little  to  do  with  "  the  mystery  of  Divine  love"). 

In  one  passage,  J.  A.  Bengel  (in  his  "Beitrdge  zur  Schrifterhldrung,"  edited  by  Osc.  Waech- 
TBE,  Leipsic,  1866,  p.  27)  expresses  himself  singularly  in  regard  to  the  significance  of  the  group- 
ing, that  has  been  so  long  traditional,  of  Proverbs,  Job  and  Solomon's  Song  in  a  trilogy.     "  The 

reason  why  Proverbs,  Job  and  the  Canticles  stand  together  in  the  best  Hebrew  codices  is  this, 

man  standing  under  paternal  discipline  needs  the  Proverbs;  when  he  has  passed  out  from  this 
into  the  fellowship  of  suffering  he  needs  Job ;  after  he  has  been  perfected  he  enters  into  the  unio 
mystica  (mystical  union)  and  comprehends  Canticles." 

B.— SPECIAL  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON 

?  11.    NAMES   OF   THE    COLLECTION. 

The  superscription  of  the  book  which  has  been  handed  down  in  the  Masoretic  text,  and  which 
tests  upon  several  passages  of  the  book  itself  (see  especially  i.  17  ;  x.  1 ;  xxv.  1)  is  Tmhm  'hwn 
is  more  correctly  rendered,  not  "  Proverbs"  (Spruchworter),  but  Sayings  of  Solomon  (Spriiche).* 

*  (To  speak  of  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon,  or  any  other  one  man,  is,  in  the  strict  use  of  terms,  a  self-contradiction. 
A  prmierbium,  a  Sprilchwort,  a  proverb,  is  strictly  an  old  and  popular  saying.  Archbishop  Tbbhoh  (see  Lecture  I.  in 
his  valuable  little  work  "  On  the  lessons  in  Proverbs  ")  speaks  of  "popularity— acceptance  and  adoption  on  the  part  of  the 
people,"  as  "  the  moat  essential  of  all "  the  qualities  of  a  proverb.    A  little  later  he  adds, "  Herein,  in  great  part,  the  force 


2  11.  NAMES  OF  THE  COLLECTION.  28 


This  corresponds  with  the  Uapomtal  of  the  LXX,  and  the  Paraholus,  not  Proverbia,  of  the  Vul- 
gate. For  the  word  vEfD  does  indeed  sometimes  describe  proverbs  in  the  true  sense,  or  general, 
practical  maxims,  growing  out  of  the  spirit  of  a  people  and  expressed  in  popular  form  {e.g.,1  Sam. 
X.  12 ;  Ezek.  xvi.  44 ;  xviii.  2).  But  in  itself  it  signifies  only  resemblance,  likeness  (&imile,  compa- 
raiio,  vapapoTJi,  napoi/iia) ;  it  is  therefore  used,  according  to  the  peculiarity  of  Oriental  poetry,  to 
designate  symbolical  or  parabolic  apothegms,  or  poetic  and  philosophical  maxims  in  the  widest 
sense.  [The  verb  /Kjn  is  found  with  two  quite  distinct  significations — to  command,  and  to  com- 
pare. Qesbnius  ( Thesaurus,  s.  v.),  after  proposing  two  different  ways  of  deriving  these  from  one 
primary  radical  meaning,  suggests  that  possibly  there  are  two  independent  radicals.  Fueesi 
regards  them  as  wholly  distinct,  the  primary  meaning  of  the  one  being  "  to  be  strong,"  of  the  other 
"to  combine,  connect,  entwine."  Some  old  commentators  erroneously  derive  the  noun  from  the 
first  of  these  two  verbal  roots;  e.  g.,  Teapp  (Comm.  on  Prov.,  i.  1) :  "  Master  sentences ;  max- 
ims, axioms,  speeches  of  special  preoellency  and  predominancy." — A.]  Accordingly  prophetical 
predictions  (e.  g.,  those  of  Balaam,  Num.  xxiii.  7,  18  ;  xxiv.  3 ;  comp.  Is.  xiv.  4 ;  Mich.  ii.  4 ;  Hab. 
ii.  6),  as  well  as  didactic  Psalms  [e.  a.,  Ps.  xlix.  5 ;  Ixxviii.  2)  or  sententious  discourses  of  wise 
men  {e.  g.,  Job  xxvii.  1 ;  xxix.  1)  are  designated  as  WlJi^D.  In  the  special  and  predominant  sense 
iWO  is  however  the  designation  of  a  maxim  or  gnome  from  within  the  sphere  of  the  Hhokmah ;  it 
is  therefore  the  sentiment  or  the  moral  axiom  of  a  Hhakam  (see  above,  ^^  2,  3).  For  it  was  just 
these  men,  the  Hhakamim  of  the  Old  Testament  economy,  that  exhibited  their  main  strength  iu 
giving  utterance  to  pertinent  comparisons,  and  significant  truths  of  general  practical  value,  and 
who  were  accustomed  to  impart  their  instructions  chiefly  in  the  form  of  maxims  (Prov.  i.  7 ;  xxv. 
1).  An  old  synonym  of  the  title  "  Book  of  Proverbs  "  or  "  Proverbs  of  Solomon  "  is  therefore 
''  Book  of  Wisdom  "  nD3n  130.  [Comp.  Pueest's  Kanon  des  alien  Testaments,  etc.,  1868,  pp.  73 
aq. — A.].  The  book  probably  received  tLis  title  now  and  then  in  the  old  Hebrew  times.  At  any 
rate  it  is  so  called  several  times  in  the  Talmud  (e.  g.,  Tosephoth  to  Baba  Bathra,  f  14, 6),  and  among 
the  earliest  Fathers  of  the  Greek  Church,  like  Clement,  Hegesipptjs,  Ieen^us,  ete.,  it  received 
the  name  r)  Travoperof  ao(j)ia  [wisdom  including  all  virtues].  Comp.  Eusebius,  Chh.  Hist,  IV.,  22, 
26,  according  to  whom  Mblito  of  Sardis  also  gave  the  book  a  similar  title,  J.o\ojiavTog  napoijilm  ij 
Kol  lofia  [similitudes  of  Solomon,  which  is  also  wisdom] .  Compare  further  th  e  titles  oo(pij  liip.oQ  and 
traiSayuym^  m(pia  ["the  wise  book"  and  "  instructive  wisdom"]  which  DiONYSlus  of  Alexandria 
and  Geegort  of  Nazianzum  employ.  We  may  therefore  even  now  give  to  our  collection  of  Pro- 
verbs the  title  of  "Book  of  Wisdom,"  as  well  as  the  mflre  common  designation  of  "  Proverbs." 
And  this  is  all  the  more  allowable,  because  this  collection  is  far  better  entitled  to  be  called  a  "  Book 
of  Wisdom  "  than  the  Alexandrian  apocryphal  work  which  has  assumed  the  name ;  it  is  also  far 
more  worthy  than  Ecclesiastes  and  Ecclesiasticus,  to  which  old  Jewish  and  Christian  works  not 
unfrequently  apply  the  title  in  question  (nnjn,  ^oipia). 

Note  1.  Habveenick  (III.  386)  and  Keil  [Introd.,  ^  117,  p.  396)  are  in  error  when  they 
dispute  the  opinion  put  forth  by  Berthbau,  that  the  designation  of  the  Proverbs  as  nn^n  130 
originated  among  the  early  Jews.  The  words  of  Mblito  quoted  by  Eusebius  (passage  above 
cited)  are  a  conclusive  proof  of  the  correctness  of  this  view,  as  they  belong  to  a  passage 
whose  express  object  is  to  give  the  designations  of  the  books  of  the  Bible  that  were  current 
among  the  Jews.    Comp.  Dblitzsch  (work  above  quoted,  p.  712). 

Note  2.  As  synonymous  with  /K^D  there  occur  in  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon  and  elsewhere  in  the 
Old  Testament  the  words  HTH  (Prov.  i.  6  ;   Ps.  xlix.  5  ;  Ixxviii.  3;  Hab.  ii.  6)  and  rxi-htp  (Prov. 

of  a  proverb  lies,  namely,  that  it  has  already  received  the  stamp  of  popular  allowance."  He  calls  attention  to  the  Spanish 
name  of  the  proverb,  "  re/ran,  which  is  a  r^erendo,  from  the  oftenness  of  its  repetition."  The  probable  etymology  of 
ffapotfiia,  as  "  a  trite,  wayside  saying,"  points  the  same  way. — Dean  Stanley  (Jewish  Church,  H,,  2&7),  illustrating  the 
same  view,  says  of  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon:  "They  are  individual,  not  natioual.  It  is  because  they  represent  not  many 
men's  wisdom,  but  one  man's  supereminent  wit,  that  they  produced  so  deep  an  impression.  They  were  gifts  to  the  people, 
not  the  produce  of  the  people,''  etc.  The  adage,  adagium,  is  of  doubtful  etymology ;  probably  from  "  ad  agendum  apta.** 
The  n-apa^oA^,  from  Trapa-^aAAw,  to  cast  or  put  beside,  is  in  form  a  comparison,  in  purpose  an  illustration.  An  instructiva 
and  entertaining  discussion  of  this  subject,  enriched  with  the  amplest  illustration,  may  be  found  in  the  London  Quarterly 
Seview,  July,  1868.— A.] 


24  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 

i.  6;  Hab.  ii.  6).  The  first  expression,  which  properly  signifies  "enigma"  (comp.  Judg.  xiv. 
14 ;  1  Kings  x.  1,  etc.),  [Etym.,  knotted,  involved,  intricate,  Gesen.,  Fueest,  etc.],  stands  for  any 
dark,  involved,  profound  utterance  whatsoever;  as  in  Matth.  xiii.  35  the  Dlp_  'iio  niTn  is 
rendered  by  /cEKpyfi/ieva  airb  naTapolv^  (instead  of  the  ■KpojiXfiiiaTa  inr'  apxvi  of  the  LXX).  Com- 
pare Augustine,  who  uniformly  explnina  (enigma  hy  obsoura  allegoria :  comp.  also  Luther's 
"in  einem  dunUenWorte"  [through  an  obscure  word]  for  the  phrase  h  alviyfiaTt  ["darkly," 
Eng.  vers., — "  by  means  of  a  mirror  in  riddles,"  Di;  Wbtte,— "  still  darkly  as  in  riddles,"  Van 
Ess,  Allioli].  If  therefore  an  ethical  axiom,  a  gnome  or  parable  be  designated  as  this  HTn 
this  is  always  done  with  reference  to  the  deeper  meaning  hidden  in  it  under  a  figurative  veil 
(oomp.  in  addition  to  the  passages  above  cited  Ezek.  xvii.  2).  Examples  of  these  enigmatical 
proverbs  ["  dark  sayings  "]  in  our  collection  are  to  be  found  especially  in  the  "  words  of  Agur," 
in  chap.  xxx.     Comp.  the  remarks  on  xxx.  15,  16. 

The  meaning  of  nx''7p  is  disputed.  According  to  Gbsbnius,  Beetheau,  and  HiTZia  it  is 
equivalent  to  "  interpretation,"  "  discourse  requiring  interpretation,"  (comp.  the  ckotcivoq  /Wyof 
of  the  LXX,  Prov.  i.  6).  According  to  Delitzsgh,  Haevebnick  and  Keil  it  is  "brilliant  or 
pleasing  discourse,"  oratio  splendida,  luminibus  ornaia."  [Fueest  adheres  to  the  derivation  first 
preferred  by  Gesenius  (following  Schultens)  according  to  which    J^'  (obs.  in  Kal),  Arab. 

^^  signifies  "  to  be  involved,  entangled,"  and  used  of  discourse,  "  to  be  obscure,  and  am- 
biguous,"— and  n!('7lp  "  figurative,  involved  discourse."  Gesenius  afterward  developed  the 
meaning  of  the  noun  from  the  radical  idea  of  "  stammering." — A.].  A  sure  decision  can  hardly  be 
reached ;  the  analogy  of  f '75,  however.  Job  xxxiii,  23,  Gen.  xlii.  23,  Isa.  xliii.  27,  eio,,  seems  to 
speak  for  the  first  interpretation,  to  which  the  second  may  be  appended,  as  appropriate  at  least 
for  Hab.  ii.  6.  The  radical  word  is  then  ]'0,  iorquere,  to  twist, — and  nif'yp  is  properly  ora- 
tio contorta  sive  diffi.cU.is  [involved  or  difficult  discourse],  just  as  HTn  (from  Tn  deflectere 
[to  turn  aside])  is  properly  oratio  obliqua  sive  per  ambages  [oblique  or  ambiguous  discourse]. 

Note  3.  With  reference  to  the  true  conception  of  the  "Proverbs"  of  Solomon  as  compared 
with  the  proverbs  (properly  so  called)  of  the  Hebrews,  and  of  various  other  nations,  see  espe- 
cially Beuch,  p.  103.  "  The  maxims  which  are  here  collected  (in  the  Proverbs)  are  a  product 
not  of  the  popular  spirit  of  the  Hebrews,  but  ot  Hebrew  wisdom.  They  have  not  sprung  up 
unsought,  but  rather  betray  deliberate  refiection.  *  *  *  *  They  do  not  lie  separate  and  iso- 
lated, like  the  proverbs  of  a  people,  but  rest  upon  certain  fundamental  conceptions,  and  together 
make  up  a  whole.  They  bear  the  impress  of  the  Hebrew  spirit,  but  only  so  far  forth  as  the  wise 
men  from  whom  they  come  themselves  rendered  homage  to  this  spirit ;  in  many  other  respects 
they  rise,  as  their  authors  did,  essentially  above  the  spirit  of  the  Hebrew  nation.  They  contain 
rules  for  conduct  in  the  most  diverse  conditions  of  life ;  but  having  a  bond  of  connection  in  ge- 
neral truths,  they  reach  far  beyond  the  sphere  of  mere  experience.  Now  and  then  they  take  a 
speculative  flight,  and  give  utterance  to  profound  conceptions  and  doctrines  of  philosophy.  *  * 
*  »  All  are  clothed  in  the  garb  of  poetry ;  every  where  the  law  of  parallelism  prevails  in  them. 
That  elevation  of  language  which  is  characteristic  of  Hebrew  poetry  is  apparent  in  most  of  them, 
while  the  true  proverbs  of  the  people  are  for  the  most  part  expressed  in  prosaic  forms,  and  often 
in  very  common  language. 

It  is  therefore  altogether  erroneous  to  compare  this  Book  of  Proverbs  with  the  collections  of 
Arabic  proverbs ;  it  might  be  more  fitly  compared  with  the  gnomic  poetry  of  the  Greeks.  It  is 
strictly  an  Anthology  of  Hebrew  gnomes."  Comp.  J  2,  note  4. 

The  comparison  of  the  Hebrew  Maschal -poetry  with  the  sententious  and  proverbial  poetry 
of  the  Arabs,  although  so  peremptorily  denied  by  Beuch,  is  not  without  its  justification.  See 
Umbebit's  Commentary,  Introduction,  p.  Iv.,  where  the  two  Arabic  collections  of  proverbs,  by 
the  grammarian  Al  Meidani  (f  1141),  are  named  as  affording  at  least  some  parallels  to  the 
Proverbs  of  Solomon.  Keterence  is  made  beside  to  H.  A.  Schultens'  Anthologia  sententiarum 
Arabicarum  (Lejden,  1772),  and  to  the  collections  of  Eepenius,  Golius,  Kallius,  etc.  (in 


§  12.  ORIGIN  AND  COMPOSITION  OF  THE  COLLECTION.  2S 

Schnueebk's  Biblioiheca  Arabica,  pp.  210-221)  as  furnishing  such  parallels  in  rich  abundance. 
The  latest  and  best  edition  of  these  collections  of  Arabic  proverbs  is  that  of  Phettag,  Arabum 
proverbia  senteniixque  proverhiales,  Bonn,  1838-43,  which  not  only  contains  entire  the  collection 
of  Meibani  numbering  above  9,000  proverbs,  but  also  gives  information  concerning  the  29 
collections  of  gnomes  existing  in  Arabic  literature  before  Meidani.  Comp.  also  Haeveenick  and 
Keil,  III.,  381  sq.,  and  Blbek's  Introduction,  p.  632,  where  among  other  things  an  interesting 
observation  of  Al  Meidani  is  given,  with  reference  to  the  great  value  of  the  proverbial  wisdom ; 
"  acquaintance  with  proverbs  does  not  merely  adorn  with  their  beauties  all  circles  of  society, 
and  grace  the  inhabitants  whether  of  cities  or  of  the  desert;  it  imparts  brilliancy  to  the  contents 
of  books,  and  by  the  allusions  which  are  hidden  in  them  sweetens  the  words  of  the  preacher  and 
teacher.  And  why  should  it  not  ?  since  even  the  word  of  God,  the  Koran,  is  interwoven  with 
them, — the  discourses  of  the  Prophet  contain  them, — the  most  eminent  scholars,  who  have  trod- 
den the  path  of  a  mysterious  wisdom  have  won  this  knowledge  as  their  friend  ?"  "  Proverbs 
are  to  the  soul  what  a  mirror  is  to  the  eyes."  Manifestly  it  is  not  common  popular  proverbs  to 
which  this  enthusiastic  praise  refers,  but  maxims  from  the  schools  of  the  sages,  and  of  a  poetic, 
philosophic  character,  similar  to  those  of  the  Old  Testament,  though  mainly  of  far  inferior  worth. 
(This  is  pertinent  also  as  a  reply  to  Delitzsch,  p.  694,  who  following  Ewald,  declares  the  com- 
parison of  the  Hebrew  with  the  Arabic  collections  of  proverbs  altogether  inadmissible). 

§  12.    OEIGMf   and    composition    OF   THE    COLLECTION. 

The  collection  of  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon  in  its  present  form  opens  with  a  long  superscription, 
which,  in  the  style  of  oriental  titles,  praises  the  whole  book  for  its  important  and  practically 
useful  contents.  This  is  followed  by  three  main  divisions  of  the  book,  of  unequal  length  and 
distinguished  by  separate  titles,  to  which  are  appended  two  supplements.  The  first  main  divi- 
sion (chap.  i. — ix.)  subdivided  into  three  sections  (chaps,  i. — iii.,  iv. — vii.,  viii. — ix.)  contains  an 
exhibition  of  wisdom  as  the  highest  good  to  be  attained.  To  the  attainment  and  preservation 
of  this  in  the  face  of  the  dangers  that  threaten  the  possession  of  it, — sensuality,  impurity,  adul- 
tery, etc., — youth  in  particular  are  admonished :  and  this  is  done  in  the  form  of  instructions  or 
admonitions,  somewhat  prolonged,  and  having  an  inward  connection  of  parts,  addressed  by  a 
father  to  his  son, — and  not  in  brief,  aphoristically  separated  maxims. 

The  second  main  division  (chap.  x. — xxiv.)  again  comprises  three  sections,  not  symmetrical 
but  of  quite  unequallength ;  a)  chaps,  x.  1 — xxii.  16,  with  the  superscription  TrntW  '72*0; 
a  collection  of  separate,  loosely  connected,  and  for  the  most  part  very  short  maxims,  which  in 
part  depict  wisdom  and  the  fear  of  God,  and  in  part  folly  and  sin,  according  to  their  chief  mani- 
festations and  results ;  and  this  they  do  without  rigid  adherence  to  a  fixed  train  of  ideas,  with 
so  loose  a  coherence  of  the  individual  sentences  that  either  no  connection  of  thought  appears,  or 
one  merely  external,  brought  about  by  certain  characteristic  words  or  terms  of  expression. 

6)  chap.  xxii.  17 — xxiv.  22;  a  Masohal  introduced  by  a  special  injunction  to  hearken  to  the 
words  of  the  wise  (chap.  xxii.  lY — 19),  quite  well  connected  in  its  parts,  and  evidently  forming 
one  whole ;  this  contains  various  prescriptions  of  equity  and  worldly  prudence. 

c)  chap.  xxiv.  23 — 34;  a  short  appendix,  which  by  its  superscription  D'D^nT  hSk  OJ 
["these  also  are  the  words  of  the  wise  "],  is  described  as  the  work  of  various  wise  men,  no  longer 
definitely  known ;  it  consists  of  some  maxims  which,  although  nearly  all  having  the  form  of 
commands  or  prohibitions,  have  no  internal  mutual  connection. 

Then  follows  the  third  main  division  (chap.  xxv. — xxix.)  having  the  superscription,  "  These 
also  are  proverbs  of  Solomon,  which  the  men  of  Hezekiah,  the  King  of  Judah,  collected :" — a 
collection  of  single,  loosely  grouped  proverbs,  among  which  are  found  an  unusually  large  num- 
ber of  pointed  comparisons  and  antitheses. 

The-two  supplements  of  the  collection  are,  1)  chap.  xxx.  "  The  words  of  Agur  the  son  of  Jakeh," 
a  compilation  of  maxims  distinguished  by  their  peculiarly  artificial  garb,  and  the  partial  obscu- 
rity of  their  meaning ;  2)  chap.  xxxi.  bearing  the  superscription  "  Words  of  Lemuel  the  king  of 
Massa,  which  his  mother  taught  him."*    Under  this  title  (in  regard  to  which  we  shall  soon  have 

*  [For  the  various  explanations  of  the  verse  see  Comm.  on  zzxi.  1]. 


26  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 

more  to  say)  the  chapter  contains  a)  a  series  of  maxims  for  kings,  and  b)  th«  praise  of  a  virtuous 
matron,  which  is  clothed  in  the  form  of  an  alphabetic  song  (vers.  10-31). 

That  the  collection  as  a  whole  is  not  the  immediate  work  of  Solomon,  or  in  other  words,  that 
the  introductory  words  of  the  first  superscription  (chap.  i.  1)  "  Proverbs  of  Solomon,  son  of  Da- 
vid, king  of  Israel,"  so  far  as  they  relate  to  the  whole,  design  to  claim  the  authorship  for  Solo- 
mon only  in  the  most  general  sense,  appears  from  the  most  hasty  glance  at  our  abstract  of  the 
contents.  For  apart  from  the  fact  that  at  the  opening  of  the  second  main  division  there  is  a  re- 
petition of  the  title  "  Proverbs  of  Solomon," — the  last  divisions,  from  xxii.  17  onward,  are  intro- 
duced by  quite  different  superscriptions,  two  of  which  refer  vaguely  to  "  wise  men"  as  the  authors 
of  the  respective  sections,  and  two  to  definite  persons  (although  these  are  otherwise  unknown), 
while  the  one  which  contains  again  the  expression  "  Proverbs  of  Solomon "  designates  as  the 
"  collectors  "  of  these  "  Proverbs  of  Solomon  "  the  "  men  "  of  a  king  of  Judah  who  did  not  live 
until  300  years  after  Solomon.  [Fueest's  inference  from  these  diverse  superscriptions  and  ap- 
pellations is  thus  stated  ( Canon  des  alien  Testaments,  p.  74) ;  "  that  it  vs  not  the  originating  of 
all  the  proverbs  with  Solomon  that  was  emphasized,  though  he  be  regarded  as  their  main  source, 
but  only  the  aim  and  effect  of  the  proverbs  to  promote  wisdom." — Dean  Stanley,  {ubi  supra,  p. 
268)  says  "  as  in  the  case  of  the  word  '  wisdom,'  the  connection  of  '  Proverbs '  with  Solomon  can 
be  traced  by  the  immense  multiplication  of  the  word  after  his  time." — A.].  And  not  only  these 
diverse  superscriptions,  but  various  peculiarities  of  language,  style,  etc.,  such  as  present  them- 
selves to  the  attentive  observer  in  each  section  m  a  characteristic  way,  bear  witness  to  the  gra- 
dual growth  of  the  collection  under  the  hands  of  several  authors  of  a  later  day  than  Solomon's, 
each  complementing  the  rest.  We  might  put  the  whole  work  of  compilation  to  the  account  of 
the  "  men  of  Hezekiah,"  (chap.  xxv.  1),  and  so  assume  that  the  maxims  of  Solomon,  before  scat- 
tered, and  transmitted  in  part  orally,  in  part  by  less  complete  written  records,  were  collected,  and, 
with  the  addition  of  sundry  supplements  brought  into  their  present  form  by  certain  wise  men 
from  the  court  of  the  devout  king  Hezekiah  (B.  C.  727 — 697).  The  verb  'p'iTiJ^O  which  in  the 
passage  cited  above  is  used  to  describe  the  agency  of  these  men,  would  well  accord  with  this  as- 
sumption ;  for  it  signifies,  not  "appended"  (Luthbe),  but  "brought  together,  arranged  in  or- 
der," in  as  much  as  p'j^J^n  properly  means  "  to  remove  from  its  place,  to  set  or  place  some- 
where ;"  and  in  the  passage  before  us  it  is  rendered  correctly  by  the  k^eypaipavro  of  the  LXX  , 
and  the  transtulerunt  of  the  Vulgate.  But  the  relations  of  the  matter  are  not  quite  so  simple 
that  the  whole  compilation  and  revision  can  be  referred  to  these  wise  men  of  Hezekiah.  For 
from  the  quite  numerous  repetitions  of  whole  proverbs,  or  at  least  parts  of  proverbs  from  earlier 
sections,  such  as  occur  in  the  division  chaps,  xxv. — xxix.  (compare  e.  g.,  xxv.  24  with  xxi.  9, — 
xxvi.  22  with  xviii.  8,— xxvii.  12  with  xxii.  3, — xxvii.  21  with  xvii.  3, — xxix.  22  with  xv.  18, 
etc.)  it  seems  altogether  probable  that  the  preceding  sections  existed  as  an  independent  whole, 
before  the  attachment  of  chaps,  xxv.  sq.  This  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  certain  characteris- 
tics noticeable  in  the  structure  of  clause  and  verse,  and  many  peculiarities  of  phraseology  and 
idiom  likewise  indicate  that  between  the  sections  preceding  chap.  xxv.  and  the  last  seven  chap- 
ters a  wide  difference  exists,  and  one  that  points  to  the  greater  antiquity  of  the  first  and  largest 
division.  Hezekiah's  wise  men  appear  therefore  substantially  as  supplementing,  or  more  exactly 
as  continuing  and  imitating  a  larger  collection  of  Solomon's  proverbs  already  in  existence  before 
their  day  ;  and  the  existence  of  this  they  must  not  only  have  known  but  studiously  regarded,  for 
the  great  majority  of  the  maxims  and  axioms  there  found  they  did  not  take  into  their  new  col- 
lection, but  sought  to  present  that  which  was  mainly  new  and  independent;  in  consequence  how- 
ever of  the  similarity  of  the  sources  from  which  they  drew  to  those  of  the  earlier  collection,  they 
could  not  but  reproduce  much  in  a  similar  form,  and  some  things  in  a  form  exactly  corresponding 
with  the  earlier.  [The  Jewish  tradition  as  given  by  Fueest  {ubi  supra,  p.  75)  ascribes  the  col- 
lection of  the  proverbs  of  the  first  three  sections,  chaps,  i.— ix.,  x.— xxii.  16,  and  xxii.  17— xxiv. 
to  the  men  of  Hezekiah.  And  it  finds  this  view  confirmed  by  the  very  fact  that  the  next  sec- 
tion begins  (xxv.  1)  with  the  words  "These  also,  are  proverbs,"  etc.  But  the  subsequent  col- 
lection (chap.  xxv.  sq.  is  "  continued"  by  them,  the  proverbs  being  searched  out  elsewhere  and 
transferred  to  this  place;  "  proverbs  not  hitherto  publicly  employed  for  the  education  of  the  peo- 


2  12.  ORIGIN  AND  COMPOSITION  bF  THE  COLLECTION.  27 


pie  they  brought  into  a  collection,  to  be  in  like  manner  used  as  a  collection  of  Solomon's  pro- 
verbs." The  "  men  of  Hezekiah  "  he  regards  moreover  as  not  all  contemporaries  and  agents  of  the 
good  king,  but  as  organized  into  a  "  college,"  continued  for  literary,  religious,  and  judicial  pur- 
poses 280  years,  seven  full  generations.     This  is  Jewish  tradition. — A.]. 

That  the  older  collection  is  not  however  to  be  itself  regarded  as  all  of  one  casting,  but  likewise 
as  a  product  of  the  activity  of  one  or  several  editors  collecting  and  combming  from  still  earlier 
sources,  appears  from  several  facts.  Within  this  section,  as  well  as  the  later,  instances  occur  of 
the  repetition  of  single  proverbs  in  an  identical  or  analogous  form  (comp.  e.  g.  xiv.  12  with  xvi. 
25,— xvi.  2  with  xxi.  2,— x.  2  with  xi.  4,— xiii.  14  with  xvi.  27,— xix.  12  with  xx.  2,  etc.).  We 
have,  besides,  this  fact,  which  is  still  more  significant,  that  here  again  a  diversity  appears, 
marked  by  decided  peculiarities  of  form  as  well  as  substance,  between  the  two  large  subdivisions, 
ohapa.  i. — ix.,  and  chaps,  x.  1 — xxii.  16.  In  the  second  of  these  sections  we  find  mainly  verses 
symmetrically  constructed, — so-called  "  antithetic  couplets," — and  each  verse  presents  an  idea 
quite  complete  and  intelligible.  It  is  the  simplest  and,  as  it  were,  the  ideal  type  of  the  Maschal 
that  here  predominates;  and  since  the  simplest  is  wont  to  be  as  a  general  rule  the  most  primi- 
tive, this  fact  suggests  the  conjecture  that  we  are  dealing  here  simply  with  genuine,  original  pro- 
verbs of  Solomon.  In  other  words.  Chapters  x. — xxii.  16  comprise  the  proper  germ  of  the  gnomic 
poetry  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  is  in  the  strictest  sense  to  be  referred  to  Solomon  and  his  age. 
In  the  two  supplements  to  this  central  main  division,  chap.  xxii.  17 — xxiv.  22,  and  chap.  xxiv. 
23 — 34  we  observe  in  respect  to  form  quite  another  character  in  the  individual  proverbs, 
although  in  their  ethical  tenor  and  substance  they  correspond  with  the  preceding.  They  lose 
something  of  the  telling,  pointed  brevity,  the  inward  richness  of  meaning,  the  condensed  power, 
that  characterize  the  earlier  proverbs ;  and  instead  of  "the  rapid  alternation  of  clause  and  coun- 
ter-clause "  before  every  where  perceptible,  there  is  apparent  here  less  uniformity  of  structure, 
and  an  effort  to  expand  the  brief  axiom  to  the  longer  discourse,  admonitory,  didactic,  or  illustra- 
tive of  some  moral  truth.  Still  more  entirely  is  the  simple  and  beautiful  form  of  the  Maschal, 
compact,  pithy  and  symmetrical,  disregarded  and  cast  aside  m  chaps,  i. — ix.  These  present  no- 
thing but  longer  admonitory  discourses,  moral  pictures  full  of  warning,  and  ethico-religious  con- 
templatidns  of  broader  compass,  in  all  of  which  the  simple,  short  proverb  is  only  exceptional, 
and  "  proverbial  poetry  evidently  took  the  form  of  admonition  and  preaching,  but  for  this  very 
reason  became  much  more  flexible,  flowing  and  comprehensible."  The  technical  language  of  the 
Hhokmah  appears  here  in  various  ways  expanded  and  refined, — especially  in  the  application  of 
such  full  allegorical  delineations  as  are  contained  in  chap.  ix.  (in  the  description  of  Wisdom's 
house  with  its  seven  pillars,  and  her  feast, — and  also  in  that  of  the  conduct  of  the  Dl/'pa  DEJK 
the  personification  of  Folly).  The  nearly  equal  length,  moreover,  of  the  three  sections  into 
which  this  entire  admonitory  address  to  youth  is  divided,  (see  the  earlier  part  of  the  §),  the  quite 
regular  and  frequent  recurrence  of  the  'J3,  "  my  son,"  which  shows  this  to  be  its  chief  appli- 
cation, (i.  8;  ii.  1;  iii.  1,  11,  21;  iv.  10,  20;  v.  1,  etc.),  the  adherence  to  certain  leading  thoughts 
through  all  the  change  and  variety  in  expression  and  delineation, — all  this  points  us  to  a  single 
author,  who  different  as  he  was  from  the  author  of  the  collection  following  (x.  1 — xxii.  16),  de- 
signed to  furnish  an  appropriate  introduction  to  this  collection  of  older  proverbs,  and  to  com- 
mend it  to  the  Israel  of  his  own  time,  especially  to  its  j'ounger  generation. 

That  the  mutual  relations  of  the  various  parts  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  are  to  be  judged  sub- 
stantially in  this  way,  most  of  the  recent  commentators  are  agreed.  [This  general  view  both  of 
the  structure  and  authorship  of  our  book  is  taken  by  most  of  our  English  and  American  scholars, 
with  some  divergencies  of  course,  in  the  details.  Thus,  Stuabt,  Notes,  Muensohbe,  W.  Aldis 
Weight,  etc.  Stuart  sums  up  his  view  of  the  authorship  thus  (Comm.  p.  63) :  "  Solomon  se- 
lected many,  composed  others,  and  put  together  those  which  he  judged  to  be  true,  most  striking, 

and  most  worthy  to  be  preserved It  matters  not  how  much  of  the  book  of  Proverbs 

Solomon  actually  composed;  we  only  need  his  sanction  to  what  it  now  contains."  Portions  of 
the  book  moreover  do  not  even  purport  to  be  Solomon's. — A.J.  We  may  make  an  exception, 
perhaps,  of  H.  A.  Hahn,  Habveenick,  and  Keil,  who,  in  spite  of  all  internal  and  external  dif- 
ferences between  the  several  sections,  which  they  are  forced  to  acknowledge, — in  spite  of  the  va- 


28  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 

rious  introductory  superscriptions, — still  feel  constrained  to  maintain  Solomon's  immediate  au- 
thorship of  the  whole,  with  the  sole  exception  of  the  two  supplements  in  chaps,  xxx.,  xxxi.  (see 
especially  Haevernick  and  Kbil's  Introduction,  III.,  392  sq.).  [This  is  Woedswoeth's  posi- 
tion. It  is  moreover  characteristic  of  him  to  look  on  the  proverbs  as  having  "  also  a  typical 
character  and  inner  spiritual  significance,  concerning  heavenly  doctrines  of  supernatural  truth." 
He  finds  support  for  this  view  in  the  fact  that  the  collection  is  in  its  introduction  said  expressly  to 
comprise  enigmas  and  dark  sayings. — A.].  Inasmuch  as  this  conclusion  is  made  necessary  neither 
by  reasons,  internal  or  external,  [in  the  book  itself  J,  nor  by  any  general  theological  interest  in 
maintaining  the  inspired  character  of  Scriptures,  we  must,  unquestionably,  adopt  one  of  those 
views  which  represent  the  present  collection  as  growing  up  gradually  in  the  time  between  Solo- 
mon and  Hezekiah,  or  even  within  a  period  ending  somewhat  later,  and  which  discriminate  be- 
tween an  original  nucleus  that  is  from  Solomon,  and  the  accretions  of  various  ages,  which  are  due 
to  later  collectors  and  editors. 

The  more  important  of  these  theories  are  (1)  that  of  Ewald  {Poet.  Bucher  des  Alten  Test.,  IV. 
2  sq.).  According  to  this,  chap.  x.  1 — xxii.  16  forms  the  earliest  collection,  originating  perhaps 
two  hundred  years  after  Solomon,  yet  inspired  throughout  by  Solomon's  spirit;  to  this  were  ap- 
pended, first,  in  Hezekiah's  time  chap.  xxv. — xxix.,  which  also  contain  much  that  is  the  genuine 
work  of  Solomon, — then,  in  the  following  century,  the  Introduction,  chap.  i. — ix., — then  the 
supplements  to  the  central  main  division,  chap.  xxii.  17— xxiv.  34, — and  lastly  the  supplements 
chaps,  xxx.,  xxxi ;  and  all  these  last  are  to  be  regarded  as  the  independent  composition  of  un- 
known sages  of  the  later  period  before  the  exile,  without  any  elements  whatever  that  are  Solomon's. 

We  have  (2)  the  view  of  Bebtheatt  [Commentary,  Introd.,  pp.  xxiii.  sq.).  According  to  this 
it  is  as  impossible  to  demonstrate  with  certainty  an  origin  earlier  than  the  days  of  Hezekiah  for 
the  second  collection  (chap.  x.  1 — xxii.  16)  as  for  the  first  (chap.  i. — ix.),  the  third  (chap.  xxii. 
17— xxiv.  34),  or  the  fourth  (chap.  xxv. — xxix.) ;  we  must  therefore  in  general  maintain  the 
merely  negative  conclusion,  that  the  book  of  Proverbs  in  its  present  form  originated  after  the 
time  of  Solomon,  and  that  it  flowed  from  sources  oral  and  written  that  are  perhaps  very  nume- 
rous. We  have  (3)  the  view  of  Hitziq-  ["Das  Kbnigreich  Massa  "  in  Zellee's  Theol.  Jahrb. 
1844,  pp.  269  sq.,  and  Commentary,  Introd.  pp.  xvii.  sq.).  This  represents  the  present'  order  of 
the  parts  as  substantially  that  of  their  composition.  It  accordingly  conceives  of  the  first  collec- 
tion (chaps,  i.  — ix.)  as  originating  pretty  soon  after  Solomon,  in  the  9th  century  B.  G. ;  it  then 
appends  to  this,  shortly  before  the  times  of  Hezekiah,  or  in  the  first  half  of  the  8th  century,  the 
second  (chap.  x.  1 — xxii.  16)  together  with  the  latter  part  of  the  fourth  (chap,  xxviii.  17 — xxia. 
27) ;  to  this  it  attaches  "  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  8th  century  "  the  anthology  in  chaps,  xxv. — 
xxvii.,  and  about  a  hundred  years  later  (at  the  beginning  of  the  period  following  the  exile)  the 
intruded  section,  chap.  xxii.  17 — xxiv.  34,  and  the  fragment,  chap,  xxviii.  1 — 16 ;  finally,  at  a 
still  later  day  it  adds  the  supplements  in  chaps,  xxx.,  xxxi. 

We  have  (4)  the  view  of  Delitzsch  (in  Heezog's  Encycl,  as  above  quoted,  especially  pp. 
707  sq.),  with  which  that  developed  by  Bleek  [Introd.,  pp.  634  sq.)  agrees  in  the  main  point, — 
i.  e.,  apart  from  some  subordinate  details  in  which  it  approaches  more  nearly  the  theory  of  Ew- 
ald. According  to  this  the  first  and  largest  section  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  (chap.  i.  1— xxiv. 
22)  comes  from  an  age  earlier  than  Hezekiah,  the  second  and  smaller  commencing  with  xxiv.  23, 
from  Hezekiah's  times.  The  compiler  of  the  first  half  lived  possibly  under  Jehoshaphat,  within 
a  century  of  Solomon.  As  material  for  the  middle  and  main  division  of  this  work,— the  germ, 
the  mam  trunk,  consisting  of  the  genuine  proverbial  wisdom  of  Solomon  as  contained  in  chap.  x. 
1— xxii.  16,— he  availed  himself  above  all  of  the  rich  treasures  of  the  3,000  proverbs  of  Solomon, 
which  were  undoubtedly  all  fully  preserved  to  his  day,  and  from  which  he  may  be  assumed  to 
have  taken  at  least  all  that  were  of  religious  and  ethical  value.  Still  he  appears  to  have  ga- 
thered up  much  that  is  not  from  Solomon,  and  therefore  to  have  united  in  one  collection  the  no- 
blest and  richest  fruits  of  the  proverbial  poetry  of  the  wise  king,  with  the  most  valuable  of  the 
"  side  shoots  which  the  Maschal  poetry  put  forth,  whether  from  the  mouth  of  the  people  or  the 
poets  of  that  day."  To  this  collection  he  prefixed  the  long  Introduction  in  chaps,  i.— ix.;  a  monu- 
ment of  his  high  poetic  inspiration,  not  in  the  strict  form  of  the  Maschal,  but  that  of  long  poetic 
admonitions,— in  which  he  dedicated  the  whole  work  to  the  instruction  of  youth.     At  the  same 


2  12.  ORIGIN  AND  COMPOSITION  OF  THE  COLLECTION.  29 

time  he  added  an  appendix,  chap.  xxii.  17 — xxiv.  22,  consisting  of  proverbs  from  various  wise 
men,  and  commencing  with  an  apostrophe  to  youth  (chap.  xxii.  17 — 21)  the  tone  of  which  re- 
minds one  of 'the  longer  Introduction. 

While  according  to  this  view  the  first  and  larger  section  purports  to  be  essentially  a  book  for 
youth,  the  second  and  shorter  division,  whose  nucleus  is  formed  by  the  proverbs  of  Solomon  com- 
piled by  the  men  of  Hezekiah,  is  evidently  a  book  for  the  people,  a  treasury  of  proverbial  wisdon? 
for  kings  and  subjects, — as  is  indicated  by  the  first,  introductory  proverb :  "  It  is  the  glory  of 
God  to  conceal  a  thing,  and  the  honor  of  kings  to  search  out  a  matter."  After  the  analogy  of 
the  first  collection,  to  these  proverbs  gathered  by  Hezekiah  (or  this  treasury  of  "  Solomon's 
wisdom  in  Hezekiah's  days,"  in  Stibe's  apt  phrase),  a  sort  of  introduction  was  prefixed,  chap, 
xxiv.  23-34,  and  a  supplement  was  added,  consisting  of  the  proverbial  discourses  of  Agur  and 
Lemuel,  and  the  poem  in  praise  of  a  virtuous  matron,  in  chap,  xxx.,  xxxi.  Thus,  like  the  older  col- 
lection of  the  proverbs  of  Solomon,  this  made  by  Hezekiah  has  "  proverbs  of  wise  men  on  the 
right  and  on  the  left;"  "  the  king  of  proverbial  poetry  stands  here  also  in  the  midst  of  a  worthy 
retinue."  As  .to  the  time  of  the  origin  of  the  second  collection,  we  are  indeed  not  to  assume  the 
reign  of  Hezekiah  itself,  but  the  next  subsequent  period.  The  personality  of  the  collector  of  this 
second  main  division  stands  far  more  in  the  background  than  that  of  the  author  of  the  first, 
larger  collection,  who  in  its  introductory  chapters  has  given  rich  proofs  of  his  oipn  poetical  en- 
dowments and  his  wisdom.  Prom  which  of  the  two  the  general  superscription  of  the  whole, 
chap.  i.  1-6,  has  come,  must  remain  a,  question ;  yet.it  is  from  internal  evidence  more  probable 
that  it  was  the  last  collector  who  prefixed  this  to  the  book. 

We  have  presented  with  especial  fullness  this  hypothesis  of  Delitzsoh  in  regard  to  the  ori- 
gin of  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  because  it  is  in  itself  the  most  attractive  of  all,  and  offers  the  most 
satisfactory  explanation  of  the  various  phenomena  that  arrest  the  attention  of  the  observant 
reader,  as  he  considers  the  superscriptions  and  the  internal  peculiarities  of  the  several  parts.  It 
is  less  forced  and  artificial  than  the  theory  of  HiTZia,  which  shows  itself  arbitrary  and  hypercri- 
tical, especially  in  breaking  up  the  section,  chap.  xxv. — xxix.;  and  it  does  not  rest  content  with  the 
mere  negative  results  of  criticism,  like  the  analysis  of  Bebtheau,  which  is  also  chargeable  with 
excess  of  critical  sharpness.  In  comparison  with  Ewald's  hypothesis  it  has  the  advantage,  that 
it  rests  upon  a  more  correct  conception  of  the  order  of  the  development  of  gnomic  poetry  among 
the  ancient  Hebrews.  For  it  rejects  as  a  one-sided  and  arbitrary  dictum,  Ewald's  axiom,  that 
the  antithetic  verse  of  two  members  which  predominates  in  chap.  x.  l^xxii.  16,  is  the  old- 
est form  of  the  Maschal,  and  that  all  proverbs  and  gnomic  discourses  otherwise  constructed,  by 
their  departure  from  the  typical  form  betray  their  origin  as  decidedly  later  than  the  days  of  So- 
lomon. It  accordingly  allows  that  sections  in  which  there  is  a  preponderance  of  gnomic  dis- 
lourses  and  gnomic  songs,— such  as  chap,  i.— ix.  and  xxii.  17— xxiv.  22,  may  come,  if  not  from 
Solomon  himself,  at  least  from  the  age  immediately  after  Solomon.  It  likewise  recognizes  in  the 
collection  that  dates  from  Hezekiah's  day  proverbial  poetry  which  is  mainly  the  genuine  work 
of  Solomon,  or  at  least  stands  very  near  his  day,  and  whose  artistic  character  by  no  means  (as 
EwALD  thinks)  contains  traces  of  a  decay  in  purity  and  beauty  of  form  that  is  already  quite  far 
advanced. 

Only  in  this  particular  are  we  unable  altogether  to  agree  with  Delitzsoh,  that  he  would  find 
in  chap,  x.— xxii.  together  with  a,  selection  from  the  3,000  proverbs  of  Solomon,  much  that  is  his 
only  in  a  secondary  sense.  We  believe  rather  that  it  is  just  this  main  division  which  contains 
nothing  but  fruits  of  Solomon's  gnomic  wisdom  in  the  narrowest  and  strictest  sense,  and  that 
repetitions  of  individual  proverbs  within  the  section,  which  are  partly  identical  and  partly  ap- 
proximative, in  which  especially  Delitzsoh  thinks  he  finds  support  for  the  view  that  we  are  now 
Combating,  are  to  be  otherwise  explained.  They  are,  like  the  repetitions  of  discourses  of  Christ 
in  the  Gospels,  to  be  partly  charged  to  diversity  in  the  sources  or  channels  of  the  later  oral  or 
written  tradition,  and  in  part  recognized  as  real  tautologies  or  repetitions  which  the  wise  king 
now  and  then  allowed  himself.  We  should,  on  the  other  hand,  be  disposed  rather  to  conjecture, 
that  in  the  supplements,  chap.  xxii.  17— xxiv.  34,  which  are  expressly  described  as  "  words  of 
wise  men  "  and  perhaps  also  in  Hezekiah's  collection,  chap.  xxv. — xxix.,  there  is  no  inconsiderable 
number  of  utterances  of  wise  men  of  Solomon's  time,  such  as  Heman,  Ethan,  Chalkol,  etc.;  and 


30 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PEOVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


this  simply  for  the  reason,  that  the  superscriptions  D'DDn  n.3T  (xxii.  17)  [words  of  wise  men], 
and  D'DDnS  nSs  DJ  (xxiv  23)  [these  also  are  from  wise  men],  together  with  the  peculiarity  of 
diction' which  po'ints'to  a  high  antiquity,  make  such  a  conjecture  reasonable  The  short  section 
beginning  with  the  superscription  last  cited,  chap.  xxiv.  23-34,  we  should  be  n.ost  inclined,  ir 
concurrence  with  the  majority  of  expositors,  to  regard  as  .  second  appendix  to  the  first  mam 
collection  because  the  assumption  of  Delitzsch  that  it  ig  a  sort  of  Introit  to  the  second  mam 
division,  of  the  same  age  as  the  section,  chap,  x^v.-xxix.,  strikes  us  m  no  other  way  than  as  too 
bold  and  destitute  of  all  adequate  foundation.  .     .  .       xt.        i  i  * 

It  remains  only  to  speak  briefly  of  the  superscnptions  to  the  two  supplements 
in  chapters  xxx  xxxi.  The  "Agur,  son  of  .Jakeh "  (?)  to  whom  the  contents  of  chap- 
ter XXX  are  accredited,  is  a  wise  man  otherwise  altogether  unknown,  whose  era  we  are 
as  unable  to  determine  with  certainty  as  his  residence,  whose  very  name  is  almost  as  difficult 
and  uncertain  in  its  interpretation  as  are  the  words  next  succeeding  m  chapter  xxx.  1. 
S3N1  Sn'H'xS  SN-rCN^  13Jn  DN'  NB^SH.  Perhaps  instead  of  the  common  translation  of 
these  words  ■  "  the  prophetic  address  of  the  man  to  Ithiel,  to  Ithiel  and  Ucal"  ["  even  the  pro- 
phecy •  the  man  spake  unto  Ithiel,  even  unto  Ithiel  and  Uoal,"  E.  V.],  the  interpretation  of 
HiTZiG,  adopted  also  by  Bemheau,  Hahn  and  Delitzsch,  should  be  followed.  According  to 
this,  the  words  rtpi^  j?  ["  son  of  Jakeh  "]  by  a  change  of  punctuation  are  to  be  connected  closely 
with  the  word  Ntysn  ;  thus  for  the  beginning  of  the  whole  superscription  we  reach  this  meaning: 
"Words  of  Agur,"  the  son  of  her  whose  dominion  is  Massa"  [mo  nnp  [3),  i.  e.,  son  of  the 
queen  of  Massa.  This  queen  of  Massa  we  should  then  have  to  regard  as  the  same  person  who 
in  the  superscription  to  the  next  supplement  (chap,  xxxi.)  is  designated  as  the  "  mother  of  King 
Lemuel."  For  in  this  passage  also  S'^D  must  be  regarded  as  the  name  of  a  country,  and  the 
NiJ/n  Ijbo  [King  of  Massa]  as  perhaps  an  Israelitish  Arab,  or,  as  Delitzsch  suggests,  an  Ish- 
maelitish  prince,  whose  kingdom,  to  judge  from  the  mention  of  it  in  Gen.  xxv.  14;  1  Chron.  i. 
30,  must  have  lain  in  Northern  Arabia,  and  whose  brother  would  have  been  the  Agur  in  ques- 
tion. [FuBRST  {ubi  supra,  pp.  76-7)  regards  KEJp  as  a  common  noun,  singular  in  form,  but  col- 
lective in  import,  having  the  meaning  common  in  the  prophets,  "  a  prophetic  or  inspired  utter- 
ance." The  symbolical  meaning  found  here  by  Jewish  tradition  may  be  reserved  for  the  exege- 
tioal  notes  on  this  chapter.— A.]  Further  arguments  in  support  of  this  interpretation  (first  pre- 
sented by  HiTzia  in  the  Articles  in  Zelleb's  TheoL  Jahrb.,  1844,  cited  above,  and  adopted,  al- 
though with  various  modifications,  by  the  other  interpreters  whom  we  have  named),  and  in  re- 
ply to  all  conflicting  interpretations,  will  be  brought  forward  in  the  special  exegesis  of  the  pas- 
sages involved.  We  shall  there  have  occasion  to  discuss  the  further  question,  whether  the  whole 
substance  of  chap.  xxx.  is  to  be  referred  to  Agur,  and  all  in  chap.  xxxi.  to  Lemuel,  or  whether  at 
least  the  Alphabetic  poem  in  praise  of  a  virtuous  matron  must  not  be  regarded  (as  is  done  by 
nearly  all  the  recent  commentators)  as  the  work  of  another  author. 

513.    THE   RELATION    OP   THE   MASOEBTIO    TEXT    OP    THE    COLLECTION    TO    THE    ALEXANDKIAN. 

In  the  LXX  there  occur  many,  and  in  some  instances  very  remarkable  deviations  from  the 
common  Hebrew  text  of  the  Proverbs.  These  consist  in  glosses  to  many  obscure  passages  [i.  e., 
either  in  readings  that  are  actually  correct  and  primitive,  as,  e.  g.,  xi.  24 ;  xii.  6 ;  xv.  28  ;  xviii. 
1  ;  xix.  28  ;  xxi.  6,  28,  etc.,  or  in  wild  emendations,  as  in  xii.  12 ;  xviii.  19;  xix.  25  ;  xxiv.  10, 
etc.),  in  completing  imperfect  sentences  (as,  e.g.,  xi.  16;  xvi.  17;  xix.  7),  in  independent  addi- 
tions or  interpolations  (e.  g.,  after  i.  18  ;  iii.  15 ;  iv.  27 ;  vi.  8,  11 ;  viii.  21 ;  ix.  6,  10,  12  ;  xii. 
13;  xiii.  13,  15,  etc.),  in  double  versions  of  one  and  the  same  proverb  (e.  g.,  xii.  12;  xiv.  22; 
XV.  6  ;  xvi.  26 ;  xvii.  20  ;  xviii.  8  ;  xxii.  8,  9  ;  xxix.  7,  25 ;  xxxi.  27,  in  the  omission  of  whole 
verses  (e.g.,  i.  16;  xvi.  1,  3  ;  xxi,  5  ;  xxiil.  23,  etc.),  and  finally  in  the  transposition  of  entire 
passages  of  greater  length.  Accordingly,  of  the  proverbs  of  Agur,  the  first  half  (chap.  xxx.  1- 
14)  is  inserted  after  chap.  xxiv.  22,  and  the  second,  chap.  xxx.  15-33,  together  with  the  words 
of  King  Lemuel,  after  xxiv.  34;  the  two  supplements,  therefore  with  the  exception  of  the  praise 
of  the  excellent  matron  (chap.  xxxi.  10 sq.)  appear  associated  with  the  "words  of  wise  men" 
which  stand  between  the  elder  and  the  later  collection  of  proverbs. 


§  14.  THE  POETICAL  FORM  OF  PROVERBS.  31 


These  deviations  are  so  considerable  that  they  compel  the  assumption  that  there  were  (juite 
early  two  different  recensions  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  one  belonging  to  Palestine,  the  other  to 
Egypt,  the  former  of  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  the  Masoretic  text,  the  latter,  of  the  Alexandrian 
version.  The  Egyptian  text  appears  in  general  to  abound  more  in  corruptions  and  arbitrary 
alterations  of  the  original ;  sometimes,  however,  it  preserves  the  original  most  correctly,  and 
seems  to  have  drawn  from  primitive  sources  containing  the  genuine  proverbial  wisdom  of  Solo- 
mon. Especially  is  it  true  that  not  a  few  of  the  additions  which  it  exhibits  on  a  comparison 
with  the  Hebrew  text,  breathe  a  spirit,  bold  and  lofty,  as  well  as  thoughtful  and  poetic  (see,  e.  g., 
iv.  27 ;  ix.  12;  xii.  13  ;  xix.  7,  etc.) ;  these  appear,  therefore,  as  fruits  grown  on  the  stock  of  the 
noble  poetry  of  wisdom  among  the  ancient  Hebrews, — in  part  even  as  pearls  from  the  rich 
treasures  of  Solomon's  3,000  proverbs  (1  Kings  iv.  32). 

Note  1.— The  critical  gain  for  the  emendation  of  the  text  and  for  the  interpretation  of  the 
Book  of  Proverbs  that  is  yielded  by  the  parallels  of  the  LXX  may  be  found  most  carefully  tested 
and  noted — though  not  without  many  instances  of  hypercritical  exaggeration  and  arbitrary  deal- 
ing— in  Fe.  Bottchbr's  "Neue  exegetischkriiische  Aehrenlese  zum  A.  T.,"  III.,  pp.  1-39 ;  in 
P.  DB  Laoaede's  " Anmerkungen  zur  griechischenUeberselzung  der  Froverbien"  (Leipz.,  1863); 
in  M.  Hbidenheim's  Article,  "Zur  Texlkrilik  der  Froverbien"  [Deutsche  Vierteljahrsschr.  fur 
englisch-theol.  Forschung,  u.  s.  w.,  VIII.,  Gotha,  1865,  pp.  395  sq.) ;  as  well  as  in  the  Commen- 
taries of  Bbrthbatt  (see  especially  Introd.,  pp.  xlv.  sq.)  and  HiTzia  (Introd.,  pp.  xix.  sq.; 
xxiii.  sq.).  The  last  mentioned  writer  has  also  thoroughly  discussed  the  variations  of  the  Sy- 
riac  version  (Peschito),  the  Vulgate  and  the  Targum  (pp.  xxvii.  sq.);  of  these,  however,  in  ge- 
neral, only  the  first  named  are  of  any  considerable  critical  value,  and  that  usually  only  in  the 
cases  where  they  agree  with  those  of  the  LXX. 

Compare  furthermore  the  earlier  works  of  J.  G.  Jae&ee,  Observationes  in  From.  8alom.  ver- 
sionem  Alexandrinam,  Lips.,  1786;  Schlbtjssnbe,  Opuscula  critica  ad  versiones  Grcecas  V.  T. 
pertinentia,  Lips,,  1812,  pp.  260  sq.;  and  also  Dathb,  De  ratione  consensus  versionis  Chaldaiece 
et  Syriacce proverbiorum  Salomonis  (in  Dathii  Opuscc.  ed.  Rosenmubllbe,  pp.  lOSsq.). 

Note  2. — Umbeeit  in  his  Commentary  has  taken  special  notice  of  several  other  ancient  Greek 
versions  beside  the  LXX,  especially  the  Versio  Veneia,  which  is  for  the  most  part  strictly  lite- 
ral. Another  text  which  is  likewise  quite  literal,  which  Peocopius  used  in  his  'TSp/ii/veia  cif  toj- 
napotfiiac,  and  which  Anqelo  Mai  has  edited  in  Tom.  IX.  of  his  Glass.  Auetor.,  may  be  found 
noticed  in  Hbidenhbim  (as  above). 

?  14.  the  poetical  foem  op  peoveebs. 
The  simplest  form  of  the  Maschal,  or  the  technical  form  of  poetry  among  the  Hebrews,  is  a 
verse  consisting  of  two  short  symmetrically  constructed  clauses, — the  so-called  distich  [Zweizei- 
ler,)3a  Delitzsch  calls  it,  following  Ewald's  peculiarly  thorough  investigations  on  the  subject 
before  us.  The  mutual  relation  of  the  two  members  or  lines  of  this  kind  of  verse  shapes  itself 
very  variously,  in  accordance  with  the  general  laws  for  the  structure  of  Hebrew  poetry.  There 
are  synonymous  distichs,  in  which  the  second  line  repeats  the  meaning  of  the  first  in  a  form  but 
slightly  changed,  for  the  sake  of  giving  as  clear  and  exhaustive  a  presentation  as  possible  of  the 
thought  involved  (e.  jr.,  xi.  7,  25  ;  xii.  28  ;  xiv.  19;  xv.  3,  10, 12,  ete.).  There  are  antithetic 
distichs,  in  which  the  second  illustrates  by  its  opposite  the  truth  presented  in  the  first  (e.  g.,  x. 
I  sq.;  xi.  1  sq ;  xii.  1  sq.;  xv.  1  sq.).  There  are  synthetic  distichs,  the  two  halves  of  which  express 
truths  of  different  yet  kindred  import  [e.  g.,  x.  18,  24,  etc.).  There  are  integral  (eingedankige)  dis- 
tichs, in  which  the  proposition  cor?menced  in  the  first  half  is  brought  to  completion  only  by  the 
second,  the  thought  which  is  to  be  presented  extending  through  the  two  lines  (as  in  xi.  31 ;  xiv.  7, 
10;  xvi.  4, 10 ;  xxii.  28).  There  are  imaRy parabolic  distichs,  i.  e.,  maxims  which  in  some  form  or 
other  exhibit  comparisons  between  a  moral  idea  and  an  object  in  nature  or  common  life :  and  thia 
is  effected  sometimes  by  3  [as]  in  the  first  clause  and  f3  [so]  in  the  second,  that  is,  in  the  form  na- 
tural to  comparisons, — sometimes,  and  more  usually,  in  such  a  way  that  the  proposed  object  and  its 
counterpart  are  set  loosely  side  by  side,  with  a  suggestive,  emblematic  brevity,  with  or  without  the 
copulative  1  (xi.  22 ;  xvii.  3 ;  xxv.  25 ;  xxvi.  23 ;  xxvii.  21,  etc.).  In  the  central  main  division  of 
the  collection,  chap.  x. — xxii.  16,  all  the  proverbs  are  these  short  distichs,  and,  as  has  been  already 


82  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PKQVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


said,  the  larger  part  of  them  (especially  in  the  first  six  chapters  of  the  section)  antithetic  distichs, 
distinguished  by  the  "  but "  (Hebr.  1)  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  line  (compare  1 12,  p.  27,  and 
below^^  15).  In  the  supplements  to  the  oldest  collection  (xxii.  17— xxiv.  34)  as  well  as  in  the 
gleanings  of  Hezekiah's  men,  there  are  found  however  not  a  few  instances  of  the  extension  of  the 
simple  typical  distich  to  a  verse  of  several  lines,  or  of  the  multiplication  of  the  couplet  to  four-,  six- 
er eight-lined  verses.* 

In  the  case  of  these  longer  proverbs,  which  comprise  several  verses,  we  find  repeated,  if  not 
every  one,  yet  the  greater  part  of  the  diverse  relations  of  the  first  to  the  second  half  of  the  pro- 
verb, which  we  had  observed  in  the  distichs.  There  are,  it  is  true,  no  antithetic  stanzas  of  four 
lines,— but  there  are  synonymous  verses  {e.g.,  xxiii.  15  sq.;  xxiv.  3  sq,;  xxiv.  28  sq,), — synthe- 
tic (xxx.  5  sq.),— stanzas  with  a  single  idea  (xxii.  22  sq.,  26  sq.;  xxx.  17  sq.), — and  parabolic 
verses  (xxvi.  18  sq.;  xxv.  4  sq.).  Specimens  of  the  six-lined  stanzas  (which  are  constructed 
mainly  with  a  single  thought,  or  in  the  synthetic  form)  are  to  be  found,  e.  g.,  in  xxiii.  1-8,  12- 
14,  19-21,  26-28  ;  xxiv.  11-12  ;  xxx.  29-31.  Verses  22-25  of  chapter  xxiii.  compose  a  stanza 
of  eight  lines,  synthetic  in  its  structure.  Side  by  side  with  this  normal  multiplication  of  the 
couplet  to  form  stanzas  of  four,  six  or  eight  lines,  there  are  abnormal  or  one-sided  growths,  re- 
sulting in  triplets,  with  the  first  division  of  two  lines  and  the  second  of  one  (e.  g.,  xxii.  29  ;  xxiv. 
8 ;  xxvii.  22  ;  xxviii.  10,  etc), — or  in  stanzas  of  five  lines  (xxiii.  4sq.;  xxv.  6  sq.;  xxx.  32  sq.), 
or  in  stanzas  of  seven  lines,  of  which  at  least  one  example  appears  in  chap,  xxiii.  6-8. 

If  the  proverb  extends  itself  beyond  the  compass  of  seven  or  eight  lines,  it  becomes  the  Mas- 
chal  (or  gnomic']  poem,  without  a  fixed  internal  order  for  the  strophes.  Such  a  poem  (or  song) 
is,  for  example,  the  introductory  paragraph  [of  one  main  division],  chap.  xxii.  17-21 ;  and  again, 
the  meditation  on  the  drunkard,  xxiii.  29-35;  that  on  the  lazy  husbandman,  xxiv.  80-34;  the 
admonition  to  diligence  in  husbandry,  xxvii.  23-27 ;  the  prayer  for  the  happy  medium  between 
poverty  and  riches,  xxx.  7-9 ;  the  prince's  mirror,  xxxi.  2-9,  and  the  alphabetically  constructed 
song  in  praise  of  the  matron,  xxxi.  10-31. 

The  introductory  main  division,  chap.  i.  7 — ix.  18,  consists  wholly  of  these  proverbial  poems,  and 
of  15  of  them  (see  in  \  16  the  more  exact  enumeration  of  these  15  subdivisions,  which  may  again 
be  classed  in  three  larger  groups).  Inasmuch  as  the  rhetorical  presentation  throws  the  poetical 
in  these  oases  usually  quite  into  the  background,  these  Maschal  poems  may  almost  be  called  with 
greater  propriety  Maschal  discourses.  Yet  within  these  there  is  no  lack  of  poetical  episodes,  lofty 
and  artistic  in  their  structure,  among  which  we  would  name  especially  the  allegory  of  the  banquet 
of  Wisdom  and  Folly  (chap.  ix.  1  sq.),  and  also  the  numerical  proverb  in  eight  lines  concerning 
"  the  six  things  which  the  Lord  hates  and  the  seven  that  are  an  abomination  to  Him  "  (in  chap.  vi. 
16-19).  Of  these  numerical  proverbs,  or  ^IT?,  as  they  are  called  in  the  poetry  of  the  later  Ju- 
daism, chap.  XXX.,  as  is  well  known,  contains  several  (vers.  7  sq.,  15  sq.,  18  sq.,  21  sq.,  24  sq.). 
In  the  Son  of  Sirach's  collection  of  proverbs  likewise  we  find  several  examples  of  the  same  kind 
(e.  g.,  Ecclesiasticus  xxiii.  16 ;  xxv.  7 ;  xxvi.  5,  28).  Further  observations  on  the  origin  and  im- 
port of  this  peculiar  poetic  form  may  be  found  in  notes  on  chap.  vi.  16.  Now  and  then  the  Book 
of  Proverbs  contains  forms  analogous  to  the  Friamel  [prceambulum,  a  peculiar  type  of  epigram, 
found  in  German  poetry  of  the  14th  and  15th  centuries — A.] ;  see,  e.  g.,  xx.  10  ;  xxv.  3;  xxvi. 
12 ;  xxx.  11-14 ;  yet  this  form  is  hardly  found  except  in  the  most  imperfect  state. 

The  last  of  the  technical  forms  of  the  poetry  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  is  that  of  the  Maschal- 
eeries,  i.  e.,  a  sequence  of  several  proverbs  relating  to  the  same  objects,  e.  g.,  the  series  of  proverbs 
concerning  the  fool,  chap.  xxvi.  1-12,— the  sluggard,  xxvi.  13-^6,- the  brawler,  xxvi.  20-22,— the 

*  [In  English  Biblical  literature,  Bishop  Lowth'8  discusBion  and  classification  has  been  the  basis  generally  aasnmed. 
We  linow  no  clearer  and  more  concise  exhibition  of  this  system  and  the  various  modifications  that  have  been  proposed 
than  that  given  by  W.  Albis  Weight  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of  tU  Bible  (Article  Poekry,  Hebrew).  Lowth  who  is  closely 
followed  by  Stuart,  Edwabds  and  othei-s,  regards  a  triple  classification  aa  suflicient :  synmynums,  anUlheUc  and  tynthetic 
parallelisms.  An  infelicity  in  the  term  symnymims,  in  view  of  the  extent  and  variety  of  its  applications,  was  recognized 
by  LOWTH  himself,  but  more  strongly  urged  by  Bishop  Jedb,  who  proposed  the  term  cognate.  This  appears  to  be  a  real  im- 
provement In  terms.  Mueksoher  (Introd.,  pp.  xlv.  sq.)  proposes  two  additional  classes,  the  gradatinnal  and  the  intra- 
Vfrted,  the  first  of  which  is  well  covered  by  the  term  cognate,  while  the  second,  which  had  been  proposed  by  Jebb,  seems 
open  to  Wrioht's  exception,  that  it  is  "an  unnecessary  refinement."  This  objection  does  not  seem  to  lie  against  the  new 
terms  proposed  in  ZbOKLEB's  nomenclature. — A.] 


2  15.  THE  DOGMATIC  AND  ETHICAL  SUBSTANCE  OF  PROVERBS.  3S 

spiteful,  xxvi.  23-27.  This  form  belongs,  however,  as  Delitzsch  correctly  observes,  "  rather  to 
the  technical  form  of  the  collection  than  to  the  technical  form  of  the  poetry  of  proverbs."  That 
the  former  [the  arrangement]  is  far  more  imperfect  and  bears  witness  to  far  greater  indifference 
than  the  latter, — in  other  words,  that  the  logical  construction,  the  systematic  arrangement  of  in- 
dividual proverbs  according  to  subjects,  especially  within  the  central  main  division,  is  far  from 
satisfactory,  and  baffles  almost  completely  all  endeavors  to  discover  a  definite  scheme, — this  must 
be  admitted  as  an  indisputable  fact,  just  in  proportion  as  we  give  fit  expression  on  the  othei 
hand  to  our  admiration  at  the  wealth  of  forms,  expressive,  beautiful  and  vigorous,  which  the  col- 
lection exhibits  in  its  details. 

Note. — With  reference  to  the  connection  of  the  several  proverbs  one  with  another,  and  also 
with  respect  to  the  progress  of  thought  apparent  in  the  collection  as  a  whole,  we  can  by  no  means 
concur  in  the  opinion  of  J.  A.  Benqel, — at  least  in  regard  to  the  main  divisions,  x.  1  sq.;  xxii.  17 
sq.;  XXV.  1  sq.  The  collection  of  proverbial  discourses,  i.  7 — ix.  18,  being  intentionally  arranged 
according  to  a  plan,  is  of  course  excluded  from  such  a  judgment.  Benqel  says :  "  I  have  often 
been  in  such  an  attitude  of  soul,  that  those  chapters  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs  in  which  I  had  before 
looked  for  no  connection  whatever,  presented  themselves  to  me  as  if  the  proverbs  belonged  in  the 
most  beautiful  order  one  with  another"  (Osk.  Waechtee,  Joh.  Alhrecht  Bengel,  p.  166).  We 
must  pass  the  same  judgment  upon  many  other  expositors  of  the  elder  days,  who  wearied  them, 
selves  much  to  find  a  deeper  connection  between  the  several  proverbs  (see,  e.  g.,  S.  Bohlius, 
Ethica  Sacra,  I.,  297  sq.,  "de  dispositione  ei  cohcereniia  iexius;"  and  Stockee  in  the  Introduction 
to  his  "Sermons  on  the  Froverhs  of  Solomon").  In  regard  to  this  matter  as  old  a  commentator  as 
Maet.  Geibe  judged  quite  correctly  ;*  "Ordo-frustra  qucBritur  uhi  nuUusfuii  observaius.  Quam- 
guamenim sub initium  forte  libricerta  serieHex  noster  sua proposuerit, — attamen  uhi  ad  ipsaspro- 
prie  dioias parabolas  aui  gnomas  deveniiur,  promiseue,  prout  quidque  se  offerebat,  consignaia  vi- 
demus  pleraque,  ita  ut  modo  de  avaritia,  modo  de  mendaeiis,  modo  de  simplioiiate,  modo  de  timore 
Dei  vel  alia  materia  sermonem  institui  videamus,"  etc.  As  in  the  case  of  the  great  majority  of  the 
songs  of  the  Psalter,  in  which  the  arrangement  is  merely  and  altogether  external,  determined  of- 
ten by  single  expressions,  or  by  circumstances  wholly  accidental,  there  is  found  among  the  germi- 
nal elements  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  little  or  no  systematic  order.  The  whole  is  simply  a  combi- 
nation of  numerous  small  elements  in  a  collection,  which  was  to  produce  its  effect  more  by  the 
total  impression  than  by  the  mutual  relation  of  its  various  groups  or  divisions.  To  use  Hee- 
dee's  language  {Spirit  of  Hebrew  Poetry,  II.,  13),  it  is  "  a  beautiful  piece  of  tapestry  of  lofty  di- 
dactic poetry,  which  spreads  out  with  great  brilliancy  its  richly  embroidered  flowers,"  which,  how- 
ever, is  constructed  according  to  no  other  rules  of  art  than  those  perfectly  simple  and  elementary 
ones  to  which  the  pearl  jewelry  and  bright  tapestries  of  Oriental  proverbial  wisdom  in  general 
owe  their  origin.  Comp.  furthermore  the  general  preliminary  remarks  prefixed  to  the  exegetical 
comments  on  chap.  x. 

§  15.    the  dogmatic  AlTD  ETHICAL  SUBSTANCE  OP  THE  PEOVEBBS,  EXHIBITED  IN  A  CAEEFTO 
SUEVEY   OP   THE    CONTENTS   OP  THE    BOOK. 

Inasmuch  as  our  book,  considered  as  an  integral  part  of  the  entire  system  of  the  Scriptures  of  th» 
Old  Testament,  stands  before  us  as  the  central  and  main  source  of  Solomon's  doctrine  of  wisdom  (in 
the  wider  sense), — and  so  bears  as  it  were  written  on  its  brow  its  Divine  designation  to  be  the 
chief  storehouse  of  ethical  wisdom  and  knowledge  within  the  sphere  of  Old  Testament  revelation 
(see  above,  §  1,  and  1 10,  latter  part)  we  must  anticipate  finding  in  it  great  treasures  of  ethical 
teachings,  prescriptions,  rules  and  maxims  for  the  practical  life  of  men  in  their  moral  relations.  In 
fact,  the  ethical  contents  of  the  collection  far  outweigh  the  doctrinal.  And  deeply  significant 
as  may  be  its  contributions  to  the  development  of  individual  subjects  in  dogmatic  theology,  such 
as  are  found  in  various  passages  (e.  g.,  iii.  19  and  viii.  22  sq.  in  their  bearing  upon  the  doctrine  of 

*  It  is  in  vain  to  seek  for  order  where  none  has  been  observed.  For  while  perhaps  near  the  beginning  of  the  book  onr 
King  arranged  his  material  with  a  definite  plan, — yet  when  we  come  to  the  parables  or  gnomes  properly  so  called  we  find 
the  greater  part  recorded  at  random,  as  one  after  another  suggested  itself,  so  that  we  see  the  discourse  turning  now  npon 
aTarice,  then  upon  falsehoods,  again  upon  simplicity,  and  once  more  upon  the  fear  of  God,  or  some  other  subject," 
««<!.— Tb. 

3 


S4  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PEOVBRBS  OF  SOLOMON. 

the  creation ; — viii.  22 — ix.  12  as  related  to  the  doctrine  of  the  eternal  Word  of  God,  and  the  doo 
trine  of  the  Hypostasis  or  of  the  Trinity  in  general; — xv.  11 ;  xvi.  9 ;  xix.  21 ;  xx.  27,  etc.,  as  con- 
nected with  Biblical  Anthropology ;  or  xi.  7 ;  xiv.  32 ;  xv.  24  in  connection  with  the  Old  Testament 
doctrine  of  Immortality  and  the  hope  of  a  Resurrection,  etc.):  still,  as  a  general  rule,  practical  and 
ethical  subjects  are  treated  not  only  more  thoroughly  but  with  a  far  more  direct  interest.  The 
book  deserves  much  more  the  name  of  a  sohoolof  morals,  or  of  a  Codex  of  Ethical  Precepts  for  old 
and  young,  for  princes  and  people,  than  that  of  .Archives  of  Dogmatic  Theology,  or  a  prolific  Repo- 
sitory of  dogmatic  propositions  and  proof-texts. 

The  dogmatic  propositions  do  not,  however,  by  any  means  stand  in  the  midst  of  the  greater 
wealth  of  ethic^al  teachings  and  precepts,  isolated  and  interspersed  without  system.  They  form 
rather  every  where  the  organic  basis.  They  give  expression  to  the  absolute  and  primary  premises 
for  all  the  moral  instruction,  knowledge  and  conduct  of  men,  They  appear  therefore  inseparably 
combined  with  those  propositions  that  are  properly  of  an  ethical  or  admonitory  nature.  It  is  pre- 
eminently the  central  idea  of  the  Divine  Wisdom  as  the  mediator  in  all  the  activity  of  God  in  the 
world  and  in  humanity,  that  shines  out  bright  as  the  sun  upon  this  background  of  religious  truth 
which  is  every  where  perceptible  in  the  book,  and  that  more  or  less  directly  illuminates  every 
moral  utterance.  As  this  eternal  Divine  wisdom  is  the  original  source  in  aU  God's  revelation 
of  Himself  in  natural  and  human  life, — as  it  is  especially  the  mediating  and  executive  agency 
in  the  Divine  revelation  of  the  way  of  life  in  the  law  of  the  Old  Covenant,  and  must  therefore  be 
the  highest  source  of  knowledge  and  the  standard  for  all  the  religious  and  moral  life  of  man, — so 
likewise  does  it  appear  as  the  highest  good,  and  as  the  prescribed  goal  toward  which  men  are  to 
press.  And  the  subjective  wisdom  of  man  is  nothing  but  the  finite  likeness  of  the  wisdom  of 
God,  which  is  not  only  objective,  but  absolute  and  infinite  ;  nothing  but  the  full  unfolding  and 
normal  development  of  the  noblest  theoretical  and  practical  powers  of  the  moral  nature  of  man. 
It  can  be  attained  only  by  the  devotion  of  man  to  its  Divine  original ;  it  is  therefore  essentially 
dependent  upon  the  faar  of  God  and  willing  subjection  to  the  salutary  discipline  ("IDID,  i.  2,  8 ;  iv. 
1,  etc.)  of  the  Divine  word.  He  who  does  not  seek  it  in  this  way  does  not  attain  it,  but  remains 
a  fool,  an  opposer  of  God  and  of  Divine  truth,  who  in  the  same  ratio  as  he  fails  to  raise  Ms  own 
moral  nature  by  normal  development  to  a  living'  likeness  to  God,  fails  also  to  share  in  any  true 
prosperity  in  the  present  life,  to  say  nothing  of  the  blessed  rewards  of  the  future.  He  who  be- 
cause, of  the  fear  of  God  strives  after  true  wisdom,  on  the  contrary  unfolds  his  whole  inner  and 
outer  life  to  such  a  symmetry  of  all  his  powers  and  activities  as  not  only  secures  him  the  praise 
of  a  wise  man  in  the  esteem  of  God  and  men,  but  also  establishes  his  true  and  complete  happi- 
ness for  time  and  eternity. 

A  presentation  of  these  fundamental  ideas  in  the  ethics  of  Solomon,  well  connected,  systema- 
tically arranged  and  exhibited,  cannot  possibly  be  expected  consistently  with  the  note  appended 
to  the  preceding  section  in  reference  'to  the  composition  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs.  If  we  there- 
fore now  endeavor  to  give  a  table  of  contents  as  complete  as  possible,  following  the  arrangement 
of  the  Masoretic  text  and  the  ordinary  division  of  chapters,  we  shall  be  quite  as  unable  to  avoid 
a  frequent  transition  to  heterogeneous  subjects,  as  on  the  other  hand  a  return  in  many  instances 
to  something  already  presented ;  we  must  in  many  cases  dispense  with  even  aiming  at  a  strict 
logical  order  of  ideas.  We  follow  in  the  main  the  "  Summary  of  the  Contents  of  the  Proverbs 
of  Solomon,"  given  by  Staekb  at  the  end  of  his  preface,  pp.  1593  sq.  Only  with  respect  to  the 
first  nine  chapters  do  we  adopt  the  somewhat  different  summaiy  and  division  which 
Dblitzsch  has  given  (pp.  697  sq.)  of  the  "fifteen  proverbial  discourses"  of  the  first  maia 
diTisiou. 


g  15.  THE  DOGMATIC  AND  ETHICAL  SUBSTANCE  OP  PROVERBS.  35 

GENERAL  SUPBESCKIPTION  OP  THE  COLLECTION. 
Chap.  I.  1—6. 

Announcement  of  the  author  of  the  collection   (ver.  1)   of  ita  object  (vers.  2,  3),  and  of  its 

great  value  (vers.  4-6). 

I.  Introductory   Division. 

Chap.  I.  7— IX.  18. 

True  wisdom  as  the  basis  and  end  of  all  moral  effort,  impressed  by  admonition  and  commenda- 
tion upon  the  hearts  of  youth. 

Motto  :  "  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  all  knowledge;"  i.  7. 

1.  Group  of  admonitory  discourses ;  i.  8 — iii.  35. 

1.  Admonition  of  the  teacher  of  wisdom  to  his  son  to  avoid  the  way  of  vice  ;  I.  8-19. 

2.  Warning  delineation  of  the  perverse  and  ruinous  conduct  of  the  fool,  put  into  the 

mouth  of  Wisdom  (personified) ;  I.  20-33. 

3.  Exhibition  of  the  blessed  consequences  of  obedience  and  of  striving  after  wisdom; 

II.  1-22. 

4.  Continuation  of  the  exhibition  of  the  salutary  results  of  this  devout  and  pious  life ; 

III.  1-18. 

5.  Description  of  the  powerful  protection  which  God,  the  wise  Creator  of  the  world,  grants 

to  those  that  fear  Him  ;  III.  19-26. 

6.  Admonition  to  charity  and  justice;  III.  27-35. 

2.  Group  of  admonitory  discourses ;  IV.  1 — VII.  27. 

7.  Report  of  the  teacher  of  wisdom  concerning  the  good  counsels  in  favor  of  piety,  and  the 

warnings  against  vice,  which  were  addressed  to  him  in  his  youth  by  his  father ; 

IV.  1-27. 

8.  Warning  against  intercourse  with  lewd  women,  and  against  the  ruinous  consequences 

of  licentiousness;  V.  1-23. 

9.  Warning  against  inconsiderate  suretyship ;  VI.  1-5. 

10.  Rebuke  of  the  sluggard;  VI.  6-11. 

11.  Warning  against  malice  and  wanton  violence  ;  VI.  12-19. 

12.  Admonition  to  chastity,  with  a  warning  delineation  of  the  fearful  consequences  of 

adultery;  VI.  20-35. 
18.  New  admonition  to  chastity,  with  a  reference  to  the  repulsive  example  of  a  youth  led 
astray  by  a  harlot ;  VII.  1-27. 

3.  Group  of  admonitory  discourses  ;  VIII.  1 — IX.  18. 

14.  A  second  public  discourse  of  Wisdom  (personified)  chap.  VIII.,  having  reference 

a)  to  the  richness  of  her  gifts  (vers.  1-21); 

b)  to  the  origin  of  her  nature  in  God  (vers.  21-31) ;  and 

c)  to  the  blessing  that  flows  from  the  possession  other  (vers.  32-36). 

15.  Allegorical  exhibition  of  the  call  of  men  to  the  possession  and  enjoyment  of  true  wis- 

dom, under  the  figure  of  an  invitation  to  two  banquets  (chap.  IX.), 
a)  that  of  Wisdom ;  vers.  1-12. 
5)  that  of  Folly  ;  vers.  13-18. 

II.  Original  nucleus  of  the  collection, — genuine  proverbs  of  Solomon  ;  X.  1 — XXII.  16. 

Ethical  maxims,  precepts,  and  admonitions,  with  respect  to  the  most  diverse  relations 
of  human  life. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


1.  Exhibition  of  the  difference  between  the  pious  and  the  ungodly,  and  their  respective  lota 

in  life  ;  chap.  X.— XV.* 

a)  Comparison  between  the  pious  and  the  ungodly  with  reference  to  their  life 

and  conduct  in  general ;  X.  1-32. 

b)  Comparison  between  the  good  results  of  piety,  and  the  disadvantages  and 

penalties  of  ungodliness  (chap.  XI.— XV.),  and  particularly 

a)  with  reference  to  just  and  unjust,  benevolent  and  malevolent  con- 
duct toward  one's  neighbor ;  chap.  XI. ; 

P)  with  reference  to  domestic,  civil  and  public  avocations;  chap.  XII; 

7)  with  reference  to  the  use  of  temporal  good,  and  of  the  word  of  God 
as  the  highest  good  :  chap.  XIII.  ; 

<5)  with  reference  to  the  relation  between  the  wise  and  the  foolish,  the 
rich  and  the  poor,  masters  and  servants:  chap.  XIV. ; 

f )  with  reference  to  various  other  relations  and  callings  in  life,  espe- 
cially within  the  sphere  of  religion  :  chap.  XV. ; 

2.  Exhortations  to  a  life  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  in  obedience ;  (chap.  XVI.  1— XXII.  16);  and 

in  particular 

a)  to  confidence  in  God  as  the  wise  regulator  and  ruler  of  the  world ; 

chap.  XVI. ; 
/3)  to  contentment  and  a  peaceable  disposition;  chap.  XVII. ; 
y)  to  affability,  fidelity,  and  the  other  virtues  of  social  life ;  ch.  XVIII. ; 
i5)  to  humility,  meekness  and  gentleness  ;  chap.  XIX. ; 

e)  to  the  avoidance  of  drunkenness,  indolence,  quarrelsomeness,   etc.  ; 

chap.  XX. ; 

f)  to  justice,  patience,  and  dutiful  submission  to  God's  gracious  control ; 

chap.  XXI. ;  . 
7)  to  the  obtaining  and  preserving  of  a  good  name  ;  chap.  XXII.  1-16. 

III.  Additions  made  before  Hezekiah's  day  to  the  genuine  proverbs  of  Solomon 

■which  form  the  nucleus  of  the  collection ;  chap.  XXII.  17 — XXIV.  34. 

1st  Addition :  Various  injunctions  of  justice  and  prudence  in  life ;  XXII.  17 — XXIV.  22. 

a)  Introductory  admonition  to  lay  to  heart  the  words  of  the  wise  ;  XXII. 

17-21 ; 

b)  Admonition  to  justice  toward  others,  especially  the  poor  ;  XXII.  22-29 ; 

c)  Warning  against   avarice,   intemperance,  licentiousness  and   other   such 

vices:  chap.  XXIII.; 

d)  Warning   against   companionship   with   the   wicked   and   foolish ;    chap. 

XXIV.  1-22. 

2d  Addition  :  chap.  XXIV.  23-34. 

a)  Various  admonitions  to  right  conduct  toward  one's  neighbor ;  vers.  23-29. 

b)  Warning  against  indolence  and  its  evil  consequences  :  vers.  30-34. 

IV.  Gleanings  by  the  men  of  Hezekiah;  chap.  XXV. — XXIX. 

True  wisdom  proclaimed  as  the  highest  good  to  Kings  and  their  subjects. 
Superscription ;  XXV.  1. 

1.  Admonition  to  the  fear  of  God  and  to  righteousness,  addressed  to  Kings  and  subjects  • 
chap.  XXV. 

*  The  justification  for  comprehending  the  contents  of  these  chapters  under  the  above  heading  ia  to  bo  found  in  this  — 
that  the  ao  called  antithetic  Maschal  form  is  decidedly  predominant  in  them.  Comp.  above  g  14,  p.  32,  and  also  the  gene- 
ral prefatory  remarks  which  introduce  the  exegetical  comments  on  chap.  a. 


?  16.  LITERATURE  ON  THE  BOOK  OF  PROVERBS.  87 


2.  Various  warnings  :  viz. 

a)  Against    disgraceful    conduct   (especially  folly,   indolence,   and    malice) 

chap.  XXVI. 

b)  Against  vain  self-praise  and  arrogance ;  chap.  XXVII.  (with  an  exhorta- 

tion to  prudence  and  frugality  in  husbandry  ;  vers.  23-27). 

c)  Against  unscrupulous,  unlawful  dealing,  especially  of  the  rich  with  the 

poor ;  chap.  XXVIII. 

d)  Against  stubbornness  and  insubordination ;  chap.  XXIX. 

V.  The  Supplements:  chaps.  XXX.,  XXXI. 

1st  Supplement :  the  words  of  Agur ;  chap.  XXX. 

a)  Introduction  :  Of  the  word  of  God  as  the  source  of  all  wisdom  ;  vers.  1-6. 

b)  Various  pithy  numerical  apothegms,  having  reference  to  the  golden  mean 

between  rich  and  poor,  to  profligacy,  insatiable  greed,  pride,  arrogance, 
etc. ;  vers.  7-33. 

2d  Supplement :  The  words  of  Lemuel,  together  with  the  poem  in  praise  of  the  matron  : 
chap.  XXXI. 

a)  Lemuel's  philosophy  for  kings  ;  vers.  1-9. 

6)  Alphabetic  poem  in  praise  of  the  virtuous,  wise,  and  industrious  woman  ; 
vers.  10-31. 

Note.  The  more  thorough  presentation  of  the  didactic  substance  of  the  proverbs  is  reserved 
for  the  exposition  that  is  to  follow,  and  especially  for  the  rubric  "  Doctrinal  and  Practical."  As 
the  best  connected  discussion  of  this  subject  (biblical  and  theological)  we  should  be  able  without 
hesitation  to  commend  that  of  Bexjch  (  Weisheitslehre  der  Hebrder,  pp.  110  sq.),  if  it  were  not 
characterized  by  the  fault  which  pervades  Betjch's  treatise,  so  meritorious  in  other  respects, — 
that  in  the  interest  of  critical  and  humanitarian  views  it  misrepresents  the  stand-point  and  the 
tendency  of  the  Hhokmah-dootrine.  That  is  to  say,  it  insists  that  there  is  in  this  attitude 
of  mind  a  relation  of  indifference  or  even  of  hostility  toward  the  theocratic  cultus  and  the 
ceremonial  law,  like  the  relation  of  the  philosophers  and  free-thinkers  of  Christendom  to  the 
orthodox  creed.  No  less  clearly  does  he  insist  upon  the  general  limitation  to  the  present  life 
of  every  assumption  of  a  moral  retribution  ;  and  in  his  view  there  is  an  entire  absence  of  the 
hope  of  immortality  from  the  view  of  the  world  taken  in  our  book.  For  the  refutation  of 
these  misconceptions  of  Brtjch  (which  are  undeniably  in  conflict  with  such  passages  as,  on 
the  one  side,  xiv.  9  ;  xxviii.  4  sq. ;  xxix.  18,  24  ;  xxx.  17 ;  and  on  the  other  xii.  28  ;  xiv.  32 ; 
IV.  24;  xxiii.  18,  etc.),  Obhleb's  able  treatise  may  be  referred  to:  "  Grundzuge  der  alttes- 
tamend.  Weisheil "  (Tub.  1854,  4) ;  although  this  deals  more  especially  with  the  doctrinal  teach- 
ings of  the  Book  of  Job,  than  with  Proverbs.  See  likewise  Ewald  (as  above  quoted,  pp.  8 
sq. ;  Elstbe,  §  1,  pp.  1-6 ;  Delitzsoh,  pp.  714-716,  and  even  HiTzia,  pp.  xii.  sq.) 

§  16.  THEOLO&ICAL  AND  HOMILETIOAL  LITEBATUEB  ON  THE  BOOK  OP  PEOVEEBS. 

Beside  the  general  commentaries  (of  which  we  shall  have  especial  occasion  to  make  use  of 
Staekb's  Synopsis,  the  Berlehurg  Bible,  J.  Lanqe's  lAcht  und  Reeht,  Wohlfaeth  and  Pisch- 
ee's  Prediger-Bibel,  the  Calwer  Handhuch,  and  Von  Gbelaoh's  Commentary)  we  must  men- 
tion the  following  as  the  most  important  exegetical  helps  to  the  study  of  the  Proverbs.  Mb- 
LANCHTHON:  Explicatio  Proverbiarum,  1525  {0pp.,  T.  XIV.);  Sbbast.  Mtjnstee,  Prov.  8a- 
lom.juxta  hebr.  verit.  translata  et  annolationibus  iUustrata  (without  date) ;  J.  MEECERtrs,  Comm. 
in  Salomonis  Proverbia,  Ecd.  et  Oantic.,  1573 ;  Maldonatus,  Comm.  inprcecipuos  libros  V.  Tes- 
tamenti,  1643;  P.  Q.  Salazae,  In  Prov.  Sal.  Gommentarius,  1636-7;  Mart.  Geiee,  Prov.  Sa- 
lomonis cum  cura  enudeata,  1653, 1725  ;  Thom.  Caetweight,  Commentarii  succincti  et  dilucidi 
in  Prov.  Sal,  1663 ;  Che.  Ben.  Michaelis,  Annotationes  in  Prov.  (in  J.  H.  Michablis,  "  Vbe- 
riores  annotationes  in  Hagiogr.  V.  Test,  libros,"  1720,  Vol.  1) ;  A.  Schtjltens,  Prov.  Salom. 
vers,  integram  ad  Hebr.  fontem  expressit  atque  comm.  adjeeit,  1748 ;  (In  comptnd.  redegit  et 


38  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


obss.  critt.  auxU  G.  J.  L.  Vogel,  Hal.,  1768-9) ;  J.  D.  Michaelis,  Die  Spruche  Sal.  undder 
Predigerubs.  mit  Anmerkungen,  far  Ungdehrte.  1778;  J.  Chr.  Dodeelein,  Die  Spruche  Salo- 
monismU  Anmerkungen.  1778,  3d  edn.  1786  ;  W.  C.  Ziegler,  Neue  Uebers.  derDenkspruch. 
Salomonis  1791-  H.  Mtotinghe,  Uebers.  der  Spr.,  a.  d.  Holland,  von  Scholl,  1800-2 ;  Che. 
Q  Henslee  Srlduterungen  des  1  Buches  Samuels  und  der  Salom.  Denkspruche,  1796  ;  J.  Fe. 
SCHELLING, ' Salomonis  qua:  supermnt  omnia  lat.  vertit  notasque  adjeeit,  1806;  J.  G.  Dahlee, 
Denk-und  SUlenspruehe  Salomos,  nebst  den  Abweichungen  der  Alex.  Vers,  ms  Deutsche  ubers. 
mil  Vorrede  ^on  Blessig,  1810;  C.  P.  W,  Geambeeg,  Das  Buck  der  Spruche  Sal,  neu  uber- 
setzl  ^stemat.  geordnet,  mil  erkl.  Anm.  u.  ParalL,  1828 ;  F.  W.  C.  Umbreit,  Philol.-Krit.  und 
Philos  Comm.  uber  die  Spruche  Sal,  nebst  einer  neuen  Uebers.  Eml  m  dxe  morgenl  Weisheit 
uberhaupt  u.  in  d.  Salomonische  insbes.,  1826  ;  H.  Ewald,  die  poetisohen  Pucker  des  A. 
Bundes,  Th.  IV.,  1837  ;  F.  Matjeee,  Oomm.  gram.  crit.  in  Prov.,  in  usum  academ.iarum  ador- 
natus,  1841 ;  G.  Bbidges,  An  exposition  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  2  Vols.,  Lond.,  1847  [1  Vol., 
New  York,  1847] ;  E.  Bbetheatj,  Die  Spruche  Sal  in  the  "  Kurzgef.  exeg.  Handb.  z.  A.  T." 
1847 ;  Vaihingee,  Die  Spr.  Sal,  1857;  F.  Hitzig,  Die  Spr.  Sal  ubers.  u.  ausgelegt,  1858  ;  E. 
Elstee,  Comm.  uber  d  Salomonischen  Spruche,  1858.  .  [Adolf  Kamphausbn,  in  Bunsen's 
Bibelwerk,  1865]. 

[Besides  the  standard  general  Commentaries  of  Henet,  Patrice,  Adam  Clarke,  Gill,  Oe- 
TON,  Scott,  Teapp  and  others,  a  considerable  number  of  special  commentaries  on  Proverbs  have 
been  written  by  English  and  American  scholars.  Among  these  are  Bede,  Expositio  allegorica  in 
Salom.  Proverbia;  M.  Cope,  Exposition  upon  Proverbs,  translated  by  M.  Outeed,  London, 
1580 ;  P.  A.  MUPPET,  a  Commentary  on  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon,  2d  ed.  London,  1598  ; 
republished  in  Nichol's  Series  of  Commentaries,  Edinburgh,  1868;  T.  Wilcocks  a  short 
yet  sound  Commentary  on  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon  (in  his  works) ;  John  Pod,  a  plain 
and  familiar  exposition  of  Proverbs  (chap.  ix.  to  xvii.),  1608-9 ;  Jbemin,  Paraphrastical  Me- 
ditations by  way  of  Commentary  on  the  whole  Book  of  Proverbs,  London,  1638 ;  F.  Taylob 
(Exposition  with  practical  reflections  on  chaps,  i.— ix.),  London,  1655-7;  Sir  Edward  Leigh, 
in  his  "Annotations  on  the  Five  Poetical  Books  of  the  Old  Testament,"  London,  1657  ;  H. 
Hammond,  Paraphrase  and  Annotations,  etc.;  Richard  Geby,  The  Book  of  Proverbs  divided  ac- 
cording to  metre,  etc.,  London,  1738 ;  D.  Ddeell,  in  his  "  Critical  Remarks  on  Job,  Proverbs, 
etc.  Oxford  1772 ;  T.  Hunt,  Observations  on  several  passages,  etc.,  Oxford,  1775 ;  B.  Hodgson, 
The  Proverbs  of  Solomon  translated  from  the  Hebrew,  Oxford,  1788  ;  G.  Holden,  An  Attempt 
towards  an  Improved  Translation,  etc.,  Liverpool,  1819 ;  G.  Lawson,  Exposition  of  the  Book  of 
Proverbs  Edinb.,  1821 ;  R.  J.  Case,  Comm.  on  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon,  London,  1822  ;  French 
and  Skinner,  a  new  translation,  etc.,  Camb.,  1831 ;  W.  Newman,  The  Proverbs  of  Solomon,  an 
improved  version,  London,  1839;  B,  E.  Nicholls,  The  Proverbs  of  Solomon  explained  and  illus- 
trated London,  1842 ;  G.  R.  Notes,  in  his  "  New  Translation  of  the  Proverbs,  Ecolesiastes  and 
the  Canticles  "  etc.,  Boston,  1846  ;  M.  Stuart,  Commentary  on  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  Andover, 
1852 ;  J.  MuBNSCHEE,  The  Book  of  Proverbs  in  an  amended  Version,  etc..  Gambler,  1866  ;  Che. 
WOEDSWOETH,  Vol.  IV.,  Part  III.  of  his  Commentary  on  the  Bible,  London,  1868.] 

Jewish  Rabbinic  Expositions ;  Ant.  Giggejus,  In  Proverbia  Salomonis  commentarii  trium 
Pabbinorum;  Sal.  Isacidis,  Abr.  Aben  Ezrm,  Levi  ben  Ghersom,  quos  A.  Gigg.  interpret,  est,  cas- 
tig.,  illustr.,  Mediolan,  1620.  Of  the  more  recent  Rabbinical  commentaries,  that  in  Hebrew  by 
LoWENSTEiN,  Frkft.  a.  M.,  1838,  is  of  special  importance,  and  also  that  by  L.  Dukes,  in  Cohen's 
Commentary  (Paris,  1847 ;  Proverbes),  where  the  earlier  expositions  of  learned  Jews  upon  our 
book,  38  in  all,  from  Saadia  to  Lowbnstein,  are  enumerated  and  estimated. 

Literature  in  Monographs.  1.  Critical  and  exegetioal :  J.  F.  Hoffmann  and  J.  Th. 
Speenqer,  Observaiiones  ad  qucedam  loca  Proverbb.  Sal,  Tubing.  1776 ;  *  J.  J.  Rbiske,  Con- 
jectural in  Jobum  et  Prow.  Salom.,  Lips.  1779  ;  A.  S.  Aenoldi,  Zur  Exegetih  und  Kriiik  des  A. 
Tests.,  1.  Beitrag  ;  Anmerkungen  uber  einzelne  Stellen  d.  Spr.  Sal.,  1781 ;  J.  J.  Belleemann, 
uEnigmata   hebraica,  Prov.  xxx.  11  sq.,  15  sq.,  explicata,  spec.  1-3,  Erford.  1798-9;  H.  F. 

•  In  Umbbeit  (p.  IXTi.)  and  in  Keil  (p.  396)  Cbe.  Fa.  Sohncrhbr  is  incorrectly  named  as  the  anther  of  this  little  trea- 
tise.   It  was  rather  a  dlaaertation  defended  by  the  scholars  ahoTO  named  under  Sohhobhee'b  rectorate. 


?  16.  LITERATURE  ON  THE  BOOK  OF  PROVERBS.  39 


MuBHLATJ,  De  proverbiorum  quae  dicwntur  Aguri  ei  Lemuelis  (Prov.  xxx.  1 — xxxl.  9)  oriqine 
aique  indole,  Leips.,  1869. — Compare  moreover  the  works  already  named  in  J  13,  note  1,  among 
which  especial  prominence  should  be  given  to  Fe.  Bottchbe's  "  Neue  exegetisch-kriiische 
Aehrenlese  z.  A.  Test.  (Abth.  III.,  herausg.  von.  P.  Muehlau,  Lips.  1865),  as  likewise  to  the 
treatises  which  are  there  mentioned  by  P.  de  uaAaede  and  M.  Heidenheim  (the  former  judg- 
ing somewhat  too  unfavorably  of  the  LXX,  the  latter  in  some  cases  contesting  the  exaggerations 
of  the  former,  and  in  other  instances  reducing  them  to  their  proper  measure) ;  for  these  are 
important  aids  to  the  criticism  and  exegesis  of  single  passages. 

2.  Practical  and  Homiletical :  Sam.  Bohlius,  Ethica  sacra,  Eost.  1640  (compare  note  to  §  1) ; 
J.  Stockee  (Pastor  at  Eisleben,  died  in  1649)  Sermons  on  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon  ;  Oetinqee, 
Die  Wahrheit  des  sensus  communis  m  den  Spruchen  und  dem  Prediger  Salomonis,  Stuttg., 
1753;  Statjdenmaiee,  Die  Lehrevon  der  Idee  (1840),  pp.37  sq.  (valuable  observations  on 
Prov.  viii.  22  sq.) ;  C.  I.  Nitzsch,  on  the  essential  Trinity  of  God,  Theod.  Stud.  u.  Krit.,  1841, 
II.,  295  (on  the  same  passage ;  see  especially  pp.  310  sq.) ;  R.  Stiee,  Der  Weise  ein  Konig,  So- 
lomon's Proverbs  according  to  the  compilation  of  the  men  of  Hezekiah  (chap.  xxv. — xxix.),  ex- 
pounded for  the  School  and  the  Life  of  all  times.  Barmen,  1849  (the  same  work  also  elaborated  for 
the  laity,  under  the  title  "  Solomon's  wisdom  in  Hezekiah's  days  ") ;  same  author :  "  The  Politics 
of  Wisdom  in  the  words  of  Agurand  Lemuel,"  Prov.  xxx.  and  xxxi.  Timely  scriptural  exposi- 
tion for  every  man,  with  an  appendix  for  scholars.  Barmen,  1850.  [In  English  no  other  recent 
work  of  this  sort  can  be  compared  with  Aenot's  "  Laws  from  Heaven  for  Life  on  Earth,"  2d  edn. 
Lond.,  1866.  Bishop  Hall's  "  Characters  of  Virtues  and  Vices,"  London,  1609,  is  designed  to  be 
an  epitome  of  the  Ethics  of  Solomon.  R.  Waedlaw  :  Lectures  on  the  Book  of  Proverbs  (a 
posthumous  publication),  3  Vols.,  London,  1861]. 


THE 


PROVERBS    OF    SOLOMON. 


General  Superscription  to  the  Collection. 

Announcement  of  the  Author  of  the  Collection,  of  its  Object,  and  of  its  great  value. 

Chap.  I.  1-6. 

1  Proverbs  of  Solomon,  the  son  of  David, 
the  King  of  Israel : 

2  to  become  acquainted  with  wisdom  and  knowledge, 
to  comprehend  intelligent  discourse, 

3  to  attain  discipline  of  understanding, 
righteousness,  justice  and  integrity, 

4  to  impart  to  the  simple  prudence, 

to  the  young  man  knowledge  and  discretion; — 

5  let  the  wise  man  hear  and  add  to  his  learning, 
and  the  man  of  understanding  gain  in  control, 

6  that  he  may  understand  proverb  and  enigma, 
words  of  wise  men  and  their  dark  sayings. 

Inteoductoet   Section. 

Ihie  wisdom  as  the  basis  and  end  of  all  moral  effort,  impressed  by  admonition  and  commendation  upon  the 

hearts  of  youth. 

Chap.  I.  7— IX.  18. 

7  The  fear  of  Jehovah  is  the  beginning  of  knowledge ; 
wisdom  and  discipline  fools  despise. 

First  group  of  Admonitory  or  Gnomic  Discourses. 

Chap.  I.  8— III.  35. 

1.  The  teacher  of  wisdom  admonishes  his  son  to  avoid  the  way  of  viee. 

Chap.  I.  8-19. 

8  Hearken,  my  son,  to  thy  father's  instruction, 
and  refuse  not  the  teaching  of  thy  mother ; 

9  for  they  are  a  graceful  crown  to  thy  head, 
and  jewels  about  thy  neck. — 

10  My  son,  if  sinners  entice  thee, 
consent  thou  not  1 

41 


42  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 

11  If  they  say,  "Come  with  us,  and  we  will  lie  in  wait  for  blood, 
will  plot  against  the  innocent  without  cause; 

12  we  will  swallow  them,  like  the  pit,  living, 

and  the  upright,  like  those  that  descend  into  the  grave; 

13  we  will  find  all  precious  treasure, 
will  fill  our  houses  with  spoil  I 

14  Thou  shalt  cast  in  thy  lot  among  us ; 
one  purse  will  we  all  have!" 

15  My  son !  go  not  in  the  way  with  them, 
keep  back  thy  foot  from  their  path  I 

16  For  their  feet  run  to  evil, 
and  haste  to  shed  blood ; 

17  for    in  vain  is  the  net  spread 

before  the  eyes  of  all  (kinds  of)  birds: 

18  and   these  watch  for  their  own  blood, 
they  lie  in  wait  for  their  own  lives. 

19  Such  are  the  paths  of  every  one  that  grasps  after  unjust  gain ; 
from  its  own  master  it  taketh  the  life. 


Chap.  I.  20-S3. 

2.  Warning  delineation  of  the  perverse  and  ruinous  conduct  of  the  fool,  put  into  the  month  of 

wisdom   (personiiied). 

20  Wisdom  crieth  aloud  in  the  streets, 

on  the  highways  she  maketh  her  voice  heard: 

21  in  the  places  of  greatest  tumult  she  calleth, 

at  the  entrances  to  the  gates  of  the  city  she  giveth  forth  her  ■words : 

22  "  How  long,  ye  simple,  will  ye  love  simplicity, 
and  scorners  delight  in  scorning, 

and  fools  hate  knowledge  I 

23  Turn  ye  at  my  reproof! 

Behold  I  will  pour  out  upon  you  my  spirit, 
my  words  will  I  make  known  to  you ! 

24  Because  I  have  called  and  ye  refused, 

I  stretched  out  my  hand,  and  no  man  regarded  it, 

25  and  ye  have  rejected  all  my  counsel, 
and  to  my  reproof  ye  have  not  yielded ; 

26  therefore  will  I  also  laugh  at  your  calamity, 
will  mock  when  your  terror  cometh  ; 

27  when  like  a  storm  your  terror  cometh, 

and  your  destruction  sweepeth  on  like  a  whirlwind, 
when  distress  and  anguish  cometh  upon  you. 

28  Then  will  they  call  upon  me,  and  I  not  answer, 
they  will  seek  me  diligently  and  not  find  me. 

.29  Because  they  have  hated  sound  wisdom 
and  have  not  desired  the  fear  of  Jehovah, 

30  have  not  yielded  to  my  counsel 
and  have  despised  all  my  reproof, 

31  therefore  shall  they  eat  of  the  fruit  of  their  way 
and  be  surfeited  with  their  own  counsels. 

32  For  the  perverseness  of  the  simple  shall  sky  them, 
and  the  security  of  fools  destroy  them : 

33  he,  however,  who  hearkeneth  to  me  shall  dwell  secure, 
and  have  rest  without  dread  of  evil !" 


CHAP.  I.  1-83.  48 


GBAMMATICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 
Ter.  2.  [We  tave  in  vers.  2,  3,  4,  6  final  clauses,  introduced  by  4,  and  indicating  the  object  with  which  these  wise 

■ayinga  are  recorded.  That  purpose  is  disciplinaiy,  first  with  reference  to  "  the  young  man,"  and  then  to  him  who  Is 
already  "wise."  This  discipline  is  contemplated  not  from  the  point  of  view  of  him  who  imparts,  but  that  of  those  who 
receive  it.    These  considerations  determine  our  choice  of  words  in  translating  several  of  the  terms  employed.    Thus  in 

ver.  2  we  render  Pl^Tv)  not  "to  know,"  as  this  suggests  the  finished  result  rather  than  the  process,  which  is  "  to  become 

acquainted  with,  to  acquire  ;"  so  Zockler,  zu  erlcennen  ;  De  Wktte,  Jcennen  zu  lernen ;  Notes,  ''from  which  men  may  learn;" 
a  little  less  definitely,  B.  V.,  "to  know;"  incorrectly  Holden,  "respecting  the  knowledge."  These  wise  sayings  are  to 
guide  to  and  result  in  knowledge;  but  the  verbs,  except  in  ver.  4,  represent  not  the  teaching,  imparting,  communicat- 
ing, but  the  discerning  and  seizing.    In  respect  to  the  two  shades  of  meaning  to  be  given  to  1D1D  see  the  exeg.  notes. 

Gesen.  and  Fuerst  agree  in  the  etymology  (TD^) ;  Fuerst,  however,  carries  back  the  radical  meaning  one  step  farther;  6., 
"to  chastise,  correct,  instruct;"  F.,  "to  bind  or  restrain,  chastise,"  ete.  It  should,  therefore,  be  borne  in  mind  that  more 
than  the  imparting  of  information  is  intended  by  the  word,  it  is  discipline,  sometimes  merely  intellectual  but  more  fre- 
quently moral, — nJO    "■TDX,  lit.,  "words  of  discernment,"  " words  of  understanding"  (so  E.  V.,  Notes,  Muenscher); 

ST0ART,  " words  of  the  intelligent;"  De  Wettb  like  Zockler,  " verstdndige  Hedm;"  Van  Ess  and  Allioli,  with  whom 
Holden  seems  to  agree,  "die  Worte  {Regeln)  der  Klugheit,"  "  the  words  (rules)  of  prudence." — A.]. 

Ver.  3.  [73E!'n    "ID^D, — our  author's  conception  (see  exeg.  notes)  corresponds  with  that  of  Fuerst  also,  who  makes 

the  genitive  not  merely  objeotive,  as  DbWette,  etc.,  seem  to  do  ("  discipline  of  understanding,"  "die  Zucht  der  Vemunft"), 
but  makes  it  final,  contemplating  the  end  :  Foerst,  "  Z.  zur  Besonnenheit"  Zockler,  "■  einsichtsvolle  Zucht,"  discipline  full 
of  discernment,  insight,  understanding,  i.  c,  in  its  results.  The  rendering  of  most  of  our  English  expositors  is  ambigu- 
ous or  suggests  other  ideas :  E.  V.  and  Muenscher,  "  instruction  of  wisdom ;"  Holden,  "  instruction  in  wisdom ;"  Notes, 

"  the  instruction  of  prudence ;'"  Stdart,  "of  disci^etness.^' — D''1E?rD)  plural  of  that  which  is  "ideally  extended"  and  plea- 

.  ^  ,. 

eurable;  Bottcheb,  Ausf.  Lehrb.,  §  699. — A.]. 

Ver.  5.  [E.  V.,  followed  by  Holden  and  Muensoher,  "  a  wise  m,an  wUl  hear ;"  Noyeb,  "  may  hear ;"  Stuart,  more  forci- 
b]y,"let  the  wise  man  listen,"  like  our  author,  "es  AoVc,"  and  Bottcheb,  {^  950,  d.,"  Fiens  debitum")  "  es  soil  Mren." 
De  Wette  makes  this  a  iinal  clause,  like  those  of  the  three  preceding  verses,  "dass  der  Weise  hore;"  but  see  exeg.  notes. 
EiQVl  is  given  by  Bottchbr  (g  964,  2)  as  an  illustration  of  the  "consultive"  use  of  the  Jussive;  Stuart  makes  it  an  ordi- 
nary Imperf.,  and  renders  "  and  he  will  add ;"  but  his  explanations  are  not  pertinent;  the  1  need  not  be  "  conversive,"  it  is 
simply  copulative,  and  f]DV  which  he  assumes  as  the  normal  Imperf.,is  already  a  Jussive. — ^A.].  np7)  properly  that 
which  is  "taken,  received,  transmitted"  (comp.  the  verb  Hp/j  "to  attain,"  above  in  ver.  3)  is  like  the  Aram,  n73p  (from 
73p)  to  take),  and  like  the  Latin  traditio  [in  its  passive  sense].  The  parallel  term  rn73nr*  (from  7311)  to  lead,  accord- 
ing to  the  analogy  of  the  Arabic,  and  cognate  with  /^Hj  cable,  and  /^Hj  steersman)  is'  by  the  LXX  correctly  rendered 
by  KUj8epv»)(ris. 

Ver.  6.  Ldthee*s  translation  of  the  1st  clause,  "  that  he  may  understand  proverbs  and  their  interpretation,"  cannot 
possibly  be  right;  for  H^f^/Dj  if 't  was  designed  to  convey  any  other  idea  than  one  parallel  to  7U^0  could  not  on  any 

T    ■    :  T  T 

principle  dispense  with  the  sufBx  of  the  Sd  person  (in~),  its,  comp.  Vulgate:  " aniTnadvertat parabolamet  interpretationem." 

[This  is  also  the  rendering  of  the  E.  V.,  which  is  followed  by  Holden,  while  Notes,  Stuart,  Muenscher  and  Words- 
worth, De  Wettb  and  Van  Esb  agree  with  the  view  taken  by  our  author. — A.], 

Ver.  7,  Q"'S''1X»  derived  from  j)^,  crassus  fuit ;  to  be  gross  or  dull  of  understanding; — Geben,,  however,  derives  it 

from  the  radical  idea  "  to  be  perverse,  turned  away,"  and  Fuerbt  "  to  be  slack,  weak,  lax  or  lazy."  [Wordsworth  adopts  the 
latter  explanation — A.]. 

Ver.  8.  [The  different  renderings  given  to  the  verb  of  the  2d  clause  while  agreeing  in  their  substantial  import,  "for- 
sake," "neglect,"  "reject,"  do  not  reproduce  with  equal  clearness  the  radical  idea,  which  is  that  of  "spreading,"  then  of 
"  scattering." — A.]. 

Ver.  10.  t<3Jl,  scriptio  d^ectiva,  for  KDNP*  as  some  50  MSS.  cited  by  Kennicott  and  De  Rossi  in  fact  read,  while  some 

others  prefer  a  different  pointing  K3n~7X  [thou  shalt  not  go],  which  is  however  an  unwarranted  emendation.    The 

LXX  had  the  correct  conception :  tt-rj  Pov\t]0^^,  and  the  Vulgate  :  «e  acguicscos.— [Comp.  Green's  JBeh.  Gram.,  g  111,  2,  b, 
and  g  177,  3.    Bottcher  discusses  the  form  several  times  in  different  connections,  §^  325,  d,  and  n.  2, — 429,  B,  and  1164,  2, 

6,— and  after  enumerating  the  six  forms  which  the  MSS.  supply,  NDB,   X'^H.  n^Kjl,  X^XH,   T\^r\,  and  X^IH  de- 

T  TV 

cides  that  the  original  form,  whose  obscurity  suggested  all  these  modifications,  was  K3j1  =  3XP.    In  signification  he 

classes  it  with  the  "  dehortative  "  Jussives. — A.].  -*• 

Ver.  11.  [E.  v.,  Notes,  Wordsworth,  Luther,  "Van  Esb  agree  with  one  another  in  connecting  the  adverb  with  the 
T«rb,  while  De  Wette,  Holden,  Stuart,  Muenscher  regard  it  as  modifying  the  adjective,  "  him  whose  innocence  is  of  no 
avail  to  protect  him." — A.]. 

Ver.  12.  [B.  V.,  Stuart  and  Muenscher,  like  our  author  connect  D''T1  with  the  object  of  the  main  verb;  XfUBBBn 

and  HiTziG  (see  exeg.  notes)  are  followed  by  De  Wette,  Holden,  Notes  111  connecting  it  with  the  comparative  clause. — 

"Vl   ''^'^i^  ^°^  construction  gee  e.  g.,  Green,  g§  271,  2  and  254,  9,  b.— A.]. 

Ver.  16.  [}'^^^^^,  masc,  verb  with  feminine  subject ;  Bott.,  g  936,  II.,  C.  a;  Green,  g  275,  L  c— A.]. 

Ver.  20.  The  Wisdom  who  is  here  speaking  is  in  this  verse  called  HlD^n,  which  is  not  a  plural  but "  a  new  abstract 

:  T 
derivative  from  HD^H*  formed  with  the«nding  jiV'CEwald,  §  165,  c)  a  form  which  is  also  found  e.  g.,  in  niDfiri,  P«- 

Iixviil.  15.  The  name  recurs  in  the  same  form  in  ix.  1;  xxiv.  7.  [Bottcher,  however,  regards  this  as  an  example  of  the 
pluralis  extern.,  to  denote  emphatically  "  true  wisdom."  See  g  679,  d,  689,  C,  &,  700,  c  and  n.  4.  There  is  no  difficulty  in 
connecting  a  verb  fem.  sing,  with  a  subject  which  although  plural  in  form  is  singular  in  idea. — A.]. — Hil^n.  crieth  aloud, 
from  n^l,  comp.  Lam.  ii.  19;  3d  sing.  fem.  as  also  in  viii.  3  (Ewald,  191,  c).   [Comp.  Green,  g  97, 1,  a,  and  Bott.,  g  929,  d, 

who  with  his  usual  minuteness  endeavors  to  trace  the  development  of  this  idiom. — A.]. 

Ver.  21.  Zockler,  an  den  ISrmvollsten  Orten ;  De  Wettb,  an  der  Mike  Wirmender  Strassen  ;  Fuerst,  der  hewegten  Stra^sen  j 
HoLDEsr,  like  the  Eng.  Ver.,  in  the  chief  place  of  concourse. 


44 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


Ver.  22.  [For  the  yocalization  of  OnXjl  Bee  Oreen,  JJ  60,  3,  c,  111,  2,  e.  For  the  use  of  the  perfect  Hlpn  set 
BoTT.,  ?  948,  2.  He  illustrates  by  auch  classical  perfects  as  iypaiKa,  olSa.  fie'/xaa,  memini,  novi,  and  renders  this  form  by 
concupivcrint. — A.].  _ .  ,  ,     ,         ^.     „    ■      -^^^afi-^n 

Ver.  23.  [ny'3X,  an  fnstance  of  the  intentional  Imperf., m what  Bottcher  calls  its  "  voluntative     signmcanon,— 

^^  Ve'r727.'\niNt:'3,  K'ri  nXTky^,  the  former  derived  from  ^m  or  HNE/,  the  latter  from  Nit?,  of  which  verbs  the 
latter  is  obsolet^e  except  in  derivatives,  while  the  former  occurs  in  one  passage  in  Is  in  the  Niphal.  The  signification 
seems  to  be  one,  and  tue  forms  variations  growing  out  of  the  weakness  of  the  2d  and  3d  radicals.     Comp.  BoTT.,  H  474,  a, 

Instead  of  the  Infin.  NU3,  we  have  in  the  2d  member,  since  3  is  not  repeated,  the  Imperf.  ni1N''.(EwALD,  337,  b) 

[STOiET,  I  129,  3,  n.  2].— A. 

Ver.  28.  ['JJXTp\    UJ^nt?',    'J^NXD'.    These  are  among  the  few  instances  in  which  the  full  plural  ending  j1  is 

found  before  suffixes.    Green,  j  105,  c,  foiT.,  §  1047,/.— A.].  ,    ,      ,.  .     ,     x         v,-     *■ 

Ver.  29.  For  the  use  of  '3    r\VSP\,  "therefore  because,"  compare  Deut.  xxxiv.  7,  and  also  the  equivalent  combination 

"liyN    nnn  in  2  Kings  xxii.  7 ;  2  Chron.  xxi.  12. 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  Vers.  1-6.  The  superscription  to  the  col- 
lection, which  is  quite  long,  as  is  common  with 
the  titles  of  Oriental  books,  is  not  designed  to  be 
a  "table  of  contents"  (Umbreit),  nor  to  give 
merely  the  aim  of  the  book  (so  most  commenta- 
tors, especially  Ewald,  Bertheau,  Elster,  etc.). 
But  beside  the  author  of  the  book  (ver.  1),  it  is 
intended  to  give  first  its  design  (vers.  2,  3),  and 
then,  in  addition,  its  worth  and  use  (vers.  4-6), 
and  so  to  commend  the  work  in  advance  as  salu- 
tary and  excellent  (Starke,  Delitzsch).  Ac- 
cordingly it  praises  the  book  as  a  source  of 
wholesome  and  instructive  wisdom;  1)  for  the 
simple-minded  and  immature  (ver.  4)  ;  2)  for 
those  who  are  already  wise  and  intelligent,  but 
who  are  to  gain  still  more  insight  and  under- 
standing from  its  maxims  and  enigmas  (vera.  5, 
6). — Proverbs  of  Solomon,  etc. — In  regard  to 

the  primary  meaning  of  7E?D,  and  in  regard  to 
the  special  signification  which  prevails  here  in 
the  superscription,  "Proverbs  of  Solomon" 
(maxims,  aphorisms,  not  proverbs  [in  the  cur- 
rent and  popular  sense]),  see  lutrod,,  ^11. — 
To  become  acquainted  with  wisdom  and 
knovyledge. — In  respect  to  riDDn  and  its  sy- 
nonyms (nj'3  and  T\]}_1)  consult  again  the  Introd., 
§  2,  note  3.  ^D^D  properly  "  chastisement,"  sig- 
nifies education,  moral  training,  good  culture 
and  habits,  the  practical  side,  as  it  were,  of  wis- 
dom (LXX :  iraiSeia;  Vulg.:  disciplina).  In 
ver.  2  the  expression  stands  as  synonymous  with 
"wisdom"  (nn^n),  as  in  iv.  13  ;  xxiii.  23,  and 
frequently  elsewhere  ;  in  ver.  3,  on  the  contrary, 
it  designates  an  element  preparatory  to  true 
wisdom  and  insight, — one  serving  as  their  foun- 
dation, and  a  preliminary  condition  to  them. 
For  the    "discipline  of   understanding"    (IDID 

73E'n,  ver.  3)  is  not,  as  might  be  conceived, 
"discipline  under  which  the  understanding  is 
placed,"  but  "discipline,  training  to  reason,  to 
a  reasonable,  intelligent  condition  "  (as  Hitzig 
rightly  conceives  it)  ;  compare  the  "  discipline 
of  wisdom  "  (nDDH  IDW),  xv.  33,  and  for  "un- 
derstanding "  (Saton),  insight,  discernment,  a 
rational  condition,  see  particularly  xxi.  16. 
TJmbreit  and  Ewaip  regard  batyp  as  equivalent 


to  thoughtfulness  ("a  discipline  to  thoughtful- 
ness,"  Zuchtigung  zur  Besonnenheit" ) ;  by  this 
rendering,  however,  the  full  meaning  of  the  con- 
ception is  not  exhausted. — Righteousness, 
justice  and  integrity.  The  three  Hebrew 
terms  plS,  03WD  and  O'lJ^'D  are  related  to  each 
other  as  "righteousness,  justice,  and  integrity,  or 
uprightness"  (Oerechtigkeit,  Rechtund  Geradheit). 
The  first  of  the  three  expressions  describes  what 
is  fitting  according  to  the  will  and  ordinance  of 
God  the  supreme  Judge  (comp.  Deut.  xxxiii.  19); 
the  second,  what  is  usage  and  custom  among  men 
(Is.  xlii.  1 ;  1  Sam.  xxvii.  11) :  the  third,  what  is 
right  and  reasonable,  and  in  accordance  with 
a  walking  in  the  way  of  truth,  and  so  denotes 
a  straight-forward,  honorable  and  upright  de- 
meanor. 

Ver.  4.  To  impart  to  the  simple  pru- 
dence.— The  telle  infinitive  (i^J^ ')  is  co-ordi- 
nate with  the  two  that  precede  in  vers.  2  and 
3,  and  has  the  same  subject.  Therefore  the 
same  construction  is  to  be  employed  here, also  (to 
become  acquainted  with — to  attain — to  impart) ; 
and  we  are  not,  by  the  introduction  of  a  final 
clause,  to  make  the  contents  of  this  4th  versa 
subordinate  to  the  preceding,  as  the  LXX  do 
(ivaSC  (c.  T.  A.),  and  likewise  the  Vulg.  [ut  detur, 
etc.),  and  Luther  ("  that  the  simple  may  become 
shrewd,  and  young  men  reasonable  and  conside- 
rate ").  The  "simple"  (D'Nnil),  properly,  the 
"open,"  those  who  are  readily  accessible  to  all 
external  impressions,  and  therefore  inexperi- 
enced and  simple,  vr/xioi.,  aKamt  (as  the  LXX  ap- 
propriately render  the  word  in  this  passage ;  comp. 
Rom.  xvi.  18).     With  respect  to  the  relation  of 

this  idea  to  that  of  the  "fool"  (^DJ,  VdS)  com- 

TT  ■  :  ' 
pare  what  will  be  said  below  on  i.  32,  and  also 
Introd.,  §  3,  note  2.— Prudence  (nai;;,  derived 
from  W^i!)  signifies  properly  nakedness,  smooth- 
ness (comp.  the  adj.  D-n;r  ["subtle,"  E. v.],  naked, 
i.  c,  slippery,  crafty ;  used  of  the  serpent,  Gen.  iii. 
1);  therefore  metaphorically  "the  capacity  for 
escaping  from  the  wiles  of  others  "  (Umbreit), 
"the  prudenoe  which  guards  itself  against  in- 
jury" (xxii.  3;  1  Sam.  xxiii.  22).— To  the 
young  man  knowledge  and  discretion.— 
Discretion,  thoughtfulness  (HSro,  LXX,  ewoia), 
denotes  here  in  connection  with  "knowledge" 
(n^l)  the  characteristic  of  thoughtful,  well  con- 
sidered action,  resting  upon  a  thorough  know- 


CHAP.  I.  1- 


46 


ledge  of  things, — therefore,  circumspection,  cau- 
tion. 

Ver.  6.  Not  the  simple  and  immature  only, 
but  also  the  wise  and  intelligent,  are  to  derive 
instruction  from  Solomon's  proverbs.  This  idea 
is  not,  as  might  be  supposed,  thrust  in  the  form 
of  a  parenthesis  into  the  series  of  final  clauses 
beginning  lyith  ver.  2,  and  reaching  its  conclu- 
sion in  ver.  6,  so  that  the  verb  (J'D^l)  ^*  '"  ^^ 
conceived  of  as  rendering  the  clause  conditional, 
and  is  to  be  translated  "  if  he  hears  "  (Umbreit, 
Elster)  ;  it  begins  a  new  independent  proposi- 
tion, whose  imperfect  tenses  are  to  be  regarded 
as  voluutative,  and  upon  which  the  new  infinitive 

clause  with  7  ii  ''fir-  6  is  dependent  (Ewald, 
Bertheau,  and  commentators  generally). — Let 
the  wise  man  hearken  and  add  tQ  his 
learning. — As   to  the  expression   "  add  to  his 

learning"  (nlT?  IpT)  comp.  ix.  9;  xvi.  12.  The 
peculiar  term  rendered  "learning"  (see  critical 
notes  above)  is  a  designation  of  knowledge,  doc- 
trine, instructive  teaching  in  general;  comp.  vers. 
22  and  29.  The  word  rendered  "control,"  or 
mastery,  is  an  abstract  derivative,  strengthened 
by  the  ending  Pi^  (Ewald,  Gramm.,  §  179  a., 
note  3),  and  expresses  here  in  an  appropriate 
and  telling  figure  the  idea  of  "  skill  and  facility 
in  the  management  of  life."  Comp. xi.  14;  xii.5; 
Job  xxxvii.  12,  etc.     Its  relation  to   "learning" 

(np7)  is  quite  like  that  of  "discipline  "  to  "wis- 
dom "  in  ver.  2  ;  it  supplies  the  practical  corre- 
lative to  the  other  idea  which  is  predominantly 
theoretical. 

Ver.  6.  To  understand  proverb  and 
enigma,  etc. — ["The  climax  of  the  definition  of 

wisdom" — Stanley].  The  infinitive  (['3717) 
-supplies  the  announcement  of  the  end  required 
by  ver.  5 :  to  this  end  is  the  wise  man  to  gain 
in  knowledge  and  self-command  or  self-disci- 
pline, that  he  may  understand  the  proverbs  and 
profound  sayings  of  the  wise,  i.  e.,  may  know 
how  to  deal  appropriately  with  them.  It  is  not 
the  mere  understanding  of  the  wisdom  of  proverbs 
by  itself  that  is  here  indicated  as  the  end  of  the 
wise  man's  "increase  in  knowledge  and  mas- 
tery," but  practice  and  expertness  in  using  this 
wisdom;  it  is  the  callere  sententias  sapientum 
which  imparts  a  competence  to  communicate 
further  instruction  to  the  youth  who  need  disci- 
pline. If  the  telle  infinitive  (riPI/)  be  taken  in 
this  frequent  sense,  for  which  may  be  compared 
among  other  passages  Prov.  viii.  9 ;  xvii.  10,  24  ; 
Dan.  i.  27,  we  do  not  need  with  Bertheau  to 
give  the  expression  a  participial  force  (by  virtue 
of  the  fact  that  he  understands, — understanding 
proverbs,  etc.), — nor  to  maintain  with  Hitziq 
and  others  that  ver.  6  is  not  grammatically  con- 
nected with  ver.  5,  on  the  ground  that  it  is  not 
conceivable  that  the  "  learning  to  understand  the 
words  of  wise  men"  should  be  made  an  object  of 
the  endeavor  of  such  as  are  wise  already.  It  is 
an  intensified  acquaintance  with  wisdom  that  is 
here  called  for,  a  knowledge  in  the  sense  of  the 
passage,  "to  him  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and 
he  shall  have  abundance,"  Matth.  xiii.  12;  comp. 


John  i.  16  ;  Rom.  i.  17  ;  2  Cor.  iii.  18.  For  the 
verbal  explanation  of  "enigma"  and  "dark say- 
ing" (nrSp  and  riTH)  see  Introd.,  1 11,  note  2. 
Certain  as  it  is  that  both  expressions  here  are 
only  designed  to  embody  in  a  concrete  form  the 
idea  of  obscure  discourse  that  requires  interpre- 
tation  (the   parallelism    with    "proverbs"    and 

"words  of  wise  men"    Ot^O    and   D'ODn  '"131) 

T  T  ■  T-:     "  :  • 

shows  this  beyond  dispute),  we  have  no  warrant 
for  finding  in  this  verse  a  special  allusion  to  the 
obscure,  enigmatical  contents  of  chap,  xxx.,  and 
so  for  insisting  upon  its  very  late  origin,  as  Hit- 
ziq does  (see  in  reply  Ewald).  Nevertheless,  it 
follows  from  the  comprehensiveness  of  the  plural 
expression  "words  of  wise  men"  (comp.  xxii.  17 
and  Eccles.  ix.  17;  xii.  11)  that  no  one  could 
have  prefixed  to  his  work  an  introduction  like 
that  before  us,  who  was  not  conscious  that  he 
had  collected  with  proverbs  of  Solomon  many 
others  that  were  not  directly  from  him  (comp. 
P2  of  the  Introd.). 

2.  Ver.  7  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  part  of  the 
superscription,  as  Ewald,  Bertheau,  Elstee, 
Keil,  etc.,  treat  it,  but  is  the  general  proposition 
introducing  the  series  of  didactic  discourses  that 
follows; — a  motto,  as  it  were,  for  the  first  or  in- 
troductory main  division  of  the  book,  as  Um- 
breit happily  expresses  it ;  comp.  Hitzig  in  loc. 
The  proverb  has  also  passed  into  the  Arabic,  and 
here  also  frequently  stands  at  the  commencement 
of  collections  of  proverbs,  whether  because  it  is 
ascribed  to  Mohammed,  as  is  sometimes  done  in 
such  cases,  or  because  it  is  cited  as  coming  from 
Solomon.  Compare  Von  Diez,  Denkwurdigkeiten, 
II.,  459;  Meidani,  ed.  Freytag,  III.,  29,  610; 
Erpenius,  Sent.  qumd.  Arab.,  p.  45.  In  the  Old 
Testament  [and  Apocrypha],  moreover,  the  same 
maxim  occurs  several  times,  especially  in  Prov. 
ix.  10  ;  Ecclesiast.  i.  16,  25 ;  Ps.  cxi.  10.  From 
the  passage  last  cited  the  LXX  repeat  in  our 
verse  the  words  appended  to  the  first  clause : 
^ApxV  <yo{pca^  (p6f3o<;  Kvpiov,  avvEac^  de  aya^fj  Traoiv 
Tolg  TTowvatv  avrfjv  ["  and  a  good  understanding 
have  all   they   that    do    it"]. — Beginning. — 

(n'tyST  is  here  equivalent  to  n^firi  found  in  the 
parallel  passage,  ix.  10  ;  it  is  therefore  correctly 
rendered  in  Ecclesiast.  and  the  LXX  by  apxv  in 
the  sense  of  "beginning");  compare  chap.  iv. 
7,  "  the  beginning  of  wisdom  ;"  not,  as  the  words 
themselves  would  allow,  "that  which  is  highest 
in  wisdom,"  "the  noblest  or  best  wisdom." 
[The  latter  is  given  as  a  marginal  reading  in  the 
JE.  v.,  and  is  retained  and  defended  by  Holden; 
so  also  by  Trapp  and  others. — A.] . — Fools. — The 
word  designates  properly  the  hardened,  the 
stupid, — those  fools  who  know  nothing  of  God 
(Jer.  iv.  22),  and  therefore  refuse  and  contemptu- 
ously repel  His  salutary  discipline  (comp.  above, 
note  to  ver.  2). 

3.  Vers.  8-19.  These  verses  show  in  an  exam- 
ple so  shaped  as  to  convey  an  earnest  warn- 
ing, how  we  are  to  guard  ourselves  against  the 
opposite  of  the  fear  of  God,  against  depravity, 
which  is,  at  the  same  time,  the  extremest  folly. 
They  contain,  therefore,  a  warning  against  turn- 
ing aside  to  the  way  of  vice,  given  as  the  first  il- 
lustration of  the  truth  expressed  in  ver.  7. — 
Vers.  8,  9, — My  son. — The   salutation  of  the 


46 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


teacher  of  wisdom,  who  is  here  represented  as 
"father"  in  order  to  illustrate  to  his  pupil  the 
ianer  reality  and  nature  of  their  mutual  relation 
(comp.  1  Cor. iv.  15 ;  Philem.  10).  The  "mother" 
who  is  mentioned  in  connection  with  this  "fa- 
ther "  is  only  a  natural  expansion  of  the  idea  of 
the  figure,  suggested  by  the  law  of  poetic  paral- 
lelism,— and  not  a  designation  of  wisdom  perso- 
nified, who  does  not  appear  before  yer.  20. 
[Wordsworth  and  many  of  the  older  English 
expositors  regard  this  as  a  specific  address  by 
Solomon  to  Kehoboam ;  this  interpretation,  how- 
ever, lacks  the  support  of  Oriental  usage,  and  too 
much  restricts  the  scope  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs. 
The  large  majority,  however,  of  English  and 
American  commentators  (e,  ^.,  Trapp,  Holden, 
Bridges,  Wordsworth,  Muenscher)  find  here 
a,  more  specific  commendation  of  filial  docility 
and  obedience.  Stdart  more  nearly  agrees  with 
our  author  in  making  the  "father"  and  "mo- 
ther" figurative  rather  than  literal  terms — A.]. 
—Law  (min),  here  doctrina,  instructive  pre- 
cepts in  general ;  as  in  several  other  instances  in 
our  book  it  is  used  of  the  instruction  given  by 
parents  to  their  children,  e.  ff.,  iii.  1 ;  iv.  2 ;  vii. 
2 ;  xxviii.  7,  9. — For  they  are  a  graceful 
crown    to    thy   head. — "Wreath    of    grace" 

(tn  rri7)  graceful  crown,  as  in  iv.  9.  The  com- 
parison of  the  teachings  of  wisdom  with  pearls 
which  one  hangs  as  a  necklace  about  the  neck,  a 
figure  which  is  a  great  favorite  every  where  in 
the  East,  recurs  again  in  iii.  3 ;  vi.  21 ;  Eccle- 
siast.  vi.  30. 

Ver.  10.  Transition  to  an  intelligible  admo- 
nitory example  ;  hence  the  repetition  of  the  fa- 
miliar salutation  "My  son,"  which  occurs  once 
more  in  ver.  15,  at  the  beginning  of  the  apodo- 
sis.  Sinners  (□'NHH). — Sinners  by  profession, 
habitual  sinners,  as  in  Ps.  i.  1  ;  here  those  in 
particular  whose  business  is  murder  (comp.  Gen. 
iv.  7,  8),  robbers  who  are  murderers. — Ver.  11. 
We  vrill  lie  in  wait  for  blood,  etc. — The  two 
verbs  p^N  and  [S;?)  both  signify  to  lie  in  wait 
for,  to  lay  snares  artfully  (as  the  huntsman  for 
the  game,  with  noose  and  net).  The  adverb  (DJD) 
is  probably  more  correctly  construed  with  the 
verb  (lie  in  wait  without  cause,  i.  e.,  without 
having  any  reason  for  revenge  and  enmity),  than 
with  the  adjective, — although  this  latter  combi- 
nation is  also  grammatically  admissible.  But 
with  the  conception  "him  that  is  innocent  in 
vain,"  i.  ».,  the  man  to  whom  his  innocence  shall 
be  of  no  avail  against  us,  the  parallel  passages 
(Ps.  XXXV.  19;  Ixix.  4;  Lam.  iii.  52)  correspond 
less  perfectly  than  with  that  to  which  we  have 
given  the  preference  ;  comp.  Hitziq  in  he. — Ver. 

12 Will    swallow^  them,   like    the    pit, 

living. — The  "living"  (D'^n)  can  refer  only  to 

the  suffix  pronoun  (in  D.y73J).  The  connection 
with  "like  the  pit'^  (7'lNi!'J3),  to  which  Umbreit 
and  HiTzio  give  the  preference,  gives  the  pecu- 
liarly hard  sense  "as  the  pit  (swallows)  that 
which  lives."  Comp.  rather  Ps.  Iv.  15:  "they 
must  go  down  living  into  the  pit ;"  and  also  Ps. 
cxxiv.  3 ;  Prov.  xxx.  16,  and  the  account  of  the 
destruction  of  Korah's  company,  Numb.  xvi.  30, 


33. — The  upright  (D'O'pn)  is  accusative,  object 
of  the  verb  (^^^2),  and  therefore  stands  evidently 
as  synonymous  with  D'^PJ  (innocent,  comp.  Ps. 
xix.  13)  ;  it  is  accordingly  to  be  interpreted  as 
referring  to  moral  integrity  or  uprightness,  and 
not  of  bodily  soundness  (as  Ewald,  Berthead, 
and  others  claim). — Those  that  descend  into 
the  grave  (1U  ^y)^) — that  sink  into  the  sepul- 
chre, i.  e.,  the  dead;  comp.  Ps.  xxviii.  1;  Ixxxviii. 
4 ;  cxliii.  7. 

Vers.  13,  14.  Reasons  for  the  treacherous 
proposal  of  the  murderers. — Thou  shalt  cast 
in  thy  lot  among  us — -i.  e.,  thou  shalt,  as 
one  having  equal  right  with  us,  cast  lots  for  the 
spoil,  comp.  Ps.  xxii.  18;  Nehem.  x.  35. — Vers.  15 
sq.  The  warning,  —  given  as  an  apodosis  to 
the  condition  supposed  in  ver.  11.  As  to  the 
figurative  expressions  in  ver.  15,  comp.  Pa.  i.  1 ; 
Jer.  xiv.  10:  Prov.  iv.  26;  for  ver.  16  compare 
Is.  lix.  7,  and  the  passage  suggested  by  it,  Rom. 
iii.  15.  Without  adequate  grounds,  Hitzig  con- 
jectures that  ver.  16  is  spurious,  because,  he 
says,  it  agrees  almost  literally  with  Isaiah  (as 
cited),  and,  on  the  other  hand,  is  wanting  in 
the  Cod.  Vatic,  of  the  LXX.  Literal  quotations 
from  earlier  Biblical  writers  are  in  Isaiah  above 
all  others  nothing  uncommon ;  and  with  quite  as 
little  reason  will  the  omission  of  a  verse  from 
the  greatly  corrupted  LXX  text  of  our  book 
furnish  ground,  without  other  evidence,  for  sus- 
pecting its  genuineness  (see  Introd.,  g  13). — Ver. 
17.     "The    winged"    (properly    "lords   of    the 

wing ;"  '^IS  /^2,  as  in  Eocles.  x.  20)  is  hardly 
a  figurative  designation  of  those  plotted  against 
by  the  robbers,  and  threatened  by  treacherous 
schemes,  so  that  the  meaning  would  be  "in  vain 
do  they  lie  in  wait  for  their  victims;  these  be- 
come aware  of  their  danger,  and  so  their  prize 
escapes  the  assailants "  (so  Dodeelein,  Zieg- 
LER,  Beetheau,  Elster,  etc.).  For  1)  the  causal 
conj.  "  for  "  ('3)  authorizes  us  to  look  for  a  direct 
reason  for  the  warning  contained  in  ver.  15;  2) 
the  allusion  to  the  possible  failure  of  the  plans 
of  the  wicked  men  would  not  be  a  moral  motive, 
but  a  mere  prudential  consideration,  such  as 
would  harmonize  very  poorly  with  the  general 
drift  of  the  passage  before  us ;  and  3)  the  ex- 
pression "  before  the  eyes  "  ('J'^^^)  stands  evi- 
dently in  significant  contrast  with  "in  vain" 
(□3n) ;  it  is  designed  to  set  the  fact  that  the  net 
is  clearly  in  sight  over  against  the  fact  that  the 
birds  nevertheless  fly  into  it, — and  so  to  exhibit 
their  course  as  wholly  irrational. — Therefore  we 
should  interpret  with  Umbreit,  Ewald,  Hitziq, 
etc.;  like  thoughtless  birds  that  with  open  eyes  fly 
into  the  net,  so  sinners  while  plotting  destruction 
for  others  plunge  themselves  in  ruin.  Only  with 
this  explanation,  with  which  we  may  compare 
Job  xviii.  8,  will  the  import  of  ver.  18  agree: 
there  "and  these,  these  also"  (Oni)  puts  the 
sinners  in  an  emphatic  way  side  by  side  (not  in 
contrast)  with  the  birds,  and  the  suflBxes  desig- 
nate the  own  blood,  the  own  souls  of  the  sinners. 
Between  the  two  verses  there  is  therefore  the 
relation  of  an  imperfectly  developed  comparison 
suggested  by  the  "also  "  (1)  as  in  xxy.  25 ;  xxvii. 


CHAP.  I.  1- 


21 ;  eomp.  Introd.,  ^  14.  [The  view  of  English  ex- 
positors is  divided,  like  that  of  the  German 
scholars  cited  by  our  author.  Bishop  Hall, 
Teapp,  Heney  and  Notes,  e.  g.  agree  with  him 
in  finding  here  a  comparison,  while  D'Otly  and 
Mant,  Holden,  Bridoes,  Wordswokth,  Stcakt, 
MuENSCHEB.  find  a  contrast.  The  argument 
based  on  the  particles  '3  and  1  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted has  very  little  force  ;  for  'S  (see  Ewald, 
\  321,  b,)  may  be  used  positively  or  negatively 
in  intense  asseveration,  "yea,  surely,"  or  "nay;" 
while  1,  it  is  well  known,  has  a  very  generous 
variety  of  uses,  among  which  is  the  antithetic, 
in  which  case  it  may  be  rendered  "  but"  or  "  and 
yet"  (Ewald,  §  330,  a.).— A.].— They  lie  in 
wait  for  their  own  lives.  The  ItXX,  which 
at  the  end  of  this  verse  adds  the  peculiar  but 
hardly  genuine  clause,  fi  &i  KaTaarpofij  avdpov 
Kapav6iuM>  mnij  ("and  the  destruction  of  trans- 
gressors is  evil,  or  great")  seems,  instead  of  "they 

lie  in  wait  for  their  own  lives"  (DlTltyiJjS  1J3V) 

to  have  read  "  they  heap  up  evil"  cS  i>1  ll^S''); 
for  it  renders  the  second  number  by  " -^rjaavpllov- 
aiv  iavTol(  icana "  (they  treasure  up  evils  for 
themselves).  Comp.  Heidbnheim  in  the  article 
cited  in  the  Introd.,  |  13,  note  1. — Ver.  19. 
Retrospect  and  conclusion;  comp.  Job  viii.  13; 
xviii.  21. — Spoil  (J?S3)  gain  unlawfully  acquired, 

as  in  xxviii.  16.  The  combination  y^S  ^Xi  is 
found  also  in  xv.  27.  The  subject  of  the  verb 
"  takes  "  {n^2)  is  J'?!. ;  "the  life  of  its  owner  it, 
unjust  gain,  takei  away."  Luthek,  following 
the  LXX,  Vulgate,  and  most  of  the  ancient  ex- 
positors, renders  "that  one  (i.  e.,  of  the  rapa- 
cious) takes  life  from  another."     But  the  idea 

" ownership,  owner "  {Qr}}}2)  has  no  reference 
to  the  relation  between  partners  in  violence  and 
those  like  themselves,  but  to  that  existing  be- 
tween an  object  possessed  and  its  possessor. 

4.  Vers.  20-33.  After  this  warning  against 
the  desperate  counsels  of  the  wicked  there  fol- 
lows in  this  second  admonitory  discourse  a  warn- 
ing against  the  irrational  and  perverse  conduct 
of  fools.  In  the  former  case  it  was  contempt  of 
the  fear  of  God,  in  the  latter  it  is  contempt  of 
wisdom  against  which  the  warning  is  directed. 
Both  passages,  therefore,  refer  back  distinctly 
to  the  motto  that  introduces  them  in  ver.  7.  The 
admonition  against  folly,  which  is  now  to  be  con- 
sidered, is  put  appropriately  into  the  mouth  of 
wisdom  personified, — as  is  also,  later  in  the 
book,  the  discourse  on  the  nature  and  the  origin 
of  wisdom  (chap.  viii.  1  sq). — On  the  street  and 
in  public  places  wisdom  makes  herself  heard ; 
not  in  secret,  for  she  need  not  be  ashamed  of  her 
teaching,  and  because  she  is  a  true  friend  of  the 
people  seeking  the  welfare  of  all,  and  therefore 
follows  the  young  and  simple,  the  foolish  and  un- 
godly, everywhere  where  they  resort ;  comp. 
Christ's  command  to  His  disciples.  Matt.  a.  27; 
Luke  xiv.  21.  As  in  these  passages  of  the  New 
Testament,  so  in  that  before  us,  human  teachers 
(the  wise  men,  or  the  prophets,  according  to  Ec- 
clesiast.  xxiv.  33;  Wisdom  vii.  27)  are  to  be 
regarded  as  the  intermediate  instrumentality  in 


the  public  preaching  of  wisdom. — Ver.  21.  In 
the  places  of  greatest  tnniult  she  calleth, 

etc.  "  The  tumultuous  "  (flVoh),  comp.  Isaiah 
xxii.  2;  1  Kings  i.  41,  can  signify  here  nothing 
but  the  public  streets  full  of  tumult,  the  thorough- 
fares. The  "beginning"  (t^Nh)  of  these  high- 
ways or  thoroughfares  is,  as  it  were,  their 
corner ;  the  whole  expression  points  to  boister- 
ous public  places.  The  LXX  seem  to  have 
read  ni'nin  "walls,"  since  it  translates  £7r'  oKpau 
recxeuv  [on  high  walls].  Before  the  second 
clause  the  same  version  has  the  addition  "  eirl  6e 
TTv^atg  SwaaTav  napedpsvu"  [and  at  the  gates  of 
the  mighty  she  sits],  an  expansion  of  the  figure 
in  which  there  is  no  special  pertinence.  In  the 
city  (T'.{'3)  is  probably  to  be  regarded  as  a 
closer  limitation  of  "at  the  entrances  of  the 
gates  "  {V]}JW  'nn£|3),  i.  e.,  on  the  inner,  the 
city  side  of  the  entrances  at  the  gates :  it  is  not 
then  to  be  regarded  as  an  antithesis,  as  Umbreit, 
Bektheau,  Hitzio,  etc.,  claim,  [nor  is  it  to  be 
detached  and  connected  with  the  next  clause,  as 
Stuabt  claims]. — Ver.  22.  How  long,  ye  sim- 
ple, will  ye  love  simplicity?  The  discourse 
of  Wisdom  begins  in  the  same  way  as  Ps.  iv.  2.  In 
regard  to  the  distinction  between  "simple"  (TliS) 

and  "  scorner"  (]'7),  comp.  Introd.  §  3,  note  2 ;  and 
above,  the  remarks  on  ver.  4. — The  perfect  tense 
in  the  second  clause  (-nnn),  which  standing  be- 
tween the  imperfects  of  the  1st  and  3d  clauses  is 
somewhat  unusual,  is  to  be  conceived  of  as  in- 
choative (like  the  verb  "  despise  "  '113  in  ver.  7), 
and  therefore  properly  signifies  "become  fond 
of,"  and  not  "be  fond  of."  [See,  however,  the 
critical  note  on  this  verse]. — Ver.  23.  Turn  ye 
at  my  reproof, — i.  e.,  from  your  evil  and  per- 
verse way.  I  w^ill  pour  out  upon  you  my 
spirit.  The  spirit  of  wisdom  is  to  flow  forth 
copiously,  like  a  never- failing  spring;  comp. 
xviii.  4 ;  and  with  reference  to  the  verb  "  pour 
out"  (J^''3n)  which  "unites  in  itself  the  figures 
of  abundant  fullness  and  refreshing  invigoration" 
(UiMBBEiT,  Elstee)  comp.  XV.  2;  Ps.  Ixxviii.  2; 
cxix.  171.' — Ver.  24,  in  connection  with  25,  is 
an  antecedent  clause  introduced  by  "because" 
(.W^J,  to  which  vers.  26,  27  correspond  as  conclu- 
sion. The  perfects  and  imperfects  with  1  consee. 
in  the  protasis  describe  a  past  only  in  relation 
to  the  verbs  of  the  apodosis,  and  may  therefore 
well  be  rendered  by  the  present,  as  Luther  has 
done:  "Because  I  call  and  ye  refuse,"  etc.  To 
stretch  forth  the  hand,  in  order  to  beckon  to 
one,  is  a  sign  of  calling  for  attention, — ^as  in 
Isa.  Ixv.  2.  The  verb  in  ver.  25,  f.  c.  (l;^■^)  is 
doubtless  not  "undervalue,  despise"  as  Hitzio 
explains,  following  the  analogy  of  the  Arabic), 
but  "  cast  off,  reject,"  as  in  iv.  15,  (Umbeeit, 
Ewald,  Elstee  and  commentators  generally ; 
comp.  Luther's  "let  go,  fahren  lassen").  [As 
between  the  two  the  English  Version  is  equivo- 
cal, "  set  at  naught"]. — Ver.  26.   "Laugh  "  and 

"mock"  (pnB'  and  J^7)  here  as  in  Ps.  ii.  4. — 
Ver.  27  depicts  the  style  and  manner  in  which 
calamity  comes   upon  fools,  "  and  accumulates 


48 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


expression  to  work   upon  the  fancy"  (Hitziq). 
Instead  of  the  K'thibh  HlStyj  according  to  the 
K'ri  we  should  read  ni<W3,  and  this  should  be 
interpreted   in   the   sense 'of  "tempest"  (comp. 
iii   25  •   Zeph.  i.  15).     Thus  most  commentators 
correctly  judge,   while    HiTZia  defends   for   the 
expression  the   signification   "cataract,"  which 
however  is  appropriate  in  none  of  the  passages 
adduced,  and  also   fails  in  Job  xxx.  14   (comp. 
Delitzsch  on  this  passage).— In  regard  to   the 
alliteration  nj^lSl  H^S  distress  and  anguish, 
comp.  Isa.  XXX.  6:  zVph.  i.  15.— Ver.  28.  They 
shall  seek  me  diligently.     inK/,  a  denomi- 
native  verb   from   '\m,  "the   morning   dawn," 
signifies  to  seek  something  while  it  is  yet  early, 
in  the  obscurity  of  the  morning  twilight,  and  so 
illustrates  eager,  diligent  seeking.      [Of  the  re- 
cent commentators  in  English,  Noybs  only  retains 
and    emphasizes   the   rendering   of    the   E.    V., 
"  they  shall  seek  me  early."     The  rest   do  not 
find  the  idea  of  time  in  the  verb,  except  by  sug- 
gestion.— A.].     Comp.,  with  respect  to  the  gene- 
ral idea  of  the  verse,  Prov.  viii.  17;  Hos.  v.  15. 
[Observe  also  the  force  of  the  transition  from 
the  2d  person  of  the  preceding  verse,  to  the  3d 
person  in  this  and  the  verses  following. — A.]. — 
Ver.  29.   The  "because  "  ('3  ^nn)  is  not  depen- 
dent  on   ver.   28,   but  introduces   the   four-fold 
antecedent  clause   (vers.  29,   30),  which  ver.  31 
follows  as  its   conclusion.     With  ver.  31    comp. 
Is.  iii.  10 ;  Pa.  Ixxxviii.  3  ;  cxxiii.  4,  where  the 
figure  of  satiety  with  a  thing  expresses  likewise 
the  idea  of  experiencing  the  evil  consequences  of 
a  mode  of  action.     n'lSJJlD,  evil  devices,  as  also 
Ps.  V.  10. — Vers.  32,  33.  Confirmatory  and  con- 
cluding propositions,  connefted  by  "for"  C3)-~ 
riDIE/D,  turning  away  from  wisdom  and  its  salu- 
tary discipline,  therefore  resistance,  rebellious- 
ness.    Comp.  Jer.  viii.  5,  Hos.  xi.  5,  where  it  sig- 
nifies turning  away  or  departure  from  God.    "  Se- 
curity" (ni7^)  idle,  easy  rest,  the  carnal  secu- 
rity  of  the    obdurate;  comp.    Jerem.    xxii.   21. 
A  beautiful  contrast  to  this  false  ease  is   pre- 
sented in  the  true  peace  of  the  wise  and  devout, 
as  ver.  33  describes  it. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

As  long  ago  as  the  time  of  Melanohthon  it 
was  recognized  as  a  significant  fact,  that  wisdom 
claims  as  her  hearers  and  pupils  not  only  the 
simple,  the  young  and  the  untaught,  but  those 
also  who  are  already  advanced  in  the  knowledge 
of  truth,  the  wise  and  experienced.  He  remarks 
on  ver.  5:  "To  his  proposition  he  adds  an  ad- 
monition what  the  hearer  ought  to  be.  A  wise 
hearer  will  profit,  as  saith  the  Lord :  To  him  that 
hath  shall  be  given.  And  again.  He  shall  give 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  those  that  seek,  not  to  those 
that  despise,  not  to  those  that  oppose  with  bar- 
barous and  savage  fierceness.  These  despisera 
of  God,  the  Epicureans  and  the  like,  he  here  says 
do  not  profit,  but  others,  in  whom  are  the  be- 
ginnings of  the  fear  of  God,  and  who  seek  to  be 
controlled  by  God,  as  it  is  said:  Ask  and  ye  shall 


receive."*  Susceptibility  therefore  both  must  ma- 
nifest,—those  who  are  beginners  under  the  in- 
struction of  wisdom,  and  those  who  are  more  ad- 
vanced; otherwise  there  is  no  progress  for  them. 
It  is  indeed  divine  wisdom  in  regard  to  the  ac- 
quisition of  which  these  assertions  are  made ;  and 
in  the  possession  of  this  wisdom,  and  in  the  com- 
munication of  it  as  a  teacher,  no  man  here  beloW 
ever  attains  perfection,  so  as  to  need  no  furthei' 
teaching.  It  is  precisely  as  it  is  within  the  de- 
partment of  the  New  Testament  with  the  duty  of 
faith,  and  of  growth  in  believing  knowledge, 
which  duty  in  no  stage  of  the  Christian  life_  in 
this  world  ever  loses  its  validity  and  its  binding 
power.  Comp.  Luke  xvii.  5;  Eph.  iv.  15,  16; 
Col.  i.  11;  ii.  19;  2Thess.  1.  3 ;  2  Pet.  iii.  18. 

2.  The  thoroughly  religious  character  ol 
wisdom  as  our  book  designs  to  inculcate  it,  ap- 
pears not  only  in  the  jewel  which  sparkles  fore- 
most in  its  necklace  of  proverbs  (ver.  7 :  "  The  fear 
of  Jehovah  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom,  etc."),  but 
also  in  the  fact  that  in  the  introductory  admoni- 
tion, in  ver.  10,  it  is  Sinners  (so  designated  with- 
out preamble  or  qualification),  the  D^NHn  (Lr- 
THER,  "the  base  knaves,"  die  bosen  Buben),  ■whose 
seductive  conduct  is  put  in  contrast  with  the  nor- 
mal deportment  of  the  disciple  of  wisdom.  Ob- 
serve further  that  in  the  very  superscription,  vers. 
2  and  3,  the  ideas  of  discipline,  righteousness, 
justice  and  uprightness  are  appended  to  that  of 
wisdom  as  synonymous  with  it.  The  wise  man 
is  therefore  eo  ipso,  also  the  just,  the  pious,  the 
upright,  the  man  who  walks  the  way  of  truth. 
Inasmuch,  however,  as  the  ideas  of  righteousness, 
justice  and  uprightness  (pnV,  a3m,  OnE^'p), 
here,  as  every  where  else  in  the  Old  Testament, 
express  the  idea  of  correspondence  with  the  re- 
vealed moral  law,  the  law,  the  law  of  Moses, 
therefore  the  wise  man  is  the  man  who  acts  and 
walks  in  accordance  with  law,  the  true  observer 
of  the  law,  who  "  walks  in  all  the  command- 
ments and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless " 
(Lukei.^;  comp.  Dent.  v.  33;  xi.  22;  Ps.  cxix.  1). 
True  wisdom,  knowledge,  and  spiritual  culture, 
are  to  be  found  within  the  sphere  of  Old  Testa- 
ment revelation  only  where  the  law  of  the  Lord 
is  truly  observed.  Mere  morality  in  the  sense 
of  the  modern  humanitarian  free-thinking  and 
polite  culture  could  not  at  all  show  itself  there  ; 
moral  rectitude  must  also  always  be  at  the  same 
time  legal  rectitude.  Nay  it  stands  enacted  also 
under  the  New  Testament  that  "  whosoever  shall 
break  one  of  these  least  commandments,  and  shall 
teach  men  so,  shall  be  called  the  least  in  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  "  (Matth.  v.  19) ;  that  "  the  weigh- 
tier matters  of  the  law,  judgment,  mercy  and 
faith,"  together  with  its  less  significant  demands, 
must  be  fulfilled  (Matth.  xxiii.  23) ;  that  he  only 
can  be  called  a  possessor  of  "  the  wisdom  that 
is  from  above,"  and  "  a  perfect  man,"  who  "  of- 
fends not  in  word"  (James  iii.  2,  17).  The  fear 
of  the  Lord,  which  according  to  ver.  7  is  the  be- 
ginning of  wisdom,  while  again  in  ver.  29  it  ia 

*  Propositioni  addit  admonitionem,  qualem  oporteat  audito- 
reTTi  esse.  Sapiens  auditor  projiciei,  sicut  Dominus  inquit: 
Habenti  dabitur.  Item :  DaMt  spiritum  sanctum  peient\bus, 
7wn  contemnerttibus,  non  repugnaniibus  barbarica  et  cyclopiea 
ferocia.  Bos  contemptores  Dei,  id  Epicureos  et  similes,  ait 
hie  non  projicere,  sed  alias,  in  quibus  sunt  initia  timoris  Dei, 
et  quipetunt  se  regi  a  Deo,  sicut  dicitur  Petite  et  acdpietis. 


CHAP.  I.  1-83. 


49 


presented  as  the  synonyrne  of  the  same  idea 
(comp.  ii.  6;  ix.  10,  etc.)  consists,  once  for  all, 
in  a  complete  devotion  to  God,  an  unconditional 
subjection  of  one's  own  individuality  to  the  be- 
neficent will  of  God  as  revealed  in  the  law  (comp. 
Deut.  vi.  2,  13  ;  x.  20;  xiii.  4;  Ps.  cxix.  63,  e^c.). 
How  then  can  he  be  regarded  as  fearing  God,  who 
should  keep  only  a  part  of  the  divine  commands, 
or  who  should  undertake  to  fulfil  them  only  ac- 
cording to  their  moral  principle,  and  did  not  seek 
also  to  make  the  embodying  letter  of  their  for- 
mal requirements  the  standard  of  his  life — in  the 
Old  Testament  with  literal  strictness,  in  the  New 
Testament  in  spirit  and. in  truth  ? 

From  these  observations  it  will  appear  what 
right  Bkuoh  has  to  maintain  (in  the  work. before 
cited,  p.  128),  that  in  the  collection  of  the  Pro- 
verbs of  Solomon,  and  in  general  in  the  gnomic 
writers  of  Israel,  the  idea  of  wisdom  is  substituted 
for  that  of  righteousness  which  is  common  in 
other  parts  of  the  Old  Testament.  Righteousness 
and  wisdom  according  to  this  view  would  be  es- 
sentially exclusive  the  one  of  the  other ;  since 
the  former  conception  "had  usually  attached 
itself  to  a  ceremonial  righteousness  through 
works,"  and  had  appeared  "to  make  too  little 
reference  to  the  theoretical  conditions  of  all 
higher  moral  culture."  In  the  Introduction, 
(J  15,  note)  we  have  already  commented  on  the 
one-sidedness  and  the  miscouoeption  involved  in 
this  view,  according  to  which  the  doctrine  of 
wisdom  (the  Hhokmah-system)  was  Antinomiau 
and  rationalistic  in  the  sens«  of  the  purely  neg- 
gative  Protestantism  of  modern  times.  Further 
arguments  in  its  refutation  we  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  adduce  in  the  exposition  of  the  several 
passages  there  cited  (see  particularly  xiv.  9 ; 
xxviil.  4  sq. ;  xxix.  18,  24,  etc.)  See  also  the 
doctrinal  observations  on  iii.  9. 

3.  That  the  reckless  transgressor  de- 
stroys himself  by  his  ungodly  course,  that 
he  runs  with  open  eyes  into  the  net  of  destruc- 
tion spread  out  before  him,  and,  as  it  were,  lies 
in  wait  for  his  own  life  to  strangle  it, — this  truth 
clearly  presented  in  vers.  17,  18  is  a  character- 
istic and  favorite  tenet  in  the  teaching  of  wis- 
dom in  the  Old  Testament.  Comp.  particularly 
chap.  viii.  36,  where  wisdom  exclaims  "  Whoso 
sinneth  against  me,  wrongeth  his  own  soul ;  all 
they  that  hate  me  love  death."  So  also  xv.  82  ; 
xxvi.  27;  Eocles.  x.  8;  Ps.  vii.  1.5;  Ecclesiast. 
xxvii.  29  (the  figure  of  the  pit  which  the  wicked 
digs,  to  fall  into  it  at  last  himself).  But  in  the 
Prophets  also  essentially  the  same  thought  re- 
curs ;  thus  when  Jehovah  (in  Ezek.  xviii.  31 ; 
xxxiii.  11)  exclaims  "  Why  will  ye  die,  ye  of  the 
house  of  Israel?"  •  Of  passages  from  the  New 
Testament  we  may  cite  here  Rom.  ii.  5  ;  1  Tim. 
vi.  9,  10 ;  Gal.  vi.  8 ;  James  v.  3-5,  etc.  Both 
propositions  are  alike  true,  that  true  wisdom, 
being  one  with  the  fear  of  God  and  righteous- 
ness, is  "a  tree  of  life  to  all  that  lay  hold  upon 
her"  (Prov.  iii.  18;  xi.  80;  xv.  4;  comp.  iv.  13, 
22;  xix.  23,  etc.), — and  that  on  the  other  hand  a 
walking  in  folly  and  in  forgetfulness  of  God  is  a 
slow  self-murder,  a  destruction  of  one's  own  life 
and  happiness.  See  the  two  concluding  propo- 
sitions of  our  chapter  (vers.  32,  33)  and  the  ad- 
mirable poetic  development  of  this  contrast  in 
the  Pa.  i.  4.     The  explanation  given  above  (on 


ver.  20)  of  the  fact  that  wisdom  is  exhibited  as 
preaching  upon  the  streets,  i.  e.,  in  reference  to 
her  benevolent  and  philanthropic  character, 
which  impels  her  to  follow  sinners,  and  to  make 
the  great  masses  of  the  needy  among  the  people 
the  object  of  her  instructive  and  converting  ac- 
tivity, seems  to  us  to  correspond  better  with  the 
spirit  of  the  doctrine  of  wisdom  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, than  either  that  of  Umbreit,  according 
to  which  "it  is  only  in  busy  life  that  the  rich 
stream  of  experience  springs  forth,  from  which 
wisdom  is  drawn,"  or  that  of  Ewald,  which  re- 
cognizes, in  the  free  public  appearance  of  wis- 
dom an  eff'ective  contrast  to  the  light-shunning 
deeds,  and  the  secret  consultations  of  the  sinners 
who  have  just  been  described,  (which  explana- 
tion, besides,  would  apply  only  to  this  passage, 
and  not  to  its  parallels  in  viii.  2,  3,  and  ix.  3). 
The  tendency  of  the  Old  Testament  Hhokmah 
was  essentially  popular,  looking  to  the  increased 
prosperity  of  the  nation,  to  the  promotion  of  phi- 
lanthropic ends  in  the  noblest  sense  of  the  word. 
Love,  true  philanthropy  is  everywhere  the  key- 
note to  its  doctrines  and  admonitions.  "For- 
giving, patient  love  (x.  12),  love  that  does  good 
even  to  enemies  (xxv.  11  sq.),  which  does  not 
rejoice  over  an  enemy's  calamity  (xxiv.  17  sq.), 
which  does  not  recompense  like  with  like  (xxiv. 
28  sq. ),  but  commits  all  to  God  (xx.  22),  love  in 
its  manifold  varieties,  as  conjugal  love,  parental 
love,  the  love  of  a  friend,  is  here  recommended 
with  the  clearness  of  the  New  Testament  and  the 
most  expressive  cordiality."  (Delitzsch,  as 
above  cited,  p.  716).  Why  then  should  not  that 
yearning  and  saving  love  for  sinners  which  ven- 
tures into  the  whirl  and  tumult  of  great  crowds 
to  bear  testimony  to  divine  truth,  and  to  reclaim 
lost  souls, — why  should  not  this  also  constitute  a 
chief  characteristic  in  this  spii'itual  state  mo- 
delled so  much  like  the  standard  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament ?  It  appears — in  how  many  passages ! — • 
as  the  type  of,  nay,  as  one  with  the  spirit  of  Him 
who  also  "spake  freely  and  openly  before  the 
world,  in  the  synagogue  and  in  the  temple 
whither  the  Jews  always  resorted  "  (John  xviii. 
20) ;  who,  when  He  said  something  in  secret  to 
His  disciples,  did  it  only  to  the  end  that  they 
should  afterward  "  preach  it  upon  the  house- 
tops "  (Matth.  X.  27);  who  allowed  himself  to  be 
taunted  as  "a  man  gluttonous,  and  a  wine-bib- 
ber, a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners,"  because 
He  had  come  to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost  (Matth. 
xi.  19  ;  Luke  xix.  10).  It  is  at  least  significant 
that  the  Lord,  just  in  that  passage  in  which  he  is 
treating  of  the  publicity  of  His  working,  and  of 
the  impression  which  His  condescending  inter- 
course with  publicans,  sinners  and  the  mass  of 
the  people  had  made  upon  the  Jews,  designates 
Himself  distinctly  (together  with  His  herald  and 
forerunner,  John  the  Baptist)  as  the  personal 
Wisdom ;  Matth.  xi.  19  ;  Luke  vii.  35.  It  is  as 
though  He  had  by  this  expression  intended  to 
call  up  in  fresh  remembrance  Solomon's  repre- 
sentation of  wisdom  preaching  in  the  streets,  and 
to  refer  to  His  own  identity  with  the  spirit  of  the 
Old  Testament  revelation  that  spoke  through 
this  wisdom  (the  "  spirit  of  Christ,"  1  Pet.  i.  11). 
Comp.  Maet.  Geier  and  Stakke  on  this  passage. 
These  authors  appropriately  remind  us  of  the 
universality  of  the  New  Testament's  proclamation 


50 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


of  salvation,  and  its  call  penetrating  everywhere 
(Rom.  X.  18;  Col.  i.  6,  28);  they  are  in  error, 
however,  in  suspecting  in  the  supposed  plural 
niD.3n  (ver.  18)  an  intimation  of  the  number- 
less ways  in  which  wisdom  is  proclaimed  in  the 
world.  The  true  conception  of  this  seeming  plu- 
ral may  be  found  above  in  the  Exegetieal  and  Cri- 
tical Notes  on  this  passage. 

HOMILETICAL    AND    PRACTICAL. 

Homily  upon  the  entire  first  chapter.  Solo- 
mon's discourse  upon  wisdom  as  the  highest 
good.  1)  Its  design,  for  young  and  old,  learned 
and  unlearned  (vers.  1-6).  2)  Its  substance: 
commendation  of  the  fear  of  God  as  the  beginning 
and  essence  of  all  wisdom  (ver.  7).     3)   Its  aim: 

a)  warning  against  betrayal  into  profligacy  as 
being  the  opposite  of  the  fear  of  God  (vers.  8-19); 

b)  warning  against  the  foolish  conduct  of  the 
world  as  being  the  opposite  of  wisdom  (vers.  20- 
33). — The  wisdom  of  the  Old  Testament  as  a  type 
of  true  Christian  feeling  and  action:  a)  with  re- 
spect to  God  as  the  supreme  author  and  chief 
end  of  all  moral  effort  (vers.  1-9) ;  b)  with  re- 
spect to  the  world,  as  the  seducing  power,  that 
draws  away  from  communion  with  God  (vers. 
10-19)  ;  c)  with  respect  to  the  way  and  manner 
in  which  Divine  wisdom  itself  reveals  itself  as 
an  earnest  and  yet  loving  preacher  of  righteous- 
ness (vers.  20-33). — Fear  of  God  the  one  thing 
that  is  needful  in  all  conditions  of  life  :  a)  in 
youth  as  well  as  in  age  (vers.  4  sq. ) ;  b)  in  cir- 
cumstances of  temptation  (vers.  10  sq.);  c)  in 
the  tumult  and  unrest  of  public  life  (vers.  20  sq. ); 
d)  in  prosperity  and  adversity  (vers.  27  sq.). 

Stooker: — Threefold  attributes  of  the  lover 
of  wisdom:  1)  in  relation  to  God:  the  fear  of 
God  (1-7);  2)  in  relation  to  one's  neighbors, — 
and  specifically,  a)  to  one's  parents;  obedience 
(8,  9) ;  b)  to  others:  the  avoidance  of  evil  com- 
pany (10-19) ;  3)  in  relation  to  one's  self;  dili- 
gent use  of  the  opportunity  to  become  acquainted 
with  wisdom. 

Separate  passages. — Vers.  1-6.  See  above,  Doc- 
trinal and  Ethical  principles.     1. — 

Staeke  : — The  aim  of  the  book,  and  that 
which  should  be  learned  from  it,  are  pointed  out 
in  these  verses  in  various  almost  equivalent 
words.  The  aim  is,  however,  substantially  two- 
fold :  ] )  that  the  evil  in  man  be  put  away ;  2) 
that  good  be  learned  and  practised. — Wohl- 
FARTH : — the  necessity  of  the  culture  of  our  mind 
and  heart.  Not  the  cultivated,  but  the  undisci- 
plined, oppose  the  law  !  God  "  will  have  all  men 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,"  1  Tim.  ii. 
4. — [Ver.  4.  Caktwrigiit  (quoted  by  Bridges): 
— "Over  the  gates  of  Plato's  school  it  was  writ- 
ten— Mv^Eif  ayeufierpyTo;  e'lGiTci — Let  no  one  who 
is  not  a  geometrician  enter.  But  very  different 
is  the  inscription  over  these  doors  of  Solomon^ 
Let  the  ignorant,  simple,  foolish,  young,  en- 
ter!"] 

Vers.  7-9.  The  blessedness  of  the  fear  of  God, 
and  the  unblessed  condition  of  forgetfulness  of 
God, — illustrated  in  the  relation  1)  of  children 
to  their  parents;  2)  of  subjects  to  authorities; 
8)  of  Christians  to  Christ,  the  Lord  of  the  Church. 
— The  proposition  "The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the 
beginning  of  wisdom  "  must  constitute  the  foun- 


dation of  all  the  culture  of  the  children  of  God, 
as   the   experience  of  the  truth  that    "  to  love 
Christ  is  better  than  all  knowledge  "   is  to  con- 
stitute its  capstone  and  completion. — Vers.  8,  9, 
in  general   a  peculiarly  appropriate  text  for  a 
sermon  on  education. — Luther  (a  marginal  com- 
ment on  ver.  7) :    "  He  who   would   truly  learn 
must  first  be  a  man  fearing  God.     He,  however, 
who  despises  God  asks  for  no  wisdom,  suffers  no 
chastisement  nor  discipline." — Melanohthon  (on 
ver.  7) : — The  fear  of  God,  which  is  one  with  true 
reverence  for  God,  includes:   1)  right  knowledge 
of  God;    2)  a  genuine   standing  in  fear  before 
'God;   3)  faith,  or  the  believing  consecration  to 
God,  which  distinguishes  this  fear  from  all  ser- 
vile dread,  and  fleeing  from  God  ;  4)  the  worship 
of  God  which   aids  to  a  true  reconciliation  with 
Him,  a  well  ordered  and  assured  control  of   the 
whole  life.     Therefore   the  fear  of  God  is   not 
merely  beginning — it  is  quite  the  sum  of  all  wis- 
dom, the  right  manager  of  all  our  counsels  in 
prosperity  and  adversity. — Melanohthon  (again) 
on  vers.  8,  9: — He  only  reveals  genuine  fear  of 
God  who  hearkens  to  the  divinely  instituted  mi- 
nistry [ministerium  docendi)  in  the  Church;  and 
to  this  ministry  parents  also  belong,  so  far  forth 
as  they  are  to   "bring  up  their  children  in  the 
nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord,"  Eph.  vi.  4. 
"Forsake   not  the   law    of  thy   mother,"    i.  c, 
hearken  always  to  the  word  of  God  as  it  has  been 
communicated   to  the  Church,  and  through  the 
Church  to  all  the  children  of  God  in  the  writings 
of  the  Prophets  and  Apostles.     As  a  reward  God 
here  promises  to  those  who  practise  this  obedi- 
ence to  His  word  a  wreath  upon  the  head  and  a 
beautiful  necklace  about  the  neck.     The  wreath 
betokens   dominion,    distinction,    successful   re- 
sults in  all  that  one  undertakes  for  himself  and 
others,  so   that   he   becomes    an  instrument   of 
blessing  and  a  vessel  of  mercy  for  the  people  of 
God,  according  to  the  type  of  the  devout  kings, 
David,  Jehoshaphat,  Hezekiah,  etc.,  and  not  a  ves- 
sel of  wrath  after  the  likeness  of  a  Saul,  Absa- 
lom, etc.     The  necklace  signifies  the   gift  of  dis- 
course, or  of  the  command  of  wholesome  doc- 
trine, through  the  power  of  the  word. — Stabkb 
(on  ver.  7)  : — True  wisdom  is  no  such  thing  as 
the  heathen  sages  taught,  built  upon  reason  and 
the  human  powers,  inflated,  earthly,  and  useless 
with  respect  to  salvation;   but  it  is  "the  wisdom 
that   is  from   above,   which    is  first   pure,  then 
peaceable,  gentle  and  easy  to  be  entreated,  full 
of  mercy  and  good  fruits,  without  partiality  and 
without  hypocrisy"    (James  iii.  17).     The   fear 
of  God  is,  however,  of  two  kinds,  the  servile  and 
the  childlike  ;   and  only  the  latter  is  here  meant, 
1  John  iv.  18.— On  Vers.  8,  9.     From  the  fear  of 
God  as  belonging   to  the  first  table  of  tlje  law, 
Solomon   passes  on  to   the  second  table,  and  be- 
gins with  obedience  to  parents  :  in  this  connection 
however  it  is  assumed  that  parents  also  fulfil  their 
duty,  with   regard  to  the  correct  instruction  of 
their   children;    Eph.   vi.  4. — Zeltner: — Many 
simple  ones,  who,  however,  fear  God  from  the 
heart,  have  made  such  progress  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  that  they  have  outstripped 
many  of  the  learned.    True  wisdom  is  easy  to  be 
learned,  if  oaly  there  be  true  fear  of  God  in  the 

heart,    Ecclesiast.    i.   22  sq. — Lange  : (Salom. 

Licht  und  Bechi).     The  fear  of  God  is  a  deaira 


CHAP.  I.  1-38. 


61 


flowing  from  the  knowledge  of  the  essence  of 
all  essences — of  the  will  and  the  gracious  acts  of 
God, — a  sincere  desire  heartily  to  love  Him  as 
the  highest  good,  in  deepest  humility  to  honor 
Him,  in  child-like  confidence  to  hope  the  best 
from  Him,  and  to  serve  Him  with  denial  of  self, 
willingly  and  steadfastly  ;  and  all  this  in  con- 
formity to  His  revealed  will.  Comp.  above,  Me- 
LANOHTHON,  and  also  S.  Bohlius,  Ethica  Sacra  : 
"To  fear  God  is  nothing  but  to  follow  God,  or  to 
imitate  none  but  God."* 

[Ver.  7.  Arnot  : — "  What  God  is  inspires  awe ; 
what  God  has  done  for  His  people  commands  af- 
fection. See  here  the  centrifugal  and  centripe- 
tal forces  of  the  moral  world,  holding  the  crea- 
ture reverently  distant  from  the  Creator,  yet 
compassing  the  child  about  with  everlasting 
love,  to  keep  him  near  a  Father  in  heaven." 
— Ver.  8.  "This  verse  of  the  Proverbs  flows  from 
the  same  well  spring  that  had  already  given 
forth  the  fifth  commandment."] 

Vers.  10-19.  Calmer  Handbuch:  The  first  rule 
for  youth,  "  Follow  father  and  mother,"  is  im- 
mediately followed  by  the  second,  "  Follow  not 
base  fellows." — Starke: — As  a  good  education 
of  children  lays  the  first  foundation  for  their 
ti'ue  well  being,  so  temptation  lays  the  first 
foundation  for  their  destruction. — The  world,  in 
order  the  better  to  lead  others  astray,  is  wont  to 
adorn  its  vices  with  the  finest  colors.  There  be 
most  of  all  on  thy  guard ;  where  the  world  is 
most  friendly  it  is  most  dangerous.  It  is  a  poi- 
soned sweetmeat. — If  thou  art  God's  child,  en- 
grafted in  Christ  the  living  vine  by  holy  bap- 
tism, thou  hast  received  from  Him  new  powers  to 
hate  evil  and  conquer  all  temptations. — On  vers. 
16-19 : — The  ungodly  have  in  their  wickedness 
their  calamity  also, — and  must  {by  its  law)  pre- 
pare this  for  one  another. — Luther  (marginal 
comment  on  ver.  17)  :  "  This  is  a  proverb,  and 
means  "  It  fares  with  them  as  is  said,  'In  vain 
is  the  net,'  etc.;  i.  e.,  their  undertaking  will  fail, 
they  will  themselves  perish." 

[Ver.  10.  Arnot: — This  verse,  in  brief  com- 
pass and  transparent  terms,  reveals  the  foe  and 
the  fight.  With  a  kindness  and  wisdom  altoge- 
ther paternal,  it  warns  the  youth  of  the  Danger 
that  assails  him,  and  suggests  the  method  of 

Ver.  20  sq.  Geibr  (on  ver.  20,  21)  :— "All 
this  declares  the  fervor  and  diligence  of  heavenly 
wisdom  in  alluring  and  drawing  all  to  itself:  just 
as  a  herald  with  full  lungs  and  clear  voice  en- 
deavors to  summon  all  to  him." — -Lange  : — -Eter- 
nal wisdom  sends  forth  a  call  of  goodness  and 
grace  to  the  pious,  and  a  call  to  holiness  and 
righteousness  addressed  to  the  ungodly.  0  that 
all  would  read  and  use  aright  this  record  written 
out  thus  in  capitals! — Galwer  Handb.: — Wisdom's 
walk  through  the  streets.  The  Lord  and  His 
Spirit  follows  us  every  where  with  monition  and 
reminder.  Here  wisdom  is  portrayed  especially 
as  warning  against  the  evil  consequences  of  diso- 
bedience, and  as  pointing  to  the  blessings  of  obe- 
dience.— WoHLFARTH :  The  words  of  grief  oyer 
the  unthankfulness  and  blindness  of  men  which 
Solomon  here  puts  into  the  mouth  of  wisdom, — 

*  "Timere  Dam.  nihil  aliud  est  qmm  aequi  Dam.  sive  m- 
minem  imitari  prater  Deum." 


we  hear  them,  alas !  even  to-day.  Truth  haa 
become  ....  the  common  property  of  all  men: 
in  thousands  upon  thousands  of  churches  and 
schools,  from  the  mouth  of  innumerable  teach- 
ers, in  millions  of  written  works,  it  speaks,  in- 
structs, warns,  pleads,  adjures,  so  that  we  with 
wider  meaning  than  Solomon  can  say,  it  is 
preached  in  highways  and  byways.  If,  on  the 
one  hand,  we  must  greatly  rejoice  over  this,  how 
should  we  not  in  the  same  measure  mourn  that  so 
many  despise  and  scorn  this  call  of  wisdom !  Is 
it  not  fearful  to  observe  how  parents  innumera- 
ble keep  their  children  from  schools — how  many 
despise  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  etc.?  Let 
us  therefore  learn  how  slow  man  is  to  good,  how 
inclined  to  evil,  how  careless  he  is  just  in  con- 
nection with  his  richest  privileges,  etc. 

Vers.  22  sq.  Starke; — Wisdom  divides  men 
here  into  three  classes;  1)  The  simple  or  foolish; 
2)  mockers ;  3)  the  abandoned.  Through  her  call, 
"  Turn  you  at  my  reproof,"  etc.,  she  aims  to  trans- 
form these  into  prudent,  thoughtful,  devout  men. 
— No  one  can  receive  the  Holy  Spirit  of  Christ  and 
be  enlightened  with  Divine  wisdom,  and  not  turn 
to  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  (John  xiv.  15  sq. — xvi. 
7  sq. ),  renounce  evil,  and  begin  a  new  life  (Ps. 
xxxiv.  15). — Lange  : — If  man  does  not  follow  the 
counsel  of  eternal  wisdom,  but  walks  according 
to  the  impulse  of  his  own  will,  he  comes  at  last 
to  the  judgment  of  obduracy. — W.  Stein  (Fast 
day  sermon  on  i.  23-3.3) : — How  does  eternal, 
heavenly  wisdom  aim  to  awaken  us  to  penitence  ? 
1)  She  uncovers  our  sins  ;  2)  she  proclaims  heavy 
judgments  ;  3)  she  offers  us  shelter  and  points 
out  the  way  of  eternal  salvation. — [Ver.  23. 
Flavel; — This  great  conjunction  of  the  word 
and  Spirit  makes  that  blessed  season  of  salvation 
the  time  of  love  and  of  life. — J.  Howe  : — When 
it  is  said,  "Turn,"  etc.,  could  any  essay  to  turn 
be  without  some  influence  of  the  Spirit?  But 
that  complied  with  tends  to  pouring  forth  a 
copious  eifusion  not  to  be  withstood. — Arnot  : — 
The  command  is  given  not  to  make  the  promise 
unnecessary,  but  to  send  us  to  it  for  help.  The 
promise  is  given  not  to  supersede  the  command, 
but  to  encourage  us  in  the  efi'ort  to  obey. — When 
we  turn  at  His  reproof.  He  will  pour  out  His 
Spirit;  when  He  pours  out  His  Spirit,  we  will 
turn  at  His  reproof;  blessed  circle  for  saints  to 
reason  in. — Ver.  24-28.  Arnot  : — When  mercy 
was  sovereign,  mercy  used  judgment  for  carrying 
out  mercy's  ends ;  when  mercy's  reign  is  over 
and  judgment's  reign  begins,  then  judgment  will 
sovereignly  take  mercy  past,  and  wield  it  to  give 
weight  to  the  vengeance  stroke. — Ver.  32. 
South: — Prosperity  ever  dangerous  to  virtue: 
1)  because  every  foolish  or  vicious  person  is 
either  ignorant  or  regardless  of  the  proper  ends 
and  rules  for  which  God  designs  the  prosperity 
of  those  to  whom  He  sends  it;  2)  because  pros- 
perity, as  the  nature  of  man  now  stands,  has  a 
peculiar  force  and  fitness  to  abate  men's  virtues 
and  heighten  their  corruptions;  3)  because  it 
directly  indisposes  them  to  the  proper  means  of 
amendment  and  recovery. — Baxter: — Because 
they  are  fools  they  turn  God's  mercies  to  their 
own  destruction  ;  and  because  they  prosper,  they 
are  confirmed  in  their  folly.] 


62  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


3.  Exhibition  of  the  blessed  consequences  of  obedience  and  of  striving  after  wisdom. 

Chap.  II.  1-22. 

1  My  son,  if  thou  receivest  my  words 
and  keepest  my  commandments  by  thee, 

2  so  that  thou  inclinest  thine  ear  to  wisdom, 
and  turnest  thine  heart  to  understanding; 

3  yea,  if  thou  callest  after  knowledge, 
to  understanding  liftest  up  thy  voice ; 

4  if  thou  seekest  her  as  silver, 

and  searchest  for  her  as  for  hidden  treasure ; 
6  then  shalt  thou  understand  the  fear  of  Jehovah, 
and  find  knowledge  of  God ; — 

6  for    Jehovah  giveth  wisdom, 

from  his  mouth  (cometh)  knowledge  and  understanding: 

7  and  so  he  layeth  up  for  the  righteous  sound  wisdom, 
a  shield  (is  he)  for  them  that  walk  uprightly, 

8  to  protect  the  paths  of  j  ustice, 
and  guard  the  way  of  his  saints ; — 

9  then  shalt  thou  understand  righteousness  and  justice 
and  uprightness, — every  good  way. 

10  If  wisdom  entereth  into  thine  heart, 
and  knowledge  is  pleasant  to  thy  soul, 

11  then  will  discretion  watch  over  thee, 
understanding  will  keep  thee, 

12  to  deliver  thee  from  an  evil  way, 

from  the  man  that  uttereth  frowardness, 

13  (from  those)  who  forsake  straight  paths, 
to  walk  in  ways  of  darkness; 

14  who  rejoice  to  do  evil, 

who  delight  in  deceitful  wickedness; 

15  whose  paths  are  crooked, 

and  they  froward  in  their  ways ; — 

16  to  deliver  thee  from  the  strange  woman, 

from  the  stranger  who  maketh  her  words  smooth, 

17  who  hath  forsaken  the  companion  of  her  youth 
and  forgotten  the  covenant  of  her  God. 

18  For  her  house  sinketh  down  to  death 
and  to  the  dead  (lead)  her  paths ; 

19  her  visitors  all  return  not  again, 
and  lay  not  hold  upon  paths  of  life. 

20  (This  is)  that  thou  mayest  walk  in  a  good  way 
and  keep  the  paths  of  the  righteous ! 

21  For  the  upright  shall  inhabit  the  land, 
and  the  just  shall  remain  in  it: 

22  but  the  wicked  are  cut  off  from  the  land, 
and  the  faithless  are  driven  out  of  it. 

GRAMMATICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

[Ver.  1  aq.  De  Wette  and  Notes  conceive  of  the  first  two  verses  as  not  conditional,  but  as  containing  tlie  exDression 
ofa  direct  and  independent  wish:  Oh  thai  thou  moulrlat  receive,  etc.    The  LXX,  Vulg  ,  LoTHER,  ete.,  maice  the  first  verso 
conditional,  but  find  the  apodosis  in  ver.  2.    Moenschee  finds  in  ver.  2  an  independent  condition,  and  not  a  mere  seonence 
to  the  precediog;  so  Holden,  with  a  slightly  different  combination  of  the  parts  of  ver.  2:    1/  by  inclining  thine  ear 
thou  will  imline  thine  heart,  etc.  M.,  H.,  Stdabi  and  others  find  the  apodosis  of  the  series  of  conditional  clauses  in  ver  6 


CHAP.  XI.  1-22. 


5ii 


agreeing  in  this  with  the  E.  V.  These  diverse  views  do  not  essentially  modify  the  general  import  of  the  passage.  Zocklee 
It  will  be  observed  finds  the  apodosis  in  vers.  5  and  9,  vers.  6-8  being  parenthetical.— A.].  v^oaaB"-    ^uuii-isu 

Ver.  7.  For  the  construction  with  the  stat.  constr.  compare  Isa.  xxxiii.  15.  [Compare  Qeben,  1 1  254,  9,  b  and  274,  2.1 
Ver.  8.  The  infinitive  IXjS  is  followed  by  the  imperf.  ibK?"  as  above  in  ver.  2.  [For  explanations  of  the  nature 
and  use  of  this  infinitive  construction  see  Bwald,  §  237,  c.  The  literal  rendering  would  bo  "for  the  euarding,  protection 
keepmg  Whose  keeping  the  paths,  etc.f  Holden  understands  it  of  the  righteous ;  "  who  walk  uprightly  by  keeping  the 
paths,  efc. '  Most  commentators  understand  it  of  God,  who  is  "  a  shield  for  the  protection,  i.  «.,  to  prStect,  etc."  Zocklee 
in  translation  conforms  the  following  ital  pret.  to  this  infin.,  while  most  others  reverse  the  process  —A.] 

Ter.  10.  [The    '3    with  which  the  verse  commences  is  differently  understood,  as  conditional  or  temporal,  or  as  causal. 

IhusE  v.,  N.M.,"«>*™  wisdom,  e«c.;"  S.,  K.,  Van  Ess,  "far  wisdom,  etc.;"  DeW.,Z.,  "  if  wisdom,  etc"  Between  the 
first  and  last  there  is  no  essential  difi^erence,  and  this  view  of  the  author  is  probably  entitled  to  the  preference.— A.]. 

The  feminine  TS^X  "  knowledge  "  (which  is  used  here,  as  in  i.  7,  as  synonymous  with  DDJn  "wisdom")  has 
connected  with  it  the  masculine  verbal  form  Q^J],  because  this  expression  "it  is  lovely"  is  treated^  aa  impersonal,  or 
neuter,  and  TSJf^  is  connected  with  it  as  an  accusative  of  object  [ace.  synecd.,  "  there  is  pleasure  to  thy  soul  in  respect  to 
knowledge"].  Comp.  the  similar  connection  of  ri^T  with  the  masculine  verbal  form  ^pj  in  chap.  xiv.  6;— also  Gen. 
xlix.  15,  2  Sam.  xi.  25. 

Ver.  11.  [For  the  verbal  form  naiSjn,  with  J  unassimilated,  "  for  the  sake  of  emphasis  or  euphony,"  see 
BoiT.,  §1100,  3.— A.]. 

Ver.  12.  ^T  is  a  substantive  subordinate  to  the  stat.  constr.  IITI  as  in  viii.  13,  or  as  in  yT  nOarijT  ver.  14,  in 
Jr'l-'E'JN,  chap:  xxviii.  5,  ete.  '  '  '  :  ■  - 

Ver.  18.  nJT'3~nnty.  n]3  wUch  is  everywhere  else  masculine  is  here  exceptionally  treated  as  feminine;  for  nniZ' 
is  certainly  to  be  regarded  as  3d  sing.  fem.  from  XVi'd,  and  not  with  Umbbeit  and  Elstbe  as  a  3d  sing,  masc,  for  only  rri^i 
and  not  T\XVO  (to  stoop,  to  bow)  has  the  signification  here  required,  viz.,  that  of  sinking  (Lat.  sidere).  The  LXX  read 
nnC  from  nniy,  and  therefore  translate :  eSero  yap  TiapQ.  tw  Ba.v6.T<^  rbi'  oTkoi'  o.vrrfs  [she  set  her  house  near  to  death] 
in  which  construction  however  r\TW  sidere,  is  incorrectly  taken  as  transitive.  [Both  Bottcheb  and  Fuerst  recognize 
the  possibility  of  deriving  this  form  as  a  3d  sing,  fem.,  either  from  T\W  or  from  nntJ',  which  have  a  similar  intrans. 
meaning.    To    nnE/    neither  Rodiger  (Qesen.  Thes.)  nor  Kobinson's  Gesenius,  nor  Fuebst  gives  any  other  than  a  transi- 

"   T 

tive  meaning.— A.].  Perhaps  Bottchek  (De  Inferis,  §J  201,  292;  Mue  Aehrenl.,  p.  1)  has  hit  upon  the  true  explanation, 
when  he  in  like  manner  makes  the  wanton  woman  the  subject,  but  treats    nn^3    not  as  oljject  but  as  supplementary  to 

the  verb,  and  therefore  translates  "for  she  sinks  to  death  with  her  house,  and  to  the^iead  with  her  paths.  [Rod.  (Thesaur. 
p.  1377,  a)  expresses  his  agreement  with  B.,  but  states  his  view  differently ;  "  de  ipsa  muHere  cogitavit  scriptor  initio  he- 
mistichii  prioris,  turn  vero  in  fine  ad  comptendam  sententiam  loco  mulieris  subjectum  fecit  TWC^."    Fderst  also  pronounces 

it  unnecessary  to  think  of  any  other  subject  than  nn''3. — A.].  Compare  however  HiTziQ'a  comment  on  this  passage,  who 
remarks  in  defence  of  the  common  reading  that  il^3  is  here  exceptionally  treated  as  feminine,  because  not  so  much  the 
house  itself  is  intended  as  "  the  conduct  and  trausactions  in  it "  (comp.  vii.  27  ;  Isa.  v.  14). 

Ver.  22.  With    ^rnp"*,    the  expression  which  is  employed  also  in  Ps.  xxxvii.  9,  to  convey  the  idea  of  destruction, 

"It 

there  corresponds  in  the  2d  clause    inD\   which  as  derived  from    HDJ    (Dent,  xxviii  63;  Ps.  111.  5;  Prov.  xv.  25)  would 

require  to  be  taken  as  Imperf.  Kal  and  accordingly  to  be  translated  actively :  *'  they  drive  them  out,"  i.  e.,  they  are  driven 
out  (so  e.  g.,  Umbreit,  Elster,  and  so  essentially  Bjerthbau  also).  But  inasmuch  as  the  parallelism  requires  a  passive  verb 
as  predicate  for  D''nji3  (i.  e.,  the  faithless,  those  who  have  proved  recreant  to  the  theocratic  covenant  with  Jehovah, 
comp.  xi.  3,  6;  xiii.  2;  xxii.  12)  which  is  employed  unmistakably  as  synonymous  with  D^^Eyl, — and  inasmuch  as  no  verb 
nnO    exists  as  a  basis  for  the  assumed  Niphal  form    ^nD%  we  must  probably  read  with   Hitzig    ^inD'',   as  an  Imperf. 

Hophal  firom    HDJ   and  compare    np'    as  an  Imperf.  Hophal  of  np7    (used  with  the  Pual  of  the  same  verb). 
-T  |-*..  I  -T 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  Vers.  1-9.  This  first  smaller  division  of  the 
chapter  forms  a  connected  proposition,  whose 
hypothetical  protasis  includes  vers.  1-4,  while 
within  the  double  apodosis  (vers.  5  and  9)  the 
confirmatory  parenthesis,  vers.  6-8  is  introduced. 
The  assertion  of  Ewald  and  Bertheau  [with 
whom  Kamphausen  and  Stcabt  agree]  that  the 
entire  chap,  forms  only  one  grand  proposition, 
rests  on  the  false  assumption  that  the  "if"  "3 
in  ver.  10  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  causal  particle, 
and  should  be  translated  by  "for," — to  which 
idea  the  relation  of  ver.  10  both  to  ver.  9  and  to 
ver.  11  is  opposed.  Comp.  Umeeeit  and  Hitzig 
on  this  passage.  [On  the  other  hand,  the  LXX, 
Vulg.,  Luther,  etc.,  complete  the  first  proposi- 
tion, protasis  and  apodosis,  within  the  first  two 
verses ;  the  Vulgate  e.  g.  renders  "  at  susceperis 
■  .  ■  incUna  cor  tuum,  etc.,"  and  Luther  "  willat 


du  meine  Rede  annehmen  .  .  .  So  lass  dein  Ohr  u. 
s.  w."  The  E.  V.  ends  the  proposition  with  ver. 
5  as  the  apodosis. — A.J.^If  thou  receivest 
my  ■words.  To  the  idea  of  "  receiving  "  that  of 
"keeping"  stands  related  as  the  more  emphatic, 
just  as  "  commandments  "  (HiSn)  is  a  stronger 
expression  than  "  words "  (O'lDX).  In  the 
three  following  verses  also  we  find  this  same  in- 
creased emphasis  or  intensifying  of  the  expres- 
sion in  the  second  clause  as  compared  with  the 
first, — especially  in  ver.  4,  the  substance  of  which 
as  a  whole  presents  itself  before  us  as  a  superla- 
tive, or  final  culmination  of  the  gradation  which 
exists  in  the  whole  series  of  antecedent  clauses, 
in  so  far  as  this  verse  sets  forth  the  most  diligent 
and  intent  seeking  after  wisdom. — Ver.  3.  Yea, 
if  thou  callest  after  knowledge,  i.  e.,  if  thou 
not  only  inclinest  thine  ear  to  her  when  she 
calls  thee,  but  also  on  thine  own  part  callest 
after  her,  summonest  her  to  teach  thee,  goest  to 


54 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


meet  her  with  eager  questioning.  This  rela- 
tion of  climax  to  the  preceding  is  indicated  by 
the  DN  '3,  imo,  yea,  rather;  comp.  Hos.  ix.  12;  Is. 
xxviii.  28;  Jobxxxix.  14  [comp.  Ewald,  |343,  i]. 
The  Targum  translates  the  passage  "  If  thou 
callest  understanding  thy  mother,"  and  must 
therefore  have  read  DN  '3.  But  the  Masoretic 
pointing  is  to  be  preferred  for  lexical  reasons 
(instead  of  DX,  according  to  the  analogy  of  Job 
xvi.  14  we  should  have  expected  "HK,  "my  mo- 
ther"), and  because  of  the  parallelism  between 
vers.  1  and  3.  Still  "  knowledge  "  (nj'3),  as 
well  as  "  understanding,"  which  is  named  as  its 
counterpart  in  the  parallel  clause,  appears 
evidently  as  personified. — Ver.  4.  Ifthouseek- 
est  her,  etc. — "The  figure  of  diligent  seeking  is 
taken  from  the  tireless  exertion  employed  in 
mining,  which  has  before  been  described  in  the 
Book  of  Job,  chap,  xxviii.,  with  most  artistic  vi- 
vacity in  its  widest  extent.  The  D'JDDD  are 
surely  the  treasures  of  metal  concealed  in  th6 
earth  (comp.  Jerem.xli.  8;  Jos.  vii.  21),"  Umbreit. 
[For  illustrations  of  the  peculiar  significance  of 
this  comparison  to  the  mind  of  Orientals,  see 
Thomson's  Land  and  Book,  1.,  197. — A.]. 

Ver.  5.  Then  -wilt  thou  understand  the 
fear  of  Jehovah.  —  "Understand"  is  here 
equivalent  to  taking  something  to  one's  self  as  a 
spiritual  possession,  like  the  "finding"  in  the 
second  clause,  or  like  6ex^^'^<^^  ["receiveth"]  in 
1  Cor.  ii.  14.  The  "fear  of  Jehovah"  (comp.  i.  7) 
is  here  clearly  presented  as  the  highest  good  and 
mostvaluable  possession  of  man  (comp.  Is.  xxxiii. 
6),  evidently  because  of  its  imperishable  nature 
(Ps.  xix.  9),  and  its  power  to  deliver  in  trouble 
(Prov.  xiv.  26;  Ps.  cxv.  11;  Eoclesiast.  i.  11  sq.; 
ii.  7  sq). — And  find  knoTvledge  of  God. — • 
Knowledge  of  God  is  here  put  not  merely  as  a 
parallel  idea  to  the  "fear  of  Jehovah"  (as  in 
chap.  ix.  10;  Is.  xi.  2),  but  it  expresses  a  fruit 
and  result  of  the  fear  of  Jehovah,  as  the  sub- 
stance of  the  following  causal  proposition  in 
vers.  6-8  indicates.  Comp.  the  dogmatical  and 
ethical  comments.  [Is  the  substitution  of  Elohim 
for  Jehovah  (in  clause  6)  a  mere  rhetorical  or 
poetical  variation  ?  Wordsworth  calls  attention 
to  the  fact  that  this  is  one  of  five  instances  In  the 
Book  of  Proverbs  in  which  God  is  designated  as 
Elohim,  the  appellation  Jehov.ah  occurring  nearly 
ninety  times.  The  almost  singular  exception 
seems  then  to  be  intentional,  and  the  meaning 
will  be,  the  knowledge  of  "Elohim — as  distin- 
guished from  the  knowledge  of  man  which  is  of 
little  worth."  In  explaining  the  all  but  univer- 
sal use  of  Jehovah  as  the  name  of  God  in  our 
book,  while  in  Eocles.  it  never  occurs,  Words- 
worth  says,  "when  Solomon  wrote  the  Book  of 
Proverbs  he  was  in  a  state  of  favor  and  grace 
with  Jehovah,  the  Lord  God  of  Israel ;  he  was 
obedient  to  the  law  of  Jehovah;  and  the  special 
design  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  is  to  enforce  obe- 
dience to  that  law,"  etc.  (see  Introd.  to  Eccles., 
p.  78)-A.]. 

Vers.  6-8.  The  Divine  origin  of  wisdom  must 
make  it  the  main  object  of  human  search  and 
effort,  and  all  the  more  since  its  possession  en- 
sures to  the  pious  at  the  same  time  protection 


and  safety. — And  so  he  layeth  up  for  the 
righteous  sound  ^visdom. — So  we  must  trans- 
late in  accordance  with  the  K'thibh  [3V)  which 
is  confirmed  by  the  LXX  and  Pesch.  as  the  old- 
est reading.  The  K'ri  fSX'',  without  the  copu- 
lative, would  connect  the  proposition  of  ver.  7 
with  ver.  6  as  essentially  synonymous  with  it, 
to  which  construction  the  meaning  is  however 
opposed.  [The  majority  of  commentators  prefer 
the  K'ri,  making  this  verse  a  continuation  and 
not  a  consequence  of  the  preceding.  Kamphau- 
SEN  agrees  with  our  author  in  what  seems  to  us 
the  more  forcible  construction,  which  has  the  ad- 
vantage also  of  resting  on  the  written  text;  comp. 
BoTTCHER,  I  929,  A.— A.].  ]3S  to  protect,  to 
preserve,  after  the  manner  of  a  treasure  or  jewel, 
over  which  one  watches  that  it  may  not  be 
stolen;  comp.  above,  ver.  1,  and  also  vii.  1:  x.  14. 
— In  regard  to  iT'tSin  [rendered  "  sound  wis- 
dom" by  the  E.  V.  here  and  in  iii.  21  ;  viii.  14; 
xviii.  1]  properly  prosperity  and  wisdom  united, 
see  Introd.,  §  2,  note  3.  The  word  is  probably 
related  to  W,  and  denotes  first  the  essential  or 
actual  (so  e.  g.,  Job  v.  12),  and  then  furthermore 
help,  deliverance  (Job  vi.  13),  or  wisdom,  reflec- 
tion, as  the  foundation  of  all  safety ;  so  here  and 
iii.  21;  viii.  14;  xviii.  1;  Job  xi.  6  sq.;  Is. 
xxviii.  29.  Comp.  Umbkeit  and  Hirzel  on  Job  v. 
12.  HiTziQ  (on  iii.  21)  derives  the  word  from 
the  root  niE',  which  he  says  is  transposed  into 
ilK'l  (?  ?),  and  therefore  defends  as  the  primary 
signification  of  the  expression  "  an  even,  smooth 
path,"  or  subjectively  "  evenness,"  i.  e.,  of 
thought,  and  so  "  oonsiderateness  ;"  he  compares 
with  this  Tiiy'ip  which  signifies  "plain  "  as  well 
as  "righteousness." — A  shield  for  them  that 
walk  blamelessly.  —  The  substantive  [JD 
(shield)  is  most  correctly  regarded  as  an  appo- 
sitive  to  the  subject,  "Jehovah:"  for  also  in  Ps. 
xxxiii.  20;  Ixxxiv.  11;  Ixxxix.  18,  Jehovah  is  in 
like  manner  called  a  shield  to  His  saints.  In 
opposition  to  the  accusative  interpretation  of 
]ja  [which  is  adopted  by  Stuart  among  others], 
as  object  of  the  verb  [SS  (he  secureth,  or  en- 
sureth)  we  adduce,  on  the  one  hand,  the  mean- 
ing of  this  verb,  and  on  the  other  the  fact  that 
we  should  expect  rather  N'H  ]J0  (as  an  apposi- 
tive  to  rcmr\).  The  old  translations,  as  the 
LXX  and  Vulgate,  furthermore  read  the  word 
as  a  participle  ([JQD  or  [JD) ;  they  translate  it  by 
a  verb  (LXX  :  virepaainu  t?)v  nopdav  aiiTMi). — 
0^  '37n,  literally  the  "walkers  of  innocence," 
are  the  same  as  "those  that  walk  uprightly," 
Prov.  X.  9  (the  D'n3  DO'^IH)  or  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  11 
(the  D'pns  DoSin).— To  protect  the  paths 
of  justice,  eilc.— The  8th  verse  gives  more  spe- 
cifically the  way  in  which  God  manifests  Himself 
to  the  pious  as  a  shield,  and  the  ensurer  of  their 
safety.  "Paths  of  justice"  are  here,  by  the 
substitution  of  the  abstract  for  the  concrete  ex- 
pression, paths  of  the  just,  and  therefore  essen- 
tially synonymous  with  the  "way  of  the  pious  " 
in  the  second  clause.    Comp.  chap,  xvii  23 Ver. 


CHAP.  II,  1-22. 


68 


9  carries  out  the  import  of  the  parallel  ver  5  as 
the  particle  tK  repeated  from  the  preceding 
Terse  shows. — Every  good  path. — This  ex- 
pression (31D~7J^D~73)  includes  the  three  con- 

beptions  given  above,  justice,  righteousness  and 
integrity,  and  thus  sums  up  the  whole  enumera- 
tion. Therefore,  it  is  attached  without  a  copula ; 
comp.  Ps.  viii.  ver.  9  b. 

2.  Vers.  10-19  form  a  period  which  in  struc- 
ture is  quite  like  vers.  1-9 ;  only  that  the  hy- 
pothetical protasis  is  here  considerably  shorter 
than  in  the  preceding  period,  where  the  con- 
ditions of  attaining  wisdom  are  more  fully  given, 
and  with  an  emphatic  climax  of  the  thought. 
This  is  connected  with  the  fact  that  in  the 
former  period  the  Divine  origin  of  wisdom, 
here,  on  the  contrary,  its  practical  utility  for 
the  moral  life  and  conduct  of  man  forms  the 
chief  object  of  delineation.  There  wisdom  is 
presented  predominantly  as  the  foundation  and 
condition  of  religious  and  moral  rectitude  in  ge- 
neral,— here  specially  as  a  power  for  the  conse- 
cration of  feeling  and  conduct,  or  iis  a  means  of 
preservation  against  destructive  lusts  and  pas- 
sions.— If  wisdom  entereth  into  thine 
heart. — This  "coming  into  the  heart"  must  be 
the  beginning  of  all  attaining  to  wisdom ;  then, 
however,  she  who  has.  as  it  were,  been  received 
as  a  guest  into  the  heart  must  become  really 
lovely  and  dear  to  the  soul.  There  is,  therefore, 
a  climax  of  the  thought,  as  above  in  vers.  1-4. 
The  heart  is  here,  as  always,  named  as  the  centre 
and  organic  basis  of  the  entire  life  of  the  soul,  as 
the  seat  of  desire,  and  the  starting  point  for  all 
personal  self-determination.  The  soul,  on  the 
contrary,  appears  as  the  aggregate  and  sum  total 
of  all  the  impulses  and  efforts  of  the  inner  man. 
The  former  designates  the  living  centre,  the  latter 
the  totality  of  the  personal  life  of  man.  Comp. 
Beck,  Mbl.  Seelenlehre,  p.  65  ;  Delitzsoh,  Bibl. 
Psi/choL,  pp.  248  sq.;  ton  Rudloff,  Lehre  vom 
Mensehen,  pp.  59  sq.  What  the  last  mentioned 
author,  pp.  64  sq.,  remarks  in  criticism  upon  De- 
htzsce's  too  intellectual  conception  of  the  idea 
of  the  heart  as  the  "birthplace  of  the  thoughts," 
— that  every  where  in  the  Scriptures  it  appears 
to  belong  more  to  the  life  of  desire  and  feeling, 
than  to  the  intellectual  activity  of  the  soul, — this 
view  finds  foundation  and  support  especially  in 
the  passage  now  before  us,  as  well  as  in  most  of 
the  passages  which  mention  heart  and  soul  to- 
gether (e.  g.,  Prov.  xxiv.  12  ;  Ps.  xiii.  2  ;  Jerem. 
iv.  19 ;  Deut.  vi.  5 ;  Matth.  xxii.  37 ;  Acts  iv. 
32).  Comp.  also  Hitzio  on  this  passage. — And 
knowledge  is  pleasant  to  thy  soul. — [For 
a  peculiarity  of  grammatical  structure  in  the 
original,  see  critical  notes.] — Ver.   11.     Then 

will  reflection  watch  over  thee. — 7^  lOB' 
as  in  vi.  22.  iniy  (construed,  however,  with  a 
mere  accusative  of  the  object)  and  1SJ  have  al- 
ready been  found  connected  in  ver.  8  above,  and 
occur  again  in  chap.  iv.  6.  DHTD  here  reflection, 
considerateness  (LXX:  /3oiiA^  icaKri),  properly 
"wisdom,  so  far  forth  as  its  direction  is  out- 
ward, and  it  presents  itself  in  relation  to  the  un- 
certain,  testing  it,  and  to  danger,  averting  it " 

(HiTZIQ). 


Ver.  12.  To   deliver   thee  from   an   evil 

way  —  properly  "from  the  way  of  evil." — ' 
From  the  man  that  uttereth  perverse^ 
ness, — nD3nijl  perverseness,  a  strong  abstract 
form  [found  almost  exclusively  in  Proverbs — ' 
Fuerst]  which  expresses  the  exact  opposite  of 
O'lE^'D  ("uprightness,"  ch.  i.  3;  ii.  9), — it  is 
therefore  deceitfulness,  subtlety,  maliciousness. 
Comp  the  expressions,  "mouth  of  perverseness," 
chap.  viii.  13  ;  x.  32  ;  "tongue  of  perverseness," 
X.  31;  "man  of  perverseness,"  xvi.  28;  -also 
passages  like  vi.  14;  xvi.  30;  xxiii.  33. — Vers. 
13-15,  Closer  description  of  the  wayward  or  per- 
versely speaking  man,  in  which,  because  of  the 
generic  comprehensiveness  of  the  conception 
ty'X,  the  plural  takes  the  place  of  the  singular. — 
Who  forsake  straight  paths. — The  participle 
D'^IJ-'n  expresses,  strictly  interpreted,  a  preter- 
ite idea,  'those  who  have  forsaken;"  for  ac- 
cording to  ver.  15  the  evil  doers  who  are  de- 
scribed are  already  to  be  found  in  crooked  ways. 
— In  dark  vyays. — Comp.  Rom.  xiii.  12;  Eph.  v. 
11  ;  1  Thess.  v.  5;  also  Job  xxiv.  15;  Is.  xxix. 
15. — Deceitful  wickedness — literally  "per- 
verseness of  evil"  (comp,  remarks  on  ver.  12)  a 
mode  of  combining  two  nouns  which  serves  to 
strengthen  the  main  idea. — Whose  paths  are 
crooked — literally,    "  who  in  respect  to  their 

ways  are  crooked ;"  for  the  prefixed  Dn'nn'IN 
is  to  be  construed  as  an  accusative  of  relation 
belonging  to  the  following  Wppy ;  comp.  xix.  1 ; 
xxviii.  6.  In  the  second  clause  in  the  place  of 
this  adverbial  accusative,  there  is  substituted  the 
more  circumstantial  but  clearer  construction 
with  3   "perverse  in  their  ways." 

Vers.  16-19.  The  representation  passes  into  a 
warning  against  being  betrayed  by  vile  women, 
just  as  in  v.  3;  vi.  24;  vii.  5  sq. — From 
the  strange  woman,  from  the  Tvan- 
ton  woman. — As  "strange  woman"  (HE'S 
mi)  or  a  "wanton  woman"  (H^lpj,  properly 
"unknown,"  and  so  equivalent  to  "strange  or 
foreign  woman  ")  the  betrayer  into  unohastity  is 
here  designated,  so  far  forth  as  she  is  the  wife 
of  another  (comp.  vi.  26),  who,  however,  has  for- 
saken her  husband  (ver.  17),  and  therein  has 
transgressed  also  God's  commandment,  has 
broken  the  covenant  with  her  God  (ver;  17, 1.  c). 
— The  person  in  question  is  accordingly  at  all 
events  conceived  of  as  an  Israelitess ;  and  this  is 
opposed,  to  the  opinion  of  those  who,  under  the 
designation  "the  strange,  or  the  foreign  woman" 
(especially  in  connection  with  the  last  expression 
which  appears  as  the  designation  of  the  adulter- 
ess in  chap.  v.  20  ;  vi.  24 ;  vii.  5 ;  xxiii.  27), 
think  first  of  those  not  belonging  to  the  house  of 
Israel,  because  the  public  prostitutes  in  Israel 
were  formerly,  for  the  most  part,  of  foreign  birth 
(so  especially  J.  F.  Frisch:  Commentatio  demu- 
liere  peregrina  apud  Ebrs&os  minus  honeste  habita, 
Leips.,  1744,  and  among  recent  commentators, 
e.  g.,  Umbreit).  This  view  is  in  conflict  with 
the  context  of  the  passage  before  us  quite  as  de- 
cidedly as  is  the  idea  of  the  LXX,  which  inter- 
prets the  foreign  and  wanton  woman  as  the  per- 
sonification of  temptation  in  contrast  with  wis- 


5C 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


dom  (i.  ;iO  sq. ),  but  to  carry  out  this  view  is 
obliged  to  introduce  all  manner  of  arbitrary  re- 
lations,— e.  g.,  referring  that  of  the  "companion 
of  youth  "  in  ver.  17  to  the  instruction  in  Divine 
truth  (didaanaMa  veotjitoq),  which  was  a  guide  in 
youth.  It  is  decisive  against  this  allegorical 
conception  of  the  strange  woman,  which  has  been 
a  favorite  with  some  Christian  expositors  also, 
such  as  Melanohthon,  Joaoh.  Lange,  Che.  B. 
MiOHAELis,  that  the  wicked  and  perverse  men  in 
vers.  12-1.5  cannot  possibly  be  interpreted  figu- 
ratitely,  but  certainly  only  as,  individual  con- 
crete representatives  of  moral  evil.  [This  word 
n'lDJ  is  "  especially  applied  to  those  '  strange 
women'  whom  Solomon  himself  loved  in  his 
old  age,  and  who  turned  away  his  heart  from 
the  Lord  his  God,  and  beguiled  him  to  favor 
and  encourage  the  worship  of  their  false  gods 
(see  1  Kings  xi.  1-8;  comp.  Neh.  xiii.  26,  27). 
Here  is  a  solemn  lesson.  Solomon  warns  his 
son  against  that  very  sin  of  which  he  himself 
was  afterwards  guilty.  Thus  by  God's  goodness 
Solomon's  words  in  this  Divinely  inspired  book 
were  an  antidote  to  the  poison  of  his  owif  vicious 
example,"  Wordsworth]. — Who  maketh  her 
■words  smooth — ;.  c,  who  linows  how  to  speak 
flattering  and  tempting  words  ;  comp.  vii.  21 ;  Ps. 
V.  9;  Rom.  iii.  13. — Ver.  17.  The  companion 
of  her  youth. — The  same  expression  occurs 
also  in  Jerem.  iii.  4  ;  comp.  Ps.  Iv.  13,  where 
^nx  in  like  manner  means  companion,  con- 
fidant. The  forsaking  of  this  "companion 
of  youth,"  i.  e.,  the  first  lawful  husband,  is,  at 
the  same  time,  a  "forgetting  of  the  covenant  of 
her  God,"  i.  e.,  a  forgetting,  a  wilful  disregard 
of  that  which  she  has  solemnly  vowed  to  God. 
Marriage  appears  here  not  merely  as  a  covenant 
entered  into  in  the  presence  of  God,  but  in  a  cer- 
tain sense  one  formed  with  God.  Quite  similar 
is  the  representation  in  Mai.  ii.  14,  where  the 
adulterous  Israelite  is  censured  for  the  faithless 
abandonment  of  his  □''IIJ-'p  HK'N  (wife  of  youth) 
because  God  was  witness  with  her  at  the  forma- 
tion of  the  marriage  covenant.  That  the  mar- 
riages of  the  Israelites  "  were  not  consummated 
without  sacred  rites  connected  with  the  public 
religion,  although  the  Pentateuch  makes  no  men- 
tion of  them,"  is  accordingly  a  very  natural  as- 
sumption,— one  which,  e.  ^r.,  Ewald,  Bertheau, 
HiTziG,  Reinke,  v.  Gbrlach,  etc.,  have  made  on 
the  ground  of  the  two  passages  here  under  con- 
sideration, especially  the  passage  in  Malachi. 
Yet  compare  besides  A,  Kohler  on  the  latter 
passage  (Nachexil.  Prophh.,  IV.  102  sq.),  who 
finds  there  a  witness  of  Jehovah,  not  at  tlie  con- 
summation, but  at  the  violation  of  marriage. — 
Vers.  18,  19.  For  her  house  sinks  down  to 
death,  etc. — A  reason  for  the  strong  expression 
in  ver.  16,  "to  deliver  thee  from  the  strange 
woman." — And  to  the  dead  her  paths. — The 
D'Nfll  (i.  e.,  properly  the  weak,  languid,  power- 
less [Gesen.,  Thcs. : quieti,  silenies, — PuER3T,"the 
dark,  the  shadowy"];  comp.  the  eUuAa  Ka/j.6v- 
Tuv  of  Homer,  and  the  umhrse  of  Virgil)  are  the 
dwellers  in  the  kingdom  of  the  dead  (comp.  ix.; 
xxi.  16;  Ps.  Ixxxviii.  10;  Is.  xiv.  9;  xxvi.  14, 18, 
19),  and  stand  here,  like  the  Latin  inferi,  for  the 
world  of  the  dead,  or  Sheol  itself. — Her  visi- 


tors all  return  not  again, — because  from 
Sheol  there  is  no  return  to  the  land  of  the  living; 
see  Job  vii.  9,  10, — and  comp.  Prov.  f.  5,  6. — 
Paths  of  life,  as  in  Ps.  xvi.  11  ;  Prov.  v.  6. 

3.  Vers.  20-22.  While  the  ];;;n'7  [in  order  that] 
is  strictly  dependent  on  ver.  11,  and  co-ordinate 
with  the  '?  of  the  two  final  clauses  in  vers.  12  sq. 
and  16  sq.,  still  we  are  to  recognize  in  the  an- 
nouncement of  a  purpose  which  it  introduces,  » 
conclusion  of  the  entire  admonitory  discourse 
which  this  chapter  contains, — an  epilogue,  as  it 
were  ("  all  this  I  say  to  thee  in  order  that,"  etc.), 
which  again  may  be  resolved  into  a  positive  and 
a  negative  proposition  (vers.  20,  21  and  ver.  22). 

Umbreit's  translation  of  !Jt?5'?by  " therefore  "  is 
ungrammatical,  nor  can  it  be  justified  by  refer- 
ence to  passages  like  Ps.  xxx.  12 ;  li.  4  ;  Hos. 
viii.  4. — The  upright  shall  inhabit  the  land. 
— In  the  description  of  the  highest  earthly  pros- 
perity as  a  "dwelling  in  the  land  "  (i.  e.,  in  the 
native  land,  not  upon  the  earth  in  general,  which 
would  give  a  meaning  altogether  vague  and  in- 
definite), we  find  expressed  the  love  of  an  Israe- 
lite for  his  fatherland,  in  its  peculiar  strength 
and  its  sacred  religious  intensity.  "  The  Israe- 
lite was,  beyond  the  power  of  natural  feeling, 
which  makes  home  dear  to  every  one,  more  closely 
bound  to  the  ancestral  soil  by  the  whole  form  of 
the  theocracy  ;  torn  from  it  he  was  in  the  inmost 
roots  of  life  itself  strained  and  broken.  Espe- 
cially from  some  Psalms  belonging  to  the  period 
of  the  exile  this  patriotic  feeling  is  breathed  out 
in  the  fullest  glow  and  intensity.  The  same  form 
of  expression  has  also  passed  over  into  the  New 
Testament,  comp.  Matth.  v.  5,  and  also,  with  regard 
to  the  idea  as  a  whole,  Ps.  xxxvii.  9,  11,  29;  Prov. 
X.  30"  (Elster). — But  the  wicked  shall  be 
rooted  out  from  the  laud. — See  critical  notes 
above. 

DOCTRINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

He  only  who  seeks  after  wisdom,  i.  c,  who 
turns  his  practical  efforts  wholly  toward  it,  and 
walks  in  its  ways,  finds  true  wisdom.  For  wis- 
dom in  the  objective  sense,  is  a  gift  'of  God,  an 
eflluence  from  Him,  the  only  wise  (Rom.  xvi.  27). 
It  can  therefore  come  into  possession  of  him 
alone  who  seeks  appropriately  to  make  his  own 
the  true  subjective  wisdom,  which  is  aspiration 
after  God  and  divine  things ;  who  in  thought 
and  experience  seeks  to  enter  into  communion 
with  God  ;  who  devotes  himself  entirely  to  God, 
subjects  himself  fully  to  His  discipline  and  guid- 
ance, in  order  that  God  in  turn  may  be  able  to 
give  Himself  wholly  to  him,  and  to  open  to  him 
the  blessed  fulness  of  His  nature. — This  main 
thought  of  our  chapter,  which  comes  out  with 
especial  clearness  in  vers.  5,  6,  is  essentially  only 
another  side,  and  somewhat  profounder  concep- 
tion. Of  the  motto  which,  in  i.  7,  is  prefixed  to 
the  entire  collection,  viz.,  that  the  fear  of  Jeho- 
vah ig  the  beginning  of  wisdom, — or  again,  of 
the  significant  utterance  in  chap,  xxviii.  5: 
"They  that  seek  God  understand  all  things." 
Within  the  limits  of  the  New  Testament  we  may 
compare  above  all  else,  what  the  Lord,  in  John  vii. 
17,  presents  as  the  condition  of  a  full  comprehen- 


CHAP.  11.  1-22. 


57 


sion  of  Himself  and  of  the  divine  truth  rerealed 
in  Him:  "If  any  man  will  do  liis  will  he  shall 
know  whether  this  doctrine  be  of  God;"  like- 
wise: "  Ask  and  it  shall  be  given  you  ;  seek  and 
ye  shall  find,"  etc.  (Matt.  vii.  7);  and  also: 
"Awake  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the 
dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee  light"  (Eph. 
V.  14).  Comp.  further  the  passage  from  the 
Book  of  Wisdom  (chap.  vi.  12,  13),  which  Me- 
lANOHTHON,  with  perfect  propriety,  cites  in  this 
connection :  "  Wisdom  is  willingly  found  of  them 
that  seek  her,  yea,  she  cometh  to  meet  and  maketh 
herself  known  to  those  that  desire  her ;"  and 
also  David's  language  :  "In  thy  light  do  we  see 
light"  (Ps.  xxxvi.  9),  the  well-known  favorite 
motto  of  Augustine,  which  in  like  manner,  as 
it  was  employed  by  the  profound  metaphysician 
Malebranche,  ought  to  be  used  by  all  Christian 
philosophers  as  their  daily  watchword  and  sym- 
bol. 

In  the  second  section  of  this  admonition  (vers. 
10-19)  this  true  wisdom,  to  be  conferred  by  God, 
to  be  found  only  with  God,  is  more  completely 
exhibited,  on  the  side  of  its  salutary  influence 
upon  the  moral  life  of  humanity,  especially  as  a 
preserver  against  sin  and  vice  and  their  ruinous 
consequences.  J?fter  this  in  conclusion  the 
epilogue  (vers.  20-22)  contrasts  the  blessed  re- 
sults of  wise  and  righteous  conduct  and  the  pun- 
ishment of  ungodliness  in  strongly  antithetic 
terms,  which  remind  us  of  the  close  of  the  first 
Psalm  and  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (Matt. 
vii.  24-27  ;  comp.  Ps.  i.  6).  Comp.  the  exegeti- 
cal  comments  on  these  two  sections. 

HOMILETIC. 

Homily  on  the  entire  chapter :  The  main  stages 
in  the  order  of  grace,  contemplated  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  wisdom  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment: 1)  The  call  (vers.  1-4);  2)  Enlightenment 
(vers.  5,  6)  ;  3)  Conversion  (vers.  7-10) ;  4)  Pre- 
servation or  sanctificatiou  (vers.  11-20) ;  5)  Per- 
fection (vers.  21,  22). — Stakke  : — The  order  of 
proceeding  for  the  attainment  of  true  wisdom 
and  its  appropriate  use:  1)  the  order  for  the 
attainment  of  wisdom  consists  in  this, — that  we 
a)  ask  for  it,  (1-3),  b)  search  for  it  with  care  and 
diligence  (4).  2)  The  wisdom  thus  attained  is 
the  only  true  wisdom,  as  appears  a)  from  its  own 
characteristics  (5),  b)  from  the  person  of  its 
giver  (6),  c)  from  the  conduct  of  the  men  who 
possess  it  (7,  8).  3)  This  only  true  wisdom  is 
profitable,  a)  for  the  attainment  of  righteousness 
in  faith  and  life  (9-11,  J)  for  deliverance  from 
evil  (12-19),  c)  for  the  steadfast  maintenance  of 
an  upright  life  (20-22). —  Simpler  and  better 
Stooker  : — Studiosi  sapientise  1)  officium  (1-8) ;  2) 
prsemium  (9-22).  [The  student  of  wisdom  1)  in 
his  duty,  2)  in  his  reward]. — Calwsr  Handb.: 
The  way  to  wisdom  consists  1)  in  listening  to  its 
call  (1,  2)  ;  2)  in  searching  for  it  prayerfully 
(3-6) ;  3)  in  deference  to  that  portion  of  wisdom 
which  one  has  already  attained,  by  earnestness 
in  a  holy  walk  (7-9) ;  4)  in  the  experience  of  the 
power  of  wisdom,  which  lies  in  this,  that  it  pre- 
serves from  ways  of  evil,  especially  of  impurity 
(10-22). 

Vers.  1-9.  MELANCHTHON:-"He  admonishes  how 
we  may  make  progress  (in  wisdom):  for  he  com- 


bines two  causes :  1)  God's  aid ;  2)  our  own  zeal." 
(No.  2  ought  here  necessarily  to  have  been  put 
first  —  an  improvement  which  was  made  by 
Stooker  in  his  reproduction  of  this  analysis  of 
Melamchthon). — Stooker: — The  rounds  upon 
which  one  must,  with  divine  help,  climb  up  to 
the  attainment  of  wisdom  are  seven:  1)  eager 
hearing;  2)  firm  retention;  3)  attentive  medita- 
tion ;  4)  unquestioned  progress ;  5)  due  humilia- 
tion: 6)  devoted  invoking  of  God's  help;  7) 
tireless  self-examination. — [Chalmers  (on  vers. 
1-9): — The  righteousness  of  our  conduct  con- 
tributes to  the  enlightenment  of  our  creed.  The 
wholesome  reaction  of  the  moral  on  the  intellec- 
tual is  clearly  intimated  here,  inasmuch  as  it  is 
to  the  righteous  that  God  imparteth  wisdom], — 
Starke  (on  vers.  1-4) : — As  the  children  of  the 
world  turn  their  eyes  upon  silver  and  treasures, 
run  and  race  after  them,  make  themselves  much 
disquiet  to  attain  them,  though  after  all  they  are 
but  shadows  and  vanity  ;  so  ought  the  children 
of  God  to  use  much  more  diligence  to  attain 
heavenly  wisdom,  which  endures  forever,  and 
makes  the  man  who  possesses  it  rc.illy  prosper- 
ous.— [Vers.  1-6.  Bridges: — Earthly  wisdom  is 
gained  by  study  ;  heavenly  wisdom  by  prayer. 
Study  may  form  a  Biblical  scholar;  prayer  puts 
the  heart  under  a  heavenly  pupilage,  and  there- 
fore forms  the  wise  and  spiritual  Christian.  But 
prayer  must  not  stand  in  the  stead  of  diligence. 
Let  it  rather  give  life  and  energy  to  it, — Arnot 
(vers.  2): — The  ear  inclined  to  divine  wisdom 
will  draw  the  heart:  the  heart  drawn  will  incline 
the  ear.  Behold  one  of  the  circles  in  which  God, 
for  His  own  glory,  makes  His  unnumbered  worlds 
go  round. — (Ver.  4).  Fervent  prayer  must  be 
tested  by  persevering  pains. — Trapp  (ver.  2) : — 
Surely  as  waters  meet  and  rest  in  low  valleys, 
so  do  God's  graces  in  lowly  hearts. — (Ver.  3). 
A  dull  suitor  begs  a  denial], — Starke  (On  vers. 
5-9)  : — Righteousness  of  faith  and  righteousness 
of  life  are  closely  connected.  As  soon  as  the 
first  exists  (vers.  5-8)  the  other  must  also  show 
itself  in  an  earnest  and  pure  walk  before  God 
and  man,  Luke  i.  74,  75 ;  Phil.  i.  11. — Lange 
(on  ver.  6) : — One  may  indeed  by  natural  know- 
ledge very  readily  learn  that  God  is  a  very  be- 
nevolent being;  but  how  He  becomes  to  a  sinner 
the  God  of  love,  this  can  be  learned  only  from 
the  mouth  of  God  in  the  Holy  Scriptures. — 
[Trapp  (ver.  9): — "Thou  shalt  understand  right- 
eousness," not  as  eognoscitiva,  standing  in  specu- 
lation, but  as  directiva  vitse,  a,  rule  of  life.] 

Vers.  10-22.— [Ver.  11.  Bridges:— Before 
wisdom  was  the  object  of  our  search.  Now, 
having  found  it,  it  is  our  pleasure.  Until  it  is 
so  it  can  have  no  practical  influence. — Arnot: — 
It  is  pleasure  that  can  compete  with  pleasure  ;  it 
is  "joy  and  peace  in  believing"  that  can  over- 
come the  pleasure  of  sin.] — Stocker  (on  vers. 
10-12): — Wisdom  helps  such  as  love  her  in  all 
good,  and  preserves  them  against  all  evil;  she 
directs  them  to  the  good  and  turns  them  from 
the  evil  way. — (On  vers.  12-19) : — Wisdom  de- 
livers from  the  three  snares  of  the  devil,  viz., 
1)  from  a  godless  life;  2)  from  false  doctrine; 
3)  from  impurity  and  licentiousness. — Starke 
(on  vers.  12  sq.): — Daily  experience  teaches  us 
that  we  are  by  nature  in  a  condition  from  which 
we  need  deliverance.     But  how  few  are  there  of 


68 


THE  PROVERBS  OP  SOLOMON. 


those  who  are  willing  to  be  delivered,  Matt. 
xxiii.  37! — (On  vers.  :Z0-22): — Not  merely  some 
steps  in  the  right  way,  but  continuing  to  the  end 
brings  blessedness.  Matt.  xxiv.  13!  —  Granted 
that  for  a  time  it  goes  ill  with  the  godly  in  this 
world,  God's  word  must  nevertheless  be  made 
good,  if  not  here,  surely  in  eternity,  Ps.  cxxvi. 
1). — [Bridges  : — The  spell  of  lust  palsies  the  grasp 
By  which  its  victim  might  have  taken  hold  of  the 
vatha  of  life  for  his  deliverance] — Hasius    (on 


vers.  21,  22): — People  who  mean  rightly  neither 
with  God  nor  men  are  with  their  posterity 
rooted  out  of  the  world.  He  who  observes  will 
even  now  see  plain  proofs  of  this,  Ps.  Ixxiii.  19; 
xxxiv.  16. — Von  Gbelach  (on  ver.  21:) — The 
meaning  of  the  promise,  so  common  in  the  law, 
of  "the  pious  dwelling  in  the  land  "  depends 
especially  on  the  fact  that  Canaan  was  type  and 
pledge  of  the  eternal  inheritance  of  the  saints  la 
light. 


4.  Continuation  of  the  exhibition  of  the  salutary  results  of  a  devout  and  pious  life. 


Chap.  III.  1-18. 

1  My  son,  forget  not  my  doctrine, 

and  let  thy  heart  keep  my  commandments  ; 

2  for    length  of  days  and  years  of  life 
and  welfare  will  they  bring  to  thee. 

3  Let  not  love  and  truth  forsake  thee ; 
bind  them  about  thy  neck, 

write  them  upon  the  tablet  of  thy  heart ; 

4  80  wilt  thou  find  favor  and  good  reputation 
in  the  eyes  of  God  and  of  men. 

5  Trust  in  Jehovah  with  all  thy  heart, 
and  rely  not  on  thine  own  understanding, 

6  In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  him, 
and  he  will  make  smooth  thy  paths. 

7  Be  not  wise  in  thine  own  eyes ; 
fear  Jehovah  and  depart  from  evil. 

8  Healing  will  then  come  to  thy  body 
and  refreshing  to  thy  bones. 

9  Honor  Jehovah  with  thy  wealth, 

and  with  the  best  of  all  thine  income ; 

10  so  will  thy  barns  be  filled  with  plenty 
and  with  new  wine  will  thy  vats  overflow. 

11  Jehovah's  correction,  my  son,  despise  not, 
.  neither  loathe  thou  his  chastening ; 

12  for  whom  Jehovah  loveth,  him  he  chasteneth 
and  holdeth  him  dear,  as  a  father  his  son. 

13  Blessed  is  the  man  that  hath  found  wisdom, 
and  he  that  attaineth  understanding; 

14  for  better  is  its  accumulation  than  the  accumulation  of  silver 
and  her  gain  (is  better)  than  the  finest  gold.  ' 

15  More  precious  is  she  than  pearls, 
and  all  thy  jewels  do  not  equal  her. 

16  Long  life  is  in  her  right  hand, 

in  her  left  hand  riches  and  honor. 

17  Her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness, 
and  all  her  paths  (are  paths)  of  peace. 

18  A  tree  of  life  is  she  to  those  that  lay  hold  upon  her, 
and  he  who  holdeth  her  fast  is  blessed. 


CHAP.  III.  1-35.  59 


5  Description  of  the  powerful  protection  which  God,  the  wise  Creator  of  the  world,  ensures  to 

the  pious. 

Chap.  III.  19-26. 

19  Jehovah  hath  with  wisdom  founded  the  earth, 

the  heavens  (hath  he)  established  by  understanding; 

20  by  his  knowledge  were  the  floods  divided, 
and  the  clouds  dropped  down  dew. 

21  My  son,  never  suffer  to  depart  from  thine  eyes, 
maintain  (rather)  thoughtfiilness  and  circumspection ; 

22  so  will  they  be  life  to  thy  soul 
and  grace  to  thy  neck. 

23  Then  wilt  thou  go  thy  way  in  safety 
and  thy  foot  will  not  stumble. 

24  When  thou  liest  down  thou  wilt  not  be  afraid, 
and  when  thou  liest  down  thy  sleep  is  sweet. 

25  Thou  needst  not  fear  from  sudden  alarm, 

nor  from  the  destruction  of  the  wicked  when  it  cometh. 

26  For  Jehovah  will  be  thy  confidence 
and  keep  thy  foot  from  the  snare. 

6.  Admonition  to  benevolence  and  justice. 
Chap.  III.  27-35. 

27  Kefuse  not  good  to  him  to  whom  it  is  due, 
when  thine  hands  have  power  to  do  it. 

28  Say  not  to  thy  neighbor :  "  Go  and  come  again  ;" 

or  "  to-morrow  I  will  give  it " — while  yet  thou  hast  it 

29  Devise  not  evil  against  thy  neighbor 
while  he  dwelleth  securely  by  thee. 

30  Contend  with  no  man  without  cause, 
when  he  did  thee  no  evil. 

31  Imitate  not  the  man  of  violence 
and  choose  none  of  his  ways. 

32  For  an  abhorrence  to  Jehovah  is  the  deceiver, 

but  with  the  upright  he  maintaineth  true  friendship. 

33  Jehovah's  curse  dwelleth  in  the  house  of  the  wicked 
but  the  home  of  the  just  he  blesseth. 

34  If  he  scorneth  the  scomers, 
to  the  lowly  he  giveth  grace. 

85  Honor  shall  the  wise  inherit, 
but  shame  sweepeth  fools  away. 

GRAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Ver.  6.— [The  idea  of  the  Terb  ItS?"  is  not  that  of  guidance  [B.  V. :  "  shall  direct  thy  paths  "],  but  that  of  making 
straight  (Stuart),  or,  perhaps,  better  still,  making  smooth  (Pdekst,  De  W.,  Kamph.).— A.] 

Vers.  7,  8.— [Tin'^TX.  the  "  dehortative  "  use  of  the  Jussive,  Bott.,?  964,  8;  while  in  Ter.  8  we  have  an  example  of  the 
"desponsive"  use— «  shaM  dc— Jt'ltl/S.  For  the  doubling  of  the  1  by  Dageeh  see  Bott.,  ?392  c.  He  explains  it  as  "  mi- 
metic for  greater  Tigor."  Some  texts  carry  this  even  into  the  succeeding  ^,  §  885,  A.  Puerbt  (Lex.,  sai  verbo)  pronounces 
it  unnecessary  to  change  the  vocalization  as  proposed  by  some  commentators  and  preferred  by  Zocklek,  and  agrees  with 
Ukbsbit  in  his  view  ol  the  meaning. — A.]  t     j  ,■  vi  .v  „        «    r.        i,     i,  u    j„„..>> 

Ygj.  12 In  the  ordinary  rendering,  "  even  as  a  father  the  son  m  whom  he  delighteth,"  or  "  whom  he  holds  dear 

[which  is  tlie  rendering,  e.g.,  of  the  E.  V.,  De  Wette,  Stuaet,  Notes,  Muenbch.],  DVI'  is  construed  as  in  a  relative  clause. 
But  then  wo  should  expect  rather  the  perfect  flSI ;  and  there  should  have  been  in  the  first  clause  a  comparative  proposi- 
tion of  like  construction  with  the  one  before  us.  The  LXX,  from  which  Heb.  xii.  5  is  literally  quoted  La  rendering  which 
HolBEN  adopts  and  defends],  appears  to  have  read  aND^.  instead  of  3X31,  for  it  translates  the  second  clause  by  (lao-riyoi 
*e  irai/ra  vibi'  ov  irapaSevcTai  [scourgeth  every  son  whom  he  receiveth].  This  old  variation,  however,  appears  to  owe  its 
origin  to  the  endeavor  to  secure  a  better  parallelism.    [KiMPH.  adopts  a  slightly  different  rendering,  which  makes  the  lat- 


60 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON 


ter  part  of  the  clause  relative,  but  makes  the  relative  the  subject  and  not  the  object  of  the  verb,  thus  obviating  the  objec- 
tion in  regard  to  teuse  ;  and  (dealeth)  as  a  father  (who)  ivisheih  well  to  his  son.     The  nX  for  HX  a-t  the  beginning  of  the 

verse  is  explained  by  Bott.,  g  362,  3,  as  the  result  of  assimilation  to  the  subsequent  JIX- — A.J 

Ver.  18. — In  the  Hebrew  lU'S^D  ri'DDJll  the  plural  D''30/^  is  employed  distributively,  or,  as  it  were,  of  undefined 

individuals,  for  which  reason  its  predicate  stands  in  the  singular;  comp.  Gen.  xlvii.  3;  Num.  xxiv.  9;  Gesbn.,  Lehrgeb.,  p, 
713;  EWALD,  ^309,  a  [Bott.,  ^702,  8 J 

Ver.  2b.— The  3  in  1^033  is  the  so-called  3  essentiie,  which  serves  for  the  emphatic  and  strengthened  introduction 
of  the  predicate,  as,' cfif.,  in  ''IT^S,  Ex.  xviii.  4  (Gesen.,  Lehrgeb.,  839  ^  Ewald,  Lehrb,  217  f.). 

Ver.  27- — "When  thy  hands  have  powtr  to  do  it;"  literally  "when  thy  hands  are  for  God."  With  this  phrase  com- 
pare T  SxS  K?%  Gen.  xxxi.  29,  Micah  ii.  1;  or  T  SxS  TX,  Deut.  xxviii,  32;  Neh.  v.  5.  [The  weight,  both  of 
lexicographical  and  exegetical  authority,  is,  and,  we  think,  plainly  should  be,  against  this  view  of  the  author.  See,  e.  g., 
Gesbn.  and  PuBRsr;  7X  has  assigned  to  it  distinctly  the  signification  "strength,'"  the  abstract  quality  corresponding  to  the 

concrete,  "  the  strong,"  z,e..  God.     It  belongs  to  the  power=it  is  in  the  power].    Inasmuch  as  in  these  idioms  the  singular 
T*  always  occurs,  the  K'ri  reads  in  our  passage  also  ni\  and  the  LXX  for  the  same  reason  had  translated  ^  ^^etp  crou  [the 

translation  being  a  free  one;  Frankel,  Vorstudien  zur  Septuaginta,  p.  239].     Yet  there  is  no  grammatical  reason  whatever 
for  the  change.  , 

Ver.  28. — [TU'l/,  K'thibb,  another  distributive  plural,  where  the  K'ri  has  a  singular;  see  Bott.,  §^  702,  d — 886,  c. 

-A.l 

Ver.  30. — [Holden  translates  the  last  clause  "surely  he  will  return  thee  evil,"  because  the  ordinary  rendering  "gives 

to  the  word  7?DJ|  the  sense  of  doing  or  performing,  which  it  seems  never  to  bear,  but  always  that  of  returning,  requiting, 

~  T 

recompensing^^    The  primary  import,  however,  seems  to  be  to  collect,  to  complete,  which  fact,  together  with  the  tense,  jus- 
tifies the  almost  entire  unanimity  which  sustains  the  ordinary  rendering. — A.] 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  The  close  connection  between  this  group  of 
admonitions  and  chap.  ii.  appears  at  once  exter- 
nally in  the  resuming  of  the  address  "  My  son  " 
(ii.  1),  which  recurs  three  times  in  chap  iii.,  vers. 
1,  11,  21, — without,  however,  for  that  reason, 
introducing  in  each  instance  anew  paragraph ;  for 
in  ver.  11  atleast  the  series  of  admonitions  begin- 
ning in  ver.  1  continues  in  its  former  tone  with- 
out  interruption  (comp.  especially  ver.  9), — and 
again  the  new  commencement  in  ver.  21  does  not 
equal  in  importance  that  in  ver.  19  sq.,  or  that 
in  ver.  27  sq. — Hitzig  maintjiins  that  vers.  22-26 
are  spurious,  inasmuch  as  the  promise  of  reward 
which  it  contains,  after  the  earlier  briefer  sug- 
gestions of  virtue's  reward  in  vers.  4,  6,  8,  10, 
seems  tedious  and  disturbing ;  inasmuch  as  their 
style  of  expression  appears  tame,  prosaic,  and 
even,  in  some  degree,  clumsy;  inasmuch  as  there 
may  be  detected  in  them  traces  of  a  strange  and 
later  idiom  (c.  g.,  the  [ni  D"n  [life  and  grace] 
in  ver.  22  ;  the  TWAt  [destruction]  in  ver.  25  ; 
the  "1^70  [from  the  snare]  in  ver.  26);  and 
finally — the  thing  which  appears  In  fact  to  have 
given  the  chief  impulse  to  his  suspicion — inas- 
much as  from  the  omission  of  these  five  verses 
there  would  result  another  instance  of  the  deci- 
mal grouping  of  versos  before  we  come  again  to 
the  address  to  the  "children"  of  wisdom  in  chap. 
iv.  1,  just  as  before  the  'J3  [my  sou]  in  vers.  11 
and  21  was  repeated  in  each  case  after  ten 
verses.  But  since  no  kind  of  external  testimony 
can  be  adduced  in  support  of  this  assumption  of 
an  interpolation,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  aver- 
sion as  old  as  the  LXX  contains  the  verses  en- 
tire, the  suspicion  appears  to  rest  on  grounds 
wholly  subjective,  and  to  be  supported  by  rea- 
sonings that  are  only  specious.  This  is  espe- 
cially true  of  the  fact  that  there  are  in  each  in- 
stance ten  verses  between  the  first  addresses, 
"  my  son," — which  loses  all  its  significance  when 
we  observe  that  in  chap.  i.  the  same  address  re- 


curs at  much  shorter  intervals, — that  between 
the  "  my  son  "  in  chap,  ii,  1  and  the  first  in  the 
third  chapter  there  are  no  less  than  22  verses, — 
and  that  finally  the  paragraphs  or  "  strophes  " 
formed  by  the  repetition  of  this  address  in  the 
two  following  chapters  (iv.  10  sq.;  iv.  20  sq.;  v. 
1  sq.)  are  by  no  means  of  equal  length,  and  can 
be  brought  into  uniformity  only  by  critical  vio- 
lence (the  rejection  of  chap.  iv.  1 6,  17  and  27). — 
If  we  therefore  cannot  justify  Hitzig's  endeavor 
to  produce  by  the  exclusion  of  several  verses  a 
symmetrical  external  structure  for  our  chapter, 
i.  c,  a  division  of  it  into  three  equal  strophes,  we 
are  also  obliged  to  differ  with  him  when  he  con- 
ceives of  the  contents  as  mainly  admonitory,  in 
contrast  with  the  more  descriptive  character  of 
chap.  ii.  For  here  as  there  we  find  admonitions, 
direct  or  indirect,  to  the  securing  and  retaining 
of  wisdom  (vers.  1,  3,  5,  7,  9,  11,  21,  27  sq.)  al- 
ternating with  delineations  of  the  blessedness 
which  becomes  the  portion  of  its  possessors 
(vers.  4,  6b,  8,  10,  22  sq.,  32  sq.),  or  with 
praises  of  wisdom  itself  (vers.  13  sq.,  19  sq.). 
Especially  are  the  commencement  and  conclusion 
of  the  chapter  in  close  correspondence  with  those 
of  chap,  ii.,  and  accordingly  justify  our  concep- 
tion of  the  general  import  of  the  proverbial  dis- 
courses which  it  contains,  as  being  a  sort  of  con- 
tinuation of  the  longer  discourse  which  consti- 
tutes the  preceding  chapter.  Only  in  two  pointy 
do  we  find  essentially  new  material  introduced 
into  the  representation,  which  is  now  mainly  ad- 
monitory and  again  chiefly  descriptive, — viz.,  in 
vers.  19  sq.,  where  the  protecting  and  preserving 
power  of  wisdom  is  illustrated  by  a  reference  to 
God's  creative  wisdom  as  the  original  source  and 
model  of  all  human  wisdom, — and  in  vers.  27  sq., 
where  in  the  place  of  the  previous  admonitions 
of  a  more  general  nature  there  appears  a  special 
admonition  to  love  of  one's  neighbor,  as  the  sum 
and  crown  of  all  virtues.  Therefore  (with  De- 
LiTzscH,  comp.  above,  Introd.,  1 15)  at  each  of 
these  points  we  begin  a  new  section. 

2.    Continued  representation  of  the  salutary  conse- 
quences of  a  wise  and  devout  life.     Vers.  1-18. 


CHAP.  III.  1-35. 


61 


Vers.  1,  2.    Forget   not    my    teaching. — 

The  substance  of  this  teaching  (min,  as  in  i.  8), 
or  the  enumeration  of  the  individual  commands 
(niSp)  of  which  it  consists,  begins  with  ver.  3. — 
Length  of  days,  properly  "extension  of  days  " 
(D'O'  ^^S)  as  in  Ps.  xxi.  4),  is  a  description  of 
earthly  prosperity  as  it  is  promised  to  wisdom 
for  a  reward.  Comp.  Ex.  xx.  12  ;  1  Kings  iii.  14. 
For  that  this  long  life  is  a  happy  one,  a  "living 
in  the  promised  land  "  (Deut.  iv.  40 ;  v.  30 ;  vi. 
2;  xi.  9 ;  xxii.  7;  xxx.  16),  an  "  abiding  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord  "  and  under  His  blessing  (Ps. 
XV.  1 ;  xxiii.  6 ;  xxvii.  3), — this  is  plainly  assum- 
ed. Comp.  the  parallel  expression  Dl7ty  [peace] 
in  the  second  member,  which  here,  as  below  in 
ver.  17,  describes  the  safety  which  belongs  only 
to  the  pious,  the  religious  peace  of  mind  of  which 
the  ungodly  know  nothing  (Is.  xlviii.  22  ;  Ivii. 
21).— .Vers.  3,  4.  The  first  of  the  commandments 
announced  in  ver.  1,  with  the  corresponding  pro 
mise  of  reward. — Love  and  truth. — These 
ideas  npXI  lon  which  are  very  often  associated, 
in  our  Book,  «.  g.,  in  xiv.  22 ;  xvi.  6  ;  xx.  28, — 
are,  when  predicated  of  man,  the  designation  of 
those  attributes  in  which  the  normal  perfection 
of  his  moral  conduct  towards  his  neighbor  ex- 
presses itself.  Tpn,  which,  as  a  Divine  attribute, 
is  equivalent  to  mercy  or  grace,  designates  "  the 
disposition  of  loving  sympathy  with  others, 
which  rests  upon  the  feeling  of  brotherhood,  the 
feeling  that  all  men  are  of  like  nature,  creatures 
of  the  same  God."  This  feeling,  which  is  the 
prime  factor  in  our  moral  life  by  which  society 
is  constituted,  has  for  its  natural  basis  the  desti- 
tution and  defencelessness  of  isolated  man ;  from 
which  springs  the  deeper  necessity  not  only  to 
augment  power  by  mutual  outward  help,  but  also 
by  the  interchange  of  thoughts  and  emotions  to 
effect  a  richer  development  of  spiritual  life,  and 
to  discern  what  in  one's  own  feeling  is  purely 
individual,  and  what  is  common  and  eternal" 
(Elster).  npx  then  designates  inward  truth- 
fulness, the  pectus  rectum,  the  very  essence  of  a 
true  man  opposed  to  all  hypocrisy  and  dissimu- 
lation, the  endeavor  to  mould  every  form  info 
the  closest  possible  correspondence  with  the  na- 
ture of  the  thing,  on  which  depends  all  the  relia- 
bleness and  security  of  life's  relations"  (Elsteb, 
comp.  Umbkeit).  The  proofs  of  a  life  regulated 
by  "love"  and  "truth,"  and  so  of  conduct  toward 
one's  neighbor,  as  loving  as  it  is  true,  a  genuine 
ahj-^evuv  iv  ajdiry  [truth  in  love,  Eph.  iv.  15] 
are  suggested  in  the  following  admonitory  dis- 
course in  vers.  27  sq. — Bind  them  about  thy 
neck — not  as  talismans  and  amulets,  as  Umbbeit 
suggests,  but  simply  as  costly  ornaments,  which 
one  wears  upon  the  neck  (comp.  i.  9;  also  vii.  3) ; 
or  again  as  treasures  which  one  will  secure 
against  loss,  and  therefore  (if  valued  like  a  sig- 
net ring.  Gen.  xxxviii.  18  ;  Jer.  xxii.  24)  wears 
attached  to  a  chain  about  the  neck.  The  latter 
explanation,  to  which  HiTZiG  gives  the  prefer- 
ence, seems  to  be  favored  especially  by  chap.  vi. 
21,  and  also  by  the  analogy  of  the  parallel  ex- 
pression "  write  upon  the  tablet  of  the  heart,"  i.  «., 
thoroughly  impress  upon  one's  self  and  appro- 
priate the  virtues  in  question  (love  and  truth — 


not  perchance  the  "commandments"  mentioned 
in  ver.  1,  of  which  C.  B.  Michaelis  and  others 
here  think  without  any  good  reason)  ;  comp.  Jer. 
xxxi.  33  ;  2  Cor.  iii.  3  ["  To  bind  God's  law  about 
the  neck  is  not  only  to  do  it,  but  to  rejoice  in  do- 
ing it ;  to  put  it  on,  and  to  exult  in  it  as  the 
fairest  ornament."  'Wqbdsw.]. — So  ■wilt  thou 
find  favor  and  good  reputation — literally, 
"and  so  find,"  etc.  (KXD?)  ;  the  Imper.  with  1 
consec.  stands  for  an  Imperf.  (Ewald,  Lehrb.,  235); 
for  "by  the  command  the  certainty  that  obedi- 
ence will  follow  is  promoted,"  Hitziq.  Comp.  iv. 
4;  XX.  13;  Gen.  xlii.  8;  Isa.  viii.  9;  xlv.  22. 
[BoTT.  calls  this  the  "  desponsive  "  imperative; 
see  J  957,  6' — A.]. — "Find  favor  or  grace" 
(jn   NVD)  as  in  Jer.  xxxi.  2 ;   1  Sam.  ii.  ^6  ;  Luke 

ii.  52  ;  only  that  in  these  passages,  instead  of 
"in  the  eyes  of  God"  (i.  e.,  according  to  God's 
judgment,  comp.  Gen.  x.  9  ;  2  Chron.  xxx.  22)  the 
simpler  phrase  "  with  God  "  (DX,  vapd)  is  com- 
bined with  the  formula  under  discussion. — 
Good  reputation. — Thus  we  translate,  as 
HiTzio  does,  the  expression  310  7Z)B',  which  be- 
low in  chap.  xiii.  15,  as  in  Ps.  cxi.  10,  conveys 
the  idea  of  good  understanding  or  sagacity  [so 
the  E.  v.,  Beetheau,  Kamph.  render  it  in  this 
passage  also] ;  but  here,  as  in  2  Chron. 
xxx.  20,  denotes  the  judgment  awarded  to  any 
one,  the  favorable  view  or  opinion  held  concern- 
ing any  one.  [Fuerst,  Van  Ess,  etc.,  prefer  this 
rendering,  while  Gesen.,  De  W.,  Stuart,  Notes, 
MuENSOHEE  translate  "good  success."' — A.]. 
With  this  interpretation  the  "finding  favor" 
will  have  reference  more  to  God,  the  "  finding 
good  opinion  or  favorable  judgment "  predomi- 
nantly to  men.  [Kamph.,  however,  insists  that 
the  idea  is  indivisible — universal  favor.] 

Vers.  5,  6.  Trust  in  Jehovah  ■with  all 
thine  heart,  etc. :  the  fundamental  principle  of 
all  religion,  consisting  in  an  entire  self-commit- 
ment to  the  grace  and  truth  of  God,  with  the 
abandonment  of  every  attempt  to  attain  blessed- 
ness by  one's  own  strength  or  wisdom  ;  comp. 
Ps.  xxxvii.  3  sq. ;  cxviii.  8,  9  ;  Jer.  ix.  22. — Re- 
gard    him.       'HJ?/!,  strictly  "take  notice  of 

him,"  i.  e.,  recognize  Him  as  the  unconditional 
controller  over  all  thy  willing  and  doing.  Comp. 
the  opposite :  1  Sam.  ii.  12,  and  in  .general  for 
this   pregnant   use    of  the   verb   ^y    Ps.    i.    6 ; 

xxxvii.  18 ;  Am.  iii.  2,  etc. — Vers.  7,  8.  Fear 
Jehovah  and  depart  from  evil  (comp.  xiv. 
16 ;  xvi.  6  ;  Job  i.  1  ;  xxviii.  28) ;  an  absolute 
contrast  to  the  first  clause  of  the  verse ;  for  he 
who  fears  God  distrusts  his  own  wisdom,  when 
this  perchance  presents  evil  and  wayward  action 
as  something  agreeable  and  desirable  (Gen.  iii. 
5). — Healing  ■will  then  be  (come)  to  thy 
body.  Thus  probably  is  the  phrase  'Hn  rUNST 
to  be  explained,  with  Bertheau  and  Hitzig,— - 
for  to  express  the  idea  "healing  is  this  to  thy 
body,"  (Umbbeit,  Ewald,  Elster,  and  most  of 
the  elder  commentators)  XT!  D^Xi)']  would  rather 

have  been  required. — Instead  of  ^"^P;  thy 
navel  (which,  according  to  Umbreit,  here,  un- 
like Ezek.  xvi.  4  ;  Song  of  Sol.  vii.  3,  is  intended 
to  be  a  designation  of  the  whole  body  by  a  part 
of  special  physiological  importance)  it  will  pro- 


62 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


bably  be  correct  to  read  ^"^p^  as  a  contraction 
of  T^NK''7,  or  ^ItJ'?'?  as  in  chap.  iv.  22.  For 
translations  as  early  as  the  LXX  and  Peshito 
express  simply  the  idea  "  to  thy  body,"  to  which 
furthermore  the  parallel  "to  thy  bones"  corres- 
ponds better  (comp.  xiv.  30;  Micah  iii.  2)  than 
to  the  very  far-fetched  expression  "  to  thy 
navel."— Refreshing  to  thy  bones.  'IpE/ 
strictly  irrigation,  watering,  then  refreshing, 
invigoration  ;  here  in  contrast  with  the  "lan- 
guishing of  the  bones"  (Ps.  xxxii.  3,  4),  i.  t., 
their  drying  up  under  a  fever  heat  or  an  inward 
anguish  of  soul,  e.g.,  the  pangs  of  a  troubled 
conscience.     Comp.  Job  xxi.  24;  Is.  Iviii.  11. 

Vers.  9,  10.  Honor  Jehovah  with  thy 
riches.     The   ]D  in  ^JinD   and  the  following 

phrase  ^^nxi^n-bj  ri'U'NID  is  certainly  not  to 
be  construed  as  partitive,  as  though  God  was  to 
be  honored  with  a  part  only  of  one's  wealth  and 
of  the  first  fruits  of  one's  increase  (so  e.  g., 
Bertheau),  but  the  preposition  [D  here  ex- 
presses the  idea  of  a  coming  forth  out  of  some- 
thing, as  in  Ps.  xxviii.  7  ;  2  Kings  vi.  27.  In 
opposition  to  the  comparative  idea  which  Ewald 
endeavors  to  bring  out  from  the  |p  ("more  than 
thy  wealth")  see  Hitzig  on  this  passage.  With 
regard  to  the  idea  itself  compare  passages  like 
Ex.  xxiii.  19 ;  Deut.  xviii.  4  sq. ;  xxviii.  8  sq. ; 
Mai.  iii.  10-12.  That  the  offering  in  sacrifice 
the  first  fruits  of  the  field  and  of  the  other 
revenues  of  one's  possessions  or  labors  was  not 
only  enjoined  by  their  law  upon  the  people  of 
God  under  the  Old  Testament,  but  that  it  was 
also  practiced  by  other  ancient  nations  as  a 
usage  connected  with  religious  worship,  appears 
from  passages  in  classical  authors,  e.  g.,  DioD. 
SicuL.,  1.,  14:  Plut.  &  Istde, -p.  377;  Pliny's 
Hist.  Nat.,  18,  2.  Comp.  in  general  Spencer, 
Delegibus  Hebrxorum  ritualibus,  p.  713,  sq.  ("tie 
primitiarum  origine^^).  [Be  not  content  with  lip- 
service,  but  obey  God's  law  by  making  the  pre- 
scribed oblation  and  by  bringing  also  free-will 
offerings  to  Him." — Wobdsw.  Our  author's 
notes,  in  their  distinct  recognition  of  the  first 
fruits  as  required  for  and  by  Jehovah,  are  to  be 
preferred  to  his  version,  which  has  the  more  ge- 
neral but  less  Jewish  idea  that  "the  best "  should 
be  given. — A.] — With  new  wine  will  thy 
vats  overflow?.  iVlfl',  literally:  they  will  ex- 
tend themselves,  separate,  swell  up  Comp.  the 
use  of  the  same  verb  ]'"]3  with  reference  to 
rapidly  increasing  flocks ;  Gen.  xxx.  20 ;  Job 
i.  10. — Similar  strong  metaphors  for  the  descrip- 
tion of  a  rich  abundance  and  the  blessing  of  the 
harvest  may  be  found,  n.  g.,  Joel  iv.  18;  Amos 
ix.  13 ;  Lev.  xxvi.  5. 

Vers.  11, 12.  Jehovah's  correction  despise 
thou  not.  To  the  "  despising  "  (DND  here  as 
in  the  quite  similar  passage  Job  v.  17  [from 
which  WoBDSW.  thinks  our  passage  to  be  de- 
rived]), the  "loathing"  or   "abhorring"   (f'p) 

is  evidently  the  climax.  [In  the  E.  V.  generally 
this  distinction  between  the  two  verbs  is  very 
fairly  made ;  the  prevailing  rendering  of  the 
former  being  "despise,  disdain,  reject,  refuse," 


while  that  of  the  latter  is  "loathe,  abhor."  In 
the  present  instance  the  rendering  might  easily 
be  taken  as  an  anti-climax  — A.]. — And  holds 
him  dear  as  a  father  his  son.  For  the  gene- 
ral idea  that  God's  corrections  are  essentially 
nothing  but  revelations  of  His  educating  love 
and  fatherly  faithfulness,  comp.  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament especially  Deut.  viii.  5 ;  Ps.  cxviii.  18 ; 
Lam.  iii.  33   sq. 

Vers.  13-18.  Enthusiastic  praise  of  true  wis- 
dom, which  is  one  with  the  fear  of  God. — 
Blessed  is  the  man  that  bath  found  wis. 
dom.  The  perfect  NVD,  who  hath  found, 
expresses  the  idea  of  permanent  possession  ;  the 
parallel  imperfect  p'3'  (from  p13,  procedere; 
therefore,  to  bring  forth,  to  bring  to  view,  to 
bring  to  pass,  comp.  viii.  35 ;  xii.  2 ;  xviii.  22) 
denotes  a  continually  renewed  and  repeated  at- 
taining. The  iK[}d?iXeiv  ("bring  forth")  used  of 
the  scribe  "instructed  unto  (he  kingdom  of 
heaven,"  Matt.  xiii.  52,  cannot  be  compared 
directly  with  our  expression,  since  p'SH  clearly 

contains  an  idea  synonymous  and  not  one  con- 
trasted with  N2fn. — Better  is  her  accumula. 

TT 

tion   than    the    accumulation    of   silver. 

mriD  does  not,  like  the  corresponding  term  '13 
in  the  parallel  passage,  viii.  19,  denote  what 
wisdom  brings  by  way  of  gain,  but  the  very  act 
of  gaining  and  acquiring  (ifiiropsveadai,  LXX). 
So  with  nnXUjT,  that  which  comes  with  and  in 

TT        : 

herself,  the  gain  which  exists  in  herself  [The 
"merchandise"  of  the  E.  V.  is  unfortunately 
obscure  and  misleading], —  Than  the  finest 
gold,  ynn  signifies,  according  to  most  of  the 
old  interpreters,  the  finest  and  purest  gold 
(Vulg. :  aurum  primum).  The  etymology  leads, 
in  the  unmistakable  identity  of  the  root  j'^^  with 
that  of  the  Greek  xP'"fM,  at  first  only  to  the  idea 
of  clear  or  bright  shining,  gleaming  or  glittering 
{coruscare).  Gold  is  therefore,  on  the  ground  of 
its  brilliancy,  named  in  the  climax  as  a  more 
precious  possession  than  silver,  to  which  in  ver. 

15  the  "pearls"  (instead  of  the  E'thibh  D"J3 
we  shall  be  constrained  to  give  an  unqualified 
preference  to  the  K'ri  D'J'JS,  comp.  viii,  11 ;  xx. 
15;  xxxi.  10,  etc.)  supply  the  culmination  in 
the  series,  and  the  generalizing  term  "all  thy 
jewels  "  includes  the  three  specified  items  with 
all  similar  articles  of  value.  Comp.  viii.  11 ; 
Job  xxviii.  18,  where  our  verse  recurs  almost 
literally.  In  the  latter  passage  (Job  xxviii. 
15-19)  besides  silver,  gold  and  pearls,  various 
other  gems,  e.^,,  onyx,  sapphire,  coral,  amber, 
topaz,  etc.,  are  mentioned  as  falling  far  below 
the  value  of  wisdom.  In  the  LXX  there  appear 
both  in  ver.  15  and  in  16  amplifying  additions, 
in  respect  to  which  Hitzio,  while  not  regarding 
as  original  the  double  clause  interpolated  in  ver. 

16  between  the  two  members:  ovk  avrtTdaaerac 
ciiiTy  ov(ih  wovripdi/.  Eiiyvutrrdf  iariv  Traatv  roif 
eyyiComiv  avry  [no  evil  thing  competes  with  her. 
She  is  well  known  to  all  those  that  approach 
her],  yet  considers  it  as  resting  upon  an  interpo- 
lation that  had  already  made  its  way  into  the 
Hebrew  text.  The  supplement  added  to  Ter.  16: 
CK  Tov  ard/.iaTnc  aiiT^c  iniropeveTai  (SiKaioaiiv?!,  vd/ioii 
<U  Kal  elsov  em  yXiiaaiji  tpopei   [from  her  mouth 


CHAP.  III.  1-85. 


63 


proeeedeth  righteousness,  law  and  mercy  doth 
she  bear  upon  her  tongue]  Heidenheim  regards 
as  the  gloss  of  an  Alexandrian  Jew,  who  de- 
signed with  it  to  oppose  certain  Pharisaic  inter- 
pretations (?). —  Long  life  is  in  her  right 
band,  etc.  Wisdom  here  appears  personified, 
endowed  with  a  human  body  and  members, — 
and  in  ver.  16  at  first  in  a  general  way,  in  ver. 

17  so  that  she  is  represented  as  walking,  in  ver. 

18  so  that  she  appears  standing  like  a  tree,  that 
dispenses  shade  and  precious  fruits.     PU'D'S  and 

a7l^5^ty3  in  ver.  16  are  at  any  rate  not  to  be 
translated  "at  her  right  hand,"  and  "at  her  left 
hand"  (so  Lhtheb  and  many  old  interpreters, 
conforming  toPs.  xvi.  8;  xlv.  9;  ex.  5),  but  "in 
her  right  and  left  hand,"  In  accordance  with 
Ps.  xvi.  11 ;  Is.  xliv.  20,  where  the  preposition 
3  expresses  the  same  idea. — "  Long  life,"  liter- 
ally, "length  of  days,"  as  above,  in  ver.  2, 
from  which  passage  the  LXX  has  here  repeated 
also  the  phrase  "/cai  eri?  C<JW'" — Riches  and 
honor,  as  in  viii.  18  ;  xxii.  4.  "  The  blessings 
which  wisdom  offers  are  appropriately  distributed 
between  the  hands,  according  to  their  essential 
difference.  The  right  hand  is  regarded  as  the 
nearer;  and  that  one  live  is  the  foundation 
for  his  becoming  rich  and  honored,  as  health  is 
a  condition  preliminary  to  the  enjoyment  of 
prosperity.  Compare  accordingly  the  arrange- 
ment in  1  Kings  iii.  11-14"  (Hitzig).  [An  over- 
fanciful  elaboration  of  the  simple  idea  of  the 
!. — A.]. — All  her  paths  are  (paths  of) 


peace.  Dl'7t!'  can  be  regarded  as  a  genitive,  in 
which  case  the  construction  is  the  same  as  iu 
Ps.  xlv.  6  (according  to  the  interpretation  which 
is  probably  correct),  Ps.  xxx.  7;  Lev.  vi.  3,  etc.; 
comp.  Gesenhjs,  Qramm.  \  121,  6  ;  Naegelsbach, 
g  64,  g. ; — or  as  a  nominative,  "her  paths  are 
peace,"  i.  e.,  peaceable,  peaceful,  instead  of 
strife  and  alarm  offering  pure  peace  and  joy  (so 
nearly  all  recent  commentators,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Umbreit  and  Elstee,  who  seem  with  good 
reason  to  prefer  the  former  view).  A  tree  of  life 
wisdom  is  called  in  ver.  ,18,  as  in  chap.  xi.  30  the 
"  fruit  of  the  righteous"  is  described  by  the  same 
figurative  expression,  in  xiii.  12  the  fulfilment 
of  an  ardent  desire,  and  finally,  xv.  4,  "temper- 
ateness  of  the  tongue."  The  expression  doubt- 
less contains  an  allusion  to  the  tree  of  life  men- 
tioned by  Moses  in  Gen.  ii.  9 ;  iii.  22,  although 
there  the  definite  article  stands  before  D".n,  be- 
cause it  was  intended  to  designate  the  particu- 
lar tree  bearing  this  name  in  Paradise.  The 
D".nn  ]":;  of  Genesis  and  the  D"n  Yif  of 
Proverbs  are  therefore  related  to  each  other  as 
the  familiar  o  vide  tov  avBp&nov  of  the  Gospels  to 
the  v'ibg  avdp^nov  without  the  article  in  John 
v.  27.  Elsteb,  without  reason,  attempts  to  deny 
altogether  the  reference  to  Gen.  ii.  9,  and  to 
make  the  expression  parallel  with  other  figura- 
tive representations,  like  "fountain  of  life,"  etc. 
In  his  observation  that  the  figure  of  the  tree  in 
this  passage  is  based  upon  the  previous  personi- 
fication of  wisdom,  and  that  Sol.  Song,  vii.  9  is 
therefore  to  be  compared,  Hitzig  is  certainly 
right  (comp.  also  passages  like  Is.  Ixi.  3  ;  Jer. 
XTii.  8  ;  Ps.  i.  3  ;  xcii.  12).     We  must,  however, 


regard  as  less  pertinent  the  other  proposition  of 
the  same  commentator,  according  to  which  the 
tree  of  life  in  our  passage  corresponds  not  only 
with  the  tree  of  the  same  name  in  Paradise,  but 
at  the  siime  time  also  with  the  tree  of  knowledge 
(Gen.  iii.  3),  and  so  exhibits  the  identity  of  the 
two  trees  of  Paradise.  For  as  a  thoroughly 
practical  demeanor,  consisting  in  the  fear  of 
God  and  obedience  (see  i.  7)  the  true  wisdom  of 
the  Book  of  Proverbs  unquestionably  presents 
as  complete  a  contrast  to  all  assuming  and 
"  devilish  "  wisdom  from  beneath  (James  iii.  15) 
as  the  tree  of  life  in  Paradise  to  that  of  know- 
ledge.— And  he  who  holds  her  fast  is 
blessed.  See  critical  notes.  See  also  below, 
notes  on  chap.  xv.  22. 

3.  Description  of  the  wisdom  of  God  that  created 
the  world,  as  the  mighty  protector  of  him  that  fears 
God:  vers.  19-26.— Jehovah  hath  with  wis- 
dom founded  the  earth,  etc.  A  connection 
undoubtedly  exists  between  this  allusion  to  the 
divine  archetype  of  all  human  wisdom  and  what 
has  been  before  said,  so  far  forth  as  the  paradi- 
siacal tree  of  life  of  primitive  time  seems  to  have 
called  to  the  mind  of  the  author  the  creation  of 
the  world,  and  therefore  afforded  him  occasion  for 
the  brief  delineation  of  the  creative  wisdom  of 
God  that  lies  before  us,  of  which  the  passage, 
chap.  viii.  22  sq.,  is  only  a  fuller  development 
(comp.  also  Job  xxviii.  12  sq. ;  Ecclesiast. 
xxiv.  2sq.).  Yet  if  the  connection  were  really 
as  close  as  it  is  commonly  regarded  [e.  g.^  by 
Beetheau,  who  finds  in  vers.  19,  20  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  series  of  thoughts  beginning  in  ver. 
11 ;  by  Elsteb,  who  discerns  here  "  in  a  certain 
sense  a  metaphysical  confirmation  of  the  fore- 
going;" and  in  general  also  by  Hitzig,  etc.),  the 
demonstrative  conjunction  "'3  (for)  would  un- 
questionably stand  at  the  beginning  of  the  19th 
verse ;  this,  however,  is  wanting  both  iu  the 
original  text  and  in  the  older  versions,  and  was 
first  introduced  by  Luther.  Therefore  as  the 
words  stand,  with  an  emphatic  prefixing  of  the 
subject  "Jehovah  "  (as  at  the  commencement  of 
many  Psalms,  e.  g.,  Ps.  xxvii. ;  xcvii.;  xcix., 
etc.),  they  are  evidently  designed  not  so  much 
to  serve  as  a,  continuation  of  representations 
already  begun,  as  for  the  introduction  of  ideas 
essentially  new, — and  these  new  thoughts  are  the 
promises  contained  in  vers.  21-26,  of  the  divine 
protection  and  blessing,  of  which  the  wise  man, 
i.  e.,  he  who  acts  and  walks  in  accordance  with 
this  divine  wisdom,  will  infallibly  have  the  full 
enjoyment.  Furthermore,  comp.,  with  reference 
to  the  idea  of  the  conformity  of  the  practical, 
ethical  wisdom  of  man  with  the  absolute  creative 
wisdom  of  God,  the  "  Doctrinal  and  Ethical  " 
notes.  —  With  wisdom.  nD3n2,  literally 
"through"  wisdom,  i.  e.,  not  merely  with  the 
manifestation  of  wisdom  as  an  attribute  of  His, 
but  by  means  of  the  personal,  essential  wisdom, 
as  an  independent,  creative  power  indwelling  in 
Him  from  eternity,  comp.  viii.  22  sq.  In  th« 
same  hypostatic  sense,  therefore,  are  also  the 
interchangeable  ideas  of  "understanding"  njO/l 
ver.  19  1.  c,  and  "knowledge"  r\^^  in  ver.  20, 
to  be  understood.  [With  this  view  of  the  au- 
thor Bektheati  agrees,  so  Tkapp  and  some  others 
of  the  old  English  expositors :  Scott,  Holden 


64 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


suggest  it  as  possible ;  while  Stuakt,  Muen- 
SCHEK  and  others,  judging  more  correctly,  we 
think,  find  here  none  of  tliose  personal  attributes 
which  are  so  conspicuous  in  chap.  viii.  and  there 
so  clearly  shape  the  interpretation — A.].  On 
ver.  19  comp.  in  addition  Jer,  x.  12,  and  on  ver. 
20,  Gen.  i.  B  sq.;  ii.  6. — Did  the  seas  divide. 
The  pert.  Vp3:,  "  they  have  divided,"  refers  to 
the  primary  creative  act  of  the  division  once 
for  all  of  the  masses  of  water  above  and  beneath 
the  firmament,  Gen.  i.  6  sq.,  while  the  imperf., 
1i3J?T,  relates  to  the  constantly  repeated  and  still 
continued  emptying  of  the  clouds  in  rain,  as 
a  consequence  of  that  sundering  of  the  waters 
which  belongs  to  the  history  of  creation.  [The 
E.  V.  loses  this  distinction  and  refers  both  to  the 
present,  "  are"]. 

Vers.  21,  22.  My  son,  never  suffer  to  de- 
part from  thine  eyes,  etc.  UT  iy)_  (for  which, 
perliaps,  in  conformity  with  iv.  21  we  ought  to 

read   -.iT)    signifies  literally,    "there  must  not 

escape,  slip  aside"  (from  T^7)  deflcxit^  a  via  de~ 
clinaoil).  As  subjects  for  the  plural  verb  we 
usually  find  supplied  from  the  preceding,  es- 
pecially from  ver.  1  sq.,  the  idea  "my  doc- 
trines, my  commands,"  [as  in  the  E.  V.  and 
the  commentaries  of  Stuart,  Muenscheb.  and 
others].  But  this  is  plainly  quite  too  far-fetched. 
It  is  simpler,  with  Umbreit,  Hitzig,  etc.,  to  con- 
ceive of  the  following  hemistich,  "thoughtful- 
ness  and  circumspection,"  as  at  the  same  time 
subjects  of  the  verb  in  the  first,  and  to  ex- 
plain their  omission  in  the  former  clause  to 
which  they  should  properly  have  been  attached, 
on  the  ground  of  the  peculiar  vivacity  of  the 
representation.  This  liveliness  of  expression 
can  in  some  measure  be  preserved  in  our  version 
by  a  "ratber"  after  the  verb  of  the  second 
clause. — Maintain  thoughtfulness  and  cir. 
cumspection.  The  more  uncommon  TT'E^jT 
(comp.  above  ii.  7)  stands  here  instead  of  HODn 
(wisdom)  ver.  19,  and  also  the  less  frequent 
rraiD   instead   of  njl^jl   which   occurs  there,  in 

T-  :  T        : 

order  to  suggest  the  diiference  between  the  abso- 
lute wisdom  and  insight  of  God  and  the  corres- 
ponding attributes  of  man.  The  LXX  instead 
of  the  present  order  appear  to  have  found  the 
reverse,  as  they  translate  BovXifv  Koi  Ivvocav. 
Comp.  Heidenheim  (as  above  cited). — So  Tvill 
they  be  life  to  thy  soul,  etc.  In  reply  to 
Hitzig's  disparagement  of  the  genuineness  of 
vers.  22-26,  see  remarks  above,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  exegesis.  With  respect  to  the 
thought  of  ver.  22  f.  c,  comp.  above  vers.  2,  16, 
18;  also  iv.  22;  viii.  85,  etc.  For  last  clause 
comp.  i.  9 ;  iii.  3. 

Ver.  23.    Then   wilt    thou   go   thy  way 

in  ,  safety.  nD37,  in  security,  free  from  care, 
full  of  trust  and  good  confidence,  as  below  in 
ver.  29.  ["Thou  shalt  ever  go  under  a  double 
guard,  the  '  peace  of  God'  within  thee  (Phil, 
iv.  7)  and  the  'power  of  God'  without  thee, 
(1  Pet.  i.  5)." — Tbapp.— For  illustrations  drawn 
from  travellers'  experience  near  Jerusalem, 
see   Thomson's  Land  and  Book,  I.,   109. A.]. 


The  simple  nH3  is  used  in  the  same  way  in 
chap.  X.  9.  For  ver.  23  1.  o.  compare  Ps.  xci. 
12,  for  the  whole  verse  Prov.  iv.  12. — Ver.  24. 
■When  thou  liest  down.  The  imperf.  JOtJn 
in  the  first  member  probably  designs  to  express 
the  idea  of  "laying  one's  self  down  to  rest," 
while  the  following  perf.  n^Dtyi  would  designate 
the  effect  and  consequence  of  this  act,  the  reclin- 
ing and  sleeping.  "Thus  most  interpreters  have 
correctly  judged.  HiTzio  amends  according  to 
the  LXX  :  JKJH  DX,  if  thou  sittest,  which  is 
plainly  needlessly  arbitrary.  For  the  thought 
comp.  furthermore  chap.  vi.  22 ;  Deut.  xxviii. 
66. — Ver.  26.  Thou  needest  not  fear  from 

sudden  alarm.  STP^vK  literally  fear  thou 
not.     Since  however  the  IX  in  ver.  23   still  has 

T 

its  effect,  the  expression  is  not  to  be  taken  merely 
as  an  admonition,  but  at  the  same  time  as  a  de- 
scription of  the  future  condition  (Ewald,  Lehr- 
buch  310,  a).  [Bott.  §  964,  a,  classes  it  with 
the  "permissive  negatives"]. — Nor  from  the 
destruction  of  the  w^icked.  D'JJK'T  TWO 
the  old  commentators  unanimously  regard  as 
active;  the  onset  of  the  wicked,  the  storm  which 
they  raise  against  the  pious  (^procella  quam  impii 
excilant,  Chr.  B.  Michaelis).  So  recently  Hit- 
zig, while  nearly  all  other  modern  interpreters 
since  Doderlein  prefer  the  passive  conception; 
the  storm  or  destruction  that  will  sweep  away 
the  wicked.  A  positive  decision  is  probably 
not  possible.  Yet  the  parallel  in  Ps.  xxxv.  8, 
seems  to  favor  the  latter  view  [which  is  adopted 
also  by  Stuart  and  Muenscher].  With  refer- 
ence to  the  subject  compare  further,  for  clause 
a,  Ps.  xci.  5;  Prov.  i.  27  ;  xxiv.  22;  and  for  b, 
•Job  V.  21.— Ver.  26.  For  Jehovah  will  be 
thy  confidence  :  literally,  will  be  in  thy  con- 
fidence. 7D3  is  here  unquestionably  trust,  con- 
fidence, as  in  Job  viii.  14;  xxxi.  24;  Ps.  Ixxviii. 
7.  The  signification  "loins,  side,"  which  the 
Vulgate  has  given  to  the  expression  {"Dominus 
erit  in  latere  iuo  ")  and,  in  imitation  of  this,  e.g., 
Ziegler,  Muentinghe,  etc.,  agrees  indeed  with 
passages  like  Job  xv.  27;  Lev.  iii.  4,  10;  xv.  4, 
etc.,  but  not  with  the  one  before  us. — And  keep 
thy  foot  from   the   snare.     The  substantive 

"ip 7,  snare — for  which  more  usually  E/plO  or  tlS 
— occurs  only  here,  is  not,  however,  for  thai 
reason  necessarily  to  be  regarded,  as  Hitzio 
would  have  it,  as  a  sign  of  a  later  phraseology. 

4.  Admonition  to  benevolence  and  Justice :  Vers. 
27-35.  A  connection  of  this  exhortation  with 
some  more  specific  point  in  the  foregoing  (with 
ver.  21  or  ver.  20,  e.  g.,  as  Hitzig  suggests,  as- 
suming vers.  22-26  to  be  spurious)  need  not  be 
attempted,  since  the  whole  of  this  brief  section 
definitely  enough  distinguishes  itself  from  the 
longer  series  of  proverbial  discourses,  as  an  in- 
dependent and  peculiar  whole. — Refuse  not 
good  to  him  that  deserves  it:  literally, 
"  hold  not  good  back  from  its  master,"  i.  e.,  from 
him  to  whom  it  belongs  ["  either  by  the  law  of 
equity  or  of  charity,"  Trapp, — "whether  upon 
their  deserving  or  upon  their  need,"  Bp.  Hall] 
him  who  is  at  the  same  time  deserving  and  needy 


CHAP.  III.  1-35. 


65 


(LXX :  e{i  ■KOieiv  ivde^). — Ver.  28.  And  yet 
thou  hast  it :  literally,  and  it  is  yet  with  thee 
on  hand,  there  is  yet  a  store  [there  is  with 
thee].  The  LXX  adds  to  this  admonition  to 
ready  giving  and  to  quick  relief  (according  to 
the  principle:  bis  dai  qui  cito  dat,  "  he  gives  twice 
who  gives  quickly"),  the  words  appropriate  in 
themselves,  *' oij  yap  olda^  rl  re^erai  tj  entovaa^' 
(for  thou  knowest  not  what  the  morrow  shall 
bring  forth),  which,  however,  occur  in  their 
original  place  in  chap,  xxvii.  1. — Ver.  29.  De- 
vise not  evil.     The  verb  tyin  here  as  in  vi. 

~  T 

14,  18;  xii.  20;  xiv.  22,  expresses  the  idea  of 
contriving,  and  that  as  a  development  of  the 
idea  of  "forging"  (Ez.  xxi.  36)  and  not  that  of 
"ploughing"  (as  Ewald,  following  some  older 
interpreters,  maintains). — Ver.  30.  "Without 
cause,  Heb.  D3n,  LXX,  fidtTiv,  comp.  Supedv 
in  John  xv.  25.  What  is  meant  by  this  "con- 
tending without  cause"  is  made  more  apparent  in 
the  2d  member.  In  regard  to  the  ethical  signifi- 
oance  of  this  precept  comp.  "Doctrinal  and 
Ethical"  notes,  No.  3.— Ver.  31.  Emulate  not 
the  man  of  violence.     For  this  signification 

of  WpTl-Sx,  which  is  found  as  early  as  the  Vul- 
gate {ne  semuleris  hominem  injustum),  the  strongest 
support  is  the  parallel  thought  in  the  2d  mem- 
ber ;  while  unquestionably  in  passages  like  Ps. 
xxxvii.  1 ;  Ixxiii.  3 ;  Prov.  xxiv.  1,  the  expres- 
sion 3  N3p  denotes  rather  a  "falling  into  a  pas- 
sion"' about  some  one,  a  "being  envious."  Yet 
comp.  Prov.  xxiii.  17,  where  the  meaning  plainly 
resembles  that  before  us.  [The  difference  among 
these  expositors,  we  think,  is  more  seeming  than 
real.  Thus  Stuabt  renders,  "Be  not  envious  to- 
ward," etc.,  and  explains  "  do  not  anxiously  covet 
the  booty  which  men  of  violence  acquire ;"  Muen- 
SCHEE,  renders,  "Envy  thou  not  the  man,"  etc., 
and  explains,  "Do  not  be  offended  by  the  success 
and  prosperity,"  etc.,  "  so  as  to  imitate,"  etc. — 
A,] — And  choose  none  of  his  ways.  For 
nnnn  the  LXX  (fir/Se  C,i]7iuaijr,)  must  have  read 
inhn,  a  reading  which  HiTZia  is  disposed  to 
accept  as  the  original.  But  how  easily  could 
this  change  be  introduced,  following  as  a  standard 
Ps.  xxxvii.  1,  or  Prov.  xxiv.  19,  where  no  doubt 
inriil  stands  as  the  only  appropriate  reading! 

Vers.  32-35  supply  a  ground  in  the  first  instance 
for  the  counsels  contained  in  vers.  27-31,  but  fur- 
ther in  general  for  those  of  the  whole  chapter : 
thus  ver.  35  in  particular,  by  its  contrasting  the 
comprehensive  terms  "fool"  and  "wise,"  reveals 
a  far  reaching  breadth  and  compass  in  its  refer- 
ence, like  the  similar  expressions  at  the  close  of 
the  1st  and  2d  chapters. — An  abhorrence  to 

Jehovah  is  the  deceiver.— nSj,  properly  the 
"perverse,"  he  who  is  deceitfully  crooked  and  se- 
cret (comp.  ii.  15),  and  so  is  in  direct  contrast 
with  the  "upright"  or  straightforward.  [n3;?in> 
which  in  the  E.  V.  is  always  translated  by  "  abom- 
ination," or  some  cognate  term,  is  often  used  in 
other  sacred  books  of  idolatry.  In  the  twenty  or 
more  passages  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs  in  which 
the  word  is  found  it  has  this  signification  in  no 
single  instance.  "It  would  seem,"  says  Words- 
WOKTH,  in  loc,  "  as  if,  when  Solomon  wrote  the 
5 


Proverbs,  he  regarded  idolatry/  as  a  thing  impossi- 
ble. He  therefore  left  out  idolatry  as  the  Greek 
Legislator  omitted  parricide  from  his  code — as  a 
thing  too  monstrous  to  be  contemplated.  And  yet 
Solomon  himself  afterwards  fell  into  idolatry," 
etc. — A.]. — With  the  upright  he  maintains 
true  friendship. — Literally,  "with  the  upright 
is  his  secret  compact"  (I'^iO),  his  intimacy,  his 
confidential  intimacy.  Comp.  Job  xxix.  4;  Ps. 
XXV.  14. — Jehovah's  curse    dwells   in  the 

house  of  the  ■wicked. — Comp.  the  TnH,  the 
cursing  which,  according  to  Zech.  v.  4,  will  take 
possession  of  the  house  of  the  wicked,  and  destroy 
it  (in  accordance  with  Deut.  xxviii.  17  sq. ) ;  and 
for  the  term  HINp,  Mai.  ii.  2  (and  Kohlee  on 
both  passages). 

Ver.  84.  If  he  scorneth  the  scorners. — To 
this  hypothetical  protasis  the  apodosis  is  not 
found  in  ver.  35,  as  Bertheau  [and  Stuaet] 
hold,  but  immediately  after,  in  the  second  clause 
of  ver.  34.  As  in  Job  viii.  20 ;  Lam.  iii.  32, 
there  is  an  argumentum  a  contrario.  Comp.  our 
mode  of  constructing  propositions,  with  "while 
on  the  one  hand — so  on  the  other."  For  the 
sentiment  of  the  1st  member,  comp.  Ps.  xviii.  26 ; 
for  that  of  the  whole  verse  the  passages  in  the 
N.  T.  which  cite  freely  from  the  LXX,  1  Pet.  v. 
5 ;  James  iv.  6,  and  also  above,  i.  26  sq. — Ver. 

35.  Shame  sweeps  fools  aw^ay. — [i/p  D'lp 
literally  "  shame  lifts  up,"  «'.  e.,  in  order  to  sweep 
away  and  destroy  them :  Comp.  Ez.  xxi.  31;  Is.  Ivii. 
14,  and  the  corresponding  use  of  Xt^J,  toUere= 
auferre ;  Is.  xli.  16;  Job  xxvii.  21.  The  expres- 
sion p 'p,  ignominia,  properly  levitas  (lightness), 
at  once  reminds  us  directly  of  the  familiar  figure 
of  chaff  whirled  away  by  the  wind  (Ps.  i.  4  ;  Is. 
xvii.  3  ;   xxix.  5,  etc.).     Therefore  we   need  not 

take  D'"}p  as  the  predicate  of  cVpS  (fools)  and 
translate  it  by  suscipiunt  in  the  sense  of  "  gather 
up,"  "carry  away,"  as  Hitzig  does,  following 
the  LXX,  Targ.,  Vatabl.,  and  Rosenmuellek 
[so  NoYES,  MuENSCHEK,  WoRDSw.,  while  De 
Wetie,  Stuart,  etc.,  agree  with  our  author — A.]; 
although  the  distributive  use  of  the  participle  in 
the  singular  instead  of  the  plural,  would  have  a 
sufBoient  parallel  in  the  passage  already  ex- 
plained, chap.  iii.  18  6. 

DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 


1.  "Wisdom  is  life  and  gives  life."  This  propo- 
sition, which  finds  its  most  pregnant  utterance 
in  ver.  18,  and  is  formulated  as  a  sort  of  Epitome 
of  the  whole  chapter,  is  especially  in  the  first 
admonitory  discourse  (vers.  1-18)  expressed  in 
manifold  ways  and  exhibited  in  its  bearing  upon 
the  most  diverse  relations,  those  of  the  present 
life  first.  Above  all  it  is  long  life,  to  which 
walking  in  true  wisdom  aids  (ver.  iii.  16),  and 
this  for  this  reason, — because  such  a  course  is 
the  indispensable  condition  of  physical  as  well  as 
spiritual  health, — or  because,  as  ver.  8  expresses 
it,  "  the  wise  findeth  health  for  his  body  and  re- 
freshing for  his  frame."  He  who  is  truly  wise 
aims  infallibly  at  the  needful  temperance,  and  a 
prudent  self-restraint  in  his  physical  and  mental 


66 


THE  PROVERBS  OP  SOLOMON. 


regimen,  and  thereby  promotes  health,  his  in- 
ward and  outward  well-being  in  the  highest  pos- 
Bible  degree.  He  contributes  by  his  obedient 
subjection  to  the  Divine  grace,  to  the  emancipa- 
tion of  his  noblest  spiritual  powers  and  capaci- 
ties,— secures  these  as  well  as  the  functions  of 
his  bodily  organization  against  morbid  excite- 
ment or  torpidity,  and  so  dsvelops  generally  his 
entire  personal  life,  body,  mind  and  spirit,  to  its 
normal  harmony,  and  the  moat  vigorous  mani- 
festation possible  of  its  diverse  and  cardinal  ac- 
tivities. He  who  has  in  this  way  become  in- 
wardly free  through  the  fear  of  God  and  real 
wisdom  in  life,  attains  necessarily  also  to  the 
confirmation  of  this  his  godlike  freedom  and  vital 
power  in  connection  with  the  phenomena  of  the 
outward  natural  life,  as  surely  as  the  laws  of  the 
economy  of  nature  are  the  same  as  those  of  the 
ethical  sphere  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  He  who 
is  inwardly  free  becomes  also  naturally  free.  To 
him  who  has  attained  true  mastery  over  himself 
there  is  soon  restored  dominion  over  the  outward 
creation, — that  heritage  of  the  true  children  of 
God  from  Paradise, — at  least  in  its  essentials. 
And  so  outward  prosperity  is  added  in  his  ex- 
perience to  inward  peace ;  God  "  smooths  his 
paths "  (ver.  6) ;  fills  his  garners  and  cellars 
with  abundance  (ver.  10),  makes  him  great 
through  riches  and  honor  (ver.  16),  and  guides 
him  during  this  whole  life  in  ways  of  delight, 
peace,  and  prosperity  (ver.  17;  comp.  vera.  2  and 
18).  A  thing,  however,  that  rises  far  above  all 
these  external  blessings,  above  gold,  silver  and 
all  the  treasures  of  the  earth  (see  vers.  14  and 
15),  is  the  grace  and  favor  which  the  wise  man 
finds  not  only  with  men,  but  much  more  with 
God  (ver.  4).  This  favor  of  Ood  and  of  men, — 
i,  e.,  not  of  all  indiscriminately,  but  first  and 
pre-eminently  of  the  wise  and  devout,  such  as 
agree  with  God's  judgment,  is  evidently  in  the 
view  of  the  poet  the  highest  and  most  precious 
of  the  multiform  blessings  of  wisdom  which  he 
enumerates.  What,  however,  is  this  "favor  with 
God  and  men,"  the  inseparable  attendant  and 
consequence  of  genuine  wisdom  (1  Sam.  ii.  26  ; 
Luke  ii.  52),  what  is  this  but  the  being  a  true 
child  of  God,  the  belonging  to  the  fellowship  of 
God  and  His  people,  the  co-citizenship  in  the 
kingdom  of  truth  and  of  blessedness  ? — We  stand 
here  manifestly  at  the  point  at  which  the  eudse- 
monism  of  the  author,  in  itself  comparatively  ex- 
ternal and  inclining  to  that  which  is  partial  and 
sensuous,  joins  hands  with  the  true  doctrine  of 
Christianity, — where,  therefore,  the  Old  Testa- 
ment doctrine  of  retributions  predominantly 
earthly  begins  to  be  transformed  into  the  super- 
sensual  or  spiritual  realistic  doctrine  of  the  New 
Testament  (Matth.  v.  10-12 ;  xix.  28-30).  For 
if  to  be  a  child  of  God  and  to  stand  in  relations 
of  grace  appears  as  the  chief  value  and  most  pre- 
cious reward  of  wisdom,  the  goal  of  prosperity 
at  which  the  lovers  of  this  wisdom  aim  is  far 
more  a  heavenly  than  an  earthly  one;  and  fel- 
lowship with  God,  obedient,  loving  dependence 
on  Him,  is  then  not  merely  the  end,  but  at  the 
same  time  the  principle  and  motive  for  all  the 
thought,  effort  and  action  of  the  wise.  As  a  way 
to  the  attainment  of  this  end  no  other  whatsoever 
can  come  under  consideration  but  that  opened 
and  pointed  out  by  God  himself — that  is,  the  way 


of  faith  in  the  revelation  of  His  grace.  Believing 
self-devotion  to  the  salvation  which  God  bestows, 
which  in  the  Old  Testament  is  still  essentially 
placed  in  the  future,  but  in  Christ  as  the  Media- 
tor of  the  New  Testament,  has  become  real  and 
present,  is  there  as  well  as  here  the  condition  of 
the  attainment  of  wisdom,  of  progressive  growth 
and  strength  in  its  possession,  and  finally  of  the 
enjoyment  of  the  blessed  reward.  That  our  poet 
also  walks  in  this  path,  that  he  is  a  representa- 
tive of  the  "fides  Veleris  Teslamenti,"  that  he  be- 
longs to  that  host  of  witnesses,  exemplars  of  faith 
under  the  Old  Testament,  which  is  brought  be- 
fore us  in  Hebrews  xi.;  this  is  incontrovertibly 
established  by  the  way  in  which  he  speaks  of  the 
conditions  of  attaining  to  the  blessed  reward  of 
wisdom,  or  of  the  practical  demeanor  of  the  wise 
man  in  its  details.  There  we  hear  nothing  of 
outward  works  of  the  law,  of  meritorious  ser- 
vices, of  the  fulfilling  of  God's  will  with  one's 
own  strength  or  reason ;  but  "trust  in  the  ^.ord 
with  all  thine  heart  "  is  enjoined  in  emphatic 
contrast  with  "  leaning  upon  one's  own  pru- 
dence "  (ver.  5) ;  the  being  "  wise  in  one's  own 
eyes  "  is  put  in  significant  contrast  with  the  fear 
of  God  and  the  avoiding  of  all  evil  (ver.  7) ;  yes, 
willing  submission  to  God's  salutary  correction, 
humble  and  grateful  subjection  even  to  the  strict 
disciplinary  regulations  which  His  fatherly  love 
finds  it  good  to  employ ;  this  constitutes  the  sub- 
stance of  the  dispositions  and  modes  of  action 
which  are  here  prescribed  (vers.  11,  12;  comp. 
Heb.  xii.  5  sq.).  With  good  reason  did  Me- 
lANCHTHON  direct  attention  to  the  genuinely 
evangelical,  and  even  profoundly  Christian  cha- 
racter of  this  admonition  to  the  patient  endu- 
rance of  sufferings  as  wholesome  disciplinary 
ordinances  of  God.  He  remarks  on  vers.  11,  12 : 
"  Here  the  whole  doctrine  of  the  cross  is  to  be 
brought  into  view,  and  the  distinction  considered 
between  Philosophy  and  the  Gospel.  Philosophy 
and  human  reason  judge  otherwise  of  the  causes 
of  death  and  of  human  calamities  than  does  the 
voice  of  the  Gospel Christian  and  philo- 
sophic patience  must  also  be  distinguished." 
And  further,  on  ver.  13  sq.:  "  These  praises  of 
wisdom  are  rightly  understood  of  revealed  wis- 
dom, i.  e.,  of  the  word  of  God  manifested  in  the 
Church,  of  the  Decalogue  and  the  Gospel.  Nor 
yet  is  it  strange  that  antiquity  applied  these 
praises  to  the  person  who  is  the  Son  of  God,  who 
is  the  revealer  of  the  word  resounding  in  the 
Church,  and  is  efficient  by  this  word,  and  in  it 
shows  forth  what  God  is,  and  what  is  His  will." 
How  far,  furthermore,  the  point  of  view  of  our 
teacher  of  wisdom  is  removed  from  all  possible 
Antinomian  disparagements  of  positive  moral  re- 
quirements, how  clearly,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
wisdom  that  he  teaches  appears  to  be  regulated 
by  both  factors  of  Divine  revelation,  law  and 
gospel,  shows  itself  from  the  emphatic  promi- 
nence given  to  "love  and  truth"  (nONl  IDn 
ver.  3  ;  comp.  the  previous  analysis  of  these  two 
ideas  on  p.  61)  as  the  chief  manifestations  of  a 
spirit  that  fears  God,  and  of  a  scrupulously  du- 
tiful course  in  intercourse  with  one's  neighbor. 
Love  is,  therefore,  according  to  him,  also,  the 
fulfilling  of  the  law  (Eom.  xiii.  10;  Gal.  v.  14), 
and  indeed  to  such  a  degree  that,  according  to 
his  conception,  the  compliance  with  special  pre- 


CHAP.  III.  1-35. 


67 


seriptions  of  the  positive  external  ceremonial 
law,  e.  g.,  the  ordinauce.s  which  relate  to  the 
bringing  of  the  offerings  of  first  fruits  (see  above 
on  ver.  9),  must  be  to  it  an  easy  thing.  With 
the  proposition  of  Bbuoh,  that  our  author  found 
himself  in  a  sort  of  free-thinking  opposition  to 
the  positive  prescriptions  of  the  Mosaic  ceremo- 
nial law  (comp.  Introd.,  §  15,  note),  this  admoni- 
tion to  a  conscientious  devotion  of  the  first  fruits 
to  Jehovah,  plainly  cannot  be  reconciled. 

2.  As  wisdom  alone  ensures  true  joy  in  life  and 
abiding  prosperity,  it  also  shows  itself  man's 
most  reliable  protection  (vers.  19-26),  his  de- 
fender and  guardian  in  all  the  inward  tempta- 
tions as  well  as  the  outward  dangers  of  this 
earthly  life.  And  this  essentially  for  this  reason, 
because  it  consists  in  trusting  devotion  to  the 
eternal  and  absolute  wisdom  of  God,  which  most 
richly  and  gloriously  manifests  its  exhaustless 
power,  and  its  compassionate  love  and  faithful- 
ness, as  formerly  in  the  creation  of  the  world, 
now  also  in  its  preservation  and  government. 
For  he  who  loves  wisdom  is  also  loved  by  her  ; 
and  he  who  by  walking  in  faith,  love,  and  the 
fear  of  God,  confesses  himself  here  below  a  friend 
of  the  Divine  word, — in  his  behalf  does  the 
eternal  Word  make  confession  above  before  the 
throne  of  the  Heavenly  Father. — For  further 
remarks  upon  the  relation  to  the  Logos  or  the 
Son  of  God,  of  the  Divine  wisdom,  which  is  here 
in  vers.  19-20,  for  the  first  time,  hypostatioally 
presented  in  its  quality  as  the  power  that  created 
the  world,  see  below  on  chap.  viii.  22  sq.  (Doc- 
trinal and  Ethical  comments).  [As  will  be  seen 
from  the  Exegetical  notes  on  ver.  19,  the  best 
modern  exegesis  is  not  unanimous  in  applying 
this  passage,  like  chap,  viii.,  to  the  hypostatic 
wisdom.  Our  author's  remarks,  therefore,  how- 
ever just  in  themselves,  may  be  regarded  as  here 
out  of  place,  so  far  forth  as  they  involve  the  per- 
sonality of  wisdom — A.] 

3.  The  conditions  for  the  attainment  of  true 
wisdom  and  its  blessing,  which  are  again  empha- 
sized in  the  concluding  verses  (27-35),  are  com- 
prehended in  the  single  requirement  of  love  to 
one's  neighbor  as  the  fulfilling  of  the  Divine  law. 
As  special  manifestations  of  this  love  of  our 
neighbor,  we  have  made  prominent,  charitable- 
ness and  constant  readiness  to  give  (27,  28), 
sincerity  and  an  unfeigned  frankness  of  dispo- 
sition (29),  peaceableness  and  placability  (30), 
gentleness  and  abstinence  from  all  violence  (31), 
straightforward,  honorable  and  upright  deport- 
ment in  one's  general  transactions  (32,  33),  hu- 
mility and  the  avoidance  of  all  arrogant,  frivo- 
lous and  scornful  demeanor  (34). — These  ad- 
monitions do  not  rise  to  the  full  moral  elevation 
of  the  New  Testament's  requisitions  of  love. 
Thus  there  is  noticeably  wanting  here  the  de- 
mand of  love  to  enemies,  although  not  in  chap. 
xxT.  21,  and  instead  of  this  there  is,  it  is  true, 
no  hatred  of  one's  enemy  recommended  (as  in 
the  casuistic  ethics  of  the  later  Pharisaic  Juda- 
ism, according  to  Matth.  v.  43),  but  yet  a,  re- 
striction of  all  dispute  and  controversy  to  one's 
relations  with  an  actual  oifender ;  see  ver.  30. 
The  specification  of  duties  to  one's  neighbor  that 
is  here  presented  is  therefore  related  to  one 
truly  Christian,  very  much  as  the  moral  precepts 
which,   according  to  Luke  iii.  10-14,  John  the 


Baptist  gave  to  the  multitude  that  followed  him, 
if  compared  with  that  fulfilment  of  the  law  pre- 
sented by  Jesus  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  as 
the  standard  for  the  conduct  of  the  children  of 
God  under  the  New  Testament  (Matth.  v.  20-48). 
Let  us  observe  also  the  fact,  which  is  certainly 
not  accidental,  that  all  the  moral  precepts  in  our 
passage  are  given  in  the  form  of  negative  impe- 
ratives or  warnings,  while,  e.ff.,  in  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount,  in  the  concluding  and  admonitory 
chapters  of  Paul's  Epistles,  and  in  general  in 
most  of  the  counsels  of  the  New  Testament,  the 
positively  admonitory  and  preceptive  lone  has  a 
decided  preponderance  over  the  prohibitory. 

HOMILETIO   AND   paACTICAL. 

Homily  on  the  entire  chapter,  starting  with 
the  central  thought  in  ver.  18  :  True  wisdom  as 
a  tree  of  life, — considered  1)  in  the  precious 
fruits  which  it  bestows  upon  us  (1-18) ; — 2)  in 
the  solid  ground  in  which  it  is  rooted  (19-26) ; — ■ 
3)  in  the  cultivation  which  we  must  bestow  upon 
it  by  a  loving  and  faithful  integrity  (27-35). — 
Comp.  M.  Geier's  analysis  of  the  chapter,  which, 
treating  the  four  introductory  verses  as  an  ex- 
ordium for  the  whole,  finds  prescribed  in  it  three 
main  classes  of  duties:  1)  to  God  (5-26) ; — 2)  to 
our  neighbor  (27-30);— 3)  to  ourselves  (31-35). — 
So  Staeke  :  Solomon's  exhortation  to  the  mani- 
festation of  that  piety  which  flows  from  true  wis- 
dom, viz.:  1)  of  piety  in  itself  (1-12);— 2)  of 
wisdom  as  its  celestial  source  (13-26) ; — 3)  of  love 
to  our  neighbors  as  its  chief  earthly  fruit  and 
result  (27-35). 

Vers.  1-12.  Melanchthon  (on  vers.  5-12, 
after  treating  the  first  four  verses  as  an  Intro- 
duction):  Three  precepts  of  divine  wisdom;  1) 
Trust  in  God  and  fear  of  God  (5-8) ;— 2)  the  sup- 
port of  the  ministry  of  the  word  by  offerings  and 
gifts  (9, 10) ; — 3)  patience  under  crosses  and  suf- 
ferings (11,  12,  comp.  above,  p.  65). — Geieb 
(on  5-18):  Six  cardinal  duties  to  God:  1)  confi- 
dence,— 2)  reverence, — 3)  humility, — 4)  honor, 
— 5)  patience, — 6)  zeal  for  wisdom. — Starke: 
An  exhortation  to  true  piety;  and  1)  a  prelimi- 
nary encouragement  to  attention  (1-4)  ; — -2)  the 
direct  admonition  to  the  manifestation  of  true 
piety,  a)  in  confidence  in  God  (5), — b)  in  a  living 
knowledge  of  God  (6), — c)  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord 
with  a  renouncing  of  one's  own  wisdom  (7,  8), — 
d)  in  the  right  payment  of  all  gifts  that  are  due 
(9,  10), — e)  in  the  patient  bearing  of  the  cross 
(11, 12).— Galwer  Bandh. :  The  multiform  bless- 
ings of  a  multiform  wisdom;  vers.  1,  2:  long 
life,  prosperity  and  peace  ; — 3,  4 :  favor  with 
God  and  men ; — 5,  6 :  a  rigbt  guidance  ; — 7,  8  : 
even  physical  well-being  ; — 9,  10 :  full  garners 
and  presses; — 11,  12:  grace  from  God  also  in 
trials  and  sufferings. 

On  vers.  1-4.  Eqard:  See  to  it  that  on  the 
tablet  of  thine  heart  nothing  be  found  but  the 
word  of  God  and  Jesus  Christ.  According  to 
what  is  written  on  the  tablet  of  thine  heart,  (2 
Cor.  iii.  3)  will  endless  pain  or  eternal  joy  await 
thee,  Matth.  x.  32,  33.— On  vers.  5-8.  Hasius  : 
It  is  a  characteristic  of  true  wisdom  that  one  re- 
gards himself  as  simple ;  men  who  are  wise  in 
their  own  eyes  are  far  removed  from  true  wis- 
dom.— Zeltneb  :  Where  true  fear  of  God  exists, 


68 


THE  PROVERBS  OP  SOLOMON. 


there  is  also  true  humility  of  soul,  and  renun- 
ciation of  self.  Ecclesiast.  i.  17,  18,  elc. — [Ver. 
5.  Teapp:  They  trust  not  God  at  all  that  do  it 
not  alone. — Aknot  :  Trust  is  natural  to  the  crea- 
ture, though  trust  in  the  Lord  be  against  the 
grain  to  the  guilty.  God  complains  as  much  of 
a  divided  allegiance  as  of  none.  In  cleaving  to 
Christ  the  eifort  to  reserve  a  little  spoils  all.  The 
command  to  "trust"  is  encouraging  as  well  as  re- 
proving. The  genuine  spirit  of  adoption  may  be 
best  observed  in  little  things. — R.  M.  M'Cheyne: 
Every  enlightened  believer  trusts  in  a  divine 
power  enlightening  the  understanding ;  he  there- 
fore follows  the  dictates  of  the  understanding 
more  religiously  than  any  other  man, — Vers.  8. 
Aenot  :  He  who  makes  holiness  happy  in  heaven, 
makes  holiness  healthful  on  earth.] — On  vers.  9, 
10.  Staeke  :  We  should  above  all  things  seek 
the  kingdom  of  God,  and  share  our  means  with 
those  who  labor  in  the  word,  and  the  extension 
of  God's  kingdom;  but  not  hold  our  goods  for 
gain  in  order  so  to  avoid  God's  service.  It  is 
unbelief  if  one  accounts  that  lost  which  he  vo- 
luntarily devotes  to  churches  and  schools,  and  to 
the  maintenance  of  the  ministry  of  the  word. 
Matth.  X.  42 ;  2  Cor.  ix.  6 ;  Gal.  vi.  6,  etc.— 
Zeltnee  :  Thankfulness  opens  the  fountain  of 
the  divine  blessing,  unthankfulness  closes  it. — 
Stockee  :  Liberality  toward  the  clerical  office, 
considered  1)  in  and  by  itself," — 2)  according  to 
the  manner  of  its  exercise, — 3)  in  its  reward. — 
[W.  Bates  :  Charity  is  a  productive  grace,  that 
enriches  the  giver  more  than  the  receiver.  The 
Lord  signs  Himself  our  debtor  for  what  is  laid 
out  for  Him,  and  He  will  pay  it  with  interest]. — 
On  vers.  11,  12.  Egaed:  God's  strokes  are  better 
than  Satan's  kiss  and  love  ;  God  smites  for  life, 
Satan  caresses  for  death. — J.  Lange  :  The  king- 
dom of  God  in  this  world  is  a  kingdom  of  the 
cross;  but  all  suffering  tends  evermore  to  the 
testing  and  confirmation  of  faith.  1  Pet.  i.  6,  7. 
— Berleb.  Bible :  God's  chastenings  and  cor- 
rections are  no  signs  of  anger,  but  of  love  ;  they 
are  the  pains  which  our  healing  and  cure  de- 
mand. Those  who  lie  under  the  cross  are  often 
more  acceptable  to  God,  than  those  who  taste  and 
experience  His  dainties.  He  finds  pleasure  in 
our  crosses  and  sufferings  for  this  reason,  be- 
cause these  are  His  remembrance  and  renewal 
of  the  sufferings  of  His  Son.  His  honor  is  also 
involved  in  such  a  perpetuation  of  the  cross  in 
His  members  (Eph.  iii.  13  ;  Col.  i.  24,  etc.)  audit 
is  this  that  causes  Him  this  peculiar  joy ! 

[Vers.  11,  12.  Aenot:  Let  your  heart  flow 
down  under  trouble,  for  this  is  human  ;  let  it 
rise  up  also  to  God,  for  this  is  divine. — Trapp  : 
He  that  escapes  affliction  may  well  suspect  his 
adoption.  God's  house  of  correction  is  His  school 
of  instruction.] 

Vers.  13-18.  Egaed:  Silver,  gold  and  pearls, 
gerve  and  adorn  the  body  only,  wisdom,  how- 
ever, serves  and  adorns  mainly  the  soul.  As 
much -as  the  soul  is  nobler  than  the  body,  so  much 
is-  wisdom  also  nobler  than  all  treasures.  Be- 
ware lest  thou  with  the  children  of  this  world 
look  with  delight  upon  the  forbidden  tree,  and 
with  them  eat  death  from  it.  Beware  lest 
thou  choose  folly  instead  of  wisdom! — Stockee: 
Whosoever  desires  to  regain  what  our  first  pa- 
rents squandered  and  lost  by  the  fall,  namely, 


eternal  life — let  him  hold  fast  upon  heavenly 
wisdom — i,  e.,  God's  revealed  word.  This  is  a 
tree  of  life  to  all  those  who  in  true  faith  lay  hold 
upon  it. — Berleb,  Bible  :  Solomon  here  testi- 
fies that  wisdom  even  in  Paradise  nourished  and 
supported  men,  and  that  the  same  is  for  this  rea- 
son also  in  the  restoration  (the  restitution  of  all 
things  by  Christ,  Acts  iii.  21)  ordained  for  their 
spiritual  maintenance.  In  this  originates  that 
most  blessed  condition  of  the  new  man,  who  gra- 
dually becomes  again  like  and  equal  to  the  man  of 
Paradise. — Wohlfaeth:  The  tree  of  life  of  which 
we  are  to  eat  day  by  day  is  faith,  love,  hope- 
Faith  is  its  trunk,  hope  its  flowers,  love  its  fruit. 

[Vers.  16,  17.  Aenot  : — If  the  law  were  ac- 
cording to  a  simple  calculation  in  arithmetic, 
"the  holiest  liver,  the  longest  liver,"  and  con- 
versely, "the  more  wicked  the  life  the  earlier  its 
close;"  if  this,  unmixed,  unmodified,  were  the 
law,  the  moral  government  of  God  would  be 
greatly  impeded,  if  not  altogether  subverted.  He 
will  have  men  to  choose  goodness  for  His  sake 
and  its  own;  therefore  a  slight  veil  is  cast  over 
its  present  profitableness.- — South  (ver.  17): 
The  excellency  of  the  pleasure  found  in  wisdom's 
ways  appears  1)  in  that  it  is  the  pleasure  of  the 
mind; — 2)  that  it  never  satiates  nor  wearies; — 3) 
that  it  is  in  nobody's  power,  but  only  in  his  that 
has  it.] 

Vers.  19-26.  Stockee: — Inasmuch  as  wisdom 
is  so  grand  a  thing  that  all  was  made  and  is  still 
preserved  by  it,  we  are  thence  to  infer  that  we 
also  can  be  by  it  preserved  for  blessedness.  We 
should  hold  dear  the  heavenly  wisdom  revealed 
to  us  in  the  word,  and  earnestly  crave  it,  should 
learn  to  keep  our  eye  upon  God  Himself,  should 
entreat  Him  for  all  that  we  need,  depend  upon 
His  omnipotence  and  faithful  care,  despond  un- 
der no  adversities,  etc.,  etc. — [Bridges:  (Ver. 
23)  Habitual  eyeing  of  the  word  keeps  the  feet 
in  a  slippery  path]. — Starke  :  He  who  orders 
his  ways  to  please  the  Lord,  can  in  turn  depend 
upon  His  gracious  oversight  and  protection.— Our 
unrest  and  fear  spring  mainly  from  an  evil  con- 
science ;  divine  wisdom  however  keeps  the  con- 
science from  heavy  sins,  and  stays  the  heart  on 
God. — Von  Gerlach  :  The  wisdom  which  God 
imparts  to  the  man  who  hearkens  for  His  voice  is 
no  other  than  that  by  which  He  founded  the 
earth  ;  the  holy  order,  which  forms,  keeps,  sup- 
ports, holds  together,  develops  into  life,  advances 
all.  As  now  all  that  God  has  made  is  very  good, 
each  thing  according  to  the  law  of  the  divine  or- 
der that  dwells  in  it,  so  in  and  for  man  all  be- 
comes good  that  conforms  to  this  order. — WoHl- 
FARTH  (on  ver.  21-26)  :  The  holy  rest  of  the  pi- 
ous. Little  as  the  heart's  innocence,  this  fairest 
fruit  of  wisdom,  can  preserve  and  wholly  free  us 
from  the  sufferings  which  God  suspends  over  us 
for  our  refining,  so  surely  however  does  it  turn 
away  the  worst  and  saddest  consequences  of  sin, 
and  ensures  even  amidst  the  storms  of  this  life  a 
rest  that  nothing  can  disturb. — [Ver.  26.  Aenot: 
It  is  the  peace  of  God  in  the  heart  that  has  power 

to  keep  the  feet  out  of  evil  in  the  path  of  life.] 

Ver.  27-3-5.  Stockee:  The  virtues  of  beneficence 
and  patience  are  here  developed  after  the  method 
of  the  second  table  of  the  ten  commandments-  it 
is  therefore  taught  how  the  believing  Christian 
is  in  his  relations  to  his  neighbor  to  exercise 


CHAP.  IV.  1-27. 


69 


himself  in  true  charity,  steadfast  patience  and 
forbearance. — Cramer  (in  Starke)  :  When  God 
richly  bestows  upon  us  spiritual  treasures,  ought 
it  to  be  a  great  matter,  if  we  to  honor  Him  give 
alms  from  our  temporal  goods? — (Ouver.  328q.); 
If  an  ungodly  man  rises  in  prosperity,  look  not 
upon  his  prosperity,  but  upon  his  end ;  that  can 
easily  deter  you  from  imitating  him. — Wohl- 
FARTH  (on  vers.  27,  28) :  Thankfulness  toward 
God  requires  beneficence  toward  one's  brethren. 
— Von  Geblaoh:  Divine  wisdom  teaches  the 
true   communism, — makes   all  things   common. 


According  to  true  love  earthly  goods  belong  to 
"  their  lord  "  (ver.  27)  i.  e  ,  to  him  who  needs 
them. — [Ver.  27.  Abnot:  The  poor  have  not  a 
right  which  they  can  plead  and  enforce  at  a  hu- 
man tribunal.  The  acknowledgment  of  such  a 
right  would  tend  to  anarchy.  The  poor  are 
placed  in  the  power  of  the  rich,  and  the  rich  are 
under  law  to  God. — Ver.  33.  Aenot  :  In  addi- 
tion to  the  weight  of  divine  authority  upon  the 
conscience,  all  the  force  of  nature's  instincts  is 
applied  to  drive  it  home. — Ver.  34.  Trapp  :  Hu- 
mility is  both  a  grace  and  a  vessel  to  receive  grace.] 


Second  Group  of  Admonitory  or  Gnomic  Discourses. 

Chap.  IV.  1— VII.  27. 

7.  Report  of  the  teacher  of  wisdom  concerning  the  good  counsels  in  favor  of  piety,  and  the  warn- 
ings against  vice,  which  were  given  him  in  his  youth  by  his  father. 

Chap.  IV.  1-27. 

1  Hearken,  ye  children,  to  a  father's  instruetion, 
and  attend  to  know  understanding : 

2  for  I  give  you  good  doctrine ; 
forsake  not  my  law. 

3  For  I  was  also  a  son  to  my  father ; 

a  tender  and  only  (son)  for  my  mother ; 

4  and  he  taught  me  and  said  to  me : 

"  Let  thine  heart  hold  fast  my  words ; 

keep  my  commandments  and  thou  shalt  live ! 

5  Get  wisdom,  get  understanding; 

forget  not,  turn  not  from  the  words  of  my  mouth ! 

6  Forsake  her  not  and  she  shall  preserve  thee ; 
love  her  and  she  shall  keep  thee. 

7  The  highest  thing  is  wisdom ;  get  wisdom, 

and  with  all  that  thou  hast  gotten  get  understanding ! 

8  Esteem  her  and  she  will  exalt  thee, 

will  bring  thee  honor  if  thou  dost  embrace  her. 

9  She  will  put  upon  thine  head  a  graceful  garland, 
a  glorious  crown  will  she  bestow  upon  thee. 

10  Hearken,  my  son,  and  receive  my  sayings  ; 
and  the  years  of  thy  life  shall  be  many. 

11  In  the  way  of  wisdom  have  I  taught  thee, 
I  have  guided  thee  in  right  paths. 

12  When  thou  goest  thy  step  shall  not  be  straitened, 
and  when  thou  runnest  thou  shalt  not  stumble. 

13  Hold  fast  upon  instruction ;  let  not  go ; 
keep  her,  for  she  is  thy  life. 

14  Into  the  path  of  the  wicked  enter  thou  not, 
and  walk  not  in  the  way  of  the  evil. 

15  Avoid  it,  enter  not  upon  it ; 
turn  from  it,  and  pass  away. 

16  For  they  sleep  not  unless  they  sin ; 

their  sleep  is  taken  away  unless  they  have  caused  (others)  to  fall ; 


70  THE  PEOVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


17  for  they  eat  the  bread  of  wickedness, 
and  the  wine  of  violence  do  they  drink. 

18  But  the  path  of  the  just  is  like  the  light  of  dawn, 
that  groweth  in  brightness  till  the  perfect  day. 

19  The  way  of  the  wicked  is  as  darkness, 
they  know  not  at  what  they  stumble. 

20  My  son,  attend  to  my  words, 
incline  thine  ear  to  my  sayings. 

21  Let  them  not  depart  from  thine  eyes : 
keep  them  in  the  midst  of  thine  heart. 

22  For  they  are  life  to  those  who  find  them, 
and  to  their  whole  body  health. 

23  Above  all  that  is  to  be  guarded  keep  thy  heart, 
for  out  of  it  flow  the  currents  of  life. 

24  Put  away  from  thee  perverseness  of  mouth, 
and  waywardness  of  lips  put  far  from  thee. 

25  Thine  eyes  should  look  straight  forward, 
and  thine  eyelids  look  straight  before  thee. 

26  Make  straight  the  path  of  thy  foot 
and  let  all  thy  ways  be  established. 

27  Turn  not  to  the  right  or  to  the  left, 
remove  thy  foot  from  evil !" 

GRAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Ver.  2.  [^nn3,  an  "  affirmative  "  perfect  (Bott.  g  947,  /.),  anticipating  a  snre  resalt,  and  so  confirming  confidence ;  not 

■    -T 

merely  have  I  already  given,  etc.;  it  will  always  be  found  true.     See  like  instances  in  ver.  11. — A.]. 

Ver.  10.  [A  maBculine  verb  agreeing  with  afem.  subject,  the  more  readily  because  the  verb  precedes.  The  same  thing 
recurs  in  ver.  25;  in  v.  2;  vii.  11;  x.  21,  32;  xv.  7  :  xvi.  3;  xvili.  6. — A.] 

Ver.  13.  The  fem.  sufBx  in  HI^J  refers  strictly  to  HDISn  [TD-ID  being  masculine],  which   idea,  on  account  of  itfl 
TV;*  T : T         T 

close  relationship,  could  be  easily  substituted  for  TD^O  (comp.  i.  3 ;  xv.  33),  and  all  the  more  readily  because  this  idea  was 

constantly  before  the  poet's  mind  as  the  main  subject  of  his  discourse.  Like  anomalies  in  the  gender  of  suffixes  may  be 
found,  c.  g..  in  Isa.  iii.  IG,  ,Tudg.  xxi.  21.  [To  emphasize  the  injunction  the  form  of  the  verb  is  expanded  froui  the  simple 
iT^VJ  by  doubling  the  middle  radical  by  Dagesh  forte  dirimens,  and  by  attaching  the  suffix  in  its  fullest  form.     See  JBolt. 

{  600,  12;  §J  1042,  h,  1043,  6.— A.]. 

Ver.  14.  [FcEEST  takes  "^tyXH  in  its  more  common  causative  and  therefore  transitive  sense,  supplying  aa  its  object 
n3  7  j  he  reaches,  however,  the  same  result.  The  third  declarative  use  of  the  Piel  we  have  not  found  given  here  by  any 
modem  commentator. — A.]. 

Ver.  16.  [For  the  form  given  in  the  K'thibh  'hwy,  see  Gbeen,  §  88,  BolT.  g  367,  p.— A.]. 

Ver.  20.  [The  paragogic  Imperative  usually  and  naturally  takes  its  place  at  the  beginning  of  the  clause ;  n^^^pH 
here,  and  in  ver.  1  follows  its  object  as  well  as  the  vocative  ^Jj].     BiJTT.  g  960,  c. — A.]. 

Ver.  21.  1T"'v^  fut.  Uiphil  from  T17  with  a  doubling  of  the  first  radical,  as  in  13^7^  from  r^7.  [Verb  ly  treated  like 
a  verb  _JJjr,— Qeeen,  ?  160,  1 ;  Bott.,  J  1147,  B.  3.— A.]. 

Ver.  25.  [HoLDEN  makes  nDJ/  an  object  and  not  an  adverbial  modifier— "  behold  that  which  is  right."  This  can 
hardly  be  reconciled  with  the  strict  meaning  of  flDJ.  For  the  peculiar  ?Tcy",  in  which  the  first  radical  retains  fally  its 
consonant  character,  resisting  quiescence,  see  Stuart,  §  69,  2;  Green,  g  150, 1;  Bott.,  §  458,  a,  i  498, 12. A.] 

of  positive  appeals  to  strive  after  wisdom  and 
the  fear  of  God.  A  starting  point  for  these 
admonitory  discourses  is  furnislied  by  tlie  com- 
munication made  in  the  preceding  chapter,  con- 
cerning the  good  instructions  which  the  author 
as  a  child  had  had  urged  upon  his  notice  by  his 
father.  The  negative  or  admonitory  import  of 
these  teachings  of  the  father  is  now  more  fully 
developed  in  the  discourses,  some  longer,  some 
shorter,  of  the  next  three  chapters.  And  among 
these  special  prominence  is  given  to  sins  against 
chastity,  which  had  not,  it  is  true,  been  expressly 
named  by  the  father,  but  still  must  now  come 
under  consideration  as  involving  dangers  espe- 
cially seductive  and  ruinous  for  the  son  as  he 
grew  up  from  boyhood  to  youth.     To  these  theire- 


EXEGETIOAL. 

1.  The  address  to  the  sons,  i.  e.,  the  pupils  or 
hearers  of  the  teacher  of  wisdom,  in  the  plural 
number,  appearing  for  the  iirst  time  in  ver.  1, 
and  then  recurring  twice  afterward,  in  v.  7  and 
vii.  24  (as  well  as  in  one  later  instance,  in  the 
discourse  of  the  personified  Wisdom,  chap.  viii. 
32)  announces  the  beginning  of  a  new  and  larger 
series  of  proverbial  discourses.  This  extends  to 
the  end  of  chap,  vii.,  and  is  characterized  by  a 
preponderance  of  warning,  and  also  by  the  clear 
and  minute  delineation  of  the  by-paths  of  folly 
and  vice  which  are  to  be  avoided,  that  now 
takes  the  place  of  the  tone,  hitherto  predominant, 


CHAP.  IV.  1-27. 


71 


fore  the  poet  reverts  no  less  than  three  times  in 
the  course  of  the  admonitions  which  he  attaches 
to  his  account  of  the  precepts  of  his  father  as 
given  in  chap.  iv.  (viz.,  v.  3  sq.  ;  vi.  24  sq. ; 
vii.  5  sq  ).  And  in  each  instance  the  transition 
is  made  in  a  peculiarly  natural  way,  and  with  a 
far  more  complete  delineation  of  the  repulsive 
details  than  had  been  earlier  given  on  a  similar 
occasion  (chap.  iil.  16-19).  Of  the  older  expositors 
e.  g.,  EoARO,  J.  Lanqe,  Starke,  and  of  the  more 
recent  Elster  are  in  favor  of  extending  the 
father's  admonition  from  ver.  4  to  the  end  of  this 
chapter.  In  favor  of  these  limits  may  be  ad- 
duced especially  the  fact  that  vers.  26,  27  form 
a  peculiarly  appropriate  conclusion  for  the 
father's  discourse, — far  more  so  not  only  than 
ver.  9  (with  which  Jerome,  Bede,  Lavater,  the 
Wiirtemberg  Bible,  and  most  commentators  of 
modern  times,  e.  g.,  Ewald,  Bertheau,  Hitzig, 
[MuENSOHER,  Kamph.]  would  closo  the  discourse) 
but  also  than  ver.  20,  (to  which  point  e.  g.,  Um- 
BREiT  would  extend  it).  Against  those  who 
would  regard  chap.  v.  1-6  as  also  belonging  to 
the  father's  address  (Hansen,  Deiitzsch)  we 
have  the  substance  of  these  verses,  which,  at 
least  from  ver.  3  onward,  seem  no  longer  appro- 
priate to  an  admonition  addressed  to  a  boy  still 
"tender"  (see  iv.  3);  we  have  besides  the  still 
more  weighty  fact  that  chap.  v.  forms  an  indivi- 
sible whole,  from  which  the  first  six  verses  can 
plainly  not  be  separated,  on  account  of  the  re- 
ference to  them  contained  in  ver.  8.  It  is  fur- 
thermore by  no  means  necessary  that  the  address 
"ye  sons  "  (v.  7)  should  stand  at  the  very  com- 
mencement of  the  discourse  where  the  poet 
resumes  it.  In  reply  to  Hitziq  who,  for  the 
sake  of  restoring  a  symmetrical  relation  of 
numbers,  in  the  present  chapter  once  more  pro- 
nounces certain  verses  spurious  (vers.  16,  17 
and  27),  see  the  special  remarks  on  these  verses. 
2.  Ver.  1-3.  Hearken,  ye  children.  It 
seems  quite  certain  that  this  address,  occurring 
only  here  and  in  chap.  v.  7  and  chap.  vii.  24,  is 
occasioned  by  the  fact,  that  the  author  designed 
to  represent  himself  in  and  after  ver.  4  as  him- 
self a  son  and  the  object  of  his  father's  counsels 
and  warnings.  The  aim  was  to  present  the  ex- 
ample of  the  one  son  plainly  before  the  many 
sons ;  for  this  is  the  relation  in  which  the  teacher 
of  wisdom  conceives  of  his  hearers  or  readers. 
For  this  reason  again  he  does  not  say,  "my 
sons,"  but  "ye  sons,  ye  children,"  here  as  well 
as  in  chap.  v.  7. — To  a  father's  correction, 
i.  e.,  to  the  instruction  of  a  man  who  is  your 
spiritual  father ;  not  to  the  instruction  of  your 
several  fathers.  For,  just  as  in  chap.  i.  8,  the 
author  does  not  intend  in  the  first  line  to 
exhort  to  obedience  to  parents,  but  simply 
to  obedience  in  general. — To  learn  under- 
standing. The  ny3  r\}ni  here  corresponds 
with  riDOn  nj^'17  in  the  superscription,  chap. 
i.  2,  and  is  therefore  to  be  similarly  understood. 
HiTzitj's  idea  "to  know  with  the -understanding " 
is  evidently  needlessly  artificial. — Ver.  2.  For 
good  doctrine,  etc.  tlpy,  something  received, 
handed  over  (see  on  i.  5) ;  the  author  here  de- 
scribes his  doctrine  in  this  way  because  he  him- 
self received  the  substance  of  it  from  his  father. 


The  LXX  here  translate  the  word  outright  by 
Sotpov  (Vulg.  donum). — ^Ver.  3.  For  I  also  Twas  a 
son  to  my  father,  i.  e.,  "I  also  once  stood  in 
the  relation  to  my  (actual)  father,  in  which  you 
stand  to  me,  your  paternal  instructor,"  (Ber- 
theau). [iVIiJENscH.  less  forcibly  makes  '3 
temporal:  when  I  was,  etc.] — A  tender  and 
only  (son)  to  my  mother,  strictly,  before 
my  mother,  in  her  sight ;  comp.  Gen.  xvii.  18. 
The  mention  of  the  mother  is  probably  occa- 
sioned here,  as  in  i.  8,  by  the  poetic  parallelism; 
for  in  what  follows  it  does  not  occur  again. — 
Tender,  1]^,  not  equivalent,  as  sometimes,  to 
"susceptible  of  impressions,  tractable,''  as  the 
LXX  conceive  in  translating  it  by  vtt7]koo^  ;  but 
the  expression,  in  connection  with  Tn',  "an 
only  one"  (comp.  Gen.  xxii.  2),  indicates  that  the 
child  has  been  to  his  parents  an  object  of  tender 
care;  comp.  Gen.  xxxiii.  13,  where  Jacob  speaks 
of  the  tenderness  of  his  children.  Furthermore 
the  LXX,  doubtless  in  remembrance  of  the  fact 
that  Solomon,  according  to  1  Chron.  iii.  5,  was 
not  the  only  son  of  his  mother,  renders  Tn'  by 
ayair^/ievoc  (beloved).  That  several  ancient 
manuscripts   and  versions  have   substituted  for 

'BX  \:ish,  'BX  'ilh,  the  sons  of  my  mother, 
doubtless  rests  upon  the  same  consideration. 
The  earlier  exegesis  in  general  thought  far  too 
definitely  of  Solomon  as  the  only  speaking  sub- 
ject in  the  whole  collection  of  proverbs,  and 
therefore  imagined  itself  obliged  in  every  allu- 
sion to  a  "father"  or  a  "mother"  of  the  poet, 
to  think  specifically  of  David  and  "Bathsheba. 
This  is  also  the  explanation  of  the  fact  that 
the  LXX  in  the  verse  following  exchanged 
the  singular,  "he  taught  me  and  said,"  for  a 
plural  (ot  EAeyov  Koi  kdidaGndv  fie),  and  accordingly 
represented  all  that  follows  as  instruction  pro- 
ceeding from  both  parents. 

3.  Vers.  4-9.  Let  thine  heart  hold  fast 
my  Twords.  The  father's  instruction  begins 
quite  in  the  same  style  as  all  the  other  admoni- 
tions in  this  first  main  division  of  the  Book  of 
Proverbs.  At  the  end  of  ver.  4  the  Syrian  Ver- 
sion adds  the  words  "  and  my  law  as  the  apple  of 
thine  eye,"  which  is,  however,  plainly  a  supple- 
mentary gloss  from  chap.  vii.  2,  in  which  passage 
also  the  expression  occurs,  "keep  my  command- 
ments and  thou  shalt  live."  Bertheau  regards 
the  addition  as  original  here  also,  in  order  thus 
to  do  away  with  the  peculiarity  of  three  mem- 
bers in  ver.  4  (which  is  surrounded  by  nothing 
but  distichs),  and  to  make  of  the  three  clauses 
four.  But  the  triple  structure  owes  its  origin 
simply  to  the  fact  that  the  first  member,  as  an 
introductory  formula  for  the  following  discourse, 
must  necessarily  be  made  to  stand  outside  the 
series  of  clauses  which  are  otherwise  always 
arranged  in  pairs. — Ver.  5.  Get  wisdom,  get 
understanding,  literally,  "  buy  wisdom,  buy 
understanding."  The  doubling  of  the  verb 
makes  the  demand  more  vehement ;  as  Umbreit 
explains  it,  an  "imitation  of  the  exclamation 
of  a  merchant  who  is  ofi'ering  his  wares." — 
Forget  not,  turn  not  from  the  -words  of 
my  mouth.  The  zeugma  appears  only  in  the 
translation,  not  in  the  original,  since  the  verb 


72 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


nJK'  elsewhere,  e.  g.,  Ps.  cii.  5,  is  found  con- 
strued with  [n.  In  the  idea  of  forgetting  there 
is  naturally  involved  a  turning  aside  or  away 
from  the  object.— Ver.  7.  The  highest  thing 
is  wisdom.  This  is  the  interpretation  to  be 
here  given,  with  Hitzig  (following  Mercek,  De 
DiEH  and  some  older  expositors),  to  the  expression 
riD^in  n'tyx\  it  is  usually  rendered  "The  begin- 
ning of  wisdom,"  [e.^.bytheLXXjVulg.,  Luthek] 
and  the  following  clauses,  "  get  wisdom,  elc." 
are  taken  as  the  designation  of  that  in  which  the 
beginning  of  wisdom  consists,  vh.,  in  the  "reso- 
lution to  get  wisdom"  (Umbreit),  or  in  the  in- 
stant observance  of  the  admonition  which  re- 
lates to  this  (comp.  Elstbb  on  this  passage  [and 
also  Kamph.]).  But  as  the  beginning  of  wisdom 
the  fear  of  God  is  everywhere  else  designated 
(see  Obs.  on  i.  7) ;  and  for  the  absolute  use  of 
H'E'KI  in  the  sense  of  prmstantissimum,  summum 
(the  highest,  most  excellent  thing)  we  may  com- 
pare on  the  one  hand  Job  xxix.  25,  and  on  the 
other  Gen.  i.  1. — And  with  all  that  thou 
hast  gotten  get  understanding.  The  beau- 
tiful verbal  correspondence  in  the  Hebrew  phrase 
is  well  indicated  in  the  above  rendering  [in 
which  the  ambiguity  of  the  E.  V.  is  avoided ; 
with  is  not  to  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  in  connec- 
tion with,  but  with  the  expem/ilure  of,  or  at  the  price 
of, — German  um  or  fiir].  For  the  thought  comp. 
iii.    14  sq. — Ver.  8.     Esteem    her.     The    verb 

7ip7D    which    occurs   only  here, — the   Pilel    of 

77D, — might  possibly,  as  an  intensive  formed 
from  this  verb,  which  as  is  well  known  signifies 
"  to  heap  up,  to  build  a  way  by  mounds  and  em- 
bankments," express  the  idea  of  enclosing  with 
a  wall,  of  a  firm  surrounding  and  enclosure.  So 
the  LXX  understood  it,  translating  by  wepixapi- 
Kuaov  avrf/v ;  so  also  theChald.,  Syr.,  Vulg.,  and 
several  modern  interpreters,  e.  g.,  Bektheau, — 
all  of  whom  find  expressed  in  the  word  the  idea 
of  a  loving  clasp  and  embrace.  It  is  however 
probably  simpler  and  more  in  accordance  with 
the  sense  of  DDIT  in  the  parallel  clause  to  take 
the  word,  as  Aeen  Ezra,  Luther,  and  most  mo- 
dern interpreters  do,  in  the  sense  of  "  to  exalt, 
esteem  ;"  [So  H.,  M.,  N.,  St.  agreeing  with  the 
E.  V.].  With  this  conception  also  the  second 
clause  best  agrees,  for  in  this  there  is  added  to 
the  exhortation  to  prize  and  honor  wisdom,  the 
other  admonition  to  love  her. — If  thou  dost 
embrace  her.  Wisdom  here  appears  personi- 
fied as  a  loved  one  or  wife,  whom  one  lovingly 
draws  to  him,  and  embraces;  comp.  v.  20;  Eccl. 
iii.  5. —  Ver.  9.  She  will  put  upon  thy 
head  a  graceful  wreath.  Comp.  i.  9. — Will 
Bhe  bestow  upon  thee.  The  rare  verb  jJD 
which  again  in  Hos.  xi.  8  stands  parallel  with 
]nj,  according  to  this  passage  and  Gen.  xiv.  20 
undoubtedly  signifies  to  offer,  to  give,  to  pre- 
sent some  one  with  something  (construed  with 
two  accusatives).  The  old  translations  took  it 
sometimes  in  the  sense  of  protecting  (LXX:  ijr- 
cpaoTviar)  aov;  Vulg. ;  proteget  te ;  so  the  Syriac), 
as  though  it  were  a  denominative  from  ]JD, 
shield.  With  this,  however,  the  "  glorious 
crown"  does  not  correspond,  which  is  evidently 


introduced  as  an  ornament,  and  not  as  a  protec- 
tion and  defence. 

4.  Vers.  10-19.  The  father  instructs  his  son 
concerning  the  way  of  wisdom  (vers  11,  18)  in 
which  he  should  walk,  in  contrast  with  the  rui- 
nous path  of  impiety  (vers.  14,  19). — So  shall 
the  years  of  thy  life  be  many.  Comp.  chap, 
iii.  2.  [Wordsworth  says  "  This  word  □"!! 
is  plural  in  the  original,  as  in  iii.  2,  as  if  Solo- 
mon would  comprehend  the  future  life  with  the 
present,  and  add  Eternity  to  Time."  He  forgets 
that  the  abstract  idea  of  life  is  never  expressed 
by  the  singular  of  this  noun  except  as  its  stat. 
constr.  'n  is  used  in  formulas  of  adjuration,  e. 
g..  Gen.  xlv.  15,  16;  1  Sam.  i.  26,  etc.  See  Lex- 
icons generally,  and  Bott.  §  697,  2,  §  689,  B.  a. 
A.] — Ver.  11.  In  the  way  of  wisdom,  i.  e., 
not  "in  the  way  to  wisdom,"  but  in  the  way  in 
which  Wisdom  walks,  here  also  again  as  it  were 
personified, — a  way  which  is  lovely  and  peaceful 
(according  to  iii.  17),  a  way  with  "right paths" 
(lit.,  "paths  of  straightness,"  comp.  ii.  9,  12)  as 
the  2d  member  and  the  following  verse  describe 
it  (comp.  Job  xviii.  7). — [Ver.  12.  The  pecu- 
liar significance  of  such  promises  to  an  inhabi- 
tant of  Palestine,  see  illustrated,  e.  g.,  in  Haok- 
ett's  Illustrations  of  Scripture,  p.  20. — A.]. — Ver. 
13.  Hold  fast  upon  instruction ;  let  not 
go;  keep  her;  she  is  thy  life,  as  the  be- 
stower  of  long  life ;  iii.  2,  16,  18;  see  below, 
ver.  2.3.— Ver.  14.  And  walk  not,  etc.  "IK'S 
properly,  to  go  straight  on,  here  used  of  the  bold, 
arrogant  walk  of  the  presumptuous  ;   comp.  ix. 

6;  xxiii.  19.  To  translate  lUfXH^'^X  by  "do 
not  pronounce  happy"  (comp.  iii.  18)  as  the  LXX, 
Vulg.,  and  Syr.  propose,  contradicts  the  paral- 
lelism with  "  enter  not  "  in  the  first  member. — 
Ver.  16.  A.void  it.  On  iJ'^B  to  abhor,  reject, 
comp.  i.  25. — Turn  from  it  and  pass  aw^ay, — 
i.  e.,  even  if  thou  hast  entered  upon  it  (V/J?) 
still  turn  aside  from  it  and  choose  another  way, 
which  carries  thee  by  the  ruinous  end  of  that 
one. — Ver.  16,  17.  For  they  cannot  sleep 
unless  they  sin,  etc.  Hitziq  thinks  that  in 
this  reference  to  the  energy  of  the  wicked  in  sin- 
ning there  can  be  found  no  appropriate  ground 
for  the  warning  in  ver.  15 ;  he  therefore  declares 
vers.  16,  17  a  spurious  interpolation,  and  at  the 
same  time  inverts  the  order  of  the  two  following 
verses,  i.  e.,  makes  the  19th  the  18th;  he  then 
connects  the  '3,  "for,"  the  only  genuine  frag- 
ment remaining  of  ver.  16,  immediately  with  the 
D^iJ/T  ^]■^•^  etc.,  of  ver.  18  (19)  ;  "  For  .... 
the  way  of  the  wicked  is  as  midnight,  etc."  Since 
however  no  ancient  MSS.  or  translation  exhibits 
anything  that  favors  this  emendation,  and  since 
a  certain  irregular  movement,  an  abandonment 
of  that  order  of  ideas  which  would  seem  simpler 
and  more  obvious,  corresponds  in  general  with 
the  style  of  our  author  (comp.  i.  16  sq. ;  iii.  3 
sq. ;  viii.  4  sq.),  we  may  fairly  disregard  so  vio- 
lent a  treatment.  Besides,  the  substance  of  vers. 
16,  17,  so  far  forth  as  they  depict  the  way  of  the 
wicked  as  a  restless,  cruel  and  abominable  course 
of  procedure,  is  plainly  quite  pertinent  as  the 
foundation  of  a  warning  against  this  way.     And 


CHAP.  IV.  1-27. 


73 


that  subsequently  the  concluding  description  of 
this  way  as  a  way  of  darkness  (ver.  19)  is  not 
introduced  until  after  the  contrasted  represen- 
tation of  the  way  of  the  pious  (ver.  18),  is  an 
arrangement  favorable  to  the  general  rhetorical 
effect  of  the  whole,  like  several  which  we  have 
already  found,  especially  in  chap.  iii.  34,  35, 
and  also  at  the  end  of  chapters  i.  and  ii. — 
Unless  they  have  caused  (others)  to  fall, 
i.  c,  unless  they  have  betrayed  into  sin  ;  the  ob- 
ject— viz.,  others,  in  general — does  not  need  to 
be  here  distinctly  expressed.  For  the  Hiphil 
w'E'32i  which  should  be  the  reading  here  ac- 
cording to  theK'ri,  in  the  ethical  sense  of  "  causing 
to  stumble  "  in  the  way  of  truth  and  uprightness, 
comp.  especially  Mai.  ii.  8,  where  the  "  causing 
to  fall "  is  brought  into  even  closer  connection 
than  in  our  passage  with  the  idea  of  "  turning 
from  the  way."  [The  K'thibh  would  require  the 
translation  "  they  have  stumbled,"  i.  e.,  (figura- 
tively) sinned]. — For  they  eat  bread  of  iwlck- 
edness,  and  'wine  of  violence  do  they 
drink.  Against  the  translation  of  Schultens, 
MuBNTiNQHE,  Umbkeit,  Elster,  [Kamphausen]  : 
"  for  wickedness  do  they  eat  as  bread,  and  vio- 
lence do  they  drink  as  wine"  (comp.  Job  xv.  16; 
xxxiv.  7),  may  be  adduced  the  position  of  the 
words,  which  should  rather  stand  somewhat  in 
this  way — for  they  have  eaten  wickedness  as 
bread  for  themselves — if  designed  to  convey  the 
meaning  of  a  mere  comparison.  The  expressions 
"bread  of  wickedness,  wine  of  violent  deeds," 
plainly  conveying  a  stronger  meaning,  remind  us 
of  the  "  bread  of  affliction,"  Deut.  xvi.  3  ;  of  the 
"bread  of  sorrows,"  Psalm  cxxvii.  2,  and  like- 
wise of  the  "  wine  of  the  condemned"  ■(D'K'-IJS  r') 
Am.  ii.  8. 

Ver.  18,  19.  Like  the  light  of  daiwn  that 
grcweth  in  brightness  till  the  perfect  day, 
literally,  "  that  grows  and  brightens  (familiar  He- 
brewidiom,  as  in  Judges  iv.  24;  Esth.  ix.  4;  comp. 
EwALD,  Lehrb.  280  b.)  even  to  the  establishing  of 
the  day."  jDJ  [const,  state  of  the  part.  Niphal  of 
to)  lit.,  the  established,  the  (apparently)  station- 
ary position  of  the  sun  at  noon  (comp.  the  Greek 
TO  Gra'&epbv  t^q  fj.£G7/fx^piagj  which  however  the 
LXX  do  not  here  employ).  For  njj,  used  of  the 
brightness  of  the  rising  sun,  comp.  Isa.  Ix.  3 ;  Ixii. 
1.  The  comparison  of  the  path,  i.  e.,  the  moral 
course,  of  the  just  with  the  light  of  the  rising  sun, 
bright  and  ever  brightening,  is  most  appropriate. 
If  the  whole  path  is  light,  a  bright,  clear  knowledge 
of  salvation,  illumination  by  the  heavenly  light 
of  divine  revelation  (comp.  vi.  23  ;  xxviii.  5  ;  Isa. 
ii.  5,  etc.)  there  can  naturally  be  no  idea  of  stumb- 
ling and  falling  suggested  (comp.  John  xi.  9,  10)  ; 
rather  will  he  who  walks  in  this  way  attain  more 
and  more  to  perfect  clearness  in  the  inward  state 
of  his  heart  and  conscience,  and  therewith  also 
in  increasing  measure  to  outward  prosperity. — 
The  way  of  the   ■wicked  is  as  darkness, 

the  exact  opposite  to  that  of  the  righteous.  nSsx 
strictly  "  thick  darkness,"  midnight  gloom.  The 
degree  of  this  darkness  and  its  evil  consequences 
for  him  who  walks  in  it,  the  2d  clause  clearly  de- 
picts ;  comp.  John  xi.  9,  10,  and  for  the  general 
subject,  the  previous  delineation  of  the  sudden 


destruction  of  the  ungodly,  i.  27  sq. ;  also  ii.  18, 
22;   iii.  35. 

5.  Ver.  20-27.  The  father's  admonition  closes 
with  an  urgent  warning  to  the  son  against  for- 
getting this  Counsel,  with  a  special  reference  to 
the  ruinous  consequences  which  such  a  forget- 
ting will  ensure. — Let  them  not  depart  from 
thine  eyes.  The  meaning  is  "  depart,  escape," 
just  as  in  iii,  21.  Bbktheac's  interpretation  is 
needlessly  artificial, — "  let  them  not  withdraw 
them"  (3  Plur.  without  a  definite  subject),  i.  c, 
let  them  not  be  witlidrawn. — Ver.  22.  For  they 
are  life  to  those  who  find  them :  comp.  iii. 
2,  16;  iv.  13;  and  especially  for  the  use  of 
"  find  "  in  the  sense  of  to  attain  or  to  be  blessed 
with  anything,  see  iii.  13 ;  viii.  35. — And  to 
their  -whole  body  health.  Comp.  iii.  8, 
where  DWil"!  is  found  instead  of  the  X3lp 
of  our  passage. — Ver.  23.  Above  all  that  is 

to  be  guarded  keep  thy  heart    1DE'0~'73p 

literally,  "  more  than  every  object  of  watching," 
for  this  is  beyond  all  question  the  sense  of 
inE'p,  and  not,  as  Aben  Ezka  and  Jarohi  take 
It,  "  a  thing  against  which  one  must  guard," 
which  would  not  correspond  with  the  radical 
meaning  of  int^.  The  heart  as  the  chief  object 
of  moral  watchfulness,  is  plainly  nothing  but 
the  conscience,  the  pure  moral  consciousness  of 
man,  the  dya-d-f/  avvel6/}(7i.g,  I  Tim.  i.  5,  19  ;  1  Pet. 
iii.  16.  So  HiTZiG,  with  unquestionable  cor- 
rectness, referring  to  Ps.  Ii.  10;  Job  xxvii,  6;  1 
Sam.  XXV.  31. — For  out  of  it  (flow)  currents 
of  life.  Lit.,  "  issues  of  life  "  (Beetiieau)  i.  e., 
of  life  in  the  physico-organio  as  well  as  in  the 
ethical  sense ;  of  life  so  far  forth  as  it  manifests 
itself  in  the  normal  course  and  movement  of  the 
functions  of  the  bodily  organism,  just  as  also  in 
the  full  development  of  the  spiritual  powers  and 
their  working  upon  external  nature.  Comp.  re- 
marks on  ii.  8  sq.  Hitzig  also,  who  translates 
D"n  niNXljT  not  quite  appropriately  by  "  paths 
of  life,"  admits  the  fact  that  the  expression 
rests  upon  tlie  recognition  of  the  heart  as  the 
seat  and  fountain  of  the  blood,  and  therefore  also 
as  the  central  home  of  the  entire  life  of  the  phy- 
sical being  (in  accordance  with  Lev.  xvii.  11; 
Deut.  xii.  23  ;  and  in  opposition  to  Bertheau, 
who  denies  this  reference).  So  also  Umbkeit, 
except  that  he,  with  a  view  somewhat  partial  and 
obscure,  conceives  of  the  heart  as  the  "  seat  of 
the  sensibilities,"  and  the  life  that  flows  from  it 
as  the  "  general  sensation  of  being."  ["All  vital 
principles  are  lodged  there,  and  only  such  as  are 
good  and  holy  will  give  you  pleasure.  The  ex- 
ercises of  religion  will  be  pleasant  when  they  are 
natural,  and  flow  easily  out  of  their  own  foun- 
tain." John  Howe,  Delic/htincj  in  God. — A.]. — 
Ver.  24.  Put  aw^ay  from  thee  perverseness 
of  mouth,  e^c.  "Following  the  first  clause  of 
ver.  23  the  24th  and  2.5th  verses  warn  against  an 
arbitrary  perverting  of  the  moral  judgment,  into 
which  evil  passions  so  easily  betray,  and  admo- 
nish not  to  give  a  misdirection  to  thought  (the 
acies  animi)  within  the  department  of  morality  " 
(Hitzig). — Let  thine  eyes  look  straight 
for-ward,  etc.  A  prohibition  not  of  an  indolent 
"  gazing  about "   (Bemheau),   but  of  the  false 


74 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


and  evil  look  of  the  self-seeking,  who  does  not 
intend  honorable  dealing  with  his  neighbor,  but 
seeks  in  all  his  course  and  dealing  to  outwit,  to 
deceive  and  overpower  him  ;  comp.  vi.  13  ;  x. 
10;  xvi.  30;  Ecclesiast.  xxvii.  25;  Matth.  vi. 
28.— Ver.  26.  Make  straight  the  path  of  thy 
foot.  Plainly  something  that  is  possible  only  in 
connection  with  eyes  that  look  straight  forward 
and  correctly;  this  is  therefore  the  necessary 
practical  consequence  of  the  course  commended 
in  the  preceding  verse.  He  only  who  is  from  the 
heart  honorable  and  upright  is  able  also  in  the 
individual  forms  of  his  moral  action  to  avoid 
every  false  step. — Let  all  thy  virays  be  esta- 
blished.    U3"    does  not  mean    "let  them  be 

sure"  (Berth.),  but  "let  them  be  definite, 
fixed,"  which  can  be  the  case  only  with  a  course 
rightly  regulated,  straightforward,  and  sure ; 
comp.  Pa.  cxix.  133;  Heb.  xii.  13.  The  latter 
passage  plainly  contains  an  allusion  to  our  verse, 
the  first  member  of  which  according  to  the  LXX 
reads:  'Opi7df  Tpoxta^  nolei  aol^  iroalv, — Ver.  27. 
Turn  not  to  the  right  or  to  the  left,  keep 
thy  foot  far  from  evil.  This  fuller  explana- 
tion of  that  fixedness  and  certainty  of  the  way 
which  is  demanded  in  ver.  26  completes  the  fa- 
ther's admonition  in  a  way  altogether  appropri- 
ate, and  is  therefore  neither  to  be  declared,  with 
HiTzio,  a  spurious  addition,  nor  is  it,  in  agree- 
ment with  Bebtheau,  to  be  deprived  of  its  posi- 
tion and  meaning  as  a  concluding  appeal,  by  re- 
ceiving into  the  text  as  genuine  the  two  verses 
which  appear  after  it  in  the  LXX  (and  Vulgate) : 
'OcJoiif  yap  rac  tvc  de^tuv  oldev  o  ^eog,  discrpa/uuivai. 
Si  eiaiv  ul  k^  apiGTepuv.  AvToi;  df  bp-dixq  'Kotrjczt 
Tai;  Tpox^a^  f^ov,  rag  de  rropEiac  gov  kv  e'tpi/vri  Trpda^ec. 
These  two  verses,  whose  substance  appears  to  be 
a.  mere  repetition  from  vers.  26,  and  27,  seem  to 
owe  their  origin  to  the  design  to  secure  here 
again,  as  in  the  preceding  section  (vers.  10-19) 
a  full  decade  of  verses.  In  opposition  to  this 
view,  arbitrary  and  theoretical,  that  the  struc- 
ture of  the  paragraphs  or  strophes  in  the  chap- 
ters before  us  is  uniformly  equal,  i.  e.,  always 
consisting  of  ten  verses — a  view  to  which  even 
Beetheau  attaches  much  importance — see,  above, 
the  Exeget.  Notes  on  chap.  3,  No.  1. 


DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

The  counsel  given  by  the  pious  and  wise  father 
to  his  son  begins  with  the  appeal  to  him  to  hold 
fast  his  words  (ver.  4),  and  ends  with  an  earnest 
warning  against  a  course  made  insecure  and 
dangerous  by  disregard  of  these  words  (vers. 
20-27).  Obedience  to  the  word  of  revealed  truth  as 
transmitted  withm  the  community  of  the  children  of 
God,  and  bequeathed  by  parents  to  their  sons, — this 
is  the  general  statement  of  the  import  of  the  de- 
mands of  this  chapter  as  a  whole,  so  far  forth  as 
it  may  be  reduced  to  a  single  brief  expression. 
It  is  essentially,  as  Melanctiion  says,  <■' adhorta- 
tiones  ad  studium  ohedientise  et  ad  diliyentiam  regendi 
disciplinam,"  that  are  contained  in  this  passage. 
The  whole  is  a  chapter  on  the  right  (Christian) 
training  of  children,  an  exhibition  of  the  nature 
of  that  chief  manifestation  of  the  Hhokmah 
[practical  wisdom],  which  in  the  general  super- 


scription of  the  book  (i.  3 ;  comp.  i.  7),  was  desig. 
nated  as  ID'D  or  discipline.*  To  this  chief  end, 
the  holding  his  son  to  discipline,  to  obedience, 
and  the  cherishing  of  his  wholesome  words  and 
teachings,  all  the  other  prominent  ideas  which 
find  expression  in  the  father's  discourse  are 
made  subservient;  the  exhibition  of  wisdom  as 
the  one  costly  jewel,  whose  acquisition  is  above 
every  other,  and  if  necessary,  at  the  cost  of  all 
other  possessions,  to  be  sought  and  secured  (vers. 
5-9;  comp.  Matth.  xiii.  44-46);  the  emphatic 
admonition  to  be  subject  to  "discipline,"  and 
not  to  let  it  go,  even  because  it  is  the  life  of  the 
true  and  obedient  child  of  God  (ver.  13) ;  the 
clear  delineation  of  the  two  paths;  the  way  of 
darkness  in  which  the  ungodly  walk,  and  the  way 
of  light  in  which  the  pious  and  wise  are  found 
(vers.  14-19) ;  the  counsel  to  guard  with  all  dili- 
gence not  merely  the  word  of  truth  received  into 
the  heart  (vers.  20-22;  comp.  the  e/upvrog  ?.6yog, 
Jas.  i.  18),  but  also  the  heart  itself,  as  the  seat 
of  the  conscience,  and  the  source  of  all  life  and 
prosperity  (ver.  23);  and  finally  the  commenda- 
tion of  a  life  of  honor  and  integrity,  without 
turning  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the  left,  as  the 
salutary  result  of  that  inward  disposition  which 
is  both  pure  and  sure  (vers.  24-27).  That  a  pure 
heart,  i.  e.,  one  purified  by  the  grace  of  God,  and 
with  this  a  firm  heart,  i.  e.,  one  firmly  rooted  in 
truth  as  its  ground,  is  the  source  and  common 
fountain  for  the  successful  development  of  all 
the  main  activities  and  functions  of  human  life, 
those  belonging  to  the  sphere  of  sense,  as  well  as 
to  the  psychical  and  spiritual  realms,  and  that 
this  must  more  and  more  manifest  itself  as  such 
a  centre  of  the  personality,  sending  forth  light 
and  life ; — this  thought,  expressed  in  ver.  23  in 
a  way  peculiarly  vigorous  and  suggestive,  un- 
questionably presents  the  most  profound,  com- 
prehensive and  controlling  truth,  that  the  father, 
in  the  course  of  his  counsels  and  warnings,  gives 
to  his  son,  standing  before  the  portal  of  the 
school  of  life,  to  be  borne  with  him  on  his  way 
(comp.  the  advice  of  Tobias  to  his  son  :  Tob.  iv. 
6). — Yet  we  must  also  mark  as  one  of  the  most 
noteworthy  of  the  fundamental  ideas  of  this  dis- 
course, the  designation,  contained  in  ver.  7,  of 
wisdom  as  the  "  chief  thing,"  which  is  to  be 
sought  above  all  things  else,  and  to  be  prized 
above  all  possessions  and  treasures.  Yet  this 
passage  probably  requires  a  different  conception 
and  application  from  that  which  is  usually 
found, — so  far  forth  as  the  thought  which  has 
already  been  expressed,  e.  g.,  above,  in  chap.  ii. 
3  sq.,  "  that  one  must  practise  wisdom  to  become 
wise  "  (comp.  Mblanchthon  on  this  passage  ; 
Starke,  and  of  recent  writers,  especially  Elstee), 
probably  does  not  correspond  with  the  true  im- 
port of  np3n  TVWir\_ ;  the  expression  being  de- 
signed rather  to  serve  for  the  designation  of  wis- 
dom as  the  highest  end  of  all  human  counsel  and 
action. 


*  In  this  particular,  Bohlius  certainly  took  the  correct 
view,  that  in  his  otherwise  remarltable  classification  of  the 
contents  of  the  first  nine  chapters  according  to  the  seven 
principia  eitiices  divine  deditciiva  (Daath,  binah  Sechel 
Tuschijah,  Musar,  Msiinmah,  Ormah),  he  assigns  to'  the  4th 
chapter  the  Musar  (or  the  colUgata  informaiio,  as  he  explains 
the  term),    flee  Ethica  Sacra,  Disp.  VI.,  p.  65  gq. 


CHAP.  IV.  1-27. 


75 


HOMILETXC   AND   PRACTICAL. 

Jlomily  on  the  entire  chapter:  The  two  paths 
in  which  youth  can  walk, — that  of  obedience  and 
that  of  vice  (or  the  way  of  wisdom  and  that  of 
folly;  the  way  of  light  and  that  of  darkness; 
comp.  the  minute  picture  of  the  two  ways  in  the 
Ev.  Barnabse,  ^18-20). — Educational  Sermon: 
The  fundamental  principles  of  a  truly  Christian 
education  of  children,  exhibited  according  to  the 
standard  of  the  counsels  of  a  sage  of  the  Old 
Testament  to  his  son.  1st  principle:  True  wis- 
dom (which  is  equivalent  to  the  fear  of  God)  the 
highest  end  of  all  regulations  adopted  in  the 
educational  action  of  parents  (vers.  4-9) ;  2d 
principle  :  As  means  to  this  end,  an  earnest  in- 
sisting both  upon  the  reward  of  walking  in  the 
light,  and  upon  the  punishment  for  walking  in 
darkness  (vers.  10-19);  3d  principle:  Results  to 
be  anticipated  simply  from  this,  that  God's  word 
be  received  and  cherished  in  a  susceptible  and 
good  heart  (vers.  20-27). — Comp.  Stocker: 
Warning  against  evil  companionship:  1)  the  sim- 
ple command  that  one  must  avoid  evil  company 
(vers.  1-19) ;  2)  the  way  in  which  this  can  be 
done  (vers.  20-27). — Starke  :  How  David  admo- 
nishes Solomon :  1)  to  the  reception  of  wisdom 
(4-13) ;  2)  to  the  avoidance  of  impiety  (14-19) ; 
3)  to  the  practice  of  piety  (20-27). 

Vers.  4-9.  Starke  : — Should  the  case  arise, 
that  one  must  lose  either  true  wisdom  or  all  tem- 
poral good,  forego  rather  the  latter ;  for  wisdom 
is  better  than  gold  (chap.  xvi.  16;  Matth.  xix. 
29).  Honor,  accomplishments,  graces,  esteem, 
each  man  desires  for  himself.  If  thou  wouldst 
attain  this  wish  of  thine,  then  seek  wisdom  ;  she 
gloriously  rewards  her  admirers. — [Ver.  4. 
Bridges  : — This  heart-keeping  is  the  path  of  life. 
GODLBURN  : — Endeavor  to  make  your  heart  a 
little  sanctuary,  in  which  you  may  continually 
realize  the  presence  of  God,  and  from  which  un- 
hallowed thoughts  and  even  vain  thoughts  must 
carefully  be  excluded.]  —  Berleb.  Bible: — The 
two  conditions  of  the  Christian  life:  1)  its  com- 
mencement, the  seeking  and  finding  of  wisdom 
(ver.  7,  according  to  the  common  interpretation); 
2)  its  continuance,  dependent  upon  preserving 
wisdom,  and  thereby  being  preserved,  advanced, 
and  brought  to  honor  by  it  (vers.  8,  9). — [Ver. 
7.  Tbapp  :  Make  religion  thy  business  :  other 
things  do  by  the  by]. — Vers.  10-19.  Hasius  : 
To  set  one's  foot  in  the  way  of  good  is  ofttimes 
not  so  diiEcult  as  to  go  vigorously  forward  in  it. 
The  power  of  temptation  is  great ;  the  tinder  of 
vice  is  naturally  in  us ;  even  a  little  spark  can 
kindle  it. — Zeltner:  Impossible  as  it  is  that  a 
stone  fall  into  the  water  and  remain  dry,  so  im- 
possible is  it  that  a  lover  of  evil  company  be  not 
betrayed,  Ecclesiast.  xiii.  7  ;  1  Cor.  xv.  33. — 
[Ver.  18.  Arnot:  The  sun  is  an  emblem  not  of 
the  justified,  but  of  the  justifier.  Christ  alone  is 
the  source  of  light:  Christians  are  only  its  re- 
flectors. The  just  are  those  whom  the  Sun  of 
righteousness  shines  upon;  when  they  come 
beneath  His  healing  beams,  their  darkness  flies 
away.  They  who  once  were  darkness  are  light 
now,  but  it  is  "in  the  Lord."] — Starke:  The 


pious  can  avoid  the  snares  of  destruction  through 
the  light  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  but  the  ungodly 
stumble  in  darkness  and  fall  into  the  pits  of 
death.  As  one  from  darkness  walks  on  in  dark- 
ness, so  from  light  into  light  (ver.  18;  comp.  Prov. 
xii.  28;  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  7;  Job  v.  12-U).— Berleb. 
Bible :  The  soul  in  its  conversion  to  God  must 
1)  hear  His  word;  2)  receive  the  influence  of 
this  word,  and  by  it  be  directed  to  the  way  of 
truth ;  3)  be  guided  by  God  in  this  way  ;  4)  un- 
der God's  guidance  and  protection  learn  so  to 
run  in  this  way  that  it  shall  nowhere  stumble  nor 
fall. — [Ver.  19.  Emmons:  Sinners  are  in  such 
darkness  that  they  are  insensible  to  the  objects 
that  are  leading  them  to  ruin  ;  thus  they  stumble 
a)  at  the  great  deceiver ;  b)  at  one  another ;  c)  at 
Divine  Providence  ;  d)  at  their  common  employ- 
ments ;  e)  at  the  nature  and  tendency  of  their  re- 
ligious performances;  /)  at  the  preaching  they 
hear ;  <?)  at  the  blindness  of  their  own  hearts.] 

Vers.  20-27.  J.  Lanqe  : — The  inner  spiritual 
life  begins  with  the  heart.  As  is  the  heart  so  are 
all  its  issues  ;  for  "from  the  heart  proceed  evil 
thoughts,"  etc.,  Matth.  xv.  19;  xii.  &^.— Ber- 
leb. Bible:  The  heart  must  keep  the  doctrine, 
and  the  doctrine  the  heart.  Both  are  so  inti- 
mately connected  that  neither  can  be  without  the 
other.  .  .  .  Nature  herself  in  the  natural  heart 
shows  with  what  care  we  must  keep  the  spiritual 
(ethical)  heart.  In  this  we  can  never  be  too 
precise,  too  sharp,  or  too  careful.  If  we  guard 
our  house,  much  more  must  the  heart  be 
guarded;  the  watches  must  there  be  doubled, 
etc. — In  this  all  the  duties  of  a  door-keeper  com- 
bine, reminding  us  who  goes  in  and  out,  what 
sort  of  thoughts  enter  into  the  heart,  what  sort 
of  desires  go  out,  etc.  Self-denial  is  the  best 
means  to  such  a  keeping  of  the  heart.  It  must 
stand  as  porter  before  the  heart's  door ;  and  the 
cross  and  the  patience  of  Christ  is  the  best  door 
of  the  heart,  well  preserved  with  bolts  and  bars 
against  all  intrusion  or  violence. — Saurin  (ser- 
mon on  ver.  26) : — On  the  needful  attention  which 
each  should  give  to  his  ways.' — Calwer  Handb.: — 
Threefold  counsel  in  regard  to  the  way  and 
means  of  continuing  in  the  right  path:  1)  give 
good  heed  to  thy  heart ;  2)  put  away  a  perverse 
mouth  (ver.  24) ;  3)  let  thine  eyes  look  straight- 
forward (vers.  25-27). — Von  GERLACH:^The 
first  and  most  immediate  thing  proceeding  from 
the  heart  is  words,  then  deeds.  Let  the  former 
be  above  all  things  truthful  and  sincere ;  the  lat- 
ter circumspect,  well  considered,  and  then  exe- 
cuted with  certainty  and  confidence  (vers.  26, 27). 
Comp.  Rom.  xiv.  23;  and  Seneca's  well  known 
maxim:  Quod  dubitas,  ne  feceris. — [Arnot:  We 
cry  to  God  in  the  words  of  David,  Create  in  me 
a  clean  heart,  and  He  answers  back  by  the  mouth 
of  David's  son.  Keep  thy  heart.  Keep  it  with 
the  keeping  of  heaven  above,  and  of  the  earth 
beneath, — God's  keeping  bespoken  in  prayer,  and 
man's  keeping  applied  in  watchful  effort. — Ver. 
27.  Trapp  :  Keep  the  king's  highway :  keep 
within  God's  precincts,  and  ye  keep  under  His 
protection. — Bridges  :  Though  to  keep  the  heart 
be  God's  work,  it  is  man's  agency.  Our  efforts 
are  His  instrumentality.] 


76  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


8.  Warning  against  intercourse  with  wanton  women,  and  against  the  ruinous  consequences  of 

licentiousness. 

Chap.  V.  1-23. 

1  My  son,  give  heed  to  my  wisdom, 
to  my  prudence  incline  thine  ear, 

2  so  that  thou  maintain  discretion, 
and  thy  lips  preserve  knowledge. 

3  For  the  lips  of  the  strange  woman  distil  honey, 
and  smoother  than  oil  is  her  mouth  : 

4  but  at  last  she  is  bitter  as  wormwood, 
sharp  as  a  two-edged  sword. 

5  Her  feet  go  down  to  death, 

her  steps  lay  hold  upon  the  lower  world ; 

6  the  path  of  life  she  never  treadeth, 

her  steps  stray,  she  knoweth  not  whither. 

7  And  now,  ye  children,  hearken  to  me, 

and  depart  not  from  the  words  of  my  mouth  ! 

8  Turn  away  thy  path  from  her, 

and  draw  not  near  to  the  door  of  her  house ! 

9  that  thou  mayest  not  give  to  others  thine  honor, 
and  thy  years  to  a  cruel  one ; 

10  that  strangers  may  not  sate  themselves  with  thy  strength, 
and  (the  fruit  of)  thy  labor  (abide)  in  a  stranger's  house, 

11  and  thou  must  groan  at  last       , 

when  thy  body  and  thy  flesh  are  consumed, 

12  and  say,  "  Why  then  did  I  hate  correction 
and  my  heart  despised  reproof? 

13  and  I  did  not  hearken  to  the  voice  of  my  teachers, 
did  not  incline  mine  ear  to  those  that  instructed  me  ? 

14  Well  nigh  had  I  fallen  into  utter  destruction 

in  the  midst  of  the  assembly  and  the  congregation !" 

15  Drink  waters  from  thine  own  cistern, 

and  flowing  streams  from  thine  own  well  spring ! 

16  Shall  thy  streams  flow  abroad 
as  water  brooks  in  the  streets  ? 

17  Let  them  be  thine  alone, 

and  none  belong  to  strangers  with  thee. 

18  Let  thy  fountain  be  blessed, 

and  rejoice  in  the  wife  of  thy  youth, 

19  the  lovely  hind,  the  graceful  gazelle ; 
let  her  bosom  charm  thee  always ; 

in  her  love  delight  thyself  evermore. 

20  Why,  my  son,  wouldst  thou  be  fascinated  with  a  stranger, 
and  embrace  the  bosom  of  a  wanton  woman  ? 

21  For  before  the  eyes  of  Jehovah  are  the  ways  of  man, 
and  all  his  paths  He  marketh  out. 

22  His  own  sins  overtake  him,  the  evil  doer, 
and  by  the  cords  of  his  sin  is  he  held  fast. 

23  He  will  die  for  lack  of  correction, 

and  in  the  greatness  of  his  folly  will  he  perish. 


CHAP.  V.  1-23. 


77 


GRAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 
Ter.  1. — [The  shortened  ImperatiTe  is  even  more  than  the  paragogic  entitled  to  the  iirst  place  in  its  clause;  here  lOH 
follows  its  object,  Bott,,  §960,  c.  ex.  (comp.  critical  note  on  It.  20).— A.] 

Ter.  2.— TntPT.    The  construction  in  the  Hebrew  is  the  same  as  in  chap.  ii.  8;  the  Inflnitive  with  7  is  followed  by 

the  finite  verb.    [^IVy  j  a  masc.  verbal  form  with  a  fern,  subject, — comp.  note  on  iv.  10.    For  emphasis  or  euphony  the  assi- 
milation of  the  3  is  sometimes  dispensed  with.    Bott.,  §1100,  3. — -A.] 

Ter.  14. — [*'r\*'''n)  a  Perf.  with  the  signification  of  apluperf.  subj.;  a  very  little  and  I  should  have  fallen.    Comp.  Bott., 

§947,  d.— A  .1 

Ver.  18  [Bott.,  §  964,  6f  makes  ^HI^  an  example  of  the  desponsive  use  of  the  Jnssive,  and  therefore  makes  it  more  than 

the  expression  of  a  wish  (see  Exeg.  notes);  it  becomes  an  anticipation  or  promise. — A.J 

Ver.  22. — [IJ^^  z"",  a  unique  example  of  the  attachment  of  1,  a  more  common  suflBx  of  the  Perf.,  to  the  lengthened  form 

of  the  third  plur.'raasc.  of  the  Imperf.    See  Bott.,  §§  881,  A, — 1042,  B, — 1047,  ex.,  correcting  Ewald,  §250  b,  who  makes  the 
3  epenthetic.    See  also  Gbeen,  §  105,  c. — A.] 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  In  opposition  to  the  opinion  of  those  who 
refer  vers.  1-6  to  the  discourse  of  the  father  in 
ch.  iv.  4sq.,  consult  above,  p.  71.  J.  A.  Benqel 
appears  even  to  have  regarded  the  entire  fifth 
chapter  as  a  continuation  of  that  discourse,  for 
he  remarks  on  ver.  1,  "  Inasmuch  as  David's 
careful  directions  to  Solomon  bear  upon  un- 
chastity,  it  seems  likely  that  David  and  Bathsheba 
were  concerned  lest  Solomon  might  also  pursue 
a  course  like,  that  in  which  the  parents  sinned 
together  "  (see  Beitrdge  zu  J.  A.  Bengel's  Schrift- 
erkl'drung,  mitgeiheilt  von  Dr.  OsK.  Waeohter, 
Leips. ,  1865,"  p.  26).  But  the  sou  addressed  in 
the  preceding  chapter  was  conceived  of  as  a 
"tender  child;"  the  one  now  addressed  is  a 
young  man  already  married,  see  vers.  15-19. 
For,  as  in  the  similar  admonitions  of  the  6th  and 
7tk  chapters,  it  is  not  simple  illicit  intercourse, 
but  such  an  intercourse  within  marriage  rela- 
tions, adulterous  intercourse  with  lewd  women, 
that  constitutes  the  object  of  the  admonitory 
representations  of  the  teacher  of  wisdom. — 
Furthermore,  as  Bertheac  rightly  observes,  the 
passage  before  us,  in  its  substance  and  its  form, 
variously  reminds  us  of  chap,  ii.,  especially  in 
respect  to  its  form,  by  its  long  propositions  ex- 
tended through  several  verses  (3  sq,,  8  sq.,  15 
sq. ) .  As  the  three  main  divisions  of  the  discourse 
are  of  not  quite  equal  length,  we  may  with  HiT- 
ziG  distinguish  the  introductory  paragraph,  vers. 
1-6;  the  central  and  chief  didactic  section,  vers. 
7-20 ;  which  again  falls  into  two  divisions,  vers. 
7-14  and  15-20;  and  the  epilogue,  vers.  21-23. 

2.  Vers.  1-6.  My  son,  give  heed  to  my 
vrisdom,  etc. — Quite  similar  are  the  demands 
which  introduce  the  two  subsequent  warnings 
against  unchastity. — Chap.  vi.  20  and  vii.  1. — • 
So  that  thou  maintain  discretion^literally 
reflection,  niBin,  which  elsewhere  is  usually 
employed  in  a  bad  sense,  of  base  deceitful  propo- 
sals, but  here  denotes  the  wise  prudential  consi- 
deration, the  circumspect  demeanor  of  the  wise ; 
comp.  the  singular  in  ch.  i.  4. — And  thy  lips 
preserve  knovyledge. — The  lips — not  precisely 
the  heart,  chap.  iii.  1 — are  to  preserve  knowledge 
SB  far  forth  as  it  is  of  moment  to  retain  literally 
the  instructions  of  wisdom  and  often  to  repeat 
them. — Ver.  3.  For  the  lips  of  the  strange 
(reman  distil  honey. — The  "stranger"  is  the 
harlot,   as  in   chap.    iii.    16,     Her  lips    "drop 


honey  "  (^ISJ,  comp.  Ps.  xix.  11)  because  of  the 
sweetness  not  of  her  kisses  but  of  her  words. 
Comp.  the  quite  similar  representation.  Song  Sol. 
iv.  11,  and  as  a  sample  of  the  wanton  woman's 
words  that  are  sweet  as  honey,  Prov.  vii.  14  sq. 
— Smoother  than  oil  is  her  mouth. — The 
palate  (^PI)  as  an  instrument  of  discourse  occurs 
also  chap.  viii.  7  ;  Job  vi.  30 ;  xxxi.  30.  The 
"smoothness"  of  discourse  as  a  symbol  of  the 
flattering  and  seductive,  chap.  ii.  16 ;  vi.  24. — 
Ver.  4.  But  at  last  she  is  bitter — literally 
"her  last  is  bitter"  (comp.  xxiii.  32),  i.  e.,  that 
which  finally  reveals  itself  as  her  true  nature, 
and  as  the  ruinous  consequence  of  intercourse 

with  her. — As  wormwood  (nj^7,  for  which 

the  LXX  inaccurately  gives  x°^Vy  g^ill);  ^  well 
known  emblem  of  bitterness,  as  in  Deut.  xxix. 
18;  Jer.  ix.  15;  Am.  v.  7;  vi.  12.  It  is  "a 
plant  toward  two  feet  high,  belonging  to  the 
Genus  Artemisia  (Spec.  Artemisia  absinthium), 
which  produces  a  very  firm  stalk  with  many 
branches,  grayish  leaves,  and  small,  almost  round, 
pendent  blossoms.  It  has  a  bitter  and  saline 
taste,  and  seems  to  have  been  regarded  in  the 
East   as   also  a  poison,  of  which   the   frequent 

combination  with  tyXI  gives  an  intimation"  (Um- 
ereit;  comp.  Celsius,  Hierobot.  I.  480;  Oken, 
Naturgesch.  III.  763  sq.).— As  a  two-edged 
svrord — literally  as  a  sword  of  mouths,  a  sword 
with  more  than  one  mouth  (nrs  3^n,  comp.  Ps. 
oxlix.  6  ;  Judg.  iii.  16).  [The  multiplicative 
plural  is  sometimes  used  thus  even  of  objects  that 
occur  in  pairs ;  comp.  Bott.,  1 702,  3— A.]  "  The 
fact  that  the  surface  of  the  sword  is  also  smooth 
is  in  this  antithesis  to  the  second  clause  of  ver. 
3  properly  disregarded,"  Hitzig. — Vers.  5  and  6 
explain  and  confirm  more  fully  the  statement  of 
ver.  4. — Upon  the  lower  world  her  steps 
lay  hold — i.  e.,  they  hasten  straight  and  surely 
to  the  kingdom  of  the  dead,  the  place  of  those 
dying  unblessed.  [The  author  cannot  be  under- 
stood as  meaning  that  VlNE'  is  always  and  only 
the  place  of  those  dying  unblessed.  The  passage 
cited,  chap.  i.  12,  is  inconsistent  with  this, — so 
is  the  first  passage  in  the  0.  T.  where  the  word 
occurs.  Gen.  xxxvii.  35, — so  is  the  last  passage, 
Hab.  ii.  5, — so  are  many  intervening  passages, 
especially  such  as  Ps.  xvi.  10;  Eccles.  ix.  10.  If 
the  word  here  has  this  intensive  meaning,  it  must 


78 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


appear  from  the  connection.  See,  therefore,  Q"n 
in  ver.  6,  which  plainly  has  amoral  import.  Comp. 
Fuekst's  Handv). — A.]  Comp.  ii.  18  ;  vii.  27, — • 

and  on  VlKttf,  Hades,  the  lower  world,  i.  12. — 
The  path  of  life  she  never  treadeth.— The 

Terb  0^2,  here  just  as  in  iv.  26,  means  to  measure 
off  (not  to  "consider,"  as  Beetheau maintains), 
to  traTel  OTer.  The  particle  |3,  ne  forte,  stands 
here,  as  in  Job  xxxii.  13,  "independent  of  any 
preceding  proposition,  and  in  accordance  with 
its  etymology  signifies  substantially  '  God  forbid 
that,'  etc.,  or  'there  is  no  danger  that,'"  etc., 
HiTziG  ;  it  is  therefore  equivalent  to  "surely 
not,  nevermore."     Aben  Ezra,  Cocceius,  C.  B. 

MiCHAELis  and  others  regard  OvDH  as  second 
pers.  masc;  "vi'am  vitx  ne  forte  expendas,  vagantur 
orbitse  ejus"  ["lest  perchance  thou  shouldst  pon- 
der the  way  of  life,  her  paths  wander  ;"  which  is 
very  nearly  the  language  of  the  E.  V.].  But  the 
second  clause  shows  that  the  wanton  woman  must 
be  the  subject  of  the  verb.  Beetheau's  transla- 
tion is  however  also  too  hard  and  forced,  accord- 
ing to  which  the  first  clause  is  dependent  upon 
the  second,  but  it  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  negative 
final  clause  prefixed;  "that  she  may  not  ponder  (!) 
the  path  of  life,  her  paths  have  become  devious," 
etc.  [This  is  the  view  adopted  by  Holdkn, 
Stuart,  Wordsworth,  and  De  Wette  ;  Kamph. 
has  the  same  conception  of  the  relation  of  the 
clauses,  but  prefers  the  verb  einschlagen,  adopt  or 
enter — A.]  The  LXX,  Vulg.  and  other  ancient 
versions  already  contain  the  more  correct  inter- 
pretation, regarding  ID  a.?  here  essentially  equiva- 
lent to  N7  ;  only  that  the  emphatic  intensifying 
of  the  negation  should  not  be  overlooked. — 
[FuERST  (Handw.)  is  also  decidedly  of  this  opi- 
nion ;  he  renders  "  dass  ja  nicht"=so  that  by  no 
means ;  he  explains  the  idiom  as  representing  a 
necessary  consequence  as  an  object  contemplated. 
— A.] — Her  steps  stray,  she  knoweth  not 
vrhither, — IJ^J  is  here  doubtless  not  intended  as 
an  inceptive  ("they  fall  to  staggering"),  nor  in 
general  does  it  design  to  express  a  "staggering 
of  the  tracks  or  paths,"  a  figure  in  itself  inap- 
propriate. It  probably  signifies  rather  a  roving, 
an  uncertain  departure  from  the  way  {yagigressus, 

Vulg.)  ;  and  the  J^^iT  S7  which  is  connected 
with  it  is  not  to  be  explained  by  "  she  marks  it 
not,  without  her  perceiving  it,  unawares  "  (as  it 
is  usually  taken,  after  the  analogy  of  Job  ix.  5 ; 
Ps.  XXXV.  8)  [so  by  Notes,  Stuart,  Muensoh.; 
while  the  E.  V.  follows  the  old  error  of  making 
the  verb  a  second  person. — A.],  but  by  "she 
knows  not  whither,"  as  an  accusative  of  direc- 
tion subordinated  to  the  foregoing  idea  (Hitzio, 
De  Wette). 

2.  Vers.  7-14.  And  no^w,  ye  children, 
hearken  to  me. — T\r\y_\  draws  an  inference 
from  what  precedes,  and  introduces  the  following 
admonition  ;  comp,  vii.  24.  The  "  words  of  my 
mouth  "  are  the  specific  words  contained  in  ver. 
8  sq. — Ver.  9.  That  thou  mayest  not  give 
thine  honor  to  others — i.  n.,  as  an  adulterer, 
who  is  apprehended  and  exposed  to  public  dis- 
grace.— And  thy  years  to  a  cruel  one — i.  e., 


to  the  injured  husband,  who  will  punish  the  pa. 
ramour  of  his  faithless  wife  with  merciless  seve- 
rity,  perchance  sell  him  as  a  slave,  or  even  taka 
his  life.  [This  explanation  is  grammatically 
better  than  that  (of  Holben,  e.  g.)  which  makes 
the  "cruel  one"  the  adulteress,  and  more  direct 
than  that  (of  Stuart  and  others)  which  makes 
him  the  purchaser  of  the  punished  adulterer. — 
A.].  Comp.  vi.  34,  and  below,  ver.  14. — Ver.  10. 
That  strangers  may  not  sate  themselves 

with  thy  strength. — ^r>j  might,  strength,  is 
here  undoubtedly  equivalent  to  property,  posses- 
sions, as  the  parallel  -y^ii^,  thy  toils,  i.  e.,  what 
thou  hast  laboriously  acquired,  the  fruit  of  thy 
bitter  sweat  (Vulg.  laboris  tut),  plainly  indicates. 
The  idea  is  here  plainly  this,  that  the  foolish  para- 
mour will  be  plundered  through  the  avaricious 
demands  of  the  adulterous  woman  (comp.  vi. 
26),  and  that  thus  his  possessions  will  gradually 
pass  over  into  other  hands  (Ecolesiast.  ix.  6). 
A  different  explanation  is  given  by  Ewald,  Ber- 
theau,  Elstee  (in  general  also  by  Umereit); 
that  the  proper  penalty  for  adultery  was  accord- 
ing to  Lev.  XX.  10;  Deut.  xxii.  22  sq.;  John  viii. 
5,  stoning  ;  in  case,  however,  the  injured  husband 
had  been  somewhat  appeased,  the  death  penalty 
was  on  the  ground  of  a  private  agreement 
changed  into  that  of  a  personal  ownership,  the 
entrance  into  the  disgracefully  humiliating  con- 
dition of  servitude,  and  that  allusion  is  here 
made  to  this  last  contingency.  But  while  the 
superficial  meaning  of  vers.  9  and  10  could  be 
reconciled  with  this  assumption,  yet  there  is  no- 
thing whatsoever  known  of  any  such  custom,  of 
transmuting  the  death  prescribed  in  the  law  for 
the  adulterer  by  a  compromise  into  his  sale  as  a 
slave ;  and  as  the  entire  assumption  is  besides 
complicated  with  considerable  subjective  difficul- 
ties (see  Hitzig  on  this  passage),  the  above  ex- 
planation is  to  be  preferred  as  the  simpler  and 
more  obvious. — Ver.  11.  And  thou  must 
needs  groan  at  last — literally  "at  thine  end," 
i.  e.,  when  thou  hast  done,  when  all  is  over  with 
thee.  Dnj  used  of  the  loud  groaning  of  the  poor 
and  distressed  also  in  Ez.  xxiv.  23  ;  comp.  Prov. 
xix.  12 ;  XX.  2  ;  xxviii.  15,  where  the  same  word 
describes  the  roaring  of  the  lion.  The  LXX 
(kuI  /j.eTa/iel7)^-iiari)  appear  to  have  read  PDHJl 
a  gloss  containing  a  true  explanation,  but  need- 
lessly weakening  the  genuine  sense  of  the  word. 
— When  thy  body  and  flesh  are  consumed. 
1!?.^5^'  T?^^>  *•  ^■'  plainly  thy  whole  body;  the 
two  syuonymes,  the  first  of  which  describes  the 
flesh  with  the  frame,  and  the  second  the 
flesh  in  the  strictest  sense,  without  the  bones,  are 
designed  to  emphasize  the  idea  of  the  body  in  its 
totality,  and  that  with  the  intention  of  marking 
"the  utter  destruction  of  the  libertine"  (Um- 
breit).— Ver.  12.  Why  did  I  then  hate  cor- 
rection ? — Literally,  How  did  I  then  hate  cor- 
rection? t.  e.,  in  what  an  inexcusable  way? 
How  could  I  then  so  hate  correction? — Ver.  14. 
A  little  more,  ind  I  had  fallen  into  utter 
destruction — i.  e.,  how  narrowly  did  I  escape 
a  fall  into  the  extremest  ruin,  literally,  "into 
entireness  of  misery,  into  completeness  of  de- 
struction!" As  the  second  clause  shows,  the 
allusion  is  to  the  danger  of  condemnation  before 


CHAP.  V.  1-23. 


79 


the  assembled  congregation,  and  of  execution  by 
atoning ;  see  above  on  yer.  10. — Assembly  and 

congregation — Hebrew  7np  and  mj7 — stand 
ia  the  relation  of  the  convened  council  of  the  el- 
ders acting  as  judges  (Deut.  xxxiii.  4,  5),  and  the 
concourse  of  the  people  executing  the  condemn- 
ing sentence  (Numb.  xv.  35 ;  comp.  Ps.  vii.  7). 

For  lT\p  is  in  general  always  a  convened  assem- 
bly, convocatio;  mj7  on  the  contrary  is  a  multi- 
tude of  the  people  gathering  without  any  special 
call,  coetua  sive  muUiiudo. 

i.  Vers.  15-20.  To  the  detailed  warning  set 
forth  in  vers.  8-14  there  is  now  added  a  corre- 
sponding positive  antithesis,  a  not  less  appropri- 
ate admonition  to  conjugal  fidelity  and  purity. ^ — 
Drink 'waters  out  of  thine  own  cistern,  etc., 
i.  e.,  seek  the  satisfaction  of  love's  desire  simply 
and  alone  with  thine  own  wife.  "The  wife  is 
appropriately  compared  with  a  fountain  not 
merely  inasmuch  as  offspring  are  born  of  her, 
but  also  since  she  satisfies  the  desire  of  the  man. 
In  connection  with  this  we  must  call  to  mind,  in 
order  to  feel  the  full  povyer  of  the  figure,  how -in 
antiquity  and  especially  in  the  East  the  posses- 
sion of  a  spring  was  regarded  a  great  and  even 
sacred  thing.  Thus  the  mother  Sarah  is  com- 
pared to  a  well  spring,  Is.  li.  1,  and  Judah,  the 
patriarch,  is  spoken  of  as  'waters,'  Is.  xlviii. 
1;  as  also  Israel,  Num.  xxiv.  7  ;  Ps.  Ixviii.  26" 
(Umbreit).  Compare  also  Song  Sol.  iv.  12. — 
And  flowing  streams  from  thine  own  -well 
spring — With  113,  i.e.,  properly  "cistern,"  an 
artificially  prepared  reservoir,  there  is  associated 
in  the  second  clause  "1N3,  fountain,  i.  e.,a  natural 
spring  of  water  conducted  to  a  particular  foun- 
tain or  well  spring.  Only  such  a  natural  fountain- 
head  (comp.  Gen.  xxvi.   15-20)  can  pour  forth 

D'SlU,  l  c,  purling  waters,  living,  fresh,  cool 
water  for  drinking  (Song  Sol.  iv.  15;  Jer.  xviii. 
14).— Ver.  16.  Shall  thy  streams  flow 
abroad  as  water  brooks  in  the  streets? — 

■  To  supply  |3  (Gesenius,  Umbeeit)  or  7X  (Ew- 
ALD,    BEriHEAU,    Elster    [Stuakt],     etc.)   is 

.jiUeedless,  if  the  verse  be  conceived  of  as  interro- 
j.gative,  which,  like  Prov.  vi.  30  ;  Ps.  Ivi.  7  sq.,  is 
indicated  as  such  only  by  the  interrogative  tone. 
4 So  i^i&, unquestionable  correctness  Hitzig.  A 
vpurely  affirmative  conception  of  the  sentence, 
.  according  to  which  it  is  viewed  aa  representing 

■  the  blessing  of  children  born  of  this  lawful  con- 
jugal love  under  the  figure  of  a  stream  overflow- 
ing and  widely  extending  (Schultens,  Doder- 
LEO,    Von    Hopmann,    Schriftbew.,   II.,   2,  875 

[HOLDEN,  NoYES,  MnBNSCHER,  WORBSW.],  etc.) 
would  seriously  break  the  connection  with  ver. 
17.  As  to  the  subject,  i.  e.,  the  description  of  a 
wife  who  has  proved  false  to  her  husband  and 
runs  after  other  men,  comp.  especially  chap.  vii. 

12. Ver.  18.-  Let  thy  fountain  be  blessed. 

— 'iT'  "attaches  itself  formally  to  the  jussive 
Vn;  'of  the  preceding  verse"  (Hitziq),  and  so 
adds  to  the  wish  that  conjugal  fidelity  may  pre- 
vail between  the  married  pair,  the  further  wish 
that  prosperity  and  blessing  may  attend  their 
anion.     '3112  doubtless  used  of  substantial  bless- 


ings, i.  e.,  of  the  prosperity  and  joy  which  the 
husband  is  to  prepare  for  his  wife,  as  an  instru- 
ment in  the  favoring  hand  of  God.  This,  which 
is  Hitzig's  view,  the  connection  with  the  second 
clause  recommends  above  that  of  Umbreit,  which 
explains  ^113  as  here  meaning  "  extolled,"  and 
also  above  that  of  Bertheau,  which  contem 
plates  "children  as  the  blessing  of  marriage." — > 
And  rejoice  with  the  w^ife  of  thy  youth. — 
Comp.  Deut.  xxiv.  5;  Eooles.  ix.  9.  "Wife  of  thy 
youth,"  i.  e.,  wife  to  whom  thou  hast  given  the 
fair  bloom  of  thy  youth  (Umbreit).  Compare 
the  expression  "  companion  of  youth  "  in  ii.  17. 
In  a  needlessly  artificial  way  Ewald  and  Ber- 
theau have  regarded  the  entire  eighteenth  verse 
as  a  final  clause  depending  on  the  second  member 
of  ver.  17:  "that  thy  fountain  may  be  blessed, 
and  thou  mayest  have  joy,"  etc.  Hitzig  rightly 
observes  that  to  give  this  meaning  we  should 
have  expected  'H'!  instead  of  'H',  and  likewise 
nnptSl  instead  of  nD0-1,  and  that  in  general  ver. 
18  does  not  clearly  appear  to  be  a  final  clause. 
[Stuakt  makes  the  second  clause  final,  depending 
on  the  first,  which  is  also  unnecessarily  involved.] 
—Ver.  19.  The  lovely  hind,  the  graceful 
gazelle.' — Fitly  chosen  images  to  illustrate  the 
graceful,  lively,  fascinating  nature  of  a  young 
wife;  comp.  the  name  "gazelle"  ('3^,  Tu/3(i3d 
and  its  equivalent  Aop^ag  as  a  woman's  proper 
name ;  Acts  ix.  36  ;  also  Song  Sol.  ii.  9,  17  ;  viii. 
14.  Umbreit  refers  to  numerous  parallels  from 
Arabic  and  Persian  poets,  which  show  the  popu- 
larity of  this  figure  in  Oriental  literature. 
["  These  pretty  animals  are  amiable,  afi'ectionate 
and  loving  by  universal  testimony — and  no 
sweeter  comparison  can  be  found."  Thomson, 
The  Land  and  the  Book,  I.,  252— A.]— Let  her 
bosom  charm  thee  always. — Instead  of 
ri'lT,  her  breasts,  the  Versio  Veneta  reads  nTl 

TV-'  T  J  V 

her  love  {al  Taiirrig  ifuMm),  which  reading 
Hitzig  prefers  ("ihre  Minne").  A  needless 
alteration  and  weakening  of  the  meaning,  in  ac- 
cordance with  Song  Sol.  i.  2;  Prov.  vii.  18,  aa 
rendered  by  the  LXX.  Comp.  rather  the  remarks 
below  on  ver.  20. — In  her  love  delight  thy- 
self evermore.     T\SO    elsewhere  used  of  the 

TT 

staggering  gait  of  the  intoxicated  (chap.  xx.  1 ; 
Isa.  xxviii.  7),  hereby  a  bold  trope  used  of  the 
ecstatic  joy  of  a  lover.  That  the  same  word  is 
employed  in  the  next  verse  for  the  description 
of  the  foolish  delirium  of  the  libertine  hastening 
after  the  harlot,  and  again  in  ver.  23  of  the  ex- 
hausted prostration  of  the  morally  and  physi- 
cally ruined  transgressor, — and  is  therefore  used 
in  each  instance  with  a  somewhat  modified  mean- 
ing, indicates  plainly  a  definite  purpose.  The 
threefold  use  of    r\W    is  intended  to  constitute 

T  T 

a  climax,  to  illustrate  the  sad  consequences  of 
sins  of  unchastity. — Ver.  20.  Emphatic  sequel  to 
the  foregoing,  concisely  and  vigorously  summing 
up  the  admonitory  and  warning  contents  of  vers. 
8-19.  And  embrace  the  bosom  of  a  wanton 
■woman.  This  expression  (pn  p3nri)  testi- 
fies to  the  correctness  of  the  reading    ri'lT    in 

ver.  19. 

5.  Vers.  21-23.  Epilogue  for  the  monitory  pre- 
sentation of  the  truth  that  no  one  is  in  condition 


80 


THE  PROVEEBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


to  conceal  his  adultery,  be  it  ever  so  secretly 
practiced,— that  on  the  contrary  God  sees  this 
with  every  other  transgression,  and  punishes  it 
with  the  merited  destruction  of  the  sinner. — For 
before  Jehovah's  eyes  are  the  ways  of 
man,  and  all  his  paths  He  marketh.— (0^3 
here  also  not  to  "ponder,"  but  to  "  mark  out," 
see  note  on  Yer.  G.)  An  important  proof  text  not 
merely  for  God's  omniscience,  but  also  for  His 
special  proyidence  and  "  concursus"  [cooperation 
in  human  conduct].  Comp.  Job  xxxiv.  21;  xxiv. 
23 ;  xxxi.  4,  c/c— Ver.  22.  His  sins  overtake 
him,  the  evil  doer.  The  double  designation  of 
the  object,  by  the  suffix  in  'U'73V  and  then  by  the 
expression  "  the  evil  doer,"  added  for  emphasis, 
gives  a  peculiar  force.  Comp.  xiv.  13;  Ezek.  xvi. 
3;  Jer.  ix.  26.— By  the  cords  of  his  sin. 
Comp.  Isa.  V.  18,  and  in  general,  for  the  sentiment 
of  the  whole  verse,  chap.  i.  31,  32;  xi.  5;  xviii.  7; 
xxix.  6  ;  Ps.  vii.  15  ;  xl.  12  ;  John  viii.  34;  2  Pet. 
ii.  19.— Ver.  23.  For  lack  of  correction. 
This  is  undoubtedly  the  explanation  of  "ID'O  pX3, 
and  not  "without  correction"  (UiiBEEiT).  The 
3  is  not  circumstantial,  but  causal  (instrumental), 
as  in  the  2d  member. — As  to  the  meaning  of 
r\W  see  above,  remarks  on  ver.  19. 

T  T 

DOCTEINAL,  ETHICAL,    AND   HOMILETIC. 

That  our  chapter  holds  up  in  opposition 
to  all  unregulated  gratification  of  the  sexual 
impulses,  the  blessing  of  conjugal  fidelity  and 
chastity,  requires  no  detailed  proof.  It  is  a 
chapter  on  a  pious  marriage  relation,  appropri- 
ately attached  to  the  preceding,  on  the  right 
training  of  children  ;  for  pious  and  strict  disci- 
pline of  children  is  impossible,  where  the  sacred 
bonds  of  marriage  are  disregarded,  violated  and 
trampled  under  fo6t.  In  conformity  with  the 
thoroughly  practical  nature  of  the  doctrine  of 
wisdom  (the  Hhokmah),  the  author,  as  vers.  15- 
20  show,  completely  overthrows  all  the  demands 
and  suggestions  of  a  sensual  desire  that  has 
broken  over  all  the  sacred  bounds  prescribed  by 
God,  and  so,  as  it  were,  has  become  wild  and  in- 
sane, by  exhibiting  the  satisfaction  of  the  sexual 
impulse  in  marriage  as  justified  and  in  conformity 
with  the  divine  rule.  An  important  hint  for  a 
practical  estimate  of  the  contents  of  this  chapter, 
from  which  evidently  there  may  be  drawn  not 
merely  material  and  arguments  for  a  thorough 
treatment  of  the  Christian  doctrine  with  respect 
to  the  sixth  commandment  in  general,  but  spe- 
cially for  the  exhibition  of  the  true  evangelical 
idea  of  marriage,  in  contrast  with  the  extrava- 
gant asceticism  of  Romish  theology,  and  also  of 
many  sects  both  of  ancient  and  modern  times 
(Montanists'  Eustathians,  Cathari,  Gichtelites, 
e'.e.).  In  this  connection  1  Cor.  vii.  must  also, 
naturally,  be  brought  into  the  account,  especially 
the  5th  verse  of  this  chapter,  which  exhibits  the 
fundamental  idea  of  vers.  15-20  of  our  section, 
reduced  to  the  briefest  and  most,  concise  form 
that  is  possible  ;  with  the  addition  of  the  need- 
ful corrective,  and  the  explanation  that  is  ap- 
propriate in  connection  with  the  "  always  "  and 
"  evermore  "  of  ver.  19,  which  might  possibly  be 
misunderstood. 


As  a  homily,  therefore,  on  the  entire  chapter: 
On  the  right  "keeping  of  the  6th  commandment, 
a)  through  the  avoidance  of  all  unchastity  ;  b) 
through  the  maintenance  of  a  faithful  (vers.  15- 
20)  and  devout  (vers.  21-23)  demeanor  in  the 
sacred  marriage  relation.— Melanohthon  :  The 
sum  of  the  matter  is :  Love  truly  thine  own  wife, 
and  be  content  with  her  alone,  as  this  law  of 
marriage  was  at  once  ordained  in  Paradise 
(Gen.  ii.):  "they  shall  be  one  flesh,"  i.  e.,  one 
male  and  one  female  united  inseparably.  For 
then  also,  even  if  human  nature  had  remained 
incorrupt,  God  would  have  wished  men  to  com- 
prehend purity,  and  to  maintain  the  exercise  of 
obedience  by  observing  this  order,  viz.,  hy  avoid- 
ing all  wandering  desires.  Comp.  Augustine: 
Marriage  before  the  fall  was  ordained  for  duty, 
after  the  fall  for  a  remedy. 

Vers.  1-4.  Eoard  : — A  harlot  is  the  devil's  de- 
coy, and  becomes  to  many  a  tree  of  death  unto 
death.  The  fleshly  and  the  spiritual  harlot  most 
fill  hell  (chap.  vii.  27).  The  devil  comes  first 
with  sweetness  and  friendliness,  to  betray  man, 
afterward  however  with  bitterness,  to  destroy 
the  soul. — [Ver.  3.  Trap?  :  There  is  no  such 
pleasure  as  to  have  overcome  an  offered  plea- 
sure ;  neither  is  there  any  greater  conquest 
than  that  that  is  gotten  over  a  man's  corrup- 
tions.]— Stakke:  Beware  of  the  spiritual  anti- 
christian  harlot,  who  tempts  the  whole  world  to 
idolatry,  and  to  forsaking  the  true  God  (1  John 
V.  21). — There  are  in  general  many  allegorical 
interpretations  in  the  old  writers,  in  which  the 
strange,  lascivious  woman  is  either  partially  or 
outright  assumed  (as,  t.  g.,  more  recently  in  the 
Berleb.  Bible)  to  be  the  designation  of  "  the 
false  church,"  of  antichrist,  of  worldly  wisdom, 
etc.  [See  also  Wokdsw.  in  hoc.,  and  also  on  ver. 
19,  together  with  his  citations  from  Bede,  etc. 
— A.].  For  Evangelical  preaching,  naturally, 
only  a  treatment  that  is  partially  allegorical,  can 
be  regarded  admissible,  and  in  the  end  expedi- 
ent ;  such  a  treatment  as  consists  in  a  generali- 
zation of  the  specific  prohibition  of  unchastity 
into  a  warning  against  spiritual  licentiousness  or 
idolatry  in  general. 

Ver.  15-23.  Stakke  :  An  admonition  to  hold 
to  one's  own  wife  only  ;  1)  the  admonition  (16- 
17)  ;  2)  the  motives  :  a)  the  blessing  on  such  con- 
jugal fidelity  (18,  19)  ;  b)  the  dishonor  (20,  21) 
and  c)  the  ruinous  result  of  conjugal  unfaithful- 
ness (22,  23). — [Ver.  15.  Aknot  :  God  conde- 
scends to  bring  His  own  institute  forward  in  ri- 
valry with  the  deceitful  pleasures  of  sin.  All 
the  accessories  of  the  family  are  the  Father's 
gift,  and  He  expects  us  to  observe  and  value 
them. — H.  Smith  (quoted  by  Bridges)  :  First 
choose  thy  love  ;  then  love  thy  choice.] — Eoard  : 
A  married  life  full  of  true  love,  joy  and  peace,  is 
a  paradise  on  earth  ;  on  the  other  hand,  a  mar- 
riage full  of  hate,  unfaithfulness  and  strife  is  a 
real  hell. — Von  Gerlach  :  The  loveliness  and 
enjoyment  of  a  happy  domestic  relation  as  the 
earthly  motive,  the  holy  ordinance  of  matrimony 
watched  over  by  God  with  omniscient  strictness, 
as  the  higher  motive  to  chastity. — Calwer  Hand- 
buch :  Be  true  to  thine  own  wife  ;  therein  is  hap- 
piness !  Sin  against  her,  and  thou  becomest 
through  thine  own  fault  wretched! — [Ver.  21. 
Trapp  :  A  man  that  is  about  any  evil  should 


CHAP.   \I.   1- 


81 


stand  in  awe  of  himself;  how  much  more  of 
God! — Aiinot:  Secrecy  is  the  study  and  hope 
of  the  wicked.  A  sinner's  chief  labor  is  to  hide 
his  sin  ;  and  his  labor  is  all  lost.     Sin  becomes 


the  instrument  of  punishing  sinners — retribution 
in  the  system  of  nature,  set  in  motion  by  the  act 
of  sin]. 


9.  Warning  against  inconsiderate  suretyship. 
Chap.  VI.  1-5. 

1  My  son,  if  thou  hast  become  surety  for  thy  neighbor, 
hast  given  thine  hand  to  a  stranger-; 

2  if  thou  art  entangled  through  the  words  of  thy  mouth, 
art  snared  by  the  words  of  thy  mouth  : 

3  then  do  this,  my  son,  and  free  thyself, 

since  thou  hast  come  into  the  hand  of  thy  neighbor : 
go,  bestir  thyself,  and  importune  thy  neighbor! 

4  Give  no  sleep  to  thine  eyes, 
nor  slumber  to  thine  eyelids ; 

5  free  thyself,  like  a  roe,  from  his  hand, 

and  like  a  bird  from  the  hand  of  the  fowler. 

10.  Kebuke  of  the  sluggard. 
Chap.  VI.  6-11. 

6  Go  to  the  ant  thou  sluggard ; 
consider  her  ways  and  be  wise  I 

7  which  hath  no  governor, 
director,  or  ruler ; 

8  (yet)  she  prepareth  in  summer  her  food, 
she  gathereth  in  harvest  her  store ! 

9  How  long  wilt  thou  lie,  O  sluggard? 
when  wilt  thou  rise  from  thy  sleep? 

10  "A  little  sleep,  a  little  slumber, 

a  little  folding  of  the  hands  to  rest ;" — 

11  then  Cometh  thy  poverty  like  a  robber, 
and  thy  want  as  an  armed  man ! 

11.  Warning  against  deceit  and  violent  dealing. 
Chap.  VI.  12-19. 

12  A  worthless  creature  is  the  deceiver, 

he  that  walketh  in  perverseness  of  speech  ; 

13  he  who  winketh  with  his  eye,  who  speaketh  with  his  foot, 
who  hinteth  with  his  finger. 

14  Perverseness  is  in  his  heart, 
he  deviseth  evil  at  all  times ; 
he  stirreth  up  strifes. 

15  Therefore  suddenly  shall  his  destruction  come, 

in  a  moment  shall  he  be  destroyed,  and  there  is  no  remedy. 

16  These  six  things  Jehovah  hateth, 

and  seven  are  an  abhorrence  of  his  soul ; 

17  haughty  eyes,  a  lying  tongue, 

and  hands  that  shed  innocent  blood ; 
6 


82  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 

18  a  heart  that  deviseth  evil  plots, 
feet  that  make  haste  to  run  to  evil ; 

19  one  that  uttereth  lies  as  a  false  witness, 

and  one  that  stirreth  up  strifes  between  brethren. 

12.  Admonition  to  chastity  with  a  warning  delineation  of  the  fearful  consequences  of  adultery. 

Chap.  VI.  20-35. 

20  Keep,  0  my  son,  thy  father's  commandment,  ' 
and  reject  not  the  law  of  thy  mother: 

21  bind  them  to  thy  heart  evermore, 
fasten  it  about  thy  neck. 

22  When  thou  walkest  let  it  guide  thee, 
when  thou  liest  down  let  it  guard  thee, 
and  at  thy  waking  let  it  talk  with  thee. 

23  For  a  lamp  is  the  commandment,  and  the  law  a  light, 
and  the  reproofs  of  corrections  are  a  way  of  life; 

24  to  keep  thee  from  the  vile  woman, 

from  the  iiattering  tongue  of  the  strange  woman. — 

25  Long  not  for  her  beauty  in  thy  heart, 

and  let  her  not  catch  thee  with  her  eyelids! 

26  For  for  the  sake  of  a  harlot  one  cometh  to  a  loaf  of  bread, 
and  a  man's  wife  lieth  in  wait  for  the  precious  life. 

27  May  one  take  fire  in  his  bosoni, 
and  his  clothes  not  be  burned? 

28  Or  may  one  walk  upon  coald, 
and  his  feet  not  be  scorched  ? 

29  So  he  who  goeth  to  his  neighbor's  wife; 

no  one  that  toucheth  her  shall  be  unpunished. 

30  Men  do  not  overlook  the  thief,  when  he  stealeth 
to  satisfy  his  craving  when  he  is  hungry ; 

31  if  he  be  found  he  must  restore  seven  fold, 
the  whole  wealth  of  his  house  must  he  give. 

32  He  who  committeth  adultery  is  beside  himself; 
he  that  destroyeth  himself  doeth  such  things. 

33  Stripes  and  disgrace  doth  he  find, 
and  his  reproach  will  not  pass  away. 

34  For  jealousy  is  man's  fierce  anger, 

and  he  spareth  not  in  the  day  of  vengeance. 

35  He  regardeth  not  any  ransom, 

and  is  not  willing  if  thou  increase  thy  gift. 

GRAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Vers.  1,  3.  The  form  ^yyl,  which  is  found  in  some  texts,  is  not  a  plural,  but  the  '-  "  indicates  In  panse  the  pro- 
nnnciationwith  as  in  Gen.  xvi.  6;  Ps.  ix.  15,"  Hit™.  Many  MSS.,  moreoTer,  exhibit  here  the  regular  form  fljrl 
[BoilCHEE.  ?  888,  n.  2,  utterly  rejects  the  possibility  that  ^'J^T  can  be  a  singular  form,  and  also  that  the  plural  form  'i 
.dmtasible  here.    Holden'8  renderinj;  "  thy  friends,"  is  incorrectly  based  upon  the  plural  readine  -A  1 

Ver.  8,  [Note  the  appropriate  change  of  tense.  The  future  [Oil,  "PCms  .olUumPS.  §  9«  b  and  the  perf. 
nn JN,  "Perfe^tum  effectivum,"  §  ?  940,  i  ;  950,  4;  the  continually  reourdng  " preparation,"  the  ensured  "  gIthering."-A.] 

Ver.  12.  Tj^n    stands  here  with  the  simple  accusative  without    3,   as  in  Mic.  il.  11;  Is.  xxxiii.  16 ;  Pa.  xv  2 

Ver.  13.  [yy^  used  here  alone  with  3,  usually  with  a  direct  object.  hh)0 ;  the  verb  is  in  usl  oniy  in  Piel  For 
the  occurrence  of  participial  forms  in  Piel  thus  resembling  Kal,  see  Fdeesi  (sub.  v.  '7^73),    and  Boit.  §  994  4  _A  ] 

Ver.  14.  For  the  explanation  UtholiVi    D'jnp    (instead  of  the  K'thibh  D'JID)   see  Hiizio  on  tUs  passage  who 

"  ^'^T\l  'Hh'e  fer'''nin*  ',?  "n^f^ST^'-.f ."  '5' ."""""«  '""'  ™'=''»'<'°  °f  'W»  substitution. 
Ver.  18.  lihe  lem.    n3n    used  of  that  which  is  distinctly  neuter.    See  Boxi.  §  862,  4.— A.]. 

Ver.  19.  The  n'3;^  c'an  be  regarded  as  a  relative  Imperf.,  with  which  the  participle  pSe^D  interchanges,  or  it  may 
ke  regarded  as  an  irregular  participial  form,  lengthened  from  nS'   P8.  ixvU.  12,  and  formed  like    X'y^    ijiijjj    ^c 


CHAP.  VI.  1-35. 


(So  HiTZio  explains  the  form)  [FDmaT  regards  it  an  Imperf.,  but  Bott.,  very  decidedly  as  a  Hiph.  participal,  hero  and  in  lii. 
17  ;  xiv.  26 ;  xlx.  5,  9 ;  Ps.  xii.  6 ;  xxvii.  12.    See  i  994,  9.— A.]. 

Tsr.  21.|  [D'^K'p^    a  maso.  eufflx  referring  to  fern,  noims.    Boti.  §  877,  3,  declares  it  characteristic  of  "secular  prose, 

popular  poetry,  and  the  majority  of  the  later  Hebrew  writers  "  thus  to  disregard  exactness  in  the  use  of  the  sufiBx  pro- 
nouns.   Chap.  XX.  12  is  the  only  similar  example  adduced  from  Proverbs.    Comp.  Geeen,  g  104,  g. — A.]. 

Ver.  32.    nTltffD  a  fhture  participle.    The  suffix  in  njtJ'J?'  refers  to  the  D'BSJ  which  is  readily  supplied  from  the 

PIE'S   ^SJ    of  the  first  member.    [Interpretations   divide  aa  to  the  subject  ani   predicate  clause  of  the  sentence. 

MuENSOHEU,  Notes,  Holden  agree  with  the  E.  V.  in  making  destruction  the  predicted  fate  of  the  adulterer ;  Stuart, 
Kamph.,  and  Dk  W.  agree  with  our  author  in  makii]^  adultery  the  natural  and  certain  course  oi  the  self-destroyer. — A.]. 


EXEGETIOAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

1.  The  sixth  chapter  consists  of  four  indepen- 
dent admonitory  discourses  of  unequal  length,  of 
quite  different  contents,  and  a  merely  external 
and  circumstantial  connection  (through  points  of 
contact,  as  between  "sleep  and  slumber"  in 
ver.  4  and  the  same  expressions  in  ver.  10 ; 
through  the  triple  warning  against  impoverish- 
ment: vers.  11,  15  and  26,  etc.).  This  is  as  ap- 
parent as  is  the  fact  that  it  is  only  in  the  last  of 
these  four  sections  that  the  subject  of  adultery, 
that  was  treated  in  the  fifth  chapter,  is  resumed. 
It  is  nevertheless  arbitrary  and  lacks  all  clear 
proof,  when  Hitziq  declares  the  three  preceding 
sections  to  be  the  addition  of  an  interpolator 
different  from  the  author  of  chaps,  i.-ix.,  who  is 
supposed  to  have  taken  them  from  some  old  book 
of  proverbs,  and  to  have  enlarged  the  third  by 
adding  vers.  16-19.  For,  it  is  argued,  this  nu- 
merical group  of  proverbs,  of  eight  members, 
clearly  shows  itself  to  be  the  personal  production 
of  the  interpolator,  who  was  led  by  the  sixfold 
division  of  the  categories  in  vers.  12-14  to  the 
composition  of  this  group  of  the  six  things  that 
the  Lord  hates.  As  though  this  parallel  sixfold 
or  rather  sevenfold  arrangement  in  vers.  12-19 
could  not  be  the  work  of  the  composer  of  the  en- 
tire group  of  proverbial  discourses  that  lies  be- 
fore us,  just  as  in  the  series  of  similar  numerical 
proverbs  contained  in  chap.  xxx.  (comp.  Introd. 
1 14) !  And  still  further,  as  if  there  had  not  been 
already  in  what  has  gone  before  at  least  one  iso- 
lated warning  against  unchastity  and  adultery, 
as  a  demonstration  of  the  fact,  that  in  thl&  con- 
nection also  the  advisory  and  admonitory  dis- 
courses that  relate  to  this  matter  (chap.  v.  1  sq.; 
vi.  20  sq.;  vii.  1  sq.),  must  not  necessarily  form 
a  whole  continuing  without  interruption,  but 
might  very  naturally  be  interspersed  with  other 
shorter  passages  of  differing  contents,  like  those 
forming  the  first  half  of  chap,  vi.! — Apart  from 
this,  HiTZio  is  undoubtedly  correct  in  judging, 
that  attention  should  be  called  to  the  close  con- 
nection of  vers.  16-19  with  vers.  12-15,  and  that 
the  first  mentioned  group  should  be  regarded  as 
a  mere  continuation  and  fuller  expansion  of  the 
import  of  the  last  mentioned.  A  special  argument 
for  this  is  the  literal  repetition  of  the  expression, 
"stir  up  strifes,"  from  ver.  14  in  ver.  19.  The 
Tiew  recently  prevalent  (see  e.  g.,  Umbbeit, 
Bektheau,  Elstbr  on  this  passage),  according 
to  which  vers.  16-19  form  a  separate  group  of 
verses  as  really  independent  as  the  rest  (1-5,  6- 
11,  etc.)  is  to  be  estimated  by  what  has  been  al- 
ready said.  The  correct  division  has  been  before 
presented  by  Delitzsch  (Hebzoq's  Real.  Encycl. 
XIV.,  698),  and  also  by  Ewald  (on  this  pas- 
sage). I 


'  2.  Vers.  1-5.  Warning  against  suretyship. — 
My  son,  if  thou  hast  become  surety  for 
tty  neighbor. — The  frequent  warnings  which 
our  book  contains  against  giving  security  for 
others  (comp.  in  addition  xi.  15 ;  xvii.  18 ;  xx.  16 ; 
xxii.  26),  are  to  be  explained  doubtless  by  the 
severe  treatment,  which,  in  accordance  with  the 
old  Hebrew  jurisprudence,  was  awarded  to  sure- 
ties ;  for  their  goods  might  be  distrained  or  they 
even  sold  as  slaves,  just  as  in  the  case  of  insolvent 
debtors  (2  Kings  iv.  1 ;  Matth.  xviii.  25  ;  comp. 
Ecolesiast.  viii.  13;  xxix.  18-25,  and  also  the 
warning  maxim  of  the  Greek  philosopher  Thales  : 
'■'hyyiia,  irapa  d'ara"  [give  surety,  and  ruin  is 
near],  and  the  modern  popular  proverb  "Burgen 
soil  man  wurgen'^  [the  alliteration  cannot  be 
translated ;  an  approach  can  be  made  to  it  in 
"  worry  a  surety  "]. — In  the  passage  before  us 
the  warning  is  not  so  much  against  suretyship  in 
general,  as  merely  against  the  imprudent  assump- 
tion of  such  obligations,  leaving  out  of  account 
the  moral  unreliableness  of  the  man  involved ; 
and  the  counsel  is  to  the  quickest  possible  release 
from  every  obligation  of  this  kind  that  may  have 
been  hastily  assumed. — Hast  given  thine 
hand  to  a  stranger. — The  stranger  (11)  is  not 

the  creditor,  but  the  debtor,  who  in  the  first 
clause  had  been  designated  as  "neighbor."  For 
according  to  Job  xvii.  3  the  surety  gave  his  hand 
to  the  debtor  as  a  sign  that  he  became  bound 
for  him.  Therefore  the  translation  of  Ewald 
and  Elsteb,  "for  a  stranger,"  is  unnecessary  as 
it  is  incorrect. — Ver.  2.  If  thou  art  entangled 
through  the  ■words  of  thy  mouth. — This 
second  half  of  the  protasis,  which,  according  to 
Hebrew  idiom,  is  still  dependent  on  the  "if"  of 
ver.  1,  refers  to  the  involved  and  embarrassed 
condition  of  the  surety  some  time  after  his  in- 
considerate giving  of  bonds.' — ^Ver.  3.  Then  do 
this,  my  son,  etc. — The  apodosis,  with  its  em- 
phatic warning  (which  extends  through  ver.  5), 
is  fitly  introduced  by  the  intensive  particle 
N13X,  now,  now  therefore.  Comp.  Job  xvii.  15 ; 
Gen.  xxvii.  32 ;  xliii.  11. — Since  thou  hast 
come  into  the  hand  of  thy  neighbor. 
HiTZio,  interpreting  the  '3,  as  in  ii.  10,  as  equi- 
valent to  DX,  translates  "if  thou  hast  come,"  etc. 
But  the  introduction  of  a  reason  is  here  more 
pertinent,  since  the  case  of  an  unfortunate  issue 
to  the  suretyship  had  already  been  assumed  in 
ver.  2. — Stamp  with  the  foot. — This  meaning 
of  DSinn,  which  is  attested  also  by  Ps.  Ixviii.  30, 
is  urgently  commended  by  the  following,  ' '  impor- 
tune thy  neighbor  "  ('"['.I^T  ^Hl).  [In  our  ver- 
sion of  this  phrase  in  its  connection  we  have 
substituted  Fuerst's  interpretation  which  is  also 
Holden's.  The  verb  is  found  only  here  and  in 
Ps.  Lsviii.  30.   Gesbnius  and  many  others,  start- 


84 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


ing  with  the  radical  idea,  "  to  trample,"  which 
they  find  in  ty3T  and  assume  in  DST,  translate 
the  Hithp.  in  both  passages,  "suffer  thyself  to 
be  trampled,"  i.  t.,  "prostrate  thyself."  [So 
the  E.  v.,  De  W.,  M.,  N.  and  St.].  Hupfeld 
(see  Comm.  on  Pa.  Ixviii.  31)  and  others  adopt 
the  indirect  reflexive  as  the  true  meaning, — 
"prostrate  before  thyself,  i.e.,  subdue."  Fuerst, 
distinguishing  the  two  verbs,  interprets  Dili  as 
meaning,  in  accordance  with  many  Arabic  ana- 
logies, "to  move,  stir,  hasten,"  and  the  Hithp. 
as  meaning  "sich  beeiUn,  sich  sputen,"  i.  e.,  in  the 
Imperative,  make  haste,  bestir  thyself.  Although 
this  rendering  has  not  in  its  favor  the  weight  of 
authorities,  the  internal  evidence  appears  to  us 
to  be  decidedly  for  it. — A.]  The  meaning  is  that 
one  should  in  every  way  force  the  heedless 
debtor — for  it  is  he,  and  not  possibly  the  creditor, 
that  is  here  again  intended  by  the  "  neighbor  " — 
to  the  fulfilment  of  his  obligations,  before  it  is 
too  late,  i.  e.,  before  the  matter  comes  to  the  dis- 
traint of  goods  or  other  judicial  processes  on  the 
part  of  the  creditor. — Ver.  5.  Free  thyself  as 
a  roe  from  his  hand,  and  like  a  bird,  etc. — 
Gazelle  and  bird — in  the  original  a  paronomasia: 
''2'i  and  Tli3X — are  appropriate  emblems  of  a  cap- 
tive seelsing  its  freedom  with  anxious  haste  and 
exertion.  The  way  is  already  prepared  for  these 
figures  by  the  expressions  employed  in  ver.  2. 
Instead  of,  T'O  "out  of  the  hand,"  all  the  old 
versions,  except  the  Vulg.  and  Venet.,  had  the 
reading  riDO,  "  out  of  the  snare."  But  this  ia  an 
attempt  at  rhetorical  improvement  (perhaps  ac- 
cording to  the  analogy  of  Ps.  xci.  3),  "in  which 
it  was  overlooked,  that  the  hand  was  introduced 
the  first  as  well  as  the  second  time  with  a  refer- 
ence to  the  giving  of  the  hand  on  becoming  se- 
curity "  (ver.  1).  Comp.  Umbkeit  and  Hitzio 
on  this  passage. 

8.  Vers.  6-11.  Go  to  the  ant,  thou  slug- 
gard.— The  ant,  ever  working  of  its  own  impulse 
quietly  and  unweariedly,  is  proverbial  as  an 
emblem  of  industry,  both  among  Orientals  and 
in  the  West;  comp.  Meidani's  Arabic  Proverbs, 
III.,  468 ;  Saadi's  Persian  fable  of  the  ant  and 
the  nightingale  ;  Aristotle's  Historia  Anim.,  9, 
26;  Virgil's  Oeorg.,!.,  186  sq.;  Horace,  Serm., 
I.,  1,33;  also  the  German  word  "dmsig"  (Old 
High  Germ,  emazic),  which  is  derived  from 
^^Ameise"   (Weigand,   deutsches  Worterb.,  I.,  35). 

gSee  Thomson's  Land  and  Book,  I.,  519,  520,  for 
lustrations  both  of  the  diligence  of  the  ant  and 
the  utter  laziness  of  Oriental  laborers,  "which 
have  no  governor,  director,  or  ruler." — A.] — Ver. 
7.  Which  hath  no  governor,  director  or 

ruler. — The  three  expressions  ]'2f  p  "lQt£'  and  7K?D 
are  relatively  like  the  Arabic  official  titles, 
"Kadi,"  "Wall,"  and  "Emir."  The  TQii'  in  par- 
ticular is  the  manager,  the  overseer,  who,  e.  g.,  in 
connection  with  public  works  urges  ou  to  labor 
(Ex.  V.  6,  14  sq. ). — Furthermore,  compare  chap. 
XXX.  27,  where  also  the  first  clause  of  ver.  8  re- 
curs, in  almost  literal  agreement  with  our  passage. 
Vers.  9-11  add  to  the  positive  admonition  to 
industry  an  emphatic  warning  against  the  evil 
consequences  of  its  opposite.  —  How  long 
Wilt  thou  lie,  O  sluggard  ?— Literally  :    till 


when  wilt  thou,  etc.  The  TO'IJ'  of  the  first 
clause  and  TID  of  the  second  stand  in  the  same  or- 

-  T 

der  as  in  Nehem.  ii.  6.  The  meaning  of  the  two 
parallel  questions  is  substantially  "Wilt  thou  con- 
tinue lying  forever  ? — Wilt  thou  never  rise?"  The 
double  question  is,  as  it  were,  a  logical  protasis  to 
the  apodosis  which  follows  in  ver.  11  after  the  in- 
terposing of  the  sluggard's  answer  (ver.lO):  "then 
Cometh  (Heb.  X31)  like  a  robber,"  etc.  Comp. 
Bertheau  on  this  passage. — A  little  sleep,  etc. 
— Ironical  imitation  of  the  language  of  the  lazy 
man;  literally  repeated  in  chap.  xxiv.  33. — A 
little  folding  of  the  bands — i.  «.,  a  little  fold- 
ing of  the  arms,  a  well-known  attitude  of  one  who 
is  settling  himself  down  to  sleep  (comp.  Eccl.  iv. 
5),  and  who  in  that  act  does  just  the  opposite  of 
tliat  for  which  the  hands  and  arms  are  naturally 
designed,   that  is,   for   vigorous    work. — Then 

Cometh  thy  poverty  like  a  robber. — ^^HD 
strictly  grassalor,  a  frequenter  of  the  roads,  a 
highwayman,  a  footpad  (LXX  :  /ca/cof  66o'fnopoQ). 
The  parallel  passage,  xxiv.  34,  has  the  Hithp. 

participle  llbnUD  without  3,  which  gives  the  far 
weaker  sense :  "  thencometh  quietly  thy  poverty." 
— As  an  armed  man — lit.,  as  one  armed  with 
a  shield  (|JD  t^'X) ;  for  even  the  assailing  rob- 
ber, since  he  must  necessarily  be  prepared  for 
resistance,  must  carry  with  weapons  of  offence 
the  means  of  defence. 

4.  Vers.  12-19.  Against  the  deceitful  and 
violent. — Concerning  the  relation  of  the  two 
divisions  of  this  group  of  verses,  the  first  of  which 
(vers.  12-15)  depicts  the  seven  modes  of  deceitful 
action,  while  the  second  (vers.  16-19)  expressly 
designates  them  a.  seven  hated  by  God,  repeating 
also  their  enumeration, — see  above,  |  1  of  these 
exegefical  comments. — A  worthless  man  is 
the  deceiver. — In  support  of  this  construction 
of  [IN  ty'N  as  the  subject  and  of  the  prefixed 

iV_l^  D""<  as  the  predicate  [a  construction  pre- 
ferred also  by  Notes,  Kamph.  ete.]  we  have,  be- 
sides the  arrangement,  especially  the  substitution 
of  13  □^X  for  13  t^'N,  which  was  rather  to  have 

TT 

been  expected  according  to  the  analogy  of  2  Sam. 
xvi.  7,  etc.  If  the  second  expression  were  only 
"  an  intensive  appositive  to  the  first"  (Bektheatj; 
see  also  Luther  [Wordsw.,  M.,  St.,  H.,  in  agree- 
ment with  the  E.  V.]  :  "a  heedless  man,  a  mis- 
chievous person"),  then  we  should  have  looked 
for  U/'X  in  both  instances.  "With  ]1N  l^'X,  "  man 
of  deceit,  of  falsity,  of  inward  untruth  and  vile- 
ness,"  comp.  furthermore  ]1X  'rip.  Job  xxii.  15; 
and  also,  below,  ver.  18. — He  that  walketh 
in  perverseness  of  speech. — Comp.  iv.  24; 
xxviii.  18.— Ver.  13.  The  three  participles  of  this 
verse  are  best  understood,  with  Hitzig,  as 
prefixed  appositives  to  the  subject  contained  in 

1373,  ver.  14,  which  is  indeed  the   same  as   that 

of  the  12th  verse. — Who  winketh  with  his 
eyes. — Comp.  x.  10  ;  Ps.  xxxv.  19. — Who 
speaketh  w^ith  his  feet — i.  e.,  gives  signs  in 
mysterious  way.9  (LXX  :  ctj/iaiuei),  now  with  one 
foot,  then  with  the  other. — Who  hinteth  with 


CHAP.  VI.  1-35. 


85 


hia  fingers. — HIID  Hiph.  part,  from  m'',  here 
used  in  its  most  primitive  meaning.  The  eril 
intent  involved  in  the  three  forms  of  the  language 
of  signs  as  here  enumerated  is  of  course  implied. 
— Ver.  14.  He  deviseth  evil  at  all  times. — 
Comp.  iii.  29. — He  stirreth  up  strife. — Lite- 
rally "he  lets  loose  contentions"  (Hitziq),  or 
"he  throws  out  matters  of  dispute"  (Behtheau); 
comp.  ver.  19  and  chap.  xvi.  28. — Ver.  15. 
Therefore  suddenly  shall  his  destruction 
come. — Comp.  i.  17;  iii.  25;  xxiv.  22, — 
Quickly  'will  he  be  destroyed,  etc. — Comp. 
xxix.  1;  Is.  i.  28;  xxx.  14;,  Jer.  xix.  11. — ■ 
Without  remedy. — Comp.  iv.  22. 

Ver.  16.  These  six  things  Jehovah  hateth, 
and  seven,  etc. — Of  the  origin  of  this  peculiar 
proverbial  form,  using  symbolical  numbers,  aform 
for  which  Arabic  and  Persian  gnomic  literature 
supply  numerous  illustrations  (comp.  Umbreit  on 
this  passage),  Elstek  probably  gives  the  simplest 
and  most  correct  explanation,  deriving  it  "purely 
from  the  exigencies  of  parallelism."  "  The  form 
of  parallelism  could  not,  on  account  of  harmony, 
be  sacrificed  in  any  verse.  But  how  should  a 
parallel  be  found  for  a  number  ?  Since  it  was 
not  any  definite  number  that  was  the  important 
thing,  relief  was  found  by  taking  one  of  the  next 
adjacent  numbers  as  the  parallel  to  that  which 
was  chiefly  in  mind."  In  a  similar  way  HiTzia 
on  Amos  i.  3  (where  the  numbers  put  into  this 
relation  are  three  and  four);  "To  the  number 
three  the  number  four  is  appended  to  characterize 
the  first  as  one  optionally  taken,  to  convey  the  idea 
that  there  are  not  understood  to  he  precisely  three  and 
no  more,  but  possibly  more."  At  any  rate,  those 
expositors  are  in  the  wrong,  who,  as  e.  g.,  re- 
cently Bertheau  and  Von  Gerlaoh,  find  the 
design  of  this  mode  of  numeration  in  the  fact 
that  the  last  of  the  enumerated  elements,  the 
seventh  vice  therefore  in  the  case  before  us,  is 
to  be  brought  out  with  especial  emphasis.  [Stan- 
ley [Hist.  Jewish  Church,  II.  p.  258),  adduces  this 
as  a  probable  example  of  the  "enigmas"  or 
"  riddles,"  which  were  one  of  the  most  charac- 
teristic embodiments  of  the  wisdom  of  the  wise 
king. — Arnot  :  There  ia  one  parallel  well  worthy 
of  notice  between  the  seven  cursed  things  here, 
and  the  seven  blessed  things  in  the  fifth  chapter 
of  Matthew.  The  first  and  last  of  the  seven  are 
identical  in  the  two  lists.  "  The  Lord  hates  a 
proud  look"  la  precisely  equivalent  to  "blessed 
are  the  poor  in  spirit;"  and  "he  that  soweth 
discord  among  brethren"  is  the  exact  converse  of 
the  "peacemaker." — A.].— Ver.  17.  Haughty 
eyes:  literally,  high  or  lofty  eyes;  comp.  xxx. 
13;  Ps.  xviii.  27;  cxxxi.  1;  Job  xxi.  22;  xl.  11 ; 
also  the  Latin  expression  grande  supercilium. — 
Hands  that  shed  innocent  blood.  Comp. 
i.  11  sq.,  and  Isa.  lix.  7,  with  which  passage 
ver.  18  also  corresponds  in  the  form  of  exprea- 
Bion,  without  for  that  reason  being  necessarily 
derived  from  it,  as  Hitzio  holds.  For  in  case 
of  such  derivation  the  order  of  worda  ought  to 
correspond  more  exactly  with  the  alleged  ori- 
ginal, as  in  Rom.  iii.  15-17. — Ver.  19.  One 
that  uttereth  lies  as  a  false  witness,  literal- 
ly, one  that  breathes  lies.  The  same  characteri- 
zation of  the  false  witness  ia  found  alao  in  chap. 
xiv.  5,  25;  xix.  5,  9.  As  respects  the  arrange- 
ment in  which  the  seven  manifestations  of  treach- 


erous dealing  are  enumerated  in  these  verses,  it 
does  not  perfectly  correspond  with  the  order  ob- 
served in  ver.  12-14.  There  the  series  is  mouth, 
eyea,  feet,  fingera,  heart,  devising  evil  counsels, 
stirring  up  strifes;  here  it  is  eyes,  tongue, 
hands,  heart,  feet,  speaking  lies,  instigating 
strife.  With  reference  to  the  organs  which  are 
named  as  the  instruments  in  the  first  five  forms 
of  treacherous  wickedness,  in  the  second  enu- 
meration an  order  is  adopted  involving  a  regu- 
lar descent  (ver.  16-19,  eyes,  tongue,  hands, 
etc.) ;  the  base  disposition  to  stir  up  strife,  or  to 
let  loose  controversy  (see  rem.  on  ver.  14)  in 
both  cases  ends  the  series. 

5.  Vers.  20-24.  Admonition  to  chastity,  prepar- 
ing the  way  for  a  subsequent  warning  against 
adultery. — Keep,  O  my  son,  thy  father's 
commandment,  etc.  This  general  introduc- 
tion to  the  new  warning  against  adultery  corre- 
sponds with  the  similar  preparatory  admonitions 
in  chap.  v.  1,  2  and  vii.  1-5,  and  serves,  like 
these,  to  announce  the  great  importance  of  the 
succeeding  warnings.  With  respect  to  ver.  20  in 
particular  comp.  i.  8. — Ver.  21.  Bind  them  to 
thy  heart  evermore,  etc.  So  chap.  iii.  3  and 
vii.  3.  On  account  of  the  plural  which  occurs 
in  the  verae,  with  which  the  aingular  ia  inter- 
changed in  ver.  22,  Hitzio  conjectures  the  inser- 
tion of  this  verse  by  a  late  interpolator,  and  that 
in  accordance  with  the  standard  furnished  by 
chap.  iii.  3,  in  which  place  the  passage  ia  held 
to  be  original.  This  is  arbitrary,  for  no  single 
ancient  manuscript  or  version  confirms  the  sus- 
picion. Just  as  well  might  ver.  22  be  declared 
interpolated,  inasmuch  as  only  in  this  is  the 
singular  form  found,  while  immediately  after,  in 
ver.  23,  the  double  designation  "commandment" 
and  "  doctrine"  returns. — Ver.  22.  When  thou 
vralkest  let  it  guide  thee.  The  contrast 
between  walking  and  sleeping  or  lying  ia  like 
that  in  iii.  23,  24. — When  thou  -wakeat  let 
it  talk  ^srith  thee.  The  accusative  suffix  in 
^n'tyri  is  here  employed  as  in  Ps.  v.  4  ;  xlii.  4  ; 
Zech.  vii.  5,  etc.,  for  the  designation  of  the  per- 
son to  whom  the  intercourse  indicated  in  the 
action  of  the  verb  relates.  With  regard  to  n'E? 
to  take,  to  converse,  comp.  also  Ps.  Ixix.  13  ;  with 
reference  to  the  sentence  as  a  whole  comp.  Pa. 
cxxxix.  18. — Ver.  23.  For  the  reproofs  of 
correction  are  a  ivay  of  life,  i.  e.,  they  lead 
to  life,  comp.  ii.  19;  iii.  2,  16.  "Reproofs  of  dis- 
cipline" (1D1D  mnjin)  corrective  reproofs,  re- 
proofs whose  aim  ia  correction. — Ver.  24.  Prom 
the  vile  ■woman,  atrietly  the  woman  of  evil, 
of  vileness.  J?1  (for  which  the  LXX  here  read 
)y^)  ia  therefore  a  aubstantive,  aa  in  the  phrase 
"the  way  of  evil"  in  chap.  ii.  12. — From  the 
flattering  tongue  of  the  strange  -woman  ; 
literally,  from  the  smoothness  of  the  tongue  of 

the  strange  woman.  For  instead  of  \'i'Wl,  from 
which  reading  of  the  Masoretic  text  the  meaning 
would  result  "  from  the  smoothness  of  a  strange 

tongue,"  we  must  doubtless  point  [Ity?  [construct 
state),  since  the  subject  of  remark  here  is  the 
strange,  wanton  woman  (just  as  in  ii.  16 ;  v.  20), 
while  the  thought  of  a  foreign  language  [yluaaT) 


86 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


aUorpia,  LXX)  is  altogether  remote  from  the 
context.  In  opposition  to  the  translation  of 
EwALD,  Bertheau  and  Elstek,  "from  the 
smooth-tongued,  the  strange  woman,"  comp.  Hii- 
ZIG  on  this  passage. 

6.  Ver.  25-85.  Warning  against  adultery  itself. 
— With  her  eyelids,  with  which  she  throws 
amorous  and  captiTating  glances  at  her  lover, 
comp.  Ecclesiast.  xxti.  9.  The  eyelids  (or,  more 
literally,  eyelashes)  are  here  compared  with  the 
cords  of  a  net,  as  in  Eccles.  xii.  3,  with  the  lattice 
of  a  window,  or  as  in  the  erotic  songs  of  the  Arabs 
and  Persians,  with  darts,  with  lances,  daggers  or 
swoi-ds. — Ver.  26.  For,  for  the  sake  of  a  harlot 
one  Cometh  to  a  loaf  of  bread,  i.  e.,  to  the  last 
bit,  the  last  morsel  of  bread,  as  a  sign  and  emblem 
of  utter  poverty  (thus  Sohultens,  C.  B.  Mi- 
CHAELis,  Umbreit,  Elster)  ;  or  again,  the  mean- 
ing may  be  to  the  begging  a  loaf  of  bread,  to 
beggary  (thus  Abes  Ezra,  Vatablus,  Rosen- 
mueller,  Elster,  Hitzig).  In  opposition  to 
the  translation  defended  by  most  of  the  ancient 
expositors,  and  recently  by  Ziegler,  Ewald, 
Berthead,  etc.,  "For  as  the  hire  of  a  harlot  one 
gives  hardly  a  bit  of  bread,"  or  as  others  prefer 
"merely  a  bit  of  bread,"  may  be  adduced  1)  the 
context,  see  the  2d  clause ;  2)  the  lexical  fact 
that  1j^  can  neither  mean  "hardly"  nor  "mere- 
ly;" 3)  the  fact,  historical  and  archEeological, 
established  by  Gen.  xxxviii.  17.  etc.,  that  the 
harlot's  reward  in  ancient  Palestine  doubtless 
amounted  to  more  than  a  mere  loaf  of  bread,  c.  ff. 
a  kid,  as  in  the  case  cited  from  Genesis,  or  a 
price  considerably  higher,  as  seems  to  follow 
from  Prov.  xxix.  3 ;  Ecclesiast.  ix.  6 ;  Luke 
XV.  30. — Lieth  in  -wait  for  the  precious  life. 
Very  appropriately  has  E'3p,  "life,"  the  predicate 
nip''  "costly"  connected  with  it;  for  its  value 
rises  above  all  mere  property ;  comp.  Ps.  xlix.  8. 
— Ver.  27-29.  The  meaning  is  this:  impossible  as 
it  is  that  the  clothing  on  one's  breast,  or  that  one's 
feet  should  remain  unharmed  by  scorching  if  fire 
be  brought  near  them,  so  inconceivable  is  it 
that  the  adulterer  should  follow  his  unlawful 
intercourse  without  evil  consequences  and  just 
retribution.  The  two  questions  in  vers.  27,  28 
imply  a  strong  negation,  like  the  interrogative 
nlauses  in  Amos  iii.  4-6.  Ver.  29  is  connected 
with  the  two  negative  antecedent  clauses  as  a 
correlative  consequent,  and  is  therefore  intro- 
duced by  ]3,  so. — Vers.  30,  31.  A  new  figure  to 
illustrate  the  punishment,  surely  impending  and 
severe,  which  threatens  the  adulterer. — Men 
do  not  overlook  the  thief,  etc. ;  literally 
"  they  do  not  contemn  it  in  the  thief"  The  im- 
perf.  im^  expresses  the  idea  of  custom,  that 
which  occurs  in  accordance  with  experience. 
[Interpreters  are  divided  between  the  two  ideas 
of  "scorn"  and  "disregard"  as  proper  render- 
ings of  the  verb.  Stuart,  Muensoh.,  Words. 
adopt  the  former  ;  men  do  not  despise  the  thief, 
though  he  must  be  punished ;  they  do  despise 
the  adulterer.  Words,  calls  attention  to  a  dis- 
position in  modern  society  to  reverse  this  judg- 
ment.    Notes,  Holden,  like  De  W.,  Fuerst  and 

our   author,    adopt   the  other  view. — A.]. To 

satisfy  his  craving  when   he    is  hungry. 
This  circumstance,  which  .exhibits  the  guilt  of  the 


thief  in  a  milder  light,  serves  evidently  to  dis- 
play the  punishment  that  befalls  the  adulterei." 
with  whom  he  is  here  compared,  as  one  more 
richly  deserved.  For  the  more  presumptuous 
his  crime,  the  less  excused,  or,  as  it  were,  de- 
manded by  his  necessities,  the  more  just  is  the 
punishment  that  comes  upon  him !  If  Hitziq 
had  taken  due  notice  of  this  meaning  of  ver.  30, 
which  is  transparent  enough,  he  would  have 
seen  in  advance  how  unnecessary  and  excessively 
artificial  is  the  attempt  to  explain  the  verse  as 
interrogative.  [Kamph.  adopts  his  view  but 
does  not  strengthen  it]. —  He  must  restore 
sevenfold.  According  to  the  prescriptions  of 
the  law  in  Ex.  xxi.  37;  xxii.  1  sq.,  it  should 
strictly  be  only  four  orfivefold  (comp.  the  publican 
Zaccheus,  Luke  xix.  8).  But  in  common  life 
these  prescriptions  were  probably  not  ordinarily 
observed :  the  injured  party  allowing  his  silence, 
his  declining  a  judicial  prosecution  of  the  mat- 
ter, to  be  purchased  at  a  higher  rate  than  was 
exactly  allowed.  Furthermore,  that  "  sevenfold" 
is  here  used  loosely,  only  as  a  round  number 
(comp.  Gen.  iv.  15),  and  is  not  designed,  as  might 
be  thought,  to  mark  the  highest  conceivable 
ransom,  appears  from  the  2d  member,  which 
suggests  the  probability  of  losing  "the  whole 
wealth  of  his  house." — Ver.  32  stands  in  the 
same  relation  to  the  two  preceding  as  ver.  29  to 
27  and  28  ;  it  expresses  the  conclusion  that  is  to 
be  drawn  from  the  meaning,  which  is  clothed  in 
the  form  of  an  analogy  or  parable,  with  refer- 
ence to  the  well-deserved  recompense  of  the 
adulterer.  It  is  therefore  hasty  and  arbitrary 
in  Hitzig  to  reject  this  as  a  spurious  gloss,  and 
to  find  in  ver.  33  the  direct  continuation  of  the 
thief 's  punishment,  which  has  been  depicted  in 
ver.  31. — He  that  destroyeth  himself  doeth 
such  things.  Literally,  "  whoso  will  destroy 
his  life,  he  does  it." — Ver.  83.  Stripes  and 
disgrace.  The  ^ii,  plaga,  may  here  very  well 
stand  in  its  literal  sense,  and  so  designate  the 
blows  with  which  the  adulterer  detected  in  the  act 
will  be  visited  by  the  husband  of  the  unfaithful 
wife,  and  will  be  driven  from  the  house  (Umbreit, 
Hitzig).— Ver.  34.  For  jealousy  is  man's 
fierce  anger,  i.  e.,  the  jealousy  (DNJp  as  in 
chap,  xxvii.  4)  of  the  injured  husband  is  a  fire 
blazing  fiercely,  burning  and  raging  with  all  the 
might  of  a  man  ;  comp.  "  the  hurling  of  a  man  " 
[or  as  others  "a  mighty  prostration"]  Is.  xxii. 
17.  The  2d  half  of  the  verse  explains  this 
somewhat  brief  expression,  "  man's  wrath," 
which,  moreover,  appears  to  be  chosen  not  with- 
out collateral  reference  to  the  more  rapidly 
evaporating  wrath  of  women. — Ver.  35.  He  re- 
gardeth  not  any  ransom,  literally,  "he  does 
not  lift  up  the  face  of  any  ransom,"  i.  e.,  does  not 
receive  it  as  adequate  to  allay  his  wrath — as  one 
lifts  up  the  face  of  a  suppliant  when  his  request 
is  granted  or  favorably  received. — And  is  not 
■willing,  i.  e.,  to  forego  his  strict  right  of  re- 
venge. 

DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

1.  The  warning  against  improvident  surety^ 
ship  in  the  unqualified  form,  and  the  urgent  and 
almost  passionate  tone  in  which  it  is  presented 


CHAP.  vr.  1-35. 


87 


in  vers.  1-5,  rests  upon  the  consideration  that 
"  all  men  are  liars  "  (Ps.  cxvi.  11  ;  Rom.  iii.  4), 
that  therefore  no  one  can  be  trusted  (comp.  Jer. 
xvii.  6;  "Cursed  be  the  man  that  trusteth  in 
man"),  that  every  neighbor  is  at  the  same  time 
in  a  certain  sense  a  "  stranger"  to  us  (see  above 
on  ver.  1),  in  a  word,  that  one  must  be  prepared 
for  manifestations  of  unfaithfulness,  or  unrelia- 
bleness,  on  the  part  of  any  one  whatever,  though 
he  stood  ever  so  near  us.  Hence  the  duty,  for 
the  sake  of  preserving  one's  own  independence 
and  sparing  one's  own  strength  for  his  personal 
work  (bodily  as  well  as  mental),  of  extricating 
one's  self  at  any  cost  and  as  speedily  as  possible 
from  every  relation  of  suretyship,  from  the  con- 
tinuance of  which  injurious  consequences  might 
result  to  our  own  freedom  and  welfare.  With 
the  admonitions  of  our  Lord  in  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount,  to  be  ready  at  all  times  for  the  lend- 
ing ana  giving  away  of  one's  property,  even  in 
cases  where  one  cannot  hope  for  the  recovery  of 
what  has  been  given  out  (Luke  vi.  30,  34,  36  ; 
comp.  1  Cor.  vi.  7)  this  demand  is  not  inconfliot. 
For  Christ  also  plainly  demands  no  such  readi- 
ness to  suffer  loss  on  account  of  our  neighbor, 
as  would  deprive  us  of  personal  liberty,  and  rob 
us  of  all  means  for  further  beneficence ;  and  yet 
this  sort  of  evil  result  from  suretyship  is  what 
the  author  of  our  passage  has  in  his  eye. 

2.  Also  in  the  subsequent  warning  against 
slothfulness  (vers.  6-11)  the  reference  to  the 
danger  of  impoverishment  appears  to  be  the 
main  motive,  brought  forward  with  especial 
emphasis.  This  is  above  all  things  else  the  pre- 
cise thing  to  be  learned  from  the  example  of  the 
ant,  that  it  is  important  to  gather  diligently  "in 
summer,"  that  one  may  not  suffer  in  winter, — 
that  the  "harvest  time,"  when  all  is  within 
reach  in  abundance,  is  the  time  for  earnest  and 
unceasing  toils,  that  one  may  be  able  calmly  to 
meet  the  later  seasons  of  want  which  oifer  to  the 
most  willing  and  vigorous  industry  no  opportu- 
nity for  acquiring.  Comp.  the  example  of  Joseph 
in  Egypt  (Gen.  xli.  sq.),  and  apply  all  this  to 
the  spiritual  department  of  labors  in  Christ's 
service,  e.  g.,  those  of  the  pastor,  the  missionary, 
tie. 

3.  The  six  or  seven  vices,  twice  enumerated 
in  different  order  and  form  of  expression,  against 
which  the  paragraph  vers.  12-19  warns  (comp. 
the  exegetical  notes  on  ver.  19),  are  at  the  same 
time  all  of  them  manifestations  of  hatred  against 
one's  neighbor,  or  sins  against  the  second  table 
of  the  Decalogue ;  yet  it  is  not  so  much  a  gene- 
ral unkindness  as  rather  an  unkindness  consist- 
ing and  displaying  itself  in  falseness  and  malice 
that  is  emphasized  as  their  common  element. 
And  only  on  account  cf  the  peculiarly  mischiev- 
ous and  ruinous  character  of  just  these  sins  of 
hatred  to  one's  neighbor,  is  he  who  is  subject  to 
them  represented  as  an  object  of  especially  in- 
tense abhorrence  on  the  part  of  a  holy  God,  and 
as  threatened  with  the  strongest  manifestations 
of  His  anger  in  penalties  (vers.  15,  16). 

4.  As  a  fundamental  proposition  for  the  suc- 
cessful avoidance  of  all  converse  with  impure 
wantons,  and  of  the  dangers  thence  resulting, 
there  is  introduced  in  the  1st  clause  of  ver.  25  a 
warning  even  against  the  very  first  beginnings 
of  all  unlawful  sexual  intercourse,  against  im- 


pure longings,  or  unchaste  desires  and  thoughts  of 
the  heart.  Comp.  the  last  commandment  of  the 
Decalogue  (Ex.  xx.  17),  as  well  as  Christ's  inten- 
sifying and  spiritualizing  of  the  Mosaic  prohibi- 
tion of  adultery  ;  Matth.  v.  28. — The  admonition 
also,  which  is  prefixed  as  introductory,  to  keep 
continually  before  the  eyes  and  in  the  heart  the 
teachings  of  Divine  wisdom  (comp.  Tob.  iv.  6), 
serves  as  an  emphatic  utterance  of  this  "Obsta 
prmapiis!"  or  the  exhibition  of  the  necessity 
that  the  very  first  germs  and  roots  of  the  sin  of 
unchastity  must  be  rooted  out. 

HOMILETIC    AND   PRACTICAL. 

In  the  endeavor  (o  comprehend  in  one  homi- 
letic  whole  the  four  main  divisions  of  the  chap- 
ter, one  would  first  of  all  need  to  have  clearly  in 
view  the  suggestions  given  in  vers.  2,  11,  15  and 
26  sq.,  with  reference  to  the  danger  of  sinking 
into  poverty  and  destitution,  and  to  employ  these 
in  fixing  his  central  idea.  In  some  such  way  as 
this  then :  Even  in  the  present  life  want  and  evil 
of  every  sort  are  wont  to  be  the  attendants  a)  of 
the  lighter  offences  1)  of  inconsiderateness  (vers. 
1-5)  and  2)  of  slothfulness  (vers.  6-11);  b)  of 
the  grosser  transgressions  and  vices,  such  as  re- 
sult 1^  from  pride  and  malignity  (vers.  12-19), 
and  2)  from  lust  of  the  eyes  and  sensuality  (vers. 
20-35). — Comp.  Stockek:  Against  unfaithfulness 
in  life  and  conversation,  as  it  displays  itself  1)  in 
suretyship  ;  2)  in  fulfilling  the  duties  of  one's 
calling :  3)  in  daily  converse  with  human  society ; 
4)  in  married  life. 

Ver.  1-5.  Stabke:  A  teacher  of  the  divine 
word  becomes  in  a  certain  sense  a  surety  to  God 
for  the  souls  of  his  hearers  (Ezek.  iii.  18);  there- 
fore must  he  watch  over  them  day  and  night,  that 
none  be  lost  through  fault  of  his  (Acts  xx.  28). — 
J.  Langb  :  In  Christ  our  friend  we  have  a  faith- 
ful surety  who  can  and  will  free  us  from  all  our 
debt. — WoHLFAETB  :  From  credulity  to  put  at 
risk  one's  property,  to  which  one's  children  have 
the  first  claim,  and  which  one  should  employ  only 
for  the  general  good,  and  thereby  to  give  an  im- 
pulse to  the  follies  and  sins  of  others,  is  quite 
as  ruinous  as  it  is  morally  blameworthy. 

Ver.  6-11.  Melanchthon  :  Diligence  is  the 
virtue  by  which  we  are  disposed  steadfastly 
and  firmly  for  God's  sake,  and  the  common  welfare, 
to  perform  the  labors  belonging  to  our  calling, 
with  the  aid  of  God,  who  has  promised  aid  to  those 
that  seek  it.  The  extremes  of  this  virtue  are  in- 
dolence and  abu.sy  officiousness  [iroTiviTpayiioavvri). 
The  indolent  omits  too  much ;  the  officious,  either 
from  excess  of  ardor,  undertakes  many  things 
that  are  not  necessary,  or  undertakes  by-works 
[irdpepya)  and  interferes  with  others'  vocations," 
etc. — Egard:  God  will  not  support  thee  without 
work,  but  by  work  ;  that  is  His  holy  ordinance 
(Gen.  iii.  19).  Do  thy  part,  and  God  will  do 
His.  ...  To  know  how  rightly  to  employ  time 
and  opportunity  is  great  wisdom.  Gather  in 
summer  that  thou  mayest  have  in  winter ;  gather 
in  youth  that  thou  mayest  have  in  old  age ! — £er- 
leb,  Bible :  Where  the  ways  of  Christianity 
are  not  directed  in  accordance  with  the  perfect 
law  of  liberty  (James  i.  25)  and  according  to  the 
impulse  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  but  according  to  any 
human  constitution,  there  men  go  more  foolishly 


88 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


to  work  than  the  ants  in  their  labor. — [Tkapp  : 
They  are  utterly  out  that  thiuls  to  have  the  plea- 
sure of  idleness,  and  the  plenty  of  painfulness]. 
Vers.  12-19.  Egaed:  A  proud  heart  has  never 
done  anything  specially  for  God's  honor  and  a 
neighbor's  good;  through  humble  hearts  God 
does  great  things.- — Starke  :  The  evil  heart  can- 
not long  be  hidden  ;  it  soon  shows  itself  in  evil 
gestures,  words  and  deeds. — (On  ver.  18) :  The 
heart  underlies  the  seven  vices  which  are  an 
abomination  to  God,  and  in  the  midst,  because  it 
is  the  fountain  from  which  evil  flows  in  all  direc- 
tions (Matth.  xii.  34,  So;  xv.  19).  The  Lord 
therefore  hates  not  only  the  actual  outbreakings 
of  sins,  but  also  the  devices  of  the  ungodly  with 
which  they  encompass  day  and  night. — ^(On  ver. 
16  sq.) :  Eyes,  hands,  tongue,  heart,  feet,  are  in 
themselves  good  and  well-pleasing  to  God ;  but 
when  they  turn  from  the  path  of  virtue  and  in- 
cline to  vice,  then  they  are  evil  and  cannot  please 
God. — WoHLFABTH :  IJefore  the  Lord  proud  eyes, 
false  tongues,  guilty  bands,  etc.,  cannot  stand. 
His  hand  lays  hold  upon  all  such  transgressors 
according  to  the  holy  law  according  to  which 
every  kind  of  evil  finds  its  penalty. — [Ver.  16, 
17.  W.Bates:  Pride  is  in  the  front  of  those  sins 
which  God  hates,  and  are  an  abomination  to 
Him.     Pride,  like  an  infectious  disease,  taints 


the  sound  parts,  corrupts  the  actions  of  every 
virtue,  and  deprives  them  of  their  true  grace  and 
glory. — J.  Edwards  :  It  is  vain  for  any  to  pre- 
tend that  they  are  humble,  and  as  little  children 
before  God,  when  they  are  haughty,  impudent, 
and  assuming  in  their  behavior  amongst  men.] 

Vers.  20-35.  Stookeb  (on  ver.  25) :  Solomon 
here  warns  chiefly  against  the  things  by  which 
one  may  be  enticed  into  adultery,  namely  1) 
against  evil  desire  and  lust  in  the  heart;  2) 
against  wanton,  over-curious  eyes. — Starke  (on 
ver.  25):  Since  evil  lusts  spring  up  in  the  heart, 
Solomon  would  have  us  at  the  very  beginning 
stop  up  the  fountains,  i.  e.,  suppress  the  very  first 
instigations  of  corrupt  flesh  and  blood  (James  1. 
14,  15).  For  it  is  always  more  difficult  to  extin- 
guish sparks  already  existing  than  to  guard 
against  the  heart's  receiving  any. — Von  Gek- 
LACH  (on  vers.  34,  35) :  The  fearful  rage  of  the 
jealous  husband  grows  out  of  the  deep  feeling 
that  the  wife  is  one  with  her  husband,  a  part  of 
him,  whose  worth  cannot  be  counterbalanced  by 
any  possession  however  great,  outside  of  him. — 
Comp.  J.  Lange  :  Just  as  little  as  the  adulterer 
taken  in  his  adultery  is  left  unpunished  by  the 
injured  husband,  so  little,  yea  even  less  will  the 
spiritual  adulterer  remain  unpunished  of  the 
Lord  (1  Cor.  iii.  17). 


13.  New  admonition  to  chastity,  with  a  reference  to  the  warning  example  of  a  youth  led  astray 

by  a  harlot. 

Chap.  VII.  1-27. 

1  My  son,  keep  my  words, 

and  treasure  up  my  commandments  with  thee. 

2  Keep  my  commandments  and  thou  shalt  live — 
and  my  instruction  as  the  apple  of  thine  eye. 

3  Bind  them  to  thy  fingers, 

write  them  on  the  tablet  of  thine  heart. 

4  Say  to  wisdom  "Thou  art  my  sister  !" 
and  call  understanding  "  acquaintance," 

5  that  they  may  keep  thee  from  the  strange  woman, 
from  the  stranger  that  flattereth  with  her  words. — 

6  For  through  the  windojv  of  my  house, 
through  my  lattice  I  looked  out, 

7  and  I  saw  among  the  inexperienced  ones, 

discerned  among  the  youths,  a  young  man  void  of  understanding. 

8  He  passed  along  the  street  near  her  corner, 
and  sauntered  along  the  way  to  her  house, 

9  in  the  twilight,  in  the  evening  of  the  day, 
in  the  midst  of  the  night  and  darkness. 

10  And  lo,  a  woman  cometh  to  meet  him, 

in  the  attire  of  a  harlot,  and  subtle  in  heart. 

11  Boisterous  was  she,  and  ungovernable ; 
her  feet  would  not  tarry  in  her  house; 

12  now  in  the  street,  now  in  the  market  places, 
and  at  every  corner  did  she  watch. 


CHAP.  VII.  1-27. 


S9 


13  And  she  laid  hold  upon  him,  and  kissed  am, 
put  on  a  bold  face  and  said  to  him, 

14  "  Thankofferings  were  (binding)  upon  me, 
to-day  have  I  redeemed  my  vows ; 

15  therefore  came  I  out  to  meet  thee, 

to  seek  thy  face,  and  I  have  found  thee. 

16  Tapestries  have  I  spread  upon  my  couch, 
variegated  coverlets  of  Egyptian  linen  ; 

17  I  have  sprinkled  my  couch 
with  myrrh,  aloes  and  cinnamon. 

18  Come,  let  us  sate  ourselves  with  love  till  morning, 
and  enjoy  ourselves  in  love! 

19  For  the  man  is  not  at  home, 
he  has  gone  a  long  journey ; 

20  the  purse  he  has  taken  with  him ; 

not  till  the  day  of  the  fiill  moon  will  he  return." 

21  She  beguiled  him  with  the  multitude  of  her  enticements, 
by  the  allurements  of  her  lips  she  led  him  astray. 

22  He  followed  her  at  once, 

as  an  ox  goeth  to  the  slaughter, 

and  as  fetters  (serve)  for  the  correction  of  fools — 

23  till  an  arrow  pierceth  his  liver: — 
as  a  bird  hasteneth  to  the  snare, 

and  knoweth  not  that  his  life  is  at  stake. — 

24  And  now,  ye  children,  hearken  to  me, 
and  observe  the  words  of  my  mouth ! 

25  Let  not  thine  heart  incline  to  her  ways, 
and  stray  not  into  her  paths. 

26  For  many  slain  hath  she  caused  to  fall 
and  all  her  slain  are  many. 

27  Ways  of  hell  (is)  her  house 

going  down  to  the  chambers  of  death. 

GEAMMATICAL   AND   CEITICAL. 

Ver.  7.  [nyDN,  the   )    consec.  omitted,  as  is  Bometimes  the  case,  the  form  resembling  a  simple  Intentional-    Gfr 

T    ■  T 
8EN.  Lehrgeh.  p.  874,  BoTT.  §  g  969,  6 ;  973,  5.     Stuart  (comm.  in  loc.)  seems  to  be  in  error  in  regarding  this  a  real  volun- 
tative,  and  rendering  '*  that  I  might  see  among  the  simple,  and  observe,  etc" — A.]. 

Vers.  8.  [For  the  form    ,1^3    instead  of  the  full  form    nn53    (with  the  ordinary  form  of  fern,  nouns  with  snff.),  sea 

T  •  TT  ■ 

BoTT.  §  724,  &.    Comp.  however  Exegetical  notes  in  regard  to  the  proper  reading. — A.]. 

Ver.  11.  [1 J3EJ?'',    used  of  repeated  recurrence  in  the  past — Fieris  mvUipUx  prsderiti  according  to  the  terminology  of 

BoiT.§949,/.— A.']  . 

Ver.  13.  In  the  verb    HT  VH    (lit.,  she  made  hard,  corrohoravit)  the  doubling  of  the  2d  radical  is  omitted,  as  in  (1711(1, 
T  ■■'•  T  '•  ■■ 

Jild.  XX.  40.    [Given  by  Bott.  g  500,  5,  as  an  example  of  the  simplifying  of  that  which  is  usually  doubled,  to  express  the 
idea  of  the  permanent,  gradual  or  gentle.     See  also  §  1123,  3.    Comp.  Green,  ^  141,  1 ;  Stuart,  ^  66, 11. — A.]. 

Ter.  15.  [Stuart's  rendering  of  the  last  clause  as  final,  "  that  I  might  find,  etc,"  is  unnecessary ;  it  ia  rather  a  simple 
consecutive. — A.].  . 

Ver.  18.    \j\\y)yr\i,    the  cohartaiive  use  of  the  Intentional.    Bott.,  f  955,  2.— A.]. 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  From  the  preceding  warnings  against  un- 
chastity  and  adultery  (chap.  ii.  16-19  ;  chap.  v. ; 
chap.  vi.  20-35)  the  one  now  before  us  is  distin- 
guished by  the  fact,  that  the  poet,  after  a  preli- 
minary general  introduction  (vers.  1-5  ;  comp. 
chap.  Ti.  20-24),  for  the  sake  of  delineating  more 
clearly  the  repulsiveness  and  various  conse- 
quences of  intercourse  with  wanton  women,  de- 
picts in  narrative  form  the  example  of  a  single 
adulterous  woman,  who  by  her  lascivious  arts 
betrays  a  foolish  youth  into  adultery.     This  ia 


therefore  a  didactic  narrative,  with  a  purpose  of 
earnest  warning,  here  presented  as  a  conclusion 
to  the  second  larger  group  of  admonitory  dis- 
courses. It  is  not  possibly  an  allegory,  for  no- 
thing whatsoever  in  the  text  points  to  such  a  con- 
ception of  the  adulteress,  by  virtue  of  which  she 
might  be  regarded  as  introduced  as  a  personifi- 
cation of  the  abstract  idea  of  folly  (in  contrast 
with  that  of  wisdom  personified).  Not  till  we 
come  to  chap.  ix.  13  sq.  do  we  find  such  a  pre- 
sentation of  folly  under  the  image  of  a  wanton, 
adulterous  woman. — In  contrast  with  the  exposi- 
tors of  the  ancient  church,  most  of  whom  gave 
allegorical  interpretations,  the  correct  view  is 


90 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


found  as  early  as  M.  Geier,  Vatablus,  Merce- 
Eus,  EoARD,  Hansen,  Michaelis,  Starke,  and 
also  in  nearly  all  the  moderns  except  Von  Gee- 
lach.  The  view  of  several  of  those  named,  es- 
pecially that  of  Starke,  that  the  whole  narration 
is  to  be  regarded  a  true  history,  an  actual  expe- 
rience of  the  poet,  lacka  sufficient  support  in  the 
style  and  form  of  the  delineation.  The  history 
may  just  as  well  be  imaginary  as  the  contents  of 
many  narrations  of  Christ, — e.  g.^  that  of  the 
good  Samaritan,  of  the  prodigal  son,  etc. 

2.  Vers.  1-5:   Introduction  in  a  general  form, 
in  which  ver.  1  reminds  us   of  chap.  i.  8 ;  ii.  1  ; 
Ti.  20;   so  ver.  2  of  iv.  4;  ver.  3  of  iii.  3  ;  vi.  21 ; 
ver.   5   of  ii.   16 ;    vi.    24. — Ver.    2.     And   my 
teaching  as  the  apple  of  thine  eye,  lit.  "  as 
the  little  man  in  thine  eye."     The  same  figura- 
tive description  is  found  in  Arabic  and   Persian 
(see  Umbreit  on  this  passage).     Comp.  also  the 
Greek  /cdp??,   KopdoLov    {^=y'^~P\^    [the  daughter 
of  the  eye]  Lam.ii.18)  and  the  Latin  jE)wj3a,jt>Mjt?!"Wa. 
The  apple  of  the  eye  is  also  in  Deut.   xxxii.  10; 
Ps.  xvii.  8  :  Zech.  ii.  12,  the  emblem  of  a  precious 
possession    guarded    with   peculiarly   watchful 
care. — Ver.  3.    Bind   them   to   thy  fingers, 
not  precisely  as  an  amulet,   as  Umbreit  thinks, 
but  as  an  ornament,   a  costly  decoration,  like  a 
ring;  comp.  Song  Sol.  viii.  B,  and   the  observa- 
tions on  iii.  3. — Without  adequate  reason  Hitzig 
regards  the  verse  as  spurious,   on  account  of  its 
partial  correspondence  with  Deut.  vi.  8;  xi.  18. 
As  though  the  figures  here  employed,  especially 
that  in  the  first  clause,  did  not  occur  very  fre- 
quently within  the  sphere  of  the  Old  Testament, 
and  that  in  every  instance  with  a  form  somehow 
slightly  modified!     Comp.  e.  g.,  Ex.  ?iii.  9,  16; 
Jer.  xxii.  24  ;  H.ig.  ii.  2.3. — Ver.  4.   "  Thou  art 
my  sister!"     Comp.   Job    xvii.  14;    xxx.   29; 
Wisd.  viii.  2.     The  par.allel   "acquaintance"  in 
the  2d  clause  corresponds  with  the   Hebrew  ex- 
pression   ^IID,    which   denotes  knowledge,  ac- 
quaintance, and  then  (abstract  for  the  concrete, 
as  occurs,  e.g.,  also  in   the   use   of  the  French 
connaisance  [and  the  English  "  acquaintance  "]) 
one  well  known,  a  friend,  familiaris.      The  same 
expression  is  found  .also  in  Euth  ii.  1  as  the  K'ri. 
Comp,  P.  Cassel  on  this  passage,  who  however 
both  for  that  passage  and  the  one  before  us  gives 
the  preference  to  the  K'thibh    ^^'I3     (comp.  Ps. 
Iv.  14 ;  Ixxxviii,  9)  as  the  more  primitive  reading, 
3.  Vers,  6-9.  The  foolish  young  man. — Through 
my  lattice  I  looked  out.     Comp.   the  quite 
similar  representation  in  the  song  of  Deborah 
Judges  V.  28.  ^W^  denotes  as  it  does  there  a  lat- 
ticed aperture,  an  arrangement  for  the  circulation 
of   fresh    air    (Hitzig), — Ver.    7.    And   I  saw 
among  the  inexperienced;  literally,  among 
the  vrjKLoic,  the  simple;   comp.  remarks  on  i.  4, 
where  the  same  expression  D''i<n£l  is  used,  synony- 
mous with  "IJJJI,  boy,  as  here  with  D'M.     It  is  not 
necessary,  with  Arnoldi,  Beetheau  and  Hitzig, 
to  explain   the  expression  in  exact  accordance 
with  the  Arabic  hy  juuenes  [young  men], — Ver. 
8.   Near  a  corner. — The  Masoretic  punctuation 
n|p  with  mappikin  the  D  (comp.  mn,  Job  xi.  9) 
represents  the  corner  as  hers,  i.  c,  the  corner  of 
the   adulteress,  the  corner  of   her   house, and 


many  recent  expositors,  e.  g.,  Umbreit  and  Hit- 
zig, translate  and  explain  accordingly.     But  in- 
asmuch as  according  to  ver.  12  (which  HiTzio, 
without  any  reason,  pronounces  spurious),  tie 
adulteress   is    accustomed   to   watch    "at  every 
corner,"  therefore  at  street  corners  in  general, 
it  is  not  quite  needful  to  refer  the  corner  here 
mentioned  to  her  dwelling.     All  the  ancient  ver- 
sions moreover  have  read  only  the   simple  T\i2 
(LXX  :  -Kaph  yavlav;  Ya\g.:  Juzta  angulum,  etc.). 
— And  sauntered  along  the  •way  to    her 
house. — Psychologically  it  is  pertinent  to  depict 
the  young  man  predisposed  to  sin  as  strolling 
before  the  house  of  the  adulteress,  and  this  as 
the  beginning  of  his  imprudence,  so  far  forth  as 
he  thus  plunges  himself  into  temptation.     The 
verb  "^^Ti  is  fairly  chosen,  as  it  always  expresses 
a  certain  care  and  intention  in  his  going.     We 
say  substantially  "he  measures   his    steps,   he 
paces  before  her  door"  (Umbreit). — Ver.  9.  In 
the  t-wilight,  in  the  evening  of  the  day, — 
The  accumulation  of  the  expressions  is  explained 
by  the  fact  that  it  was  fitting  to  characterize  the 
action  and  conduct  of  the  young  man  as  belong- 
ing to  the  works  of  darkness,  the  deeds  of  night. 
Comp,  Luke  xxii.  53 ;  Rom.  xiii.  1 2 ;  1  Thess.  v,  4-7, 
etc.     There  is  furthermore  no  contradiction  be- 
tween the  notation  of  time  in  the  first  clause  and 
that  in  the  second  ;  for  ^jiyj  strictly  signifies  not 
the  first  evening  twilight,  but  the  later  period  of 
evening  darkness,  from  9  o'clock  to  12  (see  Job 
vii.  4;  xxiv.  15),   and  so  the  time   immediately 
bordering  upon  the  true  black  night  or  midnight. 
— In  the  blackness  of  night — literally,  "  in 
the  pupil  of  the  night,"  comp.  xx.  20,  K'ri.    The 
iertium  comparationii  is  to  be  found,  doubtless  in 
both,  the  blackness  and  the  middle,  and  not  in 
the  first  alone,  as  Umbreit  holds.    Comp.  besides 
the  phrase   "heart  of  the  night "  in  the  poetic 
language  of  the  Persians  (see  Umeeeit  on  this 
passage). 

4.  Vers.  10-20.  Tlie  adulteress.— -lufheattiie 
of  a  harlot.— njll  n^K?,  dress  of  a  harlot  (comp. 
with  respect  to  D'tf',  dress,  apparel,  Ps.  Ixxiii. 
16),  stands  here  with  no  connecting  word  in  ap- 
position to  "  woman  ;"  a  woman  a  harlot's  dress, 
as  though  the  woman  herself  were  nothing  more 
than  such  a  dress.  Thus,  .and  with  good  reason, 
Beetheau  explains  [and  Words.],  while  Hitzig 
altogether  artificially  explains  rC'a  by  r\''W  (from 
r\W)  as  equivalent  to  nwn,  likeness,  and  accord- 
ingly translates  "  with  the'outward  appearance  of 
a  harlot;"  in  the  same  way  also  the  LXX:  tMof 

ixovcia  iropvtKdv. — Subtle  in  heart. 2h  mXJ 

is  strictly  "one  who  is  guarded  in  heart^' 
I.  e.,  one  whose  he.art  ia  guarded  and  inaccessi- 
ble, who  locks  up  her  plans  and  counsels  deep  in 
her  breast,  comp.  Is.  Ixv.  4.  Thus  Che.  B.  Mi- 
chaelis (citing  the  French  retenu),  Umbreit, 
Beetheau,  Elstee,  etc.,  and  from  earlier  times 
at  least  the  Vers.  Veneta:  irefvTui-yphTi  ttjv  mpSiav. 
[With  these  Woedsw.  is  in  substantial  agree- 
ment; "her  heart  is  like  a  walled  fortress,"  etc.\. 
The  other  ancient  versions  expressed  the  idea 
"  one  carrying  away  the  heart  of  the  young  man," 
as  though  they  had  read  n"1i;j  (so  also  recently 


CHAP.  VII.  1-27. 


91 


Abnoldi).  Ewald  explains  "of  hardened 
heart,  bold  and  confident ;"  Hitziq,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Arabic  and  comparing  the  aaucia  in 
Viugil's  JEneid,  IV.  1 :  "an  arrow  in  her  heart, 
wounded  by  love's  dart,"  and  therefore  ardent 
and  wanton — both  of  these  being  plainly  altoge- 
ther artificial  and  adventurous.  [Fuerst,  treat- 
ing the  a^ective  as  fem.  constr.  from  TISJ,  ren- 
ders "watching  (for  hearts  of  young  men"). — - 
Boisterous  -was  she  and  ungovernable. — 
Witb  the  first  epithet  (literally,  shouting)  comp. 
cbap.  ix.  13  ;  with  the  second,  Hos.  iv.  16,  where 
the  same  word  is  used  of  a  wild  heifer  that  will 
not  submit  its  neck  to  the  yoke. — Ver.  12.  Notw 
in  the  street,  etc. — That  we  have  only  here  a 
custom,  a  habit  of  the  wanton  woman  described, 
while  in  the  preceding  verse  we  have  delineated 
her  condition  in  a  single  instance,  is  an  entirely 
arbitrary  assumption  of  Hitzig's,  which  is  alto- 
gether opposed  by  the  use  of  the  Imperfect  in 
both  cases  (U32?',  ver.  11,  and  J'lXn,  ver.  12). 
Therefore  the  argument  that  the  verse  is  spuri- 
ous, resting  as  it  does  mainly  on  this  alleged 
difi^erence  in  the  substance  and  scope  of  the 
verse,  is  to  be  rejected  (comp.  above,  remarks  on 
ver.  8). — Ver.  13.  Put  on  a  bold  face. — Comp. 
chap.  xxi.  29;  Eccles.  viii.  1. — Ver.  11.  Thank- 
offerings  ■were  binding  upon  me — that  is, 
in  consequence  of  a  vow,  as  the  second  clause 
shows.  She  has  therefore  on  the  day  that  is 
hardly  gone  ("to-day" — the  day  is  here  repre- 
sented as  continuing  into  the  night)  slain  a  vic- 
tim in  aaorifloe  that  had  been  vowed  to  the  Lord 
for  some  reason  or  other,  and  has  prepared  for  a 
meal  the  flesh  of  this  animal,  which  in  accordance 
with  the  law.  Lev.  vii.  16,  must  be  eaten  on  the 
second  day,  at  the  latest.  To  this  meal,  which, 
to  judge  from  the  description  of  the  luxurious 
furnishing  of  the  chamber,  in  vers.  16  sq.,  is  no 
simple  affair,  she  now  invites  the  young  man. — 
Ver.  16.  Variegated  coverlets  of  Egyptian 
linen. — nupn  which  the  older  translators 
nearly  all  interpret  as  "variegated  coverlets,"  the 

larger  number  derive  from  the  Arabic  ^    ^V-    ^ , 

to  be  many  colored  (therefore  tapetes  versicolores 
s.  picH,  as  it  is  found  as  early  as  the  Vulgate)  ; 
Berthbau,  on  the  contrary,  derives  from  JDn= 
3yn  to  cut,  to  make  stripes  or  strips  (therefore 
striped  material) ;   Hitzig  finally  derives  from  the 

Arab.    ,    J^  ^     cotton,  appealing  to  Pliny,  IT. 

jff.,  XIX.,  1,  2,  according  to  whom  cotton  fabrics 
in  great  quantity  were  manufactured  from  native 
material.  The  first  of  these  explanations,  as  the 
simplest  and  best  attested,  deserves  the  prefer- 
ence.— ]1DX  is  equivalent  to  the  jEgypt.  Athi- 
ouniau,  linen,  and  is  found  in  Greek  also  in  the 
form  'o'96v7i  or  b&dviov.  [The  rendering  of  the 
E.  V.  "  with  carved  works,  with  fine  linen  of 
Egypt"  conforms  too  closely  to  the  primary 
meaning  of  the  verb  3an  "tocarve."  It  cannot 
refer  to  any  carved  frame  work  of  the  bed,  but 
rather  to  the  embroidered  figures  which  resemble 
carving — A.]. — Ver.  17.  I  have  sprinkled  nay 


couch,  etc. — Hitzig,  who  translates  the  verb  by 
"  I  have  perfumed,"  has  in  mind  a  mere  per- 
fuming of  the  bed  or  of  its  apparel  by  means  of 
the  swinging  of  a  censer  filled  with  myrrh,  aloes 
and  cinnamon.  But  while  ^jlj  does  properly 
signify  to  raise,  to  swing,  yet  the  signification 
"sprinkle"  is  easily  enough  derived  from  this; 
and  although  the  spices  in  question  were  not 
sprinkled  precisely  in  the  form  of  water  holding 
them  in  solution,  they  still  produced  a  satisfac- 
tory result  if  strewed  upon  the  coverlets  of  the 
couch  in  little  bits,  fragments  of  the  bark,  fibres 
or  scales.  In  no  other  way  than  this  is  it  to  be 
supposed  that  the  same  fragrant  materials  (with 
cassia)  were  employed,  according  to  Ps.  xlv.  8,  in 
perfuming  the  king's  robes  of  state  ;  comp.  also 
Song  Sol.  iii.  6;  iv.  14. — Ver.  18.  Let  us  sate 
ourselves  vyith  love,  etc. — Comp.  v.  19,  and 
also  the  phrase  D'^n  1132^,  Song  Sol.  v.  1. — 
Enjoy  ourselves  in  love. — Instead  of  the 
meaning  "enjoy"  or  "delight  one's  self,"  well 
attested  by  Job  xx.  18;  xxxix.  13,  the  old  inter- 
preters give  to  the  verb  in  this  instance  the 
stronger  meaning  "to  embrace  passionately,  to 
cohabit"  (LXX:  eyKyXcGd-cJ/iiev  epojTi.;  Aquila  and 
Theodotion:  GvuwepiK?i.F.icoi/j.Ev;  so  also  Hitzig: 
"let  us  join  in  love's  indulgence!").  But  it  is 
plainly  unnecessary  to  substitute  an  obscene  im- 
port, artificially  and  with  a  possible  appeal  to 
the  Arabic,  for  the  simpler  meaning,  which  is 
abundantly  attested  by  the  usus  loquendi  of  the 
Old  Testament.-^Ver.  19.  The  man  is  not  at 
home. — Let  it  be  observed  with  how  cold  and 
strange  a  tone  the  faithless  wife  speaks  of  her 
husband. — He  has  gone  a  long  journey. — 
Lit.,  "upon  a  journey  from  afar;"  the  idea 
"from  afar"  is  loosely  appended  to  that  of 
"journey  "  in  order  to  represent  not  so  much  the 
way  itself  as  rather  the  person  traversing  it  as 
far  removed. — Ver.  20.  The  purse  he  hath 
taken  -with  him — and  therefore  proposes  ex- 
tensive transactions  at  a  distance  from  home,  and 
will  continue  journeying  a  considerable  time. — 
On  the  day  of  the  full  moon  he  Tvill  return. 
— In  the  Hebrew  the  XD3  (for  which  in  Ps.  Ixxxi. 
4  we  have  the  form  n03)  forms  an  alliteration 
with  the  ^03  in  the  first  member,  which  is  pro- 
bably not  undesigned;  "the  verse  flows  so 
smoothly  along  (comp.  ii.  13)  and  one  imagines 
that  he  hears  the  sweetly  musical  voice  of  the  be- 
trayer "  (Hitzig).  Furthermore  the  "  day  of  the 
full  moon"  is  not  a  designation  of  the  full  moon 
of  the  feast  of  tabernacles  which  was  celebrated 
with  peculiar  festivities  (Umbreit,  Elstek),  but 
the  expression  plainly  relates  to  the  next  suc- 
ceeding full  moon.  Since  now,  according  to  ver. 
9,  the  time  to  which  the  narrative  relates  must  be 
about  new  moon,  the  cunning  woman  means  to 
hint  that  her  husband  will  not  return  for  about 
a  fortnight.     See  Hitzig  on  this  passage. 

6.  Vers.  21-23.  The  result  of  her  enticing  arts. 
Ver.  21.  With  the  multitude  of  her  entice- 
ments.— np7,  learning  (i.  5  ;  ix.  9)  is  here  iro- 
nically employed  of  the-  skilful  and  bewildering 
rhetoric  which  the  adulteress  has  known  how  to 
employ. — With  the  expression  "smoothness  of 
lips"  comp.  "smoothness  of  tongue,"  chap.  vi. 


02 


THB  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


24._Ver.  22.  At  once,  Hebrew  DNn3,  implies 
that  lie  had  at  first  hesitated,  until  this  fear  of 
his  to  take  the  decisive  step  was  overcome  by  evil 
appetite,  and  he  now  with  passionate  promptness 
formed  the  vile  purpose  and  executed  it  at  once, 
to  cut  off  all  further  reflection.  Here  is  evi- 
dently a  stroke  in  the  picture  of  the  profoundest 
psychological  truth. — As  an  ox  goeth  to  the 
slaughter. — Therefore  following  another,  and 
with  a  brutish  unconsciousness.  Comp.  the  cor- 
responding figure,  which,  however,  is  used  with 
a  purpose  of  commendation,  in  la.  liii.  7.  And 
as  fetters  (serve)  for  the  correction  of  the 
fool. — With  the  fetters  {DDi>  comp.  Is.  iii.  18)  we 
have  here  comp.ared,  of  course,  the  adulteress  who 
suddenly  and  by  a  single  effort  prevails  upon  the 
thoughtless  youth, — and  not,  possibly,  the  young 
man  himself  (as  Umbeeit  supposes,  who  finds  the 
significance  of  the  comparison  in  this,  that  the 
foolish  and  ensnared  youth  is  represented  first  as 
a  dumb  beast,  and  then  ns  a  simply  material  phy- 
sical thing,  as  a  mere  dead  instrument.  As  the 
obstinate  fool  (7'IX)  who  treads  a  forbidden 
path,  is  suddenly  caught  and  held  fast  by  the 
trap  lying  in  it,  so  has  the  deceitful  power  of  the 
adulteress  caught  the  foolish  young  man.  Thus, 
and  with  probable  correctness,  Elsteb,  and  long 
ago  many  of  the  older  expositors,  like  Sol. 
Glass,  Philol.  Sacra,  p.  738,  and  M.  Geieb.  on 
this  passage  (only  that  they  unnecessarily  explain 
by  an  hypallage:  "as  fetters  for  the  correction  of 
afool,"  in  other  words,  "as  the  fool  (comes)  to  the 
correction  of  fetters").  Somewhat  differently 
Berthe.^-U,  and  before  him  Luthee,  Starke, 
etc.  [and  recently  Stuaet]  ;  "  He  comes  as  if  to 
fetters,  which  are  decreed  for  the  correction  of 

the  fool ;"  but  to  supply  before  D3Jf  7N  from  the 
preceding  has  the  order  and  parallelism  against 
it.  [FuEKST  regards  the  noun  as  an  instrumental 
accus.,  and  translates  "and  as  in  fetters,  i,  e., 
slowly,  the  fool  is  led  to  correction," — but  re- 
gards the  evidence  as  all  indicating  a  defective 
text.  NoYES  and  Muenscher  treat  the  noun  as 
instrumental,  but  vary  the  construction  of  the 
other  words:  "  as  one  in  fetters  to  the  chastise- 
ment of  the  fool."  WoRDsw.  suggests  two  or 
three  renderings,  of  which  that  of  Notes  is  one, 
but  indicates  no  preference.  Zocklee's  render- 
ing is  brought,  we  think,  with  the  least  violence, 
into  correspondence  with  the  other  two  compari- 
sons, where  the  idea  is  plainly  that  of  a  certain 
fate,  notwithstanding  unconsciousness  of  it.  So 
fetters  await  the  fool,  though  he  may  not  be 
aware  of  it — A.]  Many  older  interpreters,  either 
failing  to  understand  the  figure,  or  judging  it  in- 
consistent with  the  context,  have  sought  relief  in 
more  violent  ways.  The  LXX,  Peschito  and 
Targums  explain  the  D3^  or  some  word  substi- 
tuted for  this,  as  referring  to  a  dog  (LXX  : 
uairep  kvuv  e-rrl  ^ecr/nnvc),  which  is  here  made  a 
parallel  to  the  ox  and  then  the  bird  in  the  fol- 
lowing verse ;  so  also  more  recent  commen- 
tators, like  MiOHAELis,  Kohlee,  etc.  The  Vul- 
gate probably  read  t2'33  instead  of  ODy,  since  it 
translates  "as  a  wanton  and  stupid  lamb." 
Others,  as  of  the  older  class  the  LXX,   Peschito, 

Targums,  Arabic  vers.,  etc.  altered  the  r]i<  to  TN 


stag,  and  connected  it  with  ver.  23 ;  so  als« 
more  recently  Schellihg  and  Rosenmuellee, 
e.g.;  "and  like  a  deer  rushing  into  fetters." 
HiTzio  finally  treats  the  passage  with  the  great- 
est violence,  since  he  transfers  ver.  23,  third 
clause,  to  the  place  of  the  2d  clause  in  ver.  22; 
in  this  line,  by  altering  DDJ?  to  Di'3  he  changes 
the  meaning  to  "for  the  fool  is  angry  at  correc- 
tion;" he  finally  transposes  the  first  and  third 
clauses  of  ver.  23,  so  that  the  two  verses  have 
this  general  import : 

Ver.  22.   "  He  followeth  her  at  once, 

as  an  ox  that  goeth  to  the  slaughter, 
and  as  a  bird  hasteneth  to  the  snare. 
Ver.  23.  For  the  fool  is  angry  at  correction, 
and  seeth  not  that  it  is  for  his  life, 
until  an  arrow  pierceth  his  liver." 
This  might  indeed  -have  been  originally  the 
meaning  of  the  passage  ;  but  inasmuch  as  neither 
manuscripts  nor  old  versions  give  any  evidence 
of  any  other  arrangement  as  having  ever  existed, 
the  whole  emendation  retains  only  the  value  of 
a  bold  hypothesis. — Ver.  23.  Till  an  arrow 
pierceth  his  liver. — Since  this  clause  plainly 
refers  to  the  young  man,  and  neither  exclusively 
to  the  ox  nor  the  fool,  the  two  examples  of  a 
self-destroying  folly  which  in  the  second  and 
third  clauses  of  ver.  23  are  compared  with 
him,  its  position  is  parenthetical  (Umbreit, 
Elstee,  Bektheau,  etc.);  for  in  tjie  following 
clause  still  another  example  is  added  to  the  two 
mentioned  before, — that  of  the  bird  hastening  to 
the  snare.  The  "liver"  stands  here  as  the  re- 
presentative of  the  vitals  in  general  (comp.  Lam. 
ii.  11)  as  in  some  instances  the  heart  or  again 
the  reins  (Ps.  xvi.  27  ;  Ixxiii.  21 ;  Prov.  xxiii. 
16,  etc.).  According  to  Delitzsoe,  Bibl.  Psychol., 
pp.  275  sq.,  the  liver  is  here  made  prominent  as 
the  seat  of  sensual  desire.  Since  the  ancient 
Greeks,  Arabians  and  Persians  in  fact  connected 
this  idea  with  the  organ  under  consideration, 
and  since  modern  Oriental  nations  also  predicate 
of  the  liver  what  we  say  of  the  heart  as  the  seat 
of  the  feelings  and  sensibilities  (e.  g.,  the  Malays 
in  Java,  see  Ausland,  1863,  p.  278),  this  view  may 
be  received  as  probably  correct.  By  no  means 
is  the  designation  of  the  liver  in  the  passage 
before  us  to  be  regarded  as  a  purely  arbitrary 
poetical  license  or  as  a  mere  accident. — And 
knoweth  not  that  his  life  is  at  stake,  liter- 
ally, "that  it  is  for  his  soul;"  the  expression 
lty3J3  signifies  "at  the  price  of  his  life,"  comp. 
Numb.  xvii.  3. 

6.  Vers.  24-27.  Concluding  exhortation  intro- 
duced by  "and  now,"  like  the  corresponding 
final  epilogue,  chap.  viii.  32  ;   comp.  also  v.  7. — 

Ver.  25.  And  stray  not,  ^nn  Sx,  [a  dehorta- 
tive]  from  Hj^n,  to  go  roaming  about,  comp.  DJE' 
chap.  V.  20. 

Ver.  26.  And  all  her  slain  are  many. 
D'DXi^,  meaning  "strong"  (Beetheau),  is  never- 
theless on  account  of  the  parallelism  with  D'21 
in  the  first  member  to  be  taken  in  the  sense  of 
"numerous,  many,"  comp.  Ps.  xxxv.  18;  Joel 
i.  5.  [Hold.,  Notes,  MnENscii.,  De  W.,  K.,  agree 
I  with  our  author  ;  Stuaet  and  Woeds.,  like  the 
I  E.  v.,  keep  closer  to  the  original  idea  of  strength, 


CHAP.  VII.  1-27. 


93 


"many  strong  men"  have  "been  her  victims. — 
A.]  With  the  expression  in  the  first  member 
oomp.  Judges  ix.  40. 

Ver.  27.  'Ways  of  hell — her  house.  "Her 
house"  is  the  subject,  having  here  a  plural  pre- 
dicate connected  with  it,  as  chap.  xvi.  25 ;  Jer. 
xxiv.  2. — Chambers  of  death.  Comp.  "  depths 
of  death"  or  "  oi  uell,"  chap.  ix.  18:  and  with 
reference  to  the  general  sentiment  of  the  verse, 
chap.  ii.  18  ;  v.  5. 

DOCTRINAL,     ETHICAL,     HOMILETIO     AND 
PRACTICAL. 

From  the  earlier  and  copious  warnings 
against  adultery  the  one  now  before  us  is  distin- 
guished by  the  fact,  that  while  chap.  v.  con- 
trasted the  blessing  of  conjugal  fidelity  and 
chaste  marital  love  with  unregulated  sexual  in- 
dulgence, and  chap.  vi.  20-35  particularly  urged 
a  contending  against  the  inner  roots  and  germs 
of  the  sin  of  unchastity, — ^our  passage  dwells 
with  special  fullness  upon  the  temptations  from 
without  to  the  transgression  of  the  sixth  com- 
mandment. It  also  sets  forth  the  folly  and  the 
ruinous  consequences  of  yielding  to  such  temp- 
tations, by  presenting  an  instructive  living  ex- 
ample. What  elements  in  this  vivid  moral  picture 
stand  forth  as  ethical  and  psychological  truths 
to  be  taken  especially  to  heart,  has  been  already 
indicated  by  us  in  the  detailed  interpretation. 
Aside  from  the  fact  that  it  is  nocturnal  rambling, 
that  delivers  the  thouglitless,  heedless  and  idling 
youth  into  the  hands  of  temptation  (ver.  9),  and 
aside  from  the  other  significant  feature,  that  after 
a  first  brief  and  feeble  opposition  he  throws 
himself  suddenly  and  with  the  full  energy  of 
passion  into  his  self-sought  ruin  (ver.  22  ;  comp. 
James  i.  15),  we  have  to  notice  here  chiefly  the 
important  part  played  by  the  luxurious  and 
savory  feast  of  the  adulteress  as  a  cooperating 
factor  in  the  alluremeot  of  the  self-indulgent 
youth  (see  ver.  14  sq. ).  It  is  surely  not  a  feature 
purely  incidental,  without  deeper  significance  or 
design,  that  this  meal  is  referred  to  as  preceding 
the  central  and  chief  sin ;  for,  that  the  tickling 
of  the  palate  with  stimulating  meats  and  drinks 
prepares  the  way  for  lust  and  serves  powerfully 
to  excite  sexual  desire,  is  an  old  and  universal 
observation,  comp.  Ex.  xxxii.  6  (1  Cor.  x.  17). 
"  The  people  sat  down  to  eat  and  to  drink,  and 
rose  up'to  play:"  as  also  similar  passages  from 
classical  authors,  e.  g.  Euripides,  Alcestis,  788; 
Plautus,  Miles  gloriosus,  111.,  1,  83 ;  Abeian, 
Anab.  Alex.,  II.,  5,  4 ;  and  the  well-known  Roman 
proverb  from  Terence  (Eunuch.,  IV.,  5,  6;  comp. 
Appul.,  Melam.,  II.,  11),  "Sine  Cerere  et  Libera 
friget  Venus"  [without  Ceres  (food)  and  Bacchus 
(wine)  Venus  (love)  is  cold]  :  and  finally  Tbetul- 


LIAN,  dejejun.  adv.  Psychicos,  c.  1 :  "  Lust  without 
gluttony  would  indeed  be  deemed  a  monstrosity, 
the  two  being  so  united  and  conjoined  that,  if  they 
could  by  any  means  be  parted,  the  sexual  parts 
would  first  refuse  to  be  attached  to  the  belly. 
Consider  the  body ;  the  region  is  one,  and  the  or- 
der of  the  vices  conforms  to  the  arrangement  of 
the  members  ;  first  thebelly,  and  all  otber  sensual- 
ity is  built  immediately  upon  gluttony ;  through 
indulgence  in  eating  sensual  desire  ensues,"  etc. 

In  the  homiletic  treatment  we  are  naturally 
not  to  dwell  too  long  upon  these  details,  lest  the 
entire  impression  produced  by  the  picture  of  the 
young  man  ensnared  by  the  adulteress  be  unduly 
weakened.  An  analysis  of  the  chapter  into 
several  texts  for  sermons  is  inadmissible  on  ac- 
count of  the  closely  compacted  unity  of  the  action. 
At  the  most,  the  five  introductory  verses  may  be 
separated  as  a  special  text  (comp.  Starke)  ;  yet 
even  these  would  better  be  connected  closely  with 
the  whole,  and  all  the  more  since  they  conform 
very  nearly  in  expression  and  contents  to  similar 
introductory  paragraphs  of  a  somewhat  general 
nature,  of  which  there  have  already  been  several 
(see  exeget.  notes,  No.  2). 

The  homily  that  should  comprehend  the  entire 
chapter  might  therefore  present  some  such  theme 
as  this :  ffow  the  dangers  from  temptation  to  un- 
chastity are  to  be  escaped.  Answer:  1)  By  avoid- 
ing idleness  as  the  beginning  of  all  vice  (ver.  6, 
sq. );  2)  By  shunning  all  works  of  darkness 
(ver.  9)  ;  3)  By  subduing  the  sensual  nature,  and 
eradicating  even  the  minor  degrees  of  evil  appe- 
tite (ver.  14  sq. );  4)  By  the  serious  reflection, 
that  yielding  to  the  voice  of  temptation  is  the 
certain  beginning  of  an  utter  fall  from  the  grace 
of  God,  and  of  eternal  ruin  (vers.  21,  27). — 
Comp.  Stakke:  Sin  is  like  a  highway  robber, 
that  at  first  joins  our  company  in  an  altogether 
friendly  way,  and  seeks  to  mislead  us  from  the 
right  path,  that  it  may  afterwards  slay  us  (Rom. 
vii.  11). — Imaginary  pleasure  and  freedom  in  the 
service  of  sin  are  like  gilded  chains  with  which 
Satan  binds  men.  Though  the  tempter  is  deeply 
guilty,  he  who  suffers  himself  to  be  tempted  is 
not  for  that  reason  excused.  Let  every  one  there- 
fore flee  from  sin  as  from  a  serpent  (Ecclesiast. 
xxi.  2). — Comp.  M.  Geiee  :  Be  not  moved  by  the 
flattering  enticements  of  the  harlot,  the  world, 
false  teachers  (that  betray  into  spiritual  adultery 
and  abandonment  of  God),  or  of  Satan  himself. 
Close  thine  ears  against  aU  this,  i.  e.  refuse  in 
genuine  Christian  simplicity  and  faithful  love  to 
the  Lord  to  hearken  to  any  solicitation  to  diso- 
bedience. Follow  not  Eve's  example,  but  Jo- 
seph's, Gen.  xxxix.  8,  etc. — [Teapp:  (ver.  9) 
Foolish  men  think  to  hide  themselves  from  God 
by  hiding  God  from  themselves. — (Ver.  22).  Fair 
words  make  fools  fain]. 


94  THE  PROVERBS  OP  SOLOMON. 


Third  Group  of  Admonitory  or  Proverbial  Discourses. 

Chap.  VIII.  1— IX.  18. 

14.  A  second  public  discourse  of  wisdom  personified. 

Chap.  VIII.  1-36. 

a)  The  richness  of  her  gifts. 

(Veks.  1-21.) 

1  Doth  not  wisdom  cry  aloud, 

and  understanding  lift  up  her  voice  ? 

2  Upon  the  top  of  the  high  places,  by  the  way, 
in  the  midst  of  the  way  she  placeth  herself. 

3  By  the  side  of  the  gates,  at  the  exit  from  the  city, 
at  the  entrance  to  its  doors  she  calleth  aloud : 

4  "  To  you,  ye  men,  I  call, 

and  my  voice  is  to  the  sons  of  men ! 

5  Learn  wisdom,  O  ye  simple  ones, 

and  ye  fools,  be  of  an  understanding  heart ! 

6  Hear,  for  I  speak  plain  things, 

and  the  utterances  of  my  lips  are  right  things ; 

7  for  my  mouth  meditateth  truth, 

and  wickedness  is  an  abomination  to  my  lips. 

8  All  the  words  of  my  mouth  are  right, 
there  is  nothing  crooked  or  false  in  them ; 

9  they  are  all  right  to  the  man  of  understanding, 
and  plain  to  them  that  have  attained  knowledge. 

10  Receive  my  instruction  and  not  silver, 
and  knowledge  rather  than  choice  gold ! 

11  For  wisdom  is  better  than  pearls, 
and  no  precious  things  equal  her. 

12  I,  wisdom,  dwell  with  prudence, 

and  find  out  knowledge  of  sagacious  counsels. 

13  The  fear  of  Jehovah  is  to  hate  evil, 
pride,  arrogance  and  an  evil  way, 
and  a  deceitful  mouth  do  I  hate. 

14  Counsel  is  mine,  and  reflection  ; 

I  am  understanding  ;  I  have  strength. 

15  By  me  kings  reign 

and  rulers  govern  justly. 

16  By  me  princes  rule 

and  nobles,  all  the  judges  of  the  earth. 

17  I  love  them  that  love  me, 

and  they  that  seek  me  find  me. 

18  Riches  and  honour  are  with  me, 
increasing  riches  and  righteousness. 

19  Better  is  my  fruit  than  the  purest,  finest  gold, 
and  my  revenue  than  choice  silver. 

20  In  the  way  of  righteousness  do  I  walk, 
in  the  midst  of  the  paths  of  justice, 

21  to  ensure  abundance  to  those  that  love  me, 
and  to  fill  their  treasuries. 


CHAP.  VIII.  1-36.  96 


i)  The  origin  of  her  nature  in  God. 
(Veks.  22-31.) 

22  Jehovah  created  me  as  beginning  of  his  way, 
before  his  works  of  old. 

23  From  everlasting  was  I  set  up, 

from  the  beginning,  before  the  foundation  of  the  earth. 

24  When  there  were  as  yet  no  floods  was  I  brought  forth, 
when  there  were  no  fountains  abounding  with  water. 

25  Before  the  mountains  were  settled, 
before  the  hills  was  I  brought  forth ; 

26  while  as  yet  he  had  not  made  land  and  plains 
and  the  first  clods  of  the  earth. 

27  When  he  prepared  the  heavens  I  was  there, 

when  he  stretched  out  the  firmament  over  the  deep ; 

28  when  he  established  the  clouds  above, 

when  the  fountains  of  the  deep  raged  loudly ; 

29  when  he  set  to  the  sea  its  bounds, 

that  the  waters  should  not  pass  its  border; 

when  he  settled  the  foundation  pillars  of  the  earth ; 

30  then  was  I  at  his  side  as  director  of  the  work, 
and  was  delighted  day  by  day, 

rejoicing  before  him  continually, 

31  rejoicing  in  his  earth, 

and  my  delight  did  I  find  in  the  sons  of  men. 

c)  The  blessing  that  flows  from  the  possession  of  her. 
(Vers.   32-36.) 

32  And  now,  ye  children,  hearken  unto  me : 
Blessed  are  they  that  keep  my  ways ! 

33  Hear  instruction,  and  be  wise, 
and  be  not  rebellious-. 

34  Blessed  is  the  man  that  heareth  me, 
watching  daily  at  my  gates, 
waiting  at  the  posts  of  my  doors ! 

35  For  whosoever  findeth  me  findeth  life 
and  obtaineth  favor  from  Jehovah ; 

36  and  whosoever  sinneth  against  me  wrongeth  his  own  soul : 
all  they  that  hate  me  love  death." 

GEAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Ver.  2.  r\^3=r3i  in  the  midst,  is  an  Aramaic  idiom,  occurring  also  in  Ezekiel  xli.  9.  — A. 
Ver.  3.  As  to  tlie  form  T\i'^D  comp.  i.  20.    [BolT.  929,  6.— A.] 

1  T        T 

Ver.  5.  Instead  of  37  U'^H  [understand  ye  in  heart,  "  be  ye  of  an  understanding  lieart,"  E.  V.],  we  should  probably 
read  with  the  LXX  livdeade  KapUav],  Vulg.,  Aenoldi  and  HiTziG  37  i|Jon,  direct  your  heart,  i.  e.,  exert  your  under- 
standing, appHcate  animum.    Comp.  lOJ    3  7,  Ps.  Ivii.  8 ;  and  also  1  Sam.  vii.  3  ;  Job  xi.  13 ;  and  to  illustrate  the  use  of  37 

in  the  sense  of  the  understanding,  the  reason,  comp.  several  other  passages  in  the  Proverbs,  especially  xv.  32 ;  xvii.  16; 
xix.  8. 

Ver.  6.  D''nUJ.    [-in  illustration  of  the  principle  that  "single  adjectives  describing  what  is  pre-eminent  or  striking 

appear  in  the  more  elevated  style,  raised  as  it  were  to  personality,  and  are  therefore  put  in  the  masc.  plural ;"  see  Bottcher, 
J707,  2.-A.]  ,  , 

Ver.  13.    nXJK'i  [an  infinitive  of  a  verb  N;  having  the  feminine  termination  of  the  verbs  H?;  see  Bott.,  §  1083, 13. — A.]. 

2T]H  [regularly  3nXN, — after  the  rejection  of  one  of  the  weak  consonants,  the  vowel  is  "assimilated"  from  the 

Initial  vowel  of  the  neighboring  form  ^3ni< ;  for  examples  of  the  normal  modification,  DHX,  with  and  without  suflBxes, 

see  Mai.  i.  2;  Hos.  xi.  1 ;  xiv..6  :  Ps.  cxix.  167.— Bott.,  g  425,  A.— A.] 

^JJXyD"'*  [an  example  of  the  retention  of  the  fuller  form  of  the  plural  ending  with  weakened  vowel  and  toneless 

Bufflx;'see  BbiT.,  g  1047,/.— A.] 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


Ter  24.  riiyiTD.    With  this  fern,  plural  form  there  occurs  in  an  isolated  instance,  Ps.  civ.  10  [together  with  four 

others  of  construct  and  suffix  forms],  the  masculine  DTJ^D  ;  for  which  reason  the  masc.  of  the  adjective  ^'1231  is  the 

■T  ;  ~ 
less  striking  (Bertheau). 

Ver.  26.  [Perfect  tense  with  DTO  in  the  sense  of  a  Pluperfect.     Bon.,  §  947,  c— A.J 

Ter.  29.  [H^J''    iih^.     Imperfect  with  xSl  insense  of  an  Imperf.  Subj.,  ''so  that,"  etc.    Bon.,  J  949,  i,  2.— A.] 

Ter.  29.  Ip^n^  stands  either  for  ipn3,  or  as  HiTzia  perhaps  more  correctly  assumes  for  the  Poal  form  lppin3. 

[BolTOHBR  prefers  the  first  of  these  explanations,  citing  this  as  an  example  of  usage  varying  in  certain  words,  and  sug. 

gesting  as  a  reason  for  the  adoption  of  the  fuUer  form  in  this  case,  correspondence  with  1011^3  in  the  first  clause.    See 

ii  766, ,),  and  1147.— A.] 

This  form  of  interrogation  (with  S/H)  which 
expects  as  its  answer  an  assenting  and  emphatic 
"  Yes,  truly  !"  points  to  the  fact  clearly  brought 
to  view  in  all  that  has  preceded,  that  wisdom 
bears  an  unceasing  witness  in  her  own  behalf  in 
the  life  of  men. 

Ver.  2.  Upon  the  top  of  the-  high  places 
by  the  ^vay,  in  order  that  those  who  pass  along 
by  the  way  may  observe  her.  In  the  midst 
of  the  \vay.  This  Aramaic  idiom  gives  no  oc- 
casion for  pronouncing  the  passage  spurious 
(contrary  to  the  view  of  Hitzig,  who  furthermore 
takes  exception  to  the  allusion  to  "high  places" 
in  the  1st  clause,  and  therefore  summarily  pro- 
nounces the  entire  2d  verse  interpolated).  Um- 
BREiT  translates  "at  the  house  where  roads 
cross,"  and  interprets,  not  indeed  of  an  inn  lo- 
cated at  cross-roads  (as  Doderlein  does),  but 
still  of  a  house  situated  at  the  junction  of  several 
streets.  But  these  "ways"  are  roads,  solitary 
paths,  not  streets  in  the  city,  and  the  delineation 
proceeds  in  such  an  order  as  to  exhibit  Wisdom 
first,  in  ver.  2,  as  a  preacher  in  the  open  country, 
in  grove  and  field,  on  mountains  and  plains,  and 
then  in  ver.  3  to  describe  her  public  harangues 
in  the  cities,  and  in  the  tumult  of  the  multitudes. 
The  condition  therefore  is  unlike  both  to  that 
presented  in  i.  20,  21,  and  to  that  in  ix.  13,  where 
in  both  cases  the  interior  of  a  city  alone  furnishes 
the  scene  for  Wisdom's  activity  as  a  preacher. 

Ver.  3.  At  the  exit  from  the  city,  literally 
"  towards  the  mouth  of  the  city,"  i.  e.,  standing 
at  the  gate  and  facing  the  streets  which  centre 
there. — At  the  entrance  to  its  doors,  (comp. 
i.  21),  J.  e.,  standing  on  the  farther  (outer)  side 
of  the  gateway. 

3.  Vers.  4-11.  This  more  general  introduction 
to  Wisdom's  discourse,  with  the  addition  of  ver. 
12,  HiTzia  declares  spurious,  partly  on  account 
of  the  alleged  tautological  nature  of  vers.  6-9, 
giving  no  genuine  progress  to  the  thought, — 
partly  because  ver.  10  is  almost  identical  with 
viii.  19,  and  ver.  11  with  iii.  15, — and  lastly, 
partly  because  of  the  peculiar  form  D''K'''i<  in 
ver.  4,  which  is  said  to  betray  a  later  date.  Yet 
this  very  form  is  found  also  in  Isa.  liii.  3,  and 
Ps.  oxli.  4,  for  both  of  which  passages  the  later 
origin  (in  the  exile,  or  even  after  the  exile)  is  in 
like  manner  yet  to  be  established.  And  as  re- 
spects the  alleged  tautologies  and  repetitions, 
similar  ones  occur  throughout  the  entire  Book 
of  Proverbs  (comp.  Introd.  g  12).  The  codices 
and  old  versions,  however,  know  nothing  what- 
ever of  the  absence  from  the  text  of  even  a  single 
one  of  these  verges. 

Ver,  5.  Learn  wisdom,  O  ye  simple  ones. 
Comp.  i.  4. — Ye  fools,  shoTV  understanding, 
see  critical  note,  above. 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  Preliminary  Remark.  From  the  preceding 
larger  group  of  admonitory  discourses  (chap,  iv.- 
vii.),  that  now  before  us,  comprising  only  chap, 
viii.  and  ix.,  is  distinguished  chieiiy  by  the  fact 
that  it  returns  to  the  representation,  which  has 
already  been  made  in  chapters  i.-iii.  of  Wisdom 
as  a  person.  And  this  is  so  done  that  the  two 
features  of  the  representation  which  there  ap- 
peared separately  ;  the  exhibition -of  Wisdom  as 
a  public  preacher  (i.  20-33),  and  as  a  divine 
agent  in  the  creation  of  the  world  (iii.  19-26), 
are  now  combined  in  one  whole.  Here  Wisdom 
appearing  as  a  preacher  herself  testifies  to  the 
aid  which  she  rendered  God  at  the  creation  (viii. 
22  sq.).  Besides  this  point  of  contact  with  the 
first  main  group,  we  may  also  direct  attention  to 
the  mention  of  the  fear  of  God  as  a  disposition  in 
the  most  intimate  alliance,  and  even  ideiitical 
with  wisdom  (viii.  13) ;  this  also  is  common  to 
the  division  before  us  and  the  first;  for  only  in 
chapters  i.-iii.  (seei.  7;  i.  29 ;  ii.  5 ;  iii.  7)  was 
any  express  utterance  given  to  this  form  of  the 
Hhokmah  doctrine.  The  middle  group  (chap, 
iv.-vii.)  nowhere  contains  the  expression  "the 
fear  of  Jehovah."  There  are  however  continu- 
ally coming  to  view  many  connections  between 
the  second  and  third  groups  ;  especially  the  plu- 
ral address  "  ye  children,"  repeated  in  the  dis- 
course of  the  personal  Wisdom  (viii.  32)  from 
chap.  iv.  1 ;  V.  7 ;  vii.  24  (see  above,  p.  95). 
Observe  also  the  representation  of  Folly  personi- 
fied, as  a  counterpart  to  Wisdom  (chap.  ix.  13- 
18),  appearing  as  an  adulteress  of  mien  and 
bearing  quite  like  the  adulterous  woman  of  chap, 
vii.  who  is  as  it  were  exhibited  here,  "developed 
into  a  more  comprehensive  character"  (comp. 
HiTzia,  p.  69). — Furthermore  this  last  section  of 
the  first  main  division  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs 
consists  of  only  two  discourses  of  unequal  length, 
chapters  viii.  and  ix.  each  of  which,  however,  in 
turn  includes  several  subdivisions  clearly  distin- 
guishable,—chap,  viii.,  comprising  the  three  that 
have  been  given  above,  and  chap.  ix.  the  two  pa- 
rallel delineations  of  the  personal  Wisdom  (vers. 
1-12)  and  Folly  personified  (vers.  13-18).— The 
unequal  length  of  the  two  discourses  Hitz:g 
seeks  to  a  certain  extent  to  remove  by  striking 
out  from  chap.  viii.  a  large  number  of  verses, 
sixteen,  and  from  chap.  ix.  a  smaller  number, 
six,  as  spurious  additions  by  a  later  hand.  His 
grounds  of  distrust  are,  however,  here  again  of 
a  purely  subjective  kind,  and  do  not  present  for 
a  single  one  of  the  passages  in  question  any  reli- 
able evidence  of  their  spurious  character,  as  we 
shall  hereafter  have  occasion  to  show  in  detail. 

2.  Vers.  1-3.  Doth  not  wisdom  cry  aloud? 


CHAP.  VIII.  1-36. 


97 


Ver.  6.  I  speak  plain  things.  The  word 
here  translated  "  plain  "  might,  it  is  true,  desig- 
nate "noble,  princely  things,"  (comp.  the  ae/ivd 
of  the  LXX,  the  "res  magnse"  of  the  Vulg.,  etc.) ; 
[So  WoEDSw.,  HoLDEN,  N.  and  M.],  the  paral- 
lelism however  renders  more  natural  the  signifi- 
cation "plain,  evident"  (clara,  manifesta);  [So 
Stuart]  ;  comp.  a  similar  term  in  ver.  9.  This 
only  appropriate  sense  we  find  already  given  in 
the  Chaldee  and  Syriao  versions. 

Ver.  7.  For  my  mouth  meditateth  truth, 
literally,  "my  palate,"  comp.  Song  Sol.  v,  16; 
Job  xxxi.  80.  The  function  of  speech  does  not 
appear  to  be  here  immediately  associated  with 
the  palate,  but,  as  the  antithesis  in  the  2d  clause 
shows,  rather  the  inward  moulding  of  the  word 
as  yet  unspolten,  by  the  silent  working  of  the 
spirit, — the  reflective  consideration  which  pre- 
cedes speech. 

Ver.  8.  Right,  literally,  "  in  righteousness." 
For  this  use  of  the  preposition  employed  to  in- 
troduce the  predicate,  and  forming  as  it  were  the 
transition  to  the  3  essentise,  compare  passages 
like  Prov.  xxiv.  5 ;  Ps.  xxix.  4,  and  Ewald,  2 
217  f. 

Ver.  9.  Right  to  the  man  of  understand- 
ing .  .  plain  to  them  that  have  attained 
knowledge.  Straight  and  plain  stand  con- 
trasted with  the  crooked uni.  false  of  the  preceding 
verse.  [Trapp:  "  Plain  in  things  necessary  to 
salvation ;  for  as  all  duties  so  all  truths  do  not 
concern  all  men.  God  doth  not  expect  or  re- 
quire that  every  man  should  be  a  doctor  in  the 
chair;  but  those  points  that  direct  to  duty  here 
and  salvation  hereafter,  are  clear,  express  and 
obvious  to  them  thatdesire  to  understand  them."] 
The  "man  of  understanding"  is  he  who  is  so 
wise  as  not  to  despise  the  words  of  wisdom,  who 
rather  duly  takes  them  to  heart.  "  They  that 
have  attained  knowledge,"  literally  "the  finders 
of  knowledge,"  are  those  who  have  made  pro- 
gress in  the  sphere  of  ethical  knowledge,  the 
"Imowing,"  the  mature  and  experienced.  Um- 
BKEIT  incorrectly  interprets  "to  them  that  wish 
to  find  knowledge  ;"  the  participle  is  here  to  be 
taken  in  a  preteritive  sen.se;  comp.  Gen.  xix. 
14  ;  Neh.  X.  29.  [Other  examples  may  be  found 
cited  by  B  ttohek,  ^  997,  2,  II.] 

Ver.  10.  Receive  my  instruction  and  not 
silver,  i,  c,  when  you  have  the  choice  prefer 
my  instruction  to  silver.  There  is  therefore 
here  a  comparison  like  that  in  the  2d  clause,  only 
somewhat  otherwise  expressed. — Rather  than 
choice  gold.  Hitzig,  following  the  LXX  and 
Chald.,  "than  tried  gold."  But  in3J  means 
"  selected,  chosen,"  and  we  have  no  trace  else- 
where of  the  use  of  the  partic.  |n3J,  which  is 
indeed  similar  in  form  and  easily  substituted,  for 
the  designation  of  tried  gold  (xpvaiov  6e6oKtfiaafi£- 
vov).  Comp.  besides  ver.  19,  and  in  the  forego- 
ing, iii.  14;   with  ver.  11  comp.  iii.  15. 

4.  Vers.  12-21.  I,  'Wisdom,  dwell  with 
prudence.  That  Wisdom  who  is  speaking  here 
emphatically  calls  herself  by  name  is  doubtless 
to  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  only  just  before, 
in  ver.  11,  she  had  spoken  of  herself  in  the  3d 
person.  Very  unwarrantably  Hitzio  infers  from 
this  circumstance  the  spuriousness  of  this  verse 
also. — The  "  dwelling  "  of  wisdom  "  with  pru- 
7 


dence"  expresses  a  confidential  or  friendly  rela- 
tion,— the  same  idea  which  is  elsewhere  indicated 
by  the  Hiphil  of  the  closely  related  verb  pO  ; 
comp.  Ps.  cxxxix.  3;  Job  xxii.  21.  Inasmuch  as 
the  verb  stands  here  with  the  simple  accusative 
of  the  noun,  without  the  prepositions  ordinarily 
signifying  "  with  "  (for  this  construction  comp.  e. 
g.,  Ps.  V.  5)  many  translated  "linhabit  prudence" 
and  so  conceive  of  prudence  either  as  the  shel- 
tering roof  (as  e.  g.,  Umbreit  explains),  or  as  a 
property  subject  to  the  disposal  of  prudence  (thus 
Bertheau)  ;  but  both  are  alike  harsh  and  inap- 
posite. The  correct  view  is  found  in  Ewald, 
Hitzio,  Elster,  the  last  of  whom  illustrates  the 
relation  of  wisdom  to  prudence  by  the  remark, 
"prudence  (HDIi')  denotes  here  right  know- 
ledge in  special  cases,  in  contrast  with  the  more 
comprehensive  idea  of  intelligence  in  general; 
the  practical  realization  of  the  higher  principle 
of  knowledge  found  in  wisdom  (nopn)." — And 
find  out  knowledge  of  sagacious  counsels. 
"  To  find  out  knowledge  "  here  stands  for  "to 
know"  (comp.  Job  xxxii.  13);  the  expression 
as  a  whole  would  therefore  find  its  equivalent  in 
the  simpler  "and  know  sagacious  counsels" 
(nisro  J'^Nl).  Comp.  furthermore  the  notes  on 
i.  14.  ' 

Ver.  13.  The  fear  of  Jehovah  is  to  hate 
evil.  Only  thus  far  is  the  1st  member  of  this 
ver.  to  be  carried;  the  following  expressions, 
"pride,"  "arrogance,"  and  "  an  evil  way"  (li- 
terally, "way  of  evil")  are,  in  spite  of  the  pre- 
sent accentuation,  to  be  regai'ded  as  prefixed  ob- 
jects to  the  verb  "I  hate,"  so  that  the  meaning 
of  the  entire  verse  is  substantially  this ;  "Inas- 
much as  the  fear  of  God,  this  beginning  of  all 
wisdom  (see  i.  7  ;  ix.  10)  comprises  within  itself 
as  a  distinguishing  characteristic  the  hatred  of 
evil,  I,  wisdom,  accordingly  hate  everything 
proud,  wicked  and  crafty."  (Comp.  Hitzio  on 
this  passage).  The  general  proposition  forming 
the  first  member  of  the  ver.,  which  naturally 
gives  us  no  exhaustive  definition  of  the  fear  of 
God,  but  only  a  description  of  it  by  one  of  its 
chief  characteristics  (comp.  Heb.  xi.  1),  is  there- 
fore, as  it  were,  the  major  premise,  from  which 
the  conclusion  is  drawn  that  forms  the  2d  and 
3d  members.  The  minor  premise,  however, 
which  might  have  had  some  such  form  as  the 
first  clause  of  chap.  ix.  10,  is  omitted ;  the  rea- 
soning, as  it  here  stands,  taking  the  form  of  a 
lemma.  In  opposition  to  the  diverse  methods  of 
punctuating  and  interpreting,  such  as  are  found 
in  Umbreit,  Bertheau,  and  most  of  the  earlier 
commentators,  comp.  Hitziq  and  Elster  on  this 
passage. — For  the  expression  "  mouth  of  deceit  " 
or  "crafty  mouth"  comp.  ii.  12;   x.  31. 

Ver.  14  Hitzio  pronounces  an  addition  growing 
out  of  the  similar  passage  Job  xii.  13,  as  he  also 
explains  the  two  following  verses  as  "founded 
upon  the  reading  of  Isa.  xxxii.  1,"  and  condemns 
them.  But  the  accordance  with  these  other  pas- 
sages is  far  too  remote  and  partial  to  permit  us 
to  think  of  a  derivation  from  them.  In  the  case 
of  ver.  14  and  Job  xii.  13  we  might  more  readily 
think  of  the  converse  relation  of  dependence,  in 
case  one  must  at  all  maintain  any  such  relation 
as  existing,  which  seems  hardly  necessary.  For 
aa  respects  the  expressions  "wisdom,"   "ooun- 


«8 


THE  PKOVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


gel,"  "  understanding,"  and  "  strength,"  which 
are  brought  into  combination  in  these  verses, 
they  are  found,  with  the  exception  of  the  second, 
combined  elsewhere,  especially  in  Isa.  xi.  2, 
where  they  are  adduced  quite  as  they  are  here, 
as  attributes  of  the  true  ruler.  The  instances 
of  paronomasia,  however,  in  vers.  15  and  16, 
("kings  are  kings,"  and  "rulers  rulers"),  were 
of  themselves  so  natural,  and  suggested  them- 
selves so  obviously,  that  neither  for  the  author  of 
our  verses  was  there  need  of  any  reading  of  Isa. 
xxxii.  1,  nor  for  Isaiah  of  any  recollection  of 
Prov.  viii.  15, 16,  to  give  occasion  for  the  employ- 
ment of  this  trope. — [Wordsw.  ;  Sound  wisdom, 
the  very  essence  of  things,  whence  they  derive 
their  soundness  and  strength]. — I  am  under- 
standing, I  have  (lit.  "mine  is")  strength. 
This  change  in  the  pronouns  is  certainly  not  un- 
designed: "understanding"  is  to  be  exhibited  as 
one  with  wisdom,  "strength"  however  [i.e.,  true 
efficiency  oi;  energj'),  as  a  possession,  or  more  pre- 
cisely a  result  of  wisdom,  just  as  previously  in 
the  first  clause  "counsel"  and  "reflection" 
(comp.  with  respect  to  them  ii.  17)  are  named 
as  constant  products,  possessions,  or  attributes 
of  wisdom. 

Ver.  16.  And  nobles,  all  Judges  upon 
earth.  These  two  subjects,  attached  without  any 
copula  to  the  "princes"  of  the  1st  clause,  are 
plainly  intended  to  signify  that  all  possible  diverse 
classes  of  princes  or  rulers  derive  their  power 
from  the  celestial  wisdom  of  God  (comp.  the  simi- 
lar enumerations  in  Eph.  i.  21 ;  Col.  i.  16,  etc.). 
The  idea  that  this  proposition  can  hold  only  of  just 
rulers,  owes  its  origin  doubtless  to  the  old  read- 
ing "judges  of  righteousness  "  (P^X)  instead 
of  "judges  of  the  earth"  CC^N),  (found  in  Syx-., 
Chald.,  Vulg.,  R.  Nokzi,  and  still  preferred  by 
Bertueau).  See  objections  to  this  and  argu- 
ments in  support  of  the  Masoretic  text  in  Hitzig. 

Ver.  17.  I  love  them  that  love  me.  This 
conforms  to  the  pointed  text  C?'!'')-  The  writ- 
ten text  (ri'DnX),  "them  that  love  her  (Wis- 
dom) "  is  not  in  keeping  with  the  context,  seems 
to  have  been  occasioned  by  a  wandering  of  the 
transcriber's  eye  to  the  form  of  the  verb  follow- 
ing [which  although  a  peculiar  form  of  the  1st 
person — see  critical  note  above — might,  unpoint- 
ed, be  mistaken  for  a  form  of  the  8d  person],  and 
has  therefore  with  abundant  reason  been  rejected 
by  all  the  old  versions,  several  MSS.,  and  by 
most  of  the  recent  interpreters  (Umbreit,  Ewald, 
Elster,  and  Hitzig).— With  the  2d  clause  of  ver. 
17,  comp.  i.  28. 

Ver.  18.  Comp.  iii.  16. — Increasing  riches. 
This  is  probably  the  meaning  which,  with 
Hitzig,  wc  should  adopt  (growing  means, 
"  wachsend  Vermogm") ;  for  the  common  render- 
ing, "  old"  or  "  durable  "  riches,  seems  less  ap- 
propriate, since  the  old  is  by  no  means  necessarily 
the  sound  and  permanent.  Comp.  rather,  with 
reference  to  the  idea  of  a  steadily  growing  or 
accumulating  wealth,  Ps.  Ixii.  10. — And  right- 
eousness. What  this  here  signifies  is  more 
fully  explained  in  the  first  clause  of  ver.  20. 

Ver.  19.  Better  is  my  fruit,  comp.  the  re- 
presentation of  wisdom  as  the  tree  of  life  in 
chap.  iii.  18,  and  to  illustrate  the  "purest,  fkiest 


gold"  (in  Hebrew  properly  two  synonymous  ex- 
pressions for  the  idea  of  "fine  gold,"  comp.  Ps. 
xix.  11;  xxi.  4;  Song  Sol.  v.  11)  compare  iii.  14. 
Ver.  21.  To  ensure  abundance  to  those 
that  love  me.  The  word  here  translated 
"  abundance  "  (!?'')  must  here  necessarily  be  a 
substantive,  of  similar  import  with  a  derived 
form  (iT'Kfin)  occurring  in  ii.  7,  and  substantially 
equivalent  to  the  vvap^ic  of  the  LXX  and  (he 
ovaia  of  the  Venetian  version.  For  the  verb 
"  to  ensure  "  plainly  requires  an  object,  and  the 
position  of  this  noun  at  the  end  of  the  clause 
shows  that  this  is  precisely  the  object  governed 
by  the  verb.  Moreover,  if  Hitzig's  conception 
of  the  expression  as  an  impersonal  verb  in  the 
sense  of  prsesto  est,  it  is  at  my  command,  ("I 
have  it  ")  were  correct,  we  ought  rather  to  havs 

a  pronominal  object  C/  t^f,  "there  is  to  me"). 
The  verse  as  a  whole,  therefore,  forms  a  conclu- 
sion to  the  preceding,  setting  forth  the  object  of 
Wisdom's  walking  in  paths  of  righteousness  as 
described  in  ver.  20 ;  in  other  words,  what  result 
follows  from  such  a  course  to  her  friends  and 
attendants.  Comp.  Bertheau  on  this  passage. 
After  ver.  21  the  LXX  has  the  words,  "If  I 
declare  to  you  the  things  that  occur  day  by 
day,  I  will  remeiuber  to  enumerate  the  things 
that  are  from  eternity"  \_iav  avayydXu  vfiiv  m 
Kai}'  tjfiepav  yivS/ieva,  /.ivTffiovcvaa  ra  ef  alOvoi 
ap,i-& iif/aai'].  This  addition  is  evidently  designed 
to  prepare  the  way  for  the  subsequent  descrip- 
tion of  the  antemundane  origin  and  working  of 
Wisdom;  it  appears,  however,  as  ill  adapted  to 
this  as  to  any  possible  place  either  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  chapter,  such  as  Jaeger  proposes  to  as- 
sign it  (Observatt.,  p.  63),  or  again  before  ver.  10, 
where  Hitzig  would  be  disposed  to  transfer  it. 
5.  Vers.  22-26.  In  this  delineation  of  the 
divine  origin  of  the  personal  Wisdom,  the  first 
half  directs  attention  first  to  her  existence  before 
time,  or  her  creation  as  the  first  of  all  created 
things. — Jehovah  created  me  as  the  begin- 
ning of  his  course.  Thus  versions  as  old  as 
the  LXX  (Iktloz),  Chald.,  Syriac,  with  most  of 
the  modern  commentators; — while  the  exegesis  of 
the  ancient  church  from  the  time  of  the  Arian 
controversy  judged  itself  compelled  to  render 
the  verb  in  the  sense  oi  possedit  me  (Vulg.),  or 
CKTr/aaTo  (thus  the  Vers.  Venet.  and  even  Aquila); 
and  this  turn  of  expression  was  given,  that  the 
idea  of  a  creation  of  eternal  Wisdom,  or  what 
was  equivalent,  of  the  personal  Word  of  God, 
might  be  excluded.  But  against  the  rendering, 
"Jehovah  possessed  me,"  may  be  adduced,  1) 
the  fact  that  the  verb  (njD)  does  not  signify 
simply  "to  possess,"  but  "to  attain  to  the  pos- 
session," "  to  acquire,"  which  latter  signification 
would  find  here  a  poor  application  ;  2)  the  fact 
that  the  adjunct  of  the  verb  (13'^^  JTtyNI)  agrees 
better  with  the  idea  of  creating  than  that  of 
possessing;  3)  that  the  double  mention  of  Wis- 
dom's "being  born,"  in  vers.  24,  25,  and  not 
less  the  expression  in  ver.  28,  "I  was  set  up" 
("or  wrought  out"),  corresponds  better  with  the 
idea  of  a  creation  than  with  that  of  possessing 
or  having  ;  and  4)  that  the  parallel  passages, 
Eoclesiast.  i.  4,  9 ;  xxiv.  8,  which  are  evidently 


CHAP.  VIII.  1-36. 


99 


formed  on  the  model  of  that  before  us,  also  em- 
ploy the  verb  ktU^siv  (create),  and  not  some  such 
as  fx^'"  "''  Ke/cr??(TiJai  (have  or  possess).  Even 
though  accordingly  the  personal  Wisdom  is  re- 
presented as  one  created  at  the  beginning  of  the 
divine  activity,  not  begotten,  as  a.  icTiafia,  ov 
yhvvua,  still  we  may  by  no  means  draw  from 
this  the  conclusion  of  the  correctness  of  the 
well-known  Arian  dogma  that  the  Son  of  God  is 
the  first  creation  of  God.  For  the  delineations 
of  the  whole  passage  before  us  are  of  a  poetical 
nature,  and  are  not  adapted  to  a  direct  applica- 
tion in  forming  dogmatic  conceptions ;  and  the 
personal  Wisdom  of  our  didactic  poem  is  by  no 
means  simply  identical  with  the  Logos,  or  the 
Son  of  God.  Comp.  the  Doctrinal  notes.  — 
"The  beginning  of  His  way"  is  a  second  accu- 
sative depending  on  the  verb ;  "  as  beginning  or 
first  fruit  of  His  way,"  t.  e.  His  activity.  His 
creative  efficiency.  His  self-revelation.  Instead 
of  the  singular,  "His  way,"  we  ought  perhaps, 
with  the  LXX,  the  Vulgate,  and  many  recent 
expositors,  especially  Hitziq,  to  read  In  the 
plural  "His  ways"  (13"*^);  the  parallel  expres- 
sion "before  His  works"  seems  to  speak  de- 
cidedly for  this  reading.— Before  his  works. 

The  word  here  translated  "works"  (D'/J'ilD) 
occurs  only  here ;  yet  comp.  the  corresponding 
feminine  form  in  Ps.  xlvi.  9  (ni'7;'3D).  The 
word  translated  "before"  (DHp.)  Hitzig  regards 
as  also  a  substantive,  synonymous  with  "begin- 
ning "  (n''l2'X'2),  and  therefore  translates  "  as 
foremost  of  His  works  "  Yet  the  conception  of 
it  as  a  preposition  is  favored  by  the  usage  of  the 
0.  T.  elsewhere. — Of  old  ^ISD),  long  ago,  liter- 
ally, "from  long  ago,"  comp   Ps.  xciii.  2. 

Ver.  23.  From  eternity.  It  seems  neces- 
sary, with  the  expositors  of  the  early  church 
and  many  of  recent  times,  such  as  Umbkeit, 
Bektheau,  Elsteb,  etc.,  to  regard  this  difficult 
verb  which  follows  as  a  Niphal  from  IJiJJ,  and 
therefore  to  translate  it  "  I  was  anointed,"  i.  e. 
consecrated  to  a  priestly  royalty ;  comp.  the 
ordinata  sum  of  the  Vulgate.  But  the  verb  is  not 
elsewhere  used  in  this  conjugation  ;  and  the  par- 
allelism with  ver.  22,  as  well  as  with  those  fol- 
lowing, calls  for  a  verb  having  some  such  mean- 
ing as  "  establish,  create,  call  into  being."  It 
seems  therefore  needful  to  read  with  the  LXX, 
"Iwas  established"  [''rri^'\i=^' i^eiieyiuatv fit"), 
or,  which  would  be  better  advised,  so  to  inter- 
pret the  form  in  the  text  as  to  give  the  idea  of 
a  being  created,  or  something  equivalent.  To 
this  end  we  may  either  translate,  with  the  Versio 
Veneta,  comparing  Ecclesiastic.  1.  9  {s^exsev 
avrifv),  nixvptai,  "  I  was  poured  forth,"  or  which 
is  on  the  whole  to  be  preferred,  with  Hitziq  we 

may  vary  the  punctuation  ('riilDJ),  so  that  the 
expression  shall  stand  as  Perfect  Niphal,  of  the 
verb  1|3D,  and  have  the  signification  "I  was 
woven  or  wrought;"  with  this  may  be  compared 
Ps.  cxxxix.  15 ;  Isa.  xxxviii.  12. — From  the 
beginning,  from  the  foundation  of  the 
earth.  "From  the  beginning,"  as  in  Isa. 
xlvlii.  16.     "  The  foundation  of  the  earth,"  an 


expression  like  that  occurring  in  Isa.  xxiii.  7 
(T''1X  r\0"lp),  denoting  the  earliest  primaeval 
period,  the  time  of  the  beginning,  the  origin  of 
the  earth.  How  this  establishment  or  production 
of  Wisdom  "from  the  foundation  of  the  earth" 
is  to  be  understood,  namely,  in  the  sense  of  an 
existence  of  Wisdom  even  prior  to  the  earth 
(comp.  Ps.  xc.  2),  appears  from  the  three  follow- 
ing verses. 

Ver.  24.  When  there  ■were  as  yet  no 
floods.  HiTZiG  regards  the  mention  of  the 
waters  before  the  ipountains  as  inappropriate, 
and  therefore  conjectures  that  the  verse  is  spuri- 
ous. As  though  in  Ps.  civ.  6  and  Job  xxxviii.  8 
the  seas  were  not  mentioned  immediately  before 
the  earth  as  a  whole,  and  also  before  the  moun- 
tains ! — Fountains  abounding  •with  ■water. 
The  meaning  is,  doubtless,  the  springs  from 
which  the  floods  or  the  deep  broke  forth  ;  comp. 
Gen.  vii.  11,  and  below,  ver.  28. 
.  Ver.  25.  Before  the  mountains  ■were  as  yet 
settled,  with  their  "roots"  (Jobxxviii.  9)  in  the 
pliant  earth ;  comp.  Job  xxxviii.  6,  where  mention 
is  made  of  the  settling  even  of  the  pillars  of  the 
earth  (in  the  infinite  space  of  the  heavens).  With 
the  second  clause  comp.  Ps.  xc.  2.  —  Land 
and  plains.  The  LXX  had  in  their  day  cor- 
rectly rendered  mxin  by  aom^Tovg  [uninhabita- 
ble places]  ;  these  are  "  unoccupied  commons  or 
plains,"  regions  lying  outside  the  occasionally 
occupied  land  (comp.  Job  v.  10). — The  first 
clods  of  the  earth.  Thus,  with  Hitzig,  are 
we  to  understand  this  expression,  and  not  "  the 
sum  or  mass  of  the  clods  of  the  earth"  (Coo- 
ceius,  Sohitltens,  Bebtheau,  Elsteb,  etc.);  and 
still  less  "  the  first  men "  (Jabohi),  or  even 
"  man  as  born  of  the  earth"  (Umbbeit)  ;  these 
last  interpretations  are  plainly  too  far-fetched. 

6.  Vers.  27-31.  From  the  antemundane  exist- 
ence "of  Wisdom  the  poet  now  passes  over  to  the 
description  of  her  active  cooperation  in  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world.  The  same  progress  from  the 
pre-existence  to  the  world-creating  activity  of 
the  divine  Logos  is  found  in  several  passages  of 
the  N.  T.,  especially  in  John  i.  1-3,  Col.  i.  15-16. 
— 'When  he  stretched  out  the  firmament 
over  the  deep,  i.  e.  when  He  fixed  the  vault 
of  heaven,  the  arch  of  heaven  (comp.  Gen.  i.  8; 
Job  xxii.  14),  over  the  waters  of  the  earth,  as  a 
barrier  between  the  upper  and  lower  waters 
(Gen.  i.  6 ;  Job  xxvi.  10).  Over  the  deep,  in 
the  Hebrew  literally  "  upon  the  surface  of  the 
deep,"  comp.  Gen.  i.  2. 

Ver.  28.  When  he  fiiced  the  clouds 
above.  Literally,  "  when  He  made  firm,  made 
strong"  (1VHX3) ;  i.  e.  the  clouds  are,  as  in  Job 

xxvi.  8  ;  xxxviii.  37,  conceived  of  as  bags,  which 
only  in  case  they  are  suitably  secured  and  do 
not  burst,  prevent  the  mighty  outpouring  of  the 
upper  waters  upon  the  earth. — When  the 
fountains  of  the  deep  (see  ver.  24  above) 
raged  violently.  This  is  the  interpretation  to 
be  given,  with  Umbbeit,  Winee,  Hitzig,  etc.; 
for  the  verb  here  unquestionably  has  the  in- 
transitive meaning,  invalescere,  vekementer  agitari 
(comp.  in  Isa.  xliii.  16  the  "mighty  waters"). 
The  transitive  signification,  "when  He  made 
firm,  !.  e.  restrained,  bound  up"  (LXX;  most 
of  the  other  versions,  and  recent  interpreters 


100 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


like  Elstee)  is  inadmissible  from  tlie  absence 
of  the  suffix  with  the  infinitive. 

Ver.  29.  "When  he  set  to  the  sea  its 
bounds.  "Bound"  here  in  its  local  sense, 
limit,  barrier,  as  in  Jer.  y.  22 ;  substantially  the 
same  as  ''its  border"  (!'£))  in  the  2d  member. 
For  this  expression  (D'H  "£))  mouth  or  shore  of 
the  sea,  instead  of  the  phrase,  elsewhere  usual, 
"lip  of  the  sea"  (D'H  rtS'll),  as  in  Gen.  xli.  3; 
comp.  Isa.  xix.  7  ;  and  for  the  description  of  the 
separation  between  the  sea  and  the  land  in 
general,  see  Gen.  i.  9,  10;  Ps.  xciv.  9.— 'When 
he  settled  the  foundation  pillars  of  the 
earth ;  end  of  the  description  of  the  earth's 
creation,  comp.  Job  xxxviii.  6. 

Ver.  30.  Then  was  I  at  his  side  as  direct- 
ress of  the  -work.  This  noun,  derived  from  a 
verb  (IDX)  signifying  to  be  firm,  true,  reliable 
(and  also  kindred  to  ['D',  dexter,  "  the  right 
hand,"  yet  not  to  be  regarded  as  Hoffmann 
takes  it,  Schri/lbew.,  I.  95,  as  an  infinitive  abso- 
lute used  adverbially,  but  necessarily  as  a  sub- 
stantive), denotes  like  the  parallel  form  found  in 
Song  Sol.  vii.  2,  "  ariifex,  artist,  master  of  the 
work."  [So  WoRDSw.,  Hold.,  Muensch.,  Noyes: 
Stuart  translates  "confidant." — A.]  Comp. 
the  description,  undoubtedly  based  on  the  pas- 
sage before  us,  found  in  Wisdom  vii.  21 :  r/  tuv 
vaiTuv  Texv'iTu;  aofia  ("wisdom  which  is  the 
worker  of  all  things")  ;  comp.  the  epithet  api.i6- 
foBcra  (adapting)  in  th,e  LXX,  and  the  cuncta 
componens  of  the  Vulgate,  in  our  passage.  In 
opposition  to  the  rendering  of  [lOX  by  "  fos- 
ter-child, aZMTnnws,  nutricius"  (Aquila,  Schul- 
TENS,  RosENMTiELLEE,  Elstee  )  may  be  urged 
first,  that  then  in  accordance  with  Lam.  iv.  5 
we  ought  to  point  j'^OX,   [which  pointing  Bott- 

CHEE  favors,  see  §  660,  6  and  n.  1],  and  then, 
that  this  form  could  hardly  have  stood  in  the 
text  as  a  substantive  without  some  adjunct  de- 
fining it  more  closely.  The  verb  should  be 
rendered,  not  "then  became  I"  (Beetheau), 
but  "  then  was  I."  For  the  existence  of  wisdom 
before  the  world's  creation  and  at  the  time  of  the 
world's  creation  formed  the  principal  subject  of 
the  preceding  description,  and  not,  e.  g.,  her 
passing  from  previous  rest  to  more  active  rela- 
tions.— And  was  delighted  day  by  day. 
Literally,  "  I  was  delight  day  by  day."  This 
abstract  noun  plainly  stands  in  the  predicate 
quite  as  appropriately  as  the  parallel  term  in  the 
3d  clause  (the  participle  npnTO)  and  aims  like 
thisexpression to indicatethat  wisdom  enjoyed  and 
delighted  in  her  creative  activity.  For  the  idio- 
matic use  of  this  abstract  noun  comp.  e.  g,,  Ps. 
cix.  4  ("  but  I  am  prayer");  also  notes  on  vii.  10 
above. — The  verse  following  then  declares  that 
this  her  delight  and  exultation  relates  particu- 
larly to  the  manifold  creatures  of  the  earth, 
chiefly  to  man.  The  creative  agency  and  control 
of  the  wisdom  of  God  in  the  origin  of  the  earth 
and  its  inhabitants,  is  therefore  here  represented 
as  attended  and  sustained  by  the  heartiest  satis- 
faction in  the  natures  that  are  created,  especially 
in  man,  the  personal  image  of  God ;  and  this  is 
quite  in  harmony  with  the  "  God  saw  that  it  was 
good"  of  the  six  days  of  creation  (Gen.  i.  10, 


12,  18,  31);  comp.  also  Wisdom  vii.  22,  27, 
29  sq.  A  reference  of  these  expressions  in  ver. 
31  to  any  period  subsequent  to  the  creation  (Um- 
beeit:  "  In  his  earth  do  1  now  delight  and  am 
the  joy  of  the  children  of  men,"  comp.  Mee- 
OEEUS  and  many  of  the  elder  interpreters,  and 
also  Luthee),  is  suggested  by  nothing  in  the 
context,  and  is  rather  decidedly  at  variance  with 
the  connection.  Not  before  ver.  32  does  the 
author  with  "  and  now"  return  from  the  past  to 
the  present.  When  Hitzig  feels  constrained 
to  strike  out  as  spurious  the  second  clause  of 
ver.  30  ("and  I  was  in  joy  of  heart  day  by 
day"),  and  also  the  1st  clause  of  ver.  31  ("sport- 
ing in  His  earth"),  this  results  from  the  fact  that 
he  has  wholly  missed  the  progressive  character 
of  the  description,  which  gradually  descends 
from  God  and  His  seat  in  the  heavens  to  earth, 
and  more  specifically  to  the  human  race:  just 
as,  in  his  representation  which  shows  throughout 
a  peculiarly  external  and  mechanical  conception 
of  the  nature  of  wisdom,  he  maintains,  "  The 
1st  clause  of  ver.  31  comes  into  contradiction 
with  the  first  of  ver.  30;  for  if  wisdom  is  near 
Jehovah  she  cannot  appropriately  be  at  the  same 
time  disporting  herself  on  the  earth ! "  A 
mere  hasty  glance  at  the  later  representations 
of  the  nature  and  activity  of  the  hypostatic 
Wisdom,  like  Wisd.  vii.  8;  Ecclesiast.  xxiv.,  etc., 
might  have  convinced  Hitzig  of  the  superficial 
and  untenable  nature  of  such  a  view.  Yet  this 
is  in  truth  nothing  more  than  the  necessary  fruit 
of  his  entire  rationalistic  view  of  God  and  the 
world. 

7.  Vers.  32-36.  Concluding  admonition  and 
promise,  based  on  ver.  22-31  as  well  as  ver.  1-21. 
— Ver.  33.  Hear  instruction,  etc.  Hitzio 
would  have  this  whole  verse  stricken  out 
"because  it  has  no  rhythm,"  and  because  it 
comes  in  only  as  a  disturbing  element  between 
the  benedictions  in  ver.  32,  2d  clause,  and  ver. 
34.  But  the  lack  of  rhythm  that  is  asserted  rests 
on  the  conception  of  the  subjective  taste:  and 
the  position  between  two  benedictions  produces 
no  distraction  whatever;  all  the  more  since  to 
the  first  and  shorter  of  these  two  sentences  be- 
ginning with  "  Blessed,"  a  corresponding  adma- 
nition  had  been  prefixed,  ver.  32,  1st  clause.— 
And  be  not  rebellious.  Thus  with  Umbreit. 
Elstee,  etc.,  must  we  understand  the  prohibition 

without  a  grammatical  object  (l;?'^3P  'i^])-  To 
supply  from  the  1st  clause  the  idea  "instruc- 
tion" is  unnecessary,  especially  since  the  intran- 
sitive "  and  be  wise  "  had  been  interposed  as  the 
immediate  antithesis  to  the  verb  "  refuse,  or  ro^ 
bel."  For  the  etymology  and  signification  of 
this  verb  (J^^i^)  see,  furthermore,  notes  on  i.  25, 
Ver.  34.  That  hearkeneth  to  me,  watch- 
ing, etc.     The  expression,   "  si>  that  he  watch  ' 

nptyS)  like  the  following  phrase  "so  that  he 
keep,"  expresses  not  so  much  the  design  as  the 
result  of  hearkening  to  wjsdom  ;  these  expres- 
sions give,  as  it  were,  the  manner  of  this  heark- 
ening, and  thus  correspond  with  the  ablative  of 
the  gerund  in  Latin,  or  with  the  pres.  participle 
(LXX:  ayprnvav  —  TTjpav). — For  whosoevei 
findeth  me,  findeth  life.  This  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  K'ri.     The  K'fhibh  is  somewhat 


CHAP.   VIII.  1-36. 


101 


more  artificial,  "  for  tlie  finders  of  me  are  fiaders 
of  life,"  «'.  e.,  those  who  find  me,  they  find  life. 
One  may  choose  between  the  two  readings  which 
in  import  do  not  differ.  [Rdbtschi  proposes 
(Stud.  u.  Kril.,  Jan.  1868,  p.  134)  to  solve  the 
difficulty  in  another  way,  retaining  the  conso- 
nants of  the  K'thibh,  but  modifying  the  punctu- 
ation, so  that  the  two  forms  will  be  singular  and 
apparently  identical  CXYO),  the  second  being 
a  form  artificially  constructed  with  '"  as  a 
"union  vowel,"  (Ewald,  g  211,  i,  1),  so  as  to 
secure  the  juxta,position  of  two  forms  apparently 
the  same. — A.]. — And  obtain  favor  from  Je- 
hovah. Literally  "and  draws  forth,"  i.e., 
gains  for  himself,  harvests,  bears  away. 

Ver.  36.  And 'whosoever  sinneth  against 
me.  Literally  "who  misseth  me"  in  contrast 
with  "who  findeth  me"  in  ver.  35.  Comp.  Job 
V.  24  ;  Judges  xx.  16. — All  they  that  hate  me 
love  death.  Comp.  iv.  13,  22;  vii.  27,  and 
also  Ezek.  xviii.  31. 

DOCTEINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  For  a  correct  understanding  of  the  section 
before  us  two  things  in  general  are  to  be  ob- 
served: 1)  that  the  entire  discourse  is  poetical, 
and  that  therefore  the  personification  of  Wisdom 
which  forms  its  chief  subject  is  also  to  be  re- 
garded as  essentially,  and  in  the  first  instance, 
the  product  of  a  bold  poetical  sweep  of  thought, 
and  of  a  vivid  oriental  imagery;  2)  that,  how- 
ever, because  of  the  solemn  earnestness  and  pro- 
foundly religious  character  of  the  discourse,  its 
figurative  element  cannot  possibly  be  viewed  as 
the  mere  play  of  fancy;  or  an  empty  ringing  of 
phrases,  but  must  rather  every  where  stand  in 
more  or  less  exact  harmony  with  the  superseu- 
8U0US  truth  that  is  to  be  set  forth.  Wisdom, 
which  here  appears  personified,  as  the  principle 
of  the  world's  creation,  as  well  as  of  its  preser- 
vation and  government,  having  sprung  from  God 
himself,  and  being  absolutely  supernatural,  is  no 
unsubstantial  phantom,  no  unreal  fiction  of  the 
fancy,  no  poetic  creation  without  an  underlying 
higher  reality.  It  is  rather  a  result  of  the  pro- 
foundest  religious  and  ethical  inquiry,  an  object 
of  the  purest  and  most  genuine  knowledge  of  di- 
vine things,  nay  a  product  of  divine  revelation — ■ 
only  that  this  revelation  has  here  passed  through 
the  medium  of  a  poetic  conception  and  repre- 
sentation, and  for  that  very  reason  appears  in  its 
forraal  relations  partially  reflected,  broken,  or 
inaccurately  exhibited.  It  is  really  the  free  po- 
etic form,  ideal  in  its  portraiture,  to  which  must 
be  charged  whatever  in  the  statements  before  us 
is  partially  inadequate,  inconsistent,  and  not  di- 
rectly applicable  in  the  formation  of  dogmatic 
ideas.  The  substance,  which  is  easily  separable 
from  this  form,  bears  the  impress  of  the  most 
genuine  divinely  revealed  truth,  and  forms  one 
of  the  most  important  and  strongest  of  the  foun- 
dation pillars  of  Old  Testament  theology,  on 
which  the  theology  and  Christology  of  the  New 
Testanient  is  reared,  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
in  the  ancient  church,  and  indeed  the  whole  glo- 
rious structure  of  Christian  dogmatics. — Comp. 
SiAUDENMAiEK,  Die  LefiTevon  der  Idee,  pp.  31  sq., 
»nd  particularly  NiTZSOH,   Ueber  die  wexentl.  Drei- 


eimgkeil  Gotles  (Letter  to  Lucke,  in  the  Stud,  und 
Kril.,  1841,  ii. ;   especially  pp.  810  sq.). 

2.  In  the  picture  of  wisdom  drawn  in  our  chap- 
ter the  two  conceptions  of  the  divine  wisdom,  and 
the  wisdom  of  the  creature,  or  of  the  celestial 
type  of  the  Hhokmah  and  its  earthly  and  human 
counterpart,  are  plainly  so  combined  that  they 
more  or  less  flow  into  each  other,  and  without  a 
clear  discrimination  of  their  difference  inter- 
change, (as  in  the  shorter  description  of  the  pro- 
tection and  blessing  going  forth  from  God's  crea- 
tive wisdom  for  those  who  honor  it, — chap.  iii. 
19-26).  That  wisdom  is  at  the  outset  introduced 
as  teaching  and  preaching  (vers.  1  sq.),  shows 
at  once  that  she  is  regarded  essentially  as  a  self- 
conscious  personal  being,  as  a  reflection  there- 
fore of  the  absolute  personality,  or  the  Godhead. 
And  even  within  the  first  section  (vers.  4^21), 
which  refers  in  the  first  instance  only  to  her  ma- 
nifestations in  the  moral  and  religious  life  of 
man,  several  features  suggest  the  supernatural 
in  her  nature  and  relations.  Thus  especially  the 
predicates  "counsel,  understanding,  strength," 
(in  ver.  14)  with  which  she  is  endowed  as  the 
Messiah  is  in  Isa.  xi.  2.  So  also  the  allusion  to 
the  fact  that  she  imparts  to  and  preserves  for  the 
kings,  rulers,  princes,  and  judges  of  the  earth, 
all  their  power  (vers.  15,  16)  ;  and  finally,  with 
no  less  plainness,  the  declaration  that  she  "loves 
them  that  love  her,"  and  accordingly  shows  her- 
self to  be  the  dispenser  of  all  benefits  and  bles- 
sings to  her  faithful  ones  (ver.  16-21).  Of  a 
purely  earthly  and  creature  principle  all  this 
could  not  be  asserted.  It  is  plainly  not  an  ab- 
stract conception  of  moral  philosophy,  or  any  de- 
finition pertaining  to  the  moral  and  intellectual 
conduct  of  jnen,  that  is  thus  described,  but  some- 
thing higher,  a  nature  fundamentally  identical 
with  the  divine  providence,  the  activity  of  God 
in  preserving  and  ruling  the  world, — a  personal 
principle  belonging  to  God's  revelation  of  Him- 
self, which  is  not  essentially  different  from  the 
Logos  of  the  New  Testament  or  the  Son  of  God. 

This  conception  of  the  idea  of  a  superhuman 
wisdom,  which  determines  and  controls  with  ab- 
solute power  and  knowledge  the  destinies  of  our 
race,  conducts,  however,  immediately  to  the  pro- 
per and  hypostatic  representation  of  Wisdom  as 
an  emanation  from  God's  eternal  nature,  as  the 
partaker  and  mediator  in  His  absolutely  creative 
activity.  From  the  description  of  Wisdom  as  the 
mediating  principle  in  divine  Providence  (vers. 
14-21),  the  poet  passes  to  the  exhibition  of  her 
mediating  participation  in  the  creation  of  the 
world,  and  in  this  connection  he  reveals  in  the 
same  act  the  deepest  sources  and  beginnings  of 
her  nature  (vers.  22-31).  Wisdom  is,  it  is  true, 
also  a  creation  of  God,  but  one  coming  into  being 
before  all  other  creatures,  a  "firstborn"  (tt/ckj- 
rdicTiaTov)  a  "beginning  of  the  creation  of  God" 
{apxv  ^^r  ^"T^Vewf  roil  ^eov),  comp.  Rev.  iii.  14. 
And  for  that  very  reason  she  took  part  in  His 
work  of  creation;  she  was  not  merely  witness, 
but  helper  in  the  revelation  of  His  power  in  the 
primitive  creation  that  called  His  heavens  and 
earth  into  being.  She  manifested  herself  as  the 
regulative  and  formative  principle,  who  in  those 
mighty  acts  of  creation  "rejoiced  before  Him," 
i.  e.,  developed  before  Him  in  free,  happy  action, 
as  it  were  in  joyous  sport  and  play,  her  infinitely 


103 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


rich  life,  and  tlius  produced  an  infinite  number 
and  variety  of  creature  forms.  Tliis  creative  ac- 
tivity of  wisdom  found  however  its  end  and  its 
completion  in  the  creation  of  men  in  whom  she 
has  her  delight  in  an  altogether  pre-eminent  de- 
gree (ver.  31)  for  they  are  called  to  be  her  con- 
scious recipients,  and  under  her  enlightening  in- 
fluence to  grow  up  into  a  walk  iu  holy  fellowship 
with  God.  Precisely  for  this  reason  the  posses- 
sion of  wisdom,  i.  e.,  in  the  first  instance  that 
comparative,  creative  wisdom  which  is  identical 
with  the  fear  of  God  and  righteousness,  is  the 
sum  of  all  that  can  be  recommended  to  man  as 
the  means  to  the  attainment  of  the  highest  tem- 
poral and  eternal  welfare.  For  this  relative 
wisdom  is  in  fact  nothing  but  the  reflection  and 
emanation  of  that  which  is  absolute.  It  is  the 
absolute  divine  wisdom  as  this  has  found  its  in- 
dividual reflection  in  the  life  of  individual  man, 
— the  eternal  wisdom  of  God  entering  into  the 
subjective  conditions  of  man,  and  so  becoming 
creatural.  When  the  concluding  verses  of  the 
chapter  (vers.  32-36)  emphatically  advise  the  ob- 
taining of  this  wisdom  which  has  thus  become 
mundane  and  human,  and  point  to  the  blessed 
consequences  of  its  possession,  they  seize  again 
upon  that  which  was  the  starting-point  in  the 
whole  admonition,  and  show  how  the  secondary 
wisdom  is  derived  from  the  primitive  and  con- 
ducts again  to  it,  how  the  same  holy  life-power 
infinite  in  its  perfection,  which  was  active  in  the 
first  creation  of  the  world  and  of  man,  must  also 
be  efficient  in  their  moral  recreation  and  their 
perfecting  after  God's  likeness.  Comp.  Stauden- 
MAiER,  as  cited  above,  p.  38:  "The  eminence  of 
man  consists  not  merely  in  the  fact  that  wisdom 
comes  in  him  to  self-consciousness,  but  also  in 
the  fact  that  by  the  Creator  there  has  been  con- 
ferred upon  him  iu  the  gift  of  freedom  the  power 
to  become  as  it  were  the  second  creator  of  his 
own  life  according  to  the  innate  divine  idea. 
This  idea  appears  therefore  now  a  practical  one: 
the  impulse  to  become  practical  existed  already 
in  its  living  energy,  or  was  this  very  energy  ; 
and  with  this  it  is  at  the  same  time  clear  that 
man  with  his  freedom  has  pre-eminently  a  prac- 
tical religious  and  moral  problem  set  before  him. 
Since  however  by  this  very  freedom  he  also  has 
it  in  his  power  not  to  follow  his  destination,  and 
even  to  resist  it.  Wisdom  appeals  to  him  to  hear 
her  voice,  and  does  this  as  she  speaks  to  him 
both  from  within  and  from  without, — from  within 
by  ideas  (through  the  voice  of  reason  and  con- 
science), from  without,  through  divine  revelation 
in  which  absolute  wisdom  dwells." 

3.  This  representation  of  wisdom  as  a  personal 
principle  mediating  between  God  and  man,  ex- 
isting in  God  as  the  prototype,  in  man  in  the  an- 
titype, plainly  stands  in  the  closest  relationship 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  Logos  iu  the  New  Testa- 
ment.* 

*  Comp.  NiTZSCHas  cited  above  :  "  Do  you  see  here  no  trace 
of  a  divine  procesa  a  (rerm  of  .an  ontological  self-distinction 
in  God?  For  this  Wisdom  is  indeed  a'  first  God's  communi- 
cation localized  in  the  world,  particularly  in  man,  and  still 
more  especially  in  Israel.  Yet  it  will  be  understood  as  no 
mere  creature  like  others,  no  angel,  no  dependent  power  or 
effect;  it  claims  to  be  known  and  honored  in  its  divinity. 
Without  exhausting  the  idea  of  divinity  it  claims  to  be  God 
of  God—"  Jehovah  created  me  "—a  creation  which  according 
to  the  connection  gives  no  natural,  creaturely  being,  but 
has  a  signiflcance  plainly  transcending  these  bounds,  etc.'  '— 


The  connection,  it  is  true,  with  a  right  exege- 
sis of  the  main  points  involved  (see  notes  on  vers. 
22,  23,  and  30,  above),  does  not  reach  so  far  that 
wisdom  is  described  outright  as  a  child  of  God,  be- 
gotten in  eternity  and  "  anointed,"  i.  «.,  solemnly 
consecrated  and  sealed, — and  so  is  attended  by 
those  characteristic  predicates  with  which  Christ 
describes  His  absolutely  unique  metaphysical 
relation  as  Son  to  God  (John  i.  36;  v.  26;  xvii. 
5;  comp.  i.  1,  18).  And  yet  when  she  also  is 
declared  to  have  been  created  as  beginning  of  the 
ways  of  God,  there  are  surely  not  wanting  em- 
phatic intimations  that  her  character  is  abso- 
lutely above  that  of  creatures  in  both  respects, 
that  which  concerns  her  coming  into  being  be- 
fore all  creatures,  and  also  her  intimate  fellow- 
ship of  essence  and  of  life  with  God.  While  fur- 
thermore the  primaeval  consecration  to  be  a  ruler 
overall  things,  to  the  ranks  of  a  priestly  regal 
mediatorship  between  God  and  His  creation  is 
not  to  be  found  among  the  points  expressly  em- 
phasized in  the  description  of  Wisdom,  yet  the 
way  in  which  she  is  described  in  vers.  14-16,  as 
possessor  and  dispenser  of  all  sovereign  power 
and  wisdom,  reminds  us  distinctly  enough  of  the 
omnipotence  in  heaven  and  earth  that  is  given  to 
the  Son,  and  of  His  being  endowed  with  the  un- 
divided fulness  of  the  Divine  Messiah-Spirit,— 
which  Isaiah  in  his  day  pronounces  a  spirit  of 
all  wisdom  and  understanding,  all  counsel,  all 
strength,  knowledge,  and  holy  fear  (Isa.  xi.  2 ; 
comp.  John  iii.  34;  Matth.  xxviii.  18).  And  al- 
though, finally,  the  name  "  son  "  or  "child"  is 
not  given  to  her,  and  the  "  exultation  "  in  the 
presence  of  God  at  the  time  of  His  creative  ac- 
tivity, cannot  fitly  be  conceived  of  as  the  intima- 
tion of  a  relation  in  any  way  like  that  existing 
between  a  sportive  favorite  child  and  his  father, 
still  the  appellation  "directress  of  the  work" 
characterizes  this  being  distinctly  enough  as  a 
personal  emanation  from  the  very  nature  of  God. 
And  a  mediatorial  participation  not  only  in  the 
creative,  but  also  in  the  redemptive  and  sancti- 
fying activity  of  God  is  suggested,  if  only  in  gen- 
tle intimation,  by  what  is  said  of  her  "delight in 
the  sons  of  men."  To  these  points  of  correspon- 
dence which  are  presented  in  the  chief  individual 
features  of  the  picture  in  Prov.  viii.  22  sq.,  there 
may  be  added  several  unmistakable  allusions  to 
our  chapter  found  iu  the  New  Testament.  Among 
these  the  essential  identity  of  the  creative  wisdom 
of  God  that  is  here  described,  with  the  Logos  or 
the  pre-existent  Christ  stands  out  most  distinctly. 
When  our  Lord  in  Matth.  xi.  19  (Lukevii.  35) 
and  probably  also  in  Luke  xi.  49  (comp.  Tan 
OosTEKZEE  on  this  passage)  designates  himself  as 
the  "Wisdom  of  God,"  and  at  the  same  time 
speaks  of  "children  of  this  wisdom,"  meaning 
by  this  the  men  who  are  subject  to  her  revealing 
and  enlightening  influence,  especially  the  Jews, 
as  having  been  Divinely  influenced  by  law  and 
prophecy,  He  can  have  chosen  this  mode  of  des- 
ignating Himself  only  with  His  eye  upon  the 
Biblical  delineations  that  we  -e  familiar  to  His 
hearers ;  and  to  these,  beside  Eccleslasticu- 
xxiv.  and  Wisdom  vii.-ix.,  etc.,  the  passage  be- 


The  truth  of  this  representation  holds  also  as  against  that 
which  Von  Hofmann  (Schrifthew.,  I.  pp.  95  sq.)  has  brought 
forward  in  support  of  the  opposite  view,  i.  e.,  that  which  iv 
nies  the  hypostatic  nature  of  wisdom  in  our  passage. 


CHAP.  A^II.  1-37. 


103 


fore  us  would  pre-eminently  belong.  When  John  1 
ascribes  to  the  Divine  Logos  both  alike,  the  act- 
ing as  medium  of  the  activity  of  God  in  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world,  and  the  accomplishment  of  His 
enlightening  and  saving  ef&cienoy  on  the  world, — 
when  he  in  doing  this  distinctly  characterizes 
the  Logos  not  as  a  mere  attribute  or  impersonal 
reason  of  God,  but  as  a  hypostasis  self-conscious 
and  freely  coming  forth  from  the  absolute  ground 
of  the  Divine  essence,  as  a  Divine  personality 
seeking  incarnation  (John  i.  1-18),  the  harmony 
of  this  description  of  his  with  Solomon's  praise 
of  the  Divine  Wisdom  cannot  have  continued  to 
be  merely  unconscious.  And  this  is  all  the  less 
possible,  from  the  consideration  that  this  wisdom 
had  already  before  his  time  and  in  manifold  in- 
stances been  designated  by  the  name  Aoyof,  e.  g., 
Eoclesiast.  L  4  (comp.  xxiv.  3),  Wisdom,  ix.  1. 
When  Paul  in  numerous  passages  asserts  the 
same  of  his  pre-existent  Christ  (especially  1  Cor. 
viii.  6  ;  Col.  i.  15  sq.;  Phil.  ii.  6  sq.),  among  the 
passages  from  the  Old  Testament  lying  at  the 
foundation  of  his  views  in  this  matter,  Prov.  viii. 
22  sq.,  cannot  have  been  wanting.  And  further- 
more his  designation  of  the  Son  as  the  "  Wisdom 
of  God"  (1  Cor.  i.  24,  30;  comp.  Rom.  xiii.  27  ; 
Col.  ii.  3)  cannot  have  developed  itself  on  any 
other  basis.  The  same  holds  finally  also  of  the 
author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (see  Heb. 
i.  2  sq. ),  as  well  as  of  the  writer  of  the  Apocalypse, 
who,  by  his  emphatic  use  of  the  name  of  the  Lo- 
gos (Rev.  xix.  13),  shows  himself  plainly  enough 
to  be  no  other  than  the  Evangelist  Jotin.  His 
peculiar  designation  of  Christ,  already  adduced 
above,  as  "  the  beginning  of  the  creation  of 
God"  (chap.  iii.  14)  may  perhaps  be  viewed  out- 
right as  a  literal  allusion  to  verse  22  of  our 
chapter.* 

If  this  were  the  case,  the  idea  of  a  "beginning 
of  the  creation  of  God"  would  by  no  means  fur 
that  reason  require  to  be  interpreted  in  the  Arian 
sense.  For  in  an  author  who  elsewhere  adopts 
the  doctrine  of  the  Logos  the  representation  of 
Christ  as  the  first  creature  of  God  would  palpably 
be  a  monstrosity.  John  can  in  this  expression 
intend  to  designate  the  Lord  only  as  the  active 
principle  in  the  creation  (comp.  Duesterdieok 
on  this  passage).  In  just  this  active  sense  shall 
we  be  obliged  to  interpret  the  expression  which 
possibly  suggested  John's  language, — the  "be- 
ginning of  the  ways  of  Jehovah  "  in  our  chapter, 
i.  e.,  as  relating  to  that  activity  of  the  eternal 
Wisdom  of  God  which  commenced  His  manifesta- 
tion of  Himself  in  creation,  its  mediating  coope- 
ration in  God's  world-creating  act  (see  remarks 
on  this  passage  above). 

4.  The  only  noteworthy  difference  between  the 
idea  of  the  Logos  in  the  New  Testament,  and  the 
hypostatic  Wisdom  of  our  passage  consists,  there- 
fore, in  the  decidedly  created  character  ascribed 
to  the  latter  by  the  expression  "  Jehovah  created 
me"  in  ver.  22,  and  the  parallel  expression  in 
ver.  23.     Our  teacher  of  wisdom  in  the  Old  Tes- 

*  We  here  presuppose  the  spurious  character  of  the 
«/c/c\rji7-ias  (which,  besides,  was  early  expunged  by  the  cor- 
rectors of  the  text)  Btandingin  the  place  of  Kno-eois  in  the 
Cod.  Sin.  If  this  remarkable  reading  were  genuine,  the 
meaning  of  the  expression  would  certainly  be  altogether  dif- 
ferent. But  the  assumption  can  hardly  be  avoided  that  there 
is  here  an  attempted  emendation  in  the  interest  of  the  Anti- 
monaTchians  or  Anti-arians. 


tament,  near  as  he  may  have  come  to  the  idea, 
was  therefore  unable  to  rise  to  an  altogether 
clear  discernment  of  the  relation  existing  between 
God  and  His  eternal  Word,  who  in  all  His  like- 
ness of  nature  is  yet  personally  distinct,  and 
while  appearing  as  the  "first-born  of  every  crea- 
ture," still  on  the  other  hand  appears  also  as  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  the  living  God,  or  as  eternal 
personal  emanation  from  the  Divine  essence. 
The  hypostatic  Hhokmah  of  our  author  (and  also 
the  liotpla  of  the  Apocrypha,  which  differs  from  it 
in  no  essential  cliaracteristic)  appears  accord- 
ingly as  an  imperfect  introduction  and  prepara- 
tion for  the  idea  of  the  Logos  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, the  conception  not  having  yet  reached  a 
full  symmetrical  development.  So  also  the 
"Spirit  of  God"  in  the  prophetic  literature  of 
the  0.  T.  shows  itself  to  be  the  prototype,  the 
germinal  basis  for  the  irvev/j,a  ayiov  of  the  N.  T., 
this  distinctly  personal  third  Divine  agent  in 
salvation,  with  the  Father  and  the  Son.* 

In  any  event,  however,  this  conception  stands 
much  nearer  to  the  idea  of  the  Logos  or  the  Son 
in  the  New  Testament,  and  contributed  more  di- 
rectly to  its  development,  than  that  personification 
of  the  creative  "  word  of  Jehovah"  which  appears 
here  and  there  in  Psalmists  and  prophets  (e.  g., 
Ps.  xxxiii.  6;  cxlvii.  15;  Is.  Iv.  11,  etc.).  For 
this  last  expression  has,  after  all,  no  other  value 
than  poetic  figures  in  general,  hastily  thrown 
out.  The  Hhokmah  of  our  passage,  however,  is, 
notwithstanding  the  poetic  character  of  its 
drapery,  a  conception  developed  with  the  great- 
est care,  a  fruit  of  profound  and  consecrated 
speculation,  a.  bright  ray  of  Divine  revelation, 
which,  among  the  Messianic  prophecies  of  the 
0.  T.  that  relate  to  the  Divine  side  of  the  Re- 
deemer'snature,  holds  one  of  the  most  conspicuous 
places.  Comp.  Nitzsoh,  as  above  cited,  pp.  319, 
320. 

[5.  The  error  in  our  English  exegetical  and 
theological  literature  with  respect  to  our  passage 
lias  been,  we  think,  the  attempt  to  force  upon  it 
more  of  distinctness  and  precision  in  the  revela- 
tion of  the  mysteries  of  the  Divine  nature  than  is 
disclosed  by  a  fair  exegesis.  Sometimes  it  is  the 
doctrine  of  the  Logos  that  is  made  to  stand  out 
with  all  the  clearness  of  the  New  Testament  an- 
nouncement ;  sometimes  it  is  "  the  eternal  gene- 
ration of  the  Son"  that  Solomon  is  made,  as  the 
Spirit's  mouthpiece,  to  reveal.  Owen's  elaborate 
arguments  (Comm.  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
Exercitatiou  xxvii.),  and  Holden's  extended  and 
learned  comments  (Comm.  in  loc),  appear  to  us 
very  plainly  to  err  in  this  excess.  If  it  be  not 
unworthy  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  employ  a  bold 
and  graphic  personification,  many  things  in  this 
chapter  may  be  said  of  and  by  the  personified 
Wisdom,  which  these  and  other  similar  authors 
regard  as  triumphantly  proving  that  we  have 
here  the  pre-existent  Christ,  the  Son  of  God. 
How  weak  would  that  personification  be  which 
did  not  ascribe  to  the  imagined  person  hate,  love., 
power,  etc.  (seeHoLDEN)  !  Why  cannot  a  personi- 
fied attribute,  if  the  personification  be  at  all 
successful,  be  represent  ed  as  being  born,  as  being 
by  or  near  the  Deity,  as  rejoicing  in  His  sight, 
etc.  (see  Holden  again)  ?     And  yet  we  need  not 

*  Comp.  also  subsequent  notes  on  ch.  sxx.  3  sq. 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOJlwN. 


go  so  far  as  Owen  and  say,  "A  personal  transae- 
tion  before  the  creation  of  the  world,  between 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  acting  materially  by 
their  One  Spirit,  concerning  the  state  and  condi- 
tion of  manliind,  with  respect  to  Divine  love  and 
favor,  is  that  which  we  inquire  after,  and  which 
is  here  fully  expressed."  Wordsworth  not 
agreeing  with  Gesenius,  etc.,  in  regard  to  the 
primary  meaning  of  the  much  debated  njj^* 
admitting  that  it  originally  signifies  acquire, 
nevertheless  agrees  with  Gesen.,  Hupfeld  (?), 
Notes,  Stuart  and  others  in  here  rendering 
it  "created,"  because  he  wants  an  "eternal 
generation  "  as  the  product  of  his  exegesis, — a 
product  far  enough  from  the  thoughts  of  most  of 
those  who  agree  with  him  in  his  rendering.  We 
can,  to  say  the  least,  go  no  farther  than  our  au- 
*hor  has  done  in  discovering  here  the  foresha- 
dowings  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Logos.  We  are 
inclined  to  prefer  the  still  more  guarded  state- 
ments, e.  g.,  of  Dr.  J.  Pye  Smith  (Scripture  Tes- 
timony to  the  Messiah,  I.,  352),  that  this  beautiful 
picture  "  cannot  be  satisfactorily  proved  to  be  a 
designed  description  of  the  Saviour's  person ;" 
or  that  of  Dr.  John  Harris  (Sermon  on  Prov. 
viii.  30-36),  "At  all  events,  while,  on  the  one 
haud,  none  can  demonstrate  that  Christ  is  here 
directly  intended, — on  the  other,  none  can^roBe 
that  He  is  not  contemplated;  and  perhaps  both 
will  admit  that  under  certain  conditions  language 
such  as  that  in  our  text  may  be  justifiably  applied 
to  Him.  One  of  these  conditions  is,  that  the 
language  be  not  employed  argamentatively,  or  in 
proof  of  any  thing  relating  to  Christ,  but  only  for 
the  purpose  of  illustration;  and  another  is  that 
when  so  employed,  it  be  only  adduced  to  illus- 
trate such  views  of  the  Son  of  God  as  are  already 
established  by  such  other  parts  of  Scripture  as 
are  admitted  by  the  parties  addressed." — A.] 

HOMILETIO    AND    PRACTICAL. 

Homily  on  the  entire  chapter.  See  the  translation 
above,  and  comp.  Stooker  :  The  heavenly  Wisdom 
which  is  the  word  of  God  is  urgently  commended 
to  us :  1 )  by  the  good  opportunity  which  we  have 
to  study  it  (vers.  1-6) ;  2)  by  the  rich  blessing 
that  it  brings  us  (vers.  6-21);  3 )  by  the  eminence 
and  majesty  of  the  teacher  who  teaches  it,  and 
who  is  no  other  than  Christ,  the  eternal  Sou  of 
God  (vers.  22-36). — Starke  :  The  true  Wisdom's 
invitation  of  all  men  to  the  Kingdom  of  God :  1) 
the  invitation  itself  (vers.  1-10) ;  2)  the  induce- 
ments to  give  heed  to  it,  namely:  a)  the  inesti- 
mable value  of  wisdom  (vers.  11,  12) ;  b)  the 
blessings  of  those  who  accept  her  invitation  to 
the  Kingdom  of  God  (vers.  13-36).  —  Oalwer 
Handbuch ;  Wisdom  commends  herself:  I)  in 
general  (vers.  1-5) ;  2)  by  her  truthfulness  (vers. 
6-9) ;  3)  by  the  prudence,  understanding,  honor 
and  power  that  she  imparts  to  her  followers 
(vers.  10-21)  ;  4)  by  her  eternal  existence,  her 
participation  in  the  creation,  her  delight  in  the 
sons  of  men  (vera.  22-36). — Wohlparth:  Wisdom 
the  truest  and  best  friend  of  men,  her  doors 
(ver.  34)  standing  open  day  by  day  to  every  one 
that  needs  and  desires  her. 

*  [For  a  very  full  and  candid  discnaaion  of  this  with  other 
related  polnta,  see  an  article  by  Prof.  E.  P.  Barrows,  Biblioth. 
Sacra,  April,  1858 ;  also,  Liddon'8  Bamp.  Lectures,  pp.  60,  61. 
-A.] 


Vers.  1-11.  Egaed:— The  Eternal  Son  of  God 
gathers,  plants,  builds  His  Church  by  a  voice, 
i.  e.,  His  word.     All  true  teachers  of   the  word 

are  crying  voices  through  which  Christ  calls . 

Out  of  Christ's  school  is  no  true  wisdom;  they 
who  deem  themselves  wise  and  shrewd  are  unfit- 
ted to  learn  of  Him. — So  long  as  Christ's  wisdom 
is  still  speaking  outside  of  thee  it  avails  thee 
nothing;  but  when  thou  allowest  it  to  dwell  in 
thee  it  is  thy  light  and  thy  life. — Thou  ehouldst 
have  one  heart  and  one  mouth  with  Christ;  if 
false  and  perverse  things  are  found  in  thy  mouth 
thou  art  still  far  from  Christ. — Silver  and  gold 
is  mere  vanity  and  nothingness;  what  can  it 
help  in  the  day  of  wrath  and  judgment?  Let 
God's  word  be  thy  highest  and  best  treasure  — 
Berleb.  Bible:  Wisdom  (who  speaks  to  us  not 
only  through  the  word  written  and  preached,  but 
also  inwardly,  as  God's  voice  in  our  hearts)  is  so 
far  from  keeping  silence,  that  although  we  stop 
our  ears,  we  yet  hear  her  correction  within  at 
the  entrances  and  doors  of  the  heart ;  and  al- 
though we  will  not  understand  her,  we  must  ne- 
vertheless feel  her.  And  this  is  a  testimony  how 
desirous  God  is  of  our  blessedness. 

Vers.  12-21.  Melanohthon  (on  vers.  14  sq.) : 
Those  counsels  are  just  which  agree  with  the 
word  of  God  ;  and  these  counsels  will  at  length 
have  joyful  issues,  with  the  aid  of  the  Son  of 
God,  who  wills  to  aid  those  that  continue  in  the 
word  which  He  has  given,  and  who  call  upon 
Him. — Luther  (marginal  comment  on  vers.  15, 
16):  "Princes  should  act,  speak,  work,  honora- 
bly and  praiseworthily,  that  men  may  glory  in 
and  follow  their  example  ;  and  not  as  the  tyrants, 
the  foul,  the  Cyclops,"  etc. — Hasius  :  When  true 
wisdom  is  taken  into  counsel  in  every  thing,  then 
in  all  ranks  that  will  occur  which  each  one's 
purpose  demands  according  to  a  perfect  ideal. 
Kings,  princes,  nobles,  counsellors  will  act  in 
conformity  with  the  aim  of  their  calling  (2 
Chron.  xix.  6,  7). — Things  would  stand  much 
better  in  the  world  if  men  exercised  their  spirit 
more  after  holiness,  and  strove  with  greater  zeal 
for  wisdom,  Matth.  vi.  33.  —  Berleburg  Bible : 
No  one  can  rightfully  take  to  himself  the  name 
of  a  Christian  ruler,  but  he  who  subjects  himself 
in  spirit  and  truth,  in  humble  obedience  to  the 
control  of  the  Almighty,  lays  himself  at  His  feet 
and  allows  himself  to  be  wholly  ruled  by  Him. 
Others  exercise  a  rude,  violent  and  tyrannical 
control,  and  an  assumed  authority  over  the  per- 
son of  men. — Von  Gerlaoh  :  The  wisdom  who 
here  announces  herself  is  the  very  wisdom  of 
God,  and  is  therefore  also,  as  all  good  can  be 
from  God  alone,  the  soul  of  all  good  laws  and 
ordinances  (vers.  14-17),  and  must,  as  every 
thing  earthly  is  ruled,  disposed  and  rightly  dis- 
tributed among  men  by  God,  necessarily  reward 
her  disciples  with  welfare,  honor  and  riches 
(vers.  18-21).  [Ver.  12.  Charnook:  All  arts 
among  men  are  the  rays  of  Divine  wisdom  shining 
upon  them.  Whatsoever  wisdom  there  is  in  the 
world,  it  is  but  a  shadow  of  the  wisdom  of  God. — 
Ver.  13.  Arnot:  To  fear  retribution  is  not  to 
hate  sin  ;  in  most  cases  it  is  to  love  it  with  the 
whole  heart.  It  is  when  sin  is  forgiven  that  a 
sinner  can  hate  it.  Then  he  is  on  God's  side. 
Instead  of  hating  God  for  his  holiness,  the  for- 
given man  instinctively  loathes  the  evil  of  his 


CHAP.  IX.  1-18. 


105 


own  heart. — Jona.  Edwabds  :  "  The  affection  of 
hatred  as  having  sin  for  its  object  is  spoken  of  in 
Scripture  as  no  inconsiderable  part  of  true  reli- 
gion. It  is  spoken  of  as  that  by  which  true  re- 
ligion may  be  known  and  distinguished." — Ver. 
15.  Bp.  Sanderson:  On  the  efficient  cause  and 
consequent  obligation  of  human  law. — Hookek: 
"By  me  kings  reign,"  etc.  Not  as  if  men  did 
behold  that  book  and  accordingly  frame  their 
laws ;  but  because  it  worketh  in  them,  because  it 
(liscovereth  and  (as  it  were)  readeth  itself  to  the 
world  by  them,  when  the  laws  which  they  make 
are  righteous. — Ver.  18.  Aenot  :  The  riches 
which  the  King  of  saints  imparts  along  with  the 
patent  of  nobility  to  support  its  dignity  withal, 
are  linked  to  righteousness  and  last  forever. 
Handfuls  are  gotten  on  the  ground,  but  a  soulful 
is  not  to  be  had  except  in  Christ.] 

Vers.  22-31.  Geier: — From  this  delineation 
there  follows:  1)  the  personal  difference  of  the 
Son  from  the  Father;  2)  the  essential  likeness 
of  the  Son  to  the  Father,  as  partaker  of  the  Di- 
vine activity  in  creation  ;  3)  the  unutterable  love 
of  the  Father  to  the  Son  (ver.  80?) ;  4)  the  deep 
and  grateful  love  which  we  in  turn  owe  to  this 
Divinely  loved  director  and  mediator  in  creation 
and  redemption. — Zeltner:  All  the  works  of 
God's  i:mnipotence  and  wisdom  thou  shouldst 
contemplate  with  holy  joy  and  wonder,  praise 
the  Creator  for  them,  and  with  them  strengthen 
thyself  in  faith  in  His  paternal  providence. — As 
nn  essential  and  indescribable  fellowship  exists 
between  the  Father  and  the  Son,  so  does  there 
exist  between  God  and  the  believer  a  gracious 
spiritual  union,  on  which  the  Christian  must  be 
most  intent. — ^Starke  :  All  things  have  had  their 
beginning  except  the  Son  of  God  regarded  in 
His  Divine  nature.  He  is  with  the  Father  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  true  God  from  everlasting  to 
everlasting.  All  that  this  Eternal  Wisdom  does 
in  the  kingdom  of  nature,  as  well  as  in  that  of 
grace,  she  does  with  gladness  and  delight :  yea, 
there  is  in  this  work  so  lovely  and  wise  an  alter- 
nation and  mauifolduess,  that  we  must  in  reason 


wonder  at  it  (comp.  Eph.  iii.  10,  "the  manifold 
wisdom  of  God  ").  —  Von  Geelach  :  —  That 
"  play  "  of  wisdom  in  which  the  Lord  takes 
pleasure,  and  her  joyousness  on  the  earth,  in 
which  she  iiuds  her  joy  among  men,  points  to 
the  childlike  gladness  of  the  love  that  ruled  in 
creation,  and  to  the  confidential  relation  into 
which  the  children  of  wisdom  on  earth  (Matth. 
xi.  19)  enter,  to  her  the  very  wisdom  of  God ; 
comp.  Prov.  x.  23.  In  this  passage  there  is  a  most 
clearly  prophetic  gleam  of  the  light  of  the  New 
Testament;  God's  eternal  wisdom  comes  forth 
from  Him  that  He  may  delight  Himself  in  her  ac- 
tivity ;  His  own  eternal  nature  the  Father  for  his 
own  blessedness  contemplates  in  the  Son.  And 
it  is  in  a  love  most  intimately  blended  with  wis- 
dom that  the  Father  created  the  world,  to  His 
own  blessedness  and  that  of  His  creatures. 

Vers.  32-36.  Geier  :  The  true  fruits  of  obe- 
dience should  follow  the  hearing  of  the  word. 
To  these  belong:  1)  walking  the  prescribed  way; 
2)  willing  reception  of  the  IJivine  correction  ;  3) 
tile  extirpation  of  all  inner  opposition ;  4)  zealous 
and  persistent  seeking  after  salvation  ;  5)  thank- 
ful enjoyment  of  the  true  wisdom  when  found. — 
Von  Gerlaoh  (on  vers.  34  sq.):  Wisdom  here 
appears  as  a  sovereign,  separate  and  secluded 
in  the  style  of  Oriental  monarohs,  so  that  only 
those  know  any  thing  of  her  who  diligently  keep 
watch  at  her  doors.  Wisdom,  who  is  universal  in 
her  call  and  invitation  (vers.  1-3),  yet  in  the 
course  of  communication,  in  order  to  test  the 
fidelity  of  her  admirers,  veils  herself  at  times  in 
a  mysterious  darkness,  and  reveals  herself  only 
to  those  who  never  intermit  their  search  (Matth. 
vii.  7). — [John  Howe:  There  ought  to  be  an  ex- 
pectation raised  in  us  that  the  vital  savor  dif- 
fused in  and  by  the  word  may  reach  us ;  and 
many  are  ruined  for  not  expecting  it,  not  waiting 
at  the  posts  of  wisdom's  door. — ^Trapp:  Hear, 
etc.  This  way  wisdom  enters  into  the  soul. 
Hear,  therefore,  for  else  there  is  no  hope ;  hear, 
howsoever. — Flavel  :  It  is  good  to  lie  in  the  path 
of  the  Spirit.] 


16.  Allegorical  exhibition  of  the  call  of  men  to  the  possession  and  enjoyment  of  true  wisdom, 
under  the  figure  of  an  invitation  to  two  banquets. 


Chap.  IX.  1-18. 
o)  The  banquet  of  wisdom:  Vers.  1-12. 

Wisdom  hath  builded  her  house, 
she  hath  hewn  out  her  seven  pillars, 
hath  slaughtered  her  beasts,  spiced  her  wine, 
hath  also  spread  her  table  ; 
hath  sent  out  her  maidens ;  she  inviteth 
on  the  highest  points  (summits  of  the  high  places)  of  the  city: 
"  Whosoever  is  simple,  let  him  come  hither !" — 
Whoso  lacketh  understanding,  to  him  she  saith : 


106 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


5  "  Come,  eat  of  my  bread 

and  drink  of  the  wine  I  have  mixed! 

6  Forsake  the  simple,  and  live, 

and  walk  in  the  way  of  understanding. 

7  He  who  correcteth  a  scorner  draweth  upon  himself  insult, 
and  he  who  rebuketh  the  wicked,  it  is  his  dishonor. 

8  Reprove  not  the  scorner  lest  he  hate  thee  ; 
admonish  the  wise  and  he  will  love  thee. 

9  Give  to  the  wise  and  he  becometh  yet  wiser, 
instruct  the  upright  and  he  learneth  yet  more. 

10  The  beginning  of  wisdom  is  the  fear  of  Jehovah, 
and  knowledge  of  the  Holy  (one)  is  understanding. 

11  For  by  me  will  thy  days  become  many, 
and  the  years  of  thy  life  will  increase. 

12  Art  thou  wise,  thou  art  wise  for  thyself, 

and  if  thou  scornest  thou  alone  shalt  bear  it." 

b)  The  banquet  of  Folly  :  Vers.  13-1& 

13  A  simple  woman  (and)  clamorous, 

is  Folly,  and  knoweth  nothing  whatsoever. 

14  She  sitteth  at  the  door  of  her  house 
enthroned  in  the  high  places  of  the  city, 

15  to  invite  the  wayfarers 

who  go  straight  on  their  ways : 

16  "  Whosoever  is  simple  let  him  come  hither !" — 
whoso  lacketh  understanding  to  him  she  saith  : 

17  "Stolen  waters  are  sweet, 

and  bread  taken  in  secret  is  pleasant," 

18  and  he  knoweth  not  that  the  dead  are  there, 

in  the  depths  of  hell  (the  lower  world)  her  guests. 


GEAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 
Ver.3.  [BoTTCHEE  cites   ^0*10    as  illuBtrating  a  peculiar  Hebrew  idiom  by  which  the  emphatic  plural  of  generic  de- 

signationB  of  persons,  places  and  things  is  nsed  for  the  singular  with  au  indefinite  article,  which  the  Hebrew  lacked,  and 
only  in  its  later  periods  began  to  supplement  by  the  numeral.  He  would  therefore  translate  "  on  one  of  the  high  places 
of  the  city."     See  Ausfultrl.  Lehrb.,  g  702,  d.]. 

Vers.  4.  ["1D%   an  example  of  the  "consultive"  use  of  the  Jussive  form  (see  B  it.  §  964,  2),  which  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  succeeding  word  retains  the  u  vowel  (g  956,  g, — 2  1132,  3),  the  ordinary  Jussive  being    ^b"".    TT^DX  Perf  con- 

T  T   •  JT 

sec.  employed,  as  it  sometimes  is  in  the  lively  discourse  of  oratory  and  poetry,  without  the  connective    1 ,  B.  ^  974]. 

Ver.  9.  [DDHM,    ^DVI,    examples  of  Jussive  with   1    consec,  in  the  ^^  cansecutive-a^rmative"  sense,  as  giving  an 

assured  result.     BoTT.  §  964,  a.]. 

Ver.  13.  [no    is  regarded  by  BoTTCHER  also  as  an  indefinite,  quidquid  or  quidquam,  (g  899,  e),  aa  it  is  by  Qesenius  and 

T 

POEEST.    Geben.  however  finds  a  different  shade  of  meaning  in  the  verb,  and  translates  "  and  careth  for  nothing  "]. 

Ver.  16.  [rriDXl,    an  example  of  the  Perf.  consec.  in  the  sense  of  the  "  J^ens  solitum,^'  the  "  future  "  with  the  ideaof 
T  :  t: 

customary  action.    Bijir.  §  981,  B.  ^.]. 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  Vers.  1-3.  Wisdom  hath  builded  her 
bouse.  The  figure  of  the  building  of  a  house 
which  is  readily  suggested  by  the  appellation 
"  director  of  the  work  "  in  chap.  viii.  80,  appro- 
priately provides  for  a  transition  from  the  de- 
scription of  the  agency  of  eternal  Wisdom  in  the 
creation  of  the  world,  to  that  here  symbolized  as 
an  invitation  to  a  banquet, — her  activity  among 
men,  summoning  and  morally  instructing  them. 
Comp.  chap.  xiv.  1. — The  designation  of  Wisdom 
(nioun)  is  the  same  as  in  i.  20. — Hath  hewn 

;   T 

out  her  seven  pillars,     [f  his   hewing  out  of 


pillars  suggests  the  splendor  of  the  completed 
building.  The  sevenfold  number  represents  this 
as  a  sacred  work  ;  for  seven  stands  here,  as  it  so 
frequently  does  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
as  a  sacred  number  (comp.  my  article  "  Sieben- 
zahl"  in  Hekzoq's  Theol.  Real-Encycl.,  XIV.  353 
sq. ).  The  house  of  the  celestial  Wisdom  is  by 
this  peculiar  and  emblematic  description  repre- 
sented, as  it  were,  in  advance,  as  a  temple,  and 
the  banquet  offered  in  it  as  a  sacred  sacrificial 
meal.  Special  significance  in  the  seven  pillars, 
e.  y.,  in  connection  with  the  seven  attributes  of 
the  higher  wisdom  enumerated  in  James  iii.  17^ 
or  the  seven  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit  referred  to 
in  Rev.  i.  4,  12  sq.  ;  iii.  1  ;  iv.  5 ;  v.  6,  etc.  (Vi- 


CHAP.  IX.  1-18. 


lOT 


IBINGA,    C.  B.   MiOHAELIS,    J.  LaNOE,  VoN    GeR- 

LACH,  etc.),  or  the  seven  principia  deductiva  Ethi- 
eea  divinx  (according  to  S..  BoHHUS,  oomp.  re- 
marks above,  p.  74,  note),  or  finally,  the  first 
seven  chapters  of  the  Book  of  Wisdom  now  be- 
fore us, — all  this  is  indicated  by  nothing  what- 
ever in  the  context,  and  is  therefore  wholly  ar- 
bitrary. The  suffix  in  nnra.!?,  since  n;|  is 
usually  masc,  seems  to  refer  to  Wisdom  as  the 
subject  of  the  proposition, — her,  not  ila  seven 
pillars. 

Ver.  2.  Hath  slaughtered  her  beasts. 
Notwithstanding  the  sacred  character  of  the  ban- 
quet, nn3C3  is  still  not  to  be  necessarily  trans- 
lated "  her  victims,"  but  signifies  "that  which  is 
slaughtered,"  slain  animals  in  general.  There 
is  probably  no  reference  to  vii.  14. — The  "mix- 
ing of  the  wine  "  seems  not  to  refer  to  a  mere 
mixing  of  wine  with  water,  but  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  a  strong  spiced  wine  with  myrrh,  etc.  ; 
comp.  Isa.  V.  22;  Prov.  xxiii.  30,  etc. 

Ver.  8.  She  inviteth  on  the  highest  points 
of  the  city,  i.  e.,  so  that  her  servants  must  as- 
cend the  highest  elevations  of  the  city  (not  spe- 
cifically the  roofs  of  palaces),  from  v^hich  their 
calls  of  invitation  to  the  banquet  are  most  widely 
heard.  Hitzig  singularly  translates  "  on  the 
bare  elevations  of  the  city,"  because  D'SJ  in 
Exod.  xxi.  3,  4,  and  according  to  the  Arabic, 
means  naked,  unclothed  (?). — Furthermore  the 
maidens  sent  forth,  the  servants  of  Wisdom,  cor- 
respond to  the  servants  by  whom  the  Lord  in  the 
Gospel  (Luke  xiv.  16  sq.  ;  Matth.  xxii.  1  sq.)  has 
the  guests  invited  to  his  banquet. 

2.  Vers.  4-12.  "  V7hosoever  is  simple  let 
him  come  hither!"  etc.  On  account  of  the  si 
milarity  of  this  verse  to  ver.  16,  which  contains 
the  words  of  Folly's  invitation,  and  on  account 
of  the  summons  to  eat  bread  (ver.  5)  which  does 
not  agree  with  the  mention  of  the  slain  beasts  in 
ver.  2,  HiTziQ  pronounces  vers.  4  and  5  spuri- 
ous. But  it  is  very  significant  and  pertinent 
that  Wisdom's  invitation  appears  clothed  in  the 
same  words  as  that  of  Folly  (comp.  the  analogous 
verbal  repetitions  in  Christ's  parables  and  di- 
dactic narratives,  e.  g.,  Matth.  xxv.  20,  22;  Luke 
V.  6,  9;  xvi.  6,  7,  etc.);  and  to  "eat  bread" 
stands  here  as  in  iv.  7,  and  indeed  frequently 
(e  g..  Gen.  iii.  19;  Lev.  xxvi.  5;  Dent.  xxix.  6; 
Judges  xix.  5;  1  Sam.  ii.  36,  etc.),  by  synec- 
doche for  "  the  partaking  of  food,  the  taking  a 
meal "  in  general.  [The  allegorical  view  of  this 
passage  as  held,  e.  ^.,  by  Wobdsw.,  and  in  his 
Commentary  supported  by  ample  use  of  the 
Church  Fathers,  may  be  illustrated  by  the  sup- 
posed reference  of  ver.  5  to  "  the  Body  of  Christ, 
the  Living  Bread,  and  the  mystery  of  His  blood, 
by  which  we  are  refreshed  at  His  Holy  Table." 
A.].— The  destitute  of  understanding,  to 

him  she  saith.  Before  the  37.~"IDl!  there  is 
to  be  supplied  from  the  1st  member  the  pro- 
noun 'D, — literally,  therefore  "  who  is  destitute 
of  understanding,  to  him  she  saith."  The  dis- 
course accordingly  here  (and  in  the  2d  member 
of  ver.  15)  falls  back  from  the  style  of  recital  to 
that  of  description. 

Ver.  6.    Forsake   the  simple.     It  will  be 
easiest  to  take  this  phrase  in  its  literal  sense. 


For  the  verses  following  give  this  very  counsel, 
not  to  keep  company  longer  with  the  simple, 
with  fools  and  scorners,  because  these  are 
still  incorrigible.  The  old  versions  and  most 
modern  commentators  [as  e.  g.,  St.,  N.,  M.]  re- 
gard the  noun  as  abstract  (equivalent  to  the  sing, 
'nil  in  i.  22,  or  the  abstract  derivative  n-lTI3 
in  ver.  13),  and  therefore  translate  "Forsake 
simplicity,  let  your  simplicity  go."  [As  Trapp, 
in  his  pithy  way  expresses  it:  "No  coming  to 
this  feast  in  the  tattered  rags  of  the  old  Adam; 
you  must  relinquish  your  former  evil  courses  and 
companies"].  But  such  a  signification  of  this  plu- 
ral is  attested  by  no  example  whatsoever.  Just 
as  unadvisable  is  it  to  construe  the  verb  abso- 
lutely, by  which  Hitziq  reaches  the  translation, 
"Cease,  ye  simple,"  etc.;  for  in  Jer.  xviii.  14, 
the  verb  is  construed  not  absolutely,  but  rather 
with  [0  ;  and  the  connection  withwjiat  follows 
at  least  decidedly  favors  our  explanation,  which 
is  supported  by  Umbreit  also  among  others  of 
the  later  expositors. 

Ver.  7.  He  V7ho  correcteth  the  scorner 
draweth  upon  himself  insult.  Usually  the 
connection  with  ver.  4-6  is  so  conceived  as  it 
Wisdom  were  here  (in  ver.  7-10)  explaining  her 
conduct  in  inviting  especially  the  simple ;  she  is 
supposed  to  turn  to  these  alone,  for  the  reason 
that  if  she  wished  to  invite  the  scornful  and 
wicked  also  she  would  only  expose  herself  to  in- 
dignities, and  yet  would  efi'ect  nothing.  But 
against  this  view  of  the  course  of  thought  may 
be  urged  decidedly,  the  warning  and  admonitory 
tone  of  vers.  8,  9,  and  the  didactic  nature  of  ver. 
10,  which  make  it  easy  to  find  expressed  in  ver. 
7  also  the  spirit  of  dissuasion,  and  so  to  regard 
vers.  7-10  as  an  argument  in  support  of  the  de- 
mand embodied  in  the  1st  clause  of  ver.  6,  to 
avoid  further  intercourse  with  the  simple,  scorn- 
ers, villains,  etc.  A  comparison  with  i.  22  shows 
that  under  the  "  simple  "  may  be  included  very 
readily  mockers,  the  violent,  etc.,  as  belonging 
to  the  same  category;  so  does  also  the  name  "sim- 
plicity "  (nrnB)  which  is  below,  in  ver.  13, 
directly  given  to  the  personification  of  Folly. 
"  Abandon  intercourse  with  such  persons  "  is 
therefore  Wisdom's  admonition,  "for  you  gain 
from  it  nothing  but  insult,  hate  and  contempt; 
forsake  the  camp  of  the  simple  (□''Nnil)  and 
come  over  into  that  of  the  wise  (D'pon),  whose 
watchword  is  the  fear  of  God  and  knowledge  of 
the  Holy ;  so  will  you  find  abundance  of  happi- 
ness and  blessing." — HiTzio,  whose  conception 
of  the  1st  clause  of  ver.  6  makes  the  recognition 
of  this  as  the  true  connection  of  thought  from 
the  first  impossible,  summarily  rejects  ver.  7-10 
as  a  later  interpolation.  But  if  in  fact  the  "if 
thou  scornest"  in  the  2d  clause  of  ver.  12  sug- 
gested this  interpolation,  the  verses  introduced 
would  both  in  form  and  substance  have  been  es- 
sentially different.  And  in  the  form  in  which 
the  passage  has  come  down  in  the  manuscripts 
Hitzig's  hypothesis  of  an  interpolation  here 
again  finds  no  kind  of  support. — And  he  ■who 
rebuketh  a  -wicked  man  to  him  it  is  g 
shame.     The  word    1D1D    (his  fault  or  shame) 

cannot  be  dependent  on  the  verb    (np7)    of  the 
first  clause  which   is  associated  with    1/    [he 


108 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


taketh  to  himself  his  shame],  but  must  be  re- 
garded as  a  predicate:  "this  is  to  him  shame, 
such  action  is  his  disgrace."  Comp.  Eccl.  v.  16  ; 
Ps.  cxv.  7. 

Ver.  9.  Give  to  the  wise  and  he  be- 
cometh  wiser.  Comp.  chap.  i.  5,  which  pas- 
sage although  expressing  an  idea  like  that  before 
us,  must  not  for  that  reason  be  regarded  as  de- 
rived from  this  (in  opposition  to  Hitzig).  [Lord 
B,\C0N  {Adv.  of  Learning,  Book  II.)  says,  "  Here 
is  distinguished  the  wisdom  brought  into  habit, 
and  that  which  is  but  verbal  and  swimming  only 
in  conceit ;  for  the  one  upon  the  occasion  pre- 
sented is  quickened  and  redoubled,  the  other  is 
amazed  and  confused"].  With  ver.  10  comp.  i.  7; 
ii.  5.  Corresponding  with  the  "Knowledge 
of  God "  in  the  latter  passage  we  have  here 
"knowledge  of  the  holy,"  i.  e.  not  "  knowledge 
of  the  holy"  [in  plural]  (LXX,  Vulgate,  and 
most  Catholic  expositors),  but  "of  the  Holy"  [in 
singular,  '•  des  Hdligim"^,  i.e.  of  God.  Comp. 
further  for  this  plur.  majest.  chap.  xxx.  3  and 
Hos.  xii.  1.  [See  still  further  examples  of  the 
use  of  participial  plurals  in  the  same  way  in  Isa. 
liv.  5;  Ps.  cxxi.  5;  Eccl.  xii.  1,  etc.,  Ewald, 
Lehrb.,  §  178,  b,  Bott.,  ^  701,  Green,  §  202,— 
With  regard  to  the  interpretation  compare  Dr. 
J.  Pte  Smith  (Script.  Test,  to  the  Messiah,  I., 
311):  "  According  to  the  usual  construction  of 
Hebrew  poetry,  the  plural  epithet  "  the  Holy" 
must  be  understood  in  apposition  with  Jehovah 
in  the  former  half  of  the  distich."  So  H.,  St. 
M.,  and  N.— A.] 

Vers.  11,  12  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  taking 
up  the  discourse  after  the  alleged  digression  in 
vers.  7-10,  and  attaching  themselves  to  the  words 
of  invitation  in  vers.  4-6  to  justify  them  (Ber- 
THEAU,  Hitzig),  but  give  the  reason  for  the  gene- 
ral affirmation  in  ver.  10,  which  had  been  added 
as  a  peculiarly  strong  motive  to  the  acceptance 
of  Wisdom's  invitation.  The  address  in  the  sin- 
gular has  therefore  nothing  remarkable  in  it ;  it 
simply  follows  vers.  .8,  9. — By  me  will  thy 
days  become  many,  etc.  Comp.  similar  pro- 
mises of  long  life,  chap.  iii.  2 ;  iv.  10.  [For  the 
use  of  this  3d  pers.  plural  ■IS'DV  see  the  gram- 
mars generally,  e.  ff.  Ges.,  ^  134,  3;  Green,  ^ 
243,  2,  b,  but  more  fully  Bott.,  §  935,  6].— Art 
thou  wise,  thou  art  w^ise  to  thyself.  The 
same  thought  is  found  somewhat  more  fully  de- 
veloped in  Job  xxii.  2,  3;  xxxv.  6-9  ;  comp.  also 
Rom.  xi.  8.5;  Rev.  xxii.  11,  12. — If  thou  scorn- 
est  thou  alone  shalt  bear  it.  Comp.  Numb. 
ix.  13  ;  Jer.  vii.  19 ;  Job  xxxiv.  31,  and  also  the 
Latin  dictum  of  Petronius,  ^^Sibi  quisque peccat.^' 
The  LXX  offer  in  ver.  12,  1st  clause,  the  fuller 
reading  "  thou  shalt  be  wise  for  thyself  and  for  thy 
neighbor"  (/cat  rtj  TrXijoiov)  which  is  surely  the  re- 
sult of  interpolation,  like  the  addition  which  they 
append  to  ver.  10  [ro  yap  yvuvai.  vSfiov  diavoiac 
earlv  aya^ij^).  The  longer  additions  also  of  three 
verses  each,  which  they  with  the  Syriac  and 
Arabic  translators  exhibit  after  ver.  12  and  ver. 
18,  hardly  rest  upon  a  genuine  original  text  that 
was  before  them,  although  they  may  readily  be 
rendered  back  into  Hebrew  (see  Hitziq's  at- 
tempts at  this,  pp.  86  and  88),  and  therefore  very 
probably  date  from  pre-Alexandrian  times. 

Vera.   13-18.    A  simple    woman,   clamo- 


rous, [violently  excited]  is  Polly.  The  ab- 
stract nrniJ,  simplicity,  foolishness  (see  above 
remarks  on  ver.  7)  ia  here  plainly  the  subject, 
and  designates  the  personified  Folly,  the  exact 
opposite  of  Wisdom  in  ver.  1  With  this  subject 
is  associated  and  prefixed  as  the  main  predicate, 
the  appellation  "  woman  of  folly,"  i.  e.,  sim- 
ple woman;  the  n'OlD  "clamorous,  boister- 
ous" is  in  turn  an  attribute  of  this  predicate, 
and  describes  the  passionately  excited,  wanton 
desire  of  the  foolish  woman  represented  as  au 
adulteress,  just  as  in  vii.  11,  with  which  deli- 
neation that  before  us  has  a  general  and  doubt- 
less intentional  correspondence. — And  know- 
eth  nothing  whatever.  In  this  way  in  ac- 
cordance with   Job    xiii.  13,   this  phrase  of  the 

Masoretic  text  (n?3-nj7"l""731)  must  unques- 
tionably be  interpreted.  Utter  ignorance  (comp. 
John  xi.  49,  "ye  know  nothing  at  all")  would 
accordingly  be  what  is  here  asserted  of  Folly. 
But  perhaps  Hitzig  is  right,  according  to  the 
LXX  {r/  ovK.  eiriaTarcu  aL<7X'"'m',  "whoknowetb 
not  shame")  in  reading  PIH/^  instead  of 
nn  (the  disappearance  of  the  two  consonants 
might  easily  have  been  occasioned  by  the  false 
reading  nD"73),  and  therefore  in  translating 
"  and  knoweth  no  shame,"  which  agrees  admi- 
rably with  the  "boisterous  "  of  the  1st  clause. 

Ver.  14.  She  sitteth  at  the  door  of  hei 
house,  like  harlots  who  watch  for  passers  by; 
comp.  Jer.  iii.  2  ;  Gen.  xxxviii.  14,  and  the  con- 
duct of  the  adulteress  described  in  chap.  vii.  10 
sq. — Seated  in  the  high  places  of  the  city. 
The  place  thus  described  is  not  the  same  as  that 
in  the  1st  clause,  but  some  other,  farther  re- 
moved from  the  door  of  the  house.  The  harlot 
is  therefore  quite  like  the  one  in  chap.  vii.  10  sq., 
represented  as  running  irregularly  this  way 
and  that  and  often  changing  her  place.  In  this, 
however,  the  representation  accords  with  that  in 
ver.  3  ;  as  Wisdom  so  also  Folly  sends  forth  her 
call  of  invitation  from  elevated  places  of  the 
city  (comp.  also  chap.  viii.  2).  A  real  throne  as 
her  seat,  which  she  has  erected  under  the  open 
air,  and  which,  in  contrast  to  the  "bald,  un- 
covered heights"  (?)  mentioned  in  ver.  3,  is  sup- 
posed to  be  covered  with  tapestry  (Hitzig),  is 
certainly  not  intended;  but  the  "throne"  is 
here  metaphorical;  a  "lofty  throne  of  the  city" 
(Umbreit)  is  a  figurative  and  probably  an  ironi- 
cal representation  of  a  specially  high  place  on 
which  the  wanton  harlot  has  stationed  herself, 
and  therefore  is  as  it  were  enthroned. 

Ver.  15.  Who  go  straight  on  their  ways, 
and  therefore  quiet,  unwary  travellers  who  take 
no  thought  of  circuits  or  by-paths.  The  expres- 
sion, is  doubtless  to  be  taken  literally,  and  yet 
not  without  a  secondary  moral  significance. 

Ver.  17.  Stolen  w^aters  are  sweet,  etc. 
Plainly  words  of  Folly,  and  not  of  the  author 
(EwALD,  Bertheatt),  ot  Bveu  of  one  who  has 
been  assailed  and  ensnared  by  Folly's  allure- 
ments (Elster)  :  for  the  suggestion  of  the  at- 
traction and  charm  of  forbidden  pleasures  ap- 
pears most  appropriately  in  the  mouth  of  the 
beguiler.  Comp.  Umbreit  on  this  passage. 
Instead  of  wine  (ver.  5)  water  is  here  mentioned 


CHAP.  IX.  1-18. 


109 


as  the  ingredient  of  the  feast,  probably  with 
reference  to  the  waters  mentioned  in  chap.  v.  15. 
— Bread  of  secrecy,  i.  e.  not  simply  bread 
secretly  enjoyed,  but  also  unjustly  go.ined;  an 
image  of  the  forbidden  enjoyment  on  which  the 
adulterer  seizes  (comp.  chap.  xxx.  20). 

Ver.  18.  And  he  knoweth  not,  i.  e.  the 
fffolish  victim  who  heeds  her  call  and  enters  her 
house  (comp.  viii.  22). — That  the  dead  (shades) 
are  there,  i.  e.  children  of  death,  who  are 
surely  moving  on  toward  the  horrors  of  the 
lower  world,  and  therefore  even  now,  while  the 
body  still  lives,  are  tenants  of  the  lower  world 
(D'S3'1,  comp.  ii.  18),  or  "  dead "  (thus  quite 
correctly  according  to  the  sense,  Luther  [the 
English  version,  eic]  :  comp.  Matt.  viii.  22 ; 
Eph.  ii.  1,  etc.)-— In.  the  depths  of  hell  her 
guests;  literally,  "in  the  depths  (not  as  Um- 
BREIT  and  EwALD  would  read  'in  the  valleys') 
of  Sheol  her  invited  ones."  Therefore  although 
in  the  house  of  Folly  and  to  be  found  at  her  ban- 
quet those  ensnared  by  her  are  in  truth  already 
in  hell.  For  that  house  as  a  throat  of  hell 
reaches  down  to  it  (comp.  ii.  18;  vii.  27),  is  as  it 
were  only  a  station  on  the  way  of  these  sinners, 
which  leads  surely  and  irresistibly  down  to  hell. 
Thus,  and  doubtless  correctly,  Hitzig,  in  opposi- 
tion to  others  who  make  this  language  only  anti- 
oipative.  As  to  the  three  verses  which  the  LXX 
supply  after  ver.  18  see  above  on  ver.  12. 

DOCTEINAL   AND     ETHICAL,    HOMILETIC 
AND   PEACTICAL. 

The  prototypical  relation  of  the  contents  of 
this  chapter  to  our  Lord's  parables  founded  on 
banquets  (Mt.  xxii.  1-14;  Lu.  xiv.  16-24)  is  evi- 
dent, and  therefore  its  special  importance  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  call  to  salvation.  What  peculiarly 
characterizes  the  representation  before  us  is,  how- 
ever, the  twofold  banquet  to  which  invitation  is 
given,  and  the  correspondent  resemblances  and 
differences  in  the  two  feasts  with  their  accompa- 
niments. In  both  instances,  at  Wisdom's  feast  as 
well  as  that  of  Folly,  it  is  the  "  simple,"  i.  e.  the 
great  mass  of  the  unrenewed,  the  children  of 
this  world,  those  indeed  needing  but  not  yet  par- 
taking the  divine  salvation,  to  whom  the  call 
goes  forth.  It  also  goes  in  both  cases  (Ver.  4 
and  16)  with  the  same  words  of  invitation,  and 
under  quite  similar  conditions, — that  is,  in  such 
a  way  that  those  to  be  invited  are  laid  hold  upon 
in  the  street,  and  at  once  taken  into  the  house 
(comp.  Matt.  xxii.  9;  Luke  xiv.  21).  With  these 
analogies  which  are  found  mainly  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  acts  compared,  how  great  are  the 
differences,  how  fearful  the  contrasts !  In  the 
former  case  it  is  a  splendid  palace  with  its  col- 
umns, a  holy  temple  of  God,  in  which  the  feast 
occurs;  in  the  latter  a  common  house,  a  harlot's 
abode,  built  over  an  entrance  to  the  abyss  of 
hell !  In  the  first  the  entertainer,  represented 
as  the  princely  occupant  of  a  palace,  remains 
quietly  at  home,  while  her  servants  take  charge 
of  the  invitations  ;  in  the  last  the  common  woman 
goes  out  herself  on  the  streets  and  high  places 
of  the  city,  that  sitting  in  the  attire  of  a  harlot 
(comp.  vii.  10),  with  the  open  heavens  as  a 
canopy  above  her,  she  may  craftily  and  shame- 
lessly attract  as  many  as  may  be,  affected  and , 


ensnared  by  the  contagion  of  her  wanton  lust ! 
In  the  former  instance  it  is  simple  words  of  God 
that  make  up  the  inviting  testimony,  words  that 
in  part  with  a  literal  exactness  agree  with  the 
gracious  calls  of  mercy  and  love  with  which  the 
Sou  of  Man  once  called  sinners  to  repentance 
(comp.,  for  example,  ver.  6  with  John  vi.  35, 
vers.  7,  8  with  Matt.  vii.  6;  ver.  9  with  Matt, 
xiii.  12;  vers.  6,  11,  12  with  Matt.  xi.  28-30); 
in  the  latter  it  is  a  Satanic  voice  of  temptation 
that  is  heard,  setting  forth  with  the  boldest  ef- 
frontery as  a  commendable  principle  to  which 
we  should  conform  our  lives,  the  well-known 
"we  ever  strive  for  the  forbidden,  and  desire 
the  denied  "  [nitimur  in  velitum  semper  cupimusque 
negaia) !  comp.  ver.  17  with  Matt.  iv.  3,  9 ;  Kom. 
i.  82,  etc. 

In  the  homiletic  treatment  of  the  passage  as  a 
whole  it  will  be  appropriate  to  set  in  the  clearest 
light  this  parallelism  of  the  banquets  that  are 
compared,  with  their  special  resemblances  and 
contrasts  ;  in  some  such  way  as  this  then  :  The 
friends  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  the  friends 
of  this  world ;  or,  The  call  of  Christ  to  His 
Church,  and  the  enticement  of  Satan  to  the  ser- 
vice of  sin;  or.  The  feast  of  death,  etc.  Comp. 
Stookek  :  Christ's  wisdom  and  humanity  (^i/lov- 
Bpairia) ;  Antichrist's  folly  and  destructiveness. — 
Starke  : — A  lesson  on  the  founding  of  the  church 
of  the  Messiah,  and  the  collection  of  its  mem- 
bers: 1)  The  founding  of  the  Church  by  the 
work  of  redemption  (vers.  1,  2).  2)  The  invita- 
tion to  the  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of  Christ's 
salvation  in  the  Church ;  and  in  particular : 
a)  How  Christ  invites  to  the  enjoyment  of  these 
blessings  of  His  salvation  (vers.  3-6) ;  i)  How 
this  invitation  is  foolishly  despised  by  many 
men,  and  the  allurements  of  sin  preferred  to  it. 
— WoHLFAKTH  : — The  cross-roads  ;  while  wisdom 
calls  us  to  the  way  of  virtue  and  offers  herself 
as  our  guide  on  it,  at  the  same  time  the  pleasure 
of  this  world  calls  and  offers  everything  imagina- 
ble to  draw  to  itself  earth's  pilgrims  of  all  races^ 
ages  and  conditions. 

Single  passages.  On  vers.  1-6.  Stookee  : — 
(Sermon  on  Christmas  eve) ;  Christ's  friendliness 
and  condescension,  as  it  appears  1)  from  the 
founding  of  His  Church  and  its  maintenance  by 
"seven  pillars,"  i.  e.  by  the  apostles  endowed 
with  the  manifold  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  (ver.  1); 
2)  from  His  costly  work  of  redemption  in  His 
own  sacrificial  death  (ver.  2) ;  by  the  institution 
of  the  means  of  grace  in  His  Word  and  Sacra- 
ment (vers.  2-3) ;  4)  from  the  gracious  invitation 
to  partake  of  all  this  (vers.  4  sq. ). 

On  vers.  7,8.  Cramer: — In  the  office  of  the 
Christian  ministry  the  function  of  discipline 
must  also  be  especially  maintained.  It  does  not, 
however,  produce  uniform  fruits ;  some  reform, 
some  are  and  continue  scorners. — [Ver.  7.  Fla- 
TEL : — What  we  fear  might  turn  to  our  bene- 
fit. The  reproof  given  is  duty  discharged ;  and 
the  retort  in  return  is  a  fresh  call  to  repent- 
ance for  sin  past,  and  a  caution  against  sin  to 
come. — Vers.  7-9.  Arnot:  —  Reproof — how  to 
give  it  and  how  to  take  it.  There  should  be 
jealousy  for  the  Lord's  honor,  and  compassion  for 
men's  souls  like  a  well-spring  ever  in  the  heart; 
and  then  the  outgoing  effort  should  be  with  all 
the  wisdom  of  the  serpent  and  the  harmlessnesa 


no 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


of  the  dove.  For  rightly  receiving  reproof  the 
rule  is,  be  more  concerned  to  get  the  benefit  of 
the  reproof  than  to  wreak  vengeance  on  the  re- 
prover.] 

On  ver.  7-12.  Calmer  Handbuch;  Reflections 
on  the  reception  which  Wisdom's  invitation  finds 
among  men;  mockers  answer  it  with  derision; 
wise,  i.  e.  God-fearing  men,  and  such  as  continue 
in  sanctification  grow  not  only  in  wisdom,  but  also 
in  outward  prosperity:  the  gain  is  in  every  case 
ours,  as  the  loss  is  the  scorner's. — On  vers.  11, 12. 
HASins  : — Wisdom  and  virtue  lose  nothing  by 
being  reviled  and  defamed ;  be,  however,  inevi- 
tably loses  who  makes  sport  of  them. — [T.Adams: 
— Wisdom  is  the  mother  of  abstinence,  and  absti- 
nence the  nurse  of  health  ;  whereas  voluptuous- 
ness and  intemperance  (as  the  French  proverb 
hath  it)  dig  their  own  grave  with  their  teeth.] 

On  vers.  13-18.  Starke  : — If  the  temptation 
of  Satan  and  his  agents  is  so  strong  so  much  the 
more  needful  is  it  to  try  the  spirits  whether  they 


be  of  God,  and  to  beseech  God  that  He  will 
guide  us  in  the  right  way.  Alas !  to  many  men 
in  consequence  of  their  corrupted  taste  in  spiri- 
tual things  there  is  more  relish  in  the  bread  of 
vice  and  in  draughts  from  the  impure  sloughs  of 
the  world,  than  in  what  is  offered  to  them  on  the 
table  of  Jesus'  grace. — Berleburg  Bible: — The 
more  faithfully  one  serves  the  world,  the  more 
he  allows  himself  to  be  led  by  corrupt  reason 
and  gives  ear  to  the  fascinating  voice  of  tempta- 
tion, the  more  enamored  he  is  of  the  deceitful 
harlot,  BO  much  the  deeper  will  he  sink  into 
the  lowest  depths  of  hell  ....  Who  would  pre- 
fer hell  to  heaven !  who  would  go  after  death 
that  may  attain  life! — [Ver.  17.  Teapp: — Many 
eat  that  on  earth  that  they  digest  in  hell. — Arnot: 
— When  you  have  tasted  and  seen  that  the  Lord  is 
gracious,  the  foolish  woman  beckons  you  toward 
her  stolen  waters,  and  praises  their  sweets  in 
vain :  the  new  appetite  drives  out  the  old]. 


II.   ORIGINAL  NUCLEUS  OF  THE  COLLECTION— GENUINE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 

Ethical  mazims,  precepts  and  admonitions  -with  respect  to  the  most  diverse  relationa 

of  human  life. 


(Proverbs  mainly  in  the  form  of  antithetic  distichs.) 

Chap.  X.  1— XXII.  16. 

J.  Exhibition  of  the  difference  between    the  pious  and  the  ungodly,  and  their  respective  lots  in   life. 

Chap.  X-XV. 

u)  Comparison  between  the  pious  and  the  ungodly  with  respect  to  their  life  and  conduct  in  gene- 
ral.    Chap.  X. 

1  Proverbs  of  Solomon. 

A  wise  son  maketh  glad  his  fatter, 

but  a  foolish  son  is  the  grief  of  his  mother. 

2  Treasures  of  wickedness  do  not  profit, 
but  righteousness  delivereth  from  death. 

3  Jehovah  will  not  suffer  the  righteous  to  famish  [E.  V.:  the  soul  of  the  righteous], 
but  the  craving  of  the  wicked  He  disappointeth. 

4  He  becometh  poor  that  worketh  with  an  idle  hand, 
but  the  hand  of  the  diligent  maketh  rich. 

5  He  that  gathereth  in  summer  is  a  wise  son, 
but  he  that  sleepeth  in  harvest  is  a  bad  son. 

6  Blessings  are  upon  the  head  of  the  just, 

but  the  mouth  of  the  wicked  hideth  violence. 

7  The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed, 
but  the  name  of  the  wicked  shall  rot. 

8  Whoso  is  wise  in  heart  will  receive  precepts, 
but  he  who  is  of  foolish  lips  shall  fall. 

9  He  that  walketh  uprightly  walketh  securely, 

but  he  that  perverteth  his  way  shall  be  made  known. 


CHAP.  X.  1-32.  Ill 


10  He  that  winketh  with  the  eye  causeth  trouble, 
and  he  that  is  of  foolish  lips  is  overthrown. 

11  A  fountain  of  life  is  the  mouth  of  the  righteous, 
but  the  mouth  of  the  wicked  hideth  violence, 

12  Hate  stirreth  up  strife, 

but  love  covereth  all  transgressions. 

13  On  the  lips  of  the  man  of  understanding  wisdom  is  found, 
but  a  rod  (is)  for  the  back  of  the  fool. 

14  Wise  men  store  up  knowledge, 

but  the  mouth  of  the  fool  is  a  near  (speedy)  destruction. 

15  The  rich  man's  wealth  is  his  strong  city, 
the  destruction  of  the  poor  is  their  poverty. 

16  The  labour  of  the  righteous  (tendeth)  to  life, 
the  gain  of  the  wicked  to  sin. 

17  A  way  to  life  is  he  who  heedeth  correction, 
he  who  resisteth  reproof  leadeth  astray. 

18  He  that  hideth  hatred  (hath)  lying  lips, 
and  he  who  spreadeth  slander  is  a  fool. 

19  In  much  talking  transgression  is  not  wanting, 
but  he  that  governeth  his  lips  doeth  wisely. 

20  Choice  silver  is  the  tongue  of  the  righteous, 
the  heart  of  the  wicked  is  of  little  worth. 

21  The  lips  of  the  righteous  feed  many, 
but  fools  die  for  want  of  knowledge. 

22  Jehovah's  blessing, — it  maketh  rich, 
and  labour  addeth  nothing  thereto. 

23  It  is  as  sport  to  a  fool  to  do  mischief, 
but  to  the  man  of  understanding  wisdom. 

24  What  the  wicked  feareth  cometh  upon  him, 
but  the  desire  of  the  righteous  is  granted  them. 

25  When  a  storm  sweepeth  by  the  wicked  is  no  more, 
but  the  righteous  is  an  everlasting  foundation. 

26  As  vinegar  to  the  teeth  and  smoke  to  the  eyes, 
so  is  the  sluggard  to  them  that  send  him. 

27  The  fear  of  Jehovah  multiplieth  days, 
but  the  years  of  the  wicked  are  shortened. 

28  The  expectation  of  the  righteous  is  gladness, 
but  the  hope  of  the  wicked  shall  perish. 

29  Jehovah's  way  is  a  bulwark  to  the  righteous, 
but  destruction  to  evil  doers. 

30  The  righteous  shall  never  be  moved, 

but  the  wicked  shall  not  abide  in  the  land. 

31  The  mouth  of  the  righteous  bringeth  forth  wisdom, 
but  the  perverse  tongue  shall  be  rooted  out. 

32  The  lips  of  the  righteous  know  what  is  acceptable, 
but  the  mouth  of  the  wicked  perverseness. 

GEAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Ter.  1. — [nSty^ ;  cited  by  Bott  (§§  943,  c,  e  ;  950  e)  as  an  illustration  of  tlie  employment  of  the  Imperf.  to  express  what 
most  be  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case, — Fiem  deltitum,—"  must  gladden."— A.] 

Ter  2. — [^ V  VV  :  as  above,  with  the  meaning  "  cannot  profit ;"  g  950,  c,  p. — A.] 

Ter.  3. — [3^  y "1^ ;  an  example  of  the  Mens  solitum,  what  is  wont  to  be ;  §  950,  b.] — The  hXX,  arbitrarily  assimilating 
the  langnage  of  the  first  and  second  clauses,  read  in  the  second  D'JJtt'T  JTn,  for  they  translate  "  the  life  of  the  un- 
godly,"   f(»)T)i'  85  aaefiuv  ararpe'i^et.    [rTiH  has  been  quite  variously  rendered.    The  E.  V.  translates  "  substance,"  the  ob- 

T  " 

Ject  of  the  desire  of  the  wicked.  Luther,  followinE  the  insidias  of  the  Vulg.,  renders  by  "ScMnderd=exactions  or  c^ipres- 
»i(m.  HoLDEN  translates  *'  iniquity."  N.,  St.,  and  M.  agree  with  our  author  in  retaining  the  simple  meaning  "  craving,  or 
greedy  desire."    So  Oesen.,  Foebsi,  etc.— A..] 

Ter.  6.— [tj'ao  ia  taken  by  Gesen.,  Fuebsi,  Sthabt  as  intransitive,  in  the  sense  of  "  acting  basely."    N.,  M.,  H.  agre« 


112 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


with  the  E  V  in  derivin"  it  from  a  different  radical  idea  in  the  verb,  and  making  it  a  causative  I-Iiphil.  The  difference  In 
the  final  import  is  not  Tury  great,  yet  the  former  conception  of  the  word  appears  to  have  the  best  warrant.— A.J 

Ver.  8.— [np\  t'iins  licitum,  "is  disposed  to  receive,"  etc.    Bott,  §9o0,  c— A.] 

Ver.  21.— IDn  '«  here  Stat,  cmstr.  not  of  the  adj.  ^p^,  as  e.  g.  above  in  ver.  13,  hnt  of  the  noun  IDfl,  as  the  old  trans- 
lators correctly  jndged.  Beetheao  is  therefore  OTong  in"" rendering  "  through  one  void  of  understanding."  Foerst  takes 
our  author's  view;  so  Bott.  (8794),  who  would  interpret  ver.  10  in  the  same  way,  "the  back  of  folly.  —A.J 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  General  preliminary  remark.  The  main  di- 
vision of  the  collection  of  proverbs  that  begins 
with  chap,  x.,  by  the  scattered  isolation  and  the 
mosaic-like  grouping  of  its  indiTidual  elements 
contrasts  quite  strongly  with  the  longer  and  well 
compacted  proverbial  discourses  of  the  first  nine 
chapters.  And  yet  one  would  go  too  far  in  as- 
suming an  entirely  planless  and  unregulated  ac- 
cumulation of  the  proverbs  contained  in  chaps, 
x.-xxii.,  and  failing  to  recognize  at  least  an  at- 
tempt of  the  collector  to  secure  a  methodical 
grouping  of  the  rich  store  of  maxims  that  he  has 
to  communicate.  Hitzig's  assumption,  it  is  true, 
seems  altogether  artificial,  and  tenable  only  as 
the  result  of  violent  critical  dealing, — viz.,  that 
chaps,  x.-xxi.  may  be  resolved  into  four  sections 
of  equal  length,  of  about  90  verses  each  ;  1 ) 
chaps,  x.-xii.  (xiii.  1  making  a  commencement 
parallel  to  x.  1);  chap,  xiii.-xv.  32  (in  which 
division  xiii.  23  is  to  be  stricken  out  to  make  91 
verses,  as  in  the  preceding  section);  chap.  xv. 
33-xix.  3  (where  by  omitting  xvi.  25  and  insert- 
ing two  verses  from  the  LXX  after  xvi.  17  the 
number  of  89  verses  must  be  reached  that  shall 
correspond  with  the  section  following)  ;  and 
chap.  xix.  4-xxi.  31.  He  also  assumes  that  within 
these  four  principal  subdivisions  groups  of  verses 
symmetrically  constructed  of  six,  seven  and 
eight  verses  respectively,  succeed  one  another. 
But  although  such  a  construction  according  to 
definite  relations  of  numbers  is  not  demonstrable, 
or  at  least  is  demonstrable  only  in  single  in- 
stances («.  g.,  chap.  XV.  33 — xvi.  15;  see  remarks 
on  this  passage),  still  the  existence  of  larger  or 
smaller  groups  of  proverbs  of  similar  import 
cannot  be  denied ;  and  many  of  these  groups 
relating  to  one  and  the  same  subject  are  very 
probably  attached  one  to  another  according  to  a 
definite  plan  or  construction  of  ideas.  And  yet 
these  in  most  cases  stand  in  a  loose  co-ordina- 
tion, and  withal  quite  frequently  appear  accom- 
panied or  interspersed  by  single  verses  that  are 
altogether  isolated.  In  the  chapter  before  us 
groups  of  this  sort,  governed  by  a  certain  unity 
of  idea,  may  be  found  in  vers.  2-7,  8-10,  11-14, 
15-21,  22-25,  27-30.  Vers.  1,  26,  31,  32  stand 
isolated.  Hitzig's  attempt  to  construct  from  x. 
1 — xi.  3  exactly  five  groups  of  seven  proverbs 
each  appears  untenable  after  an  unprejudiced 
examination  of  the  real  relations  of  the  matter. — 
With  reference  to  the  contents  of  the  six  groups 
of  verses,  together  with  the  individual  verses 
accompanying  them,  and  also  with  respect  to 
central  thoughts  that  may  possibly  be  drawn 
from  these  elements,  see  the  "Doctrinal  and 
Ethical"  notes. 

2.  Vers.  1.  A  ■wise  son  maketh  glad  his 
father,  elc. — This  thought,  which  is  quite  gene- 
ral, is  plainly  designed  to  serve  as  an  introduc- 
tion to  the  entire  collection  of  proverbs  that  suc- 


ceeds ;  comp.  i.  8.  As  in  that  instance,  and  as 
in  XV.  20 ;  xvii.  25 ;  xxiii.  24  there  is  found  here 
an  attempt,  by  means  of  an  antithetic  parallelism, 
at  Melalepsis  or  the  distribution  of  the  proposi- 
tions between  father  and  mother  in  detail.  [In- 
genious expositions  of  the  diverse  effects  of  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  conduct  upon  the  father  and  the 
mother,  like  that  of  Lord  Bacon  in  the  "Advance- 
ment of  Learning,"  and  more  elaborately  in  the 
"Z)«  Augmentis  Scientiarum,"  overlook  the  nature 
of  the  Hebrew  parallelism — A.]  "Grief,  anx- 
iety," derived  from  HJ'  [moestus  esse,  dolere), 
LXX  :  Xijirrt ;  comp.  xiv.  13 ;  xvii.  21  ;  Ps.  oxix. 
28. 

3.  Vers.  2-7.  Six  verses  or  three  pairs  of  verses 
relating  to  the  earthly  lot  of  the  just  and  the  un- 
just, the  diligent  and  the  sluggish. — Treasures 
of  -wickedness  profit  not. — Because  they 
cannot  avert  the  sudden  and  unhappy  death  that 
awaits  the  wicked  ;  comp.  vers.  25-27.  With  the 
second  clause  compare  chap.  xi.  4-19. 

Ver.  3.  Jehovah  will  not  suffer  the 
righteous  to  famish. — Literally,  "  the  spirit  of 
the  righteous;"  for  this  is  the  sense  which  in 
agreement  with  most  interpreters  we  must  find 
here,  and  not  "  the  desire,  the  craving  of  the 
righteous,"  as  Elster  thinks,  appealing  for  con- 
firmation to  vi.  30;  xxiii.  2.  For  this  strong 
expression  is  inappropriate  before  we  come  to 
the  antithesis  in  the  second  member,  and  here 
the  idea  is  plainly  enough  expressed  by  the  word 
n'n,   "longing"    (comp.   H-IN,   Dent.  xii.  15;  1 

Sam.  xxiii.  30).     Compare  xi.  6. 

Ver.  4.  He  becometh  poor  that-worketh 
■with  an  idle  hand. — n^ni~']|,  not  a  "deceit- 
ful, crafty  hand,"  but  an  "idle,  sluggish  hand," 
manus  remissa  (Vulg.);  comp.  xii.  24,  27;  xix. 
15 ;  Jer.  xlviii.   10.— ^yN^,  for    which  the  LXX 

T 

and  Vulg.  must  have  read  t!'NT  the  substantive 
{rcevia,  egestas),  is  the  third  Sing.  Perf.  Kal  [or 
the  participle]  with  the  scriptio  plena  (like  ONp 
in  Hos.  X.  14),  and  with  the  signification  "he  is 
impoverished,"  inopsfit;  comp.  Ps.  xxxiv.  10.  With 
the  phrase  1^  'i^^V,  to  stir  the  hand,  to  work 
with  the  hand,  comp.  Jer.  xlviii.  10. — But  the 
hand  of  the  diligent — literally,  "  of  the 
sharpened,"  comp.  xii.  24. 

Ver.  5.  He  that  gathereth  in  summer  is 
a  ^7ise  man — lit.,  "  is  a  son  that  doeth  wisely," 
and  so  in  the  second  member,  "  a  son  that  doeth 
badly."  These  same  predicates  stand  contrasted 
also  in  chap.  xiv.  35,  in  that  case  to  define  more 
closely  the  term  "  servant,"  but  here  as  attributes 
of  the  "son,"  which  designation  is  chosen  in  this 
instance  rather  than  "man,"  probably  because 
"the  heavy  labors  of  the  field  which  are  here 
spoken  of  devolve  especially  upon  the  younger 
men,  and  also  because  idleness  is  particularly 
ruinous  to  youth"  (Elster). — For  the  general 
sentiment  comp.  also  chap.  vi.  8,  9. 

Ver.  6.  Benedictions  (come)  upon  the  bead 


CHAP.  X.  1-32. 


113 


of  the  just,  but  the  mouth  of  the  wicked 
hidetb  violence. — In  this  strictly  literal  ren- 
dering of  the  7ers«  there  is  no  sharp  antithesis  be- 
tween the  first  and  second  clauses,  for  which  reason 
many,  following  the  LXX  and  Vulg.,  reverse  the 
relation  of  subject  and  object  in  the  second  clause, 
and  either  translate  with  Doderlein,  Dathe,  etc., 
"  wickedness  oloseth  the  mouth  of  the  vicious," 
or,  inasmuch  as  the  noun  DDn  cannot  possibly 
be  used  in  this  se«ise  of  "  wickedness,  evil  dispo- 
sition," explain  with  Umbreit  among  others, 
"the  mouth  of  the  profligate  crime  covereth." 
[E.  v.:  "violence  covereth  the  mouth  of  the 
wicked."]  (This  is  substantially  the  explanation 
of  HiTZio  also,  except  that  he  points  npil'  instead 
of  nOD',  and  takes  the  noun  Onn  contrary  to 
usage  in  the  sense  of  "  pain,  ruin  ;"  "  the  mouth 
of  the  wicked  is  covered  with  sorrow.")  [Words. 
gives  a  doubtful  support  to  this  view.]  But  why 
in  just  this  passage  and  the  second  hemistich  of 
ver.  11  which  corresponds  literally  with  it,  it 
should  be  particularly  the  mouth  and  not  the/ace 
of  the  wicked  that  is  named  as  the  object  to  be 
covered  with  crime,  is  not  readily  seen ;  and  to 
read  "face"  CPS)  instead  of  "mouth"  (^2)  in 
accordance  with  Ps.  xliv.  16 ;  Jer.  li.  51,  would 
evidently  not  answer  on  account  of  the  double 
occurrence  of  the  expression.  Therefore,  with 
Bekthead,  Elster,  etc.  [N.,  St.,  and  M.  in  a 
qualified  way],  we  should  hold  fast  the  above 
explanation  as  the  simplest  and  most  obvious, 
and  accordingly  reckon  our  verse  among  the  ex- 
ceptions, whicli,  moreover,  are  not  very  rare,  to 
that  antithetic  mode  of  constructing  propositions 
which  altogether  predominates  in  the  division  of 
the  book  now  before  us.  [Rueetsohi,  in  the 
Stud,  und  Krit.,  1868,  I.,  135,  not  only  agrees 
with  our  author  in  his  construction  of  the  verse, 
but  endeavors  morefullylo  justify  the  parallelism 
by  the  following  explanation.  "  While  the 
righteous,  who  is  himself  for  others  a  fountain  of 
life  and  blessing  (ver.  11),  nothing  but  love  and 
fidelity,  is  himself  also  to  expect  blessing  (ver.  7), 
the  wicked  has  in  himself  only  destruction;  he 
hides  it,  covers  it,  it  is  true  (comp.  DDJD,  ver.  18), 
with  his  mouth,  yet  has  it  in  him  (Ps,  v.  9)  ;  and 
this  very  fact,  that  he  covers  in  himself  Tuin  for 
others,  turns  the  blessing  away  from  him."] 

Ver.  7.  The  name  of  the  -wicked  rotteth, 
strictly  "  will  rot  or  moulder,"  i.  e.,  the  memory 
of  the  wicked  not  only  disappears  quickly  and 
surely,  but  also  so  as  to  excite  sensations  of  ab- 
horrence and  disgust  in  other  men  (like  ill 
smelling  mould). 

4.  Vers.  8-10.  Three  proverbs  bearing  upon  the 
contrast  between  wise  men  and  fools. — He  vrho 
is  of  foolish  lips  is  overthrown. — With  the 
wisely  disposed  (in  the  first  clause)  there  is  sig- 
nificantly contrasted  the  foolish  speaker,  the  fro- 
ward  talker,  and  that,  too,  with  the  designation 
suggested  by  the  organ  of  his  foolish  discourse, 

"the' fool  in  lipa."  The  verb  (133^;),  for  the 
most  part  misunderstood  by  the  older  translators, 
can  express  only  the  meaning  of  being  brought 
to  a  downfall,  being  overthrown,  prsecipitari,  and 
accordingly  sets  forth  the  consequence  of  that 
refusal  to  receive  commandments  which  charac- 
terizes the  fool  in  contrast  with  the  wise  man. 


To  secure  a  stronger  antithesis  to  the  verb  of  the 
first  clause  Hitzig  reads  Ohl\  or  £33T,  "casts 
them  away,"  i.  e.  the  commandments.  But  it  is 
precisely  the  correspondence  with  the  2d  clause 
of  ver.  10,  where  Hitzig  must  admit  the  passive 
meaning  of  the  verb,  that  makes  it  certain  that 
this  is  here  also  the  intended  meaning  ;  for  such 
verbal  repetitions  of  whole  or  of  half  verses  are 
among  the  fancies  of  the  author  of  this  division 
of  our  book ;  see  above,  remarks  on  ver.  6. 
[The  wise  "speaks  little,  but  hears  much:  re- 
ceives commands ;  therefore  it  goes  well  with 
him"  (ver.  9,  1st  clause  ;  chap.  iii.  1  sq.)  ;  but  he 
"  who  is  of  foolish  lips,"  who  by  his  words  shows 
himself  a  fool,  is  ever  talking  and  not  receiving 
instruction,  is  ruined;  literally,  is  overthrown. 
It  is  in  general  a  peculiar  charm  of  many  pro- 
verbs that  the  parallelism  is  not  perfectly  close, 
but  it  remains  the  function  of  the  reader  to  seek 
out  the  intermediate  thoughts,  and  to  make  the 
deductions."     Rueetschi,  as  cited  above]. 

Ver.  9.  Is  made  manifest,  lit.,  "is  made 
known,"  i.  e.  as  a  sinner  deserving  punishment,- 
an  allusion  to  the  judicial  strictness  of  God,  the 
All-seeing,  [so  Wordsw.],  (the  verb,  therefore, 
not  used  as  in  chap.  xii.  16).  Hitzig  strangely 
renders  "made  wiser,"  as  though  the  Niphal  were 
here  passive  of  the  Hiphil.  [Rueetschi  again 
(as  cited  above,  p.  136)  agrees  with  Zockler,  and 
thus  develops  the  antithesis:  "he  adopts  crooked 
ways  in  order,  as  he  thinks,  to  be  able  to  practice 
iniquity  more  secure  and  unobserved  ;  but  he  is 
ever  known  and  exposed,  he  must  himself  always 
fear  recognition,  and  this  gives  to  his  walk  '  in- 
security' "]. 

Vtr.  10.  He  that  -winketh  with  the  eye. 
Comp.  vi.  13,  where  as  here  the  "winking  with 
the  eye"  immediately  follows  the  mention  of 
crooked  and  perverse  action.  Instead  of  the  2d 
clause,  which  is  identical  with  the  2d  clause  of 
ver.  8,  and  which  here  yields  no  antithetic'paral- 
lelism  to  the  1st  clause,  Kennicott,  Dathe,  Bek- 
thead, Elster  prefer  the  very  different  reading 
of  the  LXX:  d  ds  eMyxi-^v  fiiTa  Trappj^ciaQ  elprjvo- 
TTotel  (but  he  that  rebuketh  boldly  maketh  peace). 
This  however  appears  rather  to  be  an  attempted 
emendation,  the  result  of  well-meaning  reflectioj 
than  the  restoration  of  an  original  Hebrew  text. 
We'must  here  again  assume  a  momentary  depar- 
ture of  the  poet  from  his  ordinary  strictly  anti- 
thetical construction  of  his  sentences.  In  con- 
nection with  this,  however,  we  are  not  to  give  to 

the   verb   U^b'    conjeoturally   the    meaning    ol' 

"stumbling"  or  of  "groping  blindly"  (Hitzig), 
but  that  which  is  found  also  in  ver.  8,  "  having 
a  fall,"  "self-destruction"  (Umbreit).  [Here 
again  Rueetschi  comes  to  the  defence  of 
the  poet's  antithesis,  with  the  explanation 
"  he  that  winketh,  the  false,  causes  sorrow, 
produces  vexation  to  himself,  and  he  who  in  his 
folly  openly  utters  evil  falls."  The  results  differ 
according  to  the  nature  of  his  wickedness ; 
"vexation  when  he  has  done  wrong  secretly, 
overthrow,  destruction,  when  he  has  done  it 
openly  "  (as  above  cited,  p.  136)]. 

5.  Vers.  11-14.  Two  pairs  of  sentences  con- 
cerning the  contrast  between  good  and  evil,  wis- 
dom and  folly,  associated,  by,  the  mention  which 


114 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


is  common  to  the  first  and  last  proverb,  of  the 
mouth  of  those  In  whom  the  contrast  appears  (as 
the  preceding  group  was  characterized  by  the  men- 
tion  of  the  lips  in  vers.  8  and  10). — A  fountain 
of  life  is  the  mouth  of  the  righteous,  on 
account  of  the  hearty,  edifying,  loving  character 
of  its  utterances.  For  this  figure  compare  xiii. 
14;  xviii.  4.  For  the  2d  clause  see  remarks 
above  on  ver.  6. 

Ver.  12.  Hate  stirreth  up  strife,  lit.,  "dis- 
putes," "litigations;"  comp.  vi.  14. — All  trans- 
gressions love  covereth  over,  by  ignoring 
them,  by  palliating  words,  by  considerate  and 
conciliatory  demeanor;  comp.  xvii.  9;  James  v. 
20;  1  Pet.  iv.  8;  1  Cor.  xiii.  4. — [Trapp:  Love 
hath  a  large  mantle]. 

Ver.  13.  A  rod  for  the  fool's  back,  i.  e. 
merited  punishment  overtakes  him,  the  man  void 
of  understanding  whose  lips  lack  wisdom  (comp. 
xxvi.  3  ;  xix.  29).  The  imperfect  and  suggestive 
form  of  the  antithesis  is  like  that  in  vers.  6  and  8. 

Ver.  14.  Wise  men  reserve  kno^wledge, 
lit.,  "conceal  knowledge,"  i.  e.  husband  the  know- 
ledge and  understanding  which  they  possess  for 
the  richt  time  and  place,  do  not  squander  it  in  un- 
neasonable  talk  and  babbling  (comp.  ver.  8).  [So 
W  ,  N.,  St.,  and  M.].  In  the  parallel  passage 
xiii.  t'i  tho  synonymous  verb  to  "  cover"  (DdIi) 
forresponds  with  the  on^  here  used.  Comp.  also 
Mai.  ii.  7. — Is  a  near  destruction,  i.  c.  is  ever 
inclined  to  break  forth  with  its  foolish  sugges- 
tions, and  thereby  to  bring  upon  itself  and  upon 
others  alarm  and  even  destruction.  Comp.  the 
sentiment  of  chap.  xiii.  8,  which  although  indeed 
somewhat  difi'erently  constructed  is  still  in  gene- 
ral similar.  ["Near"  is  an  adjective,  and  the 
rendering  should  be  more  distinct  than  the  am- 
biguous and  misleading  translation  of  the  E.  V. 
The  mouth  of  the  wicked  is  not  simply  passively 
near  to  being  destroyed ;  it  is  a  quickly  destroy- 
ing agency. — A.] 

6.  Vers.  15-21.  Seven  proverbs  mostly  relating 
to  earthly  good,  its  worth,  and  the  means  of  its 
attainment, — connected  with  the  two  preceding 
groups  (although  only  loosely  and  externally)  by 
the  "destruction"  of  ver.  15,  and  the  allusion  to 
the  lips  in  vers.  18  and  19.  With  the  let  clause 
»f  ver.  15  comp.  xviii.  11 ;  Ecclesiast  xl.  26;  and 
Eccles.  vii.  12. — The  destruction  of  the  poor 
is  their  poverty,  i.  e.,  on  account  of  their  desti- 
tution there  is  every  instant  threatening  them 
an  utter  destruction  or  the  sundering  of  all  their 
relations;  they  therefore  come  to  nothing,  they 
are  continually  exposed  to  the  danger  of  a  com- 
plete ruin  in  all  their  circumstances,  while  to  the 
rich  man  his  means  secure  a  sure  basis  and  a 
strong  protection  in  all  the  vicissitudes  of  life. 
Naturally  the  author  is  here  thinking  of  wealth 
well  earned  by  practical  wisdom;  and  this  is  at 
the  same  time  a  means  in  the  further  efforts  of 
wisdom ;  and  again,  of  a  deserved  poverty  which 
while  the  consequence  of  foolish  conduct,  always 
causes  one  to  sink  deeper  in  folly  and  moral 
need.  Comp.  the  ver.  following.  Hitziq  here 
following  Jer.  xlviii.  39  takes  this  destruction 
(nnriD)  subjectively,  as  equivalent  to  "  conster- 
naiion,  terror,"  [Notes],  which  view,  however, 
is  opposed  by  the  use  of  the  expression  in  the 
preceding  verse  and  in  ver.  29. 


Ver.  16.  The  labor  of  the  righteous,  his 

acquisitions,  his  earnings,  comp.  2  John  8. — 
Tendeth  to  life,  comp.  xi.  19  and  also  xvi.  8. 
The  contrast  to  this,  "  tendeth  to  sin,"  includes 
the  idea  not  fully  expressed,  "and  accordingly 
to  all  misfortune  and  ruin  as  the  result  of  sin." 
HiTziG,  "  to  expiation,"  i.  e.  to  making  good  the 
losses  which  his  sins  bring  upon  him  as  just 
penalties  (with  a  reference  to  Zech.  xiv.  19 ;  Jer. 
xvii.  3) ;  Sohcltens,  Aknoldi,  Umbeeit,  etc., 
"  to  downfall,  to  misfortune."  Both  expositions 
fail  to  conform  to  the  usual  signification  of  nSBrl. 
Ver.  17.  A  vray  to  life  is  he  who  heedetb 
correction.  "Away  to  life,"  (a  well-known 
expression  like  "a  way,  or- path  of  life "  in 
chap.  V.  6,  and  therefore  not  to  be  changed  by  a 

new  punctuation  into  D",r!7  ^^X,  "  a  traveller 
to  life,"  as  Ziegleb  and  Ewald  propose) ;  so  the 
wise  obsejver  of  good  instruction  is  here  named 
because  he  also  guides  others  to  life,  in  contrast 
with  the  nj^HD,  him  who  misleads,  the  despiser 
of  wholesome  discipline  and  correction,  who  not 
only  fails  of  the  right  way  himself,  but  shows 
himself  an  evil  guide  to  others  also  (Matt.  xv. 
14).  [The  rendering  of  the  E.  V.,  "is  in  the 
way,"  although  followed  by  H.,  N.,  M.,  W.,  is 
not  full  and  exhaustive  enough.  Such  a  man  is 
not  merely  "in  the  way  to  life  ;"  he  is  a  guide, 
by  a  bolder  figure  he  is  a  way  to  other  men. — 
A.]  The  intransitive  conception  of  this  parti- 
ciple (LXX,  Vulg.,  Ltither,  and  also  Umbreit, 
Ewald,  etc.),  may  if  necessary  be  reached  by 
modifying  the  punctuation  nj^HD  (Hithp.,  Hll- 
zig)  ;  but  the  "  going  astray"  even  then  does  not 
correspond  remarkably  with  the  "way  to  life," 
so  far  as  this  expression  is  correctly  understood. 
["This  sentence  is  an  example  how  sometimes 
that  which  is  simplest  and  most  obvious  can  be 
persistently  missed :  these  words  so  simple  and 
true  have  been  refined  upon  because  the  real 
idea  was  not  taken.  The  meaning  is  'simply 
this  :  example  is  efficacious  ;"  etc.  Rueetschi, 
as  above,  p.  137]. 

Ver.  18.  He  that  hideth  hatred  (hath) 
lying  lips,  strictly,  "is  lips  of  falsehood,"  t,  e. 
is  a  man  of  deceitful  lips.  [Here  again  the  E.  V. 
sacrifices  much  of  the  original.  "  Lying  lips" 
is  not  here  instrumental;  it  is  the  predicate. 
So  H.,  N.,  S.,  M.,  W.— A.]  Comp.  for  this  im- 
mediate personification  of  the  sinning  organ, 
chap.  xii.  19,  22,  where  in  the  first  instance  the 
"lying  tongue"  and  then  the  "lying  lips"  ap- 
pear personified.  For  the  sentiment  comp.  xxvi. 
24.  Peculiarly  hard  and  arbitrary  is  HiTzio's 
exposition;  that  instead  of  "'p^^'  (falsehood) 
we  should  read  1K(p  (union),  and  that  the  ex- 
pression thus  resulting,  "close,  compressed  lips" 
(?)  is  to  be  taken  as  the  description  of  the  de- 
ceitfully and  maliciously  compressed  mouth  of 
the  man  who  is  full  of  hate  I  Ewald  is  also 
arbitrary  (although  following  the  LXX) ;  that 
instead  of  IpK^  we  should  read  plX  (righteous- 
ness) ;  "  the  lips  of  the  righteous  hide  hatred," 
i,  e.  cover  their  enmity  with  love  (?). — He  who 
spreadeth  slander  is  a  fool.  The  meaning 
of  this  2d  clause  does  not  stand  in  the  relation 
of  an  antithesis  to  the  preceding,  but  that  of  « 


CHAP.  X.  1-32. 


115 


climax,  adding  a  worse  case  to  one  not  so  bad. 
If  one  conceals  his  hatred  within  himself  he  be- 
comes a  malignant  flatterer ;  but  if  he  gives  ex- 
pression to  it  in  slander,  abuse  and  base  detrac- 
tion, then  as  a  genuine  fool  he  brings  upon 
himself  the  greatest  injury.  [Rceetsohi  objects 
to  this,  1)  that  the  analogy  of  xii.  19,  22  does 
not  justify  our  taking  the  expression  "lying 
lips"  in  the  Ist  clause  as  the  predicate,  and  2) 
that  the  emphatic  pronoun  "he"  (NIH)  in  the 
2d  clause  is  still  less  intelligible  on  this  view  of 
the  structure  of  the  verse ;  he  regards  this  rather 
as  one  of  the  instances,  of  no  very  rare  occurrence, 
in  which  the  two  clauses  make  but  one  proposi- 
tion, and  renders,  "  whoso  conceals  hatred  with 
lying  lips  and  at  the  same  time  utters  slander — 
he  is  a  fool,"  adding  the  explanation  "  one  of  the 
most  odious  of  vices  is  where  one  conceals  hatred 
under  fine  speech,  and  yet  slanders  behind  the 
back ;  such  a  man  is  in  sight  of  God  and  men 
despised  and  spurned"]. 

Ver.  19.  Transgression  is  not  iwanting. 
In  this  way  is  the  verb  to  be  rendered,  with  Um- 
BKEiT,  HiTZio  and  most  others  :  and  not  with 
Bertheau,  transgression  "  does  not  vanish  "  (as 
though  we  had  here  something  to  do  with  a  re- 
moval or  obliteration  of  actual  guilt)  ;  only  with 
the  former  rendering  does  the  antithesis  in  the 
2d  member  correspond,  where  it  is  plain  that 
taciturnity  and  discretion  in  speech  are  recom- 
mended; comp.  xiii.  3;  xvii.  27,  28.  [Notes's 
translation,  "offence,"  has  the  fault,  rare  with 
him,  of  obscurity  or  ambiguity].  With  the  ex- 
pression "  to  govern  the  lips  "  compare  the  Latin 
compescere  Unguam  and  the  parallels  from  Arabic 
and  Persian  poets  which  Umbreit  adduces  in 
illustration  of  our  passage. 

Ver.  20.  Choice  silver,  as  in  chap.  viii.  19 
(comp.  10)  is  here  used  to  indicate  a  very  great 
value. — Is  of  no  worth,  literally,  "is  as  no- 
thing, is  as  a  trifle," — a  popular  and  proverbial 
circumlocution  for  the  idea  of  utter  nothingness 
or  worthlessness. — Ver.  21.  Peed  many,  i.  e. 
nourish  and  refresh  many  with  the  wholesome  doc- 
trines of  godliness  (comp.  Eccles.  xii.  11;  Ezek. 
xxxiv.  2  sq. ;  Acts  xx.  28). — But  fools  die  for 
want  of   know^ledge,   i.    e.   persistent  fools 

(D'TIN)  are  not  only  incompetent  to  become  to 
others  teachers  of  truth  and  guides  to  life;  they 
are  in  themselves  children  of  death  for  their  lack 
of  understanding. 

7.  Vers.  22-25.  Four  proverbs  relating  to  the 
conduct  of  the  righteous  and  the  ungodly  and 
their  respective  lots.  The  lot  of  the  righteous, 
which  consists  in  God's  blessing  which  makes 
rich  without  any  eff'ort,  forms  the  starting  point 
of  the  description  in  ver.  22. — And  labor  add- 
eth  nothing  beside  it,  i.  e.  as  supplementary 
and  exterior  to  it,  that  divine  blessing  which  is 
all  in  all,  which  enriches  the  friends  of  God  even 
in  sleep  (comp.  Ps.  cxxvii.  2  [and  in  connection 
with  this  Hupeeld's  comments  :  "  Naturally  this 
is  not  to  be  taken  literally,  as  though  perchance 
labor  in  itself  were  cast  aside,  and  the  Oriental 
indolence  commended  ;  nor  again  is  the  privilege 
given  to  the  pious  of  being  released  from  ordi- 
nary human  toils,  and  of  folding  their  hands  in 
reliance  on  their  powerful  Friend ;  the  aim  is 
only,  after  the  emphatic  and  one-sided  manner 


of  the  proverb  to  make  prominent  the  other  side 
of  the  case,  overlooked  by  restless  toilers,  what 
God  does  in  the  matter,  so  as  to  warn  against 
the  delusion  that  man  can  conquer  by  his  toil 
alone,"  etc.']).  This  view  is  correctly  taken  by 
Jarchi,  Levi  ben  Gerson,  Ewald,  Hitzio,  etc., 
while  others  (LXX,  Vulg.,  Umbbeit,  Bertheau, 
Elsteb,  [the  E.  V.,  H.,  N.,  St.,  M.])  translate 
"and  addeth  no  sorrow  thereto."  But  then  in- 
stead of  HB;?  we  should  rather  have  had  n'Tjl^ 
(comp.  Jer.  xlv.  3). 

Ver.  23.  As  sport  to  a  fool  is  the  practice 
of  iniquity,  literally,  "  like  a  laugh  is  it  to  the 
■fool  to  execute  evil  counsel."  This  "like  sport" 
is  then  to  be  supplied  also  before  the  2d  member; 
"but  to  the  man  of  understanding  wisdom  is  as 
an  enjoyment."  [M.  agrees  with  our  author 
whose  view  is  both  more  forcible  and  more  ac- 
cordant with  the  Hebrew  idiom  than  that  ex- 
pressed in  the  E.  V.  and  retained  by  N.  and  S. : 
"  a  man  of  understanding  has  wisdom."  More 
than  this  is  meant :  wisdom  is  his  delight. — A.] 
The  verb  to  practice  (mty.J7  )  is  probably  not  to 
be  supplied  here  before  "wisdom"  (HDIin)  ;  It 
is  self-evident  (in  opposition  to  Hitzig's  view) 
that  wisdom  is  considered  here  as  something 
practiced  and  not  merely  possessed.  With  the 
phrase  "man  of  understanding,"  the  discerning 
man,  comp.  xi.  12. 

Ver.  24.  'What  the  wicked  feareth,  lit., 
"the  dread  of  the  wicked,"  comp.  Isa.  Ixvi.  4; 
Job  iii.  25 ;  Prov.  xi.  27. — The  desire  of  the 
righteous  is  granted  them. — The  verb  (Jil]) 
can  be  regarded  either  as  impersonal  [like  the 
German  "esgibt,"  there  is:  comp.  xiii.  10  and  Job 
xxxvii.  10],  or  directly  changed  to  the  passive 
(|j^^)  as  the  Vulg.,  the  Targums,  and  among  re- 
cent interpreters  Ewald  and  Hitzig,  e.  g.,  do. 
To  supply  as  the  subject  "Jehovah"  (Aben 
Ezra,  Umbreit,  Elster,  Stuart,  etc.')  has  its 
parallels  indeed  in  xiii.  21,  22,  but  is  here  less 
natural  than  there. 

Ver.  25.  When  .a  storm  sweepeth  by  the 
w^icked  is  no  more.  Thus  correctly  Ewald, 
Bertheau,  Hitzig,  [Holuen,  Stuart,  Mueh- 
soher].  Against  the  conception  of  the  first 
phrase  (113J73)  as  a  comparison,  "  as  a  ■storm 
sweepeth  by,  &o"  etc.  (Umbreit,  Elster,  [E.  V., 
NoYEs],  etc.)  we  may  urge  the  conjunction  1  before 
TN,  as  well  as  the  idea  of  an  "  everlasting  foun- 
dation "in  the  2d  member.  With  the  latter  •ex- 
pression comp.  ver.  30,  and  also  Ps.  cxxv.  1. 
With  the  first  clause  comp.  Job  i.  19;  Isa.  xxviij. 
18,19;  Prov.  i.  27. 

8.  Ver.  26.  An  isolated  proverb  relating  to  the 
uselessness  and  repulsiveness  of  the  sluggish. 
Comp.  xxii.  13,  and  also  vi.  6  sq.  ;  xii.  27 ;  xix. 
24. — As  vinegar  to  the  teeth.  So  the  majority 
correctly  render,  while  the    LXX,  Pesch.,  Arab., 

etc.,  falsely  translate  the  noun  (Vnn,  comp.  Num. 
vi.  3  ;  Ps.  Ixix.  22)  by  "sour  grapes"  (dfiijia^). — 
To  them  that  send  him.  Perhaps  this  phrase 
as  referring  to  the  idea  which  must  be  supplied, 
the  authority,  the  master  (D'jnx),  comp.  xxv. 
13,  might  be  translated  by  "his  sender,  his  em- 
ployer."    Comp.  Hitzig  on  this  passage. 


116 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


9.  Vers.  27-30.  Four  proverbs  bearing  upon 
the  prosperity  of  the  pious  and  the  ruin  of  the 
ungodly.  With  ver.  27  comp.  iii.  1;  ix.  11 ;  xiv. 
27.— Ver.  28.  The  expectation  of  the  right- 
eous is  gladness,  i.  e.  as  its  object  comes  into 
possession  of  him  who  indulges  it.  With  the  2d 
clause  comp.  xi.  7;  .Job  viii.  13;   Ps.  cxii.  10. 

Ver.  29.  Jehovah's  way  is  a  bulwark  to 
the  innocent.  The  meaning  doubtless  is,  Jeho- 
vah's way  in  the  administration  of  the  world,  His 
providence,  His  righteous  and  gracious  rule, 
proves  itself  to  the  pious  a  strong  protection  and 
defence  (comp.  the  "  strong  city"  of  ver.  15,  also 
Ps.  xxxi.  21;  xxxvii.  89;  xliii.  2,  etc.)  [Woedsw.  : 
wherever  h^  goes  he  is  in  a  castle].  Only  with 
this  objective  conception  of  "Jehovah's  way" 
does  the  antithesis  in  the  2d  clause  agree  (comp. 
vers.  14,  15),  and  not  with  the  subjective,  which 
makes  it  religion,  a  devout  life.  Many,  however, 
(Aenoldi,  ZiEGiEK,  Umbkeit,  Elstee,  [Notes], 

etc.)  unite  Dil  in  one  conception  with  lj'1'1  and 
translate  "A  fortress  is  Jehovah  to  the  innocent" 
(upright  in  his  way) ;  comp.  Prov.  xiii.  6 ;  Job 
iv.  6.  One  must  make  his  choice  between  the 
two  interpretations,  as  both  are  grammatically 
admissible  and  yield  essentially  the  same  mean- 
ing.— Ver.  30.  With  the  first  clause  comp.  xii.  3  : 
with  the  second,  ii.  31 ;  Ps.  xxxvii.  29. 

10.  Vers.  31,  32.  Two  proverbs  standing  iso- 
lated, treating  of  the  mouth  of  the  righteous  and 
that  of  the  ungodly  and  their  respective  utter- 
ances or  fruits.  The  mouth  of  the  righteous 
putteth  forth  wisdom,  as  the  sap  of  a  fruit- 
ful tree  develops  beautiful  flowers  and  fruits; 
comp.  the  "fruit  of  the  lips,"  Isa.  Ivii.  19  and  the 
corresponding  expression  KapKog  ;\;efA£(jv  in  Heb. 
xiii.  IB  — In  the  2d  clause  this  figure  is  aban- 
doned, so  far  as  respects  the  expression  "  the 
perverse  tongue  ;"  but  the  "is  destroyed  "  re- 
minds distinctly  enough  of  the  hewing  down  and 
dying  out  of  unfruitful  trees;  comp.  Matth.  iii. 
10  ;  vii.  19. — Ver.  32.  Kno-w  -what  is  act3ep- 
table,  i.  e.,  are  familiar  with  it,  know  how  to 
say  much  of  it.  The  noun  liyi  is  here  ob- 
jective in  its  meaning,  used  of  that  which  pro- 
duces delight  (with  God  and  men)  the  lovely,  the 
charming  (comp.  Luke  iv.  22). — HiTzia  on  ac- 
count of  the  anoaTd[,u  of  the  LXX  (they  distil, 
they  send  forth)  reads  [VT  instead  of  \^V'}\ 
from  which  we  do  certainly  gain  a  better  paral- 
lelism of  meaning  with  the  1st  clause  of  the  pre- 
ceding verse.  And  yet  it  seems  at  least  suspi- 
cious to  go  so  far  in  this  endeavor  to  secure  a 
parallelism  in  the  contents  of  the  two  verses,  as 
actually  to  transpose,  as  HiTZio  does,  the  order 
of  their  second  clauses,  and  so  combine  them  in 
the  following  order:  31,  1st— 32,  2d— 32,  1st— 
31,  2d.  [RuEETSCHi,  in  his  criticism  upon  this 
tampering  with  forms  and  arrangement,  says  : 
"  It  is  all  needless — nay,  it  destroys  a  beautiful, 
life-like  thought,  and  substitutes  for  it  a  dry 
commonplace."  Ver.  31  says:  "The  mouth  of 
the  righteous  shooteth  forth  wisdom,  but  the 
perverse  tongue  is  rooted  out ;"  if  the  mouth  of 
the  righteous  may  be  compared  to  a  good  tree  or 
field,  that  must  yield  good  fruit,  the  deceitful 
tongue  is  a  bad  tree,  that  can  bear  only  rotten 
fruit,  and   for   that  very  reason   is   cut   down, 


rooted  out,  destroyed.  Ver.  32  adds  "  The  lips 
of  the  righteous  know,"  etc.  "The  righteous  finds 
always,  as  if  instinctively,  what  is  acceptable — 
is,  as  it  were,  inspired  with  it,  so  that  his  lips, 
as  it  were,  naturally  find  it,  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  wicked  knows  and  understands  only 
what  is  distorted  or  perverse,  and  his  mouth 
therefore  speaks  only  this"  (as  cited  above, 
p.  138)]. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

The  contrast  between  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked,  or  between  the  wise  and  foolish,  forms 
evidently  the  main  theme  of  our  chapter.  This 
contrast,  after  being  suggested  in  a  general  and 
prefatory  way  in  ver.  1,  is  developed  with  spe- 
cial reference,  1)  to  the  attainment  or  non-attain- 
ment on  both  parts  of  earthly  possessions,  espe- 
cially riches  and  a  good  name  (vers.  2-7) ;  2)  to 
their  differing  dispositions  as  expressed  by  mouth 
and  lips,  the  organs  of  speech,  with  diverse  in- 
fluence on  their  prosperity  in  life  (vers.  8-14) ; 
3)  to  the  eifect,  tending  on  the  one  side  to  bless- 
ing, on  the  other  to  destruction,  which  the  labor 
of  the  two  classes  (whether  with  the  hands  or 
with  the  lips)  has  upon  themselves  and  upon 
others  (vers.  15-24  and  ver.  26) ;  4)  the  different 
issues  of  the  lives  of  both  (vers.  25,  27-32). 
With  the  individual  groups  of  proverbs,  as  we 
had  occasion  to  combine  them  above  in  the  exe- 
getical  notes,  these  main  divisions  in  the  treat- 
ment of  the  subject  correspond  only  in  part ;  for 
the  formation  of  the  groups  was  determined  as 
we  saw  in  manifold  ways,  and  by  quite  external 
circumstances  and  relations. 

A  peculiarly  rich  return,  in  an  ethical  view,  is 
yielded  by  those  maxims  which  refer  to  the 
earthly  revenues  and  possessions  of  the  pious 
and  the  foolish  (2-7,  15,  16,  22,  27  sq.).  They 
all  serve  to  illustrate  the  great  truth,  "On  God's 
blessing  every  thing  depends,"  while  they  no  less 
interpret  that  other  saying  (2  Thess.  iii.  10; 
comp.  vers.  4,  5  of  our  chapter),  "If  any  man 
will  not  work,  neither  shall  he  eat."  Eminently 
important  and  comparatively  original  [i.  e.,  never 
before  brought  to  an  emphatic  utterance)  are 
also  the  proverbs  relating  to  the  worth  of  a  cir- 
cumspect reserve  in  speech  (vers.  8,  10,  13,  14, 
18,  19,  comp.  James  iii.  3-12)  ;  those  relating  to 
the  ease  with  which  the  evil  man  brings  forth  hia 
evil  and  the  good  his  good — plainly  because  an 
evil  heart  underlies  the  works  of  the  one,  a  loving 
spirit  the  other's  whole  mode  of  action  (ver.  23; 
comp.  vers.  11,  12,  18,  20,  and  passages  of  the 
New  Testament  like  Matth.  xii.  33-35 ;  1  John 
iii.  7  sq.;  v.  3) ;  and  lastly  those  relating  to  thu 
spiritual  blessings  for  others  also  that  spring 
forth  from  the  mouth  of  the  pious  as  the  whole- 
some fruit  of  his  wisdom  (vers.  11,  21,  31 ;  comp. 
Matth.  vii.  16  sq.;  John  xv.  4  sq.;  GaL  v.  22; 
Phil.  i.  11;  James  iii.  18). 

HOMILETIC    AND   PRACTICAL. 

Homily  on  the  entire  chapter.  The  pious  and  the 
ungodly  compared  in  respect,  1)  to  their  earthly 
good  ;  2)  to  their  worth  in  the  eyes  of  men;  3) 
to  their  outward  demeanor  in  intercourse  with 
others ;  4)  to  their  disposition  of  heart  as  thia 


CHAP.  X.  1-32. 


117 


appears  in  their  mien,  their  words,  their  acta  ; 
6)  to  their  diverse  fruit,  that  which  they  produce 
in  their  moral  influence  on  others;  6)  to  their 
different  fates,  as  awarded  to  them  at  last  in  the 
retribution  of  eternity. — Comp.  Stocker:  True 
righteousness  :  1)  its  basis  (ver.  1) ;  2)  its  mani- 
festation and  maintenance  in  life  (vers.  2-5) ;  3) 
its  utility  (vers.  6,  7) ;  4)  the.manner  of  its  pre- 
servation and  increase  (ver.  8  sq.).* 

Stakke  : — The  great  difference  between  the 
pious  and  the  ungodly  :  1)  in  respect  to  temporal 
blessings  (vers.  1-7);  2)  in  respect  to  conduct 
(vers.  8-26) ;  3)  in  respect  to  their  prosperity 
and  the  issue  of  their  deeds  (vers.  27-32). — 
Calwer  Handbuch :  Of  righteousness  through 
wisdom  and  of  unrighteousness  through  folly  and 
mockery.  1)  Warning  against  the  vices  which 
quench  delight  in  righieousness  (1-14) ;  2)  admo- 
nition to  the  careful  government  of  the  tongue  as 
that  on  which  above  all  things  else  the  life  and 
the  true  fruits  of  righteousness  depend  (15-21); 
3)  allusion  to  riches,  long  life,  the  joyful  attain- 
ment of  one's  hopes,  confidence  in  God,  security, 
good  counsel,  etc.,  as  impelling  to  righteousness, 
as  well  as  to  the  opposite  of  all  these  as  the  evil 
result  of  sin  ^2-32). 

Vers.  1-7  (Text  adapted  to  a  sermon  on  Educa- 
tion). Board:  Wilt  thou  have  joy  and  not  sorrow 
in  thy  children,  then  train  them  in  the  nurture 
and  admonition  of  the  Lord  (Eph.  vi.  4). — Stock- 
kr;  Are  there  to  be  people  that  walk  justly,  i.  e., 
honorably  and  sincerely  before  God,  then  must 
they  be  trained  to  it  from  childhood.  The  educa- 
tion of  children  is  the  foundation  that  must  be 
laid  for  righteousness. — Ver.  3  sq.  Starke  :  Al- 
though all  depends  chiefly  on  God's  blessing,  yet 
not  for  that  reason  is  man  discharged  from  labor. 
Labor  is  the  ordinance  in  which  God  will  reveal 
His  blessing  (Ps.  cxxviii.  2). — Von  Gerlach: 
The  Lord  maketh  rich,  but  by  the  industry  which 
the  righteous  by  His  grace  exercise.— [Bp.  But- 
ler: Kiches  were  first  bestowed  upon  the  world 
as  they  are  still  continued  in  it,  by  the  blessing  of 
God  upon  the  industry  of  men,  in  the  use  of  their 
understanding  and  strength.] — Vers.  6,  7.  Osian- 
BER  (in  Starke)  :  A  good  name  among  men  is 
also  reasonably  to  be  reckoned  among  the  excel- 
lent gifts  of  God,  Ps.  cxii.  6;  Eccles.  vii.  1. — 
Geier  :  To  the  righteous  not  only  does  God  grant 
good  in  this  life  and  the  future  ;  all  good  men 
also  wish  them  all  good  and  intercede  for  it  day 
by  day,  without  their  knowing  or  suspecting  it, 
that  it  may  descend  on  them  from  God.  Many 
righteous  men  unknown,  or  even  hated  during 
Iheir  life,  are  first  truly  known  after  their  death 
and  distinguished  by  honors  of  every  kind,  as  the 

*  Stocker  brings  the  contents  of  chaps,  x. — xxiv.  in  gene- 
ral under  five  titles,  corresponding  to  the  five  chief  virtues; 
Justice,  Modesty,  Wisdom,  Temperance,  Patience.  To  Jus- 
tice he  assigns  the  contents  of  chapters  x.  and  xi.;  to  Mo- 
deration chaps,  xii.  and  xiii.;  to  Wisdom  chaps,  xiv. — xvi.: 
to  Temperance  chaps.  xTii. — xxiii.;  to  Patience  chap,  xxiv. 
He  himself  admits  the  arbitrariness  of  this  division,  and  yet 
thinks  there  is  no  undue  violence  done  thereby  to  the  pro- 
verbs in  question;  for  there  is  "in  these  proverbs  of  Solo- 
mon (in  chaps,  x. — xxiv.)  in  general  a  certain  quality  such 
as  we  may  have  seen  in  a  beautiful  green  meadow,  on  which 
all  manner  of  beautiful,  lovely,  glorious  flowers  of  many 
sorts  and  colors  are  to  be  fallen  in  with  or  found,  which 
stand  wonderfully  mixed  and  confused,  and  are  only  after- 
wards to  be  brought  and  placed  in  a  certain  order  by  some 
maiden  who  gathers  them  for  a  wreath."  {Sermons,  etc., 
p.  166.) 


Apostles,  Prophets,  Martyrs,  etc.  The  ofifensive- 
ness  of  the  ungodly,  on  the  contrary,  where  even 
so  much  as  the  mention  of  their  name  is  involved, 
is  perpetual. — Funeral  discourse  on  ver.  7. 
ZiEGLER  (in  Zimmermann's  Sonnlagsfeier,  1858, 
pp.  760  sq.):  The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed 
1)  because  of  his  winning  friendship  ;  2)  because 
of  his  unfeigned  piety ;  3)  because  of  his  stead- 
fast patience  ;  4)  because  of  his  noble,  public- 
spirited  activity. — [Ver.  7.  J.Foster:  The  just 
show  in  the  most  evident  and  pleasing  manner 
the  gracious  connexion  which  God  has  constantly 
maintained  with  a  sinful  world ;  they  are  verify- 
ing examples  of  the  excellence  of  genuine  reli- 
gion ;  they  diminish  to  our  view  the  repulsive- 
ness  and  horror  of  death  ;  their  memory  is  com- 
bined with  the  whole  progress  of  the  cause  of 
God  on  earth,— with  its  living  agency  through 
every  stage. — Trapp  :  Be  good  and  do  good,  so 
shall  thy  name  be  heir  to  thy  life.] 

Vers.  8-14.  Geier  (on  ver.  8) :  Long  as  one 
lives  he  has  to  learn  and  to  grow  in  knowledge, 
but  above  all  also  in  the  art  of  governing  the 
tongue.  A  fool  is  in  nothing  sooner  and  better 
recognized  than  in  his  conversation. — [Ver.  9. 
Barrow  :  Upright  simplicity  is  the  deepest  wis- 
dom, and  perverse  craft  the  merest  shallowness; 
he  who  is  most  true  and  just  to  others  is  most 
faithful  and  friendly  to  himself,  and  whoever 
doth  abuse  his  neighbor  is  his  own  greatest  cheat 
and  foe. — Bridges:  ''Show  me  an  easier  path" 
is  nature's  cry.  "Show  me,"  cries  the  child  of 
God,  "a  sure  path."  Such  is  the  upright  walk, 
under  the  shield  of  the  Lord's  protection  and 
providence  ;  under  the  shadow  of  His  promises, 
in  the  assurance  of  His  present  favor,  and  in  its 
peaceful  end.] — J.  Lange  (on  ver.  10);  In  his 
very  bearing  and  gestures  the  Christian  must  so 
carry  himself  that  there  can  be  read  in  them 
true  love,  due  reverence  and  sincerity. — He  who 
has  too  many  compliments  for  every  body  is  sel- 
dom sincere;  trust  not  such  a  one,  etc. — [Ver.  11. 
Arnot:  The  Lord  looks  down  and  men  look  up 
expecting  to  see  a  fringe  of  living  green  around 
the  lip  of  a  Christian's  life  course.] — Zeitner 
(on  ver.  12) :  Love  is  the  noblest  spice  in  all 
things,  the  first  fruit  of  faith,  the  most  useful 
thing  in  all  conditions,  yea,  a  truly  Divine  virtue, 
for  God  Himself  is  love. — Take  love  out  of  the 
world,  and  thou  wilt  find  nothing  but  contention. 
Of  the  utility  of  true  love  one  can  never  preach 
enough.  [T.Adams:  "Love  covereth  all  sins," 
saith  Solomon ;  covers  them  partly  from  the  eyes 
of  God,  in  praying  for  the  offenders  ;  partly  from 
the  eyes  of  the  world  in  throwing  a  cloak  over 
our  brother's  nakedness ;  especially  from  its  own 
eyes,  by  winking  at  many  wrongs  offered  it.]^ 
Cramer  (on  vers.  18,  14)  :  It  is  no  shame  to 
know  nothing,  but  it  is  indeed  to  wish  to  know  no- 
thing. Learn  in  thy  youth,  and  thou  hast  bene- 
fit therefrom  thy  life  long. — Hasius  (on  ver.  13) ; 
He  who  makes  his  tongue  a  rodio  scourge  others 
with,  must  often  in  turn  give  his  back  to  correc- 
tion.— VoN  Gerlaoh  :  The  fool  must  like  the 
beast  be  corrected  with  the  stick,  since  he  is  ca- 
pable of  no  rational  teaching. — [Bradford:  He 
that  trembleth  not  in  hearing  shall  be  broken  to 
pieces  in  feeling.] 

Vers.  15-26.  Geier  (on  vers.  15,  16) :  Riches 
are  a  means  that  may  be  employed  for  good,  but 


118 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


as,  alas,  generally  happens,  may  be  misused  in 
the  service  of  vanity  and  evil.  Poverty  is  in  it- 
self a  sad  thing  (Prov.  xxx.  8),  and  brings  be- 
sides serious  dangers  to  the  soul ;  for  an  humble 
heart,  however,  that,  child-like,  submits  to  God's 
correction  and  guidance,  it  may  also  become  a 
security  against  many  kinds  of  sins. — [Vers.  15, 
16.  Trapp  :  Surely  this  should  humble  us,  that 
riches — that  should  be  our  rises  to  raise  us  up  to 
God,  or  glasses  to  see  the  love  of  God  in — our 
corrupt  nature  uses  them  as  clouds,  as  clogs,  etc.^ 
yea,  sets  them  up  in  God's  place. — Lord  Bacon: 
This  is  excellently  expressed,  that  riches  are  as 
a  stronghold  in  imagination,  and  not  always  in 
fact ;  for  certainly  great  riches  have  sold  more 
men  than  they  have  bought  out. — Bridges:  Our 
labor  is  God's  work — wrought  in  dependence  on 
Him — not  for  life,  but  to  life.— Ver.  18.  Bakrow  : 
Since  our  faculty  of  speech  was  given  us  as  in 
the  first  place  to  praise  and  glorify  our  Maker, 
so  in  the  next  to  benefit  and  help  our  neighbor, 
it  is  an  unnatural,  perverting  and  irrational 
abuse  thereof  to  employ  it  to  the  damage,  disgrace, 
vexation  or  wrong  in  any  kind  of  our  brother. — 
Arnot  :  Strangle  the  evil  thoughts  as  they  are 
coming  to  the  birth,  that  the  spirits  which  trou- 
bled you  within  may  not  go  forth  embodied  to 
trouble  also  the  world. — They  who  abide  in 
Christ  will  experience  a  sweet  necessity  of  doing 
good  to  men ;  they  who  really  try  to  do  good  to 
men  will  be  compelled  to  abide  in  Christ.] — 
Starke  (on  ver.  18) .  Open  hatred  and  secret 
slander  are  both  alike  works  of  Satan  against 
which  a  true  Christian  should  be  on  his  guard. — 
(On  vers.  19-21) :  The  more  one  gives  free  course 
to  his  tongue,  the  more  does  he  defile  his  con- 
science, comes  too  near  God  and  his  neighbor. 
But  how  usefully  can  a  consecrated  tongue  be  em- 
ployed in  the  instruction,  consolation  and  counsel 
of  one's  neighbor  !  Therefore  let  the  Holy  Spirit 
of  God  rule  thy  heart  and  thy  tongue,  Eph.  iii.  29. 
(On  ver.  2.S) :  It  ia  devilish  to  sin  and  then  boast 
of  sin.  The  wanton  laughter  of  the  wicked  is 
followed  at  last,  and  often  soon  enough,  by  weep- 
ing and   wailing,  Luke  vii.  25. — (On  ver.  24) : 


With  all  the  good  cheer  of  sinners  there  is  yet 
sometimes  found  in  them  a  strange  unrest.  Their 
own  conscience  chastises  them  and  causes  dis- 
may.— (On  ver.  26)  :  Indolence  is  injurious  to 
every  one,  whether  in  a  spiritual  or  a  secular 
calling.  Not  by  ease,  but  by  diligence  and  fide- 
lity does  one  honorably  fulfil  his  office;  1  Cor. 
iv.  2. — [BuNYAN ;  All  the  hopes  of  the  wicked 
shall  not  bring  him  to  heaven ;  all  the  fears  of 
the  righteous  shall  not  bring  him  to  hell. — Ar- 
not : — Fear  and  hope  were  common  to  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked  in  time :  at  the  border 
of  eternity  the  one  will  be  relieved  from  all  his 
fear,  the  other  will  be  deprived  of  all  his  hope. 
— (On  ver.  26)  :  The  minor  morals  are  not  ne- 
glected in  the  Scriptures.  He  who  is  a  Christian 
in  little  things  is  not  a  little  Christian.  He  ia 
the  greatest  Christian  and  the  moat  useful.  The 
baptism  of  these  little  outlying  things  shows  that 
he  is  full  of  grace,  for  these  are  grace's  overflow- 
ings.]— -Berleb.  Bible  (on  vers.  19-21):  Aa  si- 
lence is  in  many  ways  needful,  as  Christ  Himself 
hath  taught  us  by  His  own  example,  so  on  the 
other  hand  we  should  offend  God  and  rob  Him 
of  His  honor  if  we  would  keep  silence  when  He 
will  have  us  speak.  The  lips  of  the  righteous 
often  serve  God  as  an  instrument  by  which  He 
speaketh  and  instructeth  him  that  needeth. 

Vers.  27-82.  Zeltner:  There  is  no  grosser  self- 
deception  than  when  one  in  persistent  impeni- 
tence and  impiety  yet  imagines  that  he  is  at  last 
to  live  in  heaven. — Geier  :  If  thy  hope  of  eternal 
blessedness  is  not  to  fail  thee,  it  must  be  based  on 
the  righteousness  of  Christ  appropriated  by  faith, 
for  this  alone  avails  with  God. — (On  vers.  30): 
Let  us  love  and  long  for  that  which  is  really  eter- 
nal and  unchangeable  ;  for  only  then  can  we  say 

"I   shall  not  be  moved,"    Ps.  x.   6;  xxx.  6. 

Starke  (on  vers.  31,  32) :  When  God's  honor  and 
the  edification  and  improvement  of  one's  neighbor 
is  not  the  chief  end  of  our  speaking ;  it  is  a  sign 
that  eternal  wisdom  has  not  yet  wholly  sanctified 
our  hearts,  comp.  ver.  13,  14. — Wohlfarth  (oa 
vers.  23-32) :  The  sinner's  fear  and  the  hope  of 
the  righteous  (comp.  1  John  iv.  18 ;  iii.  3). 


b)  Comparison  between  the  good  results  of  piety  and  the  disadvantages  and  penalties  of  ungod- 
liness. 

Chaps.  XI.— XV. 
a)  With  reference  to  just  and  unjust,  benevolent  and  malevolent  conduct  towards  one's  neighbor. 

Chap.  XI. 

1  A  false  balance  is  an  abomination  to  Jehovah, 
but  a  true  weight  is  his  delight. 

2  Pride  cometh,  then  cometh  shame, 
but  with  the  humble  is  wisdom. 

3  The  integrity  of  the  upright  guideth  them, 

but  the  perverseness  of  the  ungodly  shall  destroy  them. 


CHAP.  XI.  1-81.  119 


4  Riches  profit  not  in  the  day  of  wrath, 
but  righteousness  delivereth  from  death. 

5  The  righteousness  of  the  upright  maketh  smooth  his  way, 
but  by  his  wickedness  doth  the  wicked  fall. 

6  The  integrity  of  the  upright  delivereth  them, 

but  by  their  transgressions  shall  the  wicked  be  taken. 

7  With  the  death  of  the  wicked  (his)  hope  cometh  to  nought, 
and  the  unjust  expectation  hath  perished. 

8  The  righteous  is  delivered  from  trouble, 
and  the  wicked  cometh  in  his  stead. 

9  The  hypocrite  with  his  mouth  destroyeth  his  neighbor, 

but  by  the  knowledge  of  the  righteous  shall  they  (he)  be  delivered. 

10  In  the  prosperity  of  the  upright  the  city  rejoiceth, 

but  at  the  destruction  of  the  wicked  (there  is)  shouting. 

11  By  the  blessing  of  the  upright  is  the  city  exalted, 
but  by  the  mouth  of  the  wicked  it  is  destroyed. 

12  He  that  speaketh  contemptuously  of  his  neighbor  lacketh  wisdom, 
but  a  man  of  understanding  is  silent. 

13  He  who  goeth  about  as  a  slanderer  revealeth  secrets, 
he  who  is  of  a  faithful  spirit  concealeth  the  matter. 

14  Where  there  is  no  direction  the  people  fall, 
but  in  a  multitude  of  counsellors  is  safety. 

15  He  shall  fare  ill  that  is  security  for  a  stranger, 
but  whoso  hateth  suretyship  liveth  Ln  quiet. 

16  A  pleasing  woman  retaineth  honor, 
and  strong  men  retain  riches. 

17  A  benevolent  man  doeth  good  to  himself, 
and  the  cruel  troubleth  his  own  flesh. 

18  The  wicked  gaineth  a  deceptive  result, 

but  he  that  soweth  righteousness  a  sure  reward. 

19  He  that  holdeth  fast  integrity  (cometh)  to  life, 
but  he  that  pursueth  evil  to  his  death. 

20  An  abomination  to  Jehovah  are  the  perverse  in  heart, 
but  they  that  walk  uprightly  His  delight. 

21  Assuredly  (hand  to  hand)  the  wicked  goeth  not  unpunished, 
but  the  seed  of  the  righteous  is  delivered. 

22  A  jewel  of  gold  in  a  swine's  snout, 

(and)  a  fair  woman  that  hath  lost  discretion. 

23  The  desire  of  the  righteous  is  good  only, 

the  expectation  of  the  wicked  is  (God's)  wrath. 

24  There  is  that  scattereth  and  it  increaseth  still, 
and  (there  is)  that  stinteth  only  to  poverty, 

25  A  liberal  soul  shall  be  well  fed, 

and  he  that  watereth  others  is  also  watered. 

26  Whoso  withholdeth  corn  the  people  curse  him, 

but  blessings  (come)  upon  the  head  of  him  that  selleth  it. 

27  He  that  striveth  after  good  seeketh  favor, 

but  he  that  searcheth  for  evil,  it  shall  find  him. 

28  He  that  trusteth  in  his  riches  shall  fall, 

but  as  a  green  leaf  shall  the  righteoua  flourish. 

29  He  that  troubleth  his  own  house  shall  inherit  wind, 
and  the  fool  shall  be  servant  to  the  wise  in  heart. 

30  The  fruit  of  the  righteous  is  a  tree  of  life, 
and  the  wise  man  winneth  souls. 

31  Lo,  the  righteous  shall  be  recompensed  on  earth, 
much  more  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner. 


i^ 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


GEAMMATICAL   AND    CEITICAL. 

Ver.  2. — X3  is  given  by  Bottcher,  ^  P50, 1,  as  an  example  of  the  Perfectum  relativum,  the  precise  time  being  amattel 
of  indifference.    The  Imperf.  that  follows  is  then  a  contingent  tense  describing  a  normal  consequence,  §980  B.] 

Yer.  3. — UlUl),  to  be  read  Dlt!'^  with  the  K'ri.    [Bottcher,  in  explaining  forms  like  this,  of  which  he  adduces  a  cod- 

Biderable  namber,  ^  929,  /3,  refers  to   but  rejects  the  old  explanation  which  makes  the  1  an  older  form  of  the  3d  personal 
prefix  (from  the  pronoun  {<:*n^  and  ret^aidsit  aa  representing  in  the  view  of  the  K'thibh  the  conjunction  1,  an  error  which 

is  here  corrected  in  the  K'ri.] 

Ver.  15. — ^1  in  ^TT"  y\  is  probably  not  Infin.  abs.  Kal.  (which  should  be  J^Tl),  but  a  substantive,  here  used  ad- 
verbially and  attached  to  the  reflexive  Future  Niphal  ^11^  to  strengthen  the  idea.  [Fuerst,  while  giving  T?")  as  an  intran- 
sitive Infin.  abs.,  also  suggests  that  it  may  bn  a  noun,  giving  it  however  the  place  and  power  of  a  masc.  and  not  a  neuter, 
and  making  it  the  subject,  "  df,r  Scht£cthande^nde,'^^he  that  manages  ill.] 

Ver.  25. — XIV  is  either  to  be  taken  as  the  Imperf.  Hophal  of  XT'=m^,  or  by  change  of  pointing  to  be  read  Xir 
and  this  is  then  to  be  regarded  as  another  form  of  ni'T'  (Uxtzig  j  comp.  Zl£aLEB  and  Elsiee). 


EXEGETIOAL. 

1.  Vers.  1-11.  Eleven  proverbs  on  the  value 
of  a  just  demeanor  towards  one's  neighbor,  and 
on  the  curse  of  unrighteousness. — With  vers.  1 
comp.  XX.  10,  23,  and  also  Meidani's  collection  of 
Arabic  proverbs,  111.,  538,  where  the  first  mem- 
ber at  least  appears,  and  that  too  expressly  as  a 
proverb  of  Solomon. — A  true  -weight,  lit., 
"a  full  stone  ;"  comp.  Deut.  xxv.  13,  where  px 
in  like  manner  signifies  the  weight  of  a  balance. 
—  Ver.  2.  Pride  cometh,  then  cometh 
Bhame; — lit.,  "there  hath  come  pride,  and  there 
will  come  shame,"  i.  e.,  on  the  proud  ;  comp.  xvi. 
18;  xviii.  12. — Butvrith  the  humble  is  ■wis- 
dom.— That  wisdom,  'namely,  which  confers 
honor  (iii.  16  ;  viii.  18).  "  The  humble,"  derived 
from  njX,  which  in  Chaldee  signifies  "to  con- 
ceal," denote  strictly  those  who  hide  themselves, 
or  renounce  self  {raweivoi^  Ta-KEivdtppovEQ). — Ver. 
3.  The  (faithlessness  of  the  false)  perverse- 
ness  of  the  ungodly  destroyeth  them. — 
"  Destroyeth," — from  the  root  "Vil  which  means 
"  violently  to  fall  upon  and  kill,"  and  not  merely  to 

"desolate"  (comp.  Jer.  v.  6).  f]7p  should  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  Arabic  be  explained  either  by 
"falseness,  perverseness "  (as  ordinarily),  or 
with  HiTzio  "  trespass,  transgression," — Ver.  4. 
lu  the  day  of  wrath,  viz.,  the  Divine  wrath  and 
judgment;  comp.  Zeph.  1.  18;  Ezek.  vii.  19;  Job 
Xxi.  30.  With  reference  to  the  general  thought 
comp.  chap.  x.  2. — Vers.  5  and  6  are  exactly  pa- 
rallel not  only  each  to  the  other,  but  also  to 
ver.  3.  Comp.  also  iii.  6  ;  x.  3. — And  by  their 
lusts  are  the  wicked  taken.  —  Literally, 
"and  by  the  lusts  ('cravings'  as  in  x.  13) 
of  the  wicked  (false)  are  they  (the  wicked) 
taken;"  the  construction  is  the  same  therefore  as 

in  Gen.  ix.  6  ;  Ps.  xxxii.  6  ;  comp.  also  ver.  3 

Ver.  7. — A  further  development  of  the  idea  in 
the  second  clause  of  x.  28. — The  unjust  ex- 
pectation.— Lit.,  "the  expectation  of  depravi- 
ties, of  wickedness  "  (D'JIX  plur.  of  [IN).  Most 
interpreters  regard  the  noun  here  as  an  abstract 
for  a  concrete  :  "  the  expectation  of  the  ungodly, 
the  wicked"  [so  De  W.,  E.  V.,  H.,  N.,  M.,  W.l. 
EwALD  interprets  it  in  accordance  with  llos.  ix. 
4  by  "  sorrows  "  (continuance  of  sorrow) ;  others 
in  accordance  with  Is.  xl.  26,  render  it  by 
"might."  In  support  of  our  interpretation  see 
HiTziQ  on  this  passage.     [Fuerst  suggests  that 


the  form  may  be  participial  from  the  verb  [IN 
with  the  signification  "  the  troubled,  the  sorrow- 
ing," and  Bottcher,  ^  811,  3,  deriving  it  as  a 
participial  form  from  riJN,  reaches  the  same 
meaning;  this  is  also  Stuart's  view,  while 
Kamph.  agrees  with  our  author — A.]  The  anti- 
thesis in  idea  between  the  first  and  second 
clauses  which  is  lacking  in  this  verse,  the  LXX 
attempts  to  supply  by  reading  in  the  first  clause 
"when  the  righteous  man  dieth,  hope  doth  not 
'perish  "  [reTievTycavro^  dvdpog  dtaalov  ovk  bTikvTai 
HiTif )  ;  they  thus  put  the  hope  of  the  righteous 
reaching  beyond  death  in  contrast  with  the  hope- 
less end  of  the  life  of  the  ungodly.  This  thought 
the  original  text  certainly  does  not  express;  but 
immortality  and  a  future  retribution  are  yet  pre- 
sumptively suggested  in  the  passage,  as  Mcn- 
TiNGHE,  Umbreit,  Lutz  (Bibl.  Dogmatik,  p.  100, 
eU.)  and  others  have  correctly  assumed.  Comp. 
the  "Doctrinal"  notes. 

Ver.  8.  The  righteous  is  delivered  from 
trouble,  etc. — This  proposition  presented  so  con- 
clusively "cannot  be  the  result  of  experimental 
observation,  but  only  the  fresh,  vigorous  expres- 
sion of  faith  in  God's  justice,  such  as  believes 
where  it  does  not  see"  (Elster). — Ver.  9.  The 
flatterer  (hypocrite)  w^ith  his  mouth  de- 
stroyeth his  neighbor. — For  the  verbal  ex- 
planation of  ^pn  which,  according  to  the  old  Rab- 
binical tradition,  and  according  to  the  Vulgate, 
denotes  a  hypocrite  (A^ulg.,  simulator),  comp.  HiT- 
ziQ  on  this  passage.  He  moreover  needlessly  al- 
ters this  first  clause  in  harmony  with  the  LXX 
(ill  the  mouth  of  the  hypocrite  is  a  snare  for  his 
neighbor),  and  gives  to  the  second  member  also  a 
totally  different  form;  "and  in  the  misfortune  of 
the  righteous  do  they  rejoice." — By  the  know- 
ledge of  the  righteous  are  they  delivered; 
— they,  i.  e.,  his  neighbors ;  the  sing,  "his  neigh- 
bor," which  is  allogether  general,  admits  of  be- 
ing thus  continued  by  a  verb  in  the  plural.  The 
meaning  of  the  verse  as  a  whole  is  "  By  the  pro- 
tective power  of  that  knowledge  which  serves 
righteousness,  they  are  delivered  who  were  en- 
da;(gered  by  the  artifices  of  that  shrewdness 
which  is  the  insirument  of  wickedness"  (El- 
ster]. 

Ver.  10.  In  the  prosperity  of  the  upright 
— 2^02,  an  infinitive  construction ;  literally, 
"when  it  goes  well  to  the  righteous,"  as  in 
the  second  clause  ^^N^,  "in  the  perishing," 
when   they    perish.      Comp.    xxix.    2. HiTzia 


CHAP.  XI.  1-31. 


121 


strikes  out  this  verse  mainly  tp  secure  again 
within  vers.  4-11  a  group  of  seven  proverbs,  as 
before  in  x.  29 — xi.  8,  but  without  being  able  to 
allege  any  ground  whatever  of  suspicion  that  is 
really  valid. — Ver.  11  gives  the  reason  why  the 
population  of  a  city  rejoices  at  the  prosperity  of 
the  righteous  and  exults  at  the  downfall  of  the 
wicked. — By  the  blessing  of  the  righteous  is 
the  city  exalted, — i.  e.,  by  the  beneficent  and 
salutary  words  and  acts  (not  by  the  benevolent 
wishes  only)  of  the  righteous  (literally,  "the 
straight,  true,  straightforward ")  is  the  city 
raised  to  a  flourishing  condition  and  growth, 
exaltabitur  civitas  (Vulg.).  Not  so  well  Elster: 
"is  the  city  made  secure  " — as  if  the  idea  here 
related  to  the  throwing  up  walls  of  defence. 

2.  Vers.  12-15.  Four  proverbs  against  talka- 
tiveness, a  slanderous  disposition,  foolish  counsel 
and  thoughtless  suretyship. — He  that  speak- 
eth  contemptuously  of  his  neighbor. — 
This  is  the  rendering  here  required  to  correspond 
with  the  antithesis  in  the  second  clause  ;  comp. 
xiv.  21 ;  xiii.  13.  [The  E.  V.  aad  Holden  in- 
vert this  relation  of  subject  and  predicate,  while 
De  W.,  K.,  N.,  S.,  and  M.  agree  with  our  author 
in  following  the  order  of  the  original — A.] — Ver. 
13.  He  that  goeth  about  as  a  slanderer  be- 
trayeth  secrets. — With  this  expression,  "  to  go 
tattling,  to  go  for  slander,"  comp.  Lev.  xix.  16; 

Jer.  ix.  3.  With  the  expression  IID  n7j,  revela- 
vit  arcanum,  "to  reveal  a  secret,"  comp.  xx.  19; 
XXV.  9;  Am.  iii.  7.  That  not  this  "babbler  of 
secrets"  is  subject  of  the  clause  (Hitzig),  but 
"he  that  goeth  slandering,"  the  parallel  second 
clause  makes  evident,  where  with  the  "slan- 
derer" is  contrasted  the  faithful  and  reliable, 
and  with  the  babbler  the  man  who  "  conoealeth 
the  matter,  i.  e.,  the  secret  committed  to  him." 
Comp.  Ecclesiasticus  xxvii.  16. 

Ver.  14.  Where  there  is  no  direction. 
— For  this  term  comp.  i.  5. — In  the  multi- 
tude of  counsellors  there  is  safety. — This 
thought  recurring  again  in  xv.  22 ;  xxiv.  6, 
is  naturally  founded  on  the  assumption  that  the 
counsellors  are  good  and  intelligent  persons,  and 
by  no  means  conflicts  with  the  conditional  truth 
of  the  modern  proverb,  "Too  many  cooks  spoil 
the  broth;"  or  this,  "He  who  asks  long  errs 
long,"  etc. 

Ver.  15.  He  shaU  fare  ill  that  is  surety  for 
a  stranger.— "  111,  ill  does  it  go  with  him, — 
ill,  very  ill  will  he  fare, — ill  at  ease  will  he  be," 
etc  Instead  of  "who  is  surety,"  etc.,  the  origi- 
nal has  literally  "if  one  is  surety,"  etc. — With 
the  second  clause  comp.  remarks  above  on  chap, 
vi.  1  sq.  Instead  of  D'J/pW  (partic.)  we  ought 
probably  to  read  here  D';t>pJl  (subst.)  (Hitzig), 
or  to  take  the  plural  participle  in  the  sense  of 
the  abstract  "striking  hands"  (instead  of 
"those  striking  hands)."  Thus,  e.g.,  Umbebit. 
Not  so  well  the  majority  of  commentators  (Ewald, 
Bertheau,  Elster,  among  others),  who  read 
"he  that  hateth  sureties,"  i.  e.,  who  will  not 
belong  to  their  number,  who  avoids  fellowship 
with  such  as  lightly  strike  hands  as  sureties, 
who  therefore  does  not  follow  their  example. 

3.  Vers.  16-23.  Eight  proverbs  of  miscellaneous 
import,  mostly  treating  of  the  blessing  th  at  attends 


righteousness  and  the  deserved  judgment  of  im- 
piety.— A  gracious  ■woman  retaineth  honor 
and  strong  men  retain  riches. — So  reads 
the  Hebrew  text,  according  to  which  there  is 
a  comparison  made  here  ;  as  mighty  men  (lit., 
"tyrants,  terrible  men,"  comp.  fiiaaTal,  Matth. 
xi.  12)  retain  their 'wealth  and  will  not  allow  it 
to  be  torn  from  them,  with  the  same  energy  and 
decision  does  a  "  gracious  woman  "  (comp.  v.  19) 
watch  over  her  honor  as  an  inalienable  posses- 
sion. Comp.  the  similar  sentiment,  chap.  xxix. 
23  (where  we  have  the  same,  "holdeth  fast  ho- 
nor"); and  as  to  the  force  of  comparative  sen- 
tences formed  thus  simply  with  the  copulative 
conjunction  1,  comp.  xxv.  25 ;  xxvi.  9 ;  Job  v.  7  ; 
xii.  11 ;  xiv.  18,  19,  e<c.— The  LXX,  whom 
Ziegler,  Ewald,  Hitzig  follow,  read  D''Xnn 
{i.  e.,  diligent  men,  comp.  x.  4),  and  besides  in- 
sert two  clauses  between  the  first  and  second  of 
this  verse,  so  that  the  whole  proverb  has  this 
expanded  form : 
"A  gracious  woman  obtaineth  honor; 

but  a  throne  of  disgrace  is  she  that  hateth 
virtue. 
The  idle  will  be  destitute  of  means, 

but  the  diligent  will  obtain  wealth." 
For  the  authenticity  of  this  fuller  form  may  be 
urged  especially  the  vigorous  expression  "  throne 
of  disgrace "  (-^pdvog  arifila^),  which  is  hardly 
the  product  of  later  invention,  but  rather  agrees 
antithetically  with  the  expression  which  is  seve- 
ral times  found,  "a  seat  or  throne  of  honor" 
n'UD  ND3),  1  Sam.  ii.  8 ;  Is.  xxii.  23 ;  Jer.  xvii. 
12.  [While  RuEETSCHi  (as  cited  above,  p.  138) 
seems  to  admit  the  antiquity  of  the  form  repro- 
duced in  the  version  of  the  LXX,  he  thus  defends 
and  amplifies  the  sense  of  the  shorter  form  found 
in  the  Masoretic  text,  "  A  woman  is  powerful  by 
her  grace  as  the  mighty  are  by  their  strength. 
In  grace  there  lies  as  great  force  as  in  the  im- 
posing nature  of  the  mighty  ;  nay,  the  power  of 
the  strength  of  the  latter  gains  only  more  pro- 
perty, while  the  woman  gains  honor  and  esteem, . 
which  are  of  more  worth."] 

Ver.  17.  The  benevolent  man  doeth  good 
to  himself. — Lit.,  "the  man  of  love,"  who  by 
the  goodness  which  he  manifests  towards  others, 
benefits  his  own  soul.  The  second  clause  in  its 
contrast  with  this:  "And  his  own  flesh  doth  the 
cruel  trouble,"  does  not  aim  to  characterize  any 
thing  like  the  unnatural  self-torture  of  gloomy 
ascetics,  but  to  express  the  simple  thought  that 
on  account  of  the  penalty  with  which  God  re- 
quites cruel  and  hard-hearted  conduct,  such  con- 
duct is  properly  a  raging  against  one's  self. 
Thus  the  LXX  had  correctly  expressed  the  idea, 
and  among  modern  interpreters  Hitziq,  Elster, 
etc.,  while  the  great  body  (Umbreit,  Ewald, 
Bertheau  among  them),  comparing  Ecclesiast. 
xiv.  5,  find  the  meaning  of  the  verse  to  be  directed 
against  niggardliness,  or  ascetic  self-torture: 
He  who  deals  harshly  and  unkindly  with  him- 
self will  treat  others  also  no  better." 

Ver.  18.  The  wicked  gaineth  delusive 
gains, — i.  e.  such  as  result  in  no  good  to  himself, 
such  as  escape  from  under  his  hands.     Comp.  a. 

2,  and  with  reference  to  nliJQ,  gain,  acquisition, 
2.  16.— But  he  that  soweth  righteousness, 


122 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


a  sure  revrard. — The  "sure  reward"  (HOS  l^?!'' 
perhaps  in  ita  sound  in  intentional  accord  with 
"ipV  in  the  first  member)  is  also  governed  by  the 

verb  "gaineth"  or  "workethout"  (n^^f) ;  oomp. 
Jer.  xvii.  11,  etc.  For  this  figure  of  "  sowing 
righteousness,"  i.  e.  the  several  right  acts,  which 
like  a  spiritual  seed-corn  are  to  yield  as  their 
harvest  the  rewards  of  God's  grace,  comp.  James 
iii.  18;  1  Cor.  ix.  11  ;  2  Cor.  ix.  6  ;  also  Job  iv. 
8;  Gal.  vi.  8,  etc. — Whoso  holdeth  fast  integ- 
rity (cometh)  to  life. — [3  before  npHlf  (right- 
eousness) if  genuine,  (the  LXX  and  Syriac  ver- 
sions read  instead  [3,  "  son  "),  can  be  only  an 
adjective  or  participle  derived  from  the  verb  [13 
"to  be  firm,"  having  the  meaning  "  firm"  (comp. 
Gen.  xlii.  11, 19) ;  it  therefore  denotes  "the  stead- 
fast in  righteousness,"  i.  e.  as  the  antithetic 
phrase  in  the  2d  member  shows,  "  he  who  holds 
fast  to  righteousness,  who  firmly  abides  in  it." 
Thus  ZiEOLER,  EwALD,  Umbeeit,  Elstek,  etc. 
Others,  like  CoccEins,  Schultens,  Michaelis, 
Dodeelein,  take  the  word  as  a  substantive — 
steadfastness  (?) ;  still  others  regard  it  as  a  par- 
ticle in  the  ordinary  meaning  "  thus  "  (by  which 
construction  however  the  verse  would  lose  its 
independent  character,  and  become  a  mere  ap- 
pendage to  the  preceding  proverb) ;  and  finally, 
HiTZio  conjecturally  substitutes  033  and  trans- 
lates "As  a  standard  is  righteousness  to  life." 

Vers.  20,  21.  Two  new  maxims  concerning  the 
contrasted  lot  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked, 
serving  to  confirm  vers.  18  and  19.  With  ver. 
20  comp.  ii.  21 ;  xvii.  20. — Assuredly,  literally, 
"hand  to  hand,"  a  formula  of  strong  assevera- 
tion, derived  from  the  custom  of  becoming  surety 
by  clasping  hands  (ver.  15),  and  therefore  sub- 
stantially equivalent  to  "  I  pledge  it,  I  guarantee 
it."  Comp.  the  German  formula  which  challenges 
to  an  honest  self-scrutiny,  "  die  Hand  auf's 
Herz !"  (the  hand  on  the  heart!);  and  for  the 
sentiment  of  the  1st  clause  compare  xvi.  5. 
[FuEEST  and  K.  regard  the  formula  as  one  of 
asseveration  ;  Gesen.,  De  W.  and  Notes  inter- 
pret, by  the  analogy  of  some  similar  expres- 
sions in  cognate  languages,  as  referring  to  time, 
"through  all  generations;"  H.,  M.,  S.  and  W. 
retain  the  rendering  of  the  E.  V.,  "though  hand 
join  in  hand."  The  exceeding  brevity  of  the 
Hebrew  formula  stimulates  inquiry  and  conjec- 
ture without  clearly  establishing  either  interpre- 
tation.^— A.] — But  the  seed  of  the  righteous 

escapeth,  literally,  "  delivers  itself "  (bSh:  aNi- 
phal  participle  with  reflexive  meaning),  that  is, 
in  the  day  of  the  divine  wrath,  comp.  vers.  4,  23. 
The  "  seed  of  the  righteous  "  is  not  the  posterity 
of  the  righteous  (soboles  Justorum,  Sohallek, 
Rosenmueller,  Bertheau)  but  is  equivalent  to 
the  multitude,  the  generation  of  the  righteous. 
Comp.  Isa.  Ixv.  23,  "  the  seed  of  the  blessed  of 
Jehovah." 

Ver.  22.  A  gold  ring  in  a  swine's  snout ;  a 
fair  woman  that  hath  lost  discretion. — ^This 
last  phrase  (Dj^B  ri^D)  literally  denotes  "  one 
who  has  turned  aside  in  respect  to  taste,"  i.  e. 
one  who  lacks  all  moral  sensibility,  all  higher 
appreciation  of  beauty  and  sense  of  propriety, 


in  a  word,  a  chaste  and  pure  heart, — an  unchaste 
woman.  Only  with  this  conception  does  the 
figure  of  the  swine  agree,  and  not  with  that 
given  by  Eosenmuellbe,  Bertheau,  Ewald, 
Elster,  "  without  judgment,"  i.  e.  stupid,  weak. 
Compare  furthermore  the  Arabic  proverb  here 
cited  by  Hitzig  (from  Soheid's  Selecta  quiedam 
ex  iententiis,  etc.,  47)  ;  ^^Mulier  sine  verecundia  est 
ut  cibus  sine  sale,  [a  woman  without  modesty  is 
like  food  without  salt].  For  the  "gold  ring" 
(ring  for  the  nose,  DIJ,  not  circlet  for  the  hair, 
Luthee)  comp.  Gen.  xxiv.  47 ;  Isa.  iii.  21,  and 
also  in  general  what  is  cited  by  Umbreit,  in  con- 
nection with  this  passage,  on  the  habits  of  the 
Eastern  women  in  respect  to  this  kind  of  orna- 
ment. 

Ver.  23.  The  desire  of  the  righteous  is 
good  only, — i.  e.  nothing  but  prosperity  and 
blessing,  because  God  rewards  and  prospers  them 
in  everything.  Comp.  x.  28,  and  with  the  2d 
clause  where  "wrath"  denotes  again  God's  wrath, 
comp.  ver.  4  above. 

4.  Vers.  24^26.  Three  proverbs  against  ava- 
rice, hard-heartedness  and  usury. — Many  a  one 
scattereth  and  it  increaseth  still. — Comp. 
Ps.  cxii.  9  (2  Cor.  ix.  9),  where  the  same  verb  is 
used  of  the  generous  distribution  of  benefactions, 
of  scattering  [ampirH^eiv)  in  the  good  sense  (dififer- 
ent  from  that  of  Luke  XV.  18).  For  it  is  to  this  only 
true  form  of  prodigality,  this  "  sowing  of  righte- 
ousness" that  the  expression  applies,  as  the  two 
following  verses  plainly  show.  — And  many 
save  only  to  poverty,  literally,  "and  a  with- 
holder  of  wealth  only  to  want ;"  (thus  Bektheau 
correctly  renders,  following  Sohultens,  etc.). 
With  the  participial  clause  ("IH'O  '^??'ni)  the  af- 
firmative of  the  preceding  clause  (©',  there  is, 
there  appears)  still  continues  in  force.  HiTZio's 
attempted  emendation  is  needless,  according  to 
which  we  ought  to  read  !£{'  D'jtyni  in  corre- 
spondence with  the  language  of  the  LXX,  euA  Si 
ical  ol  avvdyoi>TEg.  Others,  like  Schelliho,  Um- 
beeit, Ewald,  Elstek  (comp.  also  Lxjthbk), 
translate  "who  withholdeth  more  than  is  right;" 
but  thus  to  give  a  comparative  force  to  ]D  after 
^K^n  has  no  sufficient  grammatical  support,  and 
instead  of  liJ'''?  w®  should,  according  to  xvii. 
26,  rather  expect  "lU'''  7^.  The  signification 
"wealth,"  opulentia  for  '^Ui''  is  abundantly  con- 
firmed by  the  corresponding  Arabic  word. 

Ver.  25.  A  liberal  soul  is  well  fed,  lit., 
"a  soul  of  blessing  is  made  fat,"  comp.  xiii.  4; 
xxviii.  25;  Ps.  xxii.  29;  Isa.  x.  16;  xvii.  4,  etc. 
— And  he  that  -watereth  others  is  likewise 
watered,  lit.,  "he  that  sprinkleth  others  is  also 
sprinkled"  (comp.  Vulgate,  "  inebriat  .  ■ .  ■  in- 
ebriabitur").  The  meaning  of  the  expression  is 
unquestionably  this,  that  God  will  recompense 
with  a  corresponding  refreshing  the  man  who 
refreshes  and  restores  others.  Comp.  Jer.  xxxi. 
1 4,  and  with  reference  to  the  general  sentiment 
Eccles.  xi.  1 ;  Ecclesiast.  xi.  11,  etc. 

Ver.  26.  'Whoso  -withholdeth  corn,  him 
the  people  curse. — The  withholding  of  grain  is 
a  peculiarly  injurious  form  of  the  "withholding 

of  property"  mentioned  in  ver.  24.    Dix'?,  people, 


CHAP.  XI.  1-31. 


12& 


multitude,  as  ia  xxiv.  24.  With  the  2d  clause 
comp.  X.  6. 

5.  Vers.  27-31.  Five  additional  proTerbs  re- 
lating to  the  contrast  between  the  righteous  and 
the  wicked  and  their  several  conditions. — 
Seeketh  favor,  that  is,  God'sfavor,  graliam  Dei; 
oomp.  Ps.  V.  12 ;  Isa.  xlix.  8.  With  the  senti- 
ment of  ver.  27  compare  in  general  x.  24 ;  Am. 
T.  14  sq. 

Ver.  28.  He  that  trusteth  in  his  riches 
shall  fall. — Comp.  x.  2  ;  Ps.  xlix.  6  ;  Ecclesiast. 
V.  8.— But  as  a  green  leaf  shall  the  righteous 
flourish.  Comp.  Ps.  xcii.  12;  Isa.  Ixvi.  14.  "As 
a  leaf,"  i.  e.  like  a  fresh,  green  leaf  on  a  tree,  in 
contrast  with  the  withered,  falling  leaf,  to  which 
the  fool  should  rather  be  compared  who  trusts  in 
his  riches.     Jaegee  and  Hitzig  (following  the 

LXX)  read  nS.yD1  "and  he  who  raiseth  up," 
that  is,  raiseth  up  the  righteous  man,  proTes 
himself  their  helper  in  time  of  need.  On  account 
of  the  appropriate  antithesis  to  the  1st  clause 
this  reading  is  perhaps  preferable. 

Ver.  29.  He  that  troubleth  his  own  house, 
lit.,  "saddeneth"  (as  in  ver.  17),  i.  t.  the  avari- 
cious man,  who  is  striving  after  unjust  gains, 
straitens  his  own  household,  deprives  them  of 
their  merited  earnings,  oppresses  and  distresses 
them,  etc.;  comp.  chap.  xv.  27  ;  1  Kings  xviii.  17 
(where  Elijah  is  described  by  Ahab  as  the  man 
that  "troubleth"  Israel,  i.  e.  allows  them  to 
suffer,  brings  them  into  calamity). — Shall  in- 
herit wind,  i.  e.  with  all  his  avaricious,  hard- 
hearted acting  and  striving  will  still  gain  nothing. 
Comp.  Isa.xxvi.  18;  Hos.  viii.  7. — The  fool  be- 
cometh  servant  to  the  w^ise  in  heart,  that  is, 
this  same  foolish  niggard  and  miser  by  his  very 
course  is  so  far  reduced  that  he  must  as  a  slave 
serve  some  man  of  understanding  (a  master  not 
avaricious  but  truly  just  and  compassionate). 
Comp.  ver.  24. 

Ver.  30.  The  fruit  of  the  righteous,  i.  e.  that 
which  the  righteous  man  says  and  does,  the  re- 
sult of  his  moral  integrity,  and  not  in  an  alto- 
gether specific  sense,  his  reward,  as  Hitiio 
maintains  (in  accordance  with  Jer.  xxxii.  19). 
— Is  a  tree  of  life  (comp.  note  on  iii.  18), 
a  growth  from  which  there  springs  forth  life 
for  many,  a  fountain  of  blessing  and  of 
life  for  many.  Uubbeit,  Elstee  and  others 
mmecessarily  repeat  "fruit"  ('"13)  before  the 
"tree  of  life"  (D"n  ]»;?);  "is  a' fruit  of  the 
tree  of  life." — And  the  wise  man  winneth 
souls,  by  the  irresistible  power  of  his  spirit  he 
gains  many  souls  for  the  service  of  God  and  for 
the  cause  of  truth.  [The  E.  V.  which  has  the 
support  of  H.,  S.,  and  M,,  here  again  inverts  the 
order  of  subject  and  predicate,  conforming  to  the 
order  of  the  original.  The  parallelism  seems  to 
favor  our  author's  rendering  which  is  also  that 
of  Db  W.  and  N.  Both  conceptions  are  full  of 
meaning  and  practical  value. — A.]  Hitzig  here 
again  alters  in  accordance  with  the  LXX,  sub- 
stituting  DDn   for    DJTI;   "but  violence   taketh 

T   T  T  T 

life"    (?  !).       ZlEQLEB,     DoDERLEIN,    DaTHE,    Ew- 

ALD  transpose  the  clauses  of  vers.  29  and  30  into 
this  order:  29,  1st;  30,  1st;  29,  2d;  SO,  2d. 
For  arguments  against  this  Tiolent  transposition 


of  clauses  see  Umbeeit,  Beetheau  and  Hitziq 
on  this  passage. 

Ver.  81.  Behold  the  righteous  shall  be 
recompensed  on  earth.  That  the  "ehall 
be  recompensed"  denotes  specifically  requital  by 
punishmenl,  and  therefore  the  retribution  of  the 
sins  of  the  righteous,  cannot  be  positively  main- 
tained on  account  of  the  comprehensiveness  of 
the  idea  of  recompense  (QW).  Yet  a  compari- 
son with  the  2d  clause  unquestionably  makes  this 
specific  meaning  very  natural ;  the  whole  then 
appears  as  an  aryumentaiio  a  majori  ad  minus,  and 
Luthee's  rendering,  "  Thus  the  righteous  must 
suffer  on  earth,"  substantially  hits  the  true 
meaning.  On  the  other  hand  the  Alexandrian 
version  introduces  a  foreign  idea  when  it  renders, 
"If  the  righteous  be  scarcely  saved"  (Ej  6  ficv 
6lKai,oQ  n6hg  ai^erai, — see  also  the  New  Testa- 
ment's citation,  1  Pet.  iv.  18) ;  for  the  verb  dW 
never  signifies  "to  be  delivered." 

DOCTRINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

That  it  is  chiefly  that  righteousness  which  is  lo 
be  manifested  in  intercourse  with  one's  neighbor 
that  is  commended  in  the  proverbs  of  our  chap- 
ter, and  against  the  opposite  of  which  they  all 
warn,  needs  no  detailed  proof.  For  the  first 
eleven  verses  relate  solely  to  this  antithesis,  and 
in  the  second  and  larger  section  of  the  chapter 
also  there  are  added  to  the  proverbs  which  refer 
to  the  duties  of  justice  for  the  most  part  only 
commendations  of  merciful,  and  censures  of 
cruel,  hard-hearted  conduct  (vers.  17,  18,  24-26, 
29,  30).  Those  proverbs  which  have  reference 
to  the  lack  of  intelligent  counsellors  (14),  to  in- 
considerate suretyship  (15),  and  to  feminine 
grace  and  purity  (16,  22),  take  their  place  among 
the  precepts  which  enjoin  righteousness  in  the 
widest  sense  (in  so  far  as  wisdom  in  rulers  is  an 
absolutely  indispensable  condition  of  prosperity 
in  civil,  and  a  wise  economy  and  womanly  honor 
in  domestic  society).  The  separation  of  these 
interspersed  proverbs,  it  is  true,  renders  it  im- 
possible to  demonstrate  within  the  section  before 
us  (vers.  12-81),  any  grouping  as  undertaken 
according  to  a  definite  principle  of  classification. 

To  that  which  is  comparatively  new  in  the 
dogmatical  or  ethical  line,  as  presented  in  our 
chapter,  there  belongs  above  all  else  the  sugges- 
tion of  a  hope  of  immortality  in  ver.  7.  With  th« 
death  of  the  ungodly  all  is  over  for  him ;  from 
the  future  life  he  has  nothing  more  to  hope ;  he 
has  had  his  good  here  below  in  advance ;  his  re- 
ward has  been  paid  him  long  beforehand  ;  there 
awaits  him  henceforth  nothing  more  than  a 
cheerless,  hopeless  condition  of  unending  pain, 
"  a  fearful  awaiting  of  judgment  and  fiery  indig- 
nation that  shall  consume  the  rebellious"  (Heb. 
X.  27;  comp.  Luke  xvi.  25  ;  Matt.  vi.  2,  16;  vii. 
23;  XV.  12,  etc.).  This  is  the  series  of  thoughts 
which  is  inevitably  suggested  by  the  proposition 
"with  the  death  of  the  wicked  hope  perishes;" 
the  bright  reverse  of  this  here  quite  as  distinctly 
as  in  the  similar  representations  of  the  Psalms, 
especially  in  the  49th  Psalm,  which  is  so  pre- 
eminently important  for  the  doctrine  of  the  Old 
Testament  concerning  immortality  and  future 
retribution,  depicts  the  certainty  that  the  right- 


124 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


eous  will  attain  to  an  eternally  blessed  life, — a 
certainty  whose  foundation  is  in  God  (comp.  Ps. 
xlix.  14,  15,  and  in  connection  with  this  Hor- 
MANN,  Schriflbew.,  II.  2,  p.  467).  Elster  denies 
that  the  sentiment  of  the  verse  points  indirectly 
to  a  life  after  death,  because  "according  to  the 
doctrine  of  Proverbs  the  hope  of  the  righteous 
is  already  fulfilled  in  the  earthly  life"  (comp. 
also  Bruoh,  Weisheitslehre,  etc.,  p.  117).  But  the 
doctrine  of  retribution  set  forth  in  our  book  is 
(see  below,  remarks  on  siv.  32)  as  far  from  being 
an  exclusively  earthly  one,  limited  to  the  present 
life,  as  that  of  the  Psalms  or  the  Book  of  Job 
(comp.  Delitzsch  on  Job  xix.  26  sq.  ;  and  also 
KoNio,  Die  Unsterblichkeitslehre  des  Buches  Hiob, 
1855).  And  as  respects  our  chapter  in  particular, 
the  two-fold  allusion  to  the  divine  wrath  (vers. 
4,  23),  and  the  assurance  which  is  expressed 
altogether  without  qualification,  that  "the  wicked 
will  not  go  unpunished"  (ver.  21;  comp.  notes 
above  on  this  passage),  point  with  suiBcient 
clearness  to  this  couclusion,  that  to  the  religious 
consciousness  of  the  author  of  our  Proverbs  a 
retribution  beyond  the  grave  was  an  established 
fact.  The  closing  verse  of  the  chapter,  "Be- 
hold, the  righteous  is  recompensed  on  earth ; 
how  much  more  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner !  "  is 
by  no  means  opposed  to  this  view.  For  the  main 
stress  here  falls  not  upon  the  "on  earth,"  but 
upon  "the  righteous"  (comp.  the  exegetical  ex- 
planation of  the  passage) ;  and  it  is  not  the  cer- 
tainty of  a  visitation  of  sin  occurring  within  the 
earthly  life,  but  the  certainty  of  such  a  visitation 
in  general  upon  the  wrong  committed  on  the 
earth  (by  the  righteous  as  well  as  the  wicked), 
that  forms  the  proper  substance  and  object  of 
the  expression. 

Besides  these,  characteristic  utterances  of  our 
chapter  that  are  of  special  dogmatical  and  ethi- 
cal significance  are,  the  announcements  concern- 
ing the  blessing  which  goes  forth  from  wise  and 
upright  citizens  upon  their  fellow-citizens  (vers. 
10,  11,  14,  comp.  especially  the  exegetical  com- 
ments on  the  last  passage)  ;  concerning  the  seri- 
ous injury  which  the  hard-hearted  and  cruel 
does  above  all  to  himself,  especially  when  he 
leaves  his  own  house  and  his  nearest  connections 
to  suffer  from  his  avarice  (vers.  17,  29,  comp. 
1  Tim.  V.  8) ;  concerning  the  blessing  of  benefi- 
cence, and  the  injurious  and  perverse  nature  of 
avarice  in  general  and  of  avaricious  usury  in 
particular  (vers.  24-2G) ;  and  finally  concerning 
the  life-giving  and  soul-refreshing  power  which 
the  conduct  of  a  just  and  truly  wise  man  has, 
like  a  magnet  endowed  with  peculiar  attractive 
power  and  working  at  a  distance  (ver.  30,  comp. 
Matt.  xii.  30,  the  "gathering  witu  the  Lord"). 

HOMILETIC    AND   PRACTICAL. 

Homily  on  the  entire  chapter.  Not  justice  only, 
which  gives  and  leaves  to  every  one  his  own,  but 
love,  which  from  spontaneous  impulse  resigns  its 
own  to  others,  and  even  for  God's  sake  and  in 
reliance  on  Him  scatters  it  without  concern, — 
this  is  the  conduct  of  the  truly  wise.  For  "love 
worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbor ;  therefore  love  is 
the  fulfilling  of  the  law"  (Rom.  xiii.  10). — Comp. 
Stocker  :  Justice,  as  Solomon  here  commends  it, 
relates  1)  to  private  life  (vers.  1-9)  ;  2)  to  civil 


life  (vers.  10-15) ;  3)  to  domestic  life  (vers.  16, 
31) ;  it  is  ih^veiore  justitia  privata,  publica,  oecono- 
mica.- — SxAKKE  : — The  advantage  which  the  pious 
have  from  their  piety,  and  the  injury  which  the 
wicked  experience  from  their  wickedness:  1) 
from  righteousness  and  unrighteousness  i»  busi- 
ness in  general ;  2)  from  good  and  evil  conduct 
with  respect  to  the  honorable  fame  of  one's 
neighbor  (vers.  12,  13) ;  3)  from  good  and  evil 
government  (vers.  14,  15) ;  4)  from  seeking  or 
oontemning  true  wisdom  (vers.  16-23) ;  5)  from 
beneficence  or  uncharitableness  (vers.  24-31). 

Vers.  1-11.  Melanchthon  (on  ver.  1):  Weight 
and  balance  are  judicial  institutions  of  the  Lord, 
and  every  weight  is  His  work.  But  marriage 
compacts  also,  political  confederacies,  civil  com- 
pacts, judgments,  penalties,  etc.,  are  ordinances, 
of  Divine  wisdom  and  justice,  and  are  effectively 
superintended  by  God. — (on  ver.  2) :  Usually  in 
prosperity  men  become  remiss  both  in  the  fear  of 
God,  and  also  in  prayer.  If  in  this  way  God's 
fear  is  at  length  wholly  stifled,  men  in  their  car- 
nal security  allow  themselves  all  manner  of  en- 
croachments on  the  rights  of  their  neighbor. 
Experience  has,  however,  taught  even  the  heathen 
that  certain  penalties  do  by  Divine  ordinance  in- 
fallibly overtake  such  pride  and  arrogance  when 
these  pass  beyond  the  bounds  of  one's  calling, 
and  they  have  therefore  designated  this  law  of 
the  Divine  administration  of  the  world  according 
to  which  pride  is  the  sure  precursor  of  a  speedy 
fall  by  the  expression  adpaareia,  "inevitability." 
Comp.  1  Pet.  V.  5  sq.  [Arnot  :  God  claims  to 
be  in  merchandize,  and  to  have  His  word  circling 
through  all  its  secret  channels. — Bridges:  Com- 
merce is  a  providential  appointment  for  our  so- 
cial intercourse  and  mutual  helpfulness.  It  is 
grounded  with  men  upon  human  faith,  as  with 
God  upon  Divine  faith. — Jermyn  :  Such  ^.perfect 
stone  is  a  perfect  jewel,  and  a  precious  stone  in 
the  sight  of  God.— Ver.  2.  Trapp  :  The  humble 
man,  were  it  not  that  the  fragrant  smell  of  his 
many  virtues  betrays  him  to  the  world,  would 
choose  to  live  and  die  in  his  self-contenting  se- 
crecy.]— J.  Lange  (on  vers.  1-3):  Pride  and 
malignity  are,  so  to  speak,  the  first  nurses  of  in- 
justice in  business,  Ecelesiast.  x.  15,  16. — 
[Ver.  6.  Trapp  :  Godliness  hath  many  troubles, 
and  as  many  helps  against  trouble. — Ver.  8. 
Bridges  :  The  same  providence  often  marks  Di- 
vine faithfulness  and  retributive  justice.] — Geiee 
(on  vers.  7,  8) :  The  righteous  man  is  in  the  end 
surely  free  from  his  cross ;  if  it  does  not  come 
about  as  he  wishes,  then  assuredly  it  does  as  is 
most  useful  for  him;  if  not  before  his  temporal 
death  then  in  and  by  means  of  this. — (On  vers. 
10,  11).  The  growth  and  prosperity  of  a  civil 
community  is  to  be  ascribed  not  so  much  to  its 
political  regulations  as  rather  to  the  prayers  of 
its  pious  citizens,  who  therefore  deserve  above 
others  to  be  protected,  honored  and  promoted. — 
J.  Lange  (on  vers.  10,  11).  Pious  and  devout 
rulers  of  a  city  or  a  land  are  a  great  blessing,  for 
which  we  should  diligently  pray,  lest  God  should 
peradventure  chastise  us  with  tyrannical,  selfish, 
ungodly  masters. 

Vers.  12-15.  Geier  (on  vers.  12,  13):  Taci- 
turnity is  never  too  highly  praised,  nor  is  it 
ever  thoroughly  acquired.  Disgraceful  and  in- 
jurious as  loquacity  is,  equally  admirable  is  tru9 


CHAP.  Xr.  1-31. 


12b 


reserve  in  speech. — (On  ver.  14) :  The  welfare  of 
a  land  does  indeed  by  all  means  depend  on  wise 
and  faithful  counsellors ;  yet  to  God,  the  supreme 
source  of  all  prosperity,  must  the  highest  honor 
ever  be  rendered. — Ruedel  (on  ver.  14 — in 
Rohe's  Predigermagazin) :  Means  by  which  we 
all  may  work  beneficially  from  our  domestic  upon 
the  public  life  (by  the  fidelity  of  our  action,  by 
purity  of  morals,  love  of  peace,  and  a  genuine 
religious  sensibility). — Von  Geklaoh  (on  ver. 
14) :  In  the  affairs  of  a  city,  a  state,  a  society, 
we  should  look  far  more  after  the  spiritual  than 

after    the    external    means    and    appliances 

WoHLFARTH  (on  vers.  9-15) :  The  blessing  which 
the  pious  confers  even  here,  and  the  curse  that 
goes  forth  from  the  sinner. 

Vera.  16-23.  Zeltner  (on  ver.  16) :  Zealous  as 
tyrants  are  to  acquire  and  keep  their  wealth,  so 
diligent  should  the  pious  man  be  in  attaining  and 
preserving  his  true  honor,  which  is  the  fear  of 
G-od  and  virtue. — [Arnot  (on  ver.  17)  :  In  every 
act  that  mercy  prompts  there  are  two  parties, 
who  obtain  a  benefit.  Both  get  good,  but  the 
giver  gets  the  larger  share. — J.  Edwards  (on 
ver.  19) ;  Solomon  cannot  mean  temporal  death, 
for  he  speaks- of  it  as  a  punishment  of  the  wicked, 
wherein  the  righteous  shall  certainly  be  distin- 
guished from  them.] — Geier  (on  ver.  17)  :  The 
gifts  which  have  been  received  from  God  one 
may  enjoy  with  a  good  conscience,  only  it  must 
be  done  with  a  thankful  heart  in  the  fear  of  God, 
and  in  connection  with  it  the  poor  may  not  be 
forgotten. — (On  ver.  18)  :  The  hope  of  the  un- 
godly is  deceptive.  For  the  object  of  their  labor 
they  do  not  attain,  because  death  suddenly  over- 
takes them  (Luke  xii.  19).  Their  accumulated 
wealth  does  not  reach  the  heir  of  the  third  gene- 
ration, they  leave  behind  them  an  evil  name,  and 
the  worm  of  conscience  continually  preys  upon 
them. — (On  ver.  22)  :  External  physical  beauty 
without  inner  beauty  of  soul  is  like  a  whitewashed 
sepulchre,  that  within  is  full  of  dead  men's  bones, 
Matth.  xxiii.  27. — [Plavel  (on  ver.  20) :  God 
takes  great  pleasure  in  uprightness,  and  will  own 
and  honor  integrity  amidst  all  the  dangers  which 
befall  it.] — Von  Gerlaoh  (on  ver.  22) :  Personal 
beauty  is  like  the  mere  ornaments  of  an  animal, 
attached  to  it  only  externally,  and  often  standing 
in  sharp  contrast  with  itself ;  it  is  that  within 
which  makes  the  man  a  man. — Berleburg  Bible 
(on  ver.  23):  The  righteous  desire  nothing  but 
what  is  good,  and  are  by  God  really  made  par- 
takers of  these  things  which  they  desire.  The 
ungodly,  on  the  contrary,  instead  of  what  they 
hoped  for,  are  made  partakers  of  God's  wrath. 

Vers.  24-26.  Cramer  :  Almsgiving  does  not 
impoverish,  as  many  men  from  lack  of  love  sup- 
pose.— Hasius  :  Though  God  may  not  requite  our 
beneficence  in  every  instance  by  increasing  the 
abundance  of  our  possessions,  yet  He  does  in  this 
that  it  contributes  to  our  true  welfare. — Von 
Geblaoh  :  God  as  invisible  regulator  of  human 


fortunes  stands  behind  visible  causes;  He  be- 
stows His  blessing  upon  the  insignificant  and  in- 
creases it.  His  curse  upon  the  abundant,  and  it 
wastes  away.  Thus  every  where  it  is  the  deeper 
causes  that  determine  advance  in  wealth  or  im- 
poverishment. The  blessing  which  we  diffuse 
among  others  turns  to  our  account;  he  who  wa- 
ters the  dry  land  of  others  thereby  brings  ad- 
vantage to  his  own. — [T.  Adams  (on  ver.  24):  The 
communication  of  this  riches  doth  not  impoverish 
the  proprietary.  The  more  he  spends  of  his 
stock,  the  more  he  hath.  But  he  that  will  hoard 
the  treasure  of  his  charity  shall  grow  poor, 
empty  and  bankrupt. — Arnot  (on  ver.  2.5):  To 
be  a  vessel  conveying  refreshment  from  the  foun- 
tain-head of  grace  to  a  fainting  soul  in  the  wil- 
derness is  the  surest  way  of  keeping  your  own 
spirit  fresh,  and  your  experience  ever  new. — 
Trapp  :  Bounty  is  the  most  compendious  way  to 
plenty,  neither  is  getting  but  giving  the  best 
thrift. — Chalmers:  God  in  return  not  only  en- 
riches and  ministers  food  to  such  as  have  wil- 
lingly parted  with  their  carnal  things,  but  in- 
creases the  fruits  of  their  righteousness.] 

Vers.  27-31.  Starke  (on  ver.  27) :  The  oppor- 
tunity to  do  good  one  should  not  let  slip  from  his 
hands.  Gal.  vi.  10.  If  thou  art  always  deferring 
from  one  time  to  another,  it  is  easy  that  nothing 
should  come  of  it. — (On  ver.  28)  :  If  thou  wilt  be 
and  continue  truly  prosperous,  then  seek  eagerly 
the  righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  not  the 
perishable  riches  and  pleasures  of  this  world. — 
(On  ver.  30) :  To  win  gold  and  possessions  is  far 
from  being  so  great  wisdom  as  to  win  souls  and 
deliver  them  from  the  way  of  destruction. — 
[Tkapp  (on  ver.  28) :  Riches  were  never  true  to 
any  that  trusted  to  them. — Lord  Bacon  (on  ver. 
29) :  In  domestical  separations  and  breaches 
men  do  promise  to  themselves  quieting  of  their 
mind  and  contentment;  but  still  they  are  deceived 
of  their  expectation,  and  it  turneth  to  wind. — J. 
Edwards  (on  ver.  31) :  The  persecutions  of 
God's  people,  as  they  are  from  the  disposing 
hand  of  God,  are  chastisements  for  sin. — Bp. 
Jos.  Hall  (on  ver.  31):  Behold  even  the  most 
just  and  holy  man  upon  earth  shall  be  sure  of 
his  measure  of  affliction  here  in  the  world;  how 
much  more  shall  the  unconscionable  and  ungodly 
man  be  sure  to  smart  for  his  wickedness,  either 
here  or  hereafter.] — -Melanchthon  (on  ver.  31) : 
If  even  the  righteous  in  this  life  suffer  correction 
and  affliction,  which  nevertheless  tend  to  im- 
provement, how  much  more  surely  will  they  who 
defiantly  and  fiercely  persist  in  their  sinful  course 
be  punished,  if  not  in  this  life,  then  in  the  life  to 
come  (Luke  xxiii.  31 ;  1  Pet.  iv.  18). — Von  Ger- 
laoh (on  ver.  30) :  From  the  righteous  there  go 
forth  life  and  blessing,  as  from  a  tree  of  life, 
wherefore  he  also  gains  ascendency  over  the  souls 
of  many,  just  as  the  tree  of  life  was  the  centre 
of  Paradise,  and  from  it  went  forth  the  prosperity 
of  the  whole. 


126  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


P)  With  reference  to  domestic,  ci-nl  and  public  avocationa 
Chap.  XII. 

1  He  that  loveth  correction  loveth  knowledge ; 
but  whosoever  hateth  rebuke  is  brutish. 

2  The  good  man  obtaineth  favor  from  Jehovah  ; 
but  the  man  of  wicked  devices  doth  he  condemn, 

3  A  man  shall  not  be  established  by  wickedness ; 
but  the  root  of  the  righteous  shall  not  be  moved. 

4  A  good  wife  is  the  crown  of  her  husband, 

but  one  that  causeth  shame  is  as  rottenness  in  his  bones. 

5  The  thoughts  of  the  righteous  are  justice; 
the  counsels  of  the  wicked  are  deceit. 

6  The  words  of  the  wicked  are  a  lying  in  wait  for  blood, 
but  the  mouth  of  the  upright  delivereth  them. 

7  The  wicked  are  overturned  and  are  no  more ; 
but  the  house  of  the  righteous  shall  stand. 

8  According  to  his  wisdom  shall  a  man  be  praised ; 
but  he  that  is  of  a  perverse  heart  shall  be  despised. 

9  Better  is  the  lowly  that  serveth  himself, 
than  he  that  boasteth  and  lacketh  bread. 

10  The  righteous  careth  for  the  life  of  his  beast ; 
but  the  sympathy  of  the  wicked  is  cruelty. 

11  He  that  tilleth  his  land  shall  be  satisfied  with  bread : 

but  he  that  foUoweth  after  vanity  is  void  of  understanding. 

12  The  wicked  desireth  the  spoil  of  evil  doers, 
but  the  root  of  the  righteous  is  made  sure. 

13  In  the  transgression  of  the  lips  is  a  dangerous  snare, 
but  the  righteous  escapeth  from  trouble. 

14  From  the  fruit  of  a  man's  mouth  shall  he  be  satisfied  with  good; 
and  the  work  of  one's  hands  shall  return  to  him. 

15  The  way  of  a  fool  is  right  in  his  own  eyes, 
but  he  that  hearkeneth  to  counsel  is  wise. 

16  The  vexation  of  the  fool  is  at  once  known ; 
but  he  that  hideth  offence  is  wise. 

17  He  that  uttereth  truth  proclaimeth  right, 
but  the  lying  tongue  deceit. 

18  There  is  that  talketh  idly  like  the  piercings  of  a  sword: 
but  the  tongue  of  the  wise  is  health. 

19  The  lip  of  truth  shall  be  established  forever ; 
but  the  lying  tongue  only  for  a  moment. 

20  Deceit  is  in  the  heart  of  those  who  devise  evil, 
but  to  those  who  give  wholesome  counsel  is  joy. 

21  There  shall  no  evil  befall  the  righteous ; 
but  the  wicked  are  full  of  calamity. 

22  Lying  lips  are  an  abomination  to  Jehovah; 
but  they  that  deal  truly  are  his  delight. 

23  A  prudent  man  hideth  knowledge : 

but  the  heart  of  fools  proclaimeth  foolishness. 

24  The  hand  of  the  diligent  shall  rule : 

but  the  slothful  shall  be  obliged  to  serve. 

25  If  heaviness  be  in  the  heart  of  man  it  boweth  it  down  ; 
a  good  word  maketh  it  glad. 


CHAP.  XII.  1-28. 


127 


26  The  righteous  guideth  his  friend  aright ; 

but  the  way  of  the  wicked  leadeth  him  astray. 

27  The  idle  catcheth  not  his  prey, 

but  a  precious  treasure  to  a  man  is  diligence. 

28  In  the  path  of  righteousness  is  life : 
but  a  devious  way  (leadeth)  to  death. 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  Vers.  1-3.  Three  proverbs  on  the  contrast 
between  good  and  evil  in  general. — Whosoever 
hateth  correction  is  brutish. — 1J73,  brulus, 
stupid  as  a  beast;  a  peculiarly  strong  expres- 
sion.   Comp.  chaps,  xxx.  2  ;  Ps.  xlix.  10  ;  Ixxiii. 

22 ;  xcii.  6.  HiTZio  prefers  to  read  "^j^3,  which 
alteration,  however,  appears  from  the  passages 
just  cited  to  be  unnecessary. — Ver.  2.  The 
good  man  obtaineth  favor  from  Jehovah. 
For  the  use  of  this  verb  "obtain"  (lit.  "to  draw 
out")  comp.  iii.  13;  viii.  35. — But  the  man  of 
wicked  devices  doth  he  condemn, — i.  e., 
Jehovah.  Others  regard  the  verb  as  intransitive, 
e.g.,  the  Vulgate,  " impie  agit,"  and  now  HiTZia, 
who  finds  expressed  here  the  idea  of  "incurring 
penalty."  But  for  this  signification  of  this  Hip- 
hil  there  is  wanting  the  necessary  illustration 
and  support;  and  as  evidence  that  the  ty^Nl 
niHID  may  be  regarded  as  an  accusative  without 
the  sign  ns  comp.,  e.  g.,  x.  11 ;  Ps.  Ivi.  8;  Job 
xiii.  29,  etc. — With  ver.  3  compare  x.  26, 
and  with  the  second  clause  in  particular  ver.  12 
below. 

2.  Vers.  4-11.  Eight  proverbs  on  the  blessings 
and  banes  of  domestic  life,  and  on  the  cause  of 
both. — Ver.  4.  A  good  vrife  is  her  husband's 
crown.  Literally,  a  woman  of  power,  i.  e., 
of  moral  power  and  probity,  such  as  mani- 
fests itself  in  her  domestic  activity  ;  comp.  xxxi. 
10;  Euth  iii.  11.  The  "crown"  or  the  gar- 
land (niD^)  is  here  regarded  evidently  as  an 
emblem  of  honor  and  renown,  comp.  the  "  crown 
of  rejoicing"  {crrf^nvof  navx^^^t^^),  1  Thess.  ii. 
19 ;  also  Prov.  xxxi.  23,  28.— But  like  a  rot- 
tenness in  his  bones  is  she  that  causeth 
Bhame. — Literally  a  worm-eating,  i.  e.,  a  ruin 
inwardly  undermining  and  slowly  destroying; 
somp.  xiv.  30;  Job  iii.  16. —Ver.  5.  The 
thoughts  of  the  righteous  are  just;  the 
counsels  of  the  wicked  are  deceit, — i.  e,, 
the  very  thoughts  of  the  pious,  much  more  then 
their  words  and  deeds,  aim  at  simple  justice  and 
righteousness ;  the  shrewd  counsels,  however,  by 


GRAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 
Ver.  11.— 'Dm.  [This  plural  is  cited  by  Bottobek,  J  699,  among  the  examples  of  that,  ideally  ntendad  and  abltract^ 
which  vividly  and  agreeably  impresses  the  spirit,  and  therefore  is  fitly  represented  by  a  plural ;  comp.  '"IIJ^N,  e(c.] 

Ver.  17.— njTOX   IT'S''  (comp.  D'^tS    ITS',  chap.  vi.  19)  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  relative  clause.    iBSiTOHEB,  how- 
T      V:     -    ■  T  ■  T ;      •*     ■  T 

tver,  regards  n'3'  here  and  in  vi.  19;  xiv.  25;  xix.  5,  9;  Ps.  xii.  6;  3txvii.l2,  as  a  Hiphil  participle  of  peculiar  form,  found 
only  in  a  few  instances  in  connection  with  roots  containing  a  labial  that  would  closely  follow  the  O  which  is  the  ordinary 
prefix  of  the  Hiphil  participle.  The  omission  of  this  Q  gives  a  form  approaching  the  Kal.  Bottchee  objects  to  Ewald's 
description  of  this  as  an  intransitive  Kal  participle  (^  169,  a),  that  this  verb  is  not  intransitive,  etc.  See  i  994,  9  and 
4).-A.] 

Ver.  28. — An  additional  objection  to  the  ordinary  interpretation  (see  exegetical  notes  below)  is  the  absence  of  Mappiq 
in  the  n  of  n^TUi  which  must  nevertheless  be  regarded  as  a  third  pers.  suffix  referriug  to  HplV,  "the  way  of  its 

T  •  :  Itt: 

path." 

which  the  wicked  seek  to  direct  others  (nn2nr\, 
comp.  xi.  14),  are  in  themselves  deceitful  and  un- 
real, and  therefore  lead  solely  to  evil. — Ver.  6. 
The  -words  of  the  -wicked  are  a  lying  in 
wait  for  blood, — i.  e.,  they  mean  malice,  they 
are  the  expression  of  a  bloodthirsty  and  murder- 
ous disposition ;  comp.  i.  1 1  sq. ;  xi.  9. — Altogether 
needlessly  Hitzig  alters  the  phrase  D^"3■^N  to 
D3   SIX,  "  are  a  snare  for  them." — The  mouth 

T 

of  the  righteous,  hov^ever,  delivereth 
them, — that  is,  the  righteous  (comp.  xi.  6),  or  it 
may  be  also  the  innocent  who  are  threatened  by 
the  lying  in  wait  of  the  wicked  for  blood  (comp. 
xi.  9).  [So  WoKBSw.  and  MuenscherJ. — Ver.  7. 
The  -wicked  are  overturned  and  are  no 
more, — The  infin.  abs.  '^12n  here  stands  em- 
phatically for  the  finite  verb,  and  furthermore, 
for  this  is  certainly  the  simplest  assumption,  in 
an  active  or  intransitive  sense  [comp.  however  in 
general  on  this  idiom  Bottchek,  J  990,  a. — A.]  ; 
"  the  wicked  turn  about,  then  are  they  no  more  " 
[comp.  the  proverbial  expression  "in  the  turning 
of  a  hand  "].  To  regard  it  as  a  passive  (Ewald, 
Elster,  Hitziq)  [K.,  M.,  S.]  is  unnecessary; 
this  gives  a  stronger  meaning  than  the  poet  pro- 
bably designed,  i.  e.,  "the  wicked  are  over- 
thrown "  (or  even  "turned  upside  down,"  Hit- 
zig). The  subsequent  clause  "and  are  no 
more  "  would  not  harmonize  with  so  strong  a 
meaning  in  the  antecedent  clause,  especially  if, 
as  HiTZio  supposes,  the  verb  really  designs  to 
remind  us  of  the  overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Go- 
morrah (Gen.  xix.  21).  With  the  second  clause 
comp.  X.  25 ;   Matth.  vii.  25. 

Ver.  8.    According   to  his  wisdom. — 'SS 

[literally  "in  the  face  or  presence  of  "],  "in  pro- 
portion to,"  "according  to  the  measure  of,"  as  in 
Judges  i.  8  and  frequently  elsewhere. — But  he 
that  is  of  a  perverse  heart  shall  be  de- 
spised,— lit.,  "the  crooked  in  heart,"  i.  e.,  the 
perverse  man,  who  does  not  see  things  as  they 
are,  and  therefore  acts  perversely  and  injudi- 
ciously (Hitziq). 

Ver.  9.  Better  is  the  lowly  that  servetb 
himself. — With  this  use  of  "lowly,  insignifi- 
cant,"  comp.    1    Sam.    xviii.  23.      The   phrase 


128 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


iV  13^1  the  Targum,  Aben  Ezra,  Bertheau, 
Elsieb'  [De  W.,  N.,  S.],  regard  as  expressing 
this  idea,  "and  he  has  at  the  same  time  a  ser- 
vant." I5ut  the  parallelism  demands  the  mean- 
ing early  gireu  in  the  LXX,  Vulgate  and  Syr. 
versions  [and  now  preferred  by  K.,  H.,  M.,  W.], 
"ministrans  sibi  ipsi,"  serving  himself,  which  is 
here  evidently  put  in  contrast  with  the  foolish, 
impoverished  pride  of  birth  mentioned  in  the 
second  clause, — whether  we  retain  the  Masoretic 
reading,  or,  with  Ziegler,  Ewald  and   Hitzig, 

read  'h  '\'2^'\  (participial). — And  lacketh 
bread. — Comp.  2  Sam.  iii.  29,  With  the  ge- 
neral sentiment  compare  the  passage  which  un- 
doubtedly grew  out  of  this,  Ecclesiast.  x.  30. — 
Ver.  10.  The  righteous  careth  for  the  life 
of  his  beast, — i.  e.,  he  knows  how  his  beast 
feels,  he  concerns  himself,  he  cares  for  his  do- 
mestic animals,  does  not  allow  them  to  hunger. 
[Arnot:  When  the  pulse  of  kindness  beats  strong 
in  the  heart,  the  warm  stream  goes  sheer  through 
the  body  of  the  human  family,  and  retains  force 
enough  to  expatiate  among  the  living  creatures 
that  lie  beyond].  Comp.  Ex.  xxiii.  9,  "Ye  know 
the  heart  of  the  stranger,"  from  which  parallel 
passage  it  appears  that  Ziegler,  Elstee,  et"., 
are  in  the  wrong  in  translating  ^^i  here  by 
"  hunger."  For  examples  of  this  use  ofiie  verb 
yy  "to  know,"  in  the  sense  of  "to  concern 
one's  self,  to  care  for  something,"  comp.  also 
xxvii.  23;  Gen.  xxxix,  6;  Ps.  i.  6,  etc. — But  the 
compassion  of  the  wicked  is  cruelty, — 
lit.,  "is  cruel." — With  the  whole  proverb  comp. 
Ecclesiast.  vii.  23.— Ver.  11.  But  he  that  fol- 
loweth  after  vanity. — O'P'T  is  probably  not 
the  designation,  of  "vain  persons,"  as  in  Judg.  ix. 
4;  2  Sam.  vi.  20  ;  comp.  2  Kings  iv.  3  (Umbreit, 
Bertheau,  etc.),  but  is  to  be  regarded  as  neuter, 
i.  e.,  as  an  abstract,  and  therefore  as  meaning 
vain  things,  vanities,  and,  as  the  contrast  with 
the  first  clause  shows,  specially  "  idleness,  inac- 
tion, laziness."  Comp.  the  LXX,  who  have  here 
rendered  the  expression  by  fiaraia,  but  in  the 
passage  almost  literally  identical,  chap,  xxviii. 
19,  by  axo^r/v;  in  like  manner  Symmachus 
(awpayiav),  Vulgate  [otium),  etc. 

3.  Vers.  12-22.  Eleven  additional  proverbs 
with  regard  to  virtues  and  faults  in  civil  rela- 
tions, especially  sins  of  the  tongue  and  their  op- 
posites. — The  ■wicked  desireth  the  spoil  of 
evil  doers, — i.  c,  one  wicked  man  seeks  to 
deprive  another  of  his  gains,  one  of  them  is 
evermore  seeking  the  injury  and  ruin  of  ano- 
ther, so  that  no  peace  prevails  among  them  (Is. 
xlviii.  22  ;  Ivii.  21) ;  they  are  rather  "by  the  con- 
flict of  their  selfish  strivings  ever  consuming 
one  another."  Thus,  and  doubtless  correctly, 
Umbreit  and  Elster  [to  whose  view  K.  gives  a 
qualified  assent],  while  Bertheau,  following  the 
Targum,  translates  USD  by  "net,"  and  to  illus- 
trate the  meaning  thus  obtained,  compares  chap, 
viii.  35  [this  is  also  the  rendering  of  the  E.  V., 
which  is  followed  by  W.,  M.,  H.;  S.  renders 
"  desireth  an  evil  net,"  i.  e.,  destruction,  being 
80  intent  upon  his  evil  deeds  as  to  disregard  the 
consequences  ;  N.  renders  in  seeming  agreement 
with   our  author  "  the  prey  of  evil  doers,"  the 


genitive  being  however  possessive  and  not  ob- 
jective, i.  II.,  such  prey  as  evil  doers  take]; 
Ewald  however  and  Hitzig  regard  the  passage 
as  altogether  corrupt,  on  account  of  the  widely 
divergent  text  of  the  ancient  versions  (LXX, 
Vulg.,  Syr.),  and  therefore  propose  emendations 
(Ewald,  "  the  desire  of  the  wicked  is  an  evil 
net;"  HiTzio,  "the  refuge  of  the  wicked  is 
crumbling  clay").  It  is  certainly  noteworthy 
that  the  LXX  and  Vulgate  offer  a  double  render- 
ing of  the  verse,  first  one  that  widely  departs, 
and  then  one  less  seriously  diifering  from  the 
form  of  the  Masoretic  text. — With  the  second 
clause  comp.  ver.  3,  second  clause.  For  the  verb 
[r}'  it  is  probably  not  needful  to  supply  as  sub- 
ject the  word  "  Jehovah,"  which  has  been  omit- 
ted (Umbreit,  Bertheau,  Elster  [Wordsw.  (?)], 
etc.)  [nor  with  Luther,  De  W.,  E.  V.,  N.  and 
M.  to  supply  an  object, — giveth  or  yieldeth 
(fruit)]  ;  but,  as  in  the  instance  in  x.  24,  to 
iihange  the  punctuation  to  the  passive  [j^.',  or 
Hgain,  to  write  \T?^  (derived  from  ^T^ ,  firmus  fuit, 
«omp.  the  proper  name  [H'X)  with  the  Targum, 
Reiske,  Hitzig  [Stuart],  etc. — Ver.  13.  In  the 
transgression  of  the  lips  is  a  dangerous 
snare;  i.  e.,  he  who  seeks  to  ruin  others  by  evil 
speaking  is  himself  overthrown  in  the  same  way. 
Bertheau  proposes  to  construe  so  as  to  give  the 
meaning  "is  a  snare  of  or  for  the  wicked,"  which, 
liowever,  is  contrary  to  the  analogy  of  Eccles.  ix. 
12, — After  this  verse  also  the  LXX  introduces 
a  peculiar  addition  consisting  of  two  clauses, 
which,  however,  is  probably  nothing  more  than 
an  old  gloss  on  the  following  verse ;  comp.  Hit- 
zig on  this  passage. 

Ver.  14.  From  the  fruit  of  a  man's  mouth 
is  he  satisfied  with  good. — Lit.,  "from  the 
fruit  of  the  mouth  of  the  man  doth  he  satisfy  him- 
self with  good;"  i.  e.,  it  is  the  good  fruit  which  one 
brings  forth  in  wise,  intelligent,  benevolent  dis- 
course, that  results  in  blessing  to  him.  Comp. 
xiii.  2;  xviii.  20.  In  the  second  clause  to  good 
words  good  works  are  added,  and  as  "returning 
upon  him"  (comp.  Ps.  vii.  16) ;  they  are  therefore 
represented  as  being  in  a  sense  the  personified 
bearers  of  reward  and  blessing.  Compare  the 
similar  thought,  referring  however  to  future  ret- 
ributions, and  therefore  somewhat  differently 
expressed.  Rev.  xiv.  13,  "their  works  do  follow 
them." — Vers.  15  and  l(i  belong  together,  as 
both  refer  to  the  fool  and  his  opposite. — The 
•way  of  a  fool  is  right  in  his  ow^n  eyes, — 
i.  e.,  according  to  his  own  judgment  (comp.  iii. 
7),  which  presents  to  him  his  own  mode  of  action 
in  a  light  favorable  enough,  although  others  may 
ever  so  often,  and  in  a  way  ever  so  convincing, 
point  out  its  perversencss.  The  exact  opposite 
of  this  is  found  in  the  conduct  of  the  wise  man, 
the  willing  listener  to  wise  counsels.  Comp. 
xiv.  12;  xvi.  26;  xxi.  2. — The  vexation  of 
the  fool  is  at  once  know^n, — lit.,  "is  known 
even  on  the  same  day,"  i.  e.,  at  once,  after  a  short 
time  (Vulgate,  statim).  In  contrast  with  this 
passionate  breaking  out  of  the  offended  fool,  the 
wise  man  exercises  a  prudent  self-control  in  a 
seemly  disregard  of  the  insult  put  upon  him,  as 
Saul  once  did,  1  Sam.  x.  27. — Ver.  17.  He  that 
uttereth  truth  proclaimeth  right,  i.  e.,  always 
gives  utterance  to  that  which  is  strictly  just;  so 


CHAP.  XII.  1-28. 


129 


especially  in  judicial  examinationa  as  witness. 
This  "trutli"  (HJinN)  is  subjective  truth,  fidelity 
to  one's  own  convictions  [viaTi^,  LXX),  the  op- 
posite to  the  lies  which  characterize  the  false 
witness ;  comp.  xiv.  6,  25. 

Ver.  18.  There  is  that  talketh  idly,  as 
though  it  •were  thrusts  of  a  SMVord,  lit.,  "like 
piercings  of  a  sword,"  or  "like  knife  thrusts  " 
(Hitzig);  i.  e.,  he  breaks  out  with  speeches  so 
inconsiderate  and  inappropriate,  that  the  persons 
present  feel  themselves  injured  as  if  by  sharp 
thrusts.  This  rude  and  inconsiderate  babbling 
of  the  fool  is  here  fitly  described  by  the  verb 
n03,  which  is  equivalent  to  ND3,  used  in  Lev.  v. 

T  T  TT 

4;  Numb.  xxx.  7  ;  Ps.  cvi.  33  (of  speaking  hastily, 
rashly,  unadvisedly).  —  But  the  tongue  of 
the  ■wise  is  health.  —  "Medicine,  healing" 
(comp.  iv.  22),  forms  here  an  exceedingly  appro- 
priate antithesis  to  the  inwardly  wounding  effect 
of  the  inconsiderate  babbling  mentioned  before. 
Vers.  19.  But  the  lying  tongue  only  for  a 
moment. — Literally,  "till  I  wink  again,  till  I 
complete  a  wink  of  the  eye;"  comp.  Jer.  xlix.  19 
and  1.  44.  This  is  therefore  a  detailed  poetical 
circumlocution  for  the  idea  of  a  little  while,  an 
instant  (Is.  liv.  7) :  the  verb  here  employed 
(Jf'JTn)  is  a  denominative  derived  from  j^Jl 
a  wink. — Deceit  is  in  the  heart  of  those  ■who 
devise  evil.  — "  Deceit,  malignity  "  (comp. 
ver.  17,  second  clause)  might  here  be  made  anti- 
thetic to  "joy,"  because  the  necessary  effect  of 
deceit  is  sorrow  and  trouble.  Therefore  this 
noun  nnlD  is  not  to  be  transformed  to  TTl'lD 

T  :  •  T       ; 

bitterness  (Houbigant),  nor  to  be  interpreted  by 
"self-deception,"  or  by  "joy  in  evil"  {Schaden- 
freude) with  Umbreit. — But  to  those  ■who 
give  ■wholesome  counsel  is  joy.  —  The 
common  rendering  (as  also  that  of  Umbreit,  El- 
siER,  etc.),  is  "who  counsel  peace;"  comp.  the 
old  reading  of  the  LXX,  ol  fiovXdfievot.  clpyvrjv,  and 

the  elfirivoTzoioi  of  Matth.  v.  9.  But  QvTHi  is  here 
to  be  taken  in  the  general  sense  of  "  welfare,  that 
which  is  salutary,"  as,  for  example,  in  Ps.  xxxiv. 
14;  xxxvii.  37.  The  special  signification 
"  peace  "  would  not  correspond  with  the  "  evil " 
of  the  first  clause,  which  is  nowhere  equivalent 
to  strife,  division  (not  in  Judges  Ix.  23,  as  Um- 
breit thinks).  The  "joy"  of  the  well-meaning 
counsellor  is  furthermore  probably  to  be  con- 
ceived of  as  one  to  be  found  in  the  heart,  the  in- 
ward cheerfulness  and  happy  contentment  of  a 
good  conscience  (as  Hitzig  rightly  maintains 
against  Bebtheau  and  others). 

Ver.  21.  No  evil  befalleth  the  righteous. 
— For  this  verb  (Pual  of  njX)  comp.  Ps. 
xci.  10;  Ex.  xxi.  13.  IIX  here  signifies  not 
"sin,"  but  "evil,  misfortune,  calamity,"  like  the 
parallel  term  in  the  second  clause,  or  the  nj?T  in 
the  91st  Psalm  cited  above. — With  respect  to  the 
sentiment,  which  naturally  should  be  regarded 
as  a  relative  truth,  not  as  unconditionally  illus- 
trated in  every  experience,  comp.  chap.  x.  3 ;  xi. 
23 ;  xii.  2,  3,  etc. — With  ver.  22  compare  xi.  20. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  alter  the  plural  'tyj^  into  the 
singular  T^'lS])  (with  the  LXX,  many  MSS.,  Hit- 
WQ,  etc.). 

9 


4.  Vers.  23-28.  Six  proverbs  which  relate  to 
the  contrast  between  the  wise  and  the  foolish,  the 
diligent  and  the  slothful.— With  reference  to  the 
first  clause  of  ver.  23  compare  x.  14,  17  ;  with  the 
second  clause,  xiii.  16;  xv.  2. — Ver.  24.  The 
hand  of  the  diligent  ■will  rule ;  but  the 
slothful  ■will  be  obliged  to  serve.— With 
the  first  clause  compare  x.  4  ;  with  the  second, 
xi.  29.— n^p'l,  "slothful,"  is  doubtless  an  adjec- 
tive belonging  to  the  noun  T  (hand),  and  not  an 
abstract  substantive  "sloth,"  standing  hereforthe 
concrete,  "  the  sluggard,"  as  J.  D.  Michaelis, 
Dodeklein,  Bertheau  and  Elstek  suggest.— 
"Will  be  obliged  to  serve,"  literally,  "will  be 
for  tribute,  for  service,"  i.  e.,  will  be  forced  to 
labor  as  one  owing  tribute. — Ver.  25.  If  trou- 
ble be  in  the  heart  of  man  it  boweth  it 
down. — The  suffix  attached  to  the  verb  seems 
like  that  connected  with  the  parallel  verb,  which, 
moreover,  rhymes  with  this,  to  refer  to  the  noun 
"heart,"  and  this  as  a  synonym  with  E/flJ 
"soul,"  has  here  the  force  of  »  feminine. 
[Bottcher,  §  877,  e,  cites  this  among  the  exam- 
ples of  the  use  of  the  fem.  singular  as  a  neuter 
with  reference  to  objects  named  before  but  con- 
ceived of  as  neuter.  See  also  Green,  |  197,  b — 
A.]  In  this  connection  it  is  indeed  remarkable 
that  njNT  (trouble),  also  contrary  to  its  natural 
gender,  appears  here  construed  as  a  masculine. 
Hence  the  varying  views  of  many  recent  exposi- 
tors, e.g.,  that  of  Umbreit  and  Elster;  "if 
trouble  be  in  a  man's  heart,  let  him  repress  it 
(the  sorrow) ;"  or  that  of  Hitzig,  who  refers  the 
suffixes  of  both  these  verbs  to  the  noun  "hand" 
of  the  verse  preceding,  and  accordingly  renders 
(at  the  same  time  in  a  peculiar  way  reproducing 
the  rhyme) : 
"  Is  sorrow  in  the  man's  heart,  he  bends  it  [i.  e., 

the  hand,  down). 
But  if  gladness,  he  extends  it." 
[Hitzig's  rhyme  is  made  with  the  verbs  senket 
and  schwenJcet,  which  are  rather  violent  equiva- 
lents to  the  Hebrew  terms,  but  are  perhaps  fairly 
matched  by  bends  and  extends,  or  abases  and 
raises. — ^A.]  In  favor  of  the  rendering  which  we 
prefer  are  the  old  versions,  and  among  recent  ex- 
positors    ROSENMUELLER,      DaTHE,      DoDERLEIN, 

Ewald,  Bebtheau. 

Ver.    26.     The    righteous     guideth     his 
friend  aright.— The  verb  -\n\  Hiphil  of  l^n 

(which  is  equivalent  to  lljl),  means  "  to  set  right, 
to  guide  to  the  right  way,  oSr/yelv  ;"  X-'V?  i^  then 
equivalent  to  j^l,  friend,  companion,  as  in  Gen. 
xxvi.  26;  Judges  xiv.  20;  xv.  6.  [So  Gesen., 
Rod.,  Fuerst,  Ewald,  Bertheau,  K.,  S.,  M. 
and  W.] — Others,  especially  Luthee,  M.  Geier, 
etc.,  following  the  Chaldee  version,  regard  "ip' 
as  an  adjective  followed  by  the  object  of  compari- 
son :  "better  than  his  friend  is  (or  fares)  the 
righteous  man."  [So  the  E.  V.,  which  is  followed 
by  NoYEs].  Others  still,  like  Dathe,  J.  D.  Mi- 
chaelis, ZiEGLER  and  Hitzig  (the  latter  changing 

the  verb,  to  '^rc),  read  inj^ln,  "  his  pasture,"  and 

•■.T^  ••  :  ■  ^ 

so  reach  the  meaning  "  the  righteous  looketh  af- 
ter his  pasture,"  i.  e.,  his  path  in  life.  It  seems, 
however,  altogether  needless  to  depart  from  the 
above  explanation,  which  is  grammatically  ad- 


130 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


missible,  and  gives  a  meaning  wliich  agrees  well 
with  that  of  the  second  clause— But  the  way 
of  the  wicked  leadeth  them  astray,  them, 
i.  e.,  the  wicked.  The  construction  is  the  same 
as  in  chap.  xi.  6,  and  probably  also  xii.  6. 

Ver.  27.  The  slothful  catcheth   not  his 

piey. "  The  slothful,"  properly  here  again  an 

adjective,  "idle"  hand,  expresses  the  idea  of 
sloth,  and  then,  as  an  abstract  for  the  concrete, 
stands  for  "the  sluggard,  the  slothful."  ^^H 
then,  an  oTraf  lty&iJ.tvov  in  the  Old  Testament,  is 
explained  by  the  Rabbins,  following  the  Aramean 
(Dan.  iii.  27),  by  "to  singe,  to  roast;"  therefore 
BEKTIIE.A.U,  e.g.,  still  translates  "the  slothful 
roasteth  not  his  prey,"  and  then  supplies  the 
idea,  "because  he  is  too  lazy  to  catch  it."  [M. 
adopts  this  explanation,  and  S.  doubtfully.] 
Others,  more  simply,  and  in  conformity  with  the 
old  versions,  render  "the  idle  man  catcheth  not 
his  game  "  [so  K.,  H.,  and  N.],  for  which  signifi- 
cation of  hunting,  catching,  seizing,  IIitziq  cites 
lexical  analogies  from  the  Arabic.  [Fuerst, 
criticising  this  interpretation,  and  defending  the 
other,  urges  1)  that  not  to  catch  game  is  no  sure 
sign  of  laziness,  and  2)  "his  prey"  must  be  al- 
ready in  hand— A.]— But  a  precious  treasure 
to  a  man  is  diligence.— To  reach  this  meaning 
it  is  necessary  either  to  take  '('■nn  exceptionally 
in  the  abstract  sense  of  diligence,  or  with  C.  B. 
MiCHAELis  and  Hitziq  to  read  as  an  infinitive 
y'nn,  "to  bestir  one's  self,  to  show  one's  self 
diligent."  —  Others,  like  Kohleb,  Umbreit, 
Elstbb,  etc.,  resort  to  a  partial  transposition  of 
the  words,  yielding  the  meaning  "but  precious 
treasure  belongeth  to  the  diligent  man" — an  al- 
teration which  is  favored  in  advance  by  the  Sy- 
riac  version,  and  to  some  extent  also  by  the 
LXX. 

Ver.  28.  But  a  devious  ivay  (leadeth)  to 
death. — This  is  doubtless  the  interpretation  to  be 
given  with  HiTzio  to  this  clause:  for  in  Judges  v. 
ti;  Is.  Iviii.  12,  H^'DJ  in  fact  signifies  (in  contrast 
with  mS)  a  crooked  winding  by-path,  and  the 
modification  of  h^  to  bx  seems  the  more  justifia- 
ble in  proportion  as  the  combination  on  which 
the  ordinary  rendering  rests  is  otherwise  un- 
known (mo-bs  as  equivalent  to  nia-X7) ;  "and 
the  way  of  its  path  is  not-death  "  (which  is  to 
be  understood  as  "immortality,"  Ewald,  Um- 
breit, Blsteb  [K.,  E.  v.,  N.,  S.,  M.],  etc.). 
Furthermore,  the  form  of  expression  (1]^^  before 
nxnj)  indicates  plainly  that  to  the  second  of 
th^e  terms  employed  not  its  ordinary  sense,  but  a 
quite  peculiar  signification,  a  quasi  adjective  im- 
port is  to  be  given.  [Hodgson  and  Holden  ex- 
press a  decided  preference  for  this  view].— With 
the  general  sentiment  of  the  verse  compare  x.  2  ; 
li.  19. 

DOCTRINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

The  contrasts  between  diligence  and  indolence, 
wisdom  and  folly,  which  present  themselves  as 
ihe  strongest  characteristics  of  the  second  and 
fourth  of  the  groups  of  verses  found  in  this 
chapter,  lead  us  to  refer  the  proverbs  of  these 
groups  mainly  to  private  or  domestic  life,— while 


the  predominating  reference  of  the  third  main 
group  (vers.  12-22)  to  sins  of  the  tongue  or  lipa, 
leads  us  to  regard  social  or  civil  life  as  the  special 
department  Jiere  chiefly  contemplated.  Still  this 
classification  is  after  all  only  a  general  one,  and 
proverbs  of  a  more  general  moral  tendency  and 
bearing,  like  those  contained  in  the  introductory 
group  (vers.  1-3)  are  interspersed  through  each 
of  the  three  large  groups  («.  g.  in  vers.  5,  6,  12, 
21,  26,  28):  these  therefore  show  the  impossi- 
bility of  carrying  through  a  division  of  the  con- 
tents of  the  chapter  according  to  definite  and 
clearly  distinct  categories. 

Moral  truths  to  which  an  emphatic  prominence 
is  given  are  found  in  the  very  first  verse,  on  which 
Umbreit  pertinently  remarks,  "  The  thought 
seems  weak,  and  to  a  spirit  practised  in  reflec- 
tion hardly  worth  recording,  yet  on  its  truth 
rests  the  possibility  of  a  spiritual  progress  in 
the  human  race,  its  development  to  a  higher 
humanity  ;  one  might  even  say,  the  very  condi- 
tions of  history  lie  in  that  proverb."  Again  we 
find  them  in  ver.  10,  a  proverb  which  sets  forth 
that  tender  care  for  animals  as  man's  fellow- 
creatures,  which  impresses  itself  on  so  many 
other  passages  of  the  Old  Testament,  e.  g.  Ex. 
XX.  11;  xxii.  29,  30;  Lev.  xxii.  27;  Deut.  xxil. 
6  sq.  ;  XXV.  4 ;  Ps.  xxxvi.  6 ;  civ.  27  ;  cxlv.  15  sq.; 
cxlvii.  9;  Job  xxxviii.  39  sq.  ;  xxxix.  5  sq. ; 
Jonah  iv.  11,  etc.* 

We  find  like  important  truths  in  ver.  13,  as 
also  in  general  in  all  the  proverbs  that  relate  to 
the  right  use  of  the  lips  and  tongue  (compare 
besides  vers.  14,  16-19,  22,  25);  so  also  in  the 
commendation  of  a  willingness  to  receive  good 
counsel,  ver.  15,  with  which  we  may  appropri- 
ately compare  Thbognis,  Gnom.,  V.,  221-225 
(see  the  passage  in  Umbreit,  p.  158) ; — and 
again  in  the  admonition  to  a  wise  self-command 
and  presence  of  mind  under  experience  of  injury, 
ver.  16,  with  which  should  be  compared  admo- 
nitions of  the  New  Testament  against  persistent 
anger  and  heat  of  passion,  such  as  Rom.  xii.  19; 
Eph.  iv.  26,  31  ;  James  i.  19,  20,  e(c.— It  has 
already  been  made  evident  that  the  concluding 
verse  of  the  chapter  (ver.  28,  2d  clause)  unlike 
chapter  xi.  7,  probably  contains  no  hint  of  a 
hope  of  immortality. 

HOMILETIC    AND   PRACTICAL. 

Homily  on  the  entire  chapter.  On  the  true 
wisdom  of  the  children  of  God,  as  it  ought  to 
appear  1)  in  the  home,  under  the  forms  of  good 
discipline,  diligence  and  contentment ;  2)  in  the 
state  or  in  the  intercourse  of  citizens,  under  the 
forms  of  truthfulness,  justice,  and  unfeigned 
benevolence  (ver.  12-22) ;  3)  in  the  Church  or  in 
the  religious  life,  as  a  progressive  knowledge  of 
God,  a  diligent  devotion  to  prayer  and  striving 
after  eternal  life  (vers.  23-28). — Comp.  Stooker; 
— On  true  discipline:  1)  its  general  utility  (vers. 
1-8) ;  2)  the  blessing  on  those  who  receive  dis- 
cipline, and  the  curse  on  those  who  hate  and 
despise  it  (vers.  9-16);  3)  comprehensive  repeti- 
tion of  what  has  been  taught  concerning  the 
salutariness  of  discipline  (vers.  17-28). — Stabkk: 
— On   the   injurious  nature   of  ungodliness   and 

*  Comp.  ZocKLER,  TItp.ologia  NaturaHn,  Entvmrf  einsr  sy» 
tematischen  Naturphilosop/iie,  etc.,  I.,  pp.  539  eq. 


CHAP.  XII.  1-28. 


181 


the  utility  of  piety ;  1)  in  general  (yers.  1-3); 
2)  in  particular,  a)  in  the  marriage  relation 
(ver.  4) ;  b)  in  common  life  (vers.  5-8);  c)  in  the 
care  of  cattle  and  in  agriculture  (9-11);  d)  in 
the  use  of  the  tongue  (12-23  ;  c)  in  attention  to 
one's  calling  (24-28). — Calmer  Ilandbuch: — The 
heart,  the  action  and  the  speech  of  the  fool  and 
the  wise  man  — or,  of  the  life  that  is  to  be  found 
in  the  way  of  righteousness,  and  the  ruin  that 
is  to  be  found  in  the  way  of  ungodliness. 

Vers.  1-3.  Geier: — No  one  is  so  perfect  that 
he  might  not  sometimes  fail,  and  consequently 
need  a  chastisement  not  only  on  the  part  of  God, 
but  also  on  the  part  of  men. — (On  ver.  3):  He 
who  by  faith  and  love  is  rooted  in  God  (Eph.  iii. 
17)  will  not  possibly  ever  be  rooted  up  by  any- 
thing ;  Ps.  Ixxiii.  25  ;  John  x.  28. — Starke  : — It 
is  better  to  be  with  true  sympathy  chastised  by 
a  just  man,  than  to  be  deceitfully  praised. — 
Berleburg  Bible: — He  who  suffers  himself  to  be 
guided  comes  constantly  nearer  to  wisdom,  i.  e. 
to  Christ,  and  for  such  a  one  His  fellowship  with 
all  its  blessedness  stands  open. — Von  Gerl.^ch 
(on  ver.  1) : — All  that  raises  man  above  the  brute 
is  secured  to  him  by  training,  by  the  wholesome 
discipline  of  his  parents  and  teachers. — (On 
ver.  3) :  The  ungodly  has  no  ground  in  which  he 
is  rooted,  no  stability  in  assaults  from  without, 
while  the  righteous  man  is  rooted  in  the  eternal 
nature  of  the  Creator  Himself.  Hence  the 
righteous  man  is  a  tree  by  a  river's  side,  a 
house  on  a  rock, — the  ungodly,  however,  is  a 
fleeting  storm-cloud,  a  tree  in  a  dry  land,  a 
house  built  on  the  sand,  and  even  chaff  that  the 
wind  driveth  away,  Ps.  i.  3  sq.;  Isa.  xliv.  4,  etc. 
— [Arnot  (on  ver.  1) : — The  fool  casts  away  the 
precious  because  it  is  unpalatable,  and  the  wise 
man  accepts  the  unpalatable  because  it  is  pre- 
cious. Nature  hates  reproof ;  let  grace  take  the 
bitter  potion  and  thrust  it  down  nature's  throat, 
for  the  sake  of  its  healing  power. — A.  Fuller 
(on  ver.  1): — He,  and  he  only,  that  loves  the 
means  loves  the  end.  The  means  of  knowledge 
are  "instruction"  in  what  is  right,  and  "re- 
proof" for  what  is  wrong.  He  who  is  an  enemy 
to  either  of  these  means  is  an  enemy  to  the  end. 
— Bridges  (on  ver.  3) : — Firm  and  unshaken  is 
the  condition  of  the  righteous.  Their  leaves  may 
wither  in  the  blast.  Their  branches  may  tremble 
in  the  fury  of  the  tempest.  But  their  root — the 
true  principle  of  life — shall  not  be  moved']. 

Vers.  4-11.  Geier  (on  ver.  4): — By  vicious 
conduct  a  woman  destroys  her  husband  as  it 
were  with  subtle  poison,  but  even  then  harms 
herself  the  most. — Zeltner  (on  ver.  4): — He 
who  will  enter  into  the  marriage  relation  should 
begin  with  God,  with  hearty  prayer,  sound  re- 
flection, and  devout  purposes,  lest  he  be  com- 
pelled afterward  bitterly  to  bewail  his  folly, 
Tob.  viii.  4  sq. — (On  ver.  9) :  An  honorable  life 
in  narrow  circumstances  is  much  better  and 
more  peaceful,  and  besides  not  subject  to  so 
many  temptations,  as  when  one  lives  in  ever  so 
high  a  position  in  the  view  of  the  world.  To 
make  a  great-figure  and  to  aim  at  being  great  is 
the  ruin  of  many  a  man,  Tob.  iv.  14;  Ecclesiast. 
iii.  19,  ^Q.—  Wurtemberg  Bible  (on  ver.  10) :— The 
brute  has  no  one  that  can  do  him  good  but  man ; 
therefore  treat  it  kindly,  with  reason  and  mode- 
ration.— [Tbapp  (on  ver.  5): — If  good  thoughts 


look  into  a  wicked  heart,  they  stay  not  there,  as 
those  that  like  not  their  lodging. — (On  ver.  7) : 
There  is  a  council  in  heaven  will  dash  the 
mould  of  all  contrary  counsels  upon  earth. — 
(On  ver.  11) :  Sin  broughtin  sweat  (Gen.  iii.  19), 
and  now  not  to  sweat  increaseth  sin. — Lord 
Bacon  (on  ver.  10)  : — The  tender  mercies  of  the 
wicked  are  when  base  and  guilty  men  are  spared 
that  should  be  stricken  with  the  sword  of  justice. 
Pity  of  this  sort  is  more  cruel  than  cruelty 
itself  For  cruelty  is  exercised  upon  indivi- 
duals, but  this  pity,  by  granting  impunity,  arms 
and  sends  forth  against  innocent  men  the  whole 
army  of  evil-doers. — Chalmers  (on  ver.  10) : — 
The  lesson  is  not  the  circulation  of  benevolence 
within  the  limits  of  one  species.  It  is  the  trans- 
mission of  it  from  one  species  to  another.  The 
first  is  but  the  charity  of  a  world.  The  second 
is  the  charity  of  a  universe]. 

Vers.  12-22.  Mblanchthon: — In  everything 
are  we  exhorted  to  good,  and  to  striving  after 
truth,  in  the  knowledge  of  God,  in  science  and 
arts,  in  all  honorable  occupations  and  compacts  ; 
and  because  truthfulness  belongs  to  the  most 
glorious  and  eminent  virtues,  therefore  ihe  vice 
opposed  to  it  is  condemned  in  strong  language, 
and  pronounced  (ver.  22)  an  ofl'ence  and  abomi- 
nation in  the  sight  of  God. — Osiandee: — We 
use  the  gift  of  speech  rightly  when  we  employ 
it  to  God's  glory  and  to  our  neighbor's  benefit. — 
Zeltner: — As  one  has  here  used  his  tongue, 
whether  for  good  or  evil,  he  will  hereafter  be 
recompensed.  Truth  is  a  daughter  of  righteous- 
ness ;  apply  thyself  diligently  to  this,  and  thou 
hast  the  true  witness  in  thyself  that  thou  art  of 
the  truth  and  a  child  of  God  (1  John  iii.  18,  19). 
Fidelity  and  veracity  have  indeed  in  the  world, 
whose  watchword  is  only  hatred,  a  poor  reward; 
but  so  much  the  more  precious  are  they  in  the 
sight  of  God  (Ps.  XV.  1,2). — [Arnot  (on  ver.  13): 
When  a  man  is  not  true,  the  great  labor  of  his 
life  must  be  to  make  himself  appear  true;  but  if 
a  man  be  true,  he  need  not  concern  himself  about 
appearances. — Trapp  (on  ver.  20) : — Such  coun- 
sellors shall  have  peace  for  peace :  peace  of 
conscience  for  peace  of  country]. — On  ver.  20, 
TiscHER  (in  Zimmerman's  "  Sonntagsfeier,"  1835, 
No.  41) : — Every  one  can  become  acquainted  with 
himself  from  his  social  intercourse. — [South  (on 
ver.  22): — A  lie  is  a  thing  absolutely  and  intrin- 
sically evil :  it  is  an  act  of  injustice,  and  a  vio- 
lation of  our  neighbor's  right.  The  vileness  of 
its  nature  is  equalled  by  the  malignity  of  its 
effects;  it  first  brought  sin  into  the  world,  and  is 
since  the  cause  of  all  those  miseries  and  calami- 
ties that  disturb  it;  it  tends  utterly  to  dissolve 
and  overthrow  society,  which  is  the  greatest 
temporal  blessing  and  support  of  mankind  ;  it 
has  a  strange  and  peculiar  efficacy,  above  all 
other  sins,  to  indispose  the  heart  to  religion.  It 
is  as  dreadful  in  its  punishments  as  it  has  been 
pernicious  in  its  effects]. 

Vers.  23-28.  Hasius  : — The  ordinary  modes 
of  acquisition  are  always  the  safest  and  best. 
Him  who  loves  crooked  ways  and  devices  we 
never  find  prospering;  but  those  who  walk  in 
w.ays  of  innocence  and  justice,  cannot  become 
unsuccessful. — Osiander: — Follow  thy  calling 
in  the  fear  of  God  and  with  diligence,  and  thy 
possessions  will  be  with   God's   blessing  richly 


182 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


multiplied. — Starke  :— He  wlio  squanders  time, 
shuns  toil  and  burtea  liis  pound  in  a  napkin,  is 
unworthy  to  dwell  on  earth  (Luke  xix.  20,  24). — 
WoHLFARTH  (on  ver.  25) :  —  The  friendly  word. 
Where  we  can  help  by  actual  deeds,  such  real 
help  is  by  all  means  better  than  mere  consola- 
tion in  words.  If  however  the  means  for  such 
aid  are  wanting  to  us,  if  the  evil  is  of  such  a 
sort  that  no  human  help  whatever  is  possible, 
then  it  is  a  double  duty  to  cheer  the  depressed 


with  friendly  words;  yes,  consolation  is  then 
often  in  itself  help  because  it  leads  to  God,  the 
true  helper  in  all  need! — [Trapp  (on  ver.  27): — 
Jabal  and  Jubal,  diligence  and  complacence, 
good  husbandry  and  well  contenting  sufficiency, 
dwell  usually  together. — Chalmers  (on  ver.  28): 
— The  deeds  of  the  hand  have  a  reflex  influence 
on  the  state  of  the  heart.  There  is  life  iu  spi- 
ritual-mindedness;  and  it  serves  to  aliment  this 
life  to  walk  iu  the  way  of  obedience]. 


y)  With  reference  to  the  use  of  temporal  good,  and  of  the  word  of  God  as  the  highest  good. 

Chap.  XIII. 

1  A  wise  son  hearkeneth  to  his  father's  coxrection, 
but  a  scorner  to  no  rebuke. 

2  By  the  fruit  of  one's  mouth  doth  he  enjoy  good, 
but  the  delight  of  the  ungodly  is  violence, 

3  He  that  guardeth  his  mouth  keepeth  his  life, 
he  that  openeth  wide  his  lips  shall  be  destroyed. 

4  The  sluggard  desireth,  but  without  the  satisfying  of  his  desire, 
but  the  desire  of  the  diligent  is  abundantly  satisfied. 

5  Deceit  the  righteous  hateth, 

but  the  ungodly  acteth  basely  and  shamefully. 

6  Righteousness  protecteth  an  upright  walk, 
but  wickedness  plungeth  into  sin. 

7  One  maketh  himself  rich  and  hath  nothing, 
another  professeth  to  be  poor  yet  hath  great  riches. 

8  A  ransom  for  a  man's  life  are  his  riches, 
but  the  poor  heedeth  no  threatening. 

9  The  light  of  the  righteous  rejoiceth, 
but  the  lamp  of  the  wicked  goeth  out. 

10  By  pride  cometh  only  contention, 

but  wisdom  is  with  those  who  receive  counsel. 

11  Gain  through  fraud  vanisheth  away, 

but  he  that  gathereth  by  labor  increaseth  it  (his  gain). 

12  Hope  deferred  maketh  the  heart  sick, 
but  desire  accomplished  is  a  tree  of  life. 

13  Whosoever  despiseth  the  word  is  bound  to  it, 
he  that  feareth  the  commandment  is  rewarded. 

14  The  instruction  of  the  wise  man  is  a  fountain  of  life 
to  escape  the  snares  of  death. 

15  Kindly  wisdom  ensureth  favor, 
the  way  of  the  ungodly  is  desolate. 

16  The  prudent  man  doeth  all  things  with  understanding, 
but  a  fool  spreadeth  abroad  folly. 

1,7  A  bad  messenger  falleth  into  trouble, 
but  a  faithful  messenger  is  health. 

18  Poverty  and  shame  (to  him)  that  refuseth  correction ; 
he  that  regardeth  reproof  is  honored. 

19  Quickened  desire  is  sweet  to  the  soul, 

and  it  is  abomination  to  fools  to  depart  from  evil. 

20  Walk  with  wise  men  and  become  wise  I 

but  whoso  delighteth  in  fools  becometh  base. 


CHAP.  XIII.  1-25. 


133 


21  Evil  pursueth  sinners, 

but  to  the  righteous  God  repayeth  good. 

22  A  good  man  leaveth  an  inheritance  to  his  children's  children, 
and  the  wealth  of  the  sinner  is  laid  up  for  the  just. 

23  The  poor  man's  new  land  (yieldeth)  much  food, 
but  many  a  one  is  destroyed  by  iniquity. 

24  He  that  spareth  his  rod  hateth  his  son, 
but  whoso  loveth  him  seeketh  correction. 

25  The  upright  eateth  to  the  satisfying  of  his  hunger, 
but  the  belly  of  the  wicked  shall  want. 

GEAMMATICAL  AND   CEITICAL. 

Ver.  2.  [The  literal  rendering  ia  "  the  smtl  of  the.  wicked  (shall  feed  upon)  molerux."  Snhstantially  this  rendering  is 
given  by  the  E.  V.,  by  H.,  N.,  S.,  and  M.  Zockler  [see  exeg.  notesj  regards  this  verse  as  conveying  the  two  ideas  that 
violence  is  the  wicked  man's  delight,  and  that  it  is  his  recompense.  He  feeds  on  it  while  he  lives,  and  dies  by  it.  Con- 
ceiving the  former  to  be  the  more  prominent  idea  here  he  gives  to  E/SJ  a  secondary  and  figurative  meaning, — the  lan^- 

ing,  the  deliffht.    We  think  that  he  has  lost  rather  than  gained  by  this  refining — A.] 

Ver.  4.  According  to  the  Masoretic  punctuation  the  clause  would  be  literally  rendered  "  Hia  aoul — the  sluggard's — 
longeth  [strongly  desireth'J,  and  there  is  nothing,"  ["His  appetite."  Z.]  The  auiSx  in  lEy3J  would  then  stand  pleonasti- 
cally  before  the  appended  genitive  73f  t?  [aa  e.  g.  Num.  xxiv.  3;  Deut.  xxxii.  43] ;  pxl  would  however  be  introduced  as 

"  T  '■  -T 

a  parenthesis  between  the  predicate  and  the  subject,  and  would  express  substantially  the  idea  "without  satisfaction, 
without  finding  anything."    It  appears  simpler  and  less  forced,  however,  to  change  the  punctuation  as  Hitzig  does,  thus : 

SVV'    It^SJ    rXl  in^XnD,  in  which  case  K'iJJ  receives  the  meaning  by  metonymy  "  object  of  desire  "  (comp.  Ps. 

XXXV. '25;  isa.  Iviii.  19),  and  the  meaning  of  the  whole  clause  is  as  in  our  version. 

Ver.  5.  [ty^XD"*,  which  Z.  regards  as  equivalent  to  E'''3\  Bott.  (see  §  1147,  C.  &.)  regards  as  substituted  for  it  by  a 
.  .  —  . .,. 

mere  interchange  of  weak  and  kindred  consonants.    The  verbs  are  nearly  related,  li?X3  being  used  of  that  which  is 

o  ensive  to  the  sense  of  smell,  K'l^  of  that  which  changes  color,  by  turning  pale  or  otherwise.    The  one  describes  mia- 

londuct  as  offensive,  the  other  as  shameful. — A.] 

Ver.  9.  The  verb  1|T?T'  seems  to  form  a  designed  accord  with  HOty' ;  comp.  xii.  25. 

Ver.  11.  [The  different  renderings  grow  partly  out  of  different  conceptions  of  the  meaning  of  the  noun  7^71  and 

partly  from  different  syntactical  constructions.     /^H,  originally  "  breath,"  then  "  nothingneaa  "  or  "  vanity,"  is  ijy  most 

interpreters  taken  in  some  metaphorical  sense.  The  rendering  of  the  E.  V.,  followed  by  H.,  is  ambiguous,  "  by  or  through 
vanity."  M.  and  St.  render  "without  effort;"  Fubbst  agrees  with  Z.  in  giving  it  an  ethical  meaning, — that  which  is 
morally  nothing,  nothing  right,  nothing  good.  It  so  describes  fraud  and  iniquity.  <Je8EN.,  Noyes,  etc.,  retain  the  primi- 
tive meaning,  and  treat  the  JO  as  comparative.    See  Exeg.  Notes. — A.] 

Ver.  15.  [The  rendering  of  31t3-73iy  in  the  E.  V.,  is  again  ambiguous:  "  good  understanding."    H.,  N.,  S.,  M.  agree 

Bubatantially  with  Z.,  interpreting  the  phrase  as  descriptive  of  prudence  or  discretion  joined  with  kindness.  Others,  e.  g. 
Fdebst  give  it,  with  less  probability,  the  passive  meaning  of  "consideration"  or  "reputation." — A.] 

Ver.  16.  Instead  of  "^3  we  should  read  73,  in  accordance  with  the  correct  rendering  of  the  Vulg. :  Astutus  omnia 

agit  cum  consilio.  [The  English  commentators  without  exception,  so  far  as  we  know,  follow  the  B.  V.  and  the  LXX,  trans- 
late accori|ing  to  the  pointing  of  the  Mas.  text :  nas  Travovpyo^ ;  "  every  wise  man,"  etc.  Z.'s  rendering  is  certainly  more 
forcible,  and  justifies  the  vowel  change. — A.] 

Ver.  19.  [The  weight  of  authority  has  been  decidedly  against  the  author's  conception  of  the  poetic  n^DJ.    Gesen. 

and  Fuerst  are  against  him,  as  well  as  the  commentators  cited.  Kamph.  may  be  added  to  those  who  agree  with  Z.  in 
rendering  this  Niph.  participle  "  become  "  as  meaning  "  come  into  being,"  "  developed,"  while  the  other  conception  is  that 
it  describes  what  has  been  "completed,  accomplished."  Comp.  ver.  12,  6,  "  desire  that  hath  come,"  which  is  generally 
understood  to  be  satisfaction.  We  cannot  think  that  the  proverb  relates  to  the  pleasure  of  desiring,  but  to  that  of  being 
satisfied.  The  2d  clause  is  by  H.  regarded  as  an  inference,  "  therefore,"  etc.;  E.  V.,  N  ,  S.,  M.  regard  it  as  an  antithesis— 
notwithstanding  their  certain  disappointment  fools  cling  to  evil.  K.  shapes  the  antithesis  differently :  "  a  new  desire  is 
pleasant  to  the  soul,  but  if  it  be  evil  fools  abhor  to  renounce  it."    Z.'s  view  appears  in  the  notes.— A.] 

Ver.  20.  [For  the  imper.  use  of  the  inf.  aba.  see  Gkben  §  268,  2  and  grammars  generally.  ^11''  Niph.  Imperf.,  more 
distinct  than  j;T  which  might  be  a  neuter  Kal.  Bon.  J  1147,  A. — A.] 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  With  chap,  xiii  Hitzig  would  have  a  new 
section  commence,  extending  to  chap.  xv.  32, 
ana  consisting  of  three  subdivisions  of  symme- 
trical structure.  The  first  of  these  subdivisions 
would  be  chap,  xiii.,  consisting  of  four  groups 
of  six  verses  each ;  the  second,  chap,  xiv.,  five 
groups  of  seven  verses  each;  the  third,  chap. 
XV.,  four  groups  of  eight  verses  each — altogether 
91  verses,  precisely  the  same  number  as  the 
precediilg  Section  (chaps,  x.-xii.)  contained. — 
How  arbitrary  these   assumptions  are  appears 


partly  from  the  difiiculties,  often  utterly  insu- 
perable, which  meet  the  attempts  to  point  out 
real  divisions  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  the 
several  alleged  groups  of  verses.  It  appears 
further  from  the  fact  that  here  again  it  is  neces- 
sary to  stamp  as  spurious  one  verse  at  least  (xiii. 
23),  a  violent  critical  expedient  to  secure  the  sym- 
metrical relation  of  groups  that  is  demanded. 
Comp.  above,  Bxeget.  notes  on  chap,  x.,  No.  1. 

With  respect  to  the  groups  of  verses  that  do 
develop  themselves  with  satisfactory  distinct- 
ness, and  in  general  with  reference  to  the  order 
and  progress  of  thought  in  the  chapter  before 
us,  see  the  Doctrinal  and  Ethical  notes. 


134 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


2.  Vers.  1-3.  Three  introductory  proverbs, 
general  in  their  import. — A  wise  son  heark- 
eneth  to  his  father's  correction. — In  this 
first  clause  we  must  supply  "  hearlieneth  "  from 
the  second  as  predicate.  The  conception  of 
others,  e.  g.  J.  D.  Michaelis,  Bebtheau,  etc. :  A 
wise  sou  is  his  father's  correction,  i.  e.  the  object 
of  his  correction, — is  less  natural  on  account  of  its 
harshness.  Parallel  to  the  milder  expression 
"  instruction,  correction "  (ID-ID)  in  clause  a, 
we  have  in  b  the  stronger  term  "rebuke" 
(m;?J,  as  in  xvii.  10). — No  rebuke,  no  threaten- 
ing, no  earnest  enforcement  of  law  makes  any 
impression  on  the  "scorner"  (i.  22;  ix.  7),  the 
heedless  reviler  of  religion,  who  has  long  ago 
thrown  aside  all  childlike  piety,  and  reverence 
for  the  holy.  With  ver.  2,  clause  a,  comp.  xii. 
14;  with  6  comp.  x.  6. — The  delight  of  the 
ungodly  is  violence,  i.  c.  the  eager  desire 
(E/iJJ)  of  maliciously  disposed  sinners  is  for 
violence  (DDn),  which  they  wish  to  exercise 
upon  others,  and  which  therefore  in  turn  recom- 
penses them.  "  Violence,"  therefore,  stands 
here  with  a  twofold  meaning  [active  and  pas- 
sive] as  in  chap.  i.  6.  [See  Critical  Notes]. — 
Shall  be  destroyed. — nnnp,  ruina,  "destruc- 
tion," just  as  in  x.  14. — ["Take  heed  that  thy 
tongue  cut  not  thy  throat;"  an  Arabic  proverb 
quoted  by  Tkapp  from  Soaliqek,  Arab.  Prov. 
i.  75.— A.] 

3.  Vers.  4-12.  Nine  proverbs  relating  mainly 
to  the  worth  and  right  use  of  wealth. — The 
sluggard  desireth,  but  ■without  the  satis- 
fying of  his  desire. — [See  Critical  Notes]. — 
But  the  desire  of  the  diligent  is  abundant- 
ly satisfied,  literally,  "is  made  fat,"  comp.  xi. 
25. — Ver.  5.  Deceit  the  righteous  hateth. — 
Ipty'l^l  appears  to  be  not  "  word  of  falsehood," 
deceitful  language  (Umbreit,  Bertheau),  but  a 
designation  of  everything  falling  under  the  cate- 
gory of  the  deceitful  ("^^T  being  therefore  equiv- 
alent to  wpayfia) ;  comp.  Ps.  xli.  9  ;  Isa.  xliv.  4  ; 
it  means  therefore  lies  and  frauds,  deceit. — But 
the  ungodly  aoteth  basely  and  shamefully. 
[See  Critical  Notes].  t^'NT,  lit.,  "maketh  of- 
fensive, stinking,"  stands  here  as  equivalent  to 
ty'D',  "  acteth  basely,  or  causeth  shame  ;"  comp. 
chap.  xix.  26.  The  Hiphil  form  Tiin^,  which  is 
found  also  in  the  parallel  passage,  here  has  an 
active  meaning,  "acteth  shamefully,"  while  in 
Isa.  liv.  4  it  stands  as  passive  :  cometh  to  shame, 
or  is  put  to  shame.  [So  the  E.  V.,  H.,  N.,  and 
M.,  while  S.,  K.,  etc.,  give  the  causative  render- 
ing—A.]. 

Ver.  6,  Righteousness  protecteth  an  up- 
right ■walk,  lit.,  "innocence  of  way,"  an  ab- 
stract for  the  concrete,  and  therefore  equiva- 
lent to  "such  as  walk  uprightly"  (comp.  x.  29). 
But  wrickedness  plungeth  into  sin. — Wick- 
edness (nj?ty"1),  literally,  "perverse,  malicious 
disposition"  describes  that  evil  state  of  the  heart 
which  necessarily  leads  to  sinful  action  (riNBn). 
The  verb,  which  is  here  used  in  its  natural  mean- 
ing, "  overturn,  plunge  into  something,"  has  the 
end  of  its  action,  sin,  connected  with  it  without  a 


preposition  (comp.  xix.  13).  The  old  versions, 
a,nd  among  modern  expositors  Bebtheau, 
[Fueest,  H.,  N.,  M.,  S.],  take  the  object  as  an 
abstract  for  the  concrete,  and  th»refore  translate 
"  wickedness  overthroweth  sinners,"  by  which 
rendering  a  more  exact  parallelism  between  a 
and  b,  it  is  true,  is  secured. 

Ver,  7.  One  maketh  himself  rich,  and 
hath  nothing  at  all. — Comp.  xii.  9,  a  maxim, 
which,  like  the  one  before  us,  is  aimed  at  foolish 
pride  of  birth  and  empty  love  of  display  on  the 
part  of  men  without  means.  The  "boasting  one's 
self"  there  corresponds  with  the  "representing 
one's  self  rich  "  here.  Comp.  also  the  similar 
proverb  of  the  Arabs,  in  Meidani,  III.  429. 
[The  second  clause  is  differently  understood; 
W.  interprets  it  as  referring  to  the  "being  rich 
in  good  works,  and  sacrificing  all  worldly  things 
for  God  and  His  truth."  So  Holden  ;  while 
Tbapp,  Beidqes,  N.,  S.  and  M.  regard  the  clause 
as  referring  to  the  deceitful  concealment  of 
riches.     The  parallelism  requires  this  view. — A.] 

Ver.  8.  A  ransom  for  a  man's  life  are  his 
riches,  i.  e.  the  rich  man  can  and  under  certain 
circumstances,  as  e.  g.  before  a  court,  or  when 
taken  captive  by  robbers  or  in  war,  must  employ 
his  wealth  for  his  ransom. — But  the  poor 
heedeth  no  threatening,  i.  e.  no  warning  or 
threatening  however  sharp  ("rebuke"  as  in 
ver.  1)  will  be  able  to  force  anything  from  him 
who  has  nothing:  the  poor  is  deaf  to  every 
threat  that  aims  at  the  diminution  of  his  posses- 
sions, for  "where  there  is  nothing,  there  the 
Emperor  has  lost  his  rights."  The  spirit  of  this 
maxim,  in  itself  morally  indifferent,  seems  like 
that  of  the  similar  proverb,  chap.  x.  15,  to  be 
directed  to  the  encouragement  of  industry,  and 
of  some  earthly  acquisitions  though  they  be  but 
moderate.  Elsteb  is  certainly  in  the  wrong, 
in  holding  that  the  proverb  depicts,  not  without 
a  shade  of  irony,  "the  advantages  as  well  of 
great  wealth  as  of  great  poverty."  Against 
various  other  conceptions  of  the  verse,  especially 
of  clause  b,  comp.  Bertheau  in  loco.  [Holden 
construes  interrogatively  :  "  Doth  not  the  poor," 
etc.,  understanding  it  of  the  helplessness  of  the 
poor  ;  N.  and  M.  understand  it  of  the  safety  of 
the  poor  in  his  poverty  ;  W.  of  his  light-hearted 
independence;  S.  of  the  viciously  or  heedlessly 
poor,  whom  nothing  can  arouse  to  virtuous  in- 
dustry.— A.] 

Ver.  9.  The  light  of  the  righteous  burn- 
eth  joyously. — The  verb  is  here  intransitive: 
"is  joyous,  i.  e.  burns  brightly,  with  vigorous 
blaze."  HiTZiG  rightly  directs  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  same  root  (TIDK/)  in  Arabic  signifies 
to  "laugh,  or  sport." — But  the  lamp  of  the 
■wicked  goeth  out.  The  "lamp"  of  the  wicked 
(1J)  does  not  seem  to  be  emphatically  contrasted 
as  a  dim  night  lamp  with  the  bright  light  of  the 
righteous,  but  is  probably  a  simple  synonym  of 
"ll'X  determined  by  the  parallelism;  comp.  Job 
xviii.  5,  6  ;  xxi.  17  ;  xxii.  28  ;  xxix.  3. 

Ver.  10.  By  pride  cometh  only  conten- 
tion.—"Only"  (p"^)  although  in  the  Hebrew  put 
first  in  the  clause,  belongs  nevertheless  to  the 
subject  (n-XD),  and  not  to  the  "by  pride"  (ITS 
[as  in  E.  V.,  and  Stuart]  ;  as  though  the  mean- 


CHAP.  XIII.  1-25. 


135 


ing  wore,  only  by  pride  (or,  only  in  excitement, 
ebullition  of  passion,  Umbbeit)  does  one  begin 
strife.  Comp.  rather  aa  an  example  of  this  pre- 
fixing of  "  only"  (p^),  Ps.  xxxii.  6  [where 
HuprELD  and  others  do  not  admit  this  explana- 
tion "only  to  him,"  etc-l ;  and  for  similar  hyper- 
bata  with  DJ  and  '^N  oomp.  Prov.  xix.  2  ;  xx.  11 ; 
laa.  xxxiv.  14.  [N.  and  M.  agree  with  our 
author.  H.  takes  pT  as  a  noun,  "  ignorance " 
with  pride,  etc.  But  if  it  be  objected  to  the 
simple  and  obvious  rendering  of  the  words  in 
their  Hebrew  order,  that  pride  is  not  the  only 
or  chief  cause  of  contention,  it  may  no  less  be 
objected  that  contention  is  not  the  only  or  chief 
result  of  pride.  Why  may  not  the  proverb  be 
interpreted  as  comparing  two  dispositions,  the 
proud,  self-suflncieut  spirit,  of  clause  a,  and  the 
modest  inclination  to  consult  and  consider  others, 
of  clause  b?  Only  by  the  former  of  these  two 
is  contention  produced. — A.] — But  vsrisdom  is 
with  those  who  receive  counsel. — Comp. 
xii.  15,  b.  Instead  of  D'S;?!":,  "the  well  advised, 
those  who  hearken  to  counsel,"  Hitziq  proposes 
to  read  D'jriJS,  the  "  modest."  An  unnecessary 
change  to  correspond  with  xi.  2. 
Ver.  11.    Gain  through  fraud  vanisheth 

away.— [See  Critical  Notes].  The  Snnn  pn 
is  used  to  describe  "gain  coming  from  nothing- 
ness, from  the  unreal,"  i.  e.  secured  in  an  un- 
substantial, inconsiderate,  fraudulent  way  (Ew- 
AlD,  LuTHBB,  etc.).     Or  (with  Zieglee,  Dodek- 

LEiN,  Elster,  Hitziq)  let  the  pointing  be  l^'O^ 
(Pual  part.);  i.  e.  a  hastily,  fraudulently  ac- 
quired  wealth,    substantia  festinata,    Vulg. — To 

regard  SsHD  aa  a  comparative,  "sooner  than  a 
breath  "  (Umbbeit,  Notes  and  others),  has  this 
against  it, — that  a  "vanishing  away,"  a  "dimi- 
nution "  cannot  be  well  predicated  of  a  /3n,  a 
nothing,  a  mere  phantom,  but  may  be  naturally  of 
a  possession  gained  in  an  unsubstantial  or  un- 
worthy manner. — But  he  that  gathereth  by- 
labor  increaseth  it. — T-'?^  is  either  "handful 
after  handful"  (Ewald,  Bebtheau,  Eisteb, 
etc.),  or,  "according  to  his  ability," ^ro^orfe'one 
a.  mensura  sua  (Hitzig).  In  both  cases  it  de- 
scribes the  gradual  and  progressive  accumulation 
of  wealth,  resulting  from  diligence  and  exertion, 
and  so  is  in  significant  contrast  with  the  impa- 
tient dishonesty  of  the  preceding  clause. 

Ver.  12.  Hope  deferred  maketh  the  heart 
sick;  oomp.  x.  28.  The  predicate  is  not  a  sub- 
stantive, "sickness  of  heart"  (Umbbeit),  but  a 
Hiph.  partic. — For  the  figure  of  the  "  tree  of 
life"  in  clause  b  comp.  xi.  30.  ["Desire  that 
hath  come,"  (Kal  part.)  is  by  common  consent 
of  lexicographers  and  commentators  desire  ac- 
complished. This  should  be  remembered  in  the 
exposition  of  ver.  19  a. — A.] 

4.  Vers.  13-17.  Five  proverbs  relating  to  the 
value  of  the  divine  word  aa  the  higheat  good, 
and  exhorting  to  obedience  to  it. — Whosoever 
deapiseth  the  word  is  in  bonds  to  it,  i.  e. 
the  word  or  the  law  of  God  (comp.  for  this 
absolute  use  of  the  term  "word"  C^l)  e.  ff. 


xvi.  20).  The  word  of  divine  revelation  is  here, 
as  it  were,  personified  as  a  real  superhuman 
power,  whoae  service  one  cannot  escape,  and  in 
default  of  this  he  comes  in  bondage  to  it,  i.  e. 
loses  his  liberty.  [The  verb  according  to  this 
rendering  describes  mortgages,  bonds  and  other 
such  legal  obligations;  " wird  verpfclndet,"  Z. — 
A.]  Thus  SoHULTENS,  Ewald,  Elstee  correctly 
render,  while  many  others,  e.  g.  Umbbeit,  Beb- 
theau, [K.,  E.  v.,  N.,  S.,  M.]  explain  "for 
him  is  destruction  provided,  he  shall  be  de- 
stroyed." Hitziq,  however,  altogether  arbitra- 
rily takes  the  "  word"  of  clause  a  in  the  sense 
of  "command,"  and  the  "command"  (Hllfn)  of 
clause  b  in  the  sense  of  "prohibition,"  and  ac- 
cordingly translates  "  whosoever  deapiseth  the 
command  is  seized  by  it,  and  whoso  avoideth 
(heedeth)  the  prohibition  is  rewarded  "  (?).  For 
the  phrase  "he  ia  requited,  to  him  is  requital," 
comp.  xi.  31. 

Ver.  14.  The  instruction  of  the  wise  man 
is  a  fountain  of  life. — Comp.  x.  11,  where 
the  "mouth  of  the  righteous,"  and  xiv.  27, 
where  the  fear  of  God  is  described  by  this 
figure.  In  the  latter  passage  the  2d  clause  of 
our  verse  appears  again.  "  Snarea  of  death  "  an 
established  formula  for  the  description  of  mortal 
perils ;  comp.  Ps.  xviii.  5 ;  Prov.  xxi.  6,  and 
also  the  Latin  laquei  mortis.  Hoe.  Od.  III.  24,  8. 
Ver.  15.  Kindly  wisdom  produceth  fa- 
vor.— Comp.  iii.  4,  where  however  the  31D"7Dty 
expresses  a  somewhat  different  idea,  viz.,  pas- 
sively, "good  reputation."  [See  Critical  Notes], 
— The  way  of  the  ungodly  is  desolate. — 
tn'N,  perennis,  elsewhere  descriptive  of  a  brook 
or  river  that  flows  inexhaustibly,  seems  here  to 
denote  either  a  "standing  bog"  (J.  D.  Mi- 
ciiaelis,  Umbbeit),  or,  which  is  perhaps  more 
natural,  it  belongs  as  an  adjective  to  the  noun 
"  way"  (^Til),  and  characterizes  the  way  of  trans- 
gressors as  "  ever  trodden,"  i.  e.  altogether  hard, 
solid,  and  therefore  desolate  and  unfruitful 
(Bebtheau,  Ewald,  Elsteb,  etc.).  [Aa  compared 
with  the  more  common  conception  of  the  hard 
way  as  rough,  stony  (Fueest,  H.,  S.,  M.,  W.) 
this  has  the  advantage  of  following  more  natu- 
rally from  the  radical  idea  of  continuance  and 
permanence. — A.]  Hitzig  prefers  to  read  [nN\ 
makes  hateful,  produces  hatred  (?).  [This  is 
Notes'  explanation]. 

Ver.  16.  [See  Critical  Notes].  For  the  mean- 
ing "the  wise  man  doeth  all  things  with  under- 
standing," comp.  xii.  23  ;  xv.  2.— Ver.  17.  A 
bad  messenger  falleth  into  trouble.— A 
"bad  messenger"  (lit.,  "wicked")  is  not,  as 
might  be  thought,  one  who  is  indolent,  tardy,  as 
in  X.  26  (so  Bebtheau),  but  one  who  is  faithless, 
not  true  to  his  master,  betraying  him.  He  "falls 
into  trouble"  as  a  punishment  for  his  faithless- 
ness. Abnoldi  and  Hitzig  unnecessarily  sub- 
stitute the  Hiphil  for  the  Kal,  and  render  "throws 
into  trouble."  The  antithesis  between  a  and  b 
is  at  any  rate  not  an  exact  one. — But  a  messen- 
ger of  fidelity,  a  faithful  messenger.— Comp. 
xiv.  5;  XX.  6,  and  for  this  participial  form  of  the 
epithet,  xxv.  13.— For  this  use  of  "health," 
healing  medicine,  comp.  xii.  18. 


136 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


5.  Vers.  18-25.  Eight  additional  admonitory 
proverbs,  pointing  to  the  blessedness  of  obedi- 
ence to  the  divine  word. — Poverty  and  shame 
(to  him)  that  refuseth  correction. — The  par- 
ticipial clause  is  to  be  t.aken  as  conditional,  "if 
one  refuses  correction"  (comp.  Job  xli.  18).  The 
connection  with  the  main  clause  is  "not  gram- 
matically complete,  because  intelligible  of  itself," 
comp,  ProT.  xxvii.  7  (Hitzig).  For  the  meaning 
of  the  verb  comp.  i.  25 ;  iv.  15  ;  viii.  33. — With 
clause  b  comp.  xv.  5,  32. 

Ver.  19.  Quickened  desire  is  sweet  to 
the  soul. — [See  Critical  Notes.]  "Desire  that 
has  come  to  be  "  (Niph.  part.)  cannot  be  designed 
to  describe  "appeased  desire"  (Vulg.,  Luther, 
Bektheau,  Ewald,  Elster  [Fuekst,  H.,  N.,  S., 
M.,  etc.'\,  but,  as  the  import  of  clause  b  and  a 
comparison  of  12,  b  suggest,  a  desire  that  is  just 
originated,  has  just  attained  its  development,  now 
first  vividly  experienced  but  not  yet  satisfied 
(Umbreit,  Hitzig).  Now  that  this  desire  is  in 
many  instances  directed  toward  evil,  and  that 
this  evil  desire  is  especially  hard  to  appease, — 
this  is  the  truth  to  which  clause  b  gives  expres- 
sion (comp.  James  i.  14,  15).  The  second  clause 
is  not  then  antithetically  related  to  the  first,  but 
it  makes  strongly  prominent  a  single  side  of  the 
general  truth  already  uttered.  [To  what  is  said 
in  the  Critical  Notes  Rueetschi's  comment  may 
be  added  (Stud.  u.  Krit,  1868,  p.  139).  He 
renders  clause  a  like  the  Vulg.,  E.  V.,  etc.,  re- 
garding it  as  the  statement  of  a  general  psycho- 
logical fact,  while  b  supplies  a  particular  case, 
illustrative  and  not  contrasted.  His  practical 
use  of  the  sentiment  of  the  proverb  is  embodied 
in  the  appeal  "  Therefore  see  to  it  that  thy  de- 
sire be  a  good  one  in  whose  accomplishment  thou 
may  est  rightly  rejoice !"  He  pronounces  Hitziq's 
and  Z.'s  rendering  of  iTHJ  as  untenable  lexi- 
cally, and  false  to  fact. — A.] 

Ver.  20. .  Walk  Tvith  Twise  men  and  be- 
come wise. — So  according  to  the  K'thibh:  an 
infin.  abs.  [used  as  an  imperative]  followed  by  an 
imperative  instead  of  a  consecutive  clause, — 
which  is  to  be  preferred  to  the  K'ri  [which  is  fol- 
lowed by  LXX,  Vulg.,  E.  V.,  H.,  N.,  S.  and  M.]. 
The  latter  makes  the  language  less  spirited  and 
needlessly  assimilates  it  in  form  to  the  2d  clause. 
— But  Twhosoever  delighteth  in  fools  be- 
cometh  base. — In  the  Hebrew  there  is  a  play 
upon  words:  he  who  tendeth fools  (T\^,'^)  showeth 
himself  base  .JT.nv  [This  might  be  thus  imitated 
in  English :  he  who  attendeth  fools  tendeth  to 
folly].  For  this  use  of  the  verb  T\^'^,  to  follow 
or  attach  one's  self  to  some  one,  sectari  aliquem,  to 
cultivate  intercourse  with  one,  comp.  xxviii.  7  ; 
xxix.  8 ;  Jer.  xvii.  16.  From  this  is  derived 
J>^1  "friend,  comrade." 

Ver.  21.  To  the  righteous  God  repayeth 
good. — As  subject  of  the  verb  we  should  supply 
in  this  instance  not  the  indefinite  subject,  "  one," 
man,  but  rather  Jehovah  (unlike  the  instances 
in  X.  24  ;  xii.  12).  Hitzig  needlessly  substitutes 
as  an  emendation  □'HjT',  "meeteth,"  suggested 
by  the  KaralfjilieTm  of  the  LXX.  For  the  mean- 
ing comp.  i.  26 ;  xi.  3,  5,  etc. 

Ver.  22.  A  good  man  leaveth  an  inheri- 
tance to  his  children's  children.    For  this  ab- 


solute use  of  the  Hiph.,  "causeth  to  inherit,  trans- 
mitteth  his  estate,"  comp.  Deut.  xxxii.  8.  Foi 
the  sentiment  comp.  Job  xxvii.  17;  Eccles.  ii.  26. 

Ver.  23.  The  poor  man's  new  land  (yield- 
eth)  much  food.  The  noun  TJ  according  to 
Hos.  i.  12;  Jer.  iv.  3,  describes  "newly  broken, 
newly  ploughed  land,"  i.  c.  a  field  newly  cleared, 
and  therefore  cultivated  with  much  eflfort  (Vulg. 
correctly  KouaZe'a."  Luther  less  exactly  "furrows" 
[Furchen).  If  such  a  field  nevertheless  yields 
its  poor  possessor  "much  food,"  he  must  be  a 
devout  and  upright  poor  man,  and  so  possess  the 
main  condition  of  genuine  prosperity,  which  is 
wanting  to  the  man  mentioned  in  clause  b,  who 
is  evidently  a  man  of  means,  a  rich  man,  who 
in  consequence  of  bis  iniquity  (lit.,  "by  not- 
justice")  is  destroyed. — Hitzig  on  the  ground 
of  the  phraseology,  which  is  certainly  somewhat 
hard  and  obscure,  pronounces  the  verse  corrupt, 
and  therefore  reads  J'J  instead  of  TJ,  and  so 
gets  for  clause  a  the  meaning  "A  great  man  who 
consumes  the  income  of  capital"  (!).  Further- 
more he  pronounces  the  whole  verse  spurious, 
and  thinks  it  originally  formed  a  marginal  com- 
ment on  xi.  24  (!!)but  then  by  the  mistake  of  some 
copyist  was  introduced  into  the  text  just  at  this 
point.  [Rueetsohi  (as  above  quoted)  interprets 
clause  a  in  like  manner  of  the  righteous  poor 
man's  newly  cleared  land,  which,  although 
wrought  with  difficulty,  abundantly  rewards  the 
labor.  The  !!''  of  clause  b  he  regards  not  as  a 
verb  "there  is,"  but  as  a  substantive  (comp. 
viii.  21),  with  the  meaning  "substance,  wealth." 
This  is  destroyed  where  there  has  been  unright- 
eousness.— A.] 

Ver.  24.  He  that  spareth  his  rod  hatetb 
his  son.  See  iii.  12;  xxiii.  13,  14;  xxix.  15; 
Eoclesiast.  xxx.  1. — But  Tvhosoever  loveth 
him  seeketh  it,  correction.  The  sufBx  of  the 
last  verb  here,  as  in  ver.  22,  refers  to  the  object 
immediately  following,  and  this  noun  is  here 
used  actively  in  the  sense  of  "chastisement,  dis- 
cipline which  one  employs  with  another."  Others 
take  the  suffix  as  the  indirect  object,  equivalent 

to  17,  "for  him;"  he  seeketh  for  him  (the  son) 
correction.  This,  however,  is  not  grammatically 
admissible.  Hitzig  maintains  that  the  verb  is 
here  to  be  taken  after  the  analogy  of  the  Arabic 
in  the  sense  of  "tame,  subdue,"  and  that  the 
noun  is  a  second  accusative  object  (?), — and  that 
we  should  therefore  translate  "he  restraineth 
him  by  correction."  So  also  Hofmann,  Schriftbew. 
II.  2,  377  (follows  him  up  with  correction).  With 
ver.  26  comp.  Ps.  xxxiv.  10  (II),  Prov.  x.  3,  etc. 

DOCTEINAL,   ETHICAL,   HOMILETIC,   AND 

PRACTICAL. 

The  idea  which  appears  in  the  very  first  verse, 
of  salutary  discipline,  or  of  education  by  the 
word  of  God  and  sound  doctrine,  also  reappears 
afterward  several  times  in  a  significant  way 
(vers.  13,  14,  18,  24;  comp.  vers.  6,  10,  20,  21); 
it  therefore  to  a  certain  extent  controls  the  whole 
development  of  thought  throughout  this  Section, 
so  far  as  we  may  speak  of  anything  of  the  kind. 
We  have  also  here  again  as  in  chap.  iv.  (see 
above,  p.  74,)  a  chapter  on   the  true   religious 


CHAP.  XIII.  1-25. 


187 


training  of  children.  Only  it  is  here  specifically 
training  to  the  wise  use  of  earthly  blessings  (so 
in  particular  the  group  vers.  4-12),  and  to  the 
knowledge  of  God's  word  as  the  chief  blessing 
(bo  especially  in  the  2d  half,  vers.  13-25) ;  this 
is  urged  by  most  of  the  proverbs  that  are  here 
grouped.  Hence  the  frequent  allusions  to  the 
blessing  of  constant  diligence,  and  patient  labor 
in  one's  earthly  calling  in  reliance  upon  God 
(vers.  4,  11,  23,  25) ;  also  to  the  great  value  of 
earthly  possessions  gathered  under  God's  gra- 
cious help,  as  important  instrumentalities  for  the 
fulfilment  of  the  spiritual  duties  also  involved  in 
one's  calling  (vers.  8,  11,  12,  18,  22)  ;  farther  to 
the  hateful  and  harmful  nature  of  pride  and 
vanity  (vers.  7  a,  10,  16,  18) ;  to  the  evil  conse- 
quences of  unfaithfulness,  since  it  necessarily 
"smites  its  own  lord"  (vers.  2,  5,  15,  17);  to  the 
importance  of  good  company,  and  of  a  decided 
abhorrence  of  that  evil  companionship  which  cor- 
rupts the  morals  (vers.  1,  6,  20;  comp.  1  Cor. 
XV.  33),  etc. 

Therefore,  in  the  homiletic  treatment  of  the 
chapter  as  a  whole,  we  have  as  a  subject  "The 
true  Christian  education  of  children."  1)  Its 
basis:  God's  word  (vers.  1,  13,  14);  2)  its 
means :  love,  and  strictness  in  inculcating  God's 
word  (vers.  1,  18,  24) ;  3)  its  aim:  guidance  of 
the  youth  to  the  promotion  of  his  temporal  and 
eternal  welfare  (vers.  2  sq.,  16  sq.)  Or,  on  the 
right  use  of  God's  word  as  the  basis,  the  means, 
and  the  end  in  all  human  culture.  Or,  on  the 
word  of  God  as  the  most  precious  of  all  posses- 
sions (comp.  Matt.  vi.  33;  xiii.  44-46;  1  Pet.  i. 
23-25). — Stooker: — The  wise  man's  discipline 
[Disciplina  sapientis).  1)  Wherein  it,  consists 
(1-10) ;  2)  What  qualities  the  well-trained  wise 
man  possesses,  viz.  chiefly,  a)  Moderation  and 
prudence  in  the  use  of  earthly  good ;  b)  Humility 
and  modesty  ;  3)  What  is  the  blessing  of  a  wise 
training. 

Vers.  1-3.  Starke  : — No  one  is  born  pious ; 
every  one  brings  sin  with  him  into  the  world ; 
therefore  from  the  tenderest  childhood  upward 
diligence  should  be  employed  with  youth  that 
they  may  grow  up  "in  the  nurture  and  admoni- 
tion of  the  Lord"  (Eph.  vi.  2).  There  are  spirits 
that  from  merest  infancy  onward  have  their  jesta 
at  everything  that  belongs  to  virtue  and  piety 
(Gen.  xxi.  9) ;  to  improve  such  always  costs 
much  work  and  prayer. — (On  vers.  2,  3) :  If 
words  spoken  heedlessly  before  a  human  tribunal 
are  often  so  dangerous  that  they  can  bring  one 
into  the  greatest  misfortune,  how  can  evil  words 
be  indifferent  in  the  view  of  God  the  Supreme 
Judge  (Matt.  xii.  36)  ? — Wohlfarth  :— On  what 
does  the  happy  result  of  education  depend?  1) 
On  the  side  of  parents,  on  the  strictest  conscien- 
tiousness in  the  fulfilment  of  their  duties  as 
educators  (ver.  1) ;  2)  On  the  side  of  children, 
on  their  thankful  reception  of  this  training 
(vers.  2-9). 

Vers.  4-12.  Starke  (on  ver.  5) : — The  natural 
man  shuns  lying  and  deceit  on  account  of  the  out- 
ward shame  and  reproach;  the  pious  abhors 
them  with  all  his  heart  for  God's  sake. — (On 
ver.  7) :  A  man's  condition  may  not  be  with 
certainty  inferred  from  the  outward  appearance  : 
"all  is  not  gold  that  glitters"  (Eccles.  viii.  4; 
1  Sam,  xvi.  7).     The  spiritually  poor  who  feels 


his  inward  poverty  stands  in  the  right  relation, 
in  which  he  can  become  truly  rich  in  the  grace 
of  God. — (On  ver.  8) :  The  poor  man  may  have 
many  advantages  over  the  rich,  in  case  he  knows 
how  to  use  his  poverty  aright. — (On  ver.  11): 
That  many  men  of  means  become  poor  is  caused 
by  the  fact  that  they  do  not  wisely  apply  what 
is  theirs,  but  waste  it  on  all  manner  of  use- 
less things. — (On  ver.  12)  :  If  thou  hast  made 
some  promise  to  thy  neighbor,  defer  not  long 
the  fulfilment  of  the  promise.  He  who  gives 
promptly  gives  double. — [Bridges  (on  ver.  5) : 
— It  is  not  that  a  righteous  man  never  lies.  Nor 
is  it  a  proof  of  a  righteous  man  that  he  avoids 
lying.  But  true  religion  brings  in  the  new 
taste — conformity  to  the  mind  of  God. — Trapp 
(on  ver.  9) : — A  saint's  joy  is  as  the  light  of  the 
sun,  fed  by  heavenly  influence,  and  never  ex- 
tinct, but  diffused  through  all  parts  of  the 
world. — ^(On  ver.  11):  Ill-gotten  goods  fly  away 
without  taking  leave  of  the  owner. — (On  ver. 
12) :  We  are  short-breathed,  short-spirited. 
But  as  God  seldom  comes  at  our  time,  so  He 
never  fails  at  His  own;  and  then  He  is  most 
sweet  because  most  seasonable. — Arnot  (on  ver. 
12) : — If  the  world  be  made  the  portion  of  an 
immortal  spirit,  to  want  it  is  one  sickness,  to 
have  it  is  another.  To  desire  and  to  possess  a 
perishable  portion  are  only  two  different  kinds 
of  misery  to  men]. — J.  Lanqe  (on  ver.  12) : — 
Children  of  God  must  often  hope  long  under  the 
cross  for  their  deliverance.  Yet  when  this 
comes  at  length,  it  is  so  refreshing  and  joyful, 
that  they  begin  as  it  were  to  live  anew. — Zelt- 
NER  (on  ver.  12) : — Set  thy  hope  not  on  the  vain, 
uncertain  and  transient,  but  on  the  imperishable 
and  eternal,  on  God  and  His  word,  1  Cor.  iv.  18 ; 
1  Tim.  vi.  17. 

Vers.  13-17.  Tubingen  Bible  (on  ver.  13) : — It 
is  very  great  wisdom  gladly  to  receive  correction 
when  one  has  erred ;  but  it  is  folly  to  be  angry 
when  one  is  warned  against  everlasting  destruc- 
tion.— Geiek  :— Faithful  discharge  of  the  duties 
that  devolve  on  us  secures  a  good  conscience 
and  reward  from  God  and  men.' — [Tbapp  (on 
ver.  15): — Natural  conscience  cannot  but  do 
homage  to  the  image  of  God  stamped  upon  the 
natures  and  works  of  the  godly. — Arnot  : — It 
is  far-seeing  mercy  that  makes  the  way  of  trans- 
gressors hard ;  its  hardness  warns  the  traveller 
to  turn  that  he  may  live]. — Starke  (on  ver.  16) : 
— ^If  thine  act  and  project  are  to  prosper,  begin 
with  prudence  and  good  counsel,  and  so  continue 
till  thou  hast  done. — Wohlfarth: — Wisdom  as 
the  fountain  of  true  life.  Its  correction  like  its 
counsel  is  health  and  blessing ;  its  yoke  is  soft 
and  light,  because  it  urges  us  to  act  and  to  walk 
simply  according  to  our  destination. — Von  Geb- 
LAOH  (on  vers.  13  sq.): — A  despiser  of  God's 
word  involves  himself  in  its  penalties,  he  falls 
sooner  or  later  under  its  chastisement :  while  on 
the  contrary  his  reward  never  fails  the  right- 
eous.— (On  ver.  17) :  While  the  wicked  messenger 
prepares  misfortune  for  himself  as  well  as  for 
his  master,  the  faithful  makes  good  even  his 
lord's  mistakes. 

Vers.  18-25.  Berleburg  Bible  (on  ver.  18) : — 
Where  one  finds  a  spirit  that  can  tolerate  no 
correction,  is  always  excusing  and  defending 
itself,  or  throwing  the  blame   on   others,  from 


138 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


such  a  one  there  is  no  good  to  be  hoped. — (On 
ver.  20) :  It  is  very  profitable  to  cultivate  friend- 
ship and  familiar  intercourse  with  spiritually- 
minded  men,  because  one  is  in  general  wont  easi- 
ly to  take  to  one's  self  the  spirit  of  those  with 
whom  one  associates. — Zeltner  (on  ver.  -0):  — 
If  thou  shunnest  an  infected  house,  how  much 
more  shouldst  thou  shun  the  company  of  the  un- 
godly, that  thou  mayest  not  be  touched  by  the 
poison  of  their  sins  and  vices. — [Aenot: — The 
issue  to  be  decided  is  not  what  herd  you  shall 
graze  with  a  few  years  before  your  spirit  re- 
turn to  the  dust ;  but  what  moral  element  you 
shall  move  in  during  the  few  and  evil  days  of 
life,  till  your  spirit  return  to  God  who  gave  it]. 
— Staeke  (on  ver.  21): — Sin  evermore  draws 
after  it  God's  wrath  and  judgments  as  the 
shadow  always  closely  follows  the  body. — [T. 
Adams  (on  ver.  22) : — The  usurer  lightly  begets 
blind  children  that  cannot  see  to  keep  what  their 
father  left  them.  But  when  the  father  is  gone 
to  hell  for  gathering,  the  son  often  follows  for 
scattering.     But  God  is  just]. — Melanohthon 


(on  ver.  23) : — It  is  better  to  possess  small  means, 
but  use  them  well,  and  enjoy  them  with  pious 
and  contented  mind,  than  to  heap  up  great 
treasures,  that  pass  not  away  without  offences 
of  many  kinds. — Osiandeb  (on  ver.  23). — God 
gives  to  a  pious  man  wEo  is  poor  nevertheless 
nourishment  enough  if  he  only  labor  diligently 
in  his  calling  and  forsake  not  prayer.' — ^J.  Lasge 
(on  ver.  24) ; — A  good  father  follows  his  children 
unweariedly  with  prayer,  correction  and  counsel, 
that  he  may  not  be  forced  afterwards  bitterly  to 
deplore  omitting  correction  at  the  right  time. — 
Von  Geelach  (on  ver.  24) : — A  loving  father 
strives  to  correct  his  child  early;  he  does  not 
wait  till  urgent  need  forces  him  to  it. — [John 
Howe  : — Fond  parents  think  it  love  (that  spares 
the  rod) ;  but  divine  wisdom  calls  it  hatred. — 
Beidges  : — The  discipline  of  our  children  must 
commence  with  self-discipline.  Nature  teaches 
us  to  love  them  much.  But  we  want  a  controlling 
principle  to  teach  us  to  love  them  wisely.  The 
indulgence  of  our  children  has  its  root  in  self- 
indulgence]. 


6)  With  reference  to  the  relation  between  the  wise  and  the  foolish,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  masten 

and  servants. 

Chap.  XIV. 

1  Woman's  wisdom  buildetli  her  house, 

but  folly  teareth  it  down  with  its  own  hands. 

2  He  that  walketh  uprightly  feareth  Jehovah, 

but  he  that  is  perverse  in  his  ways  despiseth  him. 

3  In  the  mouth  of  the  foolish  is  a  rod  for  his  pride, 
but  the  lips  of  the  wise  preserve  them. 

4  Where  there  are  no  oxen  the  crib  is  clean, 
but  much  increase  is  by  the  strength  of  the  ox. 

5  A  faithful  witness  cannot  lie, 
but  a  false  witness  uttereth  lies. . 

6  The  scorner  hath  sought  wisdom,  and  findeth  it  not, 
but  to  the  man  of  understanding  is  knowledge  easy. 

7  Go  from  the  presence  of  the  foolish  man  ; 

thou  hast  not  found  (with  him)  lips  of  knowledge. 

8  The  wisdom  of  the  prudent  is  to  understand  his  way, 
the  folly  of  fools  is  a  deception. 

9  The  sacrifice  maketh  sport  of  fools, 
but  to  the  righteous  there  is  favor. 

10  The  heart  knoweth  its  own  bitterness, 

and  let  no  stranger  intermeddle  with  its  joy. 

11  The  house  of  the  wicked  is  overthrown, 
but  the  tent  of  the  upright  shall  flourish. 

12  There  is  a  way  that  seemeth  right  to  man, 
but  the  end  thereof  is  the  ways  of  death. 

13  Even  in  laughter  the  heart  will  be  (perchance)  sad, 
and  the  end  of  joy  is  sorrow. 

14  He  that  is  of  a  perverse  heart  shall  be  satisfied  with  his  own  ways, 
but  a  good  man  (shall  be  satisfied)  from  him  (E.  V.  "  from  himself"). 


CHAP.  XIV.   1-3^.  X39 


15  The  simple  believeth  every  word, 
the  wise  giveth  heed  to  his  way. 

16  The  wise  feareth  and  departeth  from  evil, 
but  the  fool  is  presuming  and  confident. 

17  He  that  is  quick  to  anger  worketh  folly, 
and  the  man  of  wicked  devices  is  hated. 

18  The  simple  have  secured  folly, 

but  the  wise  shall  embrace  knowledge. 

19  The  wicked  bow  before  the  good, 

and  sinners  at  the  doors  of  the  righteous. 

20  The  poor  is  hated  even  by  his  neighbor, 
but  they  that  love  the  rich  are  many. 

21  Whosoever  despiseth  his  friend  is  a  sinner, 

but  he  that  hath  mercy  on  the  poor — blessings  on  him  ! 

22  Do  not  they  go  astray  that  devise  evil  ? 

and  are  not  mercy  and  faithfulness  with  them  that  devise  good  ? 

23  In  all  labor  there  is  profit, 

but  mere  talk  (leadeth)  only  to  want. 

24  The  crown  of  the  wise  is  their  riches, 
the  folly  of  fools  (is  evermore)  folly. 

25  A  true  witness  delivereth  souls, 
but  he  that  uttereth  lies  is  a  cheat. 

26  In  the  fear  of  Jehovah  is  strong  security, 
and  to  His  children  He  will  be  a  refuge. 

27  The  fear  of  Jehovah  is  a  fountain  of  life, 
to  escape  the  snares  of  death. 

28  In  the  multitude  of  the  people  is  the  king's  honor, 

but  from  want  of  people  (cometh)  the  downfall  of  the  prince. 

29  He  that  is  slow  to  wrath  is  great  in  understanding, 
but  he  that  is  hasty  of  spirit  exalteth  folly. 

30  The  life  of  the  body  is  a  quiet  spirit, 
but  passion  the  rottenness  of  the  bones. 

31  He  that  oppresseth  the  poor  hath  reproached  his  Maker, 
whosoever  honoreth  him  hath  had  mercy  on  the  poor. 

32  By  his  wickedness  is  the  wicked  driven  forth, 
but  the  righteous  hath  hope  (even)  in  his  death. 

33  In  the  heart  of  a  man  of  understanding  doth  wisdom  rest, 
but  in  the  midst  of  fools  it  maketh  itself  known. 

34  Kighteousness  exalteth  a  nation, 
but  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  people. 

35  The  king's  favor  is  towards  a  wise  servant, 
but  his  wrath  against  him  that  is  base. 

GRAMMATICAL   AND   CEITICAL. 

Ver.  1. — Read  JliDOrit  as  ^^  i-  20;  ix.  1,  and  not  niD^n  (fern.  plur.  constr.),  as  though  "the  wise  ones  among  wo- 
:  T  :  ~ 

men  "  (comp.  Jud.  v.  29)  were  to  be  here  designated  (ao  the  LXX,  Vulg..  Luther).  [So  substantially  the  E.  Y.,  Notes,  etc., 
dlBtrihuting  the  plural  on  account  of  the  singular  of  the  verb.    ruERST  regards  QP  as  merely  another  form  of  the  abstract 

noun.    BolT.  does  not  admit  the  possibility  of  this,  but  explains  the  form  in  the  text  as  an  indef.  or  distributiye  plural, 

holding,  neverthelesB,  that  the  antithesis  with    HvIX    requires  here  the   usual    abstract.     g§  700,  c  and  n.  4,  and 

702,  c,  e— A.] 

Ter.  2.— The  1  in  I)nTi3  is  one  of  the  few  examples  in  the  early  Hebrew  of  the  Hholem  plen.  in  emphatic  yerba] 

forms  beginning  or  ending  a  clause.    See  Bott.,  gl67. — A.] 

Ter.  3, — The  form  DI^OK^J^  should  probably  be  changed  to  D^IDE^n,    since   the  assumption  of  the  lengthening 

of  the  vowel  (vocal  Sheva)  in  the  syllable  preceding  the  accent  seems  hardly  justified  by  analogies  like  Ex.  xviii.  26 ;  Ruth 
ii.  8.  Comp.  Hitziqou  this  passage.  ["Bott.  defends  the  form  doubtfully,  and  regards  it  as  probably  an  illustration  of  the 
speech  of  the  common  people.  The  fern,  form  of  the  verb  is  indicated  only  by  the  prefix,  and  not  by  its  ordinary  termina- 
tion.   See  Jg  367,  6, 1043,  4  and  n.  3,  and  1047,  e.    See  Green,  1 106,  d.— A.] 

Ver.  5. — [3t5\  one  of  Bottcher's  examples  of  the  '^Mens  hcitum"  what  mai/  or  can  be ;  §  950,  c,  ^  ;  will  not=can  not, — A.] 

Ver.  6. — [t^p3  a  "relative"  perfect,  like  t]ln  and  pin  in  ver.  31;  "hath  been  seeking  ....  and  it  is  not,"  "hath 

already  virtually  reproached  bis  Maker,"  "  hath  already  shown  mercy."— Boii.,  J  960, 1.— A.j 


140 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


'7p3  is  uDdoulitedly  a  neuter  participl8,=n7pj>  a  trifle,  a  small,  easy  matter. 

Ve"?.— [Three  poiuts  come  under  consideration:    1)  the  meaning  of   ^7   njiJO,  2)  tiie  force  of  the  perfect  tense 

OUT,  and  3)  the  meaning  of  the  connective  V    On  the  first,  in  addition  to  the  arguments  of  Z.  in  the  exegetical  notes, 

Ed'eeischi  urges  (aa   before  cited,  p.  140)  that  with  verbs  of  motion  the  only  natural  rendering  is   "  from  before,"  tlie 

S  being  justified  by  Dent,  ixviii.  66  as  well  as  the  passage  in  Judges.    In  regard  to  the  second  the  simple  perfect  is  easier 

than  a  predictive  perfect;  thou  hast  not— thou  surely  wilt  not.    Z.  omits  the  coDuective  1  in  his  version ;  "and"  might 

be  equivalent  to  "  in  case,  or  where  thou  hast  not,"  etc.  Rceetsohi  somewhat  more  unnaturally  renders  "otherwise;"  he 
obtains  the  very  forcible  meaning  "otherwise  thou  hast  not  known  lips  of  knowledge  "—hast  not  learned  their  nature, 
and  art  now  making  this  evident.  De  Wette  agrees  with  ROSENM0EILER  in  rendering  clause  6  as  a  relative  clause—"  and 
frofm  kim  in  whom  thou  hast  not,"  etc. — A.]  -,„.,„ 

Ver.  10.— [3-;j;n'    "    for  -  in  final  syllable  under  the  influence  of  the  guttural,  Geeen,  ^119,  1;  Boll.,  {^78,1, 

1065.    In  n'^D.  derived  from  TID,  we  have  one  of  the  few  instances  of  a  doubled  1.    See  Geeen,  §60,  4,  a,  Boiichee, 


i  used  in  the  first  clause  aa  masc,  in  the  second  as  fern.  In  the  historical  books,  Jerem.  and  Proverbs, 


2392,  2,  c— A.] 

Ver.  12.— [IITT  : 

this  confusion  is  cnmraon.     See  BiJTT.,  g3657;  2;  877,  y.  e. — A.] 

Ver.  13.— The  sutax  in  nn'THXl  refers  to  the  following  HnDt?,  as  in  the  passages  cited  above  in  connection  with 

T     •  -:   -;  T   ;    ■ 

xiii.  4.    To  divide  Ij^n  r\''">nX1    (J.  I>.  Michaelis,  Hitziq)  is  an  alteration  altogether  unnecessary  in  the  case  before  us, 

where  the  expression  "joy  "  in  clause  h  is  nothing  but  a  repetition  of  that  of  "  laughter  "  in  clause  a. 

Ver.  14.— To  change  to  "SSuOM  (L.  Capellos,  Jaeoee,  etc.),  or  to  vhvD  (Bistee,  comp.EwALl)  is  plainly  needless 
TT-:-  ■  ;  T--- 

in  view  of  the  simple  and  obvious  interpretation  of  V/^D  given  in  the  notes. 

[BoTT.  proposes  with  great  confidence  to  amend  clause  &  by  substituting  for  t2'''N  the  verb  IS^''D*' ;  §?  460t  2,  a,  and 

1143,  6;  "good  will  depart  from  him." — A.] 

Ver.  15. — [Observe  the  emphatic  change  of  accent  and  vocalization  in  ^HS.] 

Ver.  17. — In  view  of  the  explanation  which  may  be  given  of  the  text,  attempted  emendations  appear  needless  and  in- 
appropriate, such,  e.  g.,  as  Ewald's,  who  proposes  instead  of  Xit^'  to  read  K^li''*  ("  he  quiets  his  anger,"  "  keeps  his  eqoa- 

■  •  T  ■  ,     V  ~  : 

nimity  ") ;  or  that  of  HiTziQ,  who  to  secure  the  same  meaning  reads  INK'^,  e*c.    [Rueetsohi  emphatically  defends  the  re* 

ceived  text.]  , 

Ver.  18. — [Observe  the  change  of  tense ;  ^  7n  J,  *'Perfectu-m  repeiitinum,"  used  of  that  which  is  easily  and  quickly  done ; 

HT'nj^  "Fiens  licitum,"  are  disposed  or  inclined  to  wait,  etc.    Bott.,  §§950,  B;  940,  2;  943,  c,  a. — A.] 

Ver.  25. — [n^£3',  as  in  vi.  19;  xii.  17 ;  xix.  6,  9,  an  irregular  participial  form.] 

Ver.  28. — Tin  is  a  collateral  form  of  UH,  as  plcy^  of  pK/1_J7.     The  expression  hero  stands  as  a  parallel  to  ^70,  M 

the  plural  DJTIT  often  stands  side  by  side  with  □^^70. 
• :  ■  T  : 

Ver.  30. — [D'''^t!'3,  plural,  probably,  on  account  of  the  following  rn?D3fJ?.    Bott.  however  (§695,  5)  explains  it  as  an 

■  T  :  T  -: 

example  of  the  "pluralis  extensivus  "  used  also  of  the  entire,  the  complete,  the  large, — "  the  life  of  the  whole  body." — A.] 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  Vers.  1-7.  On  wisdom  and  folly  in  general. 
— "Woman's  wisdom  buildeth  her  house. 
[See  critical  notes].  It  is  plain  that  in  contrast 
with  this  wisdom  of  tlie  godly  we  are  to  under- 
stand by  "folly  "  in  clause  6  especially  woman's 
folly. — Witii  ver.  2,  a,  compare  a.  9;  with  b,  ii. 
15;  iii.  32. — Ver.  3.  In  the  fool's  mouth  is 
a  rod  for  his  pride, — lit.,  "a  rod  of  pride." 
[Is  this  genitive  subjective  or  objective?  a  rod 
which  his  pride  uses,  for  himself,  or  others,  or 
both,  as  it  has  been  variously  understood, — or 
a  rod  by  which  his  pride  is  itself  chastised  ?  The 
antithesis  commends  the  latter,  which  is  the  view 
of  Bertheau,  Kamph.,  etc.,  as  well  as  Z.  Ac- 
cording to  S.,  "pride"  is  the  subject  and  not  a 
limiting  genitive — A.]  Hitzio  unnecessarily 
proposes  to  understand  HIXJ  in  the  sense  of  U 
"back,"  a  meaning  which  even  in  Job  xli.  7 
hardly  belongs  to  the  word  [although  given  by 
Aquila,  Jerome,  e(c.]  (Comp.  Delitzsch  on  the 
passage.) — But  the  lips  of  the  VT-ise  preserve 
them. — For  the  construction  comp.  xi.  6;  xii.  6, 
etc.;  for  the  meaning,  x.  13, 14. — Ver.  4.  Where 
there  are  no  oxen  the  crib  remaineth 
empty.— DON,  "crib,"  not  "stall"  (Umbeeit); 
13,  in  itself  meaning  "pure,  clean,"  is  here 
"empty;''  so  sometimes  'pj.     The  drift  of  the 


proverb  is  not  quite  the  same  as  in  x.  15  ;  xiii.  8 
(a  commendation  of  moderate  wealth  as  a  means 
of  doing  good  and  as  a  preservative  from  spiri- 
tual  want).  Rather  is  this  the  probable  meaning: 
"He  who  will  develop  his  wealth  to  a  gratifying 
abundance  must  employ  the  appropriate  means; 
for  "  nothing  costs  nothing,  but  brings  nothing 
in"  (Elster,  Hitzig). — With  ver.  5  comp.  xii. 
17 ;  with  b  in  particular  vi.  19. — Ver.  6.  The 
scorner  bath  sought  V7isdom,  and  findetb 
it  not, — lit.,  "and  it  is  not,"  comp.  xiii.  7.  The 
bearing  of  this  proverb  is  plainly  directed  against 
that  superficial,  trivial,  seeming  culture  of  the 
scoffers  at  religion,  (who,  in  the  perverted  sense 
of  the  word,  are  "the  enlightened"),  which  lacks 
all  genuine  earnestness,  and  for  that  very  reason 
all  really  deep  knowledge  and  discernment. — 
But  to  the  man  of  understanding  is  know- 
ledge given. — See  critical  notes. 

Ver.  7.  Go  from  the  presence  of  the  fool- 
ish man. — So  Luther  had  already  correctly  ren- 
dered; also  De  Wette,  Bertheau,  Elsteb;  for 
IJJp  [from  the  front,  from  before]  does  not  de- 
scribe motion  directly  toward  or  at  one  (Ewald, 
comp.  Umbreit),  but  remoteness  from  him,  as  Is. 

i.  1 6  ;  Am.  ix.  3  ;  and  for  the  connection  with  *? 
which,  it  is  true,  is  unusual,  comp.  Judges  xx. 
34.  [See  critical  notes]. — Hitzio,  following  the 
LXX  and  Syr.  vers.,  writes  the  first  word  of  the 


CHAP.  XIV.  1-35. 


141 


verse  73  instead  of  ^7,  and  in  clause  6  reads 
njSJ^-'Vs  instead  of  P})T^  S|,  from  which  the 
meaning  is  obtained  "  The  foolish  man  hath  every 
thing  before  him,  but  lips  of  knowledge  are  a  re- 
ceptacle of  understanding  "  (LXX  :  HkTm  de  aia-Hii- 
(Tcwf).  But  the  idea  of  the  second  clause  experi- 
ences in  this  way  no  possible  improvement,  but 
only  an  injury  (observe  the  tautological  charac- 
ter of  the  expressions  "lips  of  knowledge  "  and 
" receptacle  or  vessel  of  knowledge"),  and  for 
this  reason  we  should  retain  the  meaning  given 
above  for  the  first  clause  also. — In  clause  6  the 
verb  is  a  proper  perfect,  "  thou  hast  not  known 
or  recognized  lips  of  knowledge,"  this  is,  if  thou 
soughtest  any  such  thing  in  him.  [W.  is  wrong 
in  rendering  "over  against,"  and  "wilt  not 
know." — A.] 

2.  Vers.  8-19.  Further  delineation  of  the  wise 
and  the  foolish,  especially  with  reference  to  their 
contrasted  lot  in  life. — The  ■wisdom  of  the 
wise  is  to  understand  his  iway, — lit.,  "  ob- 
serve his  way."  For  this  use  of  the  verb  with 
the  accusative,  in  the  sense  of  to  "observe  or 
consider  something,"  comp.  chap.  vii.  7;  Ps.  v.  2. 
For  the  sentiment  of  the  verse  comp.  xiii.  16,  and 
ver.  15  below. — ^The  folly  of  fools  is  decep- 
tion.— "Deceit"  here  in  the  sense  of  self-de- 
ception, imposition  on  self,  blindness,  which  is 
at  last  followed  by  a  fearful  self-sobering,  a 
coming  to  a  consciousness  of  the  real  state  of  the 
case  (comp.  Ps.  vii.  15 ;  Job  xv.  35). 

Ver.  9.  The  sacrifice  maketh  sport  of 
fools, — i.  e.,  the  expiatory  sacrifice  which  un- 
godly fools  offer  to  God  is  utterly  useless,  fails 
of  its  object,  inasmuch  as  it  does  not  gain  the 
favor  of  God,  which  is,  on  the  contrary,  to  be 
found  only  among  the  upright  (lit.,  "between 
upright  men,"  i.  e.,  in  the  fellowship  of  the  up- 
right or  honorable,  comp.  Luke  ii.  14).  Thus 
Beetheau,  Ewald,  Elsteb,  [Stuabt  and  Words- 
woeth],  etc.,  while  the  majority,  disregarding 
the  singular  member  in  the  verb,  translate 
"Fools  make  a  mock  at  sin  "  [E.  V.,  M.,  N.,  H.] 
("make  sport  with  sin,"  Umbeeit,  comp.  Lu- 
theb).  [Hodqson,  rightly  conceiving  the  gram- 
matical relation,  but  making  both  subject  and 
object  concrete,  renders  "sinners  mock  at 
fools"].  HiTzio  here  again  proposes  violent 
emendations,  and  obtains  the  meaning  "The 
tents  (?)  of  the  foolish  are  overthrown  (?  ?)  in 
punishment ;  the  house  (?)  of  the  upright  is  well 


Ver.  10.  The  heart  knoweth  its  own  bit- 
terness,— lit.,  "a  heart  knoweth  the  trouble  of 
its  soul,"  i.  e.,  what  one  lacks  one  always  knows 
best  one's  self;  therefore  the  interference  of 
strangers  will  always  be  somewhat  disturbing. 
If  this  be  so,  then  it  follows  that  it  is  also  not 
advisable  "to  meddle  with  one's  joy,"  and  this 
18  the  point  that  is  urged  in  clause  b.  A  precept 
applicable  unconditionally  to  all  cases  is  of 
course  not  designed  here.  The  author  of  our 
proverbs  will  hardly  be  put  in  antagonism  to 
what  the  Apostle  enjoins  in  Rom.  xii.  15.  It  is 
rather  a  hard  and  intrusive  manifestation  of 
sympathy  in  the  joy  and  sorrow  of  one's  neigh- 
bor, that  is  to  be  forbidden.— With  11,  a,  comp. 
xii.  7 ;  Job  xviii.  15 ;  with  b,  Is.  xxvii.  6. — With 
Ter.  12,  0,  comp.  xii.  15;  xvi.  2 But  the  end 


thereof  are  ways  of  death, — i.  e.,  the  way 

of  vice,  which  at  the  beginning  appears  straight 
(the  way  is  not  directly  described  as  the  way  of 
vice,  yet  is  plainly  enough  indicated  as  such),  at 
length  merges  itself  wholly  in  paths  that  lead 

down  to  mortal  ruin;  comp.  ver.   4;   vii.  27. 

The  same  verse  appears  again  below  in  xvi.  25. 
Ver.  13.  Even  in  laughter  the  heart  will  be 
(perchance)  sad. — The  Imperf.  of  the  verb  here 
expresses  a  possible  case,  something  that  may 
easily  and  often  occur.  The  contrasted  condition 
is  suggested  by  Eooles.  vii.  4:  "Though  the  face 
be  sad,  the  heart  may  yet  be  glad."  [Notwith- 
standing IIolden's  observation,  that  "  though 
sorrow  may  be  occasioned  bi/  laughter,  it  does 
not  exist  in  it,"  it  is  a,  deeper  truth,  that  in  cir- 
cumstances producing  a  superficial  joyousness, 
there  is  often  an  underlying,  profounder  sor- 
row.— A.] — And  the  end  of  joy  is  sorrow 
[not  by  a  mere  emotional  reaction,  but]  in  such 
a  case  as  this;  the  heart,  which  under  all  appa- 
rent laughter  is  still  sad,  feels  and  already  anti- 
cipates the  evil  that  will  soon  have  wholly  trans- 
formed the  gladness  into  grief. 

Ver.  14.  He  that  is  of  a  perverse  heart 
shall  be  satisfied  w^ith  his  o'wn  ways,  i.  e., 
he  who  has  departed  from  God  (lit.,  "he  that  is 
turned  aside  in  heart,"  comp.  Ps.  xliv.  19)  is 
surfeited  with  his  own  ways,  partakes  of  the 
ruinous  results  of  his  sinful  action ;  comp.  xii. 
14;  xiii.  2;  xxviii.  19. — ^But  a  good  man 
(shall  be  satisfied)  from  him,  i.  e.,  the  good 
man  solaces  himself  in  the  contemplation  of  the 
wicked  and  his  fate  (chap.  xxix.  10  ;  Job  xxii. 
19;  Ps.  xxxvii.  34;  Iviii.  11);  or,  it  may  be, 
the  upright  man  enters  into  the  possession  of  the 
good  which  the  other  loses  (comp.  xi.  8,  29 ;  xiii. 

22).  V 'J'n,  strictly  " from  with  him,"  expresses 
here  this  idea, — "from  that  which  belongs  to 
him  as  its  foundation"  (Hitzig),  and  therefore 
"from  his  experience,  from  the  sorrowful  oc- 
currences of  life  in  which  he  is  deservedly  in- 
volved." [E.  v.,  H.,  N.,  M.  render  reflexively 
"from  himself,"  and  make  the  experiences  pa- 
rallel; each  shall  be  satisfied  "  wilh  his  own 
ways,"  or  "from  himself."  The  third  pers.  suf- 
fix has  this  reflexive  meaning  after  7^D  dis- 
tinctly in  1  Sam.  xvii.  22,  39 ;  Jonah  iii.  6.  The 
sufBx  in  clause  <z  is  reflexive,  "his  own  ways," 
and  we  must  regard  the  same  construction  as 
the  simplest  and  most  natural  in  b — A.] 

Ver.  15.  The  simple  believeth  every  word, 
— Elstee:  "every  thing."  But  as  objects  of 
belief,  it  is,  in  the  first  instance  and  most  di- 
rectly, words  alone  that  come  under  considera- 
tion, and  reference  is  made  here  precisely  to  the 
unreliableness  of  words  as  used  by  men,  as  in 
chap.  vi.  1  sq.;  x.  19;  Eccles.  v.  1  sq.;  Ps.  cxvi. 
11,  etc. — With  clause  b  compare  above  ver.  8  a. — 

Ver.   16.    With   clause  a  compare  xvi.   6,   17 

The  fool  is  presuming  and  confident. 
— Comp.  xxi.  24  ;  xxviii.  16.  The  latter  of  these 
descriptive  terms  unquestionably  describes  a 
false  security,  and  carnal  arrogance,  which  is  the 
opposite  of  tiie  fear  of  God.  The  former  epithet 
means  "self-exalting,  bearing  one's  self  inso- 
lently," or  it  may  be  (like  the  Kal  conj.  of  the 
same  verb  in  chap.  xxii.  3)  "  boldly  rushing  on, 


142 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


overriding"   (Hitzig,    comp.   Lutheb,    "rushes 
wildly  through  "). 

Ver.  17.  He  that  is  quick  to  anger  work- 
eth  folly.  —  Strictly,  "  he  who  foams  up 
quickly,  who  flies  into  a  passion,"  contrasted 
with  the  man  who  is  "  slow  to  anger,"  ver.  29. 
[D'SK,  the  nostrils,  then  the  breathing,  which 
by  its  quietness  or  its  excitement,  marks  the 
state  of  the  temper].— And  the  man  of  wick- 
ed devices  is  hated. — Literally,  "the  man 
of  shrewd  reflections,  well  contrived  counsels  " 
(comp.  remarks  on  i.  4,  and  also  chap.  xii.  2 ; 
xxiv.  8  ;  Ps.  xxxvii.  7),  who  is  not  here  set  as  a 
contrast,  but  as  a  counterpart  to  the  passionate 
man ;  the  crafty  and  subtle  man,  who,  in  spite 
of  all  his  show  of  mildness,  is  still  as  thoroughly 
hated  as  the  irascible  and  passionate  man.  The 
relation  of  the  two  clauses  is  accordingly  not  an- 
tithetic, but  that  of  a  logical  parallel.  With  one 
manifestation  of  an  evil  disposition  another  is 
immediately  associated,  with  a  suggestion  of  the 
results  which  are  in  accordance  with  it;  comp. 
chap.  X.  10,  18. 

Ver.  18.  But  the  ■wise  shall  embrace 
knowledge. — '"''j']!?!  (comp.  Ps.  cxlii.  8),  liter- 
ally, "surround,  enclose,"  cannot  here  mean 
"they  crown  themselves,  or  are  crowned"  [the 
verb  is  not  reflexive]  (Umbreit,  comp,  Luther 
[De  W.,  E.  v.,  H.,  N.,  S.,  M.,  W.]),  but,  as  the 
parallel  verb  in  clause  a  indicates,  must  convey 
simply  the  meaning  of  "  laying  hold  upon,"  i.  e., 
gathering,  accumulating  [so  FnEKST,  Beetheau, 
Kamph.,  elc.'^. 

Ver.  19.  And  the  w^icked  at  the  doors 
of  the  righteous, — i.  e.,  they  bow  there  (the 
verb  is  to  be  repeated  from  the  first  clause).  The 
figure  lying  at  the  basis  of  this  representation  is 
that  of  the  ambassadors  of  a  conquered  people, 
who,  kneeling  at  the  doors  of  their  conqueror's 
palace,  await  his  command.  For  the  general 
sentiment  comp.  xiii.  9,  22  ;  also  Psalm  xxxvii. 
25,  etc. 

3.  Vers.  20-27.  On  riches  and  poverty  in  their 
causal  connection  with  wisdom,  and  folly. — The 
poor  is  hated  even  by  his  neighbor. — Comp. 
xix.  4;  Ecclesiast.  vi.  7  sq.;  xii.  8  sq.  Numerous 
parallels  from  classic  authors  (e.  ff.,  Theognis, 
V.  621,  697  ;  Ovid,  Trist,  I.,  9,  5,  6),  and  also 
from  Rabbinical  and  Arabic  authors,  may  be 
found  in  Umbkeit's  Commentary  in  loco.  "  Is 
hated,"  i.  e.,  "is  repelled  as  disagreeable,  is  ob- 
noxious" (comp.  Deut.  xx.  15  ;  Mai.  i.  3).  How 
this  may  come  to  pass,  how  former  friendship 
between  two  persons  may  be  transformed  into 
its  opposite  on  account  of  the  impoverish- 
ment of  one  of  them,  is  impressively  illustrated 
by  our  Lord's  parable  of  the  neighbor  whom  a 
friend  asks  for  three  loaves  (comp.  Luke  xi.  5-8.) 
— Ver.  21.  'Whosoever  despiseth  his  friend 
is  a  sinner,  i.  c,  he  who  neglects  a  friend  that 
has  fallen  into  destitution  (comp.  ver.  20  a),  who 
does  not  render  him  assistance,  sins  just  as  surely 
as  his  act  is  praiseworthy  who  is  compassionate 
to  the  poor  or  wretched  (read  D'^JJ^  with  the 
K'thibh).  With  the  benediction  in  clause  b  com- 
pare xvii.  20. 

Ver.  22.  Do  they  not  err  that  devise  evil? 
— The  figurative  expression  "carve  evil"  (comp. 
iii.  29  ;  vi.  14)  has  as  its  counterpart  in  the  se- 


cond clause  the  kindred  figure  "  carve  out 
good,"  i.  e.,  contrive  or  devise  good  (^bona  machu 
nari).  Instead  of  VH'  "they  err,  or  go  astray" 
(comp.  Job    XV.   31)    Hitzig   reads    IJ/T    (from 

i>J7T):  "Ought  it  not  to  go  ill  with 'them  that  devise 
evil?"  But  the  language  of  the  text  character- 
izes with  sufficient  strength  and  clearness  the 
unsettled  and  disastrous  condition  of  those  who 
have  departed  from  God's  ways. — And  are  not 
mercy  and  truth  virith  those  that  devise 
good  ? — The  interrogative  particle  affects  the  se- 
cond clause  as  well  as  the  first  (so  Umbreit,  and 
doubtless  correctly,  in  opposition  to  most  modem 
interpreters  [e.  g.,  E.  V.,  De  W.,  Bertheau,  H., 
M.,  S.,  K.,  while  NoYES  agrees  with  our  author]). 
The  construction  is  like  that  in  xiii.  18. — 
"  Mercy  and  truth  "  are  probably  God's  mani- 
festatioos  of  Himself  toward  them,  as  in  Gen. 
xxxii.  11;  Ps.  Ixi.  7,  and  not  human  attributes, 
as  above  in  chap.  iii.  3  (see  note  in  loco),  or  as  in 
xvi.  6 ;  XX.  28.  [So  'Trapp  and  others,  while 
M.  and  S.  make  them  human, — M.  making  these 
the  experience,  and  S.  the  action  of  those  who 
devise  good. — A.] 

Ver.  23.  In  all  labor  there  is  profit,  but 
idle  talk  (leadeth)  only  to  vrant. — (Comp.  xi. 
24;  xxi.  5);  in  the  latter  passage  "profit"  and 
"want"  are  contrasted  precisely  as  here. — "Idle 
talk;"  in  the  Hebrew  literally,  "word  of  the 
lips;"  comp.  Isa.  xxxvi,  5;  Job  xi.  2;  xv.  3.  The 
sentiment  of  the  entire  verse  is  moreover  plain:' 
"One  should  beware  of  idle  talk  more  than  of 
the  hardest  toil"  (Bertheau).  Comp.  Matt, 
xii.  36. 

V^er.  24.  The  crown  of  the  wise  is  their 
riches,  i.  e.  the  well-earned  possessions  of  the 
wise  become  his  honor,  are  a  real  adornment  to 
him,  for  which  he  is  with  good  reason  praised. 
"  The  folly  of  fools,  on  the  other  hand,  is  and 
continues  folly,"  though  he  may  ever  so  much 
parade  and  swell  with  it,  though  he  may  in  par- 
ticular studiously  employ  any  riches  he  may 
chance  to  possess  in  splendidly  decorating  him- 
self, and  giving  himself  a  magnificent  appear- 
ance by  all  manner  of  outward  trifles  and  finery 
(comp.  Bertheau,  Umbreit,  Elsteb  on  this 
passage).  [Trapp:  "Why,  was  it  not  foolish- 
ness before  they  were  rich  ?  Yes,  but  now  it  is 
become  egregious  foolishness"]. —  Hitzig  has 
here  again  needlessly  felt  constrained  to  amend. 
He  reads  in  clause  a  "their  prudence,"  WO'^y, 
and  in  clause  b,  as  the  subject,  "  ostentation," 

HjlX  instead  of  n^lX  ;  so  he  obtains  the  mean- 
ing, "The  crown  of  the  wise  is  their  prudence 
(?) ;   (he  pomp  of  fools  is — drunken  (??)." 

Ver.  25.  A  true  'witness  delivereth  souls, 
i.  e.  from  the  death  involved  in  some  false  charge 
brought  against  them  before  the  court,  and  which 
therefore  threatens  them  in  case  a  truthful  wit- 
ness does  not  clear  them  and  bring  their  inno- 
cence to  light. — But  he  that  uttereth  lies 
(comp.  ver.  6;  vi.  19)  is  a  cheat. — Compare  xii. 
17,   where,  however,  "deceit"   PIDID   is   object 

of  the  preceding  verb  "  showeth  forth,"  and 
not  predicate.  Here  the  abstract  "  deception  " 
stands  emphatically  for  the  concrete,  "a  deceit- 
ful man,  one  without  substance  or  reliableness ;" 
comp.   above  ver.  8,  6.     [Rueetschi  (as  above, 


CHAP.  XIV.  1-35. 


143 


p.  142)  would  simplify  the  construction  by  re- 
taining 7'2tQ  as  the  common  predicate  of  both 
clauses,  and  would  give  to  the  second  object  the 
meaning  "  wrongful  or  unrighteous  possession," 
citing  as  a  parallel  Jer.  v.  27.  We  cannot  com- 
mend the  suggestion. — A.]  Hitziq  instead  of 
"deceit"  (nD"ip)  reads  HSln  "he  destroyeth" 
(i.  e.  souls),  in  order  to  obtain  as  exact  an  anti- 
thesis aa  possible  to  the  "  delivereth"  in  the  first 
clause. 

Ver.  26.  In  the  fear  of  Jehovah  is  strong 
security,  or,  the  fear  of  Jehovah  is  strong  secu- 
rity, is  a  sure  reliance  ;  for  the  preposition  may 
properly  stand  before  the  subject  as  the  a  essen- 
tia, as  in  Isa.  xxvi.  4;  Ivii.  6  (so  Hitzig). — 
And  to  His  children  He  -will  be  a  refuge. — 
"To  His  children,"  i.  e.  doubtless  to  His  wor- 
shippers, those  faithful  to  Him,  who  for  that 
very  reason  are  His  favorites  and  objects  of  His 
care  (comp.  Deut.  xiv.  1).  This  reference  of  the 
suffix  to  Jehovah  Himself  is  unquestionably  more 
natural  than  to  refer  it  to  the  pious,  an  idea 
which  must  first  be  very  artificially  extract- 
ed from  the  "fear  of  Jehovah"  (contrary 
to  the   view   of  Umbreit,    Ewald,    Beetheau, 

Elstee,  [H.,  N.,  M.,  S.]).  Hitzio  reads  VjbS 
"to  its  builders,"  i.  e.  to  them  who  seek  to  build 
up  that  strong  fortress,  that  "  security"  of  the 
fear  of  Jehovah  (?).  With  ver.  27  comp.  xiii. 
14.  [RuEETSCHi  (as  above,  p.  142)  supports  the 
idea  rejected  by  Zockler,  that  the  divine  pro- 
tection extends  to  the  children  and  the  children's 
children  of  such  as  honor  God.  Although  not 
without  grammatical  warrant  for  the  construc- 
tion, and  conveying  beautifully  a  precious  scrip- 
tural truth,  we  must  regard  the  rendering  as 
here  somewhat  forced. — A.] 

4.  Vers.  28-35.  Continued  parallels  between 
the  wise  and  the  foolish,  the  rich  and  the  poor — 
with  the  addition  of  the  closely  related  compari- 
son of  masters  and  servants. — From  want  of 
people  (cometh)  the  downfall  of  the  prince. 

"People"  (DnS)  as  in  xi.  26.  Whether  in  the 
choice  of  the  word  rendered  "prince"  there  is 
a  hidden  allusion  to  the  ordinary  meaning, 
"consumption"  (Hitziq,  comp.  Umbreit)  must 
remain  in  doubt.  For  this  use  of  nsra,  down- 
fall, ruin,  comp.  x.  14;  xiii.  3. 

Ver.  29.  He  that  is  slow  to  ailger  is  great 
in  understanding.  —  Literally,  he  that  is 
long  or  slow  in  anger,  ppadvc:  ek  opy^,  James 
i.  19;  therefore,  the  forbearing,  the  patient. 
"  Great,  i.  c.  rich  in  understanding "  (comp. 
"great  in  acts,"  2  Sam.  xxiii.  20);  comp.  the 
Latin  multus  prudentia. — But  he  that  is  hasty 
in  spirit  (quick-tempered)  exalteth  folly,  i.  e. 
makes  much  of  it,  carries  it  to  excess.  Thus 
Hitziq,  and  doubtless  correctly,  while  the  ma- 
jority take  the  verb  in  the  sense  of  "to  exalt 
before  the  view  of  men,"  manifestare,  declarare, 
for  which  idea  however  the  parallel  passages 
xn.  23 ;  xiii.  16  are  by  no  means  conclusive 
[H.,  S.,  M.,  W.  all  take  this  view]. 

Ver.  80.  The  life  of  the  body  is  a  quiet 
spirit. — Lit.,  "life  of  the  members  (see  Critical 
Notes)  is  a  heart  of  quietness  "  (N3"]n  not  mean- 


ing here  "health,"  but  oomposm-e,  a  tranquil  con- 
dition, as  in  XV.  4;  Eccles.  x.  4). — But  passion 
the  rottenness  of  the  bones. — Comp.  xii.  4, 
and  for  this  use  of  riNJp,  "passionate  zeal," 
violent  excitement  in  general  (not  specifically 
envy  or  jealousy)  Job  v.  2.— Ver.  31.  With  clause 
a  compare  xvii.  5,  with  b,  xix.  17  a,  and  above 
ver.  21. 

Ver.  32.  By  his  wickedness  is  the  wicked 
driven  forth,  driven  forth,  i.  e.  from  life;  he  is 
by  a  violent  death  swept  away  from  this  earthly 
life  (comp.  Ps.  xxxvl.  12;  Ixii.  3). — But  the 
righteous  hath  hope  (even)  in  his  death.  He 
"is  confident,"  viz.  in  Jehovah;  comp.  Ps.  xvii. 
7,  where  the  same  absolute  use  of  the  participle 
"  trusting  "  occurs  (the  "  trustful  "  in  general, 
believers).  As  in  chap.  xi.  7,  and  if  possible 
even  more  distinctly  than  in  that  passage,  we 
have  expressed  here  a  hope  in  the  continuance 
of  the  individual  life  after  death,  and  a  just 
retribution  in  the  future  world.  Hitzig,  to  avoid 
this  admission,  reads  In  accordance  with  the 
LXX  (fy  rj?"  ^avrov  oGihrTjn^  113113,  in  his  upright- 
ness, "but  in  his  innocence  doth  the  righteous 
trust."  But  may  not  this  divergent  reading  of 
the  LXX  owe  its  origin  to  the  endeavor  to  gain 
an  antithesis  as  exact  as  possible  to  the  "  in  his 
wickedness"  of  the  first  clause?  [Riieetschi 
(as  last  cited)  preserves  the  recognition  of  a  hope 
of  immortality  and  also  the  poetical  parallelism, 
by  giving  to  the  word  "evil,"  HJ^I,  a  physical 
rather  than  an  ethical  meaning  :  "in  his  misfor- 
tune (or  adversity)  the  wicked  is  overthrown, 
but  the  righteous  has  confidence  even  in  his 
death."  For  the  wicked  all  hope  is  gone.  This 
seems  to  u.s  a  happy  reconciliation  of  the  gram- 
matical and  spiritual  demands  of  the  two  parts 
of  the  verse. — A.] 

Ver.  33.  In  the  heart  of  a  man  of  under- 
standing doth  wisdom  rest,  i.  e.  quietly,  si- 
lently;  comp.  x.  14;  xii.  16,  23,  and  for  this  use  of 
the  verb  1  Sam.  xxv.  9. — But  in  the  midst  of 
fools  it  maketh  itself  known,  i.  e.  not  "  fools 
draw  out  the  wisdom  of  the  wise,"  which  is  natu- 
rally quiet,  in  opposition  to  them  and  their  folly 
(Hitzig),  but,  fools  carry  their  wisdom,  which 
is,  however,  in  fact,  only  folly,  always  upon 
their  tongues,  and  seek  most  assiduously  to  make 
it  known  (comp.  xii.  23 ;  xiii.  16  ;  xv.  2).  The 
expression  is  pointed  and  ironical,  and  yet  not 
for  that  reason  unintelligible,  especially  after 
expressions  like  those  In  vers.  8,  16,  24,  etc.  It 
is  therefore  unnecessary  with  the  Chaldee  version 
to  supply  the  noun  "folly"  again  with  the  verb. 

Ver.  34.  Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation. 
Righteousness,  HpHS,  is  here  used  with  a  very 
comprehensive  import,  of  religious  and  moral 
rectitude  in  every  relation  and  direction,  and  Is 
therefore  not  to  be  restricted,  as  it  is  by  many 
recent  commentators  (Umbreit,  Hitzig,  etc.),  to 
the  idea  of  virtue.  Just  as  little  is  the  Idea  of 
"exalting"  to  be  identified  with  the  idea  of 
"honoring"  (as  Elster,  Hitziq,  etc.,  would 
have  it)  ;  it  is  rather  a  general  elevation  and  ad- 
vancement of  the  condition  of  the  people  that  is 
to  be  indicated  by  the  term  ;  comp.  above,  ver. 
29. — But  sin  is  a  reproach  to  the  people. 
— For  the  Aramaic  term  ^i?.^,  "shame,"  comp. 


144 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


xxTiii.  22  (also  xxv.  10),  and  Job  vi.  14.  And 
yet  in  this  national  reproach  and  disgrace  there 
is  to  be  included  the  corresponding  injury  and 
misery  of  other  kinds,  so  that  in  this  view  there 
is  a  certain  justification  for  the  Vulgate's  ren- 
dering, "  miseros  facit  "  (which  however  rests 
upon  the  different  reading  nOtll ;  comp.  the  LXX 
and  the  Syr.  vers.),  and  for  Luthbk's  "Verder- 
derben,"  destruction. 

Ver.  35.  With  clause  a  comp.  xvi.  12. — But 
his  wrath  will  find  out  the  base, — lit.,  "his 
wrath  will  the  base  be;"  comp.,  e.g.,  xi.  1, 
where  "  his  abomination  "  means  the  object  of 
his  abhorrence.    To  supply  the  preposition  "to," 

S,  from  clause  a,  is  therefore  needless  (in  oppo- 
sition to  the  view  of  Umbeeit,  Bertheau). 

DOCTRINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

The  representation  of  the  entire  chapter  is 
plainly  shaped  by  the  contrast  between  the  wise 
and  the  foolish,  and  it  is  only  toward  the  end 
(vers.  20  sq.)  that  the  kindred  contrast  between 
the  rich  and  the  poor,  and  at  the  very  last  (vers. 
27  sq.)  that  between  rulers  and  servants,  is 
added. — Ethical  truths  to  which  a,  significant 
prominence  is  given,  are  contained  especially  in 
the  following  proverbs  : 

Ver.  1.  The  building  of  the  house  by  the  wis- 
dom of  woman.  "Only  the  characteristic  wis- 
dom of  woman  (not  that  of  the  man)  is  able  to 
'  build  itself  a  house,'  i.  «.,  to  make  possible  a 
household  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word;  for  the 
woman  alone  has  the  capacity  circumspectly  to 
look  through  the  multitude  of  individual  house- 
hold wants,  and  carefully  to  satisfy  them  ;  and 
also  because  the  various  activities  of  the  members 
of  the  family  can  be  combined  in  a  harmonious 
unity  only  by  the  influence,  partly  regulative 
and  partly  fostering,  of  a  feminine  character, 
gently  but  steadily  efficient.  But  where  there  is 
wanting  to  the  mistress  of  the  house  this  wisdom 
attainable  only  by  her  and  appropriate  to  her, 
then  that  is  irrecoverably  lost  which  iirst  binds 
in  a  moral  fellowship  those  connected  by  rela- 
tionship of  blood — that  which  makes  the  house 
from  a  mere  place  of  abode  to  become  the  spiri- 
tual nursery  of  individuals  organically  associ- 
ated."  (Elstek). 

Ver.  6.  The  impossibility  of  uniting  a  frivolous 
disposition  and  jests  at  religion  with  true  wisdom 
and  understanding.  "  It  is  not  by  a  one-sided 
action  of  the  thinking  power,  but  only  by  undi- 
vided consecration  of  the  whole  nature  to  God, 
which  therefore  involves  above  all  other  things  a 
right  relation  of  the  spiritual  nature  to  Him,  that 
true  knowledge  in  Divine  things  can  be  attained. 
The  wise  man,  however,  who  has  found  the  true 
beginning  of  wisdom,  in  bowing  his  inmost  will 
before  the  Divine,  not  as  something  to  be  mas- 
tered by  the  understanding,  but  as  something  to 
be  simply  sought  as  a  grace  by  the  renunciation 
of  the  very  self, — he  can  easily  on  this  ground 
which  God's  own  power  makes  productive,  at- 
tain a  rich  development  of  the  understanding." 
(Elsteb.) 

Ver.  10.  The  disturbing  influence  of  an  unin- 
vited interference  in  the  sorrow  and  the  joy  of 
one's  neighbor.     "  Every  one  has  his  own  circle 


of  sorrows  and  joys,  which  his  neighbor  must 
leave  to  him  as  a  quiet  sanctuary  for  himself. 
For  in  the  liveliest  sympathy  of  which  one  may 
ever  be  conscious,  it  will  still  often  be  altogether 
impossible  to  enter  into  the  peculiarity  of  others' 
sensibility  with  such  a  participation  as  is  really 
beneficent.  Therefore  a  Turkish  proverb  (in 
Von  Hammer,  Morgenl.  Kleebl.,  p.  68)  also  says 
'  Eat  thine  own  grief  and  trouble  not  thyself  for 

another's'"  (Umbbeit) Comp.  above,  our  exe- 

getical  notes  on  this  passage. 

Ver.  12.  The  self-deception  of  many  men  in  re- 
gard to  their  courses,  imagined  to  be  healthful, 
but  in  reality  leading  to  eternal  ruin.  Comp. 
Mbianohthon  :  "  The  admonition  relates  to  the 
mistiness  and  weakness  of  man's  judgment,  and 
his  many  and  great  errors  in  counsel,  for  it  is 
manifest  that  men  often  err  in  judging  and  in 
their  deliberations.  Now  they  are  deceived 
either  by  their  own  imaginations,  or  by  the  ex- 
ample of  others,  or  by  habit,  etc.,  and  being  de- 
ceived, they  rush  on  all  the  more  fascinated  by 
the  devil,  as  is  written  of  Judas  in  John  xiii.  27." 

Ver.  14.  The  fool  ever  accumulating  nothing 
but  folly,  and  the  wise  man  gaining  in  know- 
ledge. Like  ver.  24  this  proverb  is  especially 
instructive  with  respect  to  the  deep  inner  con- 
nection that  exists  on  the  one  hand  between  fool- 
ish notions,  and  a  poor,  unattractive,  powerless 
earthly  position,  destitute  of  all  influence, — and 
on  the  other  hand  between  true  wisdom  and  large 
ability  in  the  department  both  of  the  material 
and  the  spiritual.  Von  Gerlaoh  pointedly  says, 
"  There  is  a  certain  power  of  attraction,  accord- 
ing as  a  man  is  wise  or  foolish ;  the  possessions 
also  which  the  one  or  the.  other  attains,  are  in 
accordance  with  his  disposition." 

Ver.  28.  A  sentiment  directed  against  feeble 
princes  who  nevertheless  array  themselves  with 
disproportionate  splendor  ;  and  this,  as  also  ver. 
34,  is  designed  to  call  attention  to  the  principle, 
that  it  is  not  external  and  seeming  advantages, 
but  simply  and  solely  the  inward  competence  and 
moral  excellence,  whether  of  the  head  or  of  the 
members  of  a  commonwealth,  that  are  the  condi- 
tions of  its  temporal  welfare. 

Ver.  31.  Compassion  to  the  poor  is  true  service 
of  God  ;  comp.  James  i.  27.  Since  God  has 
created  both  rich  and  poor  (1  Sam.  ii.  7),  since 
He  designs  that  they  shall  exist  side  by  side  and 
intermixed  (Prov.  xxii.  2),  since  the  poor  and 
lowly  man  is  in  like  manner  a  being  created  in 
His  image  (James  iii.  9),  therefore  he  who  deals 
heartlessly  and  violently  with  the  poor  insults 
that  Being  Himself  who  is  the  Maker  and  Ruler 
of  all.  The  compassionate,  on  the  contrary,  dis- 
cerns and  honors  His  disposition  toward  His 
creatures,  and  the  love  which  he  manifests  to- 
ward them,  even  the  humblest  and  most  unwor- 
thy, is  in  fact  manifested  toward  God  Himself; 
comp.  Matth.  xxv.  40. — Ver.  32.  The^confidenoe 
which  the  righteous  man  possesses  even  in  his 
death.  Compare  the  exegetical  explanation  of 
the  passage. 

HOMILETIC   AND   PRACTICAL. 

Homily  on  the  entire  chapter :  The  wisdom 
and  folly  of  men  considered  in  their  respective 
foundations,  natures  and  results  ;  and  1)  within 


CHAP.  XIV.  1-35. 


140 


the  sphere  of  domestic  life  (vers.  1-7) ;  2)  within 
that  of  civil  life  (vers.  8-25)  ;  3)  within  that  of 
political  or  national  life  (vera.  26-35). — Stockbr: 
Of  human  wisdom  as  the  fruit  of  a  right  cul- 
ture,— and  1)  of  the  wisdom  of  domestic  life 
Ipmdentia  oeconomica,  vers.  1-25) ;  2)  of  the  wis- 
dom of  public  life  (prudentia  politica,  vers.  26-35). 
Stauke  :  The  results  of  piety  and  ungodliness 
1)  in  the  household,  and  in  social  life  generally 
(1-25) ;  2)  in  the  relations  of  rulers  in  particular 
(26-35). 

Vers.  1-7.  Berlebwg  Bible : — That  wise  women 
build  their  house,  is  to  be  understood  not  so 
much  of  the  edifice  consisting  of  wood,  stone, 
plaster,  as  rather  of  the  family  and  the  house- 
hold economy,  which  a  wise  woman  always  strives 
to  keep  in  good  condition  and  to  improve.  Ps. 
cxxvii.  1. — Tubingen  Bible  (on  vers.  3) :  He  who 
is  wise  keepeth  his  mouth  and  still  more  his 
heart,  that  he  may  not  in  connection  with  out- 
ward consideration  and  high  dignities  fall  into 
pride. — (On  ver.  4) :  He  that  doth  not  work  also 
shall  not  eat ;  the  poverty  of  many  springs  from 
this,  that  they  lack  industry  and  diligence. — 
Stabke  (on  ver.  6) :  He  who  in  seeking  wisdom 
has  for  his  end  pride  and  ambition,  will  never 
attain  true  wisdom,  unless  he  changes  his  views. 
— (On  ver.  7):  Evil  one  always  learns  more 
quickly  and  easily  than  good ;  therefore  avoid 
evil  company. — [A.  Fuller  (on  ver.  6) :  If  our 
inquiries  be  influenced  by  a  spirit  ,of  pride  and 
self-sufficiency,  we  shall  stumble  at  every  thing 
we  meet  with ;  but  he  who  knows  his  own  weak- 
ness and  conducts  his  inquiries  with  humil- 
ity, shall  find  knowledge  easy  of  attainment.— 
Arnot  :  Those  who  reject  the  Bible  want  the  first 
qualification  of  a  philosopher,  a  humble  and 
teachable  spirit.  The  problem  for  man  is  not  to 
reject  all  masters,  but  to  accept  the  rightful 
One.  Submission  absolute  to  the  living  God,  as 
revealed  in  the  Mediator,  is  at  oncf  the  best  li- 
berty that  could  be,  and  the  only  liberty  that 
is. — Trapp  (on  ver.  6) :  He  that  would  have 
heavenly  knowledge  must  first  quit  his  heart  of 
corrupt  afi'ectious  and  high  conceits.] 

Vers.  8-17.  TUbingen  Bible  (on  ver.  8) : — 
Steady  watchfulness  and  attention  to  one's  self 
is  a  great  wisdom. — (On  ver.  9) :  To  make  sport 
of  sin  is  the  height  of  wickedness. — Staeke  (on 
ver.  10) :  He  who  knoweth  the  heart  alone 
knoweth  the  needs  of  thy  heart,  whicli  no  other 
besides  doth  know.  He  can  likewise  give  thee 
joy  where  no  other  can  create  it  for  thee. — (On 
ver.  16) ;  Reverence  and  love  to  God  must  be 
with  us  the  strongest  motive  to  avoid  sin. — (On 
ver.  17) ;  Between  the  hasty  trespasses  of  pas- 
sionate natures,  and  the  deliberate  wickedness 
of  malicious  man,  there  is  always  a  great  dis- 
tinction to  be  made. — Von  Geklach  (on  ver.  10)  : 
How  hard  it  is  to  console  and  soothe  others,  Job's 
answers  to  the  discourses  of  his  friends  are  a, 
signal  illustration. — (On  ver.  12) :  In  connection 
with  the  deceptive,  seductive  sliow  made  by  im- 
piety, it  is  important  to  give  more  careful  heed 
to  one's  way  in  life. — (On  ver.  17)  :  A  man  who 
quickly  falls  into  a  passion  does  indeed  commit 
a  folly,  but  yet  is  far  preferable  to  the  coldly  and 
selfishly  calculating  villain.  One  may  well  be 
indignant  at  the  first — the  last  makes  himself 
odious. — [Lord  Bacon  {^Advancement  of  Learning, 
10 


Book  VIII.),  on  vers.  8  and  15:  He  who  applies 
himself  to  the  true  wisdom  takes  heed  of  his  own 
ways,  foreseeing  dangers,  preparing  remedies, 
employing  the  assistance  of  the  good,  guarding 
himself  against  the  wicked,  cautious  in  entering 
upon  a  work,  not  unprepared  for  a  retreat, 
watchful  to  seize  opportunities,  strenuous  to  re- 
move impediments,  and  attending  to  many  other 
things  which  concern  the  government  of  his  own 
actions  and  proceedings.  But  the  other  kind  of 
wisdom  is  entirely  made  up  of  deceits  and  cun- 
ning tricks,  laying  all  its  hope  in  the  circumvent- 
ing of  others,  and  moulding  them  to  its  pleasure ; 
which  kind  the  proverb  denounces  as  being  not 

only  dishonest,  but  also  foolish,  etc T.  Adams 

(on  ver.  9):  Mocking  is  the  medium  or  conneo- 
tiou  that  brings  together  the  fool  and  sin  ;  thus 
he  makes  himself  merry  ;  they  meet  in  mockery. 
Through  many  degrees  men  climb  to  that  height 
of  impiety.  This  is  an  extreme  progress,  and 
almost  the  journey's  end  of  wickedness. — Arnot 
(on  ver.  10)  :  The  solitude  of  a  human  being  in 
either  extremity  of  the  experiences  of  the  human 
heart  is  sublime  and  solemnizing.  Whether  you 
are  glad  or  grieved,  you  must  be  alone. — (On  ver. 
12) :  The  result  accords  not  with  the  false  opi- 
nion, but  with  the  absolute  truth  of  the  case. 
There  is  a  way  which  is  right,  whatever  it  may 
seem  to  the  world,  and  the  end  thereof  is  life. 
God's  way  of  coming  to  us  in  mercy  is  also  our 
way  of  coming  to  Him  in  peace. — (On  ver.  15) : 
Trust  is  a  lovely  thing;  but  it  cannot  stand  un- 
less it  get  truth  to  lean  upon. — John  Howe  (on 
ver.  14) :  The  good  man  is  not  the  first  fountain 
of  happiness  to  himself,  but  a  subordinate  one  a 
good  man  is,  and  so  is  satisfied  from  himself — a 
fountain  fed  from  a  higher  fountain — by  deriva- 
tion from  Him  who  is  all  in  all,  and  more  inti- 
mate to  us  than  we  ourselves.  But  the  wicked 
man  is  the  prime  and  first  fountain  of  all  misery 
to  himself. — Flavel  :  The  upright  is  satisfied 
from  himself,  that  is,  from  his  own  conscience, 
which,  though  it  be  not  the  original  spring,  yet 
is  the  conduit  at  which  he  drinks  peace,  joy  and 
encouragement. — R.  South  (on  ver.  18) :  30th 
of  Posthumous  Sermons]. 

Ver.  18-25.  Zeltner  (on  ver.  19) :  Bear  pa- 
tiently the  pride  of  the  ungodly ;  it  lasts  not 
long. — Starke  (on  vers.  20,  21)  :  The  many 
promises  that  God  will  graciously  reward  kind- 
ness to  the  poor  must  make  the  Christian  joyous 
and  willing  in  labors  of  love  — (On  ver.  22) : 
Virtue  and  piety  reward  those  who  cherish  them, 
but  vices  and  sins  cause  nothing  but  pain  and 
trouble. — Geier  (on  ver.  28):  Prating  and 
boastful  men  are  like  an  empty  vessel ;  if  one 
strike  it,  it  does  indeed  give  forth  a  sound,  but 
for  all  that  nothing  goes  in. — (On  ver.  26) :  Be 
intent  upon  truth  in  thy  words,  gestures,  acts, 
and  in  thy  whole  walk. 

Vers.  26-35.  Starke  (on  ver,  28) :  It  is  the 
duty  of  the  lords  of  the  land  to  see  to  it  that 
their  land  be  well  cultivated,  and  in  particular 
that  "mercy  and  truth  dwell  in  the  land,  right- 
eousness and  peace  kiss  each  other  "  (Ps.  Ixxxv. 
11). — (On  ver.  29) :  Impatience  opposes  the  will 
of  God,  and  is  therefore  the  greatest  folly. — (On 
ver.  30) :  Passion  and  wrath  shorten  the  life,  and 
care  makes  old  before  one's  time. — (On  ver.  81) : 
Despise  no  man,  be  he  ever  so  humble,  for  thou 


146 


THE  PROVERBS  OP  SOLOMON. 


knowest  not  but  in  that  act  thou  art  despising  a 
true  child  of  God. — (On  ver.  32) :  There  is  surely 
a  future  life  to  be  hoped  for  after  death ;  other- 
wise how  could  the  righteous  be  so  comforted  in 
their  death  ? — (On  ver.  34) :  Sin  is  the  cause  of 
all  misery  under  the  sun. — (On  ver.  35):  If  the 
fidelity  of  his  subjects  is  pleasing  to  a  king,  how 
much  more  will  God  take  pleasure  if  one  serves 
Him  faithfully  and  with  the  whole  heart,  through 
the  strength  of  Jesus  Christ! — [Arnot  (on  ver. 
25) :  The  safety  provided  for  God's  children  is 
confidence  in  Himself,  the  strong  tower  into  which 
the  righteous  run. — (On  ver.  31) :  The  necessary 
dependence  of  human  duty  upon  Divine  faith. — 
S.  Davies  (on  ver.  32) ;  1)  Every  righteous  man 
has   a  substantial  reason  to  hope,  whether  he 


clearly  see  it  or  not ;  2)  Good  men  in  common  do 
in  fact  enjoy  a  comfortable  hope  ;  3)  The  hope 
which  the  righteous  hath  shall  be  accomplished. 
— Sadein  (on  ver.  34) :  As  there  is  nothing  in 
religion  to  counteract  the  design  of  a  wise  system 
of  civil  polity,  so  there  is  nothing  in  a  wise  sys- 
tem of  civil  government  to  counteract  the  design 
of  the  Christian  religion.  The  exaltation  of  the 
nation  is  the  end  of  civil  polity.  Righteousness 
is  the  end  of  religion,  or  rather  is  religion  itself. 
— Emmons  (on  ver.  34) :  It  is  the  nature  of  sin 
1)  to  lessen  and  diminish  a  people;  2)  to  sink 
and  depress  the  spirit  of  a  people  ;  3)  to  destroy 
the  wealth  of  a  people ;  4)  to  deprive  them  of 
the  blessings  of  freedom  ;  5)  to  provoke  the  dis- 
pleasure of  God  and  draw  down  His  judgments.] 


e}  With  reference  to  various  other  relations  and  callings  in  life,  especially  within  the  sphere  of 

the  religious  life. 

Chap.  XV. 

1  A  soft  answer  tumeth  away  wrath, 
but  a  bitter  word  stirreth  up  anger. 

2  The  tongue  of  the  wise  maketh  knowledge  attractive, 
but  the  mouth  of  fools  poureth  forth  folly. 

3  The  eyes  of  Jehovah  are  in  every  place, 
beholding  the  wicked  and  the  good. 

4  A  mild  tongue  is  a  tree  of  life, 

but  transgression  therewith  is  a  wound  in  the  spirit 

5  The  fool  despiseth  his  father's  correction, 
but  he  that  regardeth  reproof  is  wise. 

6  In  the  house  of  the  righteous  is  a  great  treasure, 
but  in  the  gain  of  the  wicked  is  trouble. 

7  The  lips  of  the  wise  spread  knowledge, 
but  the  heart  of  fools  (doeth)  not  so. 

8  The  sacrifice  of  the  wicked  is  abomination  to  Jehovah, 
but  the  prayer  of  the  upright  is  his  delight. 

9  An  abomination  to  Jehovah  is  the  way  of  the  wicked, 
but  he  loveth  him  that  searcheth  after  righteousness. 

10  There  is  sharp  correction  for  him  that  forsaketh  the  way ; 
he  that  hateth  reproof  must  die. 

11  Hell  and  the  world  of  the  dead  are  before  Jehovah, 
how  much  more  the  hearts  of  the  sons  of  men  ? 

12  The  scorner  liketh  not  that  one  reprove  him; 
to  wise  men  will  he  not  go. 

13  A  joyous  heart  maketh  a  cheerful  countenance, 
but  in  sorrow  of  the  heart  the  spirit  is  stricken. 

14  An  understanding  heart  seeketh  after  knowledge, 
but  the  face  of  fools  feedeth  on  folly. 

15  All  the  days  of  the  afflicted  are  evil, 

but  he  that  is  of  a  joyful  heart — a  perpetual  feast. 

16  Better  is  little  with  the  fear  of  Jehovah 
than  great  treasure  and  trouble  with  it. 


CHAP.  XV.  1-33.  i^ 


17  Better  is  a  dish  of  herbs,  when  love  is  there, 
than  a  fatted  ox  and  hatred  with  it. 

18  A  passionate  man  stirreth  up  strife, 

but  he  that  is  slow  to  anger  allayeth  contention. 

19  The  way  of  the  slothful  is  as  a  hedge  of  thorns, 
but  the  path  of  the  righteous  is  a  highway. 

20  A  wise  son  maketh  a  glad  father, 

but  a  foolish  man  despiseth  his  mother. 

21  Folly  is  joy  to  him  that  lacketh  wisdom. 

but  the  man  of  understanding  goeth  straight  forward. 

22  Failure  of  plans  (cometh)  where  there  is  no  counsel, 
but  by  a  multitude  of  counsellors  they  come  to  pass. 

23  A  man  hath  joy  through  the  answer  of  his  mouth, 
and  a  word  in  due  season,  how  good  is  it ! 

24  An  upward  path  of  life  is  the  way  of  the  wise 
to  depart  from  hell  beneath. 

25  The  house  of  the  proud  will  Jehovah  destroy,  ^ 
and  he  will  establish  the  border  of  the  widow. 

26  An  abomination  to  Jehovah  are  evil  devices, 
but  pure  (in  his  sight)  are  gracious  words. 

27  He  troubleth  his  own  house  that  seeketh  unjust  gain, 
but  he  that  hateth  gifts  shall  live. 

28  The  heart  of  the  righteous  studieth  to  answer, 
the  mouth  of  the  wicked  poureth  forth  evil. 

29  Jehovah  is  far  from  the  wicked, 

but  the  prayer  of  the  righteous  he  heareth. 

30  A  friendly  look  rejoiceth  the  heart, 
good  tidings  make  the  bones  fat. 

31  The  ear  that  heareth  the  reproof  of  life 
will  abide  among  the  wise. 

32  He  that  refuseth  correction  despiseth  himself, 

but  he  that  heedeth  reproof  getteth  understanding. 

33  The  fear  of  Jehovah  is  a  training  to  wisdom, 
and  before  honor  is  humility. 

GRAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Ter.  1. — [JV_J?~lm  undonbtedly  means  wrathful  worda,  bitter  words ;  Ges.  reaches  this  throngh  a  sahjectiTe  meaninc 

of  3VJ?,  labor,  pain  to  the  wrathfnl  spirit;  Fuerst  takes  the  objective,  cutting  words,  that  cause  pain  to  their  victim ; 
the  latter  retains  most  of  the  radical  meaning  of  the  verb. — A.] 

Ver.  2. — [n^UTl,  lit-,  maketh  knowledge  good ;  but  the  radical  idea  of  the  Heb.  31£3  is  that  which  is  good  to  the  sense, 

especially  sight ;  therefore  bright,  brilliant, — and  afterward,  that  which  is  agreeable  to  other  senses,  hearing,  taste,  etc. 
The  etymological  meaning  here  best  suits  the  sense  "make  knowledge  appear  attractive." — A.] 

Ver.  6. — [BoTT.  (^  lO.'JS,  HI.),  commenting  on  the  three  passages  where  the  defective  form  D'l^J?"'  occurs,  proposes  aa 
the  probable  reading  □1^''. — A.] 

Ver.  6. — n'13l?J  (from  "^JW,  chap.  xi.  29)  is  a  neuter  partic.  used  substantively  in  the  sense  of  ruin,  destruction ; 

V T  ;  V  -T 

tomp.  in  Is.  x.  23  HXinj,  and  also  HD-inD  in  ver.  16  below. 

T  T  v:  V  T         : 

[Ver.7.— Masc.verbwiththefem. 'nfliy,  as  in  ver.  2;  x.  21,32.] 

Ver.  9. — [BoTT.  (§412,  3)  suggests  rhythmical  reasons  for  the  peculiar  and  solitary  form  ^HN^,  usually  3nKV  Comp. 
Geiek,  gll2,  6,  c— A.] 

Ver.  15. — The  construction  is  elliptical ;  37~31£0  is  logically  a  genitive  limiting  the  ^D'*  of  clause  a,  and  Hntl'D  is  a 
predicate  to  it:  "the  days  of  him  who  is  cheerful  in  heart  are  a  feast,"  etc.    Comp.  Hitziq  on  the  passage. 

Ver.  21.— The  Infln.  nj'^  without  S  made  dependent  on  the  verb  It?"  (Bwald,  Lehrb.,  J  286,  o.) 

Ver.  22. — The  Infin.  abs.  iflH  is  here  naturally  prefixed,  instead  of  the  finite  verb,  as  e.  g.,  in  xii.  7.  [Active  used  in- 
stead of  passive,  with  an  indefinite  subject,  in  Hiphil  and  Piel  as  well  as  Kal.  infinitives.  6ee  Bottcheb,  g  990, 
1,  o.— A.l 

Ver.  25. — Instead  of  3'V1  vve  must  with  HiTzia,  cic,  and  in  accordance  with  the  anc.  versions  read  yi''^ ;  for  the 

optative  rendering  "and  let  him  .establish,"  etc.  (Bebthead)  does  not  agree  with  the  parallelism.  fBoTT.  regards  it  a« 
a  Jussive,  expressing  that  necessity  which  is  seen  to  be  involved  in  the  moral  order  of  the  world  (§  964,  7).— A.] 


M8 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


EXEGETICAL. 


1.  Vers.  1-7.  Against  sins  of  the  tongue  of  va- 
rious kinds. — A  soft  answer  turneth  away 
wrath, — lit.,  "bringetli  or turnetlibaclc passion," 
comp.  Is.  ix.  11,  It),  20.  Tlae  opposite  of  this 
"  turningback"  or  "beating  down"  the  violence 
of  wrath  is  the  "stirring  it  up,"  causing  wrath 
to  flash  up  or  blaze  out.  Comp.  Ecoles.  x.  4; 
Vs.  xviii.  8,  9. — With  the  use  of  the  epithet 
"soft,  gentle"  (^T),  comp.  xxv.  15. — "A  bitter 
word"  (see  critical  notes)  is  more  exactly  "  a  word 
of  pain,"  i.  e.,  a  smarting,  oS'ensive,  violent  word 
such  as  the  passionate  or  embittered  man  speaks. 

Ver.  2.  The  tongue  of  the  wise  maketh 
knovirledge  attractive,  lit.,  "maketh  know- 
ledge good"  (see  critical  notes);  i.e.,  presents 
knowledge  in  apt,  well  arranged  and  winning 
ways  (comp.  xxx.  29;  Is.  xxiii.  16).  In  contrast 
witli  this  "the  fool's  mouth  poureth  forth  folly," 
i.  c,  in  its  repulsively  confused  and  noisy  utter- 
ances, brings  to  view  not  wisdom  and  true  dis- 
cernment, but  only  folly.  "Poureth  forth,"  a 
ilecidedly  stronger  expression  than  "proclaim- 
eth,"  chap.  xii.  23. 

Ver.  3.  Comp.  2  Chron.  xvi.  9  ;  Ecclesiast.  xv. 
19;  xvii.  16;  xxiii.  28;  also  Ps.  cxxxix.  1  sq.; 
Matt.  i.  30;    Heb.  iv.  13. 

Ver.  4.  Gentleness  of  the  tongue  is  a  tree 
of  life. — With  this  use  of  flie  noun  rendered 
"gentleness"  (not  "health")  comp.  xiv.  30,  and 
for  the  expression  "tree  of  life,"  xi.  30. — But 
transgression  therewith  is  a  wound  in  the 

spirit. — The  noun  ^170  probably  does  not  here 
mean  "perverseness"  (Bertheau,  E.  V.,  e/c), 
but  apparently  "trespass,  transgression,"  which 
seems  to  be  its  meaning  also  in  chap.  xi.  3  (comp. 
Hitzig).  Transgression  with  the  tongue  is, 
however,  probably  not  here  falsehood  (Luther, 
and  the  older  commentators;  comp.  Ewald, 
"falling  with  the  tongue"),  but  its  misuse  in  the 
exciting  of  strife  and  contention,  and  so  "irrita- 
tion, excitement"  (Umbreit,  Elster).  "A 
wound  in  the  spirit,"  '.  e.,  disturbance  and  de- 
struction by  restless  passion  of  the  regulated  and 
normal  state  of  the  spirit;  comp.  Is.  Ixv.  14. — 
HiTzia  conjectures  a  corruption  of  the  text,  and 
therefore  translates  the  second  clause  in  partial 
accordance  with  the  LXX,  Syriao  and  Chaldee 
versions,  "  and  whoso  eateth  its  fruit  (the  tree 
of  life),  stretcheth  himself  comfortably  (!  ?)." 
[Rueetschi  (as  before  cited,  p.  143)  carries  the 
idea  of  gentleness  through  the  two  clauses  as  the 
central  idea;  "it  is  precisely  with  this  gentle 
speech  which  otherwise  does  so  much  good,  that 
the  wicked  is  wont  to  deceive,  and  then  one  is 
by  this  more  sorely  and  deeply  stricken  and  dis- 
tressed than  before." — A.] 

Ver.  6.  Comp.  i.  7;  xiii.  1. — But  he  that 
regardeth  reproof  is  wise  (reproof  on  the 
part  of  his  father,  or  in  general  from  his  pa- 
rents). For  this  verb,  "is  wise,  prudent,  deal- 
eth  prudently,"  comp.  xix.  25;  1  Sam.  xxiii.  22. 
— ^Ver.  6.  In  the  house  of  the  righteous  is  a 
great  treasure, — lit.,  "house  of  the  righteous," 
probably  an  accusative  of  place.  The  treasure 
stored  up  in  such  a  house  is  the  righteousness 
that  prevails  in  it,  a  source  and  pledge  of  abiding 


prosperity.  [Holden  and  some  others  make  thj 
earthly  treasure  too  prominent,  as  though  the 
direct  teaching  of  the  verse  were  that  "  temporal 
prosperity  attends  the  righteous."  We  find  in 
the  verse  rather  an  import  that  holds  equally 
good  in  the  absence  of  outward  abundance. — A.] 
The  direct  opposite  of  this  is  the  "  trouble  "  that 
is  found  in  the  gains  of  the  wicked. — Ver.  7. 
With  clause  a  compare  x.  31.  [A  rendering  of 
nr  is  urged  by  Rueetschi,  that  is  more  in  keep- 
ing with  its  general  import,  and  particularly  its 
meaning  in  chap.  xx.  8,  26,  viz.:  to  "sift,"  or 
"  winnow;"  the  lips  of  the  wise  sift  knowledge, 
separating  the  chaff,  preserving  the  pure  grain. 
— A.] — But  the  heart  of  fools  (doeth)  not  so, 
i.  e.,  with  him  it  is  quite  otherwise  than  with  the 
heart  of  the  wise  man  which  spreads  abroad 
wisdom  and  knowledge;  a  suggestion,  brief  in- 
deed but  very  expressive,  of  the  mighty  differ- 
ence between  the  influences  that  go  forth  from 
the   wise  man   and   the  fool.     HiTZta,  to  avoid 


this  interpretation  of  15"'' '>  wliich,  as  he  thinks, 
is  "intolerably  flat,"  explains  the  expression  in 
accordance  with  Is.  xvi.  6,  by  "that  which  is 
not  so  as  it  is  asserted  to  be,"  and  therefore  by 
"  error  or  falsehood  ;"  he  therefore  takes  this  as 
an  aecusative  object  to  the  verb  "spread 
abroad,"  which  is  to  be  supplied  from  clause  a. 
The  LXX  and  Syr.  adopt  still  another  way,  ac- 
cording to  which  |3  is  an  adjective  with  the 
meaning  "sure,  right," — "the  fool's  heart  is  not 
sure,"  not  certain  of  its  matters,  and  therefore 
incompetent  to  teach  others  (so  also  Bertheau). 
This  last  explanation  is  doubtless  possible,  and 
yet  the  first  seems  at  all  events  the  simplest  and 
most  obvious.  [This  is  also  the  rendering  of  the 
E.  v.,  etc.;  S.,  N.,  M.,  W.  agree  substantially 
with  the  last  view,  but  differ  in  the  grammatical 
connection  of  the  word  "sound,  right,"  S.  and 
M.  making  it  a  predicative  epithet,  N.  and  W. 
making  it  the  object,  "what  is  not  sound," 
"folly."— A.] 

2.  Vers.  8-15.  Of  God's  abhorrence  of  the 
wicked  heart  of  the  ungodly.— With  ver.  8  comp. 
xxi.  27  ;  xxviii.  9  ;  also  ver.  29  below.  "Sacri- 
fice" and  "prayer"  are  not  here  contrasted  aa 
the  higher  and  the  lower  [so  Burgon,  quoted  by 
Wordsworth]  ;  but  "sacrifice"  is  a  gift  to  God, 
"prayer"  is  desiring  from  Him.  Comp.  Is.  i. 
11,  15,  and  besides  passages  like  Hos.  vi.  6; 
Mic.  vi.  6-8;  Jer.  vii.  21 ;  Ps.  xl.  6  (7);  li.  17 
(18),  etc. — Ver.  9  stands  in  the  relation,  as  it 
were,  of  an  explanation  of  or  a  reason  for  ver. 
8;  comp.  xi.  20;  xii.  22.— But  he  loveth 
him  that  searcheth  after  righteousness. — 
"Searcheth  after"  ["pursueth,"  as  it  were, 
Piel  part.],  stronger  than  "followeth,"  chap, 
xxi.  21  ;  comp.  xi.  19  ;  also  Deut.  xvi.  20 ;  Ps. 
xxxiv.  14  (15). 

Ver.  10.  (There  is)  sharp  correction  for  him 
that  forsaketh  the  way,  lit.,  "is  to  the  one 
forsaking  the  path,"  i.  c,  the  man  that  turns 
aside  from  the  right  way  (comp.  ii.  13). — He 
that  hateth  reproof  must  die, — lit.,  "will 
die."  Comp.  Rom.  viii.  13.  This  "death"  is 
the  very  "  sharp  correction"  mentioned  in  the 
first  clause,  just  as  he  who  hatea  correction  is 
identical    with     the     man    who    forsakes    tha 


CHAP.  XV.  1-83. 


149 


way.  Comp.  X.  17.— Ver.  11.  Hell  (Sheol) 
and  the  vrorld  of  the  dead  are  before  Je- 
hovah,— i.  c,  are  not  concealed  from  Him, 
lie  open  and  uncovered  before  His  view,  comp. 
Ps.  cxxxix.  8;  Job  xxvi.  6.  In  the  latter  passage 
tn3N,  lit.  "  place  of  destruction,  abyss  of  the 
pit "  stands,  as  it  does  here,  as  a  synonym  of 
Sheol;  so  likewise  in  Prov.  xxvii.  20. — How 
maoh  more  ('3  ^X  as  in  xi.  37)  the  hearts 
of  the  sons  of  laen ;  comp.  Jer.  xvii.  10: 
Heb.  iv.  13. — Observe  furthermore  how  this  pro- 
verb also  stands  related  to  the  next  preceding, 
giving  its  reason,  as  in  vers.  8  and  9. 

Ver.  12.  To  wise  men  doth  he  not  go  ; 
among  ihem  he  will  find  deliverance  from  his 
folly — by  stern  reproof,  it  is  true,  and  censure 
and  reprimand;  comp.  xiii.  1,  20.  HiTzio  un- 
necessarily proposes  to  read,  with  the  LXX, 
"  with "  instead  of  "to,"  "with  wise  men  he 
doth  not  associate." 

Ver.  13.  A  joyous  heart  maketh  the 
countenance  cheerful. — The  verb  "  maketh 
good"  (ver.  2),  "maketh  pleasant"  is  here 
equivalent  to  "brighteneth." — -Bat  In  sor- 
row of  the  heart  is  the  spirit  stricken. — 
Others,  Umbreit,  Hitzio,,  etc.,  render  "  is  the 
breath  oppressed,  made  laborious."  It  is  true 
that  in  this  way  there  is  produced  a  better  pa- 
rallelism with  the  "  cheerful  countenance  "  in 
clause  a.  But  in  chap.  xvii.  22  also  (comp.  Isa. 
Ixvi.  2)  a  '*  broken  spirit  "  is  described  by  this 
phrase,  and  not  a  labored  breathing ;  and  in- 
stances in  which,  instead  of  the  outward  effect, 
the  inward  cause  which  underlies  it  is  named  in 
the  second  clause,  are  by  no  means  unknown 
elsewhere ;  comp.  x.  20 ;  xii.  22,  etc. 

Ver.  14.  With  clause  a  compare  xiv.  33. — 
The  face  of  fools  feedeth  on  folly. — The 
K'ri  and  the  ancient  versions  read  'B  (mouth) 
instead  of  'JS  (face)  for  which  reason  many 
moderns  adopt  the  same  reading,  e.  g.,  Bebthold 
[Db  W.,  Beetheact,  E.  v.,  S.,  N.,  M.,  H.,  who 
plead  not  only  the  authority  of  the  Versions,  but 
the  singular  number  in  the  verb,  and  the  greater 
naturalness  of  the  expression].  But  as  in  Ps. 
xxvii.  8,  a  "  seeking  "  is  predicated  of  the  face 
[according  to  the  rendering  of  Hitzio,  in  which 
he  stands  almost  alone,  "seek  him,  my  face," — ■ 
while  the  vast  majority  of  interpreters  make 
Sod's  face  the  object  sought],  so  here  there 
might  very  fitly  be  ascribed  to  the  face  a  "  feed- 
ingon  something,"  apasa,  especially  as  this  verb  is 
here  employed  only  in  a  figurative  way,  to  denote 
dealing  with  a  matter  (comp.  xiii.  20).  [Fcerst 
(Lex.,  suh  verba)  takes  the  verb  in  quite  a  diiferent 
sense;  he  makes  a  second  radical  meaning  to  be 
"to  unite  with,"  and  then  "to  delight  in."  He 
also  recognizes  distinctly  the  use  of  this  plural 
noun  with  verbs  in  the  singular.  See  also 
NoRDHEiMEK,  Heb.  Oram.  |  759,  3,  a.— A.]. 

Ver.  15.  All  the  days  of  the  afflicted 
are  evil. — '3^  is  here  not  the  outwardly  dis- 
tressed, the  poor,  but  the  inwardly  burdened 
and  ataicted,  as  the  parallel  in  clause  b  shows. — 
But  he  that  is  of  a  joyful  heart  (hath)  a 
perpetual  feast, — or,  a  perpetual  feast  are  his 
days.  The  meaning  of  the  verse  is  a  tolerably 
exact  parallel  to  ver.  13.     [To  this  view  of  the 


ver.  RuEETSCHi  (as  above,  p.  144)  objects  that  the 
very  general  usus  loquendi  refers  'JJ'  to  out- 
ward circumstances,  and  when  inward  condi- 
tions are  described  by  this  term  it  is  never  in 
the  way  of  depreciation,  other  terms  being  used 
to  describe  distress.  He  renders  "  all  the  days 
of  a  poor  man  are  (indeed)  evil  (in  regard  to  his 
outward  cirftumstances) ;  but  whosoever  is  of  a 
joyful  heart  has  (nevertheless)  a  continual 
feast."— A.]. 

3.  Vers.  16-23.  Of  various  other  virtues  and 
vices. — With  16,  a,  comp.  chap.  xvi.  8. — Than 
great  treasure  and  trouble  w^ith  it.  — 
Trouble,  -drSpvpor,  here  probably  not  the  anxiety 
which  apprehends  losing  the  treasure  again 
(Bertheau),  but  the  care  which  accumulated 
the  wealth,  and  constantly  seeks  to  increase  it, 
Ps.  xxxix.  6  (7),  (Hitzio).  [Rueetschi  observing 
the  more  general  use  of  the  noun,  understands  it 
to  refer  to  the  confusion  and  disorder  in  human 
society  attendant  upon  riches  without  the  fear 
of  God.— A.]. 

Ver.  17.  Better  is  a  dish  of  herbs,  w^hen 
love  is  there,  — literally,  "  a  portion  of 
green,"  i.  e.,  vegetables  (Jer.  xl.  5;  lii.  24;  2 
Kings  XXV.  30).  Vegetables  represent  simple 
fare  in  general  (comp.  Dan.  i.  2),  while  meat,  as 
always  and  every  where  in  the  East,  is  holiday 
fare,  especially  the  flesh  of  fatted  oxen  (Luke 
XV.  23,  30). —  Observe,  furthermore,  how  the 
verse  before  us  exhibits  on  the  one  hand  a  mean- 
ing exactly  parallel  to  the  preceding,  while  on 
the  other  hand  it  presents  a  climax  to  its  ideas 
(fear  of  God — love  to  one's  neighbor;  trouble — 
hate). — As  a  substantial  parallel  compare  the 
proverb  in  Meidani  II.  422:  "  Want  with  love 
is  better  than  hatred  with  riches." — With  ver. 
18  comp.  above,  ver.  1,  as  also  xxvi.  21  ;  xxviii. 
25;   xxix.  22;  Ecclesiast.  xxviii.  11-18. 

Ver.  19.  The  way  of  the  slothful  is  as  a 
hedge  of  thorns,  i.  e.,  because  he  is  always  en- 
countering obstacles  and  hinderances,  does  not 
come  away  having  accomplished  his  life's  work, 
but  must  find  his  foot  every  where  entangled  and 
kept  back.  [The  special  aptness  of  this  figure  in 
Palestine  is  amply  illustrated  in  Hackett's 
Scripture  Illustrations,  Thomson's  T/ie  Land  and 
the  Book,  etc. — A].  It  is  otherwise  with  the 
"upright,"  i.  e.,  the  man  who  unmoved  and  un- 
remitting goes  about  the  performance  of  his  duty, 
and  continues  with  vigorous  efiiciency  in  the 
work  of  his  calling.  His  way  is,  according  to 
clause  b,  "built  up,"  i.  e.,  lit.  raised  by  throw- 
ing up  a  ridge  (Isa.  Ivii.  14;  Ixii.  10;  Jer.  xviii. 
15,  etc.),  a  way  which  leads  easily  and  surely  to 
its  end. — Hitzio    without   any   necessity   reads 

V'^J?  for  /^i*'  *°  obtain  as  he  thinks  a  more 
appropriate  antithesis  to  the  word  "  upright," 
(D'lK^;).  But  that  the  slothful  may  be  very  fitly 
contrasted  with  the  upright  or  righteous,  ap- 
pears abundantly  from  proverbs  like  i.  26 ; 
xxviii.  19  ;  vi.  10,  etc. 

Ver.  20.  With  clause  a  compare  the  literally 
identical  first  half  of  %.  1.— But  a  foolish 
man,  lit.  "a  fool  of  a  man;"  comp.  xxi.  20, 
and  the  similarly  constructed  expression  "a 
wild  ass  of  a  man,"  Gen.  xvi.  12.  Bertheau 
wrongly  renders  "  the  most  foolish  of  men." 


150 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


Ver.  21.  Folly  (here  unreasonable  conduct, 
senseless  action)  is  joy  to  him  that  lacketh 
wisdom.  Comp.  x.  23. — G-oeth  straight 
forward,  lit.  "  maketh  straight  logo."  Going 
straight  forward  is  naturally  acting  rightly  in 
moral  and  religious  matters. 

Ver.  22,  (There  is)  Failure  of  plans  where 
there  is  no  counsel.  Literally,  "a  breaking 
of  plans  "  is,  comes  to  pass,  "where  no  counsel 
is."  For  the  meaning  comp.  xi.  14,  especially 
also  with  respect  to  clause  b. — They  come  to 
pass,  i.  e.,  the  plans.  The  singular  of  the  verb 
is  used  in  the  Heb.  distributiTCly,  as  in  chap.  iii. 
18  (see  notes  there). 

Ver.  23.  A  man  hath  joy  through  the 
answ^er  of  his  mouth,  and  a  word  in  due 
season,  hovr  good  is  it!  That  the  second 
clause  cannot  be  antithetic  to  the  first  (Hit- 
zig),  but  stands  as  its  explanation  or  its  cli- 
max is  evident;  for  the  "  word  in  its  time"  is 
just  the  "answer"  of  clause  a,  exciting  joy  be- 
cause apt  and  exactly  meeting  the  inquiry. — 
Comp.  furthermore  parallels  like  x.  20,  31, 
32,  etc. 

4.  Vers.  24-33.  Of  several  other  virtues  espe- 
cially of  the  religious  life. — An  upward  path 
of  life  is  the  w^ay  of  the  wise;  lit.  "a 
path  of  life  upward  is  to  the  wise,"  i.  e.,  the 
man  of  understanding  walks  in  a  way  which  as 
a  way  of  life  leads  ever  upward,  to  ever  higher 
degrees  of  moral  purity,  elevation  and  power, 
but  also  in  the  same  ratio  to  an  ever-increas-^ng 
prosperity.  A  reference  to  heaven  as  the  final 
limit  of  this  upward  movement  of  the  life  of  the 
righteous  is  so  far  forth  indirectly  included,  as 
the  antithesis  to  the  "upward;"  the  "hell  be- 
neath "  (hell  downwards,  hell  to  which  one  tends 
downward),  suggests  a  hopeless  abode  in  the 
dark  kingdom  of  the  dead,  as  the  final  destina- 
tion of  the  sinner's  course  of  life.  Therefore  we 
have  here  again  the  idea  of  future  existence  and 
retribution  (comp.  xi.  7  ;  xiv.  32) — a  meaning 
which  Bektheac  and  Hitzig  seek  in  vain  to  take 
from  the  proverb.     Comp.  Elster  on  this  pas- 


Ver.  25.  The  house  of  the  proud  w^ill 
Jehovah  destroy.  For  the  verb  comp.  ii. 
22.  By  "house"  is  here  meant  not  the  mere 
dwelling,  but  also  the  family  of  the  proud,  just 
as  in  xiv.  11  ;  compare  also  xiv.  1. — And  es- 
tablisheth  the  border  of  the  w^idow^,  i.  e., 
the  innocent  widow  who  is  in  danger  of  being 
wronged  by  the  proud  through  encroachment 
upon  her  borders.  Comp.  moreover  with  this 
expression  Deut.  xxxii.  8. 

Ver.  26.  Compare  xi.  20.  —  But  pure  (in 
His  sight)  are  gracious  words,  here  pro- 
bably specifically  words  sweetly  consoling,  words 
of  love  and  compassion  toward  troubled  souls, 
comp.  xvi.  24.  Such  words  are  in  Jehovah's 
judgment  pure  or  precious,  i.  e.,  with  a  pure  and 
genuine  ring;  comp.  Ps.  xix.  8,  9  (9, 10). — Hit- 
big  proposes  instead  of   D'lintp    to  read    WISO 

[adhere,  cleave]  from  which  comes  the  meaning 
jtrengtheniug  the  antithesis  of  the  parallel: 
"  and  pleasant  words  cleave  fast  (?)." 

Ver.  27.  He  troubleth  his  own  house 
that  seeketh  unjust  gain.  For  the  last  ex- 
pression "spoileth  spoil,"  i.  e.,  goes  after  unlaw- 


ful gains,  seeks  plunder,  comp.  i.  19;  for  the 
former  phrase  "  disturb  or  trouble  the  house," 
xi.  29.  The  sentence  as  a  whole  seems  to  be 
aimed  especially  at  unjust  judges,  who  are  will- 
ing to  be  bribed  by  gifts,  in  contrast  with  the 
judge  that  "  hates  gifts,"  and  so  is  incorruptible 
and  unchangeably  upright;   comp.  xxviii.  16. 

Ver.  28.  The  heart  of  the  righteous 
studieth  to  answer,  i.  e.,  reflects  upon  its 
answers  with  all  care,  that  it  may  utter  no- 
thing evil  or  perverse,  while  the  wicked  thought- 
lessly "pours  forth"  his  evil  and  perverse 
thoughts  (pours  forth,  comp.  ver.  2) ;  compare 
Matth.  xii.  35. — With  ver.  29  comp.  ver.  8. 

Ver.  30.  A  friendly  look  rejoiceth  the 
heart.  Lit.  "  lustre  of  the  eyes  ;"  it  denotes, 
like  the  "light  of  the  countenance"  in  chap, 
xvi.  15,  the  cheerful  beaming  of  the  eye  of 
the  friendly,  which  exerts  on  one's  neighbor 
also  an  influence  refreshing  to  the  heart,  espe- 
cially at  the  time  when,  as  clause  b  indicates,  it 
communicates  a  "good  message,"  "joyful 
tidings  "  (comp.  xxv.  25).  For  this  "  rich  nour- 
rishing  of  the  bones  "  (lit.,  making  fat),  comp. 
xi.  28;  xiii.  4;  also  xvi.  24. — In  this  conception 
of  the  verse  which  is  the  simplest  and  on  all 
sides  well  guaranteed,  according  to  which  clause 
b  only  defines  more  exactly  the  import  of  clause 
<J.,  there  is  no  need  either  of  giving  an  objective 
cast  to  the  idea  of  "brightness  to  the  eye,"  as 
though  it  meant  "friendly  recognition "(  Lc- 
TiiEE,  De  Wette,  Beethead),  or  of  changing 
TlNO   to    nX'IO     (Hitzig). 

Ver.  31.  The  ear  that  heareth  the  re- 
proof of  life,  i.  e.,  reproof  which  has  true 
life  for  its  end,  which  points  out  the  way  to  il, 
and  for  that  very  reason  already  in  advance  has 
life  in  itself  and  imparts  it.  — Will  abide 
among  the  w^ise,  i.  «.,  will  itself  become 
wise  (xiii.  20),  and  therefore  permanently,  be- 
longs to  the  circle  of  the  wise.     For  this  verb  to 

"  abide"  (f '),  lit.  to  pass  the  night,  i.  e.,  to 
tarry  long  at  some  place,  comp.  Ps.  xxv.  13; 
xlix.  12  (13) ;  Job  xix.  4.  The  ear  here  stands 
by  synecdoche  for  the  hearer,  as  in  Job  xxix. 
11  ;  Ex.  X.  26;   1  Kings  xix.  18. 

Ver.  32.  He  that  refuseth  correction  de- 
spiseth  himself,  lit.  "undervalues,  lightly 
values  his  soul,"  in  so  far  as  he  does  not  en- 
sure life,  in  so  far  as,  without  knowing  and 
willing  it,  he  loves  death  more  than  life  (comp. 
viii.  36). —  But  he  that  heedeth  reproof 
getteth  understanding ;  comp.  iv.  5,  7 ; 
xvi.  16.  The  man  who  "  getteth  understand- 
ing "  is,  however,  according  to  xix.  8  the  very 
man  who  does  not  hate  his  own  soul  but  loves 
it. 

Ver.  33.  With  clause  a  compare  i.  7 ;  ix.  10. — 
And  before  honor  is  humility.  Humility 
here  plainly  appears  as  the  necessary  correlate 
to  the  fear  of  God,  and  as  a  chief  manifestation 
of  wisdom,  which  is  elsewhere  named  as  that 
which  confers  honor,  e.g.,  iii.  16;  viii.  18.  Com- 
pare xviii.  12,  b,  where  the  second  clause  of  the 
verse  before  us  occurs  again  — The  entire  verse, 
by  virtue  of  its  somewhat  general  character,  is 
equally  well  adapted  to  close  a  long  series  of 
proverbs,  and  to  open  a  new  section.  It  is  there- 
fore unnecessary,  as  Hitzio  does,   to  transfer  it 


CHAP.  XV.  1-33. 


151 


to  the  following  chapter,  and  to  regard  it  as  a 
sort  of  superscription  to  the  second  half  of  that 
division  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  in  which  we 
now  are  (chap,  xvi.-xxii.). 

DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

Among  the  proverbs  of  the  chapter  before  us, 
which  hardly  admit  of  a  grouping  according  to 
any  well-established,  clearly  conspicuous  prin- 
ciple of  classification  (comp.  the  four  divisions 
which  are  distinguished  in  the  "  Exegetical 
Notes:"  vers.  1-7;  8-15;  16-28;  24-33),  several 
stand  out  as  of  no  slight  theological  and  soterio- 
logical  importance, — especially  the  beautiful  re- 
ference to  the  omniscience  of  God,  the  holy  and 
righteous  Ruler,  in  ver.  3  and  ver.  11, — and  the 
twice  repeated  emphasizing  of  the  religious 
worthlessness  of  outward  shows  of  reverence  for 
God,  without  true  devotion  and  conseoratiou  in 
the  heart,  vera.  8  and  29.  The  last  mentioned 
truth  is  among  the  favorite  ideas  of  the  enlight- 
ened prophetic  teachers  and  men  of  God  in  the 
Old  Testament ;  (compare  the  parallel  passages 
cited  abote  in  connection  with  vers.  8).  It  lets 
the  clear  light  of  that  evangelical  saving  grace, 
which  was  already  operative  under  the  economy 
of  the  law,  but  which  only  in  Christ  rose  as  a 
full-orbed  sun,  shine  with  quite  peculiar  bright- 
ness ou  the  dark  ground  of  Old  Testament  life. 
In  this  connection  there  is,  it  is  true,  the  dis- 
tinction to  be  made  (noticed  above  under  ver.  8) 
between  "sacrifice"  and  "prayer;"  that  the 
former  term  describes  a  gift  brought  to  God,  the 
latter  a  desire  directed  to  Him.  Yet  this  is  by  no 
means  an  essential  difi'erence  ;  for  both,  sacrifice 
and  prayer,  which  indeed  falls  likewise  under 
the  category  of  offering  in  the  broadest  sense 
(Ps.  oxix.  108;  Heb.  xiii.  15),  come  under  con- 
sideration here  only  as  general  tokens  of  reve- 
rence for  God ;  and  the  value  of  both  is  clearly 
defined  by  this  test,  whether  the  state  of  heart  in 
those  who  bring  them  is  or  is  not  well  pleasing 
to  God  (comp.  Isa.  xxix.  13;  Matt.  xv.  7  sq.)  ; 
in  other  words,  whether  the  oifering  brought  is 
a  purely  outward  act,  or  the  fruit  of  a  sincere 
self-consecration  of  the  entire  personality  in  spi- 
rit and  in  truth,  a  "  reasonable  service"  in  the 
sense  of  Rom.  xii.  1. 

Closely  related  to  the  scope  of  these  proverbs 
is  what  was  said  above,  on  ver.  17,  of  the  worth- 
lessness of  outward  shows  of  beneficence,  espe- 
cially free  hospitality  without  inward  love  (comp. 
1  Cor.  xiii.  2). — Furthermore  a  specially  serious 
consideration  is  due  to  the  warnings  against  low 
greed  and  avarice,  as  leading,  nevertheless,  to 
the  destruction  of  one's  own  home  :  ver.  6  and 
27 ;  to  the  repeated  allusions  to  the  necessity  that 
one  readily  submit  himself  to  reproof  and  cor- 
rection for  his  faults  :  vers.  5,  10,  12,  31,  32  ;  to 
the  beautiful  commendation  of  humility  as  the 
first  step  to  true  honor :  ver.  33 ;  and  finally  to  the 
reiterated  reference  to  the  righteous  judgment 
of  God,  which  reaches  its  completion  only  in  the 
life  to  come:  ver.  25  (see  notes  on  this  passage). 

HOMILBTIC   AND    PRACTICAL. 

Momily  on  the  entire  chapter:  Right  sensibi- 
lity or  a  pure  heart  the  only  true  service  of  God 


(1  Sam.  XV.  22),  demonstrated  1)  in  good  and 
perverse  conduct  with  the  mouth  and  tongue 
(ver.  1-7);  2)  in  proper  worship  or  the  religious 
life  (ver.  8-15) ;  3)  in  the  intercourse  of  man 
with  his  neighbors  (vers.  16-33). — Or  again; 
Love  (lo  God  and  men)  as  the  germ  and  the  true 
norm  of  all  religious  rectitude  (Hos.  vi.  6;  Matt, 
ix.  13;  xii.  7). — Comp.  Stookee,:  How  true  pru- 
dence (wisdom)  must  guard  man  against  sins  1) 
of  the  tongue  (1-9);  2)  of  the  heart  and  the 
hands  (10-22) ;  3)  against  other  sins  of  various 
kinds  (23-33). — In  a  similar  way  Wohlfabth: 
The  effect  of  prudence ;  a  means  of  guarding 
one's  self  against  sins  of  various  kinds. 

Ver.  1-7.  Starke  (on  vers.  1,  2)  ;  when  ge- 
nuine piety  exists  there  will  not  be  wanting  other 
manifestations  of  friendliness  and  gentleness. 
Even  where  there  is  occasion  for  earnestness  in 
the  punishment  of  transgressions,  a  friendly 
spirit  must  still  be  combined  with  it.  Ear- 
nestness without  friendship  profits  as  little  as 
friendliness  without  earnestness. — Geiee,  (on 
ver.  8) :  If  God  knows  all  things  then  He 
knows  also  His  children's  need,  and  is  intent 
on  their  help  and  deliverance. — (On  ver.  5) : 
If  even  to  the  most  capable  and  powerful  spirits 
there  is  still  need  of  good  discipline  and  in- 
struction, how  much  more  to  the  indolent  and 
drowsy  ! — (On  ver.  6) ;  In  connection  with  tem- 
poral blessings  be  intent  upon  righteousness  in 
their  attainment,  contentment  in  their  possession, 
prudence  and  system  in  their  employment,  sub- 
mission in  their  loss! — [Abnot  (on  ver.  1): 
Truth  alone  may  be  hated,  and  love  alone  de- 
spised ;  man  will  flee  from  the  one  and  trample 
on  the  other  ;  but  when  truth  puts  on  love,  and 
love  leans  on  truth,  in  that  hallowed  partnership 
lies  the  maximum  of  moral  power  within  the 
reach  of  man  in  the  present  world. — Teapp  (on 
ver.  6) :  Every  righteous  man  is  a  rich  man, 
whether  he  hath  more  or  less  of  the  things  of 
this  life.  For,  first,  he  hath  plenty  of  that  which 
is  precious.  Secondly,  ipropAety:  what  he  hath 
is  his  own]. 

Vers.  8-19.  Ceameb,  (on  ver.  8)  :  It  is  not 
works  that  make  the  man  good,  but  when  the 
man  is  justified,  then  his  works  are  also  good ; 
God  in  His  grace  makes  well-pleasing  to  Himself 
the  works  that  come  of  faith,  even  though  great 
imperfections  still  mingle  with  them. — Staeke 
(on  ver.  11) :  The  doctrine  of  God's  omniscience 
is  already  in  the  Old  Testament  revealed  fre- 
quently enough,  and  so  clearly  that  no  one  can 
excuse  himself  on  the  ground  of  ignorance  con- 
cerning it. — (On  ver.  12) :  He  is  wise  who  gladly 
associates  with  those  from  whom  he  can  learn 
something,  though  it  be  disagreeable  to  the  flesh 
to  do  so. — Zeltner  (on  vers.  13  sq. ):  He  is  the 
most  prosperous  man  who  possesses  the  treasure 
of  a  good  conscience  and  seeks  to  preserve  it ;  he 
can  always  be  joyfnl  in  God  (Acts  xxiv.  16). — 
Wohlfabth  (vers.  13-17):  The  Joyous  heart. 
What  can  all  the  good  things  of  this  earth  profit 
us  when  our  inner  nature  is  in  trouble  and  our 
countenance  sad  ?  How  rich  are  we,  even  with 
little  earthly  possession,  if  we  only  possess  the 
one  good  of  a  conscience  at  peace,  and  a  heart 
joyful  in  God! — Von  Geblach  (on  ver.  19): 
The  sluggard  lets  his  paths  grow  over,  i.  e.,  his 
means   of  acquisition  go  to  waste,  and  his  re- 


i52 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


sources  decay. — [Chaenock  (on  ver.  11):  God 
knows  the  whole  state  of  the  dead — things  that 
seem  to  be  out  of  all  being ;  He  knows  the 
thoughts  of  the  devils  and  damned  creatures, 
whom  He  hath  cast  out  of  His  care  forever  into 
the  arms  of  His  justice;  much  more  is  He  ac- 
quainted with  the  thoughts  of  living  men, 
etc.'] 

Vers.  20-33.  Basics  (on  vers.  22,  23) :  Many 
eyes  see  more  than  one,  and  many  souls  think 
more  than  one;  therefore  never  esteem  thyself 
so  wise  that  thou  shouldst  not  seek  others'  coun- 
sel. ...  A  good  thought  on  which  one  falls  at 
the  right  time  is  not  to  be  valued  with  much 
gold. — WoHLFAKTH  (ou  vers.  22-26)  :  Important 
as  it  is  in  general  that  one  testify  the  truth,  as 


important  is  the  way  in  which  this  is  done i 

Von  Geelach  (on  ver.  24) :  The  very  direction 
of  the  way  which  the  wise  enters  saves  him  from 
extreme  disasters ;   it  leads  toward  God,  toward 

the  kingdom  of  eternal  light,  welfare  and  life. 

(On  ver.  33) :  Honor  one  can  attain  in  the  way  of 
truth  only  by  giving  honor  to  the  Lord  alone, 
i.  e.,  by  profound  humility  (1  Peter  v.  6). — J. 
Lange  :  True  humility  consists  not  in  all  manner 
of  outward  gestures,  but  in  the  fact  that  one  in 
perfect  self-denial  agree  with  the  will  of  God, 
Luke  i.  38— [W.  Bates  (on  ver.  33) :  Humility 
preserves  the  true  and  noble  freedom  of  the 
mind  of  man,  secures  his  dear  liberty  and  peace- 
ful dominion  of  himself.  This  is  the  effect  of 
excellent  wisdom] . 


2.  Admonition  to  a  walk  in  the  fear  of  God  and  obedience. 

Chap.  XVL  1.— XXII.  16. 

a)  Admonition  to  trust  in  God  as  the  wise  Ruler  and  Governor  of  the  world. 

Chap.  XVI. 

1  Man's  are  the  counsels  of  the  heart, 
but  the  answer  of  the  tongue  is  Jehovah's. 

2  All  the  ways  of  a  man  are  pure  in  his  own  eyes, 
but  Jehovah  weigheth  the  spirits. 

3  Commit  thy  works  to  Jehovah, 
so  will  thy  plans  be  established. 

4  Jehovah  hath  made  every  thing  for  its  end, 
even  the  wicked  for  the  day  of  evil. 

5  An  abomination  to  Jehovah  is  every  one  who  is  proud  in  heart, 
assuredly  he  will  not  go  unpunished. 

6  By  mercy  and  truth  is  iniquity  atoned, 

and  through  the  fear  of  Jehovah  one  departeth  from  evil. 

7  If  Jehovah  hath  pleasure  in  the  ways  of  a  man, 

he  maketh  even  his  enemies  to  be  at  peace  with  him. 

8  Better  is  a  little  with  righteousness, 
than  great  revenues  without  right. 

9  Man's  heart  deviseth  his  way, 
but  Jehovah  directeth  his  steps. 

10  Decision  belongeth  to  the  lips  of  the  king, 

in  judgment  his  mouth  speaketh  not  wickedly. 

11  The  scale  and  just  balances  belong  to  Jehovah, 
His  work  are  all  the  weights  of  the  bag. 

12  It  is  an  abomination  to  kings  to  commit  ■wickedness, 
for  by  righteousness  is  the  throne  established. 

13  A  delight  to  kings  are  righteous  lips, 
and  he  that  speaketh  uprightly  is  loved. 

14  The  wrath  of  a  king  (is  as)  messengers  of  death, 
but  a  wise  man  appeaseth  it. 

15  In  the  light  of  the  king's  countenance  is  life, 
and  his  favor  is  as  a  cloud  of  the  latter  rain. 

16  To  gain  wisdom — how  much  better  is  it  than  gold! 
and  to  attain  understanding  to  be  preferred  to  silver! 


CHAP.  XVI.  1-33.  153 


17  The  path  of  the  upright  departeth  from  evil ; 

he  preserveth  his  soul  that  giveth  heed  to  his  way. 

18  Before  destruction  cometh  pride, 
and  before  a  fall  a  haughty  spirit. 

19  Better  is  it  to  be  humble  with  the  lowly, 
than  to  divide  spoil  with  the  proud. 

20  He  that  giveth  heed  to  the  word  findeth  good, 
and  he  who  trusteth  Jehovah,  blessed  is  he ! 

21  The  wise  in  heart  shall  be  called  prudent, 
and  grace  on  the  lips  increaseth  learning. 

22  Understanding  is  a  fountain  of  life  to  him  that  hath  it, 
but  the  correction  of  fools  is  folly. 

23  The  heart  of  the  wise  maketh  his  mouth  wise, 
and  increaseth  learning  upon  his  lips. 

24  As  honey  of  the  comb  are  pleasant  words, 
sweet  to  the  soul  and  health  to  the  bones. 

25  There  is  a  way  that  seemeth  right  to  man, 
but  its  end  are  ways  of  death. 

26  The  spirit  of  the  laborer  laboreth  for  him, 
for  his  mouth  urgeth  him  on. 

27  A  worthless  man  searcheth  after  evil, 
and  on  his  lips  is  as  it  were  scorching  fire. 

28  A  perverse  man  sendeth  abroad  strife, 
and  a  backbiter  separateth  friends. 

29  A  violent  man  enticeth  his  neighbor, 

and  leadeth  him  in  a  way  that  is  not  good. 

30  Shutting  his  eyes  to  devise  mischief, 
biting  his  lips,  he  bringeth  evil  to  pass. 

31  A  crown  of  glory  is  the  hoary  head  ; 

in  the  way  of  righteousness  it  shall  be  found. 

32  He  that  is  slow  to  anger  is  better  than  the  mighty, 
and  he  that  ruleth  his  spirit  than  he  that  taketh  a  city. 

33  The  lot  is  cast  into  the  lap, 

but  from  Jehovah  is  all  its  decision. 

GRAMMATICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

Ter.  1. — In  mrT'n  the  ID  stands  as  simply  synonymous  with  the  7  auctorii  of  the  first  clause. 

T   : "         I  •  .    . 

Ver.  3. — [A  masc.  verb  agreeing  with  the  fern,  subject  ^Tl^tynD)  which  is  less  unnatural  where  the  verb  precedes; 

see  BoTT.,  §  936,  a.— A.J 

Ter.  4. — [^nj^?3  7  distinguished  by  the  article  and  the  daghesh  as  the  noun  njJ^D  with  preposition  and  suffix,  and 
not  the  comp.  preposition  |J7D7  with  a  suffix.    See  Green,  nt\).  Gram.,  §246,  2,  a. — A.] 

Ver.  7. — [Q7K^\  Hiph.  Imperf.  written  de/eciive^    Bott.  suggests  the  proper  reading  as  D7E^''   " abaimilated "  from 

the  following  N.   'See  J1013.— A.J 

Ver.  13. — [Ordinarily  feminine  forms  of  adjectives  are  employed  in  Hebrew  to  supply  the  lack  of  neuter  and  abstract 
forms.    Occasionally  as  in  D''"1K''  masc.  forms  are  used  in  elevated  style.    See  Bott.,  g  707,  2. — A.J 

•  T  ; 

Ver.  16. — [Both  the  masc.  and  fern,  forms  of  the  Inlin.  constr.  are  here  used,  HJp  *nd  nUp,  hut  with  a  masc.  predi- 
cate, the  Niph.  part.  TH^J,  which  has  here  the  meaning  of  the  Latin  part,  in  dus.    Bott.,  ^^9QQ,  3,  p,  and  997,  2,  c. — A.J 

T  :  ■    . 
For  examples  of  the  form  HJp  comp.  xxi.  3 ;  xxxi.  4. 

Ver.  19.— 7£3iy  in  n^'^~73K'  is  here  probably  not  to  be  regarded  as  the  adjective,  as  in  xxix.  23;  Is.  Ivii.  15  (so  Bee- 
THEAU,  Elster,  and  others  regard  it),  but  an  Infinitive,  which  is  therefore  equivalent  to  humiliari  (Vulgate,  comp.  Ewalp, 
Umbreit,  HiTZiG,  eic.)    For  in  the  second  clause  an  Infin.  is  the  corresponding  term :    77!^    pvHj  '*  to  divide  spoil ;" 

XT         I      ■■  - 

comp.  with  this  Is.  liii.  12.    [Ftterst,  however  (Lex.,  sub  verbo),  pronounces  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  adjective  construc- 
tion.   B5tt.  regards  it  as  an  Infin.,  §987,  5,  a. — A.J 

Ver.  20. — 7''3ti?n  appears  in  Neh.  viii.  13  construed  with  7X  instead  of  71? ;  compare,  however,  for  this  interchange 
of  7X  and  7^  chaps,  xxix.  5;  Jer.  vi.  10, 19,  etc. 

Ver.  27.— ['VnStj'  is  one  of  the  few  instances  in  which  in  the  Masoretic  punctuation  a  dual  or  plural  form  is  disre- 
garded in  the  vocalization  of  the  suffix.  Cases  of  the  opposite  kind  are  not  rare.  Bott.,  §  886,  c.  The  LXX  conform  to 
the  K'thibh.— A.l 


154 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


Ter.  28.— )JTJ   (i/zieupos,  Ecclesiast.   v.  14),  is  cognate  with  J1J,  a  verb  wUoh  in  the  Arabic  means  jMMrro,  to 

whisper. 

Ver.  30,— nSy,  related  to  WH}),  dausit,  is  found  only  here  in  the  Old  Testament.    [It  is  a  gesture  accompanymg  and 

T  T  ~  r 

expressive  of  crafty  scheming ;  FUERST,  s.  v.] 

Ver.  33,— For  the  impersonal  use  of  the  passive  '7m''  with  the  accusative,  comp.  Gen.  iv.  18 ;  xvii.  6 ;  Jos.  vii.  16;  Pa, 
Ixxii.  15,  etc. 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  Vers.  1-3.  Of  God  aa  the  wise  disposer  and 
controller  of  all  things  in  general. — Man's  are 
the  counsels  of  the  heart,  but  the  answer 
of  the  tongue  is  Jehovah's. — The  "  answer 
of  the  tongue"  might  indeed  of  itself  signify  the 
answer  corresponding  to  the  tongue,  i.  e.,  the 
supplicating  tongue,  and  so  denote  "  the  granting 
of  man's  request"  (Elstbr,  comp.  Umbeeit,  Ber- 
THEAU,  etc.)  But  since  the  heart  with  its  hidden 
plans  and  counsels  (lit,,  "arrangements:"  D''3"1,I^D 
equivalent  to  the  more  common  fem,  JID'TgO). 
is  here  plainly  contrasted  with  the  tongue  as  the 
instrument  in  the  disclosure  of  such  plans  (comp. 
X.  8;  xiv.  20,  and  numerous  exx.),  therefore 
the  "  answer  of  the  tongue"  must  here  be  "the 
movement  and  utterance  of  the  tongue,"  and 
Jehovah  comes  into  the  account  as  the  giver  of 
right  words,  from  which  health  and  life  go  forth, 
as  the  dispenser  of  the  wholesome  "  word  in  due 
season"  (chap.  xv.  23);  comp.  Matth.  x.  19,  20; 
also  Rom.  viii.  26  ;  2  Cor.  iii,  5.  Lutheb  there- 
fore renders  correctly  "But  from  the  Lord 
Cometh  what  the  tongue  shall  speak;"  in  general 
HiTziG  is  also  right,  except  that  he  would  unne- 
cessarily read  "to"  Jehovah  ''7  instead  of 
I'S,  and  so  thinks  too  exclusively  "of  Jehovah 
merely  as  the  judge  of  the  utterances  of  man's 
tongue.  The  idea  "  JIan  proposes,  God  dis- 
poses" [der  Mensch  denkt,  Gott  lenkt)^  forms 
moreover  quite  as  naturally  the  proper  subject 
of  discourse  in  the  verse  before  us,  as  below  in 
vers.  9  and  33.  [Our  English  version  sacrifices 
entirely  the  antithetic  nature  and  force  of  the 
verse. — A.] 

Ver.  2,  All  the  -ways  of  a  man  are  pure 
in  his  own  eyes,  i.  e.,  according  to  his  own 
judgment,  comp.  xii.  15.  Lit.,  "something 
clean;"  comp.  Ewald,  Lehrb.,  |  307,  c. — But 
Jehovah  weigheth  the  spirits,  i.  e.,  he  tries 
them,  not  literally  ponderable,  with  reference  to 
their  moral  weight ;  he  wishes  to  test  their  moral 
competence.  The  "ways"  and  the  "spirits" 
here  stand  contrasted  as  the  outward  action  and 
the  inward  disposition  ;  comp.  1  Sam.  xvi.  7.  In 
the   parallel   passage,   chap.    xxi.  2,    "hearts" 

(niSv)  occurs  instead  of  "  spirits  "  (mnO)  (com- 
pare also  xxi.  12)  and  "right"  (Ity')  instead  of 
"clean"  C^t). 

Ver.  3.  Commit  thy  works  to  Jehovah. 
— For  this  phrase  to  "  roll  something  on  some 
one,"  i.  e.,  to  commit  and  entrust  it  wholly  to 
him,  comp.  Ps.  xxii.  8  (9),  also  xxxvii.  5  (where 

7^   is  used  instead  of    7N,  "  upon  "  instead  of 

"to"). — So  w^ill  thy  plans  be  established, 

— i.  e.,  thy  thoughts  and  purposes,  those  accord- 
ing   to   which    thou    proposest   to    shape    thy 


"  works,"  will  then  have  a  sure  basis  and  result. 
Comp.  xix.  21 ;   Ps.  xc.  17. 

2.  Vers.  4-9.  God's  wise  and  righteous  admi- 
nistration in  respect  to  the  rewarding  of  good  and 
the  punishment  of  evil. — Jehovah  hath  made 
everything  for  its  end. — The  noun  njJ'D  here 
signifies,  not  "answer,"  as  in  ver.  1,  or  inxv.  1, 
23 ;  but  in  general  that  which  corresponds  with 
the  thing,  the  end  of  the  thing.  The  sufiix  refers 
back  to  the  "  all,  all  things."  The  Vulgate  ren- 
ders "propter  semet  ipsum,"  but  this  would  have 

1'J^D?-  [See  critical  notes.  Bertheau,  Kamph., 
De  W.,  N.,  S.,  M.,  etc.,  agree  with  our  author  in 
the  interpretation  which  is  grammatically  most 
defensible,  and  doctrinally  least  open  to  excep- 
tion. An  absolute  Divine  purpose  and  control 
in  the  creation  and  administration  of  the  world 
is  clearly  announced,  and  also  the  strength  of 
the  bond  that  joins  sin  and  misery. — A,] — 
Even  the  wicked  for  the  day  of  evil,  i.  e., 
to  experience  the  day  of  evil,  and  then  to  receive 
His  well  merited  punishment.  It  is  not  specifi-  , 
cally  the  day  of  final  judgment  that  is  directly 
intended  (as  though  the  doctrine  here  were  that 
of  a  predestination  of  the  ungodly  to  eternal 
damnation,  as  many  of  the  older  Reformed  in- 
terpreters held),  but  any  day  of  calamity  what- 
soever, which  God  has  fixed  for  the  ungodly, 
whether  it  may  overtake  him  in  this  or  in  the 
future  life.  Comp.  the  "day  of  destruction," 
Job  xxi.  30;  the  "day  of  visitation,"  Is.  x.  3. 
[Holden's  rendering  "even  the  wicked  He 
daily  sustains,"  is  suggested  by  his  strong  aver- 
sion to  the  doctrine  of  reprobation,  but  is  not 
justified  by  the  use  of  the  Hebrew  phrase,  or  by 
the  slightest  requirement  or  allowance  in  the 
parallelism.  Liberal  interpreters  like  Noyes 
find  not  the  slightest  reason  for  following  him. 
-A.] 

Ver.  5.  With  clause  a  compare  xv.  9,  25,  26 ; 
with  A,  xi.  21. — In  regard  to  the  two  verses  in- 
terpolated by  the  LXX  (and  Vulgate)  after  ver. 
5,  see  HiTzia  on  this  passage. 

Ver.  6.  By  mercy  and  truth  is  iniquity 
atoned. — "  Mercy  and  truth"  here  unquestion- 
ably, as  in  chap.  iii.  3  (where  see  notes),  describes 
a  relation  of  man  to  his  neighbor,  and  not  to  God, 
as  Bebtheau  maintains  (see  in  reply  to  his  view 
especially  Hoffmann's  Schriftbew.,  I,,  518  sq,), 
[Nor  is  it  God's  mercy  and  truth,  as  Holden 
suggests].  Loving  and  faithful  conduct  towards 
one's  neighbor  is,  however,  plainly  not  in  and 
of  itself  named  as  the  ground  of  the  expiation 
of  sin,  but  only  so  far  forth  as  it  is  a  sign  and 
necessary  expression  of  a  really  penitent  and 
believing  disposition  of  heart,  and  so  is  a  cor- 
relative to  the  fear  of  God,  which  is  made  pro- 
minent in  the  second  clause ;  just  as  in  the  ex- 
pression of  Jesus  with  reference  to  the  sinning 
woman;  Luke  vii.  47  ;  or  as  in  Isa.  Iviii.  7  ;  Dan 
iv.  24,  etc. — One  departeth  from  evil,  lit., 


CHAP.  XVI.  1-33. 


16J 


"there  is  remaining  far  from  evil,"  i.e.,  this 
is  the  result:  so  ver.  17. — "Evil"  is  here  ac- 
cording to  the  parallelism  moral  evil  (not  misfor- 
tune, calamity,  in  conformity  with  vers.  4,  27,  as 
HiTZiQ  holds).  This  is  however  mentioned  here 
with  an  included  reference  to  its  necessary  evil 
results  and  penalties ;  therefore,  if  one  chooses, 
it  is  evil  and  calamity  together  ;  comp.  vers.  17. 

With  vers.  7   compare   xxv.  21,   22,   where  as 

means  to  the  conciliation  of  enemies  there  is 
mentioned  the  personal  loving  disposition  of  the 
man  involved,  who  here  appears  as  an  object  of 
the  divine  complacency. — With  vers.  8  comp.  xv. 
16;  with  clause  b  in  particular,  xiii.  28. — Ver. 
9.  Man's  heart  deviseth  his  way.  The 
Piel  of  the  verb  here  denotes  a  laborious  consi- 
deration, a  reilecting  on  this  side  and  that. — 
But  Jehovah  directeth  his  steps.  He  de- 
termines them,  gives  them  their  direction,  guides 
them  (comp.  notes  on  ver.  1,  b).  Umbkbit,  Beu- 
THEAU,  EWALD,  Elster,  [Notes,  Stuaet,]  "he 
makes  them  sure."  But  then  another  conjuga- 
tion (Pilel,  ]py,)  would  probably  have  been  ne- 
cessary, as  in  Ps.  xxxvii.  23.  For  the  Hiphil 
comp.  moreover  Jer.  x.  23. 

3.  Vers.  10-15.  Of  kings  as  intermediate  agents 
or  instruments  in  God's  wise  administration  of  the 
world. — A  divine  decision  belongeth  to  the 
lips  of  the  king.  OOP,  oracular  decision  or 
prediction,  here  used  in  a  good  sense  of  a  divine 
utterance  {effaium  divinum ;  comp.  in  the  Vulg., 
divinatio).  As  representative  of  Jehovah,  the 
supreme  ruler  and  judge,  a  king,  and  especially 
the  theocratic  king  of  Israel,  speaks  words  of 
divine  validity  and  dignity  (comp.  Ps.  Ixxxii.  6  ; 
John  X.  34),  which  give  an  absolutely  certain  de- 
cision, particularly  in  contested  judicial  ques- 
tions. Therefore  that  continues  true  which  the 
second  clause  asserts :  In  judgment  his 
mouth  doth  not  speak  wickedly.  "  He 
deceives  not,  sins  not"  is  not  possibly,  a  wish 
("  his  mouth  should  not  err  in  judgment,"  Um- 
BREIT,  Bertheau),  but  "the  passage  rather  lays 
down  the  principle :  the  King  can  do  no  wrong, 
in  a  narrower  assertion  of  it,  and  with  this  dif- 
ference, that  it  is  here  no  political  fiction,  but  a 
believing  conviction.  Righteousness  at  least  in 
the  final  resort  was  under  the  theocratic  monar- 
chy of  the  Old  Testament  so  absolute  a  demand 
of  the  idea,  that  one  could  not  conceive  it  to  be 
unrealized"  (Hitziq).  [We  have  here  the  theory 
of  the  king's  relations  and  obligations,  and  a  clear 
statement  of  the  presumptions  of  which  he 
shoi^ld,  according  to  the  divine  order,  have  the 
benefit.  These  must  be  clearly  overthrown  by 
him,  before  the  people  are  entitled  to  set  them 
aside.  Comp.  Rom.  xiii.  1,  2.  Had  this  pro- 
verb been  penned  near  the  end,  instead  of  near 
the  beginning  of  the  Jewish  theocracy,  it  would 
have  been  difhcult  to  avoid  the  suggestion  that 
the  ideal  and  the  actual  are  often  strangely, 
sharply  at  variance. — A.]. 

Ver.  11.  The  scale  and  just  balances  be- 
long to  Jehovah.  The  proposition  expresses 
the  idea  of  an  ownership  in  Jehovah  as  the  first 
cause :  for  like  agriculture  (Ecclesiast.  vii.  15) 
God  instituted  weights  and  measures,  as  an  in- 
dispensable ordinance  and  instrument  in  just 
business  intercourse. — His  works  are  all  the 


weights  of  the  bag.  His  weights  the  oriental 
merchant  (in  Persia,  e.  g.,  even  at  the  present 
day)  is  wont  to  carry  in  a  bag;  comp.  Deut.  xxv. 
13;  Mic.  vi.  11.  Stones  were  in  preference  em- 
ployed as  weights  because  they  do  not  wear  away 
so  easily,  as  iron,  e.  g.,  which  from  rusting  easily 
changes  its  weight.  Comp.  Umbeeit  on  this 
passage.  Bebtheau  is  quite  too  artificial.  "His 
work  is  all  of  it  stones  of  the  bag,  "  i.  e.,  is  as 
sharply  and  accurately  defined  "as  the  smallest 
and  finest  weights  (?)."— Vers.  12,  13.  Two 
verses  closely  connected,  expressing  a,  single 
truth,  which  is  brought  out  first  negatively  and 
then  positively. — It  is  an  abomination  to  kings 
to  commit  iniquity ;  i.  e,  injustice  practised  or 
at  least  attempted  by  their  subjects  is  an  abomi- 
nation to  them,  representing,  as  they  do,  God 
and  divine  justice.  Comp.  ver.  10,  and  with 
clause  b  also  especially  xxv.  6. — And  he  that 
speaketh  uprightly  is  loved.  For  this  use 
of  the  plur.  masc.  of  It^.'.!  upright,  which  is 
therefore  "  upright  things,  uprightness,"  comp. 
Dan.  xi.  17 ;  also  Job  iv.  25. — The  verb  ^HN' 
is  either  to  be  taken  with  an  indefinite  subject, 
"  him  one  loveth,"  i.  e.,  he  is  loved  (Umbreit. 
Elster,  etc.),  or  distributively,  "  him  he  loveth," 
i.  e.,  whoever  is  king  for  the  time  being, 

Vers.  14,  15.  Verses  in  like  manner  closely 
connected,  and  essentially  expressing  but  one 
thought. — The  wrath  of  the  king  (is  as) 
messengers  of  death.  This  plural  in  the  pre- 
dicate of  the  sentence  hints  that  when  the  king 
is  enraged  manifold  means  and  instruments 
stand  at  his  command  for  the  immediate  de- 
struction of  the  object  of  his  wrath.  Remember 
the  despotism  and  the  capricious  arbitrariness 
of  Oriental  sovereigns,  and  compare  xix.  12;  xx. 
2;  Eccles.  viii.  3,  4. — In  the  light  of  the 
King's  countenance  is  life.  The  "  friendly 
countenance,"  lit.  "light  of  the  countenance," 
as  in  Ps.  iv.  6  (7),  is  contrasted  with  the 
"wrath"  ver.  14,  a,  as  also  are  "life"  and 
"  death." — As  a  cloud  of  the  latter  rain. 
The  harvest  rain  or  latter  rain  (Vulg.,  imber  se- 
rotinus) is  a  rain  falling  shortly  before  the  har- 
vest, in  March  or  April,  whose  timely  and  abun- 
dant occurrence  is  indispensable  to  the  success 
of  Eastern  harvests,  especially  so  in  Palestine ; 
comp.  xi.  14 ;  Jer.  iii.  3 ;  v .  24  ;  and  particu- 
larly Job  xxix.  23,  24,  which  latter  passage  is 
here  a  general  parallel.  [See  Thomson's  Land 
and  Book,  I.  130,  II.  66]. 

Vers.  16-26.  Of  God's  righteous  administra- 
tion in  respect  to  the  wise  and  the  foolish. — To 
gain  ■wisdom  —  how  much  better  is  it 
than  gold,  i.  e.,  than  the  acquisition  of  gold; 
compare,  for  an  example  of  this  abbreviated  com- 
parison [comparatio  decurtata)  Job  xxviii.  8;  Ps. 
iv.  7  (8),  etc.  For  the  general  sentiment  of  the 
ver.  compare  iii.  14;  viii.  10,  11,  19. 
Ver.  17.  The  path  (the  raised,  well-graded  road 

n^DD)  of  the  upright  departeth  from  evil, 

lit.  "  is  abiding  far  (to  abide  far)  from  evil,"  as 
in  ver.  6 ;  comp.  also  x.  17 ;  xi.  5,  20. — HiTZio 
expands  the  verse  by  four  clauses  which  he  in- 
troduces from  the  LXX,  and  in  such  an  order 
that  the  second  clause  of  the  Masoretic  text  is 
separated  from  the  first  by  three  of  the  inserted 
clauses,  and  a  sixth  is  appended  as  a  final  clause. 


166 


THE  PROVERBS  OP  SOLOMON. 


Yet  he  fails  to  give  satisfactory  proof  that  this 
expanded  form  was  the  original,  three  verses  be- 
ing now  represented  by  one. 

Ver.  18.  Comp.    xv.   25,   33.— The  word  here 

rendered  "fall"  (['I'^E'?,  tottering,  downfall) 
is  used  only  in  this  passage  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment.— With  respect  to  the  sentiment  of  the  ver. 
compare  also  the  Arabic  proverb,  "  The  nose  is 
in  the  heavens,  the  seat  in  the  mire  "  _  {Nasus  in 
ccelo  est,  nates  infimo),  and  the  expression  of  Ho- 
EAOB  "  .  .  feriuntque  summos  fulgura  montes 
(Odes,  II.  10:  11,  12). 

[ And  ever,  where 

The  mouDtain's  summit  points  in  air. 

Do  bolted  lightnings  tiasb." 

— Theo.  Martin's  Translation.] 

Ver.  19.  Better  is  it  to  live  humbly  with 
the  lowly.  D"JJ^.  (with  which  reading  of  the 
K'thibh  the  LXX  agrees,  while  the  K'ri  reads 
□'U;;  )  describes  those  who  are  bowed  down  by 
troubles,  the  sufferers,  the  lowly ;  comp.  Zech. 
ix.  9. 

Ver.  20.  He  that  giveth  heed  to  the  word 
findeth  good,  i.  e.,  naturally,  to  the  word  of 
God,  the  word  par  excellence;  comp.  xiii.  13. — 
With  the  expression  "  findeth  good,  or  prosper- 
ity," comp.  xvii.  20;  xix.  8.  "Blessed is  he!" 
(VIK'S)    comp.  xiv.  21. 

Ver.  21.  The  w^ise  in  heart  shall  be  call- 
ed prudent,  understanding,  knowing,  a  pos- 
sessor of  nra,  discernment.  Comp.  xiv.  33. 
— And  grace  on  the  lips  (lit.  "of  lips")  in- 
creaseth  learning,  i..e.,  secures  for  learning  an 
easy  access  in  ever  widening  circles,  comp.  23, 
b.  The  "grace"  or  literally  the  "sweetness" 
of  the  lips  is  here  represented  as  a  necessary  at- 
tendant and  helper  of  wisdom,  as  in  chap.  xv.  2. 

Vers.  22.  A  fountain  of  life  is  under, 
standing  to  him  that  hath  it,  lit.  "is  the 
wisdom  of  its  possessor."  The  thought  is  here 
in  the  first  instance  unquestionably  of  the  bless- 
ing which  comes  directly  to  the  possessor  from 
his  wisdom,  and  not  of  its  life-dispensing,  life- 
promoting  influence  on  others,  as  Bertheau 
thinks.  For  this  figure  of  a  "  fountain  of  life  " 
compare  a.  11 ;  xiii.  14 ;  xiv.  27. — But  the 
correction  of  fools  is  folly.  The  subject, 
according  to  the  antithetic  parallelism,  is  "fol- 
ly," as  "  wisdom  "  is  in  clause  a.  The  meaning 
can  be  no  other  than  this :  the  folly  of  fools  is 
for  them  a  source  of  all  possible  disadvantages 
and  adversities ;  the  lack  of  reason  is  its  own  pu- 
nishment (comp.  HiTziG  on  this  passage).  [So 
N.  and  W.,  while  H.,  M.,  and  S,  give  to  "ID^D 
its  active  meaning,  "the  instruction  of  fools," 
i,  e.,  that  which  they  give,  "is  folly." — A.]. 

Ver.  23.  Comp.  remarks  on  ver.  21. — And 
inoreaseth  learning  upon  his  lips.  "  Upon 
his  lips,"  so  far  forth  as  the  word  that  comes 
from  the  heart  rests  on  the  lips,  comp.  ver.  27  ; 
Ps,  xvi.  4 ;  and  also  the  expression  "  on  the 
tongue,"  Ps.  XV.  3  [where  the  original  expresses 
more  than  mere  instrumentality  (wiiA  the  tongue) ; 
"  who  beareth  not  slander  on  his  tongue"  (Hnp- 
TBLD,  on  the  passage),  etc. — A.]. 

Ver.  24.  As  honey  of  the  comb  are 
pleasant  vyords,  lit.  "  words  of  loveliness,"  as 
in  XV.  26. — For  a  like  reference  to  the  "  honey- 


comb "  see  Ps.  xix.  10  (11). — Sweet  to  the 
soul.  The  adj.  plHD,  for  which  we  might  ex- 
pect the  plural  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  neuter 
used  substantively  ;  something  sweet,  sweetness  ; 
comp.  Ezek.  ill.  8,  and  also  ver.  2  above. 

Ver.  25.  Literally  identical  with  xiv.  12; — 
stricken  out  by  Hitzig  from  the  passage  before 
us,  because  it  is  superfluous  in  the  group  (vers. 
22-30)  assumed  to  consist  of  eight  only  (?). — 

Vers.  26.  The  spirit  of  the  laborer  labo- 
reth  for  him,  i.  e.,  supports  him  in  his  labor, 
impels  him  to  greater  perseverance  and  exertion 
to  gain  his  daily  bread.  [Zockiee  renders  "the 
hunger,"  etc.  So  Kamphausen.  This  seems  to 
us  unnecessary.  SySO  is  often  the  animal  soul 
or  spirit  as  distinguished  from  the  higher  intel- 
lectual, moral  and  religious  nature.  It  is  this 
spirit  that  feels  the  pressure  of  life's  necessities, 
and  impels  to  effort  for  their  relief;  comp.  x. 
3,  etc. — A.]. — For  his  mouth  urgeth  him  on, 
i.  €.,  as  it  longs  for  food.     This  verb  (construed 

with  7J^  and  the  accus.  of  the  person)  denotes, 
according  to  Arabic  analogies  "  to  heap  a  load  or 
burden  on  one"  (comp.  1^^,  a  weight,  bur- 
den. Job  xxxiii.  7)  [E.  V.  "  be  heavy  upon 
thee  "]  :  and  here  specifically,  to  bind  one,  to 
drive  and  force  him  to  do  something  "  (Vulg., 
compulit). — With  the  general  sentiment  compare 
Eccles.  vi.  7. 

5.  Vers.  27-33.  A  new  delineation  of  God's 
justice  in  punishing  the  wicked  and  rewarding 
the  pious.  Vers.  27-30  form  here  one  connected 
description  of  the  ungodly,  nefarious  conduct  of 
the  evil  men  on  whom  God's  judgment  falls. 
Vers.  31,  32  contrast  with  these  wicked  men  the 
upright  and  the  gentle  in  spirit  as  the  only  hap- 
py men  ;  ver.  33  is  a  general  conclusion  point- 
ing us  back  to  the  beginning  of  the  chapter. 

Ver.  27.  A  w^orthless  man  ("man  of  Beli- 
al ")  searchetb  after  evil,  literally  "diggeth 
evil,  shovels  out  evil  for  himself,"  i.  e.,  from  the 
pit  which  he  prepares  for  others,  to  destroy  them 
(comp.  xxvi.  27;  Jer.  xviii.  20  sq.).  For  this 
expression  "  man  of  Belial "  compare  vi.  12. — 
On  his  lips  is  as  it  w^ere  scorching  fire 
(comp.  ver.  23).  The  words  of  the  worthless 
man  are  here  on  account  of  their  desolating  ef- 
fects, compared  to  a  blazing  or  scorching  fire 
(comp.  Ezek.xxi.  3;  Prov.  xxvi.  23;  Job  xxxi.l2; 
James  iii.  5  sq.). 

Vers.  28.  With  clause  a  compare  vi.  14,  19. — 
And  a  backbiter  separatetb  friends,  lit. 
"  dividelh  ofi'  the  friend."  The  singular  is  not 
here  used  collectively,  but  in  a  certain  sense  dis- 
tributively  ;  "  divideth  a  friend  from  his  fellow." 
So  in  xvii.  9;  comp.  xix.  4. — For  the  use  of 
|ilT2,  "backbiter"  comp.  xviii.  8;  xxvi.  20,  22. 
Ver.  29.  With  clause  a  compare  iii.  31 ;  i.  10 
sq.  With  b  compare  Ps.  xxxvi.  4  (5) ;  Isa. 
Ixv.  2. — [Rueetscbi  (as  above  cited,  p.  146) 
thinlcs  these  verses  (27-29)  more  expressive  il 
in  each  the  first  words  are  regarded  as  the  pre- 
dicates, prefixed  for  emphasis  and  stronger  con- 
trast;  "  a  worthless  man  is  he,  etc.;"  "a  per- 
verse, contentious  man  is  he,  etc.,"  "a  backbiter 
is  he,  etc.;"  *'a  man  of  violence  is  he,  etc. ;"  al- 
though he  may  excuse  his  conduct  as  mere  sport. 
-A.]. 


CHjS.P.  XVI.  1-33. 


157 


Ver.  30  describes  more  precisely,  by  two  par- 
ticipial clauses  whicli  belong  to  the  "man  of 
violence  "  in  ver.  29,  the  way  in  which  this  wick- 
ed man  executes  the  ruin  which  he  devises. — 
Shutting  his  eyes  to  devise  mischief,  lit. 
"to  meditate  craftiness;"  comp.  ii.  12,  vi.  14. — 
Biting  his  lips.  With  this  description,  "  press- 
iog  in,  pressing  together  his  lips,"  comp.  vi.  13  ; 
X.  10,  where  this  verb  is  used  of  the  correspond- 
ing action  with  the  eyes. 

Ver.  31.  With  clause  a  comp'.  iv.  19  ;  xx.  29; 
with  6,  iv.  10  sq.,  iii.  2. 

Ver.  32.  With  a  compare  xiv.  29. — And  he 
that  ruletb  his  spirit  than  he  that  taketh 
a  city,  nn  here  not  merely  the  spirit  or  the 
soul,  but  the  temper,  the  passionate  movement 
and  excitement  of  the  spirit.  Gomp.  Pirke  Abolh 
cap.  iv.  1,  where  the  question,  Who  is  after  all 
the  true  hero  ?  is  answered  by  a  reference  to  the 
proverb  of  Solomon  now  before  us.  The  Lord, 
moreover,  in  Matth.  v.  5,  promises  to  the  meek 
tliat  they  shall  inherit  the  earth. 

Ver.  33.  The  lot  is  cast  into  the  lap.  Hit- 
ziq:  "In  the  bosom  the  lot  is  shaken,"  arender- 
ing  which  does  indeed  conform  more  closely  to 
the  import  of  p'n,  "  the  bosom  of  the  clothing," 
but  to  us  who  are  not  Orientals  gives  a  meaning 
easily  misunderstood.  For  we  are  wont  to  call 
the  doubled  or  folded  front  of  the  dress  the 
"lap." — But  from  Jehovah  is  (cometh)  all 
Its  decision,  the  final  judicial  sense  as  it  were, 
("judgment,"  comp.  Numb,  xxvii.  21)  in  which 
the  result  of  the  lot  is  reached.  Comp.  xviii.  18, 
where,  however,  the  discourse  is  speoiiioally  limi- 
ted to  the  settling  of  judicial  disputes  by  lot, 
while  here  attention  is  evidently  directed  to  lots 
in  general  (and  therefore  to  cases  like  Josh.  vii. 
19;  1  Sam.  xiv.  37  sq.,  Numb.  xvi.  8;  Ps.  xxii. 
18  (19),  etc.) 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAI,. 

A  course  of  thought  running  with  any  unity 
through  the  entire  chapter  it  is  here  again  im- 
possible to  detect.  Only  small  groups  of  con- 
nected proverbs  stand  forth  here  and  there  from 
the  general  level;  e.g.,  vers.  1-3,  vers.  10-15, 
vers.  27-30  (comp.  especially  the  remarks  on 
vers.  27  sq.).  Hitzio's  endeavor  to  develop 
here  and  in  the  two  following  chapters  {i.  e.,  in 
general  terms  throughout  the  section  xv.  33 — 
xix.  2),  symmetrically  constructed  groups  of 
eight  verses  each,  is  quite  as  unsuccessful  as  his 
similar  assumptions  in  respect  to  the  construc- 
tion of  the  general  division,  chap.  x. — xxii.  16, 
on  definite  numerical  principles  (comp.  above,  re- 
marks on  X.  1  sq.;  and  on  xiii.  1). 

A  decided  pre-eminence  belongs  in  the  chapter, 
as  it  is  now  defined,  to  the  idea  that  God  controls 
the  action  of  man  altogether  according  to  His  own  wise 
judgment  and  good  pleasure.  That  "  man  pro- 
poses but  God  disposes," — this  truth  which  sum- 
mons to  humble  confidence  in  God,  and  a  child- 
like and  unconditional  surrender  to  the  fatherly 
guidance  of  the  Lord's  hand,  stands  at  the  head 
of  the  section  as  a  whole  (ver.  1),  with  a  special 
emphasizing  of  the  divine  influence  exerted  over 
the  manner  and  the  results  of  human  speech.  It 
recurs  again  in  vers.  10-15  before  the  connected 


delineation  of  the  authority  of  human  kings,  as 
counterparts  and  representatives  of  the  great 
King  of  heaven  ;  and  here  there  is  special  refe- 
rence not  to  the  speech  but  to  the  action  of  men 
(ver.  9).  Finally  it  forms  the  conclusion  of  the 
chapter,  and  that  in  the  form  of  a  reference  to 
the  supreme  control  which  God  holds  in  His  hand 
over  the  lot  as  any  where  employed  by  men  (ver. 
33).  It  is  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  government 
of  the  world  (the  gubernatio,  with  its  four  promi- 
nent forms  or  methods,  permissio,  impeditio,  direc- 
tio  and  determinalio)  ;  or  again  the  doctrine  of 
the  divine  co-operation  with  the  free  self-deter- 
mined acts  of  men  (the  concursus  as  it  exists  tam 
ad  honas  quam  ad  malas  actiones  hominum  [with 
reference  both  to  the  good  and  to  the  evil  actions 
of  men]),  that  is  asserted  in  these  propositions 
and  developed  in  various  directions.  Especially 
does  the  intermediate  place  which  human  kings 
and  judges  assume  as  representatives  of  the  di- 
vine justice,  and  in  a  certain  sense  prophets  of 
the  divine  will  (ver.  10),  also  as  typically  gods 
on  earth  (ver.  13-15;  comp.  Ps.  Ixxxii.  6),  in 
their  relation  to  the  destiny  of  individual  men, 
stand  out  in  a  significant  prominence;  it  thus  af- 
fords instructive  premonition  of  the  exhortations 
of  the  New  Testament  to  obedience  to  the  magis- 
trates who  stand  in  God's  place, — such  as  are 
found  in  Matth.  xxii.  21  ;  Rom.  xiii.  1  sq.  ;  1 
Pet.  ii.  17,  etc.  Compare  what  Melanchthon 
observes  on  ver.  10  sq. ;  "These  words  aiErm 
that  the  whole  political  order,  magistrates,  laws, 
distinctions  in  authority,  contracts,  judgments, 
penalties  are  works  ordained  by  the  wisdom  of 
God  within  the  human  race.  Therefore  since 
we  know  that  political  order  is  God's  work,  let 
us  love  it,  and  seek  to  maintain  it  by  our  duty, 
and  in  modesty  obey  it  for  God's  sake,  and  let 
us  render  thanks  to  God  the  preserver,  and  let 
us  know  that  the  madness  of  devils  and  of  men 
who  disturb  the  political  order  is  displeasing 
to  God,  etc." 

Other  ethical  truths  to  which  a  significant  pro- 
minence is  given  are  contained  particularly  in 

Ver.  6.  A  reference  to  the  fear  of  God,  and 
penitent  and  believing  consecration  to  God  as  the 
only  way  to  the  development  of  genuine  fruits  of 
love  and  of  righteousness  (see  notes  on  this  pas- 


Ver.  20.  Combined  view  of  the  two  chief  re. 
quisites  to  a  really  devout  life;  1)  obedience  to 
the  word  of  God,  and  2)  inspiring  confidence  in 
God. 

Vers.  21  and  23  (comp.  also  ver.  24).  The 
stress  laid  on  the  great  value  of  an  eloquent 
mouth,  as  an  appropriate  organ  for  a  wise  heart 
exercising  itself  in  the  service  of  the  Lord. 

Ver.  32.  Keference  to  gentleness  of  spirit  and 
the  ruling  of  one's  own  passions,  as  the  best  and 
surest  means  to  the  attainment  of  real  power  and 
greatness — an  expressive  Biblical  testimony 
against  all  uncharitable  advancement  of  self  in 
the  way  of  strife,  and  against  the  combative  spi- 
rit of  brawlers  and  duellists. 

[Ahdkew  Fuller:  The  doctrine  of  verse  7 
stands  in  apparent  contradiction  with  2  Tim.  iii. 
12.  The  truth  seems  to  be  that  neither  of  the 
passages  is  to  be  taken  universally.  The  peace 
possessed  by  those  who  please  God  does  not  ex- 
tend so  far  as  to  exempt  them  from  having  ene- 


158 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


mies,  and  though  all  godly  men  must  in  some 
form  or  other  be  persecuted,  yet  none  are  perse- 
cuted at  all  times.  The  passage  from  Timothy 
may  therefore  refer  to  the  native  enmity  which 
true  godliness  is  certain  to  excite,  and  the  pro- 
ferb  to  the  Divine  control  over  it.] 

HOMILETIO    AND   PRACTICAL. 

Homily  on  the  chapter  as  a  whole ;  Of  God's 
wise  and  righteous  government  of  the  world,  as 
it  is  exhibited  1)  in  the  life  of  men  in  general 
(1-9)  ;  2)  in  the  action  and  administration  of 
earthly  rulers  (10-15) ;  3)  in  the  endeavors  and 
results  of  human  wisdom  (16-26);  4)  in  the 
righteous  retribution  which  awaits  both,  the 
good  and  the  evil  (27-33). — Stocker:  On  God's 
gracious  care  for  men.  1)  P/'oo/ that  such  a  pa- 
ternally upholding  and  governing  providence  of 
God  over  men  exists,  a)  in  general  (vers.  1-9); 
b)  through  the  government  of  the  world  in  par- 
ticular (10-15).  2)  The  duties  of  the  pious  in 
recognition  of  this  paternal  providence  and  go- 
vernment of  God  (vers.  16-33). — Wohlfaeth  : — ■ 
On  the  providence  and  government  of  God,  and 
man's  duty.  Man  proposes,  God  disposes, — 
usually  otherwise  than  we  devise  and  desire,  but 
always  more  gloriously  and  better  than  we  could 
do.  Hence  humility,  prudence  and  trust  in  God 
are  the  chief  duties  of  man  in  return. 

Vers.  1-3.  Melanohthon  : — It  is  well  to  con- 
sider that  our  resolves  are  a  different  thing  from 
their  success.  That  we  may  form  successful  and 
salutary  resolutions  we  need  God's  aid  in  two 
forms ;  in  examiuing  the  diiferent  possible  ways, 
and  then  in  conforming  our  course  to  them.  We 
must  therefore  at  all  times  be  of  this  firm  pur- 
pose, to  let  our  whole  life  be  ruled  by  God's  word, 
and  for  all  things  to  invoke  God's  help. — Geiek 
(on  ver.  1)  :  Teachers,  preachers  and  rulers 
especially  must  call  earnestly  on  God  for  the 
careful  government  and  sanctification  of  their 
tongue,  in  order  that  in  the  fulfilment  whether 
of  their  public  or  their  private  duties  the  right 
word  may  always  stand  at  their  command,  and 
nothing  unseemly  or  injurious  may  escape  them. 
— (On  ver.  3) :  The  duties  of  our  calling  we  must 
indeed  fulfil  with  fidelity  and  diligence,  but  yet 
in  all  patience  await  from  the  Lord  blessing  and 
success. — Berleb.  Bible:  ir  one  is  notable  with- 
out God  to  utter  a  word  that  one  has  already 
conceived,  how  much  less  will  one  be  able  to 
bring  any  thing  to  pass  without  God's  aid.  And 
how  much  more  will  this  be  true  within  the 
sphere  of  the  spiritual  life,  since  man  is  wholly 
"insufficient  of  himself  to  think  any  thing  as  of 
himself"  (2  Cor.  iii.  5),  but  must  receive  all 
from  the  Lord,  etc. — [Arnot  (on  Ter.  2)  :  The 
human  heart  is  beyond  conception  cunning  in 
making  that  appear  right  which  is  felt  pleasant. 
The  real  motive  power  that  keeps  the  wheels  of 
life  going  round  is  this  :  men  like  the  things 
that  they  do,  and  do  the  things  that  they 
like.] 

Vers.  4-9.  Wilrt.  Bible  (on  ver.  4) :  God's  pro- 
vidence extends  over  good  and  wicked  men 
(Matth.  V.  45) ;  through  His  ordaining  it  comes  to 
pass  that  the  ungodly  are  punished  in  their  time 
and  as  they  deserve. — Von  Gerlaoh  (on  ver.  4) : 
The  wicked  man  also  fulfils  God's  design,  when 


the  day  of  calamity  comes  upon  him ;  all  without 
exception  must  serve  Him.  —  [Charnook  (on 
ver.  4) :  If  sin  ends  in  any  good,  it  is  only  from 
that  Infinite  transcendency  of  skill  that  can 
bring  good  out  of  evil,  as  well  as  light  out  of 
darkness. — Waterland  (on  ver.  4) :  God  bridles 
the  wicked  by  laws  and  government  and  by  the 
incessant  labors  of  good  men  ;  and  yet  more  im- 
mediately by  His  secret  power  over  their  hearts 
and  wills,  and  over  all  their  faculties ;  as  well  as 
over  all  occurrences  and  all  second  causes  through 
the  whole  universe ;  and  if  He  still  affords  them 
compass  enough  to  range  in,  yet  notwithstand- 
ing He  rules  over  them  with  so  strong  and 
steady  a  hand,  that  they  cannot  move  a  step  but 
by  His  leave,  nor  do  a  single  act  but  what  shall 
be  turned  to  good  effect. — Beveridge  (on  ver. 
4) :  God  in  His  revelations  hath  told  us  nothing 
of  the  second  causes  which  He  hath  established 
under  Himself  for  the  production  of  ordinary 
effects,  that  we  may  not  perplex  ourselves  about 
them,  but  always  look  up  to  Him  as  the  first 
caase,  as  working  without  them  or  by  them  as  He 
sees  good.  But  He  hath  told  us  plainly  of  the 
final  cause  or  end  of  all  things,  that  we  may  keep 
our  eyes  always  fixed  on  that,  and  accordingly 
strive  all  we  can  to  promote  it. — Bp.  Hall  (on 
ver.  6) :  It  is  not  an  outward  sacrifice  that  God 
regards  in  His  remission  of  the  punishment  of 
our  sin;  but  when  He  finds  mercy  to  the  poor, 
and  uprightness  of  heart  towards  Himself  and 
men,  then  He  is  graciously  pleased  to  forbear 
His  judgments  ;  inasmuch  as  these  graces,  being 
wrought  in  us  by  His  Spirit,  cannot  but  proceed 
from  a  true  faith  whereby  our  sins  are  purged. 
— BoNAR  (on  ver.  6)  :  Forgiveness,  ascertained 
forgiveness,  conscious  forgiveness,  this  is  the 
beginning  of  all  true  fear.  This  expels  a  world 
of  evil  from  the  human  heart  and  keeps  it  from 
re-entrance.  It  works  itself  out  in  such  things 
as  these — obedience,  fellowship,  love,  zeal]. — 
Starke  (on  ver.  6) :  Not  of  merit  but  of  grace 
are  the  sins  of  the  penitent  forgiven  for  Christ's 
sake.  One  of  the  chief  fruits  of  justification  is, 
however,  the  exhibition  of  fidelity  and  truth  to- 
wards one's  neighbors  (Eph.  ii.  8,  9 ;  iv.  26). — 
(On  ver.  7):  Think  not  that  thou  wilt  thyself 
subdue  and  overcome  thine  enemies,  but  only 
seek  to  have  God  for  thy  friend  ;  He  can  of  aU 
thy  foes  make  thee  friends. — [Bates  (on  ver.  7): 
Many  sins  are  committed  for  the  fear  of  the  an- 
ger of  men,  and  presumption  of  the  mercy  of 
God  ;  but  it  is  often  found  that  a  religious  con- 
stancy gains  more  friends  than  carnal  obsequi- 
ousness.— Trapp  (on  ver.  7) :  When  God  is  dis- 
pleased, all  His  creatures  are  up  in  arms  to  fetch 
in  His  rebels,  and  to  do  execution.  At  peace 
with  Him,  at  peace  with  the  creature  too,  that 
gladly  takes  His  part,  and  is  at  His  beck  and 
check]. — Zeltner  (on  ver.  9) :  Be  presumptuous 
in  none  of  thy  schemes,  but  thinking  of  thine  own 
weakness  put  as  the  foundation  of  every  under- 
taking "  if  the  Lord  will  "  (James  iv.  15). — 
[Arnot  (on  ver.  9) :  The  desires  of  human  hearts 
and  the  efforts  of  human  hands  go  into  the  pro- 
cesses of  providence  and  constitute  the  material 
on  which  the  Almighty  works.] 

Vers.  10-15.  Melanohthon;  comp.  Doctri- 
nal and  Ethical  notes. — Starke  (on  ver.  10): 
For  the  right  conduct  of  the  ofiaoe  of  ruler  and 


CHAP.  XVII.  1-28. 


159 


judge  it  is  not  enough  to  understand  well  secu- 
lar laws  and  rights  ;  Divine  wisdom  is  also  abso- 
lutely essential. — (On  ver.  12) :  Kings  are  not 
only  not  to  do  evil,  or  to  let  it  be  done  by  others 
with  impunity;  they  are  to  hate  and  abhor  it 
with  all  energy. — Von  Geelach  (on  ver.  11): 
Weight  and  measure  as  the  invisible  and  spiri- 
tual means  by  which  material  possessions  are 
estimated  and  determined  for  men  according  to 
their  value,  are  holy  to  the  Lord,  a  copy  of  His 
law  in  the  outer  world;  taken  up  by  Himself  into 
His  sanctuary,  and  therefore,  as  His  work,  to  be 
regarded  holy  also  by  men. — (On  ver.  14)  : 
Seasonable  words  of  a  wise  man  can  easily  avert 
the  wrath  of  kings,  destructive  as  that  is. 
Therefore  let  each  one  mould  himself  into  such  a 
wise  man,  or  iind  for  himself  such  a  one. 

Vers.  16-26.  [Chalmers  (on  ver.  17) :  The 
reflex  influence  of  the  outward  walk  and  way  ou 
the  inner  man. — Arnot  (on  ver.  17) :  Doctrine, 
although  both  true  and  Divine,  is  for  us  only  a 
shadow,  if  it  be  not  embodied  in  holiness. — Wa- 
TEKLAND  (on  ver.  18) :  Shame  and  contempt  the 
end  of  pride,  a)  by  natural  tendency;  6)  because 
of  God's  detestation  and  resolution  to  punish  it. 
— McFFET  (on  ver.  19) :  It  is  a  pleasant  thing  to 
be  enriched  with  other  men's  goods :  it  is  a 
gainful  thing  to  have  part  of  the  prey  :  it  is  a 
glorious  thing  to  divide  the  spoil.  It  is  better  to 
be  injured  than  to  do  injury  ;  it  is  better  to  be 
patient  than  to  be  insolent ;  it  is  better  with  the 
afflicted  people  of  God  to  be  bruised  in  heart  and 
low  of  port,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  or  trea- 
sures of  sin  or  of  this  world  for  a  season. — 
Teapp  (on  ver.  20) :  He  that,  in  the  use  of  law- 
ful means  resteth  upon  God  for  direction  and 
success,  though  he  fail  of  his  design,  yet  he 
knows  whom  he  hath  trusted,  and  God  will 
"know his  soul  in  adversity  "]. — Geier  (on  ver. 
20) :  In  doubtful  cases  to  hold  fast  to  God's 
word  and  believiugly  hope  in  His  help,  ensures 
always  a  good  issue. — Starke  (on  vers.  21,  22): 
Eloquence  combined  with  wisdom  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  an  excellent  gift  of  God,  and  produces 
so  much  the  more  edification  and  profit. — Lange 
(on  ver.  21) :  One  must  first  learn  to  think 
rightly  before  he  can  speak  well. — Von  Geelaoh 


(on  ver.  26) ;  Since  that  which  causes  us  labor 
and  trouble  becomes  a  means  of  our  subsistence, 
it  in  turn  helps  us  overcome  labor  and  trouble, 
for  this  very  thing,  by  virtue  of  God's  wise,  re- 
gulating providence,  becomes  for  us  a  spur  to  in- 
dustry.— [Lawson  (on  ver.  26) :  Self-love  is  a 
damning  sin  where  it  reigns  as  the  chief  princi- 
ple of  action ;  but  the  want  of  self-love  where  it 
is  required  is  no  less  criminal.] 

Vers.  27-33.  Starke  (ou  vers.  27  sq.) :  The 
lack  of  genuine  love  for  one's  neighbor  is  the 
source  of  all  deception,  persecution  and  slander 
of  the  innocent. — Hypocrites  can  indeed  by  an 
assumed  mien  of  holiness  deceive  men,  but  before 
the  eyes  of  God  all  this  is  clear  and  open,  to 
their  shame. — (On  ver.  32)  :  The  greatest  heroes 
and  conquerors  of  the  world  are  often  just  the 
most  miserable  slaves  of  their  lusts. — E.  LosCH 
(on  ver.  31 — see  Sonntagsfeier,  1841,  No.  27): 
Age,  its  burdens,  its  dignities;  means  to  the  at- 
tainment of  a  happy  old  age. — Saurin  (Sermon 
on  ver.  32)  :  On  true  heroism — what  it  is,  1)  to 
be  ruler  of  one's  spirit;  2)  to  gain  cities  and 
lands. — Von  Gerlach  (on  ver.  33)  :  Chance 
there  is  not,  and  man  can  never  give  more  than 
the  outward  occasion  for  the  decision,  which  lies 
wholly  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord. — [Trapp  (on  ver. 
30) :  Wicked  men  are  great  students.  .  .  .  Their 
wits  will  better  serve  them  to  find  out  a  hundred 
shifts  or  carnal  arguments  than  to  yield  to  one 
saving  truth,  though  never  so  much  cleared  up 
to  them. — MuPFET  (ou  ver.  31) :  Commendable 
old  age  leaneth  upon  two  staves — the  one  the  re- 
membrance of  a  life  well  led,  the  other  the  hope 
of  eternal  life. — See  Emmons'  Sermon  on  ver. 
31. — J.  Edwards  (on  ver.  32) :  The  strength  of 
the  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ  appears  in  no- 
thing more  than  in  steadfastly  maintaining  the 
holy,  calm  meekness,  sweetness  and  benevolence 
of  his  mind,  amidst  all  the  storms,  injuries, 
strange  behaviour,  and  surprising  acts  and 
events,  of  this  evil  and  unreasonable  world. — 
Lawson  (on  ver.  32) :  The  meek  obtain  the  no- 
blest victories  and  enjoy  the  happiest  kind  of 
authority. — South  (on  ver.  83) :  Sermon  on 
"All  contingencies  under  the  direction  of  God's 
providence."] 


/3)  Admonition  to  contentment  and  a  peaceable  disposition. 
Chap.  XVII. 


Better  a  dry  morsel  and  quietness  therewith 

than  a  house  full  of  slain  beasts  with  strife. 

A  wise  servant  shall  have  rule  over  a  degenerate  son, 

and  shall  have  part  of  the  inheritance  among  the  brethren. 

The  fining  pot  is  for  silver,  and  the  furnace  for  gold, 

but  he  that  trieth  hearts  is  Jehovah. 

Wickedness  giveth  heed  to  lying  lips, 

deceit  giveth  ear  to  a  vile  tongue. 


160  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


5  He  that  mocketli  the  poor  hath  reproached  his  Maker, 
he  that  rejoiceth  over  a  calamity  shall  not  be  unpunished. 

6  The  crown  of  the  old  is  children's  children, 
the  glory  of  children  is  their  parents. 

7  High  speech  doth  not  become  the  fool, 

how  much  less  do  lying  lips  the  noble !  .      ,   . 

8  As  a  precious  stone  is  a  gift  in  the  eyes  of  him  that  receiveth  it, 
whithersoever  it  turneth  it  maketh  prosperous. 

9  He  that  covereth  trangression  seeketh  after  love ; 
but  he  that  repeateth  a  matter  estrangeth  friends. 

10  A  reproof  sinketh  deeper  into  a  wise  man 
than  to  chastise  a  fool  an  hundred  times. 

11  The  rebellious  seeketh  only  evil, 

and  a  cruel  messenger  shall  be  sent  after  him. 

12  Meet  a  bear  robbed  of  her  whelps, 
and  not  a  fool  in  his  folly. 

13  He  that  returneth  evil  for  good, 
from  his  house  evil  shall  not  depart. 

14  As  a  breaking  forth  of  waters  is  the  beginning  of  strife ; 
before  the  strife  poureth  forth,  cease ! 

15  He  that  acquitteth  the  wicked  and  he  that  eondemneth  the  just, 
an  abomination  to  Jehovah  are  they  both. 

16  Why  this  price  in  the  hand  of  a  fool  ? 

(It  is)  to  get  wisdom,  and  he  hath  no  heart  to  it. 

17  At  all  times  the  friend  loveth, 

but  the  brother  is  born  of  adversity. 

18  A  man  void  of  understanding  is  he  who  striketh  hands, 
who  becometh  surety  in  the  presence  of  his  friend. 

19  He  loveth  sin  that  loveth  strife, 

and  he  that  buildeth  high  his  doors  seeketh  destruction. 

20  He  that  is  of  a  false  heart  findeth  no  good, 

he  that  goeth  astray  with  his  tongue  falleth  into  evil. 

21  He  that  begetteth  a  fool  doeth  it  to  his  sorrow, 
and  the  father  of  a  fool  hath  no  joy. 

22  A  joyous  heart  promoteth  health, 
but  a  broken  spirit  drieth  the  bones. 

23  A  gift  from  the  bosom  a  wicked  man  ■will  receive 
to  pervert  the  ways  of  justice. 

24  Before  the  face  of  the  wise  is  wisdom, 

but  the  fool's  eyes  are  in  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

25  A  grief  to  his  father  is  a  foolish  son, 
and  a  trouble  to  her  that  bare  him. 

26  Also  to  punish  the  righteous  is  not  good, 
to  smite  the  noble  contrary  to  right. 

27  He  that  spareth  his  words  hath  knowledge, 

and  he  that  is  quiet  in  temper  is  a  man  of  understanding. 

28  Even  a  fool  who  keepeth  silence  will  be  counted  wise, 
and  he  that  shutteth  his  lips  is  wise. 

GRAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Ver.  4-.— ^"113  is  probably  not  a  Hiph.  part.:  "a  wicked  man,"  but  an  abstract  substantive,  as  the  parallel  term  TpK^ 

indicates  (EwALD,  HlTziG);  and  TTD  stands,  according  to  the  parallel  ^''t^pD  for  pTND-    [Bott.  insists  upon  regarding 

the  form  as  a  Hiph.  part,  masc,  distinguished  by  the  vocalization  from  _y  10  "friend"  (see  g§1124,  A;  T64,  c);  Fdebst 

gives  to  the  full  form  J^'lDi  which  never  occurs,  but  is  assumed  as  the  singular  of  D''J)'^D,  the  active  signification  "male- 

fiGus"  evil  doer,  but  maintains  that  J?TD,  which  occurs  only  here  except  with  a  pausal  modification,  has  naturally  the 

neuter  abstract  meaning.    See  also  Green,  §  140,  5. — A.] 

Ver.  10. — From  the  infln.  ni^H  there  is  eiwily  supplied  as  an  object  POD. — nHH  is  the  Imperf.  of  the  verb 

nnj.  to  descend,  to  penetrate  (comp.  Is.  xxx.  30) :  the  form  without  abbreviation  would,  according  to  Ps.  xxxviii.  8,  have 


CHAP.  XVII.  1-28. 


161 


been  nH  JH-    [So  Bott.  who  also  defends  the  position  of  tlie  accent  on  the  ground  of  emphasis  (§  497,  3),  and  criticizes, 
both  on    the  ground    of  specific    form    and   general     construction,    Fuerst's   assigning  it  as  an    apuc.    Imperf.    to 

nrin--A-] 

Ver.  11. — That  J?"!  is  the  subject  of  the  clause,  and  not   possibly  ""TO,  as  the    Syr.,  Chald.,    Umbreit,    Ewald, 

ttc,  maintain,  appears  from  the  position  of  "ilX   before  the  latter  word,  and  also  from  the  unquestionable  reference  of 

the   13   in  the  2d  clause  to  ^1    as  a  masculine  substantive.  [Hueetschi  (aa  above,  p.  146)  replies  that  "ITX    may  as  well 

throw  its  emphasis  on  an  entire  proposition  as  on  a  single  word  (see  Nordheimer,  §  1072,  4)  and  that    13    refers  to    "'^ID 

the  subject  of  the  proposition,  which  is  an  abstract  in  the  sense  of  a  concrete.    Versions  and  interpreters  are  very  equally 
divided;  with  our  author  emphasizing    ""TO    as  object,  "only  rebellion,  nothing  but  rebellion,"  are  the  E.  V".,  V.  Ess, 

Bertheatt,  K.,  S.  ;  with  Rueetschi  are  De  W.,  M.,  N.,  and  substantially  H.  and  W.    We  render  with  the  latter  in  opposi- 
tion to  Zocklbr's  view. — A.]. 

Ver.  13.  The  K'thibh   t^'Dn^N^   is  to  be  retained,  since  the  Hiphil    K/'an    has  in  Ps.  Iv.  12  also  the  intransitive 

■     T  •    •■ 

meaning  "  depart.' 

Vers.  19.  Aben  Ezra,  Geier,  Schdltenb,  e(c.,  take  the  expression  "to  make  high  the  door,  or  gate,"  as  meaning  "to 
open  wide  the  mouth,  to  utter  a  vehement  outcry"   (nn3  being  taken  as  equivalent  to    T}3,    sls  ostium  ia  to  os  ;  comp. 

Ps.cxli.  3 ;  Eccles.  xii.  4).   But  the  idea  would  then  be  very  obscurely  expressed,  and  instead  of  iT'SJD    we  should  expect 

hnm. 

Vers.  22.  nnj    is  not  equivalent  to    HU    or    n'U,    "body,"  (Chald.,  Syr.,  Bertheau,  e^c.)  but  is  to  be  derived  from 
T  •'  T"  T  ■  : 

the  radical    nHJl,    Hos.  v.  13, — and  therefore  means  "healing,  recovery"  (Hitzig,  "the  closing  up  of  a  wound"?) 

TT 

[FuERST  prefers  the  rendering  of  tbe  Targ.,  Syr.,  e(c. ;  Gesew.  that  adopted  by  the  author. — A.]. 

Ver.  27.  The  rendering  which  we  give  conforms  to  the  K'thibh,  n-lH    Tpl,    to  substitute  for  which  with  the  K'rt 

(which  is  followed  by  the  Vulg.,  Luther,  eto.)   ni*1    '^P'"'    *' of  a  noble  spirit,"  seems  here  less  appropriate.    [The  LXX 


follow  the  K'thibh]. 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  Vers.  1-9.  Admonitions  to  contentment  and 
a  wise  moderation  in  earthly  possessions,  and  In 
the  use  of  tiie  tongue. — Better  a  dry  morsel 
and  quietness  thereviritli.  "A  dry  piece  of 
bread,"  witliout  wine,  witliout  even  vinegar 
(Ruth  ii.  14)  or  water  with  it  (1  Sam.  xxv.  11). 
The  thing  contrasted  with  it  is  DTI^I,  not  "  sac- 
rificial banquets"  (Umbreit,  Elstee,  [Fderst]), 
but  animals  slaughtered  for  sacrifice,  as  consti- 
tuting the  chief  element  in  a  rich,  sumptuous 
meal;  comp.  chap.  ix.  2;  Gen.  xliii.  16.  For 
the  general  meaning  compare  xv.  16,  17;  xvi.  8. 

Ver.  2.  A  'wise  servant  (comp.  xiv.  35) 
shall  have  rule  over  a  degenerate  son, 
lit.,  "a  bad,  unprofitable  son,"  who  becomes 
impoverished  and  even  a  slave,  because  he  has 
squandered  his  means,  etc. — Among  the  bre- 
thren shall  he  divide  the  inheritance,  i.  e. 
among  brethren  who  are  sous  of  the  testator, 
while  he  himself  who  inherits  with  them,  is  not 
a  sou  but  only  a  servant.  Comp.  Abraham's 
apprehension  in  regard  to  his  servant  Eliezer, 
Gen.  XV.  3  sq.  With  this  expression  "in  the 
midst  of  the  brethren"  compare  a  similar  one  in 
Hos.  xiii.  15.— Ver.  3.  With  clause  a  compare 
xxvii.  21  a  (which  is  literally  identical) :  with  b 
compare  xv.  11;  xvi.  2;  xxi.  2  ;  xxiv.  12. 

Ver.  4.  Wickedness  giveth  heed  to 
lying  lips.  See  critical  notes.  The  meaning 
is  plainly  this:  "A  wicked  heart,  inwardly  cor- 
rupt, gladly  attends  to  lying  talk ;  and  deceit"— 
so  clause  b  asserts  in  addition — i.  e.  a  heart  full 
of  inward  insincerity  and  hypocrisy,  a  hypocri- 
tical man  given  to  lying  (abstract  for  concrete), 
"hearkens  to  a  perverse  tongue,"  i.  e.  finds 
pleasure  in  wicked  discourse,  which  supplies 
words  to  its  own  base  thoughts,  and  develops 
them  into  definite  evil  propositions  and  designs. 

Ver.  5.  With  a  compare  xiv.  81. — He  that 
rejoiceth  over  a  calamity  shall  not  be 
unpunished  (comp.  xi.  21;  xvi.  5).     "Sud- 


den misfortune,"  according  to  clause  a  probably 
sudden  poverty.  Comp.  Job  xxxi.  29,  a  similar 
utterance  regarding  the  penal  desert  of  an  un- 
charitable delight  in  calamity. 

Ver.  6.  With  clause  a  comp.  Ps.  cxxvii.  5. — 
The  glory  of  children  is  their  fathers.  As 
the  pride  and  honor  of  the  gray-headed  is  the 
family  circle  that  surrounds  them,  or  the  advanc- 
ing series  of  their  children,  grandchildren,  etc., 
so  "on  their  part  children,  so  long  as  they  are 
not  also  parents,  can  only  reach  backward  ;  and 
with  the  genealogy,  the  farther  back  it  reaches, 
the  honor  of  the  family  increases  "  (Hitzig). 

Ver.  7.  High  speech  doth  not  become 
the  fool.  "  A  lip  of  excess,  of  prominence  " 
plainly  denotes  an  assuming,  imperious  style  of 
speech, —  not  the  "elevated,  or  soaring,"  as 
EwALD,  Elster,  Umbreit  claim;  for  the  paral- 
lel "lip  of  deceit"  in  clause  b  indicates  its  sin- 
ful character. — How  much  less  do  lying 
lips  the  noble?  "The  noble,"  the  spirit  of 
lofty  dispositions  (comp.  ver.  26), — to  whom 
deceitfulness,  and  crafty,  sly  artifices  of  speech 
are  less  becoming  than  to  any  other  man, — stands 
contrasted  with  the  "fool"  just  as  in  Isa.  xxxii. 
5  sq. 

Ver.  8.  As  a  precious  stone  is  a  gift  in 
the  eyes  of  him  that  receiveth  it.  Lit., 
"a  stone  of  loveliness,"  a  cosily  stone,  ^emmo 
ffratissima  (Vulg.) ;  comp.  i.  9. — The  "master" 
of  the  gift  is  here  evidently  not  its  giver  (Elster, 
comp.  Luther,  and  many  of  tbe  older  exposi- 
tors), but  he  that  receives  it,  he  who  is  won  by 
it;  and  the  "  gift "  is  here  to  be  taken  not  in 
the  bad  sense,  of  bribery  (as  below  in  ver.  23)„ 
but  rather  of  lawful  presents ;  comp.  xviii.  16. — 
Whithersoever  it  turneth  it  maketh  pros- 
perous ;  i.  e.  to  whomsoever  it  may  come  it  will 
have  a  good  result  and  secure  for  its  giver  sup- 
porters and  friends.  The  expression  conforms 
to  the  idea  of  the  "precious  stone  "  in  clause  a 
(although  it  is  not  the  jewel,  but  the  gift  that  is 
subject  of  the  verb  "turneth").  For  a  really 
beautiful  and  well-cut  stone  sparkles,  whichever 


162 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


way  one  may  turn  it,  and  from  whichever  side 
one  may  view  it ;  just  so  is  it  with  the  good 
result  of  a  well-directed  generosity,  by  which 
the  hearts  of  all  are  necessarily  won.  A  truth 
which  naturally  is  to  be  taken  quite  in  a  relative 
and  conditional  sense. 

Ver.  9.  He  that  covereth  transgression 
seeketh  after  love,  i.  e.  not  "seeks  to  gain 
the  love  of  others"  but  "  seeks  to  exercise  love, 
a  truly  charitable  spirit"  (so  HiTzio  with  un- 
doubted correctness,  in  opposition  to  Beetheau). 
[Bridges  and  M.  also  take  this  view,  which 
commends  itself  both  as  the  deepest  and  the 
most  disinterested  representation. — A.].  For 
the  "covering  transgression"  comp.  x.  12,  and 
the  remarks  on  the  passage. — But  he  that 
repeateth  a  meitter  separateth  friends  (see 
xvi.  28).  "Repeateth  a  matter"  03n3  r\W) 
is  not  "  to  return  with  remarks "  or  "  with  a 
word "  [i.  e.  to  repeat]  (Ewald,  BERTHEAn, 
Elster,  Fherst,  etc.),  but  "to  come  back  with 
a  matter,"  [Gesen.]  i.  e.  to  be  continually  re- 
verting to  something,  repeatedly  to  bring  it  up 
and  show  it  forth,  instead  of  letting  it  alone  and 
covering  it  with  the  mantle  of  charity.  This 
expression  is  different  both  from  the  Latin,  "arf 
alios  deferre,  demmtiare  "  (Winer)  and  also  from 
the  Greek  Ssvrepovv  Myov.  Comp.  furthermore 
Ecclesiast.  xix.  6-10. 

2.  Vers.  10-20.  Admonitions  to  a  peaceable 
spirit ;  warnings  against  a  contentious  and  un- 
charitable disposition. — A  reproof  sinketh 
deeper  into  a  wise  man  than  a  hundred 
stripes  into  a  fool,  (comp.  Deut.  xxv.  3) ; 
lit.,  "than  to  smite  the  fool  with  a  hundred." 
With  the  meaning  of  the  verse  compare  Sal- 
lust's  Juffurtha,  c.  11:  altius  in  pectus  descendif, 
and  the  common  phrase  "to  make  a  deeper  im- 
pression." 

Ver.  11.  Clause  a,  see  critical  notes  for  the 
reasons  for  our  departure  from  Zookler's  ren- 
dering.— And  a  cruel  messenger  shall  be 
sent  after  him,  i.  e.  by  God,  against  whom  we 
are  to  regard  the  "rebellion"  mentioned  in 
clause  a  as  directed.  So  the  LXX  and  Vulg. 
rendered  in  their  day,  and  among  recent  inter- 
preters Bertheau,  e.  g. ;  for  to  think  of  a  mere 
human  messenger,  as  in  xvi.  14,  is  forbidden  by 
the  analogy  of  passages  like  Ps.  xxxv.  5,  6 ; 
Ixxviii.  49;  Hitziq's  rendering,  however,  "and 
a  cruel  angel  (a  wild  demon  of  passion,  as  it 
were),  is  let  loose  within  him,"  is  altogether 
artificial,  and  rests  upon  modern  conceptions 
that  are  quite  foreign  to  the  Old  Testament ;  be- 
sides we  ought  probably  to  have  found  i3"]p3 
"  in  the  midst  of  him,"  instead  of  13. 

Ver.  12.  Meet  a  bear  robbed  of  her 
■whelps.  The  Infin.  abs.  here  stands  for  the 
Imper.  or  .Tussive;  comp.  Gen.  xvii.  10;  Deut. 
i.  16 ;  Jer.  ii.  2,  etc.  For  the  use  of  the  epicene 
31  for  the  she-bear  comp.  Hos.  xiii.  8 ;  2  Sam. 
xvii.  8. — The  "  fool  in  his  folly"  is  naturally  a 
fool  who  is  peculiarly  malignant,  one  who  is  in 
a  very  paro.Kysm  of  folly,  and  whoso  raving  is 
more  dangerous  than  the  madness  of  a  wild 
beast.  Comp.  ScuiLLEK :  "  Gefdhrlich  ists  den 
Leu  zu  weeken,"  etc.  ['Tis  perilous  to  wake  (he 
lion]. 

Ver.  13.  With  clause  a  compare  1  Sam.  xxv. 


21;  with  b,  2  Sam.  iii.  29. — "Evil"  here  in  tlij 
sense  of  misfortune,  the  penalty  for  acts  of  in- 
justice done  the  good. 

Ver.  14.  As  a  breaking  forth  of  vraters 
is  the  beginning  of  strife  [Zookler:  "he 
letteth  forth  waters,"  etc.  Z.  also  conceives  of 
the  latter  part  of  the  clause  as  meaning  literally 
"who  (lets  loose)  the  beginning  of  strife;"  in 
his  view  the  participle  is  to  be  repeated  before 
the  word  H'K'XT  "beginning."  The  use  of  the 
verb  IBS  in  the  sense  of  "send  forth,  bring 
out"  is  confirmed  by  the  Targum  on  Ex.  xxi.  2tj. 
The  participle  cannot,  however,  in  Z.'s  view,  be 
taken  here  in  a  neuter  sense,  as  Ewald  maintains 
(so  Umbreit).  Fhebst  maintains  the  view  of 
E.  and  U.  and  cites  analogous  forms  of  verbal 
nouns.  We  adopt  it  as  justified  by  verbal  ana- 
logies and  simplifying  the  construction. — A.] 
Luther  expresses  the  substantial  idea  thus: 
"He  who  begins  strife  is  like  him  that  tears 
away  the  dam  from  the  waters," — Before  the 
strife   poureth   forth,  cease !     The  meaning 

of  the  verb  i'jjnn  which  is  best  attested  is  here, 
as  in  xviii.  1  ;  xx.  3,  "to  roll  forth."  Here,  as 
in  verse  8,  the  figurative  conception  employed 
in  clause  a  influences  the  selection  of  the  verb 
in  b.  The  strife  is  conceived  of  as  a  flood  which 
after  its  release  rolls  on  irresistibly.  Umbreit, 
Elster,  etc.,  following  the  Chald.  and  Arabic, 
explain  "before  the  strife  becomes  warm;" 
HiTzio  (and  Ewalb  also)  "before  the  strife 
shows  its  teeth."  As  though  an  altogether  new 
figure  could  be  so  suddenly  introduced  here, 
whether  it  be  that  of  a  fire  blazing  up,  or  that 
of  a  lion  showing  his  teeth!  [As  the  word 
occurs  but  three  times,  and  the  cognate  roots  in 
the  Hebrew  and  its  sister  languages  are  not 
decisive,  the  moral  argument  may  well  turn  the 
scale ;  and  this  certainly  favors  the  view  in 
which  Z.  has  the  concurrence  of  Fueest,  Bee- 
theau, Stuart,  etc. — A.] 

Ver.  16.  Comp.  xxiv.  24 ;  Isa.  v.  23. — An 
abomination  to  Jehovah  are  they  both ; 
lit.,  "an  abhorrence  of  Jehovah  are  also  they 
two ;"  comp.  2  Sam.  xix.  31,  where  DJ,  also,  ex- 
presses as  it  does  here  the  associating  of  a  sec- 
ond with  the  one. 

Ver.  16.  Why  this  price  in  the  hand  of 
a  fool,  etc.  [While  there  is  no  essential  dis- 
agreement among  expositors  in  regard  to  the 
general  meaning  of  the  verse,  they  are  divided 
as  to  the  punctuation  and  the  mutual  relation  of 
the  clauses.  The  Hebrew  points  are  not  deci- 
sive. Z.  agrees  with  the  Vulg.,  E.  V.,  H.,  S., 
etc.  in  making  the  sentence  one  complex  inter- 
rogative sentence.  De  Dieu,  Schultens,  Van 
Ess,  De  Wette,  Notes,  etc.,  make  two  interroga- 
tive clauses,  followed  by  one  affirmation.  We 
have  chosen  the  more  equal  division  of  the  LXX. 
— A.]  The  getting  or  buying  of  wisdom  is  by 
no  means  a  thing  absolutely  impossible,  as  ap- 
pears from  chap.  iv.  5,  where  express  admoni- 
tion is  given  to  do  this.  But  for  earthly  gold,  for 
a  price,  it  is  not  for  sale,  and  especially  not  for 
the  fool,  who  has  no  understanding.  For  the  last 
clause,  "and  heart,  understanding,  is  not,  does 
not  exist,"  compare  the  substantially  equivalent 
expression  in  Ps.  xxxii.  9;  also  Jer.  v.  21,  etc. 


CHAP.  XVII.  1-28. 


163 


Ver.  17.  Compare  xviii.  24;  also  Ecclesiast. 
jii  7, — But  the  brother  is  born  of  ad- 
versity. The  ideas  "  friend  "  and  "  brother  " 
are  related  the  one  as  the  climax  of  the  other. 
The  "friend,"  the  companion  with  whom  one 
preserves  a  friendly  intercourse  cherishes  a  con- 
stant good-will  toward  his  comrade ;  but  it  is 
only  necessity  'bhat  develops  him  further  into  a 
"  brother,"  as  it  gives  the  opportunity  to  attest 
his  loving  disposition  by  offerings  of  love,  such 
as  in  truth  only  one  brother  makes  for  another. 
Comp.  Ennius,  in  Cic.  Lsel.  c.  17 :  Amicus  cerlua 
in  re  incerta  cernitur ;  and  also  the  Arabic  pro- 
verb (Sent.  53  in  Ebpenius  Oramm.);  "The 
friend  one  finds  out  not  till  one  needs  him." — 
ibv  "he  is  born,"  as  a  new  being,  into  the  new 
conditions  of  the  actual,  brotherly  relation. 
mx'7  must  here  mean  "of  adversity"  (Hitzig, 
K.),  "not  "in  adversity"  (Umbbeit,  N.),  or  "for 
adversity"  (Ewald,  BERTHEAtr,  Elster,  De  W., 
S.,  M.,  etc.).  [The  grammatical  justification  of 
Z.'s  view  is  found  mainly  in  the  fact  that  7 
is  ordinarily  used  when  in  a  passive  construction 
the  efficient  cause  is  to  be  expressed  :  see  Gesen. 
Lehrgeb.  ^  221,  Rod.  Gesen.  Beb.  Gram.  |  140. 
2.  Of  course  it  may  also  denote  the  final  cause. 
A.] — For  ver.  18  compare  vi.  1-5;  xi.  15. 

Ver.  19.  With  clause  a  compare  James  i.  20; 
with  b,  Prov.  xvi.  18. — Who  buildeth  high 
his  doors  ;  i.  e.  seeks  to  transform  his  simple 
residence  into  a  proud  and  splendid  edifice,  but 
by  that  very  process  only  hastens  its  "  destruc- 
tion "  (lit.,  "shattering,  downfall,"  comp.  the 
similar  term  in  x.  14,  etc.).  [Sharpe's  Texis  of 
Bible  explained,  etc. :  "Private  houses  were  some- 
times built  ostentatiously  with  a  lofty  gateway 
which  would  naturally  breed  jealousy  in  the 
neighbors,  and  invite  the  visits  of  the  tax- 
gatherer  ;  and  in  a  time  when  law  was  weak 
and  property  very  unsafe,  might  easily  lead  to 
the  ruin  of  its  owner." — A.]  The  sentiment  is 
therefore  directed  against  pride  as  the  chief 
source  of  a  quarrelsome  spirit,  and  the  most 
common  cause  of  ruinous  contention. 

Ver.  20,  With  clause  a  compare  xi.  20 ;  xvi. 
20.— He  that  wandereth  with  his  tongue, 
i.  e.  speaks  now  this  way,  now  that;  therefore 
has  a  deceitful  tongue,  "a  wayward  tongue," 
X.  31  (comp.  viii.  13). — Falleth  into  evil ; 
see  xiii.  17.  Observe  the  climax  existing  in  the 
negative  expression  "no  good"  in  a,  and  this 
"evil.", 

3.  Vers.  21-28.  Proverbs  of  various  content, 
directed  especially  against  want  of  sense,  and 
loquacity. — He  that  begetteth  a  fool  doeth 
it  to  his  own  sorrow.  Comp.  x.  1 ;  xviii.  13: 
and  the  converse  of  the  thought  here  presented, 
chap,  xxiii.  24 ;  also  xv.  20. 

Ver.  22.  A  joyous  heart  promoteth 
health.  See  critical  note.  For  the  sentiment 
comp.  XV.  13;  with  clause  b  in  particular,  iii.  8. 

Ver.  23.  A  gift  from  the  bosom  a  wicked 
man  will  receive.  "  From  the  bosom,"  i.  e. 
secretly  and  stealthily ;  comp.  xxi.  14.  The 
term  "gift"  is  here  used  naturally  of  unlawful 
bribery. — With  clause  b  compare  xviii.  5;  Am. 
ii.  7. 

Ver.  24.  Before  the  face  of  the  wise  is 


wisdom.  "Before  the  face,"  here  it  would 
seem  "very  near"  and  therefore  "close  before 
the  face"  (Bertheau,  Elster,  etc.):  or  again 
with  ZiEQLEK,  HiTZiQ,  etc.,  the  explanation  may 
be  in  accordance  with  Deut.  xvi.  16,  "Wisdom 
floats  before  the  man  of  understanding,  he  has 
it  in  his  eye"  (comp.  xv.  14). — But  the  eyes 
of  the  fool  (range)  to  the  end  of  the  earth, 
i.  e.  "his  mind  is  not  on  the  subject,  but  roams 
in  undefined,  shadowy  distance"  (Hitzig);  he 
thinks  of  many  and  various  things,  on  every 
possible  thing, — only  not  of  the  very  thing  that 
is  needful  and  important ;  comp.  iv.  25. — Ver. 
25.   Comp.  ver.  21  and  x.  1. 

Ver.  26.  Also  to  punish  the  righteous  is 
not  good,  to  smite  the  noble  contrary  to 
right.     The  also  (DJ)  plainly  gives  prominence 

to  the  verb  that  immediately  follows,  and  this 
verbshould  be  allowed  to  retainits  ordinary  signi- 
fication, "to  punish  with  a  fine,  to  impose  a 
pecuniary  fine"  (comp.  xxii.  8).  The  fine  as  a 
comparatively  light  penalty,  which  may  easily 
at  one  time  or  another  fall  with  a  certain  justice 
even  on  a  "just  "  man  (8.  g.  when  he  from  inad- 
vertence has  in  some  way  injured  the  property  of 
another),  stands  contrasted  with  the  much  se- 
verer punishment  with  stripes  ;  and  as  these  two 
verbal  ideas  are  related,  so  are  also  the  predi- 
cates "not  good"  (comp.  ver.  20),  and  "con- 
trary to  right"  (above  desert,  beyond  all  pro- 
portion to  the  just  and  reasonable),  in  the 
relation  of  a  climax.  On  the  other  hand  the 
"righteous"  and  the  "noble"  (as  in  ver.  7)  are 
essentially  persons  of  the  same  class.  The  pro- 
verb, which  evidently  contains  an  admonition 
to  mild  and  reasonable  treatment  of  upright 
men,  or  a  warning  against  the  inhuman  enforce- 
ment of  penal  laws  upon  active  and  meritorious 
citizens,  has  been  in  many  ways  misunderstood 
and  falsely  applied  ;  and  this  is  true  of  most  of 
the  recent  expositors  with  the  exception  of  Um- 
BREiT,  who  alone  interprets  with  entire  correct- 
ness. (Bertheau  and  Elster  are  also  essential- 
ly right,  except  that  they  do  not  take  the  It^'/J^ 
"  contrary  to  right"  as  the  predicate,  but  are 
disposed  to  connect  it  by  way  of  more  exact 
definition  with  the  phrase  "  to  smite  the  noble  "). 
[The  LXX,  Vulg.,  followed  by  the  E.  V.,  W.,  M., 
H.,  N.,  render  "  for  their  equity."  S.  and  K. 
agree  with  Z.,  both  in  the  meaning  and  the  pre- 
dicative construction. — A.] 

Ver.  27.  With  a  comp.  x.  19.— And  he  that 
is  of  a  quiet  temper,  Comp.  the  opposite  of 
the  "coolness  of  spirit"  here  intended  (i.  e. 
cautious,  moderate,  quietly  considerate  deport- 
ment); Ps.  xxxix.  3  (4).— Ver.  28.  Comp.  Job 
xiii.  6;   Prov.  x.  19,  etc. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

The  introductory  verse  with  its  commendation 
of  contentment  and  a  peaceable  spirit  at  the  same 
time,  or  of  contentment  as  the  source  and  basis 
of  a  peaceable  disposition  and  conduct,  may  be 
regarded  as  a  prefatory  announcement  of  tho 
main  subject  of  the  chapter.  Contentment  U 
furthermore  commended  (at  least  indirectly)  in 
vers.  2,  5,  8,  16,  19,  22-24;  a  peaceable  and  for- 
bearing disposition  in  vers.  4,  9-15,  17,  19,  2Q 


164 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


26. The  summons  which  comes  out  in  the  open- 
ing verses,  1-9,  to  combine  with  contentment 
the  appropriate  restraint  and  regulation  of  the 
tongue, — or  to  be  abslemious  not  merely  with  the 
mouth  but  with  the  tongue  (by  truthfulness  and  gen- 
tleness in  speech,  and  by  a  taciturn  disposition, 
ver.  28), — recurs  again  in  the  last  two  verses. 
It  may  therefore  to  a  certain  extent  be  regarded 
as  in  general  the  fundamental  idea  of  the  entire 
section.  In  the  asceticism  of  the  early  Church 
and  of  the  monasticism  of  the  middle  ages,  this 
idea  that  there  must  be  an  inward  organic  coex- 
istence of  bodily  and  spiritual  fasting,  or  that 
one  should  bring  the  tongue  under  a  serious  and 
strict  discipline,  as  the  organ  not  merely  of  taste, 
but  also  of  speech,  found  as  is  well  known  only 
too  prolific  practical  appreciation.  For,  appeal- 
ing to  the  supposed  model  of  Christ's  forty  days 
of  fasting  in  the  wilderness,  men  added  to  the 
injunctions  of  fasting  unnaturally  strict  pre- 
scriptions of  silence  in  many  forms  (see  my 
"Critical  History  of  Asceticism,"  pp.  297  sq.). 
Apart  from  these  extravagances  and  exaggera- 
tions, the  organic  connection,  and  living  reci- 
procity of  influence  between  the  activity  of  the 
tongue  as  an  organ  of  taste  and  an  organ  of 
speech,  such  as  exists  in  every  man,  is  a  matter 
deserving  distinct  recognition  ;  and  sins  of  the 
tongue  in  both  directions  must  be  wit.li  all  earn- 
estness shunned,  and  together  subdued  and  de- 
stroyed (comp.   James  iii.  22). 

Other  ethical  sentiments  of  special  value  and 
compass  are  found  in  ver.  4 :  the  heavy  guilt 
not  only  of  the  tempter,  but  also  of  the  tempted, 
who,  on  account  of  his  inward  corruption  and 
vileness,  gives  a  ready  hearing  to  the  evil  solici- 
tations of  the  former  ;  comp.  James  i.  14  sq. — 
Ver.  6.  The  blessing  of  a  consecrated  domestic 
life,  as  it  shows  itself  in  both  the  parents  and 
their  posterity,  in  their  mutual  relations  and 
demeanor.  The  opposite  of  this  appears  in  vers. 
21,  25. 

Ver.  16.  The  pricelessness  of  true  wisdom,  and 
the  worthlessness  of  earthly  possessions  and 
treasures  in  the  hand  of  a  fool. 

Ver.  17.  The  great  worth  of  a  true  friend  in 
time  of  need. 

Ver.  26.  The  necessity  of  a  mild,  considerate 
bearing  on  the  part  of  persons  in  judicial  and 
magisterial  station,  toward  deserving  citizens  of 
the  state,  in  cases  where  they  have  perchance 
gone  astray  or  come  short  of  duty.  Comp.  the 
exegetical  remarks  on  this  passage. 

[Lawson,  ver.  4:  "Wicked  men  have  a  great 
treasure  of  evil  in  their  hearts,  and  yet 
have  not  enough  to  satisfy  their  own  corrupt 
dispositions. 

Ver.  1-5.  Justifying  the  wicked  has  an  appear- 
ance of  mercy  in  it,  but  there  is  cruelty  to  mil- 
lions in  unreasonable  acts  of  mercy  to  individu- 
als.— Ministers  are  guilty  of  the  sin  of  condemn- 
ing the  righteous  when  they  preach  doctrines 
unscripturally  rigid,  making  those  things  to  be 
sinful  which  are  not  condemned  in  the  word  of 
God,  or  carrying  the  marks  necessary  to  discover 
grace  to  a  pitch  too  high  to  suit  the  generality 
of  true  Christians,  or  applying  to  particular 
persons  those  terrors  that  do  not  justly  be- 
long to  them.  Such  was  the  fault  of  Job's 
friends."] 


HOMILETIC    AND    PRACTICAL. 

Homily  on  the  entire  chapter:  A  peaceable  spirit 
and  contentment  as  the  sum  of  all  wisdom;  its 
opposite  (contentiousness  and  foolish  aspiring 
after  things  that  are  high,  see  especially  ver.  19) 
as  the  source  of  all  failure  in  things  temporal  as 
well  aa  spiritual. — Stockek:  Of  true  temperance 
in  controlling  all  unseasonable  debate  and  strife; 
])  the  causes  of  these  last  (vera.  4-13)  ;  2)  the 
most  important  means  of  averting  them  (14-19); 
3)  the  serious  injuries  and  disadvantages  which 
grow  out  of  them  (20-28). 

Vers.  1-8.  Hasius  (on  ver.  2)  :  To  attain  to 
power  and  influence  in  this  world  more  depends 
on  understanding  and  prudence  than  on  birth 
and  outward  advantages.. — Lange  (on  ver.  3) : 
All  human  investigations  and  theories  concerning 
the  interior  world  of  thought  in  man  are  incon- 
clusive and  deceptive.  The  searching  of  the 
heart  of  man  is  one  of  the  kingly  prerogatives 
of  God. — [Trapp  (on  ver.  3) :  God  tries  us  that 
He  may  make  us  know  what  is  in  us,  what  dross, 
what  pure  metal ;  and  all  may  see  that  we  are 
such  as,  for  a  need,  can  "glorify  Him  in  the 
very  fires  "  (Is.  xxiv.  15). — Bkidges  (on  ver.  4): 
The  listening  ears  share  the  responsibility  of  the 
naughty  tongue.] — Zeltner  (on  ver.  4) :  Accord- 
ing as  the  heart  and  disposition  of  a  man  are 
moulded,  he  delights  either  in  good  or  in  evil 
discourse, — Wohlfarth  (on  ver.  7):  Force  not 
thyself  above,  degrade  not.  thyself  below  thy 
condition. — Von  Gerlach  (on"ver.  7) :  The  out- 
ward and  the  inward  must  always  be  in  harmony, 
else  a  distorted  and  repulsive  display  results. 
As  the  fool  cannot  fitly  speak  of  high  things,  so 
senseless  must  a  falsehood  appear  to  the  noble. — 
Lange  (on  ver.  8) :  Though  one  may  effect  much 
with  an  unjust  judge  by  presents,  how  much 
better  will  it  be  if  thou  bringest  thine  heart  to 
the  Lord  thy  God  as  a  gift  and  offering! 

Vers.  9-15.  [Lord  Bacon  (on  ver.  9):  There 
are  two  ways  of  making  peace  and  reconciling 
diiferences;  the  one  begins  with  amnesty,  the 
other  with  a  recital  of  injuries,  combined  with 
apologies  and  excuses.  Now  I  remember  that  it 
was  the  opinion  of  a  very  wise  man  and  a  great 
politician,  that  "he  who  negotiates  a  peace, 
without  recapitulating  the  grounds  of  difference, 
rather  deludes  the  minds  of  the  parties  by  repre- 
senting the  sweetness  of  concord,  than  reconciles 
them  by  equitable  adjustment."  But  Solomon, 
a  wiser  man  than  he,  is  of  a  contrary  opinion, 
approving  of  amnesty  and  forbidding  recapitula- 
tion of  the  past.  For  in  it  are  these  disadvan- 
tages; it  is  as  the  chafing  of  a  sore  ;  it  creates 
the  risk  of  a  new  quarrel  (for  the  parties  will 
never  agree  as  to  the  proportions  of  injuries  on 
either  side) ;  and,  lastly,  it  brings  it  to  a  matter 
of  apologies  ;  whereas  either  party  would  rather 
be  thought  to  have  forgiven  an  injury  than  to 
have  accepted  an  excuse.] — Melanchthon  (on 
vers.  9-12):  As  the  monitor  must  show  sincerity 
and  love  of  truth,  and  guard  against  a  slander- 
ous love  of  censure,  so  in  him  who  is  admon- 
ished, there  is  becoming  a  readiness  to  be  in- 
structed, and  both  must  keep  themselves  free 
from  (pt'KoveLKia,  from  an  ambitious  quarrelsome- 
ness.— Cramer  f  on  ver.  10) :  To  him  who  is  of  a 


CHAP.  XVIII.  1-24. 


165 


noblo  sort  words  of  rebuke  are  more  grievous 
than  blows,  and  he  yields  to  the  discipline  of 
mere  words. — Staeke  (on  ver.  13)  :  If  God 
sharply  punishes  ingratitude,  from  this  it  is  also 
evident  how  dear  to  Him,  on  the  other  hand, 
thankfulness  must  be. — ^(On  ver,  14):  From  a 
little  spark  a  great  fire  may  arise  (James  iii.5) ; 
but  he  who  buries  in  the  ashes  the  kindling  con- 
tention may  thereby  avert  a  great  disaster. — 
[TaAPP  (on  ver.  10) :  The  fool  is  beaten,  but  not 
bent  to  goodness  ;  amerced  but  not  amended. — 
(On  ver.  13)  :  To  render  good  for  evil  is  Divine, 
good  for  good  is  human,  evil  for  evil  is  brutish, 
evil  for  good  is  devilish. — Biudqes  (on  ver.  15): 
If  God  justifies  the  wicked,  it  is  on  account  of 
righteousness.  If  he  condemn  the  just,  it  is  on 
the  imputation  of  unrighteousness.  Nowhere 
throughout  the  universe  do  the  moral  perfections 
of  the  Governor  of  the  world  shine  so  gloriously 
as  at  the  Cross  of  Calvary.] 

Ver.  16-22.  Zeltnbr  (on  ver.  17):  The  most 
reliable  and  faithful  friend,  on  whom  one  may 
depend  most  confidently  in  the  very  time  of 
need,  is  the  Lord  Jesus.  Strive  for  JHis  friend- 
ship above  all  things,  and  thou  hast  treasure 
enough ! — [Arnot  (on  ver.  17) :  In  the  Scrip- 
tures we  learn  where  the  fountain  of  true  friend- 
ship lies,  what  is  its  nature,  why  its  flow  is  im- 
peded now,  and  when  it  shall  be  all  over  like  the 
waves  of  the  sea.  Our  best  friendship  is  due  to 
our  best  friend.  He  deserves  it  and  desires  it. 
The  heart  of  the  man  Christ  Jesus  yearns  for  the 
reciprocated  love  of  saved  men,  and  grieves  when 
it  is  not  given.]. — Starke  (on  ver.  19) :  He  who 
first  leaves  room  for  one  sin  falls  afterward  into 


many  others. — Contention  and  pride  are  almost 
always  sisters,  and  of  a  most  destructive  sort. — 
Von  Gerlaoh  (on  ver.  22)  :  The  heart,  the 
fountain  of  life,  works  to  bless  the  whole  of 
man's  condition  when  it  is  really  sound,  i.  c, 
when  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ  has  healed  and 
renewed  it. — [Trapp  (on  ver.  22) :  When  faith 
hath  once  healed  the  conscience,  and  grace  hath 
hushed  the  aifection,  and  composed  all  within,  so 
that  there  is  a  Sabbath  of  spirit,  and  a  blessed 
tranquility  lodged  in  the  soul;  then  the  body  also 
is  vigorous  and  vigetous,  for  most  part  in  very 
good  plight  and  healthful  constitution,  which 
makes  man's  life  very  comfortable. ^ — Bridges 
(on  ver.  22)  :  Liveliness  needs  a  guard  lest  it 
should  degenerate  into  levity;  a  grave  tempera- 
ment lest  it  should  sink  into  morbid  depression. 
Christian  principle  on  both  sides  is  the  princi- 
ple of  enlarged  happiness  and  steady  consist- 
ency.] 

Ver.  23-28.  Stakkb  (on  ver.  24) :  The  more 
one  gapes  after  vanity,  the  more  foolish  does  the 
heart  become. — (On  ver.  25) :  A  wise  father 
has  indeed  now  and  then  a  foolish  son ;  if  he  has 
not  himself  perchance  deserved  this,  by  neglect 
in  education,  let  him  bear  his  cross  with  patience. 
— (On  ver.  20):  He  sins  doubly  who  declares 
evil  good,  and  besides  visits  the  goodness  of  a 
righteous  man  with  penalties. — Berleburg  Bible 
(on  vers.  27,  28)  :  It  is  better  to  say  nothing 
than  foolish  things. — Von  Geelach  (on  ver.  28): 
By  silence  a  fool  abates  something  of  his  sense- 
lessness, and  since  he  gets  the  opportunity  to 
collect  himself  and  to  reflect,  a  beginning  of 
wisdom  is  developed  in  him. 


7)  Admonition  to  affability,  fidelity  in  friendship,  and  the  other  virtues  of  social  life. 


Chap.  XVIII. 

1  He  that  separateth  himself  seeketh  his  own  pleasure  ; 
against  all  counsel  doth  he  rush  on. 

2  A  fool  hath  no  delight  in  understanding, 
but  that  his  heart  may  reveal  itself. 

3  When  wickedness  cometh  then  cometh  contempt, 
and  with  shameful  deeds  reproach. 

4  Deep  waters  are  the  words  of  man's  mouth ; 
the  fountain  of  wisdom  is  a  flowing  brook. 

5  To  have  regard  to  the  wicked  is  not  good, 
(nor)  to  oppress  the  righteous  in  judgment. 

6  The  lips  of  the  fool  engage  in  strife, 
and  his  mouth  calleth  for  stripes. 

7  The  mouth  of  the  fool  is  his  destruction, 
aud  his  lips  are  a  snare  to  his  soul. 

8  The  words  of  a  slanderer  are  words  of  sport, 

but  they  go  down  into  the  innermost  parts  of  the  body. 

9  He  also  who  is  slothful  in  his  work 
is  brother  to  the  destroyer. 


166  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


10  A  strong  tower  is  the  name  of  Jehovah  ; 
the  righteous  runneth  to  it  and  is  safe. 

11  The  possessions  of  the  rich  are  his  strong  city, 
and  as  a  high  wall  in  his  own  conceit. 

12  Before  destruction  the  heart  of  man  is  haughty, 
and  before  honor  is  humility. 

13  He  that  answereth  before  he  hath  heard, 
it  is  folly  and  shame  to  him. 

14  The  spirit  of  a  man  will  sustain  his  infirmity, 
but  a  wounded  spirit — who  can  bear  ? 

15  An  understanding  heart  gaineth  knowledge, 
and  the  ear  of  the  wise  seeketh  knowledge. 

16  A  man's  gift  maketh  room  for  him, 
and  bringeth  him  before  the  great. 

17  He  that  is  first  is  righteous  in  his  controversy ; 
then  cometh  his  neighbor  and  searcheth  him  out. 

18  The  lot  causeth  contentions  to  cease, 
and  decideth  between  the  mighty. 

19  A  brother  resisteth  more  than  a  strong  city, 

and  (such)  contentions  are  as  the  bars  of  a  palace. 

20  With  the  fruit  of  a  man's  mouth  shall  his  body  be  satisfied; 
with  the  revenue  of  his  lips  shall  he  be  filled. 

21  Death  and  life  are  in  the  power  of  the  tongue ; 
he  that  loveth  it  shall  eat  its  fruit. 

22  Whoso  findeth  a  wife  findeth  a  good  thing, 
and  shall  obtain  favor  of  Jehovah. 

23  The  poor  shall  use  entreaties, 
and  the  rich  will  answer  roughly. 

24  A  man  of  (many)  friends  will  prove  himself  base, 

but  there  is  a  friend  that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother. 

GRAMMATICAL   AND   CKITICAL. 

Ver.  1. — It  would  perhaps  be  admissible  with  IIitziq  (following  the  LXX  and  Vulg.)  to  exchange  niXH  7  lor  the  rarer 

njKnS  f  Jndg.  xiv.  4),  from  which  we  should  obtain  the  meaning  "  He  that  separateth  himself  seeketh  after  an  occasion 

(of  strife) ;"  Vulg.;  Occasiones  quxrit,  qui  vuU  recedere  ab  amico.    For  the  use  of  ti?p3  with  3  see  also  Job  x.  6.    [The  B. 

V.  in  the  text  understands  tbe  3  as  indicating  the  condition,  and  so  supplying  the  motive  of  the  seeker ;  the  reading  of  the 

margin  is  "according  to  his  desire."     H.,  N.,  S.,  M.,  e£c.,  agree  with  our  author  in  connecting  it  with  the  object  desired. 

The  views  of  commentators,  which  are  very  diverse,  maybe  found  in  couRiderablt*  number  in  Muenscher,  in  loco. — A.] 
Ver.  3. — Instead  of  _J?ty"l  we  shall  be  obliged,  wiih  J.  D.  MJCHAELI3,  HiTzia,  Umbreit,  eic.,to  point  j^t^T  as  the  parallel 

11 7p  {i-  ^-i  "infamy,  infamous  conduct,"  iurpiiwdo)  indicates. 

Ver.  6. — [A  masc.  verb  again  with  the  fem.  noun  TlSti',  as  in  ver.  2;  x.  21,  32;  XV.  7. — A.] 

Ver.  10. — Without  any  necessity  HiTzia proposes  to  read  ^XV  instead  of  V-IT*,  and  to  translate  "by  it  (the  name  of 

Jehovah)  riseth  up  high."  [Rueetschi  (as  above,  p.  147)conciira  In  rejecting  both  HiTZlG'a  emendation  and  his  conception 
of  the  proposition.     He  justifies  by  examples  like  1  Kings  x. 26;  1  Sara.xxv.26;  Joshua  xxili.  7,  eic,  the  use  of  3  after 

verbs  of  motion, — and  suggests  that  the  concluding  participle  marks  the  quick  and  sure  result  of  the   preceding 

act.— A.J 

Ver.  17. — The  K'ri'  X3^ ;  the  K'thibh  is  perhaps  more  appropriately  K3^. 

T  .  T  . 

Ver.  19. — The  LXX  and  Vulg.  appear  to  have  read  j;E'1J  (jSojjeou^ei'os,  ajS^uvaiur)  instead  of  J?iy3  J ;  HiTZia  proposes 

to  read  by  emendation  T? E/i)    THX,  "  to  shut  out  sin  is  better  than  a  strong  tower,"  etc, 

Ver.  24. — ^^-Minn^,  which  is  probably  to  be  derived  from  the  root  j;*l,  _J^J?1,  and  to  be  regarded  as  the  reflexive 

of  the  Intensive  form  (comp.  the  Niphal  form  tfn\  chap.  xi.  15),  must  have  the  copula  XY7\  supplied  to  give  a  full  verbal 

_     ..  .^.^ 

sense  (comp.  chap.  xix.  8) :  it  therefore  means  "is  to  prove  himself  base,  serves  for  this,  to  show  himself  base  {i.  e.,  here 

Bpecifically  an  unwoithy  comrade,  a  bad  friend)."    The  alliteration  which  is  doubtless  intentional  between  D^J?"i  ^'^^ 

'^'^'\'^T\'r\  led  even  the  early  translators  (Syr.,  Chald.,  Vulg.,  and  also  Theodot.)  to  derive  the  latter  word  from  nV^.  o^^^ 
eiarty  and  accordingly  to  explain  it  by  "  to  make  one's  self  a  friend,  to  cultivate  fi-iendly  intercourse  "  (comp.  Ps.  IxV.  4). 
So  recently  HlTZlo :  "  There  are  companions  for  sociability," — for  he  also  reads  ^^  (or  ty&t,  Mic.  vi.  10)  for  t^^X,  appealing 

to  the  Syr.  and  Chald.,  who  appear  to  have  read  the  text  in  the  same  way.  [B3tt.  supports  this  emendation  or  restoration 
(2  458,  2,)  and  proposes  without  asserting    the  derivation   of  the    verb   from^"),   as  a  denominative  (§1126,2)].    But 

^^H  is  proved  to  be  original  by  the  Vulg.,  Theodob£i,  etc.;  and  between  clauses  a  and  b  there  appears  to  be  a  proper  an- 


CHAP.  XVIII.  1-24. 


167 


tithesis  and  not  merely  a  climax.  This  strictly  antithetic  relation  is  also  interfered  with  by  the  method  of  explanatiou 
adopted  by  those  wiio,  like  Umbreit,  Elsteu,  etc.,  render  the  verb  by  "ruin  thembolves,  maite  tiiemselves  trouble;"  (Ewald's 
tonceptiou  resembles  this,  except  as  it  has  a  still  more  artificial  double  import  "  must  be  a  friend  to  trouble  ") ;  the  result 
follows  no  less  irom  the  derivatiou  from  yo,  jubitare  (so  the  Vers.  Venet.:  avr^p  (ftiKtjtv  iiiare  e.\a\d^eiv,  and  of  recent  in- 
terpreters IlENSLER :  "  He  that  hath  friends  may  exult "). 

[Of  the  English  commentators  HoLUEN  renders  "is  ready  to  be  ruined;"  Noyes,  "brings  upon  himself  ruin;"  Stuart, 
"will  show  himself  as  base;"  Muenscher,  "will  be  ruined;"  Wordsworth,  "for  his  own  destruction, — his  fate  is  not  to  be 
helped  by  his  many  friends,  but  to  be  ruined  by  them."  Of  the  Germans  not  cited  by  Z.,  De  Wette,  "  hat  viet  Umgang  zu 
seinem  Untergang;'^  Bertheaw,  "ist  um  sich  als  scfilechten  zu  erweisen ;"  Kamv,,  *^  so  wird  einem  iibel  mitgespielt ;"  Fuerst, 
"muss  sich  als  schlecht  erweisen." — A.] 


EXEGETIOAL. 

1.  Ver.  1-9.  Against  unsociableness,  love  of 
controversy,  and  other  ways  in  which  an  uncha- 
ritable and  foolish  disposition  manifests  itself— 
He  that  separateth  himself  seeketh  after 
his  desire,  i.  e.  he  who  in  an  unsocial  and 
misanthropic  spirit  separates  himself  from 
intercourse  with  others,  will  as  a  general 
rule  hold  in  his  eye  only  the  satisfaction  of  his 
own  pleasure  and  his  own  selfish  interest. — 
Against  all  counsel  (wisdom)  doth  he  rush 
on,  i.  B.  against  all  wise  and  prudent  counsel 
(comp.  iii.  21)  he  sets  himself,  and  will  hear 
nothing  of  it.  In  respect  to  the  verb,  comp. 
remarks  on  xvii.  14.  Hitzig  in  this  passage  is 
in  that  holds  to  the  signification  which  he  there 
assumes,  and  therefore  translates,  "Against  all 
that  is  fortunate  (?)  he  gnashes  his  teeth." 

Ver.  2.  Compare  similar 'censures  of  the  lo- 
quacity of  fools,  and  their  delight  in  their  own 
discourse,  as  they  prefer  above  all  besides  to 
hear  themselves  speak,  and  gladly  display  every- 
where their  imagined  wisdom, — in  passages  like 
xii.  23 ;  xiii.  16  ;  xv.  2,  etc. 

Ver.  3.  When  vricliedness  Cometh  then 
cometh  contempt.  For  the  sentiment  comp. 
li.  2. 

Ver.  4.  Deep  waters  are  the  words  of 
man's  mouth.  *'  Deep,"  i.  e.  hard  to  fathom 
and  exhaust  (xx.  5;  Eccles.  vii.  24).  This  is  true, 
naturally,  only  of  the  words  of  discreet  and 
wise  men,  who,  according  to  the  parallel  in 
clause  6,  are  evidently  alone  intended  here. 
Only  they  indeed  can  be  called  a  "flowing 
brook,"  t.  e.  a  brook  never  drying  up,  one  always 
pouring  forth  an  abundant  supply  of  refreshing 
water;  compare  a  similar  phrase  in  Am.  v.  24. 
Others  regard  the  meaning  of  the  second  clause 
as  contrasted  with  the  ilrst,  as  they  either  define 
"  deep  waters  "  in  a  bad  sense,  of  dark,  obscure, 
enigmatical  words  (Doderlein,  Ziegler),  or,  in 
spite  of  the  parallel  in  xx.  5,  read  D'pn^O  'a 
instead  of  D'pDJ?  D'D,  and  understand  "  waters 
of  excavation,""  and  think  of  the  contrast  be- 
tween cistern  waters  which  readily  fail,  and  a 
genuine  spring  of  water,  Jer.  ii.  13  (so  Hitziq). 

Ver.  6.  To  have  regard  to  the  wicked  is 
not  good.  The  last  phrase  used  as  in  xvii.  26. 
The  first,  lit.,  "  to  lift  up,  to  show  respect  to  the 
faceof  some  one"  (LXX:  d^avfiaaai  irpdauvov),  as 
in  Lev.  xix.  15;  Deut.  x.  17,  etc.  [Z.  renders  still 
more  specifically  "to  take  part,  to  take  sides," 
etc.]. — With  clause  b  comp.  xvii.  23;  Isa.  x.  2; 
Am.  ii.  7,  etc. ;  with  the  sentiment  as  a  whole, 
xvii.  15. 

Vers.  6  and  7  are  in  close  connection ;  for  the 
former  comp.  xix.  29 ;  for  the  latter,  xiii.  3. 
To  the  idea,  which  occurs  in  the  parallel  pas- 


sage also,  of  "  destruction,  or  ruin,"  there  is 
here  added  by  way  of  exemplification  the  figure 
of  a  "  snare,"  as  employed  by  huntsmen;  comp. 
xii.  13;  xiii.  14;  xiv.  27, 

Ver.  8.  The  words  of  a  slanderer  are  as 
■words  of  sport.     The  slanderer,  or  backbiter, 

as  in  xvi.  28.  The  predicative  epithet  D'nn7j")p 
is  here,  as  also  in  xxvi.  22,  where  the  whole 
verse  is  literally  repeated,  very  variously  inter- 
preted.    It  is  most  obvious  to  go  back  to  a  root 

Onh  assumed  to  be  cognate  with  T\Pn,  "  to  play, 
to  sport "  (comp.  remarks  on  xxvi.  10),  and  ac- 
cordingly to  find  contrasted  the  design  of  the 
inconsiderate  words  of  the  backbiter,  intended, 
as  it  were,  sportively,  and  their  deeply  pene- 
trating and  sorely  wounding  power  (see  clause 
b).  So  C.  B.  MicHAELis,  Bertheau,  Elstbr, 
etc.  Others  explain  differently  ;  e.  g.  Schultens, 
Umbbeit  (following  the  Arabic),  as  "  dainty 
morsels"  [so  Gesen.,  De  W.,  N.,  M.,  W.]  ;  £w- 
ALD,  "as  if  whispering;"  HiTZia,  "like  soft 
airs;"  [Fubrst,  "like  murmured,  mysterious, 
oracular  words ;"  while  the  rendering  given  in 
the  E.  v.,  as  also  by  some  commentators,  sup- 
poses a  transposition  of  the  radical  consonants 

(for  oVn);  Bertheau  and  Stuart  agree  sub- 
stantially with  our  author.  The  whole  matter  is 
conjectural,  the  word  occurring  in  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures  but  twice,  and  no  sure  analogy  exist- 
ing for  our  guidance. — A.] — Into  the  inner- 
most parts  of  the  body,  lit.,  "into  the  cham- 
bers," elc.  ;  comp,  xx.  27,  30;  xxvi.  22. 

Ver.  9.  He  also  who  is  slothful  in  his 
work  is  brother  of  the  destroyer,  lit,,  "  of 
the  master  of  destruction," — for  the  participle 
form  rrriTO  is  here  impersonal  as  in  Ezek,  v.  16 : 
"the  master  of  destruction"  means  "the  de- 
stroyer "  (xxviii.  23)  and  here  the  squanderer, 
who  wastes  his  possessions,  the  dissipans  sua 
opera  (Vulg,),  and  not  the  highway  robber  or  the 
captain  of  banditti  as  Hofmann,  Schriftbew.  II., 
2,  377,  maintains. 

2.  Vers.  10-16.  Seven  proverbs  of  miscellane- 
ous import,  referring  especially  to  confidence  in 
God,  and  humility  as  the  only  true  wisdom.— A 
strong  tower  is  Jehovah's  name ;  i.  e.  the 
revealed  essence  of  God,  His  revelation  of  Him- 
self in  the  history  of  salvation,  with  its  blessed 
results,  shows  itself  to  those  who  confide  in  it, 
who  in  a  childlike  spirit  submit  themselves  to  its 
guidance,  as  a  stronghold  securely  protecting 
them(soPs.  Ixi.  3  (4).)  [Rueetsohi:  "Thename 
always  designates  Himself,  as  man  knows  Him, 
as  he  receives  Him  to  his  knowledge  and  faith, 
and  bears  Him  in  his  heart.  It  is  precisely  what 
man  knows  of  God  that  is  for  him  a  strong  tower. 
When  man  stumbles  or  falters  it  is  precisely  be- 
cause he  has  not  run  to  this  refuge,  has,  as  it 
were,  not  reminded  himself  where  his  strong 


168 


THE  PKOVEEBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


tower  is"].— The  righteous  runneth  to  it 
and  is  safe,  lit.,  "aud  is  lifted  up,"  i.  a.  gains 
a  higli  and  at  the  same  time  sheltered  station, 
where  the  shafts  of  his  enemies  can  do  him  no 
harm.  Comp.  another  form  of  the  same  verb  in 
xxix.  25. 

Yer.  11.  With  clause  a  comp.  x.  15. — And  as 
a  high  wall  in  his  own  conceit.  in'3ipp3 
(comp.  Ps.  Ixxiii.  7)  the  old  Vers.  Venet,  renders 
quite  correctly  by  h  <pavTaai(f  avrpv,  while  the 
Vulg.,  the  Chald.,  etc.,  read  IflSiyM,  "in  his 
enclosure,"  an  expression  which  would  be  super- 
fluous with  the  "high  wall."  [Fuebst,  starting 
from  this  idea  of  figured  or  carved  work,  furni- 
ture, etc.,  understands  the  allusion  to  be  to  a. 
"hall  of  state."  Neither  the  simple  meaning 
nor  the  complicated  construction  seems  admissi- 
ble;  "and  as  behind  a  high  wall  is  he  in  his 
hall  of  state," — A.] 

Ver.  12.  With  a  compare  xvi.  18 ;  with  b,  xv.  83. 
Ver.  13.  Compare  Ecclesiast.  xi.  8. 
Ver.  14.  The  spirit  of  a  man  -will  sustain 
his  infirmity,  lit.,  "supports  his  sickness." 
The  spirit  that  does  this  is  naturally  a  strong, 
courageous  spirit  (comp.  Num.  xxvii.  18),  the 
opposite  of  a  "smitten"  spirit,  which  rather 
needs,  according  to  the  second  clause,  that  one 
sustain  it.  Furthermore  the  nil  in  clause  a  is 
used  as  a  masculine,  because  it  here  appears  en- 
gaged in  the  performance  of  manly  action  ;  in 
clause  b,  on  the  contrary,  as  a  feminine,  because 
it  is  represented  as  powerless  and  suffering. 

Ver.  15.  Comp.  xiv.  33;  xv.  14. — The  ear  of 
the  -wise  seeketh  kno^wledge.  The  ear  here 
comes  into  consideration  as  an  organ  working  in 
the  service  of  the  heart ;  for  it  is  properly  only 
the  heart  that  pursues  the  acquisition  of  wisdom, 
and  which  actually  acquires  it, — not  indeed  with- 
out the  co-operative  service  of  the  senses  (espe- 
cially hearing,  as  the  symbol  and  organ  of  obe- 
dience, Ps.  xl.  7). 

Ver.  16,  A  man's  gift  maketh  room  for 
him  [and  nowhere  more  than  in  the  East;  see 
e.  g.  Thomson's  Land  and  Book,  II.,  28,  369]. 
tnp  here  and  in  xix.  6  undoubtedly  equivalent  to 

"Vyti  in  chap.  xvii.  8,  and  therefore  used  of  law- 
ful presents,  and  proofs  of  generosity,  whose 
benefioent  results  are  here  emphasized,  as  also 
there,  without  any  incidental  censure  or  irony 
(as  many  of  the  old  expositors,  and  also  Umbreit 
hold).  Altogether  too  far-fetched  is  Hitziq's 
idea  that  the  "gift"  is  here  "spiritual  endow- 
ments or  abilities,"  and  is  therefore  substantially 
like  the  xo-P'-'^l^'^  of  the  N.  T. 

3.  Vers.  17-21.  Against  love  of  contention  and 
misuse  of  the  tongue. — He  that  is  first  is 
righteous  in  his  controversy ;  ;'.  &  one  thinks 
that  he  is  altogether  and  only  right  in  a  disputed 
matter, — then  suddenly  comes  the  other  and 
searches  him  out,  i.  e.  forces  him  to  a  new  exami- 
nation of  the  matter  at  issue,  and  so  brings  the 
truth  to  light,  viz.  that  the  first  was  after  all  not 
right.  Comp.  the  same  verb  in  xxviii.  11 ;  also 
Job  xxix,  16,  where  however  the  investigator  is 
the  judge,  and  not  one  of  the  two  cantending 
parties. 

Ver.  18.  Comp.  xvi.  33, — And  decideth  be- 
tween the  mighty,  i.  e.  it  keeps  from  hostile 


collision  those  who  in  reliance  on  their  physical 
strength  are  specially  inclined  to  quarrel.    Comp. 
Heb.  vi.  16,  where  a  like    salutary  influence  is 
claimed  for  the  judicial  oath  as  here  for  the  lot. 
Ver.  19.    A  brother  (estranged)  resisteth 
more   than  a  strong  city.      The   participle 
jytyiJJ,  which,  according  to  the  accents,  is  predi- 
cate of  the  clause,  is  to  be  taken  in  the  sense  of 
"  setting   one's    self    in    opposition,    resisting." 
Now  a  brother  who   resisteth    or   defieth   more 
than  a  strong  city  is  necessarily  an  alienated  or 
litigious  brother.     Furthermore  the  whole  con- 
nection of  the  verse  points  to  this  closer  limita- 
tion   of  the   idea  of  "brother,"  and   especially 
the  second  clause,  which  aims  to  represent  the 
difliculty    of    subduing    the    passion    once    set 
free,  under  the  figure  of  the  bars  of  a  fortress, 
hard  to  thrust  back  or  to  burst. 
Ver.  20.  Comp.  xii.  14;  xiii.  2. 
Ver.  21.  Death  aud  life  are  in  the  power 
of  the  tongue.     Comp.  James  iii.  5  sq. ;   and 
also  the  Egyptian  proverb :  yTiuana  tvxv,  y^uaaa 
Saifiuv  (Plotakoh,  Is.  p.  378). — He  thatloveth 
it  shall  eat  of  its  fruit;  i.  e.  he  that  suitably 
employs  himself  with  it,  employs  much  diligence 
in  using  it  in  discourse,  whether  it  be  with  good 
or  bad  intent,  as  ei^Ao/tJv  or  /ca/co/loywi',  blessing 
or  cursing,  (James  iii.  9 ;    comp.  1  Cor.  xii.  3), 
will  experience  in  himself  the  effects  of  its  use 
or  its  abuse.     Against  the  one-sided  application 
of  this  "loving  the  tongue"  to  loquacity  (Hit- 
ziG),  IS  to  be  adduced  the  doable  nature  of  the 
expression  in  the  first  clause,  as  well  as  the  ana- 
logy of  the  preceding  verse. — The  LXX  (oJ  Kpa- 
Tovv-eg  avTTJq)  seem  to  have  read   ri'inS  (those 
laying  hold  upon  it)  instead  of  (TpHS,  but  this 
reading    can    hardly  have   been   the    original; 
comp.  rather  viii.  17,  where  the  verb  "to  love" 
expresses    essentially    the    same   idea   as   here, 
that  of  a  cherishing  and    cultivating  or  careful 
developing. 

4.  Vers.  22-24.  Of  conjugal,  neighborly  and 
friendly  affection. — 'Whoso  findeth  a  wife 
findeth  a  good  thing.  It  is  naturally  a  good 
wife  that  is  meant,  a  partner  and  head  of  the 
household  such  as  she  should  be,  a  wife  who 
really  stands  by  her  husband's  side  as  a  "help- 
meet for  him"  (Gen.  ii.  18,20).  The  epithet 
"good,"  which  the  LXX,  Vulg.,  etc.,  express,  is 
therefore  superfluous  (comp.  also  xix.  14;  xxxi. 
10),  and  is  probably  quite  as  little  an  element  in 
the  original  as  that  which  in  the  same  version  is 
appended  to  our  verse :  "  He  that  putteth  away 
a  good  wife  putteth  away  happiness,  and  he  that 
keepeth  an  adulteress  is  foolish  and  ungodly." 
With  clause  b  compare  furthermore  iii.  13;  xii. 
2 ;  Ecclesiast.  xxvi.  3.  [Arnot's  view  is  more 
defensible:  The  text  which  intimates  that  a  pru- 
dent wife  is  from  the  Lord  tells  a  truth,  but  it  is 
one  of  the  most  obvious  of  trutlis :  the  text 
which  intimates  that  a  wife  is  a  favor  from  the 
Lord,  without  expressly  stipulating  for  her  per- 
sonal character,  goes  higher  up  in  the  history 
of  providence,  and  deeper  into  the  wisdom  of 
God.  So  substantially  Muffet,  Lawson  and 
others]. 

Ver.  23.  The  poor  useth  entreaties,  but 
the  rich  answereth  roughly,  lit.,  "  opposeth 


CHAP.  XVIII.  1-24. 


169 


hard  things  "  (contrasted  with  the  supplications 
of  clause  a).  Comp.  the  similar  proverbs  di- 
rected against  the  hardness  of  heart  of  the  rich : 
chap.  xiv.  21  ;  xvii.  5. 

Ver.  21.  A  man  of  many  friends  will 
prove  himself  base.  The  "man  of  friends," 
of  many  friends,  the  "friend  of  all  the  world," 
will  show  himself  a  bad  friend, — he  with  whom 
is  contrasted  in  clause  b  the  instance  which  is 
indeed  rare  and  isolated,  of  a  true  friendly  love, 
which  endures  in  every  extremity  (xvii.  17),  and 
even  surpasses  the  devotion  of  one  who  is  a 
brother  by  nature.  See  Critical  notes  for  an 
exhibition  of  the  many  meanings  found  in  the 
verse,  etc. 

DOCTEINAL   AND    ETHICAL,    HOMILETIC 
AND   PEACTICAL. 

That  the  chapter  before  us  treats  mainly  of  the 
virtues  of  social  life,  of  sociability,  affability, 
love  of  friends,  compassion,  etc.,  appears  not 
merely  from  its  initial  and  concluding  sentences, 
the  first  of  which  is  directed  against  misanthro- 
pic selfishness,  the  latter  against  thoughtless 
and  inconstant  universal  friendship,  or  seeming 
friendship,  but  also  from  the  various  rebukes 
which  it  contains  of  a  contentious,  quarrelsome 
and  partizan  disposition,  e.  g.  vers.  5,  6,  8,  17-21. 
But  in  addition,  most  of  the  propositions  that 
seem  to  be  more  remote,  may  be  brought  under 
this  general  category  of  love  to  neighbors  as  the 
living  basis  and  sum  of  all  social  virtues ;  so 
especially  the  testimonies  against  wild,  foolish 
talking  (vers.  2,  7,  13,  comp.  4  and  1.5) ;  that 
against  bold  impiety,  proud  dispositions  and 
hardness  of  heart  against  the  poor  (vers.  3,  12, 
23) ;  that  against  slolhfulness  in  the  duties  of 
one's  calling,  foolish  confidence  in  earthly  riches, 
and  want  of  true  moral  courage  and  confidence 
in  God  (vers.  9-11;  comp.  14).  Nay,  even  the 
commendation  of  a  large  liberality  as  a  means 
of  gaining  for  one's  self  favor  and  influence  in 
human  society  (ver.  16),  and  likewise  the  praise 
of  an  excellent  mistress  of  a  family,  are  quite 
closely  connected  with  this  main  subject  of  the 
chapter,  which  admonishes  to  love  toward  one's 
fellow-men ;  they  only  show  the  many-sided 
completeness  with  which  this  theme  is  here 
treated. 

[Chalmers  : — Verse  2  is  a  notabile.  Let  me 
restrain  the  vanity  or  the  excessive  appetite  for 
sympathy  which  inclines  me  to  lay  myself  bare 
before  my  fellow-men. — Lawson  (on  ver.  13) : — ■ 
"Ministers  of  the  word  of  God  are  instructed  by 
this  rule,  not  to  be  rash  with  their  mouths  to 
utter  anything  as  the  word  of  God  in  the  pulpit, 
but  to  consider  well  what  they  are  to  say  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord ;  and  to  use  due  deliberation 
and  inquiry  before  they  give  their  judgment  in 
cases  of  conscience,  lest  they  should  make  sins 
and  duties  which  God  never  made,  eCc."]. 

Therefore  as  a  homily  on  the  chapter  as  a 
whole : — Of  love  (true  love  for  the  sake  of  God 
and  Christ)  as  the  "bond  of  perfectness,"  which 
must  enfold  all  men,  and  unite  them  in  one  fel- 
lowship of  the  children  of  God. — Or  again:  On 
the  difference  between  true  and  false  friendship 
(with  special  reference  to  ver.  24.) — Stookek: — ■ 
Against  division  (alienation,  contention)  between 


friends.  Its  main  causes  are:  1)  Within  the 
sphere  of  the  Church  impiety  (vers.  1-4) ;  21 
Within  the  sphere  of  civil  life,  pride  and  injus- 
tice (vers.  5-10) ;  3)  In  domestic  life,  want  of 
love  (vers.  19-24:).— Calmer  Handbuch .--Testimony 
against  the  faults  which  chiefly  harm  human  so- 
ciety. 

Vers.  1-9.  Geier  (on  ver.  1)  : — Love  of  sepa- 
ration [singularitatis  studium)  is  the  source  of 
most  contentions  in  Church  and  State. — (On  ver. 
4) : — Eloquence  is  a  noble  thing,  especially  when 
its  source  is  a  heart  hallowed  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
— Berleburg  Bible : — When  the  soul  has  once  at- 
tained steadfastness  in  God,  then  words  go  forth 
from  the  mouth  like  deep  waters,  to  instruct 
others  and  to  help  them ;  for  it  is  a  spring  of 
water,  inasmuch  as  the  soul  is  in  the  Fountain. 
— Starke  (on  ver.  6)  : — Calumniators  do  not 
merely  often  start  contentions;  they  themselves 
seldom  escape  unsmitten. — -Von  Gerlach  (on 
ver.  9) : — Slothfulness  leads  to  the  same  end  as 
extravagance. 

Vers.  10-16.  Von  Gerlaoh  (on  ver.  10): — The 
name  of  Jehovah  (He  that  is)  reveals  to  us  His 
eternally  immutable  essence;  in  this  there  is 
given  to  mutable  man  living  here  in  time  the 
firmest  ground  of  confidence,  by  which  he  may 
hold  himself  upright  in  trouble. — Starke  (on 
ver.  11): — Money  and  property  can,  it  is  true, 
accomplish  much  in  outward  matters  ;  but  in  the 
hour  of  temptation  and  in  the  day  of  judgment 
it  is  all  merely  a  broken  reed. — [Bridges  (on 
vers.  10,  11): — Every  man  is  as  his  trust.  A 
trust  in  God  communicates  a  divine  and  lofty 
spirit.  We  feel  that  we  are  surrounded  with 
God,  and  dwelling  on  high  with  Him.  A  vain 
trust  brings  a  vain  and  proud  heart — the  imme- 
diate forerunner  of  ruin. — Bates  (on  ver.  10, 
11) : — Covetousness  deposes  God,  and  places  the 
world,  the  idol  of  men's  heads  and  hearts,  on 
His  throne ;  it  deprives  Him  of  His  regalia.  His 
royal  prerogatives,  etc.  The  rich  man  will  trust 
God  no  further  than  according  to  visible  supplies 
and  means]. — Zeitner  (on  ver.  14): — Wouldst 
thou  have  a  sound  body  ;  then  see  to  it  that  thou 
hast  a  joyful  heart  and  a  good  courage,  a  heart 
which  is  assured  of  the  grace  of  God  and  well 
content  with  His  fatherly  ordaining. — [T.  Adams 
(on  ver.  14)  :  The  pain  of  the  body  is  but  the 
body  of  pain ;  the  very  soul  of  sorrow  is  the 
sorrow  of  the  soul, — Flavel: — No  poniards  are 
so  mortal  as  the  wounds  of  conscience. — Water- 
land  : — On  the  misery  of  a  dejected  mind]. 

Vers.  17-21.  [Lord  Bacon  (on  ver.  17) : — In 
every  cause  the  first  information,  if  it  have  dwelt 
for  a  little  in  the  judge's  mind,  takes  deep  root, 
and  colors  and  takes  possession  of  it ;  insomuch 
that  it  will  hardly  be  washed  out,  unless  either 
some  clear  falsehood  be  detected,  or  some  deceit 
in  the  statement  thereof. — Arnot  : — Self-love 
is  the  twist  in  the  heart  within,  and  self-interest 
is  the  side  to  which  the  variation  from  right- 
eousness steadily  tends  in  fallen  and  distorted 
nature.] — Starke  (on  ver.  17): — He  that  hath 
a  just  cause  is  well  pleased  when  it  is  thoroughly 
examined  ;  for  his  innocence  comes  out  the  more 
clearly  to  view. — Zeltner  (on  ver.  19) : — The 
sweeter  the  wine  the  sharper  the  vinegar;  ac- 
cordingly the  greater  the  love  implanted  by 
nature,  the  more  bitter  the  hate  where  this  love 


170 


THE  PROVERBS  OP  SOLOMON. 


is  violated. — [TRAPP(onver.  19): — No  warbreaks 
out  sooner  or  lasts  longer,  than  that  among 
divines,  or  as  that  about  the  sacrament ;  a  sacra- 
ment of  love,  a  communion,  and  yet  the  occiision, 
by  accident,  of  much  dissension]. — Tiibingen 
Bible  (on  ver.  20,  21) : — Speak  and  be  silent  at 
the  right  time  and  in  the  divine  order,  and  thou 
shall  be  wise  and  blessed. 

Ver.  22.  Luther  (marginal  note  on  ver.  22) : 
The  married  who  is  truly  Christian  knows  that, 
even  though  sometimes  things  are  badly  matched, 
still  his  marriage  relation  is  well  pleasing  to 
God,  as  His  creation  and  ordinance ;  and  what 
he  therein  does  or  endures,  passes  as  done  or 
suffered  for  God. — Stockeb  :  Praise  of  an  ex- 
cellent wife  {probseconjuffis  commendatio)  :  1)  how 
such  a  one  may  be  found;  2)  what  blessing  her 
husband  has  in  her. — Zbltnee.;  The  great  mys- 
tery of  Christ  and  His  church  (Eph.  v.  32)  must 
ever  be  to  married  Christians  the  type  and  model 
of  their  relation. — Von   GEaiACH:     The  great 


blessing  of  a  pious  wife  can  only  be  found,  not 
won  or  gained  by  one's  own  merit. 

Vers.  23,  24.  Starke  (on  ver.  23):  If  poor 
men  must  often  enough  knock  in  vain  at  the 
doors  and  hearts  of  the  rich  of  this  world,  this 
should  be  to  them  only  an  impulse,  to  plead  and 
to  call  the  more  on  God  who  surely  hears  them. 
(On  vers.  24):  Pour  out  your  heart  before  the 
Lord  in  every  extremity  ;  He  is  a  friend  whose 
friendship  never  dies  out. — Von  Gerlach  (on 
ver.  24)  :  The  number  of  one's  friends  is  not  the 
thing, — they  are  often  false,  unfaithful,  and  for- 
sake us  in  misfortune.  Let  none  despair  for  that 
reason  ;   there  are  friends  who  are  more  closely 

and  intimately  joined  to  us  than  even  brothers. 

[Arnot:  The  brother  and  the  friend  are,  through 
the  goodness  of  God,  with  more  or  less  of  imper- 
fection, often  found  among  our  fellows;  but  they 
are  complete  only  in  Him  who  is  the  fellow  of 
the  Almighty.] 


<5)  Admonition  to  humility,  mildness,  and  gentleness. 
Chap.  XIX. 

1  Better  is  the  poor  that  walketh  in  his  integrity 
than  he  that  is  perverse  in  speech  and  is  a  fool. 

2  Where  the  soul  hath  no  knowledge  there  likewise  is  no  good, 
and  he  that  is  of  a  hasty  foot  goeth  astray. 

3  The  foolishness  of  man  ruineth  his  way, 
yet  against  Jehovah  is  his  heart  angry. 

4  Wealth  maketh  many  friends, 

but  the  poor  is  parted  irom  his  friend. 

5  A  false  witness  shall  not  go  unpunished, 
and  he  that  speaketh  lies  shall  not  escape. 

6  Many  court  the  favor  of  the  noble, 

and  every  one  is  friend  to  him  that  giveth. 

7  All  the  brethren  of  the  poor  hate  him, 

how  much  more  doth  his  acquaintance  withdraw ; — 
he  seeketh  words  (of  friendship)  and  there  are  none. 

8  He  that  getteth  understanding  loveth  his  soul, 
he  that  keepeth  wisdom  shall  find  good. 

9  A  false  witness  shall  not  go  unpunished, 
he  that  speaketh  lies  shall  perish. 

10  Luxury  becometh  not  the  fool, 

much  less  that  a  servant  rule  over  princes. 

11  The  discretion  of  a  man  delayeth  his  anger, 
and  it  is  his  glory  to  pass  over  a  transgression. 

12  The  king's  wrath  is  as  the  roaring  of  a  lion, 
but  as  dew  upon  the  grass  is  his  favor. 

13  A  foolish  sou  is  trouble  upon  trouble  to  his  father, 
and  the  contentions  of  a  wife  are  a  continual  dropping. 

14  House  and  riches  are  an  inheritance  from  fathers, 
but  from  Jehovah  cometh  a  prudent  wife. 


CHAP.  XIX.  1-29.  i7J 


15  Slothfalness  sinketh  into  inaction, 
and  an  idle  soul  shall  hunger. 

16  He  that  keepeth  the  commandment  keepeth  his  soul, 
he  that  despiseth  his  ways  shall  die. 

17  He  lendeth  to  the  Lord,  that  hath  pity  on  the  poor, 
and  his  bounty  will  He  requite  for  him. 

18  Correct  thy  son  while  there  is  still  hope, 
but  to  slay  him  thou  shalt  not  seek. 

19  A  man  of  great  wrath  suffereth  punishment, 
for  if  thou  wardest  it  off  thou  must  do  it  again. 

20  Hearken  to  counsel  and  receive  instruction, 
that  thou  mayest  be  wise  afterward. 

21  There  are  many  devices  in  a  man's  heart, 
but  Jehovah's  counsel,  that  shall  stand. 

22  A  man's  delight  (glory)  is  his  beneficence, 
and  better  is  a  poor  man  than  a  liar. 

23  The  fear  of  Jehovah  tendeth  to  life ; 

one  abideth  satisfied,  and  cannot  be  visited  of  evil. 

24  The  slothful  thrusteth  his  hand  in  the  dish, 
and  will  not  even  raise  it  to  his  mouth  again. 

25  Smite  the  scorner  and  the  simple  will  be  wise, 
reprove  the  prudent  and  he  will  understand  wisdom. 

26  He  that  doeth  violence  to  his  father,  and  chaseth  away  his  mother, 
is  a  son  that  bringeth  shame  and  causeth  disgrace. 

27  Cease,  my  son,  to  hear  instruction 
to  depart  from  the  words  of  wisdom. 

28  A  worthless  witness  scofieth  at  judgment, 

and  the  mouth  of  the  wicked  devoureth  mischief. 

29  Judgments  are  prepared  for  scorners, 
and  stripes  for  the  back  of  fools. 

GRAMMATICAL   AND   CEITIOAL. 

Ver.  16.  Altogether  nnnecessarily  Hitziq  proposes  to  read  VdP  instead  of  VilH  and  D'TIO  instead  oJ 
riDnin,  and  translates  *' slothfulness  gives  tasteless  herbs  to  eat."  [E.  calls  this  a  "remarkable  alteration'of  the  text;" 
and  EuEETSCHi  pronounces  it  "  nothing  but  a  shrewd  fancy  of  Hitzig's"]. 

Ter.  16.  Instead  of  the  K'thibh    riDV,    "  shall  be  put  to  death,"  (the  familiar  expression  of  the  Mosaic  law  for  the 

Infliction  of  the  death  penalty),  the  K'ri  reads  more  mildly   ri^D''»    which  is  probably  original  in  chap.  xv.  10,  but  not 

here. — Instead  of  riTl3    Hitziq    reads  in  accordance  with  Jer.  iii,  13    "1113:    "  He  that  acattereth  his  ways,"  but  by  this 

process  reaches  a  meaning  undoubtedly  much  too  artificial,  which  furthermore  is  not  sufBciently  justified  by  an  appeal  to 
li.  24;  Job  xxxi.  7.    [While  Gbsen.  makes  the  primary  meaning  of  nT3    "to  tread  under  foot,"  Fo£a8T  makes  it  "to 

scatter,^ divide,  waste,"  and  interprets  the  "  dividing  one's  ways"  as  a  want  of  conformity  to  the  one  established  worAip. 
This  is  in  his  view  the  antithesis  to  "keeping  the  commandment."  The  only  other  passage  in  which  he  finds  this  literal 
meaning  of  the  verb  is  Pa.  Ixxiti.  20,  where  De  Wette  (see  Comm.  in  loco)  admits  that  this  would  be  a  simpler  completion 
of  the  verae,  but  thinks  himself  obliged  to  take  the  verb,  as  has  usually  been  done,  in  the  sense  of  '•  despise."  Pueest's 
rendering  and  antithesis  seem  preferable. — A.j. 

Ver.  19.  Instead  of  the  E'thibh  7*1  J  (which  would  probably  require  to  be  explained  by  "  hard  "  or  "  frequent,"  aa 
Schultens  and  Ewall  explain  it  from  the  Arabic),  we  must  give  the  preference  to  the  K'ri,  which  also  has  the  support  of 
the  early  translators.  [Fdeest  takes  the  same  view].  Hiizio's  emendation,  'jD  j  instead  of  SlJ  (he  that  dealeth  in 
anger)  is  therefore  superfluous. 

Ver.  23.  j;"l  "  Calamity,  evil "  is  attached  to  the  passive  verb  TpS'  as  an  accusative  of  more  exact  limitation. — 
HlTZia  reads  instead  of  Hpf)''  in3*t  so  that  the  resulting  meaning  is:  "one  stretches  himself  (?)  rests,  fears  no 
sorrow  "  (?). 

Ver.  25.  nOlH  in  clause  6  is  either  to  bo  regarded  as  an  unusual  Imperative  form  (~  nDIH))  [so  B.,  M.,  S.],  or, 
which  is  j)robably  preferable,  aa  a  finite  verb  with  an  indefinite  pronoun  to  be  supplied  as  its  subject  (tis,  quisquam^  Einer, 
one);  so  MmoEE,  Hitziq.  [FcBaaT  calls  it  an  Inf.  constr.,  and  Bott.  would  without  hesitation  read  nOin  8  1051, 
<i).-A.]. 

Ver.  27.  HiTzia  alterti  j^DK' 7  to  VDE?  7  which  according  to  Arabic  analogies  is  to  be  interpreted  "  to  be  rebellion^ 
to  reject." 


172 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  Ver.  1-7.  Admon.  ions  to  meekness  and  ten- 
derness as  they  are  to  be  manifested  especially 
toward  the  poor. — Better  is  a  poor  man  that 
walketh  in  his  integrity  than  he  that  is 
perverse  in  speech  and  is  a  fool.  The 
"crooked  in  lips"  (comp.  the  crooked  or  per- 
verse in  heart,  xi.  20;  xyii.  20)  is  here  doubtless 
the  proud  man  who  haughtily  and  scornfully  mis- 
uses his  lips;  for  to  refer  the  expression  to 
strange  and  false  utterances  is  less  natural  on 
account  of  fhe  antithesis  to  "  the  poor  "  in  clause 
a.  The  ideas  contrasted  are  on  the  one  hand 
that  of  the  "poor"  and  therefore  humble,  and 
"  perverse  of  lips,"  and  on  the  other  hand  the  pre- 
dicates to  these  conceptions,  "walking  in  inno- 
cence," and  the  "fool"  (j.  e.,  foolish  and  un- 
godly at  the  same  time,  the  direct  opposite  of 
humble  innocence).     There  is  therefore  no  need 

of  substituting  some  such  word  as    TiWi?    (rich, 

mighty)  for  TD3  (the  fool),  as  the  Syr.,  Vulg. 
and  HiTziG  do,  nor  yet  of  conceiving  of  the  fool  as 
the  "rich  fool,"  as  most  of  the  later  interpreters 
judge.  Chap,  xxviii.  6,  where,  with  a  perfect 
identity  in  the  first  clauses,  the  "rich"  is  after- 
ward mentioned  instead  of  the  "fool,"  cannot  de- 
cide the  meaning  of  this  latter  expression,  because 
the  second  member  dilfers  in  other  respects  also 
from  that  of  the  proverb  before  us,  "his  ways" 
being  mentioned  instead  of  "his  lips." 

Ver.  2.  Where  the  soul  hath  no  know- 
ledge there  likewise  is  no  good.  DJ,  also, 
stands  separated  by  Hyperbaton  from  the  word 
to  which  it  immediately  relates,  as  in  chap.  xx. 
11  (see  remarks  above  on  xiii.  10)  ;  the  "  not- 
knowing"  of  the  soul,  is  by  the  parallel  "of 
hasty  foot,"  in  clause  b,  more  exactly  defined  as 
a  want  of  reflection  and  consideration;  the  soul 
finally,  is  here  essentially  the  desiring  soul,  or 
if  one  chooses,  the  "desire,"  the  very  longing 
after  enjoyment  and  possession  (comp.  xiii.  2  ; 
xvi.  26).  So  likewise  "  he  that  hasteth  with  his 
feet"  is  undoubtedly  to  be  conceived  of  as  one 
striving  fiercely  and  passionately  for  wealth  ; 
comp.  the  "  hasting  to  be  rich,"  chap,  xxvii.  20, 
and  also  1  Tim.  vi.  9,  10. 

Ver.  3.  The  foolishness  of  man  ruineth 

his  ■way.  The  verb  'ITD  is  not  "to  make  rug- 
ged or  uneven"  (Umbreit,  Elster)  but  prsccipi- 
tare,  "  to  hurl  headlong,  throw  prostrate,  bring 
suddenly  down,"  which  is  its  ordinary  meaning; 
comp.  xiii.  6 ;  xxi.  12.  The  verb  in  clause  b  is 
to  rage,  to  murmur,  i,  e.,  here  to  accuse  Jehovah 
as  the  author  of  the  calamity  ;  comp.  Ex.  xvi.  8; 
Lam.  iii.  .39;  Ecclesiast.  xv.  11  sq. 

Ver.  4.  Comp.  xiv.  20;  also,  below,  vers.  6aq. 
— But  the  poor  is  parted  from  his  friend, 
that  is,  because  the  latter  wishes  to  have  no  fur- 
ther acquaintance  with  him,  separates  his  way 
wholly  from  him;  comp.  ver.  7,  b. 

Ver.  .5.  A  false  w^itness  shall  not  go  un- 
punished; comp.  xvii.  5,  and  for  the  expression 
"uttereth  or  breatheth  out  lies"  in  clause  b, 
comp.  chap.  vl.  19;  xiv.  5.  The  entire  proverb 
occurs  again  in  ver.  9,  literally  repeated  as  far 


as  the  "  shall  not  escape  "  at  the  conclusion,  for 
which  in  the  second  instance  there  appears 
"  shall  perish."  Hitzig  it  is  true  proposes  also 
the  exchange  for  the  phrase  "  he  that  speaketh 
lies  "  in  9,  b,  "he  that  breatheth  out  evil;"  but 
the  LXX  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  sufficiently 
reliable  witnesses  for  the  originality  of  this  di- 
vergent reading. 

Ver.  6.  Many  court  the  favor  of  the  no- 
ble, lit.  "stroke  the  face,"  i.  e.,  flatter  him  (Job 
xi.  19)  who  is  noble  and  at  the  same  time  liberal, 
him  who  is  of  noble  rank  (not  precisely  "a 
prince  "  in  the  specific  sense,  Elster)  and  at  the 
same  time  of  noble  disposition,  comp.  xvii.  7,  26. 
If  accordingly  the  "noble  "  expresses  something 
morally  valuable  and  excellent,  the  "gift"  in 
clause  b  cannot  express  anything  morally  repre- 
hensible, but  must  rather  be  employed  in  the 
same  good  sense  as  in  xviii.  16.  "The  man  of 
n  gift  "  will  therefore  be  the  generous,  he  who 
gives    cheerfully,     and     the    "  aggregate "    or 

"mass"  of  friends  (i?'?.n"43)  whom  he  se- 
cures by  his  gifts,  will  be  lawfully  gained  friends 
and  not  bribed  or  hired  creatures.  The  right 
conception  is  expressed  as  early  as  the  transla- 
tion of  the  Vulg.,  while  the  LXX,  Chald.  and  Syr., 
embodying  the  common  assumption  which  finds 
in  the  verse  a  censure  of  unlawful  gifts  for  bri- 
bery, go  so  far  as  to  read  i>in~73  "  every 
wicked  man  "  (Trcif  6  kukoc,  etc.). 

Ver.  7.  Comp.  ver.  4,  b. — How  much  more 
do  his  acquaintance  withdraw  from  him. 
il^D  (comp.  remarks  on  chap.  xii.  26)  we  shall 
be  obliged  to  take  here  as  an  abstract  with  a  col- 
lective sense  ("  his  friendship"^  his  friends), 
for  only  in  this  way  is  the  plural  of  the  verb  to 
be  explained  (for  which  Hitzig  arbitrarily  pro- 
poses to  write  pH")]). — He  seeketh  words  (of 
friendship) — and  there  are  none.  In  some 
such  way  as  this  we  must  explain  the  third 
clause,  with  which  this  verse  seems  remarkably 
enriched  (comp.  Umbkeit  and  Elster  on  the 
passage) ;  the  K'thibh  is  to  be  adhered  to,  [so 
BoTT.   II.,  p.  60,  n.  4)    which  evidently  gives  a 

better  meaning  than  the  K'ri,  in  I'S  in  interpret- 
ing which  so  as  to  conform  to  the  context  ex- 
positors have  vainly  labored  in  many  ways  (c.  g. 
EwALD :  "  he  that  seeketh  words,  to  him  they 
belong ;"  in  like  manner  Bertheau). — The  LXX 
instead  of  this  third  clause,  which  does  indeed 
stand  in  an  exceptional  form,  like  the  fragmen- 
tary remnant  of  a  longer  proverb,  have  two  whole 
verses;  the  second  of  these:  6  noMa  namnoiav 
re^emovpyel  KaKiav,  bg  ie  kp£^iC,u  Uymg,  ov  ffuijij- 
(jerai  ["he  that  does  much  harm  perfects  mis- 
chief; and  he  that  uses  provoking  words  shall 
not  escape:"  Brenton's  Transl.  of  the  LXX], 
seems  at  least  to  come  tolerably  near  to  the  ori- 
ginal sense  of  the  passage.  Hitzig  through  se- 
veral emendations  obtains  from  this  the  sense 
"  He  that  is  after  gossip  hatcheth  mischief, 

hunting  after  words  which  are  nothing.'' 
Others,  as  Bertheau,  e.  g.,  infer  from  the  oi 
au^!/aETai  of  the  LXX,  that  the  original  text  in- 
stead of  nsn  ah  (they  are  not)  exhibited 
t^^S;   x'?    (shall  not  escape),   but  they  supply 


CHAP.  XIX.  1-29. 


173 


no  definite  proof  tliat  thig  is  original.  At  any 
rate  we  must  conclude  tliat  our  present  text  is 
defective,  inasmucli  as  verses  of  tljree  members 
in  the  main  division  of  the  Booli  of  Proverbs 
which  is  now  before  us  occur  nowhere  else. 
(This  is  otherwise,  it  is  true,  in  Division  I.;  see 
remarks  above  on  chap.  vii.  22,  23,  and  also  in 
the  supplement  of  Hezekiah'a  men:  Comp.  In- 
trod.,  i  14). 

2.  Vers.  8-17.  Further  admonitions  to  mild- 
ness, patience,  pity,  and  other  prominent  mani- 
festations of  true  wisdom. — He  that  getteth 
understanding  (comp.  xv.  32)  loveth  his 
soul ;  comp.   the  opposite,  viii.   36 ;  xxix.   24. 

For  the  construction  of  the  predicate  Di!3  KSpy 
in  clause  6  compare  notes  on  xviii.  24 ;  for  the 
expression  of  chap.  xvi.  20,  etc. 

Ver.  9.  Comp.  notes  on  ver.  5. 

Ver.  10.  Luxury  becometh  not  the  fool. 
Comp.  xvii.  7 ;  xxvi.  1 ;  and  for  clause  b,  xxx. 
22;  Eccles.  x.  7;  Ecclesiast.  xi.  5. — Inasmuch  as 
luxury  naturally  and  originally  belongs  only  to 
princes  and  the  like  exalted  personages,  clause  b 
stands  as  the  climax  of  ffl.  That  "servants  rule 
over  princes"  will,  it  is  true,  not  readily  occur 
among  common  slaves  in  their  relation  to  their 
masters ;  it  may  however  the  more  easily  happen 
at  the  courts  of  oriental  despots,  who  frequently 
enough  exalt  their  favorites  of  humble  rank 
above  all  the  nobles  of  the  realm. 

Ver.  11.  The  discretion  of  a  man  delay- 
ethhis  anger,  makes  him  patient,  lit.  "length- 
ens, prolongs  his  anger,"  [in  the  sense  of  defers 
rather  than  extends  it ;  his  patience  is  what  is 
"lengthened  out "  and  not  his  passion];  comp. 
Isa.  xlviii.  9,  as  well  as  chap.  xiv.  17,  above,  in 
regard  to  impatience  as  the  token  of  a  fool. — 
And  his  glory  is  to  pass  over  transgression, 
lit.,  "  to  go  away  over  transgression,"  comp. 
Mic.  vii.  18. 

Ver.  12.  Roaring  like  that  of  a  lion  is  the 
wrath  of  a  king  ;  comp.  xxvi.  2  ;  also  xvi.  14  ; 
xxviii.  15.  With  the  figure  of  the  sweetly  re- 
freshing dew  in  clause  b  compare  xvi.  15 ;  Ps. 
Ixxii.  6. 

Ver.  13.  A  foolish  son  is  stroke  upon 
stroke  to  his  father.  The  plural  "  troubles, 
calamities,"  expresses  the  repetition,  the  suc- 
cession of  many  calamities ;  Umbre:t  and  HiT- 
zio  therefore  will  translate  "ruin  upon  ruin;" 
comp.  also  Ziegler  "  a  sea  of  evils." — And  the 
brawling  of  a  wife  is  a  continual  drop- 
ping; for  this  latter  phrase  see  also  xxvii.  15; 
a  pertinent  figure,  reminding  of  the  distilling  of 
the  dew  in  12,  4,  although  contrasted  with  it  in 
its  impression.  The  scolding  words  of  the  bad 
wife  are  as  it  were  the  single  drops  of  the  steady 
rain,  as  her  perpetual  temper  pours  itself  out. 

Ver.  14.  Comp.  xviii.  22,  and  the  German  and 
English  proverb  according  to  which  "  marriages 
are  made  in  heaven"  ["a  proverb  which,"  says 
Archbishop  Trench,  "  it  would  have  been  quite 
impossible  for  all  antiquity  to  have  produced,  or 
even  remotely  to  have  approached"]. — Ver.  15. 
Slotbfulness  sinketh  into  torpor;  lit., 
"oauseth  deep  sleep  to  fall"  (comp.  Gen.  ii.  21), 
brings  upon  man  stupor  and  lethargy ;  comp.  vi. 
9,  10 — ^With  clause  i  compare  x.  4 ;  xii.  28. — 
Ver.  16.  With  clause  a  comp.  xvi.  17 ;  Eccles.  viii. 


5. — He  that  taketh  no  heed  to  his  w^ays 
shall  die. — See  critical  notes. — Ver.  17. — With 
clause  a  compare  xiv.  31 ;  with  b,  xii.  14  ;  with 
the  general  sdntiment  (which  appears  also  in  the 
Arabic  collection  of  Meidani),  Eccles.  xi.  1 ; 
Matth.  XXV.  40;  Luke  vi.  30-35. 

3.  Vers.  18-21.  Admonition  to  gentleness  in 
parents  and  children,  with  respect  to  the  work 
of  education. — Correct  thy  son  w^hile  there 
is  still  hope, — that  is,  that  he  may  reform  and 
come  to  the  true  life.  This  last  phrase  "while 
there  is  hope"  appears  also  in  Job  xi.  18  ;  Jer. 
xxxi.  16  sq. — With  b  compare  xxiii.  13.  [Rueet- 
scm  calls  attention  to  the  deep  import  of  this  se- 
cond clause,  ordinarily  misunderstood.  It  is  not 
a  caution  against  excess  of  severity,  but  against 
the  cruel  kindness  that  kills  by  withholding  sea- 
sonable correction.  He  suggests  as  further  pa- 
rallels xiii.  24 ;  iii.  12 ;  xxii.  15  ;  Ecclesiast.  xxx. 
l.-A.] 

Ver.  19.  A  man  of  great  wrath  sufFereth 
punishment. — One  "great  of  wrath"  is  one 
who  has  great  wrath  (Dan.  xi.  44;  2  Kings  xxii. 
13) ;  comp.  Jer.  xxxii.  19  :  "  One  great  in  coun- 
sel."— For  if  thou  w^ardest  it  off  thou  must 

do  it  again. — For  this  use  of  /"Sn,  lit.,  "  deli- 
ver,"— with  reference  to  the  ruinous  action  o< 
angry  and  contentious  men  specifically  to  "  avert 
or  ward  off"  (Hitziq),  comp.  2  Sam.  xiv.  6. 
[But  this  very  passage  favors  more  the  common 
rendering  ;  for  the  object  is  personal,  which  re- 
quires the  meaning  "take  away,  i.  e.,  deliver,'' 
while  the  rendering  preferred  by  Z.  and  Hitziq 

demands  for  the  object  the  tyjj>,  punishment, 
of  clause  a.  Db  W.,  B.,  N.,  S.,  M.,  W.  agree 
with  this  view,  while  K.  supports  the  general 
idea  of  Z. — A.]  The  last  phrase  can  express 
only  the  idea  that  such  an  interposition  must  be 
frequently  repeated,  and  therefore  that  in  spite 
of  all  efforts  to  the  contrary  the  wrathful  man 
must  still  at  last  fall  into  calamity  and  punish- 
ment. The  entire  verse  accordingly  gives  a  rea- 
son for  the  dissuasion  in  ver.  18  against  too  vio- 
lent passion  in  the  correction  of  disobedient 
children  [but  see  the  supplementary  note  in  re- 
gard to  the  true  meaning  of  clause  6]  ;  yet  this 
is  not  done  in  any  such  way  that  the  "  thou  must 
do  it  again  "  would  refer  to  frequent  corrections, 
and  so  to  the  sure  prospect  of  real  reformation, 
as  many  of  the  older  expositors  maintain. 

Ver.  20.  Comp.  xii.  15.  Afterward — lit.,  in 
thy  future,  comp.  Job  iii.  7 ;  xlii.  12. — Ver.  21 
gives  the  constant  direction  toward  God  which 
the  wise  conduct  of  the  well  trained  son  must 
take  during  his  later  life.     Comp.  xvi.  1,  9. 

4.  Vers.  22-29.  Miscellaneous  admonitions,  re- 
lating especially  to  humanity,  truthfulness,  the 
fear  of  God,  eCc— Aman's  delight  is  his  be- 
neficence.— ni5n  (comp.  note  on  iii.  3)  is  here 
to  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  the  active  manifesta- 
tion of  love,  or  charitableness,  for  it  is  not  the 
loving  disposition,  but  only  its  exhibition  in  li- 
beral benefactions  and  offerings  prompted  by 
love  to  others,  that  can  be  the  object  of  man's 
longing,  desire  or  delight :  [Fuerst  renders 
"Zier,"  ornament,  honor.]  Comp.  Acts  xx.  35  : 
"It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." 
With  this  conception  of  clause  a  the  preference 


174 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


expressed  in  b  best  corresponds, — that  of  the 
poor  and  lowly  to  the  "man  of  lies,"  i.  c,  the 
rich  man  who  promises  aid,  and  might  give  it, 
but  as  a  selfish,  hard-hearted  man,  still  fails  to 
render  it.— The  LXX  and  Vulg.  deviate  somewhat 
in  the  first  clause  from  the  literal  rendering  of 
the  original.  From  their  readings,  which  more- 
over differ  somewhat  the  one  from  the  other, 
HiTziG  has  by  combination  reached  what  he  rep- 
resents as  the  original  meaning:  "From  the 
revenue  (?)  of  a  man  comes  his  kind  gift." 

Ver.  23.  With  a  compare  xiv.  27. — One 
abideth  satisfied  and  cannot  be  visited  of 
evil, — because  Jehovah  does  not  suffer  such  as 
fear  Him  to  hunger  (x.  3),  but  in  every  way  pro- 
tects, promotes  and  blesses  them  (x.  29 ;  xiv.  26 ; 
xviii.  10,  etc.).  The  subject  of  the  verbs  in  clause 
A  is  strictly  the  possessor  of  the  fear  of  God,  the 
devout  man. 

Ver.  24.  The  slothful  thrusteth  his  hand 
in  the  dish,  etc. — An  allusion  to  the  well-known 
method  of  eating  among  Oriental  nations,  which 
needs  no  knife  and  fork.  A  similar  figure  to 
characterize  the  slothful  is  found  in  chap.  xii.  27. 
Compare. also  (he  proverb  in  chap.  xxvi.  15, 
which  in  the  first  half  corresponds  literally  with 
the  one  before  us. 

Ver.  2-5.  Smite  the  scorner  and  the  sim- 
ple 1)7111  be  ■wise. — Since  the  scorner,  accord- 
ing to  chap,  xiii.  1  (see  notes  on  this  passage), 
"heareth  not  rebuke,"  but  is  absolutely  irre- 
claimable, the  simple  who  "becometh  wise"  in 
view  of  the  punishment  with  which  the  other  is 
visited,  will  be  such  a  one  as  is  not  yet  quite  a 
scorner,  but  is  in  danger  of  becoming  so,  and 
therefore  must  be  deterred  by  fear  of  the  pe- 
nalty. In  contrast  with  this  "simple"  one  who 
walks  in  the  right  way  only  by  constraint  (comp. 
remarks  on  i.  4),  the  "man  of  understanding," 
he  who  is  really  prudent,  learns  at  once  on  mere 
and  simple  reproof,  because  he  has  in  general 
finer  powers  to  discriminate  between  good  and 
evil  (Heb.  v.  14),  and  has  moreover  a  reliable 
tendency  to  good. 

Ver.  26.  He  that  doeth  violence  to  his 
father.. — The  verb  ITl/  signifies  "to  assail  vio- 
lently, roughly,  to  misuse,"  as  in  xxiv.  15 ;  Ps. 
xvii.  9. — n'''13n  is  then  "  to  cause  to  flee,  thrust 
or  chase  away." — With  b  compare  xiii.  5;  with 
ty'^D  in  particular  x.  5. 

Ver.  27.  Cease,  my  son,  to  hear  instruc- 
tion to  depart  from  the  ■words  of  ■wisdom. — 
Two  conceptions  are  possible:  1)  The  "instruc- 
tion "  is  that  of  wisdom  itself,  and  therefore  a 
good,  wholesome  discipline  that  leads  to  life ; 
then  the  meaning  of  the  verse  can  be  only  ironi- 
cal, presenting  under  the  appearance  of  a  dis- 
suasion from  discipline  in  wisdom  a  very  urgent 
counsel  to  hear  and  receive  it  (so  Ewald,  Bee- 
THEAD,  Ei.stee).  [To  Call  this  "ironical" 
seems  to  us  a  misnomer.  "  Cease  to  hear  in- 
struction only  to  despise  it."  What  can  be  more 
direct  or  literally  pertinent?  Cease  to  hear 
"for  the  departing,"  i.  e.,  to  the  end,  with  the 
sole  result  of  departure. — A.]  2)  The  "instruc- 
tion "  is  evil  and  perverted,  described  in  clause 
b  as  one  that  causes  departure  from  the  words  of 
wisdom.  Then  the  admonition  is  one  seriously 
intended  (thus  most  of  the  old  expositors,  and 


XJmbkeit  [W.,  H.,  N.,  S.,  etc.]).  We  must  choosf 
for  ourselves  between  the  two  interpretations, 
although  the  connection  in  which  the  proverb 
stands  with  the  preceding  verse  seems  to  speak 
decidedly  for  the  former  of  the  two. 

Ver.  28.  A  -worthless  -witness  scofFeth  at 
judgment — i.  e.,  by  the  lies  which  he  utters. — 
And  the  mouth  of  the  vricked  devouretb 
mischief, — i.  c,  mischief  is  the  object  of  his  pas- 
sionate desire;  it  is  a  real  enjoyment  to  him  to 
produce  calamity ;  he  swallows  it  eagerly  as  if 
it  were  a  sweet  fruit  (Job  xx.  12;  Is.  xxviii.  4): 
he  "  drinketh  it  in  like  water  "  (Job  xv.  16).  Thus 
apprehended  the  expression  "  to  devour  mischief 
or  wrong  "  has  nothing  at  all  offensive  in  it,  and 
we  do  not  need  either  with  the  Chaldee  (comp. 
Geier,  etc.)  to  get  rid  of  it  by  exchanging  the 
idea  of  "  devouring  "  for  that  of  "  uttering,"  or 
in  any  other  way ;  nor  with  Hitzig  (following 
the  LXX)  to  read  instead  of  "mischief" 
(tlX)  "justice  (t'T),  and  to  translate  accordingly 
"and  the  mouth  of  the  wicked  devoureth  jus- 
tice." 

Ver.  29.  Judgments  are  prepared  for 
scorners  and  stripes  for  the  back  of  fools. 
— The  "scorners"  are  quite  the  same  as  the 
"fools,"  as  the  first  clause  of  ver.  25  shows ;  and 
the  "  stripes  "  (the  term  the  same  as  in  xviii.  6) 
are  a  special  form  of  "judicial  penalties  or 
judgments."  The  verse  as  a  whole,  with  which 
chap.  xiv.  3 ;  xxvi.  3  should  be  compared,  stands 
in  the  relation  of  an  explanation  to  the  preceding, 
especially  to  the  idea  that  the  wicked  eagerly 
devours  calamity.  [Their  eagerness  is  not  for- 
gotten by  a  just  God,  and  fitting  judgments  await 
them. — A.] 

DOCTRINAL,    ETHICAL,   HOMILETIC  ASD 
PRACTICAL. 

In  the  considerably  rich  and  varied  contents 
of  the  chapter,  that  which  stands  forth  most  con- 
spicuously as  the  leading  conception  and  central 
idea  is  the  idea  of  the  gentleness  and  mildness  to 
be  manifested  in  intercourse  with  one's  neigh- 
bors. Gentleness  and  an  humble  devotion,  ready 
even  for  suffering,  man  ought  to  exhibit  first  of 
all  toward  God,  against  whom  it  is  not  proper  to 
complain  even  in  calamity  (ver.  8),  who  is  in  all 
things  to  be  trusted  (vers.  14,  17),  according  to 
whose  wise  counsels  it  is  needful  always  to  shape 
the  life  (ver.  21),  and  in  whose  fear  one  should 
ever  walk  (ver.  23).  Not  less  is  a  gentle  de- 
meanor a  duty  for  the  married  in  their  mutual 
intercourse  (ver.  13,  14);  for  parents  in  the 
training  of  their  children  (vers.  18,  19,  25);  for 
children  toward  their  parents  (vers.  20,  26) :  for 
the  rich  in  dispensing  benefactions  among  the 
poor  (vers.  1,  4,  7,  22) ;  for  rulers  and  kings  to- 
w.ard  their  subjects  (ver.  12  ;  comp.  vers.  6, 10); 
for  men  in  general  in  their  intercourse  with 
their  neighbors  (ver.  11 ;  comp.  vers.  19,  27,  28). 
By  far  the  larger  number  of  the  proverbs  in  the 
chapter  are  therefore  arranged  with  reference 
to  this  leading  and  underlying  conception  of 
gentleness  ;  the  whole  presents  itself  as  a  tho- 
rough unfolding  of  the  praises  and  commenda- 
tions of  meekness  in  the  New  Testament,  which 
are  well  known  ;  e.  g.,  Matth.  v.  5  ;  James  i.  20, 
21. — Only  some  single  proverbs  are  less  aptly 


CHAP.  XIX.  1-29. 


175 


olassified  in  this  couuection,  such  as  the  warning 
against  hasty,  inconsiderate,  rash  action  (ver.  2); 
that  against  untruthfulness  (vers.  9,  28) ;  against 
slothfulness  (vers.  15,  24) ;  against  folly  and  a 
mocking  contempt  of  the  holy  (vers.  8,  16,  29). 
And  yet  these  interspersed  sentences  of  a  some- 
what incongruous  stamp  do  not  by  any  means 
essentially  disturb  the  connection  of  the  whole 
which  is  maintained  and  ruled  by  the  fundamen- 
tal idea  of  gentleness. 

Therefore  we  may  very  suitably,  in  the  homi- 
letical  treatment  of  the  chapter  as  a  whole,  take 
this  as  the  general  subject :  The  praise  of  meek- 
ness, as  it  is  to  be  exhibited,  1)  in  respect  to 
God,  by  the  quiet  reception  of  His  word  (James 
i.  21),  and  bringing  forth  fruit  with  patience 
(Luke  viii.  15) :  2)  in  relation  to  one's  neighbors, 
by  humility,  obedience,  love,  compassion,  etc. — • 
Comp.  Stookeb  :  Against  contempt  of  poor 
neighbors:  1)  Dissuasion  from  this  peculiarly 
evil  fruit  of  wrath  and  uncharitableness  (vers. 
1-15) ;  2)  enumeration  of  some  of  the  chief  means 
to  be  used  against  wrath  in  general  {remcdia,  s. 
retinacula  irse,  vers.  16-29). — WoHirARTH  :  On 
contempt  of  the  poor,  and  the  moderation  of 
anger. 

Vers.  1-7.  Geiee  (on  ver.  1)  :  To  the  pious 
poor  it  may  impart  a  strong  consolation,  that 
notwithstanding  their  poverty  they  are  better 
esteemed  in  the  sight  of  God  than  a  thousand  un- 
godly and  foolish  rich  men. — Berleburg  Bible  (on 
ver.  1 ) :  He  who  has  nothing  that  is  his  own,  who 
accounts  himself  the  poorest  of  all  men,  who  sees 
nothing  good  in  himself,  and  yet  with  all  this 
stands  in  the  uprightness  of  his  heart  and  in  all 
simplicity,  is  far  more  pleasing  to  God  than  the 
souls  that  are  rich  in  endowments  and  in  learn- 
ing, and  yet  despise  and  deride  the  simple. — ■ 
Starke  (on  ver.  4) :  Art  thou  forsaken  by  thy 
friends,  by  father  and  mother,  by  all  men,  be  of 
good  comfort !  if  it  be  only  on  account  of  good- 
ness, God  will  never  forsake  thee. — (On  vers.  6, 
7) :  We  often  trust  in  men  more  than  in  God,  but 
find  very  often  that  this  hope  in  men  is  abortive, 
and  is  brought  to  shame. — [Robert  Hall  (on  ver. 
2) :  Sermon  on  the  advantages  of  knowledge  to 
the  lower  classes.— -T.  Adams  (on  ver.  4) :  Solo- 
mon says  not  the  rich  man,  but  riches  ;  it  is  the 
money,  not  the  man,  they  hunt.] 

Vers.  8-17.  [Muffet  (on  ver.  8) :  Every  one 
hath  a  heart,  but  every  one  possesseth  not  his 
heart.  He  possesseth  his  heart  that,  furnishing 
it  with  knowledge  of  the  truth,  holdeth  his  heart 
firm  and  fast  therein,  not  suffering  his  courage 
to  fail,  nor  losing  that  good  possession  which  he 
hath  gotten. — Chalmers  (on  ver.  10) :  With  all 
the  preference  here  expressed  for  virtuous  po- 
verty— the  seemliness  of  rank  and  the  violence 
done  by  the  upstart  rule  of  the  lower  over  the 
higher,  are  not  overlooked.] — Melanchthon  (on 
ver.  10):  The  ungoverned  and  uneducated  are  in 
prosperous  conditions  only  the  more  insolent  and 
base,  as,  e.  g.,  Rehoboam,  when  he  became  king, 
Alexander  the  Great  after  his  great  victories,  etc. 
— Tubingen  Bible  (on  ver.  11) :  It  is  great  wisdom 
to  bear  injustice  with  patience,  and  to  overcome 
and  even  to  gain  over  one's  persecutors  with  '^»- 
nefits,  1  Pet.  ii.  19;  Matth.  v.  44  sq.— (On  vers. 
13,  14) :  God's  wise  providence  manifests  itself 
very  specially  in  the  bestowal  of  good  and  pious 


partners  in  marriage. — Von  Gerlach  (on  ver. 
17) :  The  poor  the  Lord  regards  as  specially  His 
own,  and  therefore  adjusts  those  debts  of  theirs 
which  they  cannot  pay. — Berleb.  Bible:  With 
that  which  the  righteous  man  dispenses  in  bene- 
factions to  the  poor,  he  is  serving  God  in  his 
counsels  with  respect  to  men. — [Lord  Bacon  (on 
ver.  11) :  As  for  the  first  wrong,  it  does  but  of- 
fend the  law  ;  but  the  revenge  of  that  wrong  put- 
teth  the  law  out  of  office.  Certainly,  in  taking 
revenge  a  man  is  but  even  with  his  enemy,  but 
in  passing  it  over  he  is  superior. — Trapp  (on 
ver.  11):  The  manlier  any  man  is,  the  milder 
and  readier  to  pass  by  an  offence.  When  any 
provoke  us  we  say.  We  will  be  even  with  him. 
There  is  a  way  whereby  we  may  be  not  even  with 
him,  but  above  him,  and  that  is,  forgive  him. — 
Arnot:  The  only  legitimate  anger  is  a  holy 
emotion  directed  against  an  unholy  thing.  Sin, 
and  not  our  neighbor,  must  be  its  object;  zeal 
for  righteousness,  and  not  our  own  pride,  must 
be  its  distinguishing  character. — Mtjffet  (on 
ver.  17) ;  The  Lord  will  not  only  pay  for  the 
poor  man,  but  requite  him  that  gave  alms  with 
usury,  returning  great  gifts  for  stnall.  Give, 
then,  thy  house,  and  receive  heaven  ;  give  tran- 
sitory goods,  and  receive  a  durable  substance ; 
give  a  cup  of  cold  water  and  receive  God's  King- 
dom.'— W.  Bates:  As  there  are  numerous  exam- 
ples of  God's  blasting  the  covetous,  so  it  is  as  vi- 
sible He  prospers  the  merciful,  sometimes  l)y  a 
secret  blessing  dispensed  by  an  invisible  hand, 
and  sometimes  in  succeeding  their  diligent  en- 
deavors in  their  callings.] 

Ver.  18-21.  Tiibing en  Bible :  Cruelty  to  children 
is  no  discipline.  Wisdom  is  needful,  that  one  in 
the  matter  of  strictness  may  do  neither  too  much 
nor  too  little  to  them. — Zeltnee:  Too  sharp 
makes  a  notched  edge,  and  too  great  strictness 
harms  more  than  it  helps,  not  only  in  the  disci- 
pline of  children,  but  in  all  stations  and  rela- 
tions.— Starke  (on  ver.  21) :  God  is  the  best 
counsellor.  Who  ever  enters  upon  His  cause 
with  Him  must  prosper  in  it. — [J.  Foster:  The 
great  collective  whole  of  the  "devices"  of  all 
hearts  constitutes  the  grand  complex  scheme  of 
the  human  race  for  their  happiness.  Respecting 
the  object  of  every  device  God  has  His  design. 
There  is  in  the  world  a  want  of  coalescence  be- 
tween the  designs  of  man  and  God;  an  estranged 
spirit  of  design  on  the  part  of  man.  God's 
design  is  fixed  and  paramount,  and  "  shall 
stand."] 

Vers.  22-29.  Melanchthon  (on  ver.  25) :  Not 
all,  it  is  true,  are  improved  by  the  warning  ex- 
ample of  the  correction  which  comes  upon  (he 
wicked,  but  some,  that  is,  those  who  are  rational 
and  not  insane,  those  who  hearken  to  admonition 
and  follow  it. — Starke  (on  ver.  25) :  The  final 
aim  of  all  penalty  should  be  the  improvement  as 
well  of  him  who  is  punished  as  of  others  who 

may  there  see  themselves  mirrored (On  ver. 

26) :  He  who  would  not  experience  shame  and 
sorrow  of  heart  from  his  children,  let  him  accus- 
tom them  seasonably  to  obedience,  to  the  fear  of 
God  and  reverence. — J.  Lanqe:  God's  word  is 
the  right  rule  and  measure  of  our  life.  Whoso- 
ever departs  from  this,  his  instruction  is  deceitful 
and  ruinous. — Hasios  (on  ver.  29)  :  Every  sin, 
whether  great  or  small,  has  by  God's  ordinance 


176 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


its  definite  penalty.  Happy  he  who  recognizes 
this,  and  knows  how  to  shun  these  punish- 
ments. 

[Bp.  Hall  (on  ver.  22) :  That  which  should  be 
the  chief  desire  of  a  man  is  his  beneficence  and 
kindness  to  others;  and  if  a  rich  man  promise 
much  and  perform  nothing,  »■  poor  man  that  is 
unable  either  to  undertake  or  perform  is  better 
than  he. — Aknot:  A  poor  man  is  better  than  a 
liar;  a  standard  has  been  set  up  in  the  market 
place  to  measure  the  pretences  of  men  withal,  and 
those  who  will  not  employ  it  must  take  the  con- 
sequences.— Chalmers  (on  Ter.  23) :  Religion 
may  begin  with  fear,  but  will  end  in  the  sweets 


and  satisfactions  of  a  spontaneous  and  living 
principle  of  righteousness. — Bp.  Shbklook  (on 
ver.  27) ;  Since  the  fears  and  apprehensions  of 
guilt  are  such  strong  motives  to  infidelity,  the 
innocence  of  the  heart  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
the  freedom  of  the  mind.  We  must  answer  for 
the  vanity  of  our  reasonings  as  well  as  the  vanity 
of  our  actions,  and  if  we  take  pains  to  invent 
vain  reasoning  to  oppose  to  the  plain  evidence 
that  God  has  afforded  us  of  His  being  and  power, 
and  to  undermine  the  proofs  and  authority  on 
which  religion  stands,  we  may  be  sure  we  shall 
not  go  unpunished.] 


e)  Admonition  to  avoid  drunkenness,  sloth,  a  contentious  spirit,  etc 
Chap.  XX. 

1  Wine  is  a  mocker,  strong  drink  boisterous, 
whosoever  is  led  astray  thereby  is  not  wise. 

2  As  the  roaring  of  a  lion  is  the  dread  of  the  king ; 
he  that  provoketh  him  sinneth  against  his  own  soul. 

3  It  is  an  honor  to  a  man  to  dwell  far  from  strife, 
but  every  fool  breaketh  forth. 

4  The  sluggard  plougheth  not  because  of  the  cold ; 
he  seeketh  in  harvest  and  hath  nothing. 

5  Counsel  in  the  heart  of  a  man  is  as  deep  waters, 
but  a  wise  man  draweth  it  out. 

6  Many  proclaim  each  his  own  grace ; 
but  a  faithful  man  who  can  find  ? 

7  He  who  in  his  innocence  walketh  uprightly, 
blessed  are  his  children  after  him  ! 

8  A  king  sitting  on  his  throne, 
searcheth  out  all  evil  with  his  eyes. 

9  Who  can  say,  I  have  made  my  heart  clean, 
I  am  pure  from  my  sin? 

10  Divers  weights  and  divers  measures, 

an  abomination  to  Jehovah  are  they  both. 

11  Even  a  child  maketh  himself  known  in  his  deeds, 
whether  his  work  be  pure,  and  whether  it  be  right, 

12  The  ear  that  heareth,  and  the  eye  that  seeth — 
Jehovah  hath  created  them  both. 

13  Love  not  sleep,  lest  thou  come  to  poverty  ; 
open  thine  eyes,  and  be  satisfied  with  thy  bread. 

14  "  It  is  bad,  it  is  bad  !  "  saith  the  buyer, 

but  when  he  is  gone  his  way  then  he  boasteth. 

15  There  is  gold,  and  a  multitude  of  pearls ; 
but  a  precious  vase  are  lips  of  knowledge. 

16  Take  his  garment  that  is  surety  for  a  stranger, 
and  for  strangers  make  him  a  bondsman. 

17  Bread  of  deceit  is  sweet  to  a  man, 

but  afterward  his  mouth  is  filled  with  gravel. 

18  Plans  are  established  by  counsel, 
and  with  good  advice  make  war. 


CHAP.  XX.  1-80.  177 


19  He  that  goeth  about  as  a  talebearer  revealeth  secrets  ; 
with  him  that  openeth  wide  hia  lips  have  nothing  to  do. 

20  He  that  curseth  father  and  mother, 
his  light  goeth  out  in  utter  darkness. 

21  An  inheritance  that  is  hastily  gained  in  the  beginning, 
its  end  will  not  be  blessed. 

22  Say  not;  Let  me  avenge  the  evil  I 
wait  on  Jehovah  ;  he  will  help  thee. 

23  An  abomination  to  Jehovah  are  diverse  weights, 
and  a  deceitful  balance  is  not  good. 

24  Man's  steps  are  of  Jehovah ; 

man — ^how  shall  he  understand  his  way  ? 

25  It  is  a  snare  to  a  man  that  he  hath  vowed  hastily, 
and  after  vows  to  inquire. 

26  A  wise  king  sifteth  the  wicked, 

and  bringeth  the  (threshing)  wheel  over  them. 

27  The  spirit  of  man  is  a  candle  of  Jehovah, 
searching  all  the  chambers  of  the  body. 

28  Grace  and  truth  preserve  the  king, 
and  he  upholdeth  his  throne  by  mercy. 

29  The  glory  of  young  men  is  their  strength, 
and  the  honor  of  old  men  is  the  grey  head. 

30  Wounding  stripes  are  a  correction  of  evil, 
and  strokes  in  the  inner  chambers  of  the  body. 

GEAMMATIOAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

Ver.  2.  n^^HD  is  either  to  be  pointed  with  Hitziq  113^n?D  (partic.  with  suffix  from  a  denominative  verb  of  Am- 
malc  form  "l^J^jl,  "to  throw  into  a  passion,  to  excite  wrath  "  [nT3_J?].  or,  which  ia  probably  simpler,  with  Ewald,  Bee- 

THEAO,  [Fuerst],  etc.,  to  conceive  of  it  as  a  HitVip.  participle,  whose  ordinary  meaning,  "  to  become  excited  against  any 
one,"  (comp.  xxvi.  17)  here  passes  over  into  the  transitive  idea,  "to  excite  some  one  against  one's  self,  to  call  some  one 
forth  against  one's  self."  Altogether  too  artificial,  and  in  conflict  with  the  old  versions  (LXX :  6  n-apof  vi'wi'  avrov ;  "V'ulg. : 
owi  provocat  eum)  is  Umbreit's  explanation  :  "  he  that  arouseth  himself  (riseth  up)  against  him  [the  king]."  [E.  V.,  H., 
».,  M,,  etc.,  agree  with  our  author;  Db  W.  and  Notes,  with  Umbreit]. 

Ver.  3.  riDE'  is  according  to  the  Masoretic  punctuation  the  Infinitive  of  31^'  [as  in  Isa.  xxx.  7]  and  not,  as  most  of 
the  recent  interpreters  [among  them  TJmbreit,  Ewald,  Hitzig,  [Fuerst,  M.,  etc.]],  regard  it,  a  substantive  from  the  root 
nSE',  for  which  derivation  certainly  no  other  support  could  be  adduced  than  Ex.  xxi.  19. 

Ver.  4.  The  K'ri  7Xti?1  is  doubtless  preferable  to  the  K'thibh  ^Xli'^  (Ps.  cix.  10),  for  "to  beg  in  harvest"  would 
-  T  :  .  ■•  T ; 

give  a  meaning  too  intense.    [So  H.,  S.,  etc.]. — Hlizio  changes  cl*inD  into  Cl"in;3,  which,  according  to  Arabic  analogies, 

should  mean  "a  fruit  basket;"  he  then  reads  7KK'''  "he  demands,  desires,"  and  obtains  the  meaning: 

"A  pannier  [?]  the  sluggard  doth  not  provide  [?], 

"  trieth  to  borrow  [?]  in  harvest,  and  nothing  cometh  of  it  [?]." 

Ver.  9.  ['mriD,  cited  by  Boit.  J  948,  c,  as  one  of  the  examples  of  the  "  stative  "  perfect,  used  to  describe  spiritual 

states.    inS',  one  of  his  examples  of  the  "  .Fi'ens  licilum,"  the  Imperf.  used  to  express  what  can  be:  "who  can  say;" 

{950,  ^.— A.]        .  ,       ,  . 

Ter.  16.  [np7  standing  emphatically  at  the  beginning  of  a  verse,  one  of  the  few  instances  of  the  full  Imperative 

form ;  BoTl.  g  1101,  2— A.]. 

Ver.  18.  EwAlD  proposes  instead  of  PK^J?  toread  the  Infin.  nty^i  as  in  chap.  xxi.  3  ;  but  the  Imperative  seems  more 

appropriate,  and  gives  to  the  expression  greater  vivacity. 

Ver.  22.  [l'^    ^E/'l,  one  of  the  few  examples  of  double  accent,  the  penultimate  accent  marking  the  rhythm,  that  on 

the  ultima  sustaining  its  vowel;  BoTl.g  482,  e.f. — The  Jussive  form  with  1  consec.  is  used  to  assert  a  sure  result;  Borr. 
"o^rmaiiu  consecutiv." — A.] 

Ver.  25,  jjV,  essentially  Identical  with  T^}!h,  signifies,  according  to  the  Arabic,  "to  speak  inconsiderately,  to  pro- 
mise thoughtlessly ;"  tylp  is  here  not  a  substantive,  but  an  Infinitive  continuing  the  finite  verb.  According  to  this 
simple  explanation,  which  is  lexically  well  justified,  Bwald'8  conception  of  j;T  as  a  substantive,  which  should  be  pointed 
Jf7',and  translated,  "hasty  vow,"  may  be  dismissed  as  superfluous ;  and  also  the  derivation  preferred  by  Jekome,  Luthee 
and  others  of  the  older  expositors,  from  the  root  yiS  "  to  swallow"  [Vulgate  :  devorare  sanctos ;  Luther  :  "  das  Heitige 
l&8tem"].    [Gesen.  and  Fdeest  are  authorities  for  the  view  adopted  by  our  author,  while  Bott.,  with  great  positivenes* 

[2  964,  5  and  n.  7]  pronounces  the  form  a  Jussive  form  with  a  "  permissive  "  meaning,  from  j;i7  or  J?_J? 7  ;  " let  him  only, 
t.  e.  if  he  only  hurry  or  hasten  too  much." — A.} 

Ver.  29.  [O'linS)  young  men,  j«i>6n«»,  aa  distinguished  from  D'"lin3,  youth,  ,;'a»«»!as;  comp.  Bott.,  J  408,  ^.— A.]. 

12    ■     '' 


178 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


BXEGETICAL. 

1.  Vera.  1-5.  Various  precepts  of  prudence 
and  integrity,  (especially  directed  against  drunk- 
enness, a  contentious  spirit  and  indolence). — 
■Wine  is  a  mocker.  The  spirit  of  wine,  and 
in  like  manner  that  of  "mead"  or  "strong 
drink"  (1^^,  CMspa,  Luke  i.  15),*  a  frequent 
accompaniment  or  substitute  of  wine  (comp. 
Lev.  X.  9;  Num.  yi.  3;  Judg.  xiii.  4  sq. ;  Isa.  v. 
il ;  xxviii.  7,  etc.),  appears  here  "personified,  or 
represented  as  in  a  sense  an  evil  demon,  which 
excites  io  frivolous  wantonness,  to  wild  and 
boisterous  action,  and  by  the  confusion  of  the 
senses  into  which  it  plunges  man,  robs  him  of 
all  clear  self-possession"  (Elster). — 'Whoso- 
ever is  led  astray  thereby  is  not  ■wise. 
With  this  phrase  "  to  stagger,  or  reel  because  of 
or  under  something"  comp.  v.  19.  For  the 
general  meaning,  Isa.  xxviii.  7. 

Ver.  2.  With  clause  a  compare  xix.  12  (which 
is  literally  identical  with  the  clause  before  us, 
except   that   this   has   nD^5<,  "dread"  [terrible 

word,  an  utterance  that  spreads  terror]  instead 
of  ^i'l). — He  that  provoketh  him  sinneth 
against  his  cwn  soul.  For  the  first  phrase  see 
Critical  Notes. — "  Sinneth  against  his  own  soul " 
(WHi,  an  accusative  of  respect) ;  comp.  kindred 
although  not  identical  expressions  in  viii.  36; 
Ti.  32. 

Ver.  3.  It  is  an  honor  to  a  man  to  diwell 
far  from  strife.  See  Critical  Notes.  To  "dwell 
far  from  strife  "  is  an  apt  expression  to  describe 
the  quiet,  peaceable  demeanor  of  the  wise  man, 
in  contrast  with  the  passionate  activity  of  the 
contentious   multitude.     For   the   meaning   and 

use  of  the  verb  of  clause  b,  I'vJH^,    comp.  xvii. 

14 ;  xviii.  1 ;  with  the  meaning  of  the  whole 
expression  comp.  xix.  11. 

Ver.  4.  The  sluggard  plougheth  not  be- 
cause of  the  cold,  that  is,  because  the  season 
in  which  his  field  should  be  cared  for  is  too  dis- 
agreeably rough  and  cold  for  him.  [For  illus- 
tration see  Thomson's  Land  and  Book,  I.,  207]. 
In  consequence  of  this  indolent  procedure  "he 
seekeih  in  harvest " — for  fruits  of  his  field — "  and 
there  is  nothing."  See  Critical  Notes.  [Rubet- 
8CHI,  ubi  supra,  p.  149,  retaining  the  general 
meaning,  objects  that  the  term  here  used  is  not 
the  one  that  of  itself  describes  the  cold  and 
stormy  harvest  time;  he  therefore  retains  the 
:temporal  meaning  of  the  preposition,  and  ren- 
ders, "from  the  time  of  the  (fruit)  harvest  on- 
ward," etc.,  this  being  the  proper  time  for  the 
ploughing  and  sowing,  a  time  which  none  can 
suffer  to  pass  by. — A.] 

Ver.  5.  Counsel  in  the  heart  of  man  is  as 
deep  ivaters,  etc.;  i.  e.  the  purpose  that  one  has 
formed  may  be  difScult  to  fathom  (see  the  same 
figure,  chap,  xviii.  4)  ;  a  wise  man  nevertheless 
draws  him  out,  elicits  from  him  his  secret,  and 

brings  it  to  light.     hSt  means  to  "  draw  "  water 

with  a  feueket  ("hx  Isa.  xl.  15),  to  bring  it  up 

*  For  a  full  and  v.ilnable  diarussion  of  the  meaning  of 
these  and  kindred  terms,  see  an  article  by  Dr.  Laurie  in  the 
.Biblioi/teca  JSacrct,  January,  18C9. — A. 


laboriously  from  a,  deep  place  (Ex.  ii.  16,  19) a 

metaphor  suggested  by  the  figure  in  clause  a 
and  evidently  very  expressive. 

2.  Vers.  6-11.  On  the  general  sinfulness  of 
men. — Many  proclaim  each  his  OMrn  grace 
(or  love).  The  verb  which  is  originally  to  "call" 
is  here  to  "  proclaim,  to  boast  of,"  priedicare. 
E'''X,  "each  individual"  of  the  "many  a  man," 
the  mass  or  majority  of  men. — But  a  faithful 
man  -who  can  find  ?  For  the  phrase  "  a  man 
of  fidelity,"  comp.  xiii.  17  ;  xiv.  5 ;  for  the  gen- 
eral meaning,  Ps.  cxvi,  11  ;   Rom.  iii.  4. 

Ver.  7.  He  Tvho  in  his  Innocence  walk- 
eth  upright.  Thus,  taking  p'lX  attributively, 
as  an  adjective  subordinated  to  the  participle,  the 
LXX,  Vulg.,  Syr.,  had  already  treated  the  con- 
struction, and  later  Ewald  and  Hitzig  [and 
Kamph.];  while  recent  expositors  generally 
render,  ';is  a  righteous  man"  [H.  and  N.],  or 
in  other  instances  treat  the  "righteous"  as  the 
subject  (Umbrbit,  Elster,  etc.),  [S.  and  M., 
E.  v.,  andDEW.]. — With  this  benediction  tipon 
the  descendants  of  the  righteous  in  clause  5 
comp.  xiv.  26  ;  with  the  VinS  "  after  him,"  i.  e. 
after  his  death,  Gen.  xxiv.  67  ;  .Tob  xxi.  21. 

Ver.  8.  A  king  ....  searcheth  out  all 
evil  with  his  eyes.  The  natural  reference  is 
to  the  king  as  he  corresponds  with  his  ideal,  that 
he  be  the  representative  on  earth  of  God,  the 
supreme  Judge.  Comp.  xvi.  10;  also  Isa.  xi.  4, 
where  similar  attributes  to  these  are  ascribed  to 
the  Messiah,  as  the  ideal  typically  perfect  king. 
With  this  use  of  the  verb  "to  sift  or  winnow," 
to  separate,  comp.  ver.  26. 

Ver.  9.  'Who  can  say :  I  have  made  my 
heart  clean,  I  am  pure  from  my  siu  ?  The 
question  naturally  conveys  a  decided  negative 
by  implication:  "No  one  can  saj,"  etc. ;  comp. 
ver.  6  b,  and  ver.  24  b.  It  is  not  a  permanent 
purity,  a  "having  kept  one's  self  pure"  (from 
birth  onward)  that  is  the  subject  of  the  emphatic 
denial  in  this  proverb  (in  opposition  to  Bek- 
THEAu's  view),  but  a  having  attained  to  moral 
perfection,  the  having  really  conquered  all  the 
sins  that  were  in  existence  before,  that  is  denied. 
We  should'  therefore  bring  into  comparison  not 
passages  like  Job  xiv.  4;  xv.  14;  Ps.  li.  5  (7), 
but  such  OS  1  Kings  viii.  46 ;  Eccles.  vii.  20 ;  1  John 
i.  8 ;  James  iii.  2,  etc.  With  this  expression,  "  I 
have  made  my  heart  clean,"  comp.  Ps.  Ixxiii.  13, 

Ver.  10  draws  attention  to  deception  in  busi- 
ness intercourse  as  a  peculiar  and  prominent 
form  of  that  universal  sinfulness  which  has  just 
been  spoken  of  as  having  no  exceptions.  Comp. 
chap.  xi.  1,  and  ver.  23  below.  With  the  lan- 
guage in  clause  b  compare  xvii.  15  A. 

Vers.  11.  Even  a  child  maketh  himself 
known  in  his  deeds.  With  regard  to  the  D3> 
"even,''  which  does  not  belong  to  the  word  next 
following,  but  to  the  I^J,  "child"  (as  Geiek, 
Umbreit,  EiSTEB,  Hitzig  rightly  interpret), 
comp.  remarks  on  xix.  2. — "  His  deeds"  Ewaid 
and  Umbreit  are  inclined  to  render  by  "plays, 
sports,"  in  disregard  of  the  uniform  meaning  of 
the  word,  and  in  opposition  to   the   only  correot 

construction  of  the  "  even."     D'S^^O  is  rather 
the  works,  the  actions,  the  individual  results  of 


CHAP.  XX.  1-30. 


na 


the  child's  self-determination,  from  which  it  may 
even  now  be  with  confidence  inferred  of  what 
sort  "his  work"  is,  i.  e.  the  entire  inner  ten- 
dency of  his  life,  his  character  (if  one  prefers 
the  notion),  the  nature  of  his  spirit  (Hitzig). — 
That  this  thought  also  stands  related  to  the  fact 
of  universal  sinfulness  needs  no  fuller  demon- 
stration. Comp.  the  familiar  German  proverb, 
"  Was  ein  Diirnchen  werden  will  spitzt  sich  bei 
Z'itm  "  [what  means  to  become  a  thorn  is  early 
sharpening], 

3.  Vers.  12-19.  Admonitions  to  confidence  in 
God^to  industry,  prudence  and  integrity. — -The 
ear  that  heareth,  and  the  eye  that  seeth — 
Jehovah  hath  created  them  both.  An  al- 
lusion, plainly,  not  to  the  adaptation,  the  divine 
purpose  and  direction  in  the  functions  of  hear- 
ing and  seeing  (Hitzio),  but  to  God's  omniscience 
as  a  powerful  motive  to  the  fear  of  God  and  con- 
fidence in  Him ;  comp.  xv.  3,  and  especially  Ps. 
xeiv.  9. 

Ver.  13.  With  a  compare  vi.  9,  10. — Open 
thine  eyes,  and  thou  shalt  be  satisfied 
with  bread.  The  imperative  clause,  "be  sat- 
isfied with  bread,"  has  here  the  meaning  of  a 
cottseoutive  clause,  as  in  iii.  4.  [This  illustrates 
what  BoTT.,  ^  957,  6,  calls  the  "desponsive"  use 
of  the  Imperative,  conveying  sure  promises]. 
With  this  language  compare  xii.  11.  To  "open 
the  eyes  "  is  naturally  the  opposite  of  sleep  and 
drowsiness,  and  therefore  the  description  of 
wakeful,  vigorous,  active  conduct. 

Ver.  14.  "  It  is  bad,  it  is  bad  !  "  saith  the 
buyer,    but   -when   he    is    gone   his   -way 

(17  7lKl,  for  which  we  should  perhaps  with 
Hitzio  read  1/  TiNI,  corresponds  with  the  Ger- 
man, "  und  trollt  er  sich  "  [when  he  takes  himself 
oif],  when  he  has  gone  his  way)  then  he 
boasteth,  i.  b.  of  the  good  bargain  that  lie  has 
made.  The  verse  therefore  censures  the  well- 
known  craft,  the  deceitful  misrepresentation, 
with  which  business  men  seek  to  buy  their  wares 
as  cheap  as  possible,  below  their  real  value  if 
they  can.     In  opposition  to  the  true  meaning  of 

npp,  as  well  as  inconsistently  with  the  idea  of 
boasting  in  the  second  clause,  Sohultens  and 
Elster  (and  Littheb  likewise)  render:  "It  is 
bad,  it  is  bad  !  saith  the  owner  (?)  of  his  posses- 
sion; but  when  it  is  goue(?)  then  he  boasteth  of 
it(?)." 

Ver.  15.  There  is  indeed  gold  and  a 
multitude  of  pearls,  etc.  As  these  precious 
things  are  compared  in  chap.  iii.  14,  15;  viii.  11, 
with  intelligent,  wise  dispositions  and  discourse, 
so  are  they  here  compared  with  wise  lips,  that  is, 
with  the  organ  of  wise  discourse.  In  this  con- 
nection we  should  doubtless  notice  the  difference 
between  "  gold  and  pearls  "  as  valuable  native 
material,  not  yet  wrought  into  articles  of  orna- 
ment, and  on  the  other  hand,  the  lips  as  an  ar- 
tistic "vase"  or  other  "vessel"  (that  has  come 
forth  from  the  hand  of  the  divine  artificer,  and 
is  adorned  and  embellished  by  man's  wise  use 
of  it). 

Ver.  16.  Comp.  vi.  1-5 ;  xi.  15 ;  xvii.  18.  In- 
stead of  the  warnings  that  are  there  found  against 
foolish  suretyship,  we  have  here  in  a  livelier 
style  a  demand  to  give   over   at   once,  without 


hesitation  as  bondsman  any  such  inconsiderate 
surety. — And  for  strangers  make  him  a 
surety.  Instead  of  the  K'ri  "  for  a  strange 
woman,"  i.  «.,  an  adulteress,  we  should  unques- 
tionably retain  here  the  K'thibh,  "  for  strangers, 
unknown  people;"  while  in  the  corresponding 
passage,  chap,  xxvii.  13,  rflDl  "  the  strange 
woman"  is  undoubtedly  the  correct  reading. 

Ver.  17.  Bread  of  deceit  is  sweet  to  a 
man,  /.  e.,  enjoyments  and  possessions  secured 
by  means  of  deceit;  comp.  xxiii.  3;  ix.  17. — For 
this  use  of  "  sand,  gravel,"  (an  appropriate  em- 
blem to  describe  a  thing  not  to  be  enjoyed)  comp. 
Lam.  iii.  16. 

Ver.  18.  Flans  are  established  by  coun- 
sel. Tny  here  equivalent  to  ^1D,  counsel 
which  one  takes  with  another, — comp.  xv.  22. — 
And  ■with  good  advice  make  v^ar.  The 
"  advice"  or  management  (comp.  i.  5)  is  plainly 
contemplated  as  the  result  of  the  counsel  that 
has  been  taken  ;  comp.  xxiv.  6. 

Ver.  19.  With  clause  a  compare  xi.  13;  with 
6,  xiii.  3. 

4.  Vers.  20-23.  Against  hatred  of  parents,  le- 
gacy-hunting, revenge,  deceit.' — He  that  cur- 
seth  father  and  mother,  and  so  in  the  boldest 
way  transgresses  the  fifth  commandment  of  the 
law,  (Ex.  XX.  12,  comp.  Ex.  xxi.  17;  Lev.  xx. 
9).— His  light  goeth  out  in  utter  darkness. 
The  same  figure  is  used  also  in  xiii.  9,  here  as 
there  serving  to  illustrate  the  hopeless  destruc- 
tion of  life  and  prosperity. — In  regard  to  ]'lty''X, 
the  "pupil  of  the  eye,  blackness,  midnight" — 
for  which  the  K'ri  unnecessarily  demands  the 
Aramaic    ptyx — comp.  notes  on  vii.  9. 

Ver.  21.  All  inheritance  that  hath  been 
hastily  gained  in  the  beginning.     In  favor 

of  the  K'ri  n^nba,  "  hurried,  hastened  "  (comp. 
EsTHEU,  viii.  14,  and  also  remarks  above  on 
chap.  xiii.  11),  we  have  the  testimony  of  the  an- 
cient versions,  the  parallel  in  xxviii.  20,  22,  and 
besides  the  position  of  this  verse  after  verse  20. 
For  it  is  precisely  the  wayward  son,  who  de- 
spises and  curses  his  parents,  that  will  be  very 
readily  disposed  to  seize  upon  his  inheritance  be- 
fore the  time  against  their  will  (comp.  Luke  xt. 
12),  and  possibly  even  to  drive  his  parents  vio- 
lently out  of  their  possession  (comp.  xix.  26). 
That  no  blessing  can  rest  upon  such  possessions, 
that  as  they  were  unrighteously  acquired  at  first 
so  they  must  in  the  end  be  wasted  and  come  to 
nought,  is  a  truth  which    clause   6  in  a  simple 

way  brings  to  view.  The  K'thibh  ribnbo  would 
either  signify  "cursed,"  in  accordance  with 
Zech.  xi.  8  (so  Elster,  e.  g.,  regards  it),  or  in 
accordance  with  the  Arabic,  "  acquired  by  ava- 
rice "  (soUmbeeit).  [H.,  N.,  W.,  S.,  M.,  Beb- 
THEAU,  Kamph,  etc  ,  agree  in  supporting  the  ex- 
position adopted  by  our  author]. 

Ver.  22.  Say  not :  let  me  avenge  the  evil ; 
i.  e  ,  do  not  desire  to  requite  evil  with  evil,  do 
not  avenge  thyself  for  oifences  that  have  been 
done  thee;  comp.  xxiv.  29;  Deut.  xxxii.  35; 
Rom.  xii.  17;  1  Pet.  iii.  9.— The  second  member 
of  clause  b  is  evidently  a  consecutive  clause,  as 
the  Jussive  frequently  is  after  the  Imperative ; 


180 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


comp.  Isa.  Tiii.  10;  2  Kinga  v.  10.  The  Vulgate 
correctly  renders  "e/  liberabit  ^(3,"  while  the  LXX, 
RosENMUELiER,  EwALD,  efc,  treat  the  words  as 
a  final  clause ;   "  that  he  may  keep  thee." 

Ver,  2.3.  Comp.  ver.  10.  A  deceitful  ba- 
lance is  not  good;  (Z,,  "is  shameful,"  lit.  is 
"  not  good,  is  no  good,"  as  in  xvii.  26 ;  xviii.  5) ; 
a  litolcs,  expressing  the  idea  of  that  which  is  very 
base. 

5.  Ver.  2i-30.  Miscellaneous  admonitions  to 
the  fear  of  God  and  integrity. — From  Jeho- 
vah are  man's  steps;  comp.  xvi.  9;  Ps. 
xxxvii.  2.3.  The  "steps"  are  naturally  "not 
acts  in  their  suhjectiTe  ethical  aspect,  but  these 
acts  according  to  their  result,  their  several  is- 
sues in  a  par.allel  series  of  experiences, — and 
therefore  those  events  depending  on  the  action  of 
man  which  make  up  its  external  counterpart  " 
(Hitzig). — In  regard  to  the  emphatic  negative 
import  of  the  question  in  clause  6,  compare  re- 
marks on  ver.  9. 

Ver.  2-5.  Before  the  B'lp  ;>S^  [he  hath  vow- 
ed hastily]  there  should  be  supplied  the  con- 
junction □!<,  "if;"  therefore  render  literally 
"it  is  a  snare  to  a  man,  vows  he  hastily,"  i.  c, 
if  he  in  a  liasty  manner  promises  to  devote  a 
thing  to  God  as  sacred  (as  nopflav,  Mark  vii.  11). 
See  Critical  notes. — Furthermore  hasty  conse- 
crations, and  in  like  manner,  according  to  clause 
b  the  hasty  assumption  of  vows,  are  here  called  a 

"  snare  "  (^Tp,  comp.  remarks  on  xviii.  7),  be- 
cause he  who  makes  the  rash  vow  afterwai-d 
easily  repents  of  it,  and  falls  under  the  tempta- 
tion sinfully  to  break  or  to  recall  his  vow  (comp. 
Numb.  XXX.  3;  Eccles.  v.  3). 

Ver.  26.  A  Twise  king  sifteth  the  wicked. 
To  "sift"  or  "winnow"  expresses  here,  just  as 
it  does  in  ver.  8,  a  discriminating  separation  of 
the  chaft'  from  the  grain;  comp.  for  this  familiar 
and  pertinent  figure  Ps.  i.  4  ;  Isa.  xvii.  13 ;  Am. 
ix.  9. — And  bringeth  the  wheel  over  them, 
i.  e.,  the  wheel  of  the  threshing  cart  (Isa.  xxviii. 
27  sq.),  which  however  is  contemplated  here  not 
80  much  as  an  instrument  of  harvesting,  as  ra- 
ther in  the  light  of  a  means  and  emblem  of  the 
severe  punishment  of  captive  enemies  (in  accord- 
ance with  2  Sam.  xii.  31 ;  1  Chron.  xx.  3  ;  Am. 
i.  3).  There  is  therefore  no  offence  to  be  taken 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  in  the  operation  of  thresh- 
ing the  crushing  with  the  wheel  preceded  the 
winnowing  or  sifting,  while  here  it  is  not  men- 
tioned until  after  it  (in  reply  to  Bertiif-.^u). 

Ver.  27.  The  spirit  of  man  is  a  candle  of 
Jehovah;  lit.,  "  man's  breath,"  for  this  is  the 
first  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  term  DDE/J  (Gen. 
ii.  7) ;  yet  it  is  not  the  soul  which  pervades  and 
animates  all  the  members  of  the  body  (as  Hit- 
«[Q  renders),  according  to  the  view  of  many  of 
the  elder  expositors,  as  also  Starke,  Von  Qer- 
LAOH,  etc.,  but  the  spirit,  as  the  higher  manifes- 
tation of  soul-life,  or  if  any  one  prefers,  the  rea- 
son, sdf-consciousness  (Umbreit,  Elster)  that  is 
intended  by  the  expression.  For  all  analogies 
are  wanting,  at  least  within  the  range  of  the  Bi- 
ble, for  a  comparison  of  the  soul  with  a  light  (the 
Arabic  maxim  in  Kazwini  Cosmog.  I.  355,  in 
which  the  soul,  Nephesch,  is  designated  the  light 
of  the  body,  plainly  has  no  bearing  on  our  pre- 


sent object).  On  the  contrary  the  inner  light  or 
eye,  {Td<pij<;  rb  h  aol)  of  which  the  Lord  speaks 
in  Matth.  vi.  22,  23,  is  unquestionably  an  organ 
or  factor  of  the  higher  spiritual  soul,  more  pre- 
cisely designated  as  the  vovg  or  the  reason.;  In 
support  of  the  idea  that  HOtSJ  in  the  parage 
before  us  signifies  essentially  this  and  notliing 
else,  there  may  be  adduced  the  identity  of 
D"n  riDtyj  with  D"n  n?1  as  indicated  by  a 
comparison  of  Gen.  vi.  17  with  Gen.  ii.  7.  The 
expression  "  candle  of  Jehovah  "  moreover  seems 
to  point  rather  to  the  spirit  as  that  factor  in  hu- 
man personality  which  proceeds  immediately 
from  God,  than  to  the  soul  which  inheres  in  the 
physical  life,  and  does  not  rise  essentially  above 
it.* — [WoRDSw.  and  some  other  English  exposi- 
tors understand  the  allusion  to  be  specifically  to 
the  conscience ;  the  majority  are  content  with 
the  more  comprehensive  term  spirit,  including 
intellectual  and  moral  factors. — A,]. — Search- 
ing all  the  chambers  of  the  body,  i.  c,  look- 
ing through  its  whole  interior, — which  clearly 
suggests  the  ruling  relation  of  this  "searcher" 
to  the  body,  the  sphere  of  its  activity,  and  so  is 
very  pertinent  with  respect  to  the  spirit,  but 
not  to  the  soul.  In  regard  to  the  "  chambers  of 
the  body  "  comp.  ver.  36,  and  xviii.  8. 

Ver.  28.  Grace  and  truth  preserve  the 
king.  "Mercy  and  truth,"  or  "love  and 
truth,"  not  quite  in  the  sense  of  iii.  3;  the  at- 
tributes of  a  king  are  intended  by  the  terms, 
which  should  rather  be  rendered  "grace  and 
truth."  With  this  idea  of  "preserving"  comp. 
Ps.  XXV.  21 ;  with  that  of  "upholding  "  in  clause 
b,  Isa.  ix.  6. 

Ver.  29.   Comp.  xvi.  31 ;   xvii.  6. 

Ver.  30.  Wounding  stripes  are  a  correc- 
tion of  evil  and  strokes  (that  reach)  to  the 
chambers  of  the  body  ;  i.  e.,  stripes  or  blows 
that  cause  wounds,  such  as  one  administers  to 
his  son  under  severe  discipline  (comp.  xix.  18), 
have  this  beneficial  effect,  that  they  intend  a  sa- 
lutary infliction  or  correction  "on  the  evil"  in 
this  son,  as  a  scouring  of  the  rust  which  has  ga- 
thered on  a  metal  cleanses  and  brightens  the  me- 
tal. And  not  merely  does  such  an  external 
chastening  as  this  accomplish  the  sharp  correc- 
tion of  the  son;  it  penetrates  deep  into  the  in- 
most parts  of  the  body  (comp.  remarks  on  ver. 
27),  i.  e.,  to  the  innermost  foundations  of  his  per- 
sonal life  and  consciousness,  and  so  exerts  a  re- 
forming influence  on  him.  Thus  Ewald  and 
Elster  correctly  render,  and  substantially  Um- 
breit also  (comp.  Luther's  version,  which  ex- 
presses the  true  meaning  at  least  in  general), 
while  Bertheac  regards  pI'lDfl,  "remedial 
application,"  as  the  subject,  and' (after  the  ana- 
logy of  Esthei-  ii.  3,  9,  12)  understands  it  to  re- 
fer to  "  the  application  of  ointments  and  per- 
fumes for  beautifying"  (!  ?)  ;  Hitzig,  however, 
naturally  emends  again,  and  by  changing  plIDP 
to  3p'  ^D^  obtains  the  meaning:  "Wounding 
stripes  drop  (?)  into  the  cup  of  the  wicked  (?) 
and  strokes  into  the  chambers  of  the  body." — 
[Our  English  version  is  defective  from  its  obscu- 
rity;   The  blueness  of  a  wound  cleanseth  away  evil. 

*  Ton  RcDlopp,  Lehrr.  vrrm  Uenschem,  2cl  Ed.,  p.  48,  also  taiM 
a  correct  view  of  the  passage. 


CHAP.  XX.  1-30. 


181 


Recent  expositors  are  clearer  in  their  renderings, 
and  differ  but  sligUtly  in  their  choice  of  terms. 
Stcaet;  Wounding  stripes  (H.  ;  the  bruises  of  a 
wound)  are  the  remedy  for  the  base  (H.  ;  are  a 
cleanser  in  a  wicked  man) ;  N.  and  M. ;  The  scars 
(stripes)  of  a  wound  are  a  cleansing  from  evil; 
WOBDSW.,  paraphrasing  somewhat  more:  The 
stripes  of  a  wound  are  the  (only)  wiping  away  of 
(certain  cases  of)  evil.'\ 


DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

It  is  evidently  impossible  to  derive  the  many 
maxims  of  the  chapter  from  a  single  primary  and 
fundamental  thought.  The  warning  against 
drunkenness  or  the  passion  of  the  intemperate, 
which  introduces  the  diversified  series,  has  in 
tbe  further  progress  of  the  discourse  no  succes- 
sor whatsoever  of  similar  form,  and  could  be  re- 
taiaed  as  the  theme  or  the  germinal  thought  for 
the  whole  only  by  the  most  artificial  operations, 
Buoh  as  Stooker,  e.  g.,  and  others  of  former 
times  undertook  (comp.  the  introductory  para- 
graph to  the  Homiletic  hints).  Much  more  rea- 
dily might  a  contentious  and  revengeful  spirit  be 
regarded  as  the  chief  object  of  the  admonitory 
representations  and  suggestions  of  this  section 
(see  vers.  2,  3,  6,  14,  19,  22j.  But  a  space  at 
least  equally  large  is  given  to  the  dissuasions 
from  indolence  and  deceit  (vers.  4,  10,  13,  14, 
17,  23),  and  again  to  the  commendations,  some- 
what more  general  in  their  form,  of  wise  and^up- 
right  conduct  (vers.  7,  9,  11,  15,  18,  24—26,  29). 
Only  a  single  group  of  proverbs  in  this  chap, 
stands  out  from  the  mass  of  diverse  and  isolated 
maxims  and  aphorisms,  as  contemplating  one 
object  with  considerable  compactness  and  unity 
of  view.  This  is  the  division  which  relates  to 
Vni  general  sinfulness  of  men  (vers.  6-11).  And 
this  in  fact  presents  also  the  richest  and  most 
Important  doctrinal  material  whioh  the  chapter 
anywhere  contains.  Starting  with  the  fact, 
alas!  too  palpable,  that  really  faithful  men,  i.  e.. 
men  who  are  on  all  sides  reliable,  free  from  all 
falsehood  and  untruth,  are  to  be  found  nowhere 
on  the  earth  (ver.  6;  chap.  John  viii.  46,  and  the 
passages  cite^  above  in  notes  to  ver.  6),  the  re- 
presentation brings  into  the  foreground  the  ideal 
of  moral  innocence,  uprightness,  and  the  practi- 
cal prosperity  which  belongs  to  it,  as  this  ought 
actually  to  be  realized  by  humanity  (ver.  7).  It 
then  at  once  suggests  the  crying  contrast  which 
exists  between  the  real  moral  condition  of  hu- 
manity and  the  ethical  aim  of  its  perfect  state, 
pointing  to  the  manifold  and  numberless  forms 
of  evil  in  conflict  with  which,  injudicial  expo- 
sures and  punishments  of  whioh,  earthly  kings 
even  now  are  engaged  (ver.  8).  It  next  gives 
an  outright  expression  to  the  universal  need  of 
purification  and  improvement  (ver.  9),  and  then 
brings  forward  a  special  and  conspicuous  exam- 
ample  of  the  deceitful  acts  and  endeavors  of  all 
men,  so  odious  to  God  (ver.  10).  It  concludes 
at  length  with  a  hint  of  that  corruption  in  the  de- 
vices and  impulses  of  the  human  heart  which 
appears  even  in  the  earliest  periods  of  youth 
(ver.  11  ;  Gren.  viii.  21).  The  most  important 
of  these  utterances,  which  are  perhaps  inten- 
tionally arranged  as  they  are  with  reference  to 


the  very  line  of  thought  that  has  been  indicated, 
is  at  all  events  the  testimony  given  in  ver.  9  ti 
the  impossibility  of  ever  attaining  in  this  present 
human  life  to  a  complete  moral  purity  and  perfec- 
tion. We  have  here  a  proverb  which,  in  addition 
to  the  universality,' guiltiness  and  penal  desert, 
of  the  original  corruption  of  human  nature,  at- 
tests very  distinctly  also  its  permanent  character, 
i.  e.,  its  continued  obstinate  and  ineradicable  in- 
herence in  the  soul  and  body  of  man,  its  "  tena- 
cilas,  sive pertinax  inhsesio,"  by  virtue  of  which  a 
certain  spark  of  evil  (or  tinder  for  evil),  a  con- 
cealed germ  and  root  of  sinful  lust  [fames  pec- 
caii  s,  concupiscentia)  remains  in  all  men,  even  the 
most  sanctified  and  morally  elevated,  until  their 
very  death.  This  proverb  is  also  especially  note- 
worthy, because  "in  contrast  with  the  style  of 
conception  which  is  elsewhere  predomfnant  in 
the  proverbs,  according  to  which  the  imperfec- 
tion of  all  human  piety  is  but  slightly  empha- 
sized, and  he  who  is  relatively  pious  is  allowed 
to  pass  as  righteous,  it  gives  expression  to  the 
unsatisfying  nature  of  all  moral  endeavors,  as 
never  conducting  to  the  full  extirpation  o(  the 
sense  of  guilt,  and  a  perfect  feeling  of  peace  with 
God  ;  it  accordingly  suggests  the  need  of  a  higher  re- 
velation^ in  which  the  sense  of  guilt,  and  of  an  ever 
imperfect  fulfilment  of  duty  shall  finally  be  wholly 
overcome"  (Elsteb); 

Memorable  doctrinal  and  ethical  truths  are 
furthermore  contained,  jjarticularly  in  ver.  1, 
with  its  significant  personification  of  the  demon 
of  mockery,  and  wild,  boisterous  recklessness, 
which  as  it  were  lurks  concealed  in  wine  and 
other  intoxicating  drinks; — in  vers.  12  and  24, 
with  their  allusion  to  the  mightily  pervading  in- 
fluence of  God,  the  Omniscient,  overall  the  acts 
and  fates  of  men; — in  ver.  22,  with  its  dissuasion 
from  avenging  one's  self,  and  the  spirit  of  retalia- 
tion, so  suggestive  of  the  New  Testament  com- 
mand of  love  to  enemies ; — in  ver.  25,  with  its 
warning  against  the  hasty  assumption  of  reli- 
gious vows; — in  ver.  27,  with  its  beautiful  illus- 
tration of  the  all-embracing  authority,  and  the 
moulding  influence  which  man's  spirit,  as  his  in- 
ward divine  light,  must  exercise  over  his  entire 
physical  and  spiritual  life  (and  in  the  normal 
self-determination  does  actually  exercise) ; — and 
finally,  in  ver.  28,  with  its  admirable  exaltation 
of  the  loving,  faithful,  upright  disposition  of 
kings  as  the  firmest  prop  to  their  thrones.  Com- 
pare above,  the  Exegetical  explanations  of  all 
these  passages. 

[Lawson  (on  ver.  7):  The  integrity  of  the  just 
man  is  not  like  the  pretended  integrity  of  the 
moralist,  for  it  includes  piety,  justice,  sobriety, 
and  a  conscientious  regard  to  every  precept  of 
God,  without  excluding  those  that  appear  to  vain 
men  to  be  of  small  importance,  or  those  that  most 
directly  oppose  the  prevailing  disposition  of  the 
mind. — Chalmers  (on  ver.  27) :  In  order  to  sal- 
vation, the  Spirit  must  deal  with  the  subjective 
mind,  and  illuminate  the  ruling  faculty  there,  as 
well  as  set  the  objective  word  before  us,  which 
is  of  His  own  inspiration.  A  more  vivid  con- 
science will  give  us  a  livelier  sense  of  God's  law  : 
a  more  discerning  consciousness,  reaching  to  all 
the  thoughts  and  tendencies  of  the  inner  man, 
will  give  us  a  more  convincing  view  of  our  sad 
and  manifold  deficiencies  from  that  law.] 


182 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOJION. 


HOMILETIC    AND    PRACTICAL. 

Homily  on  the  chapter  as  a  whole:  The  gene- 
ral sinfulness  and  need  of  salvation  on  the  part 
of  all  men,  demonstrated  1)  from  the  magnitude 
and  variety  of  the  vices  that  prevail  in  huma- 
nity ;  2)  from  the  rareness  of  a  sincere  striving 
after  virtue;  3)  from  the  absolute  impossibility 
of  finding  complete  purity  and  holiness  except 
in  Christ. — Stocker  (less  in  harmony  with  the 
proper  and  chief  contents  of  the  chapter  ;  comp. 
what  has  been  said  above) :  Of  intemperance  in 
drinking,  and  its  evil  consequences:  1)  Delinea- 
tion of  the  aiyuTia  vini;  2)  Reference  to  tlie  in- 
commoda  (the  inconveniences),  and  3)  to  the  re- 
media  el>rietatis  (the  remedies  of  drunkenness). — ■ 
In  like  manner  Wohlfarth,  Calmer  Handb.,  etc.  ; 
against  the  intemperance  and  the  wildness  of  the 
scoffer. 

Vers.  1-5.  Stakke  (on  ver.  1) :  He  who  is  in- 
clined to  physical  drunkenness  will  not  be  vigo- 
rous spiritually  ;  Eph.  Y.  18  (comp.  Von  Geb- 
LACH  :  A  wild,  unconscious  excitement  is  far 
from  a  lioly  wisdom). — Geier  (on  ver.  2) :  The 
Wrath  of  an  earthly  king  is  intolerable  ;  how 
much  more  the  infinite  eternal  wrath  of  the  King 
of  all  kings  against  persistent  sinners  at  the 
judgment! — [Lawson  (on  ver.  3)  :  A  fool  is  so 
self-conceited  that  he  can  bear  no  contradiction; 
so  impertinent  that  he  will  have  a  hand  in  every 
other  man's  business;  so  proud  that  he  cannot 
bear  to  be  found  in  tlie  wrong ;  and  so  stubborn 
that  he  will  have  the  last  word,  although  his  lips 
should  prove  his  destruction]. — Zeltneb  (on  ver. 
4)  ;  On  observing  times  (Rom.  xii.  11  ;  Eph.  v. 
18)  everything  depends  in  physical  as  well  as 
spiritual  things. — J.  Lange  (on  ver.  5)  ;  For  the 
testing,  searching,  and  discriminating  between 
spirits,  there  should  be  a  man  who  is  furnished 
with  the  spirit  of  Christ. 

Vers.  6-11.  Zeltner  (on  ver.  6):  It  is  far  bet- 
ter to  show  one's  self  in  fact  pious,  benevolent, 
true  and  upright,  than  merely  to  be  so  regarded 
and  proclaimed. — [Tbapp  (on  ver.  7):  Personal 
goodness  is  profitable  to  posterity ;  yet  not  of 
merit,  but  of  free  grace,  and  for  the  promise' 
sake], — Starke  (on  ver.  8):  When  Christ,  the 
Lord  and  King  of  the  whole  world,  shall  at  length 
sit  in  judgment,  then  will  all  evil  be  driven 
away  by  His  all  holy  eyes,  brought  to  an  end  and 
punished. — (On  verse  9)  :  The  justified  have 
and  keep  sins  within  them  even  to  their  death; 
but  they  do  not  let  these  rule  in  them,  Rom.  vi. 
11.  He  betrays  his  spiritual  pride  and  his  en- 
tanglement in  gross  error,  who  imagines,  and,  it 
may  be,  also  maintains,  that  he  has  within  him- 
self no  more  sins,  1  John  i.  8,  9. — (On  ver.  11)  : 
He  that  has  charge  of  the  training  of  children, 
benefits  not  them  only,  but  the  whole  of  human 
society,  when  he  incites  flexible,  well-disposed 
spirits  to  good,  and  seeks  to  draw  away  the  vile 
from  evil  with  care  and  strictness. 

Ver.  12-19.  Melanchthon  (on  ver.  12):  To 
the  successful  conduct  of  a  state  two  things  are 
always  needful:  1)  good  counsels  of  the  rulers, 
and  2)  willing  obedience  of  the  subjects.  Both 
Solomon  declares"  to  be  gifts  of  God,  when  he 
describes  Him  as  the  Creator  both  of  the  hearing 
ear  and  of  the  seeing  eye. — Geier  (on  ver.  12) : 


It  is  God  from  whom  we  possess  all  good  as  well 
in  temporal  as  in  spiritual  things  (James  1.  16); 
as  He  has  given  us  eyes  and  ears,  so  will  He  also 
give  us  a  new  heart  (Ezek.  xi.  19). — Zeltner  (on 
ver.  14):  Acknowledge  with  thanks  God's  pre- 
sent bounties,  as  long  as  thou  hast  them,  and  em- 
ploy them  aright,  that  God  may  not  suddenly 
take  them  from  thee,  and  thou  then  for  the  first 
time  become  aware  what  thou  hast  lost, — Egard 
(on  ver.  17):  It  is  the  way  of  sin  and  fleshly  lust 
that  it  at  first  seems  attractive  to  man,  but  after- 
ward, when  conscience  wakes,  causes  great  dis- 
quiet and  anguish [Lord  Bacon  (on  ver.  18) : 

The  greatest  trust  between  man  and  man  is  the 
trust  of  giving  counsel.  .  .  Things  will  have  their 
first  or  second  agitation ;  if  ihey  be  not  tossed 
upon  the  waves  of  counsel,  they  will  be  tossed 
upon  the  waves  of  fortune,  and  be  full  of  incon- 
stancy, doing  and  undoing,  like  the  reeling  of  a 
drunken  man.] — Tubingen  Bible  (on  ver.  18) :  To 
wage  war  is  allowed,  for  there  are  righteous 
wars  ;  but  they  must  be  conducted  with  reason 
and  reflection  (compare  General  York's  prayer 
and  motto  at  the  beginning  of  every  battle :  "  The 
beginning,  middle,  end,  O  Lord,  direct  for  the 
best!"). — J.  Lange  (on  ver.  19):  Rather  hear  him 
much  who  reveals  to  thee  what  harms  thee, 
than  him  who  flatters  thee. — Von  Gerlach  (same 
verse) :  In  all  inconsiderate  talking  about  others 
there  is  always  some  delight  in  evil  or  slander 
running  along  through  it ;  just  as  also  all  tattling 
and  idle  gossip  of  this  kind  always  has  something 
exceedingly  dangerous  in  it. 

Ver.  20-23.  Melanchthon  (on  ver.  21):  It  is 
of  moment  always  to  wait  for  God's  ordinary  call, 
to  distinguish  the  necessary  from  the  unnecessary, 
and  to  attempt  nothing  outside  of  our  lawful  call- 
ing,— Lange  (same  verse):  That  for  which  one 
strives  with  inconsiderate  craving  in  unlawful 
ways  turns  not  into  blessing,  but  to  a  curse, — - 
Zeltner  (on  ver.  22):  To  withstand  passion,  to 
wait  in  patience  for  the  Lord's  help,  and  to  plead 
for  the  welfare  of  the  evil  doer  is  the  best  revenge 
on  an  enemy. — Berleburg  Bible  (same  verse) : 
Revenge  always  springs  from  pride;  thou  wouldst 
willingly  be  like  God,  and  be  thine  own  helper, 
avenger  and  judge ;  this  pride  then  kindles  thine 
anger  within  thee,  so  that  thou  forjieat  and  vio- 
lence canst  not  wait  until  God  disposes  of  the 
matter  for  thee. — [Lawson  :  By  indulging  your 
revengeful  spirit,  jou  do  yourself  a  greater  hurt 
than  your  greatest  enemy  can  do  you,  for  you 
gratify  his  ill  nature  when  you  suffer  it  to  make 
a  deep  impression  on  your  spirit,  without  which 
it  could  do  you  little  or  no  hurt ;  but  by  commit- 
ting your  cause  to  God,  you  turn  his  ill-will  to 
your  great  advantage,  making  it  an  occasion  for 
the  exercise  of  the  noblest  graces,  which  are  at- 
tended with  the  sweetest  fruits,  and  with  the  rich 
blessing  of  God.] 

Ver.  24-30,  Geier  (on  ver.  24)  :  No  one  can 
rightly  begin  and  walk  in  the  way  to  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  who  would  enter  without  Christ ; 
John  xiv.  6;  xv.  5. — [Chalmers  (on  ver.  24): 
Man  can  no  more  comprehend  the  whole  meaning 
of  his  own  history,  than  he  can  comprehend  the 
whole  mind  of  that  God  who  is  the  Sovereign 
Lord  and  Ordainer  of  all  things.] — Berleburg 
Bible  (on  ver.  25) :  In  vows  it  is  important  to  re- 
flect with  the  utmost  circumspection,  before  0Q« 


CHAP.  XXI.  1-81. 


183 


form3  a  definite  purpose.  But  what  one  has  once 
TOwed,  against  it  he  should  seek  no  pretext  of 
any  kind  to  annul  it. — Stakke  (ouver.  iio):  The 
outward  service  of  God  without  real  devotion 
becomes  a  snare  to  many,  by  which  they  deceive 
their  souls  and  plunge  into  ruin. — ^(On  ver.  27) : 
Know  the  nobility  of  the  human  soul,  this  candle 
of  the  Lord !  Beware  therefore  of  all  conceit  of 
wisdom  and  contempt  of  others  about  thee.  Give 
rather  to  the  illumination  of  Divine  grace  its  in- 
fluence on  all  the  powers  of  thy  soul,  that  when 
thine  understanding  is  sufficiently  enlightened 
thy  will  also  may  be  reformed. — [Stoddard  : 
The  Spirit  does  not  work  by  giving  a  testimony, 
but  by  assisting  natural  conscience  to  do  its  work. 
Natural  conscience  is  the  instrument  in  the  hand 
of  God  to  accuse,  condemn,  terrify,  and  to  urge 
to  duty.] — A.  ScHEODEE   (on  ver.   28 — in   the 


Sonntagsfeier,  1840) :  How  the  relation  of  the  king 
to  his  people  and  of  the  people  to  their  king  can 
b^a  blessed  one  solely  through  the  purity  and 
sincerity  of  both). — Rust  (same  verse — same 
source,  issue  for  1834) ;  Of  the  exalted  blessing 
which  a  living  Christianity  ensures  to  all  the  re- 
lations of  the  State, — Lange  (on  ver.  29) :  Art 
thou  still  a  youth  in  Christian  relations;  prove 
thy  strength  by  conquest  over  thyself;  art  thou 
become  grey  and  experienced  in  them,  prove  thy 
wisdom  by  love  and  a  blameless  life;  1  John  ii. 
13,  14. — (On  ver.  30) :  There  is  much  evil  about 
and  within  us  from  which  we  must  be  cleansed 
and  purified;  God  uses  to  this  end  the  inward 
and  outward  trials  of  this  life. — Comp.  Luthek's 
marginal  comment  on  ver.  30:  "Mali  non  verbu 
sed  verberibus  emendanlur ;  pain  is  as  needful  as 
eating  and  drinking." 


f)  Admonition  to  integrity,  patience,  and  obedient  submission  to  God's  gracious  guidance. 

Chap.  XXI. 


1  Like  streams  of  water  is  the  heart  of  a  king  in  Jehovah's  hand ; 
he  turneth  it  whithersoever  he  will. 

2  Every  way  of  man  is  right  in  his  own  eyes, 
but  Jehovah  trieth  hearts. 

3  To  do  justice  and  judgment 

is  more  acceptable  to  Jehovah  than  sacrifice. 

4  Haughty  eyes  and  a  proud  heart — 

the  light  of  the  wicked  is  (nought  but)  sin. 

5  The  counsels  of  the  diligent  (tend)  only  to  abundance ; 
but  every  one  who  is  over  hasty  (cometh)  only  to  want. 

6  The  getting  of  treasures  by  a  lying  tongue 
is  a  fleeting  breath  of  them  that  seek  death. 

7  The  violence  of  the  wicked  sweepeth  them  away, 
because  they  refuse  to  do  justice. 

8  Crooked  is  the  way  of  the  guilty  man, 

but  the  pure,  his  work  is  right  (or,  straight). 

9  It  is  better  to  dwell  in  a  corner  of  the  house  top, 
than  with  a  contentious  woman  in  a  thronged  house. 

10  The  soul  of  the  wicked  desireth  evil ; 
his  neighbor  findeth  no  mercy  with  him. 

11  When  the  scorner  is  punished  the  simple  is  made  wise, 
and  when  the  wise  is  prospered,  he  will  gain  knowledge. 

12  The  Righteous  (God)  marketh  the  house  of  the  wicked ; 
He  hurleth  the  wicked  into  destruction. 

13  He  that  stoppeth  his  ear  to  the  cry  of  the  poor, 
he  also  shall  call  and  not  be  answered. 

14  A  gift  in  secret  allayeth  anger, 

and  a  present  in  the  bosom  strong  wrath. 

15  It  is  a  joy  to  the  just  to  do  justice, 

but  destruction  to  them  that  work  iniquity. 

16  A  man  who  wandereth  from  the  way  of  understanding, 
shall  dwell  in  the  assembly  of  the  dead. 


184  THE  PROVEEBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


17  He  becometh  a  poor  man  who  loveth  pleasure ; 
he  that  loveth  wine  and  oil  shall  not  be  rich. 

18  The  wicked  becometh  a  ransom  for  Ihe  righteous, 
and  the  faithless  for  the  upright. 

19  It  is  better  to  dwell  in  a  desert  land, 

than  to  live  with  a  contentious  and  fretful  woman. 

20  Precious  treasure  and  oil  are  in  the  dwelling  of  the  wise, 
but  a  foolish  man  consumeth  them. 

21  He  that  followeth  after  righteousness  and  mercy 
shall  find  life,  righteousness,  and  honor. 

22  A  wise  man  scaleth  the  city  of  the  mighty, 
and  casteth  down  the  strength  of  its  confidence. 

23  He  that  keepeth  his  mouth  and  his  tongue, 
guardeth  his  soul  from  troubles. 

24  A  proud  (and)  arrogant  (man) — scomer  is  his  name ; 
he  acteth  in  insolence  of  pride  (overflowing  of  haughtiness  ). 

25  The  desire  of  the  slothful  killetb  him, 
for  his  hands  refuse  to  labor. 

26  He  desireth  intensely  all  the  day  long; 
but  the  righteous  giveth  and  spareth  not. 

27  The  sacrifice  of  the  wicked  is  an  abomination ; 
how  much  more  when  it  is  brought  for  evil ! 

28  A  false  witness  jhall  perish, 

the  man  that  heareth  shall  speak  evermore. 

29  The  wicked  putteth  on  a  bold  face, 

but  he  that  is  upright  establisheth  his  way. 

30  No  wisdom,  no  understanding, 

no  counsel  (is  there)  against  Jehovah. 

31  The  horse  is  made  ready  for  the  day  of  battle, 
but  from  Jehovah  is  the  victory. 

GRAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Ver.  3. — The  Infinitive  form  TW^  like  HJp  i°  chap.  xvi.  16. 

Ver.  4. — HiTzia  writes  3J  (^3''J,  sprout  or  shoot)  instead  of  13  and  translates  the  second  clause;  "  The  frnit  of  the 
wicked  \i.  e.,  pride]  bringeth  to  destruction  " — an  emendation  plainly  not  less  unfortunate  than  the  corresponding  one,  3^  J 
for  I**},  which  he  proposed  in  chap.  xiii.  23.  Compare  notes  on  this  passage.  [The  shortening  of  the  long  vowel  in 
TiJ  is  undoubtedly  facilitated  by  the  initial  "^  of  the  following  word.] 

Ver.  6. — 73n  cannot  be  siat.  constr.,  for  it  would  be  separated  from  its  genitive  by  the  adjective  ^1^3. — Ewald,  Bie- 

THEAU,  eic.,  read  with  the  LXX  and  Vulg.:  "'E^piO  instead  of  ''U'p^D  and  render  "snares  of  death"  instead  of  "seekers 

of  death."    Hitzig,  in  addition,  proposes  flTh  instead  of  P|1J,  as  well  as  in  clause  a  7_J?3  instead  of  7_J?ij,  so  that  he 

reaches  the  meaning  (which  corresponds  pretty  closely  with  the  LXX  and  Vnlg.) :  "  He  that  getteth  treasures  by  a  lying 
tongue  runneth  alter  vanity  into  snares  ot  death." 

Ver.  7. — ^3XD  is  one  of  Bottcher's  "  relative  "  perfects ;  they  have  before  this  destruction,  be  it  earlier  or  later,  refused, 
e(c.— See  J960,  l'.— A.] 

Ver.  8. — "llDOSn,  "  winding,  crooked  "  (as  "nDHJ  Is  elsewhere  used,  comp.  xvii.  20)  is  not  stat.  constr.  (Bebtheau,  "  one 
crooked  in  his  way"),  but  a  predicate  for  emphasis  prefixed  to  its  subject  1T"^1,  as  the  parallelism  shows. — ^n  at  the  be- 
ginning of  clause  6  seems  to  be  purposely  chosen  to  correspond  with  '1T1  at  the  end  of  clause  a.  Comp.  ^T  in  chap,  xx.ll. 
[This  "IP  is  one  of  the  very  few  words  in  Hebrew  in  which  an  initial  1  remains,  not  being  weakened  into  ^,     It  seems  to 

TT 

be  an  ancient  judicial  term,  and  etymologically  corresponds  with  the  familiar  Arabic  word  Vizier;  comp.  also  GhargCd^ 
Affaires.     See  lioTl.,  Fuerst,  etc. — A.] 

Ver.  9. — [nDli^  7    DItJ  a  masculine  predicative  adjective  notwithstanding  the  fern. form  of  the  Infinitive.  Biiix.,  g  990, 

3,  p.-A.] 

Ver.  10. — [BoTT.  strongly  maintains  the  existence  of  a  Passive  of  the  Kal.  conj.,  and  cites  jn*'  as  one  of  the  examples. 

See  g  906,  c.  As  is  well  known,  it  has  usually  been  called  a  Hophal  form ;  no  Hiphil  forms  are  in' use,  and  this  is  in  mean- 
ing an  exact  passive  counterpart  to  the  Kal. — A.] 

Ver.  14. — Instead  of  PIS^''  (from  Hii  J,a  verb  occurring  only  here,  which  mnst  mean  "  to  bend  or  beat  down"),  HiTZia 
proposes  to  read,  with  Symmaohus,  the  Vulg.  and  Targ.  nSD*"  "  extinguishes." 


CHAP.  XXI.  1-31. 


185 


Yer.  22. — The  H  i^  nHDHD  without  Mappiq,  on  account  of  the  distinctive  accent ;  comp.  Jer.  vi.  6 ;  Is.  xxiii.  17, 18 ; 
lly.  6,  etc. — [n  7 1*  one  of  Bottcher's  "  empirical  Perfects ;"  it  has  heen  a  matter  of  experience ;  see  g  950,  3. — A.] 

Ver.  28.— IIiTZio,  partially  following  the  LXX  (changing  flX  J7  to  "ij  j'7,  and  J^DII'  'o  riDto),  amends  thus :  The  man 
that  r^oiceth  to  deliver  (1  ?)  shall  speak. 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  Ver.  1-3.  Of  God'a  all  directing  providence 
and  government. — Like  streams  of  ■water  is 
the  heart  of  a  king  in  Jehovah's  hand. — 

The  teriiutn  comp.  is,  according  to  the  second 
member  of  the  parallelism,  the  capability  in  the 
"streams  of  water"  of  being  directed  and  guided 
at  pleasure, — the  allusion  being  to  the  canals  and 
ditches  constructed  for  the  irrigation  and  fertili- 
zing of  meadows,  gardens  and  fields.  [See 
Hackett's  Illustrations  of  Scripture,  and  similar 
works;  also  Horace,  Od.  III.,1,  5-8.. — A.]  Since 
for  the  accomplishment  of  their  object  there  must 
always  be  a  number  of  them,  the  plural 
"streams"  is  used,  although  only  one  king's 
heart  is  spoken  of.  "Whether  in  the  second  line 
the  pleasant,  refreshing  influence  of  the  rivulets, 
dispensing  blessing  and  increase,  comes  into  ac- 
count as  a  point  in  the  comparison  is  uncertain 
(comp.  Is.  xxxii.  2)  :  this,  however,  is  not  impro- 
bable, inasmuch  as  the  heart  of  a  king  may  in 
fact  become  in  an  eminent  degree  n  fountain 
of  blessing  for  many  thousands,  and  according  to 
God's  design  ought  to  be  so.  See  also  the  com- 
parison of  royal  favor  with  a  "cloud  of  the  har- 
vest rain,"  in  chap.  xvi.  15,  and  in  tbe  opposite 
direction  comp.  xx.  2,  8,  26. 

Ver.  2.  Almost  precisely  like  xvi.  2  ;  comp. 
also  xiv.  12;  xvi.  25.  [Fuekst,  unlike  most 
others,  renders  the  verb  of  the  second  clause 
"determineth,"  i.  e.,  determines  the  direction, — 
instead  of  "weighing,  trying,"  or  the  old  Eng- 
lish term  of  our  E.  V.,  "pondereth." — A.] 

Ver.  3.  To  do  justice  and  judgment  is 
more  acceptable  to  Jehovah  than  sacrifice. 
Comp.  XV.  8;  Ps.  1.  7  sq.;  1  Sam.  xv.  22  ;  Mich. 
vi.  6-8. — For  this  combination  of  righteousness 
and  justice  comp.  besides,  e.  g.,  2  Sam.  viii. 
15;  Jeremiah  ix.  23.  For  the  inJJ  "more 
acceptable,"  lit.,  "chosen,"  i.  e,,  desired,  well- 
pleasing,  valuable,  comp.  xxii.  1 ;  and  also  viii. 
10,  19.  ["  This  maxim  of  the  Proverbs  was  a 
bold  saying  then, — it  is  a  bold  saying  still;  but 
it  well  unites  the  wisdom  of  Solomon  with  that 
of  his  father  David  in  the  61st  Psalm,  and  with 
the  inspiration  of  the  later  prophets."  Stanley, 
/ewish  Church,  II.,  257]. 

2.  Vers.  4-9.  Against  pride,  avarice,  deceit, 
violence,  and  vicious  dispositions  in  general. — 
Haughty  eyes  and  a  proud  heart ;  lit.  "  to 
be  lofty  of  eyes  and  to  be  swollen  of  heart,"  for 
on  andSnT  are  infinitives.  "Swelling  of  heart" 
is  however  here  and  in  Ps.  ci.  5,  where  it  stands 
again  in  connection  with  "loftiness  of  eyes,"  a 
proud,  arrogant  disposition  chastened  by  no  care  ; 
oomp.  also  Isa.  Ix.  5 ;  Ps.  cxix.  32.— The  light 
of  the  wicked  is  only  sin.  Dyi^'}  1J,  which 
IS  plainly  an  appositive  to  "haughty  eyes  and  a 
proud  heart,"  may  be  translated  either  by  "the 
fallow,  or  newly  ploughed  land  of  the  wicked" 
(oomp.  TJ,  chap.  xiii.  23),  and  refer  to  "the  very 


first  fruits  of  a  man's  activity  (so  Ewald,  El- 
STER,  etc.),  or,  which  is  surely  preferable,  it 
may  be  taken  as  meaning  the  same  as  12  (comp. 
1  Kings  xi.  36,  where  instead  of  ip  we  find  1'J 
in  the  sense  of  "light "),  and  in  accordance  with 
chap.  XX.  37,  it  may  be  regarded  as  a  figurative 
representation  of  the  entire  spirit  of  the  wicked, 
i.  e.  their  proud  disposition,  flaring  and  flaming 
like  a  bright  light.  Thus  the  LXX  (TiafiiTTr/p), 
Vulg.,  ScHULTENS,  Dathe,  Beetheau  —  except 
that  the  latter  interpret  the  "light"  less  perti- 
nently of  the  brilliant  prosperity  of  the  wicked. 
In  like  manner  Luther  also,  Geier,  Doderlein, 
ZiEGLER,  Umbreit,  who,  howovcr,  find  in  the 
last  term  not  an  appositive  to  the  two  preceding 
expressions,  but  a  third  subject  co-ordinate  with 
them.  [To  these  who  adopt  "light"  as  their 
rendering,  may  be  added,  although  with  some 
diversity  in  the  grammatical  relation  and  the  in- 
terpretation of  the  term,  K.,  De  W.,  H.,  S.,  M., 
N.,  and  the  E.  V.  in  its  marginal  reading.  The 
old  English  expositors  generally  follow  the  text 
of  the  E.  v.,  "  ploughing,"  which  is  also  pre- 
ferred and  defended  by  WoRDSw.,-a3  suggesting 
an  "evil  execution"  of  the  "proud  aspirations 
and  covetous  ambition"  of  the  wicked  "in  a  de- 
liberate action." — A.]. — The  predicate  of  clause 
b  is  with  no  more  propriety  here  than  in  chap. 
X.  16  to  be  explained  by  "ruin"  (disaster,  de- 
struction),— which  is  contrary  to  the  view  of 
Umbreit,  Hitzig,  etc., — but  retains  the  meaning 
which  is  predominant  in  the  Old  Testament;  for 
to  trace  back  all  proud  conduct  and  action  to  sin 
is  plainly  the  proper  drift  and  import  of  the 
proverb  before  us ;  comp.  ver.  24,  below. 

Ver.  5.  The  counsels  of  the  diligent 
(tend)  only  to  abundance  ;  but  every  one 
■who  is  overhasty  (cometh)  only  to  Tvant. 
"Abundance"  and  "want"  stand  contrasted 
here  as  in  xiv.  23.  The  "hasty,"  however,  in 
contrast  with  the  "  diligent,"  the  m,an  who  labors 
in  substantial  and  continuous  methods  (comp. 
xii.  27),  must  be  he  who  in  the  pursuit  of  gain 
is  in  excessive  haste,  the  impatient,  restless  for- 
tune-hunter, who  besides  is  not  above  base  and 
deceitful  modes  of  acquiring,  and  for  that  very 
reason  for  a  punishment  is  plunged  into  destitu- 
tion and  penury  ;  comp.  xix.  2 ;  also  xx.  21 ; 
xxviii.  20 ;  and  with  respect  to  the  general  sen- 
timent still  further  xii.  11;  xiii.  11.— This  ex- 
planation, which  is  as  simple  as  it  is  congruous 
with -the  context,  makes  Hitzig's  conjecture  su- 
perfluous (instead  of  ]*«,  1SN,  "  the  collector," 
i.  e.  the  niggard) ;  comp.  xi.  24.  [Rueetschi,  ubi 
supra,  p.  152,  defending  the  common  rendering, 
expands  somewhat  the  implied  contrast  between 
the  plans  according  to  which  the  diligent  toils, 
and  the  impatient  haste  which  cannot  wait  to 
plan. — A.]. 

Ver.  6.  The  getting  of  treasures  by  a 
lying  tongue  is  a  fleeting  breath  of  them 
that  seek  death.  The  second  member  is  lite- 
rally rendered  according  to  the  text:  "is  fleet- 


186 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


ing  breath,  those  seeking  death," — the  latter 
phrase  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  limiting  genitive 
(see  Critical  Notes),  but  the  two  a  hendiadys ;  the 
idea  "fleeting  breath  of  those  seeking  deatli" 
being  resolved  into  the  two  co-ordinate  ideas, 
"  fleeting  breath "  and  "  seekers  of  death." 
[WoRUSW.  :  "vamty  driven  like  chaff;'' — "the 
work  of  the  wicked  and  covetous  man  is  cAa^and 
his  harvest  is  death."  Kamph.,  while  favoring 
a  simple  emendation  (that  of  Ewald,  etc, ;  see 
Critical  Notes),  would  refer  the  "  seekers,"  if 
the  text  is  to  be  retained,  to  the  treasures;  "trea- 
sures unlawfully'  gained  are  not  only  themselves 
without  substance,  but  also  bring  on  destruction 
for  their  deceitful  possessor."  H. :  "a  vanity 
agitated  by  them  that  seek  death;"  N. :  "  scat- 
tered breath  of  them,"  etc.;  S.  :  "a  fleeting 
breath  are  they  who  seek  death;"  M.:  "(like) 
a  fleeting  vapor  to  those  who  seek  death."  The 
phrase  plainly  requires  somewhat  violent  gram- 
matical constructions,  or  an  emendation.  Our 
author's  hendiadys  making  the  plural  participle 
an  apparent  appositive  of  the  singular  noun  is  not 
the  most  forced. — .V.]  With  reference  to  the 
phrase  "seekers  of  death,"  comp.  viii.  36;  xvii. 
19;  with  respect  to  the  expression  "a  fleeting 
vanity,"  Job  xiv.  2  ;  xiii.  2-5 ;  and  Pindak's  well- 
known  phrase,  cr/ciaf  bvap  av-Dpurro;.  It  is  hardly 
possible  that  we  have  here  any  suggestion  of  the 
mirage  (Isa.  xxxv.  7),  the  "  tremulous  mist  of 
the  desert,  vanishing  again  in  quick  deception," 

— for  the  noun  73n  nowhere  else  occurs  with 
this  signification  (tliis  in  opposition  to  Aenoldi, 
and  to  some  extent  Umbkeit  also). 

Ver.  7.  The  violence  of  the  -wicked 
STTTeepeth  them  a^way.  The  "violence"  is 
not  designed  here  to  describe  the  destruction  in- 
tended for  the  wicked  (comp.  Job  v.  22  ;  Isa.  xiii. 
6),  but  is  used  in  the  active  sense,  of  the  rapa- 
cious or  murderous  violence  practised  by  them 
(comp.  xxiv.  2.  So  the  Vulg.,  Luthek,  Um- 
bkeit, HiTziG.)  The  latter,  to  illustrate  the  idea, 
appropriately  suggests  the  case  in  which  an  in- 
cendiary is  consumed  in  the  fire  which  he  sets. 
But  examples  like  i.  18,  19;  vii.  23;  serve  also 
for  illustration.  With  clause  b  compare  (above) 
ver.  3,  a. 

Ver.  8.  Crooked  is  the  -way  of  the  guilty 
man.  "Burdened,  laden"  signifies,  as  the  cor- 
responding word  in  Arabic  does,  "  the  guilt- 
laden,"  and  so  the  vicious  man,  the  malefactor, 
in  contrast  with  the  "  pure  or  clean." 

3,  Vers.  9-18.  Various  warnings  against  fool- 
ish, hard-hearted,  uncharitable,  unrighteous  con- 
duct.— It  is  better  to  dwell  in  a  corner  of 
the  housetop,  and  so  on  the  one  hand,  solitary 
and  forsaken  (comp.  Ps.  cii.  7  (8)),  and  on  the 
other,  exposed  to  all  winds  and  weathers,  in  an  ex- 
ceedingly inconvenient,  uncomfortable  position. 
[See  Haokett's  Illustrations  of  Scripture,  and 
similar  works]. — Than  -with  a  contentious 
■woman  in  a  thronged  house:  lit.,  "than  a 
woman  of  contentions  (comp.  xix.  13  ;  xxvii.  15) 
and  a  house  of  companionship "  (okof  koiv6c, 
LXX), — an  example  of  hendiadys,  therefore  like 
ver.  6. — On  account  of  the  correspondence  of 
the  idea  with  ver.  19,  which  certainly  is  re- 
markably close,  HiTziQ  proposes  to  remove  the 
"  contentious  woman  "  entirely  from  the  text,  for 


(freely  following  the  LXX)  he  reads  PiVtm  in- 
stead of  riEfXD,  and  so  from  clause  b  gets  the 
meaning:  "  than  that  strife  arises  and  the  house 
is  common." 

Ver.  10.  For  the  expression  in  a  comp.  xiii.  4. — 
His  neighbor  findeth  no  mercy  vsrith  him, 
lit.,  "his  neighbor  is  not  compassionately  treated 
by  his  eyes,"  i.  e.,  on  account  of  his  violent 
wickedness  and  selfishness  even  Ms  friend  expe- 
riences no  sympathy  from  him. 

Ver.  11.  With  u,  comp.  xix.  25. — And -when 
the  wise  is  prospered,  he  will  gain  know- 
ledge, i.  e.  the  simple,  who  must  be  the  subject 
again  in  clause  b,  inasmuch  as  it  can  hardly  be 
said  of  the  wise  that  it  is  his  prosperity  that  first 
helps  him  to  knowledge.     Usually,  "and  if  one 

instruct  the  wise,"  as  if  the  verb  ^'Zltyn  were 
here  transitive  in  the  sense  of  "  warning,  in- 
structing," and  thus  stood  for  nOlH,  xix.  25. 
But  the  wise  man  needs  no  longer  such  instruc- 
tion as  may  for  the  first  time  give  him  under- 
standing ;  and  this  verb  is  found,  e.  g.  also  in 
Prov.  xvii.  8  (comp.  Isa.  lii.  13),  used  in  the 
sense  of  "  pcssessing  or  finding  prosperity." 
The  whole  proverb  therefore  demands  that  "  the 
simple"  be  deterred  by  the  punishment  of  the 
fool,  as  well  as  made  intelligent  and  stimulated 
to  good  by  the  prosperity  of  the  wise. 

Ver.  12.  The  Righteous  marketh  the 
house  of  the  wicked.  That  by  this  right- 
eous one  God  is  meant,  the  supreme  judge  and 
rewarder,  appears  beyond  all  controversy  from 
clause  6,  as  well  as  from  the  parallel  passage 
xxii.  12  (comp.  also  Job  xxxiv.  17).  Rosen- 
MUELLER,  EwALD,  Bebtheau,  Elster  take  the 
correct  view,  while  Hitzig  here  again  endeavors 
to  emend  (substituting  1JT3  for  n'J,  and  making 
i!^"},,  "wickedness,"  the  subject  of  clause  J); 
Umbreit,  however,  harshly  and  ungrammatically 
makes  the  "  righteous  "  in  a  a  righteous  man, 
and  then  in  b  supplies  God  as  the  subject  of  the 
predicative  participle.  [So  the  E.  V.,  which  is 
followed  by  Wordsw.  ;  Noyes  makes  the  right- 
eous man  the  subject  of  both  clauses,— while 
DeW.,K.,  H.,  S.  and  M.  more  correctly  refer 
both  to  God.— A.] 

Ver.  13.  Comp.  Matt,  xviii.  23-35,  a  parable 
which  fitly  illustrates  the  meaning  of  this  sen- 
tence, pronounced  against  hard-heartedness;  see 
also  Matt.  xxv.  41  sq.  ;   Luke  xi.  13. 

Ver.  14.  Comp.  xvii.  8;  xviii.  16;  xix.  6.  As 
in  these  passages  so  in  the  one  before  us  it  is 
not  prohibited  presents  or  bribes  that  are  spoken 
of,  but  lawful  manifestations  of  liberality,  though 
bestowed  in  all  quietness  (in  secret),  i.  e.  with- 
out attracting  needless  attention. — A  present 
in  the  bosom,  is  the  same  as  the  "gift  from 
the  bosom  "  in  chap.  xvii.  23,  a  present  brought 
concealed  in  the  bosom  (not  a  "  present  into  the 
bosom,"  as  RosENM.,  Bebtheau,  e(<;.,  would  have 
it). 

Ver.  15.  It  is  a  joy  to  the  just  to  do  jus- 
tice, but  (it  is)  destruction  only  to  them 
that  work  iniquity.  "Confusion,  terror" 
(comp.  X.  29)  is  all  right  action  to  evil  doers,  since 
they  distinctly  feel  "  that  its  consequences  must 
condemn  and  punish  their  own  course  and  con- 


CHAP.  XXI.  1-31. 


187 


ducl "  (Elstek)  ;  for  they  practise  their  ungodly 
folly  with  pleasure  and  delight  (x.  23  ;  xv.  21) ; 
they  have  a  real  satisfaction  in  their  works  of 
darliness  (comp.  Kom.  i.  32;  John  iii.  19).  [The 
E.  v.,  followed  by  H.,  N.,  S.,  M.  makes  "de- 
struction" the  subject  of  clause  b,  and  not  a, 
second  predicate,  as  DeW.,  K.,  etc.,  do,  like  our 
author.  The  latter  construction  best  brings  out 
the  antithesis  between  a  "joy"  and  a  "terror." 
The  same  course  of  conduct  is  thus  differently 
Tiewed  by  and  related  to  the  contrasted  classes. 
-A.] 

Ver.  16.  With  a  compare  ii.  15 ;  iy.  14  sq. ; 
with  6,  ii.  18;  ix.  18. 

Ver.  17.  He  becometh  a  poor  man  ^7ho 
loveth  pleasure  (lit.  "a  man  of  want"). 
"Joy"  is  here  specifically  intoxicating  delights, 
such  as  are  to  be  found  in  luxurious  banquets, 
wher«  "  wine  and  perfume,"  these  familiar  sym- 
bols of  social  festivity  (Ps.  civ.  15;  Prov.  xxvii. 
9 ;  comp.  Amos  vi.  6),  play  their  part.  The 
Vulgate,  therefore,  if  not  with  verbal  accuracy 
renders  by  "qui  diligit  epulas." 

Ver.  18.  The  wicked  becometh  a  ransom 
for  the  righteous,  i.  e.  so  far  forth  as  the 
divine  wrath  turns  from  him  who  Is  compa- 
ratively righteous  to  fall  upon  the  head  of 
the  evil  doer;  comp.  xi.  8.  Thus  according 
to  Isa.  xliii.  3  the  heathen  nations  atone  for  the 
comparatively  purer  and  more  upright  Israel 
(comp.  HiTZiG  on  this  passage). 

4.  Vers.  19-25.  Admonitions  of  an  import 
similar  to  that  of  the  preceding  series,  directed 
especially  against  uncharitableness,  folly  and 
sloth. — With  ver.  19  comp.  ver.  9  above. — With 
a  contentious,  fretful  ■woman,  lit.,  "with  a 
woman  of  contentions  and  of  worry;"  the  geni- 
tives are  naturally  geniiivi  effectus, 

Ver.  20.  Precious  treasure  and  oil  are  in 
the  dwelling  of  the  Tvise,  but  a  foolish 
man  consumeth  them,  i.  e.  wastes  whatever 
he  possesses  of  valuable  treasures  and  spices. 
"A fool  of  a  man,"  as  in  xv.  20.  To  "swallow 
up,"  i.  e.  to  waste,  destroy  and  ruin,  as  in  Eccles. 
I.  12;  Lam.  ii.  2-8;  Job  x.  8,  etc. — Hitzig  in 

clause  a  changes  [Dti?!  to  pty'  and  reads  DS  in- 
stead of  nu,  and  thus  obtains  the  meaning, 
"Precious  treasure  is  in  a  wise  mouth,  but  a  fool 
of  a  man  swallows  it  down  (?)." 

Ver.  21.  He  that  foUoweth  after  right- 
eousness and  mercy  shall  find  life,  right- 
eousness and  honor.  The  second  ' '  righteous- 
ness," although  wanting  in  the  LXX,  is  not  for 
that  reason  to  be  regarded  an  error  (in  opposi- 
tion to  ZiEQLER,  Elster).  It  denotes  the  judi- 
cial righteousness  of  the  man  who,  on  account 
of  his  striving  after  righteousness,  is  sanctified 
and  blessed  by  God  (just  as  in  chap.  viii.  18; 
Job  xxxiii.  26), — while  in  clause  a  the  righteous- 
ness intended  is  a  moral  quality  of  the  wise  man 
who  keeps  the  law.  The  relation  is  the  same  in 
the  N.  T.  between  imatoaiivr/  as  a  present  posses- 
sion of  the  believer  (e.  g.  Eom.  iii.  28  ;  Gal.  iii. 
21),  and  Simi.oahvri  as  an  object  of  Christian 
hope;  Gal.  v.  5. — With  this  use  of  the  terms 
"life"  and  "honor"  comp.  iii.  16. 

Ver.  22.  A  'Wise  man  scaleth  a  city  of 
the  mighty ;  i.  e.  even  a  fortress  well  defended 
by  numerous  and  strong  warriors  does  not  long 


withstand  the  sagacious  counsel  of  the  wise; 
comp.  xxiv.  5,  and  also  Eocles.  ix.  15, — where, 
in  a  reversed  relation,  one  wise  man  successfully . 
defends  the  city  against  a  whole  army, — For  the 
expression,  "  the  bulwark  of  its  confidence,"  in 
clause  6,  comp.  xiv.  26. 

Ver.  23.  Comp.  xiii.  3;  xix.  6. 

Ver.  24.  A  proud  and  arrogant  (man) — 
soorner  is  his  name;  i.  e.  not,  "he  might 
reasonably  be  called  scoffer,"  but,  "the  universal 
moral  judgment  of  men  really  calls  liim  so,  looks 
upon  him  as  a  scoffer,  as  an  'infidel'  (De- 
LirzsoH ;  comp.  Introd.,  §  3,  N.  2),  a  man  to 
whom  there  is  nothing  holy."  For  Tn\  super- 
biejis,  "arrogant,  conceited,"  comp.  Hab.  ii.  5. 

Vers.  25  and  26  form  a  continuous  represen- 
tation of  the  slothful,  in  contrast  with  the  right- 
eous and  therefore  diligent  man,  who,  however, 
on  account  of  his  diligence  is  also  beneficent. — 
The  desire  of  the  slothful  killeth  him, :'.  e. 
hia  desire  for  food  and  drink,  his  hunger,  for  the 
quieting  of  which  he  is  nevertheless  unable  to 
employ  the  proper  means— labor  in  behalf  of  his 
physical  sustenance.  Comp.  xiii.  4 ;  also  xix. 
24.  [Stuaet  understands  "his  desire  of  sloth- 
ful repose;"  which  is  less  easily  reconciled  with 
clause  a  of  ver.  26.  His  desires  are  not  so  in- 
tense and  consuming  for  repose,  passivity  rather 
than  activity  characterizing  whatever  is  volun- 
tary about  him ;  his  involuntary  appetites,  for 
which  he  neglects  to  provide,  destroy  him. — A.] 
— He  desireth  intensely  all  the  day  long; 
lit.,  "Every  day  he  wisheth  a  wish,"  i.  e.  he 
carries  constantly  the  same  intense  longing  for 
possession  and  enjoyment,  but  stops  with  this 
indolent  wishing  and  dreaming,  without  passing 
over  into  energetic  action.  It  is  otherwise  with 
the  upright,  who  by  his  honorable  industry  is 
put  in  circumstances  to  distribute  rich  gifts 
among  others  also ;  comp.  xi.  24  a. 

5.  Vers.  27-31.  Of  God's  righteous  judgment 
on  the  wicked  and  disobedient. — The  sacrifice 
of  the  -wicked  is  an  abomination  (comp. 
XV.  8),  hoT?7  much  more  when  it  is  offered 
for  evil.  71313  might  mean  "with  transgres- 
sion, with  evil  intent"  (not  "  with  deceit,"  as 
Bertheau  holds),  comp.  Ps.  xxvi.  10;  cxix.  150. 
But  it  seems  to  be  more  appropriately  taken  here 
as  a  statement  of  the  motive  of  the  abhorred 
sacrifice,  and  therefore  to  be  "for  transgression," 
for  some  iniquity  wrought  with  evil  intent,  which 
is  to  be  expiated  by  a  sacrifice,-— and  by  a  sacri- 
fice only,  and  not  by  true  contrition  and  repent- 
ance (comp.  HiTZiG  oi^yiia  passage).  Mai.  i. 
13  is  therefore  not  so  true  a  parallel  as  Ecclesiast. 
xxxiv.  21-25. 

Ver.  28.  With  a  comp.  xix.  5,  9.— The  man 
that  heareth  shall  speak  evermore;  i.  e. 
the  modest  and  teachable,  who,  instead  of  talking 
on  heedlessly  at  random,  gives  thoughtful  atten- 
tion to  all  profitable  teaching,  and  ponders  quietly 
all  that  he  has  heard,  that  he  may  be  able  to 
give  reliable  testimony  (comp.  Solomon's  "hear- 
ing heart,"  1  Kings  iii.  9)— such  a,  one  will  be 
constantly  called  forth  anew  to  testify,  and  so 
become  one  "speaking  evermore,"  a  testis  sivt 
orator  perpetuus,  a  witness  to  the  truth  universally 
esteemed  and  much  desired,  in  contrast  with  tin 
heedless,  gossiping,  lying  witness  (comp.  xviii, 


188 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


13).  For  this  interpretation  the  parallel  in  xii. 
19  is  decisive,  from  wliich  appears  especially  the 
inadmissibility  of  rendering  m:b  secundum  veri- 
iatem,  according  to  truth  (so  e.  g.  Umbeeit:  "he 
who  hears  the  truth").  [Eueetschi  (as  above, 
p  152)  brings  out  the  antithetic  force  of  the 
verse  thus :  "To  hold  to  the  truth  is  just  what  the 
lying  witness  fails  to  do ;  therefore  must  he  cease 
to  speak ;  his  way  perishes,  Ps.  i.  6.  But  the 
man  that  hearkens,  etc.,  to  the  truth  shall  ever- 
more speak  '  as  a  witness  and  otherwise,  living 
happily  shall  always  be  able  to  speak,  and  shall 
be  gladly  heard'  (Ewald),  and  so  by  no  means 
perish."— A.] 

Ver.  29.  The  wicked  putteth  on  a  bold 
face,  lit.,  "the  man  of  wickedness  maketh  bold- 
ness with  his  face."  The  predicate  as  in  vu. 
13,  denotes  the  immovable  fixedness  of  features 
behind  which  the  shameless  villain  seeks  to  hide 
his  criminal  intentions  and  crafty  dispositions. 
Whether  we  are  here  to  think  specifically  of  a 
false  witness  implicated  in  some  criminal  con- 
spiracy (from  the  suggestion  of  28,  a),  must  re- 
main doubtful  from  the  indefiniteness  of  the  ex- 
pression (in  opposition  to  Bektheau,  Hitzig). — 
But  he  that  is  upright  establisheth  his 
way.  Instead  of  I'T  the  K'ri,  with  which  the 
LXX  agree,  proposes  ]'T,  and  some  modern  in- 
terpreters prefer  this  reading,  e.  g.  _  Hitzig  : 
"  considereth  his  way."  But  just  as  it  may  be 
said  of  God  (chap.  xvi.  9)  so  it  might  be  said  of  a 
pious  man,  that  he  makes  his  way  or  his  steps^/-m, 
8.  e.  sure  and  fixed  (comp.  Jotham's  example,  2 
Chron.  xxvii.  6) ;  and  the  antithesis  between  a 
and  b  becomes  decidedly  stronger  with  the  read- 
ing of  the  K'thibh.  [The  E.  V,,  which  is  followed 
by  H.,  N.  and  M.  adopts  a  weakened  and  ambigu- 
ous rendering,  "  directeth,  "  —  "considereth" 
being  in  the  margin.  S.  and  Wobdsw.  decidedly 
prefer  the  stronger  rendering  "  establisheth," 
W.  bringing  out  the  contrast  between  the  wicked 
man's  hardening  his  face,  and  the  good  man's 
hardening  his  way.  As  Roeetschi  urges,  both  the 
verbs  and  their  objects  contribute  to  the  com- 
pleteness of  the  antithesis.  "The  wicked  man 
looks  only  to  the  outside,  the  forms,  the  appear- 
ance and  show,  the  transient  result ;  but  the  good 
man  aims  at  the  real,  the  actually  good;  he 
therefore  establishes  his  ways,  his  mode  of  life 
and  action,  his  whole  course." — A.]. 

Ver.  30.  No  wisdom,  no  understanding, 
no    counsel    is    there    against   Jehovah. 

1JJ7  is  by  no  means  merely  "  before  God,"  i.  c, 
according  to  God's  judgment,  as  Umbkeit,  etc., 
say,  but  "over  against,  in  opposition  to."  The 
meaning  is  that  a  human  wisdom  which  would  as- 
sert itself  in  opposition  to  the  divine,  is  not  wis- 
dom, but  sheer  folly  (comp.  1  Cor.  iii.  19),  that 
in  comparison  with  the  divine  wisdom  that  of 
man  is  altogether  nought  (comp.  Isa.  xxix.  14). 
Ver.  31  continues  the  thought  of  the  preceding 
verse.  As  human  wisdom,  so  likewise  is  human 
strength  and  reliance  on  human  aid  and  might 
nothing;  comp.  Ps.  xx.  7  (8);  xxxiii.  17. — The 
horse  is  made  ready  for  the  day  of  battle. 
T'ie  participle  expresses  the  permanence  of  the 
rfAtter;  therefore,  lit.  "stands  prepared,  is  pre- 
jw*red  "  (HiTzio). — With  b  compare  also  David's 


language  to  Goliath,  1  Sam.  xvii.  47:  "  The  bat- 
tle IS  Jehovah's  ;"'  J.  e.,  on  Him  depends  thi 
decision  of  the  war,  its  favorable  issue,  its  vic- 
torious result. 

DOCTRINAL,   ETHICAL,   HOMILETIC  AND 
PRACTICAL. 

According  to  the  introduction  and  conclusion 
of  the  chapter,  its  contents  refer  mainly  to  the 
all-directing  providence  of  God,  the  ruler  of  the 
world,  just  as  in  chap,  xvi., — which  furthermore 
in  regard  to  several  of  the  ethical  precepts,  or  rules 
of  virtue  connected  with  these  considerations 
about  providence,  stands  in  quite  close  relations 
to  the  admonitory  substance  of  the  section  before 
us;  comp.  e.g.  xvi.  5  with  xxi.  4,  24;  xvi.  10, 
12  with  xxi.  1 ;  xvi.  11  with  xxi.  6;  xvi.  6  with 
xxi.  21 ;  xvi.  17,  20  with  xxi.  23 ;  xvi.  32  with 
xxi.  22 ;  xvi.  26  with  xxi.  25,  26.  Among  the 
virtues  the  practice  of  which  is  commended  as  a 
chief  means  of  putting  one's  self  in  the  right  re- 
lations to  the  administrative  and  judicial  go- 
vernment of  God  over  the  world,  righteousness 
or  obedience  to  God's  word,  which  is  better  than 
sacrifice  (vers.  3,  27 ;  comp.  vers.  8,  12,  15,  18, 
21,  28,  29),  is  the  most  conspicuous.  Side  by 
side  with  this  stands  patience  in  the  sense  of  the 
New  Testament  (comp.  v-jrofiov^,  Luke  viii.  16 ; 
James  i.  4),  i.  c,  steadfast  endurance  in  labor 
and  in  suffering,  such  as  the  service  of  the  Lord 
brings  with  it  (vers.  6,  17,  25,  26).  There  are 
more  isolated  warnings  against  deception  (vers. 
6,  28),  hard-heartedness  (vers.  10,  13),  luxurious 
extravagance  (ver.  17,  20),  scofiing  (vers.  11, 24). 
Since  however  these  without  difBculty  group 
themselves  about  the  central  idea  of  obedience  to 
the  divine  command,  this  obediencemay  itself  be 
considered  in  a  general  way  as  the  controlling 
idea  in  the  substance  of  the  section,  and  accord- 
ingly some  such  theme  as  "  the  man  who  heark- 
ens" (ver.  28;  comp.  1  Kings  iii.  9),  or  again 
"obedience  more  acceptable  to  God  than  sacri- 
fice" (ver.  3;  comp.  1  Sam.  xv.  22),  may  be  pre- 
fixed as  a  theme  or  motto  to  all  the  rest. 

For  a  homily  then  on  the  chapter  as  a  whole: 
God  as  ruler  and  judge  over  all  the  world,  and 
man's  duty  of  obedience  to  Him,  consisting  in 
walking  in  righteousness,  patience,  love,  and 
truth.  Or  more  briefly:  Obedience  to  God's 
word  as  the  sum  of  all  human  duties  and  virtues. 
Comp.  Stocker:  Of  God's  gracious  and  right- 
eous government,  as  it  shows  itself  in  the  good 
and  the  evil. — The  Berleburg  Bible  puts  it  very 
well :   God  is  to  rule,  not  self-will. 

Vers.  1-3.  Cramer  (on  vers.  1,  2):  God  not 
only  knows  the  thoughts  of  men,  but  also  has 
their  hearts  in  His  hands,  and  turns  and  moulds 
them  as  the  potter  the  clay.  In  matters  of  faith 
therefore  we  are  not  to  proceed  according  to  the 
fancy  of  our  own  hearts,  but  according  to  God's 
command. — Geier  :  Pray  God  earnestly  that  He 
may  not  leave  thine  heart  intent  on  any  evil,  but 
that  he  may  draw  it  to  Himself  to  walk  stead- 
fastly according  to  his  word. — Wohlfarth:  Not 
merely  the  plans  of  the  lowly,  but  also  the  coun- 
sels and  undertakings  of  the  mighty  depend  on 
God,  who  as  chief  ruler  of  His  world  with  wis- 
dom that  never  deceives  and  power  that  never 
fails  shapes  all  according  to  His  design. — Stakes 


CHAP.  XXI.  1-31. 


189 


(on  ver.  3)  :  All  outward  ceremonies  of  worship 
avail  nothing,  if  there  is  lacking  the  true  inward 
service  of  God,  worshipping  God  in  spirit  and  in 
truth  (John  iv.  24). — [Lawson:  Sacrifices  had 
no  goodness  in  their  own  nature  ;  and  when  men 
rested  on  them  they  were  abominable  to  God. 
Judgment  and  justice  are  a  part  of  the  image  of 
God  in  man,  and  have  an  everlasting  excellency 
in  their  nature]. 

Vers.  4-8.  Ceameb,  (on  ver.  5)  :  A  measure  is 
good  in  all  things ;  therefore  hasten  deliberately. 

Geiek:  He  is  cruel  against  himself  who  heaps 

up  riches  unrighteously :  he  is  gathering  up  his 
own  ruin  at  the  same  time. — -Galwer  Handh.  (on 
vers.  5-7) :  Industry  and  activity,  not  excess  of 
haste,  leads  to  good  success  ;  furthermore,  not 
falsehood,  or  deceit,  or  robbing  others. — Von 
GEBI.ACH  (on  7,  8) :  The  desolation  which  the 
ungodly  bring  upon  others  at  length  sweeps  them 
away  ;  for  no  one,  who  persistently  refuses  to  do 
right  can  stand,  since  right  is  precisely  the  sta- 
bility, the  order  of  things. — [Teapp  (on  ver.  B) : 
Many  a  wretched  worldling  spins  a  fair  thread 
to  strangle  himself  both  temporally  and  eter- 
nally]. 

Vers.  9-18.  [Chalmers  (on  ver.  10) :  The 
claims  of  friendship  are  overborne  by  the  strength 
of  that  evil  desire  on  the  part  of  the  wicked, 
which  is  bent  on  the  objects  of  their  own  selfish- 
ness].— Stakke  (on  ver.  10):  We  should  not  so 
often  act  contrary  to  the  law  of  love  to  our  neigh- 
bors, if  we  reflected  always  what  we  should  de- 
sire in  our  neighbor's  place  (Matth.  vii.  12). — 
(On  ver.  13):  An  unoompassionate  spirit  toward 
the  poor  is  punished  by  God  with  want  of  pity 
in  return,  according  to  the  justice  of  an  exact 
requital. ^Hasius  (on  ver.  14) :  Even  with  tri- 
fles, with  slight  manifestations  of  love,  one  may 
frequently  avert  much  evil,  and  soothe  spirits. — 
Geier  (on  ver.  15) :  Joy  and  peace  of  conscience 
follow  a  joyful  obedience  to  God's  command;  a 
scornful  contempt  and  disobedience  of  it  is  fol- 
lowed by  constant  disquiet  and  fear. — [Lawson 
(on  ver.  15) :  Many  do  judgment  without  taking 
pleasure  in  it ;  their  consciences  will  not  suffer 
them  to  do  otherwise,  but  their  hearts  are  on  the 
side  of  sin ;  or  they  will  do  many  good  things 
with  pleasure,  because  their  constitutional  and 
beloved  sins  are  not  affected  by  them  ;  but  there 
are  other  things  at  which  they  atop  short,  etc. — 
Trapp  (on  ver.  16) :  He  that  deviateth  from  the 
truth  according  to  godliness  cannot  possibly 
wander  so  far  as  to  miss  of  hell]. — Cramer  (on 
ver.  17) :  He  who  will  consume  more  than  his 
plough  can  yield  must  utterly  perish  (Ecclesiaat. 
xix.  32).— (On  ver.  18) :  God  often  turns  the  leaf 
oyer  so  that  the  evil  that  was  designed  for  the 
pious  comes  upon  the  ungodly. — Von  Gerlaoh 
(on  ver.  18) :  Every  man  deserves  punishment 
here  since  none  is  guiltless.     Since  however  the 


righteous  acknowledges  his  guilt  and  walks  in  hu- 
mility before  the  Lord,  He  remits  his  penalty, 
and  before  his  eyes  punishes  the  ungodly  in  full 
measure,  that  by  the  sight  he  may  be  made 
wise. 

Vers.  19-26.  Hasius  (on  ver.  20) :  Where  true 
wisdom  is  lacking  in  the  administration  of  tem- 
poral things,  there  even  with  a  regal  or  princely 
income  destitution  and  want  may  enter. — Geier 
(on  ver.  22) :  Let  every  Christian  and  especially 
every  Christian  teacher  exert  himself  by  virtue 
of  heavenly  wisdom  to  tear  down  the  fortresses 
and  bulwarks  of  the  kingdom  of  hell. — Cramer 
(on  ver.  22):  Let  no  one  trust  in  walls,  castles 
or  fortresses.  What  human  hands  have  con- 
structed human  hands  can  pull  down  again. — 
(On  ver.  23) :  God  as  the  Creator  of  our  human 
n<ature  has  set  a  double  wall  before  the  tongue, 
— the  teeth  and  the  lips, — to  show  that  we  should 
keep  and  guard  the  tongue  with  all  carefulness. 
— [Bp.  Hall  :  He  that  looketh  carefully  to  his 
tongue  takes  a  safe  course  for  preserving  his  life, 
which  is  oft  in  danger  by  much  and  wild  talk- 
ing].— Geier  (on  ver.  24):  Vices  hang  together 
like  a  chain;  from  pride  springs  contempt,  from 
contempt  wrath,  from  wrath  mockery  and  many 
insults. — Zbltner  (on  ver.  25,  26)  :  Lazy  thieves 
of  time  are  not  worth  their  bread  ;  he  that  work- 
eth  not,  neither  shall  he  eat,  2  Thess.  iii.  10. — 
[Muffet:  Wishers  and  woulders  are  neither 
good  householders  nor  yet  long  livers]. 

Vers.  27-31.  Zeltnek  (on  vers.  28,  29) :  To 
receive  kind  suggestions  with  thankfulness,  and 
to  reform,  is  no  shame  but  an  honor  in  the  sight 
of  God  and  men. — [Trapp  (on  ver.  30) :  Human 
wisdom  while  it  -strives  for  masteries  is  over- 
mastered].— Melanchthon  (on  ver.  30,  31):  It 
is  a  wholesome  rule  for  the  whole  of  life,  to  ful- 
fil the  duties  of  one's  calling,  and  in  connection 
with  this  trustfully  to  invoke  God's  aid  and  suc- 
cor. If  we  do  this  our  works  under  God's  aid  in 
blessing  us  succeed  well.  Unrighteous  labors, 
those  undertaken  without  any  call  from  above, 
as  well  as  without  trust  in  and  prayer  to  God, 
on  the  contrary  undoubtedly  fail,  be  they  enter- 
ed upon  with  ever  so  much  shrewdness  and  cun- 
ning.— ^Sacrin  (sermon  on  ver.  30) :  On  the  fu- 
tility of  the  means  which  human  passions  oppose 
to  God,— OTZ.  1)  earthly  exaltation  ;  2)  political 
prudence;  3)  sensuality;  4)  stoical  endurance. 
—Berleburi;  Bible  (on  vers.  30,31):  No  begin- 
ning, devising,  striving  of  ours  can  possibly  op- 
pose that  which  God  purposes  with  us.  Is  it 
not  then  the  best  thing  to  commit  ourselves 
wholly  to  His  guidance,  without  giving  ourselves 
much  labor  in  vain  ?  We  indeed  prepare  all  in 
accordance  with  our  idea  and  understanding; 
but  God  gives  success  wholly  according  to  His 
will.  In  everything  then  let  the  charge  be  left  to 
Him! 


J90  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


TJ)  Admonition  to  secure  and  keep  a  good  name. 
Chap.  XXII.  1-16. 

1  A  (good)  name  is  to  be  chosen  rather  than  great  richea; 
better  than  silver  and  gold  is  good  will. 

2  The  rich  and  the  poor  meet  together; 
Jehovah  is  the  maker  of  them  all. 

3  The  prudent  seeth  the  evil  and  hideth  himself, 
but  the  simple  pass  on  and  must  suffer. 

4  The  end  of  humility  (and)  of  the  fear  of  God 
is  riches,  honor  and  life. 

5  Thorns,  snares  are  in  the  way  of  the  wayward ; 

he  that  guardeth  his  soul  let  him  keep  far  from  them. 

6  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go ; 
even  when  he  is  old  he  doth  not  depart  from  it. 

7  The  rich  ruleth  over  the  poor, 

and  the  borrower  becometh  servant  to  the  lender. 

8  He  that  soweth  iniquity  shall  reap  calamity, 

and  the  staff  of  his  haughtiness  shall  vanish  away. 

9  He  that  hath  a  bountiful  eye  shall  be  blessed, 
for  he  giveth  of  his  bread  to  the  poor. 

10  Chase  away  the  scorner  and  contention  goeth  out, 
and  strife  and  reproach  cease. 

11  He  that  loveth  with  a  pure  heart, 

whose  lips  are  gracious,  the  King  is  his  friend. 

12  The  eyes  of  Jehovah  preserve  knowledge, 
but  the  words  of  the  false  doth  He  overthrow. 

13  The  slothful  saith  :  (There  is)  a  lion  without, 
I  shall  be  slain  in  the  streets. 

14  A  deep  pit  is  the  mouth  of  the  strange  woman  ; 
he  that  is  accursed  by  Jehovah  falleth  into  it. 

15  Foolishness  is  bound  in  the  heart  of  the  child  ; 
the  rod  of  correction  driveth  it  far  from  him. 

16  One  oppresseth  the  poor  only  to  make  him  rich  ; 
one  giveth  to  the  rich  (and  it  tendeth)  only  to  want. 

GEAMMATICAIi  AND   CRITICAL. 

Ver.  1.  [Tho  Niphal  part.  1n3J    ^^ro  as  in  xvi.  16  is  to  be  rendered  like  the  Latin  pass,  periphr. — Indus  «rf,  "  is  to  bfl 
T  :  • 

chosen,  ought  to  be  chosen ;"  comp.  Bott,  §  997,  2.  e. — A.]. 

Ver.  2.  [See  Exeg.  notes  for  the  reason  why    □73    is  preferred  to    UTViW-    The  lit.  rendering  is  "their  totality,  ths 

whole  of  them."  For  minute  explanations  of  the  use  of  J2  and  the  ordinary  form  of  its  suffixes  see  e.  g..  Boll.  §  876, 
c,  §  883,  d.—k.]. 

Ver.  3.  [See  Exeg.  notes  for  reasons  why  the  K'thibh  is  to  be  preferred  to  the  K'ri.  The  vocalization  is  of  course  tUat 
of  the  K'ri 'Ij'^OJ  and  not  that  of  an  Iniperf.  Kal.  The  time  implied  in  the  verb  HXT  isof  course  a '*  relative  perfect;"  he 

T   ;  ■  TT 

Jmth  first  seen,  and  then  will  hide  himself. — A.]. 

Ver.  5.  l^pj^    is  in  the  Vulg.  correctly  regarded  as  a  genitive  with    *!|1T ;    so  most  of  the  modern  interpreters  re* 

gard  it.  L     ■  ■ 

Vers.  7,  8.  [The  full  forms    b^U'D^    and    "^IVp^    (K'thibh)  are  preserved  by  the  emphasis  thrown  on  the  ultimate 

syllables.  According  to  Bott.  ?1005.  5,  c,  while  these  forms  are  the  prevalent  forms  in  the  dialects  of  Ephraim  and  Si- 
meon they  are  found  in  the  period  of  .Tudali  only  under  the  influence  of  special  emphasis  or  a  following  pause. — A.]. 

Ver.  11.  [In  the  reading  of  the  K'ri  tlie  Hholem  is  exceptionally  shortened  to  Kamets-Hhatuph  before  Makkeph.  The 
K'thibh  has  the  iftat  crmstr.  in  its  ordinary  form.     See  Green,  ^  215,  1,  c. — A.]. 

Vers.  12, 1.3.  [The  perf.    HV  J    in  ver.  12  is  classed  by  Bott.  with  the  "  empirical "  perfects ;  this  is  a  fact  of  experience, 

it  has  been  found  true;  the  'inx  of  ver.  13  is  classed  with  the  "effective"  perfects  :  he  has  virtually  said,  it  is  in  effect 
OS  though  he  had  said,  etc. — A.] 


CHAP.  XXII.  1-16. 


191 


Ver.  15.  [Thepaas.  part.    H'l^K'p    illustrates  the  principle  that  in  Hebrew,  whatever  bw  the  time  to  which  this  par* 

ticlple  relates  it  describes  a  state  anil  not  a  process, — something  that  is,  and  not  something  that  is  coming  to  be ;  Germ, 
"ist  verknupft "  not  "  wird  u."     See  BiiTT.  ^  997,  2,  «. — A.]. 

[It  can  hardly  be  accidental  that  in  this  group  of  proverbs  so  many  of  the  important  words  begin  with  1? ;  thus  T^  V 

(Ter.  1),   yvjy    and    T\ty    (ver.  2),    Qnjr    (ver.  3),    Vsy   and    TWiV    (ver.  4)    typ^    (ver.  5),  e(c.— A.]. 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  On  account  of  the  brevity  of  this  section 
beginning  with  chap.  xxii.  1,  but  plainly  ending 
with  ver.  16,  as  well  as  on  account  of  the  sup- 
posed construction  of  the  section  with  some  re- 
ference to  the  number /ue  (which  is  said  to  have 
had  a  modifying  influence  also  on  chap,  xxi.), 
Hiizia  conjectures  that  its  latter  and  larger  half 
has  been  lost,  and  thinks  that  the  portion  which 
lias  disappeared  maybe  recognized  in  the  section 
xxviii.  17 — xxix.  27.  All  this  rests  on  the  basis 
of  assumptions  as  subjective  and  arbitrary  as  the 
general  principles  of  this  critic  which  relate  to 
the  supposed  numerical  structure  of  the  oldest 
and  main  division  of  the  whole  collection  of  pro- 
verbs. See  remarks  below,  on  chap.  xxv.  1,  and 
also  on  xxviii.  1  (Doctrinal  and  Ethical). 

2.  Vers.  1-5.  On  a.  good  name  as  dependent 
not  on  riches  and  treasures,  but  on  prudence, 
humility  and  right  sensibilities.  —  A  (good) 
name  is  more  precious  than  great  riches. 
Theabsolute  term  "name"  here  denotes,  like 
bmiia  in  the  parallel  passage,  Ecclesiast.  xli.  12, 
a  ^oorf  name  [dvofia  KaXov,  LXX) ;  so  likewise  in 
Eccles.  vii.  1 ;  Job  xxx.  8. — Better  than  sil- 
ver and  gold  is  goodwill.  The  "good" 
(31Q)  does  not  belong  as  an  adjective  [attribu- 
tive] to  the  noun  "  favor"  (as  the  Rabbins  ren- 
der, and  Umbreit  also  :  "  Schone  Gunsi"  [E.  V., 
M.,  S.,  De  W.,  elc  ]),  but  is  a  predicate  (oomp. 
viii.  19),  parallel  with  "  more  precious,  or 
choice,"  but  put  at  the  end  of  its  clause  for  the 
sake  of  a  more  emphatic  stress  upon  the  objects 
compared  with  it,  gold  and  silver.  [So  E.  V.  in 
the  margin.  Worhsw.  (?),  H.,  N.,  K.,  etc.']. 

Ver.  2.  The  rich  and  the  poor  meet  to- 
gether; i.  e.,  they  are  found  side  by  side  (comp. 
xxix.  13  ;  Isa.  xxxiv.  14),  as  classes  both  of  which 
are  alike  created  by  Jeliovah,  and  therefore  have 
each  its  own  peculiar  object  and  calling  to  fulfil 
in  God's  creation.  Oomp.  xiv.  31  ;  xvii.  5;  Job 
xxxi.  15. — Since  both  "rich"  and  "poor"  are 
collective  ideas,  it  is  said  that  -God  has  created 

'■'all  of  them"  (d'73,  and  not  "both  of  them,  or 
the  two,"  Ori'm,  as  in  xx.  12).  [The  verb 
"strike  against,  or  encounter  each  other,"  of 
course  does  not  here  imply  such  an  antagonism 
as  too  often  exists  in  disordered  human  society, 
but  simply  the  ordinary  encounter  or  intermix- 
ture of  social  life.  The  word  of  God  no  where 
endorses  the  jealousies  and  collisions  that  result 
from  sin. — A  ] 

Ver.  3.  The  prudent  seeth  the  evil  and 
Wdeth  himself.— The  K'thibh  (^nS;'l,  an  Im- 
perf.  Niph.)  is  to  be  preferred  to  the  K'ri  (iriOJ)), 
because  the  hiding  one's  self  is  6,  consequence  of 
seeing  the  coming  calamity,  and  this  consequence 
18  expressed  by  thelmperf.  with  1  consec;  comp.  1 
Sam.  xix.  5.     The  K'ri  originates  from  xxvii.  12, 


where  the  verse,  with  this  exception,  literally 
recurs. 

But  the  simple  pass  on  and  must  suSei 

("are  punished,"  E.  V.  and  most  of  the  English 
commentators).  In  the  last  verb  we  have  a  per- 
fect preceded  by  a  simple  copula,  because  the 
heedless  pressing  on  of  the  simple  into  calamity, 
and  their  "expiating"  it,  or  suffering  injury, 
are  conceived  of  as  ootemporaneous  ;  compare  2 
Sam.  vii.  9;  Ezek.  xxv.  12,  etc.— The  plural  "the 
simple  ones"  over  against  the  one  "prudent 
man  "  of  clause  a,  seems  to  be  chosen  not  with- 
out an  intentional  reference  to  the  disproportion 
that  actually  exists  numerically  in  life  between 
the  two  classes  of  men. 

Ver.  4.  The  end  of  humility  (and)  of  the 
fear  of  God  is  riches  and  honor  and  life.^ 
The  copula  is  wanting  before  "  the  fear  of  God," 
because  this  "  fear  "  is  in  its  idea  so  closely 
connected  with  "humility"  that  it  can  be  ap- 
pended as  in  a  sense  an  appositive  to  it.  Thus 
Bertheau  and  Elster  correctly  render,  follow- 
ing Geier,  Rosenmueller,  Schelling,  etc. 
More  commonly  (and  as  early  as  the  LXX  and 
Vulg.)  the  "fear  of  Jehovah"  is  regarded  as  the 
first  effect  or  consequence  of  humility,  like 
riches,  honor  and  life  ;  this,  however,  gives  no 
specifically  appropriate  idea,  This  is  also  true 
of  HiTzia's  emendation  (rUNI  for  ^^1'),  the 
"beholding  Jehovah;''  for  "riches,  honor  and 
life  "  could  hardly  be  the  elements  into  which  the 
"beholding  Jehovah"  should  he  resolved  ;  this 
idea  is  rather  in  the  Old  Testament  also  (e.  g., 
Ps.  xi.  7  ;  xvii.  15)  always  one  that  belongs  not 
to  the  present,  but  only  to  the  future  life. — With 
b  compare  moreover  iii.  16;  viii.  18. — [Our  au- 
thor's idea  is  also  that  of  De  W.  and  K.,  the  E. 
v.,  H.,  N.,  S.,  M.,  WoRDsw.,  etc.  The  gramma- 
tical objection  urged  by  Hitzio,  Umbreit  and 
RuEETSOHi  is  the  harshness  of  the  asyndeton ;  they 
agree  in  making  the  latter  part  of  clause  a  the 
predicate,  a  more  natural  construction  unques- 
tionably, if  the  resulting  meaning  is  admissible. 
Umbreit  interprets  the  humility  of  which  "the 
fear  of  God  "  is  the  reward,  as  humility  in  hu- 
man relations — a  rendering  hardly  consistent 
with  the  Hebrew  usus  loquendi.  Rueetschi  takes 
the  words  in  their  ordinary  sense,  and  the 
structure  which  is  most  obvious,  and  explains: 
"  The  genuine  religious  wisdom  which  is  equiva- 
lent to  '  the  fear  of  Jehovah  '  (more  precisely,  of 
which  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning),  is 
the  highest  reward  of  humility  ;  it  is  to  him  who 
attains  it  all  (riches,  honor,  life),  all  that  man 
desires  and  strives  for  beside,  his  greatest 
riches,  his  highest  honor,  his  true  life."  In  this 
view  clause  b  is  an  analysis  of  the  predicate  of 
a.— A.] 

Ver.  5.  Thorns,  snares  are  in  the  -way  of 
the  false. — Here  again  we  have  an  asyndeton, 
consisting  in  the  associating  of  the  two  ideas 
which  are  in  their  import  essentially  equivalent, 
of  "thorns  "  (comp.  Job  v.  5)  and  "snares,  nets" 


192 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


(chap.  vii.  23;  Ps.  Ixix.  22;  Job  xviii.  9,  etc.). 
HiTziG  proposes  instead  of  the  latter  expression 
to  read  DTIiJO  :  "Thorns  are  poured  out,  are 
spread  on  the  way  of  the  false  (?J."  [Those  who 
agree  with  Z.  in  the  general  structure  of  clause 
i,  in  his  selection  of  the  subject  and  predicate, 
very  generally,  at  least  our  English  expositors, 
make  the  verb  afiirmative  rather  than  hortative. 
RnEETSCHi  (as  above,  p.  15.5),  on  the  ground  of 
the  very  general  idiom  of  the  book  of  Proverbs, 
and  in  regard  to  this  phrase  in  particular, 
W3}  1D!£',  considers  the  clause  as  inverted :  "he 
who  keepelh  far  from  the  thorns  and  snares  that 
strew  the  way  of  the  false,  destroying  him,  not- 
withstanding all  his  cunning,  saveth  his  life." — 
A.] — With  b  compare  xvi.  17. 

3.  Vers.  6-12.  Of  good  discipline,  frugality, 
uprightness,  love  and  fidelity  as  further  import- 
ant means  to  the  preservation  of  a  good  name. — 
Train  up  a  child  (early)  in  the  -way  he 
should  go  — The  verb  which,  according  to 
Arabic  analogies,  is  equivalent  to  imbuit,  initiavit 
(comp.  ScHOLTENS  On  this  passage),  denotes  here 
the  first  instruction  that  is  given  to  a  boy,  his 
early  education  and  the  formation  of  his  habits. 
Compare  the  expression  of  Horace  (Ep.  I.,  2,  69): 
Quo  semel  est  imbuta  rccens,  servabit  odorem  Testa 
diu;  and  also  the  modern  proverbs  Jung  gewohnt, 
all  gethan  [Young  accustomed  is  done  old]  :  or 
"  Was  Sdnschen  nicht  krnl,  lernl  Hans  nimmer- 
mehr"  ["What  little  Johnnie  does  not  learn, 
John  learns  never."  So  our  English  proverb — 
"Just  as  the  twig  is  bent  the  tree's  inclined."] 

13T1  'iJ*7JJ  can  have  no  other  meaning  than  "  ac- 
cording to  the  standard  of  his  way"  (Gen.  xliii. 
7  ;  Lev.  xxvii.  8,  etc.),  i.  e.,  according  to  the  way 
th.at  is  determined  for  him,  according  to  the 
calling  and  the  manner  of  life  for  which  he  is 
intended.  "With  this  interpretation,  which  is  as 
simple  as  it  is  pertinent,    Hitzio's  emendation 

may  be  dismissed  as  superfluous :  13T  'fl'/Jl?. 
"  according  to  his  tenderness,  since  he  is  still  ten- 
der." [Notwithstanding  the  "simplicity"  of  the 
interpretation  "  in  accordance  with  his  way,  or 
his  going,"  three  difl'erent  meanings  have  been 
found  in  it.  It  maybe,  a)  "his  way"  in  the 
sense  of  his  own  natural  and  characteristic  style 
and  manner, — and  then  his  training  will  have 
reference  to  that  to  which  he  is  naturally  fitted ; 
or  6),  the  way  in  life  which  he  is  intended  by  pa- 
rents or  guardians  to  pursue ;  or  c)  the  way  in 
which  he  ought  to  go.  The  last  is  moral  and  re- 
lates to  the  general  Divine  intention  concerning 
man's  earthly  course  ;  the  second  is  human  and 
economical;  the  first  is  ir dividual  and  to  some 
extent  even  physical.  Yet  although  the  third 
presents  the  highest  standard  and  has  been  ge- 
nerally adopted  and  used  where  little  account  is 
made  of  the  original,  it  has  the  least  support  from 
the  Hebrew  idiom.  So  De  W.,  B.,  K.,  S.,  H. 
(?),  and  others. — A.] 

Ver.  7.  The  rich  ruleth  over  poor  men. — 
Observe  here  again  the  significant  interchange 
between  singular  and  plural  like  that  above  in 
ver.  3,  corresponding  with  the  actual  conditions 
of  human  society.  The  same  relation  of  depend- 
ence comes  in  play  however  in  like  manner  be- 
tween borrowers  and  lenders;  indebtedness  al- 


ways destroys  freedom,  even  though  no  saleintt 
slavery  of  him  who  was  unable  to  pay  should 
ever  take  place. 

Ver.  8.  He  that  soweth  iniquity  shall 
reap  calamity. — Comp.  Job  iv.  8,  and  the  con- 
verse sentimeni,  Prov.  xi.  18. — And  the  staff 
of  his  haughtiness  vanisheth  away; — i.e., 
the  staff  with  which  in  the  ebullitions  of  his  an- 
ger (Isa.  xiv.  6)  he  smote  others  comes  to  nought, 
as  though  dried  up  and  rotten.  Compare  for  the 
verb  "to  come  to  nought,  to  come  to  an  end," 
Gen.  xxi,  15;  1  Kings  xvii.  16;  Isa.  x.  25.  Ac- 
cording to  the  last  mentioned  passage,  Umbreit, 
EwALD  [De  W.]  and  Elstee  explain:  "and  the 
staff  of  his   punishment  is   already  prepared." 

But  the  verb  H/D  in  that  instance  acquires  the 
meaning  "to  be  ready,  to  be  already  prepared," 
solely  through  the  context, — and  the  noun 
Cni^i'}  means  not  "punishment,"  but  always 
simply  anger,  passionate  excitement.  And  to 
employ  "staff  of  his  anger"  to  describe  "the 
rod  of  the  Divine  anger  aroused  against  him" 
would    surely  be   an   unusually  condensed  and 

harsh  expression. — Hitzio  reads  i^nn^  QDlJ'l 
"  and  he  that  renounces  (?)  his  service  perishes," 
a  meaning  clearly  quite  insipid  and  little  appro- 
priate as  the  result  of  a  very  artificial  and  vio- 
lent emendation,  for  which  the  text  of  the  LXX 
neither  in  ver.  8  b,  nor  in  the  spurious  verse 
which  this  version  exhibits  appended  to  our 
verse,  offers  any  adequate  support  whatsoever. — 
[FuEBST  distinguished  two  radical  meanings  in 
the  verb  IIN,  from  one  of  which  the  derived  noun 
has  the  meaning  "nothingness,  vanity,"  here 
adopted  by  E.  V.,  and  B.;  the  other  gives  the 
meaning  "calamity,"  and  in  this  sense  the  word 
is  here  understood  more  forcibly  and  appropri- 
ately, by  De  "W.,  K.,  II.,  N.,  M.,  S. — Rueetschi 
vigorously  supports  our  author's  interpretation 
of  clause  b. — A.] 

Ver.  9.  He  that  hath  a  bountiful  eye 
shall  be  blessed. — He  who  is  "good  in  the 
eye"  is  the  exact  opposite  of  the  man  "evil  in 
the  eye"  (chap,  xxiii.  6) ;  it  is  he  therefore  who 
looks  around  not  wickedly  but  in  kindness  and 
friendliness.  Such  a  one  will  besides  always  be 
charitable  in  disposition  and  action,  and  there- 
fore as  he  dispenses  blessing  he  will  also  receive 
blessing.  The  conjunction  ('J)  as  the  beginning 
of  the  second  clause  should  doubtless  be  regarded 
rather  as  a  causal,  than,  with  Hitzio,  as  a  con- 
ditional particle;  it  is  therefore  not  "i/  he 
gives"  (that  he  does  this  is  in  fact  already  im- 
plied in  his  being  described  as  having  "a  boun- 
tiful eye"),  but  "since,"  or  "for  he  gives," 
etc. 

Ver.  10.  Chase  a'way  the  scorner  and 
contention  goeth  out. — That  scoffing  is  a 
chief  source  of  contention  and  strife  was  already 
expressed  in  chap.  xxi.  24.  Contention  "goeth 
out,"  viz.,  with  the  scoffer,  when  he  leaves  the 
assembly  in  which  he  has  given  forth  his  scoffing 
utterances  (the  LXX  rightly  supply  ck  amedphv). 
— And  strife  and  reproach  cease, — for  the 
evil  example  of  the  scoffer  had  excited  the  whole 
assembly   to   mutual   abuse   and   recrimination 

(]''l7p  has  here  this  active  meaning). 


CHAP.  XXII.  1-16. 


193 


Ver.  11.  Ha  that  loveth  with  a  pure 
heart,  whose  lips  are  gracious,  the  king  is 
his  friend. — Thus,  without  doubt  correctly, 
Umbkbit,  Blstbr,  Hitzio;  for  the  passages  xiii. 
4,  24;  xiv.  13  present  no  sufficient  analogy  for 
Ewald's  interpretation  of  the  last  clause,  "  he  is 
the  king's  friend ; "  and  Bbktheau's  conception 
of  the  phrase  "grace  of  lips  "  as  a  second  accusa- 
tive object  of  the  verb  "loveth"  ("  he  that  loveth 
purity  of  heart,  and  grace  on  hia  lips,  the  king  is 
his  friend  ")  has  against  it  the  decided  iuappro- 
priateuess  of  the  expression  "  to  love  the  grace 
of  hia  lips  "  as  conveying  the  idea  of  "  cultivating 
a  wise  eloquence."  Furthermore  we  have  to 
compare  chiefly  xvi.  13  ;  for  it  is  really  wise  and 
good  counsellors  who  are  there  as  here  desig- 
nated the  favorites  of  the  king. — [Few  verses  in 
the  Book  of  Proverbs  whose  reading  is  unques- 
tioned have  received  more  interpretations.  In 
clause  a  "purity  of  heart"  is  made  the  object  by 
almost  every  interpreter,  instead  of  an  adverbial 
adjunct  as  Z.  makes  it.  The  "grace  of  lips"  in 
clause  b,  in  addition  to  Bertheatt's  construction 
(see  above),  is  made  a  part  of  the  subject — "to 
whom,  or  whose  is  grace  of  lips,"  e.  g.,  by  De  W., 
EwAiD,  K.;  it  is  made  the  first  part  of  the  predi- 
cate "to  him,  or  his  is  grace  of  lips,"  e.  g  ,hy  the 
E.  V.  in  the  margin,  by  H.,  N.,  S.,  M.,  W.; 
while  the  text  of  the  E.  V.  makes  it  adverbial. 
-A.] 

Ver.  12.  The  eyes  of  Jehovah  preserve 
knowledge, — i.  e.,  secure  protection  to  him 
who  possesses  and  evinces  true  discernment  and 
knowledge  (an  example,  therefore,  of  the  abstr. 
pro  concreto).  With  clause  b,  furthermore,  the 
meaning  seems  to  correspond  better  which  Hit- 
zio  obtains,  when  he,  perhaps  in  this   instance 

emending  wisely,  writes  nj?1  instead  of  fl^T:  Je- 
hovah's eyes  observe  wickedness. — For  the  verb 
in  clause  6  comp.  xiii.  6  ;  xxi.  12.  The  "words" 
of  the  false  here  denote  his  proposals  or  plans, 
the  faithlessness  wMoh  he  devises  by  himself  and 
discusses  with  others.  [Holden  thinks  it  neces- 
sary to  render  the  "affairs  of  the  transgressor." 
The  necessity  is  obviated  by  the  above  explana- 
tion.] 

4.  Vers.  13-16.  Of  slothfulness,  "wantonness, 
folly  and  avarice,  as  further  chief  hinderances  to 
the  attainment  of  a  good  name. — The  slothful 
saith:  (There  is)  a  lion  without,  etc.; — i.  e., 
he  has  recourse  to  the  most  senseless  and  ludi- 
crous excuses,  if  in  any  way  he  may  not  be 
obliged  to  go  out  to  labor ;  he  therefore  says, 
e.  J.,  a  lion  has  stolen  into  the  city,  and  may  pos- 
sibly destroy  him  in  the  midst  of  the  tumult  and 
crowd  of  the  streets.  Comp.  xv.  19.  [See  criti- 
cal notes  for  an  explanation  of  the  tense  of  the 
main  verb.] 

Ver.  14.  A  deep  pit  is  the  mouth  of  the 
strange  vroman, — i.  e.,  her  seductive  language; 
comp.  ii.  16;  v.  3  ;  vi.  24;  vii.  5  sq.;  and  also 
xxiii.  27,  where  the  harlot  herself  is  described  as 
a  deep  ditch. — He  that  is  accursed  of  Jeho- 
vah.— The  "  cursed  of  Jehovah  "  the  exact  op- 
posite of  the  man  "blessed  (^'13)  of  Jehovah," 

therefore  one  visited  by  the  curse  of  an  angered 
God. 

Ver.  15.    Foolishness  is   bound   in   the 
heart  of  the  child, — >■  e.,  it  belongs  to  the  dis- 
13 


position  of  all  children,  who  are  altogether  and 
without  exception  vfiizwi, — infallibly  so  (comp.  1 
Kings  iii.  7),  and  must  therefore  necessarily  be 
removed  from  them  by  the  diligent  employment 
of  the  "rod  of  correction"  (comp.  xiii.  24;  xix. 
18  ;  xxiii.  13,  14).  Comp.  our  proverb  "Jugend 
hat  kem  Tugend"  [Youth  hath  no  virtue]. — 
[Kamph.,  from  the  absence  of  an  adversative  par- 
ticle before  clause  b,  judges  it  better  to  take  the 
first  clause  as  conditional:  "If  foolishness  be 
bound,"  etc.  Here  is  then  the  remedy  for  the 
supposed  exigency.  But  this  is  surely  needless, 
and  vastly  weakens  the  import  of  clause  a,  with 
its  impressive  declaration  of  an  urgent  and  uni- 
versal need. — A.] 

Ver.  16.  One  oppresseth  the  poor  only 
to  make  him  rich ; — i.  e.,  the  oppression  which 
one,  perchance  some  rich  landlord  or  tyrannical 
ruler,  practises  on  a  poor  man,  rouses  his  moral 
energy,  and  thus  by  means  of  his  tireless  indus- 
try and  his  productive  labor  in  his  vocation, 
brings  it  to  pass,  that  he  works  himself  out  of 
needy  circumstances  into  actual  prosperity.  On 
the  other  hand,  according  to  clause  b,  all  pre- 
sents which  one  makes  to  an  indolent  rich  man, 
prodigal,  and  therefore  abandoned  by  the  bless- 
ing of  God,  contribute  nothing  to  stay  the  waste 
of  his  possessions  that  has  once  commenced. 
What  one  gives  to  him  is  drawn  into  the  vortex 
of  his  prodigality  and  profligacy,  and  therefore 
is  subservient,  in  spite  of  the  contrary  intention 
of  the  giver,  only  "to  want,"  or  to  the  diminu- 
tion of  his  possessions  (comp.  xi.  24). — Thus 
most  of  the  recent  expositors  correctly  explain, 
especially  Ewald,  Umbreit,  Elstee,  Hitzio 
[Db  W.,  K.],  while  Bertheau's  conception  of  the 
passage;  "He  that  oppresseth  the  poor  to  take 
for  himself,  giveth  to  a  rich  man  [viz.,  himself) 
only  to  want,"  approximates  to  the  old  incorrect 
rendering  of  the  Vulgate,  Luther,  etc.  See 
in  reply  Hitzio  on  this  passage.  [H.,  N.,  M., 
S.  follow  the  E.  V.  in  giving  this  reflexive  mean- 
ing to  the  pronoun  of  clause  a,  while  Wordsw. 
guardedly  expresses  a  preference  for  the  other 
view ;  God's  providence  overrules  the  rich  man's 
rapacity,  and  turns  obsequious  liberality  toward 
the  rich  against  him  whom  it  would  benefit.  For 
according  to  this  view  it  is  not  the  giver,  as  the 
E.  V.  suggests,  but  the  receiver,  that  shall  come 
to  want.  BuEETSCHi  comes  vigorously  to  the  de- 
fence of  the  older  explanation.  The  subject  is 
then  single :  the  rich  man  seeks  to  advance  him- 
self by  oppression  of  the  poor ;  he  gives  wrong- 
fully to  one  that  has,  and  God  thwarts  him.  We 
prefer  this  elder  exposition. — A.] 

DOCTRINAL,   ETHICAL,   HOMILETIC   AND 
PRACTICAL. 

The  doctrine  of  the  great  worth  of  a  good  name 
forms  undoubtedly  the  main  theme  of  the  section 
before  us ;  for  all  that  follows  the  introductory 
proposition  of  ver.  1,  which  is  expressly  shaped 
with  reference  to  this  theme,  may  be  easily  and 
without  any  violence  regarded  as  a  statement  of 
the  most  important  means  or  conditions  to  the 
attainment  and  maintenance  of  a  good  name. 
These  conditions  are  given  in  part  negatively,  aa 
not  consisting  in  riches  (ver.  2,  comp.  ver.  16), 
nor  in  falseness  of  heart  (ver.  5),. nor  in  scoffing 


194 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


and  loTC  of  abuse  (ver.  10),  nor  in  unrighteous 
dealing  (ver.  8,  comp.  ver.  12),  nor  in  sloth  and 
licentiousness  (vers.  13,  14).  They  are  also  given 
in  part  positively,  as  consisting  in  a  genuine 
prudence  (ver.  3),  in  humility  and  the  fear  of 
God  (ver.  4),  in  a  wise  frugality  and  industry 
(vers.  7  and  16),  in  charity  toward  the  poor  (ver. 
9),  in  purity  of  heart  together  with  that  grace  of 
speech  which  rests  upon  it  (ver.  11),— in  a  word, 
in  all  the  excellent  qualities  as  well  as  the  inward 
and  outward  advantages  to  which  a  strict  and  wi  se 
training  of  children  is  able  to  aid  the  man  who  is 
naturally  foolish  and  ignorant  (vers.  6  and  15). 

Homily  on  the  entire  section :  On  the  great  worth 
of  a  good  name,  and  on  the  means  to  its  attain- 
ment and  preservation.  Comp.  Stookek  :  Of  a 
good  name :  1 )  How  it  is  to  be  gained  (vers.  1-4); 
2)  what  chief  hinderances  threaten  the  possession 
of  it  (vers,  5-16). — In  similar  style,  Wohlfabth, 
Calwer  Handb.,  etc. 

Ver.  1.  Melanchthon:  With  reason  dost  thou 
say:  I  need  a  good  conscience  for  God's  sake, 
but  a  good  name  for  my  neighbor's  sake.  A  good 
name  is  really  a  good  thing  well-pleasing  to  God, 
and  must  be  esteemed  and  sought  by  us,  because 
God  would  have  the  diflference  between  good  and 
evil  brought  to  the  day  by  the  testimony  of  pub- 
lic opinion,  so  that  accordingly  those  who  do 
right  may  be  promoted  and  preserved,  the  unjust, 
on  the  contrary,  censured,  punished  and  de- 
stroyed. From  such  public  witness  we  are  to 
become  aware  of  the  existence  of  a  moral  law, 
and  should  reflect,  that  a  holy  God  and  supreme 
avenger  of  all  evil  lives.  We  must  therefore 
strive  after  a  good  name  for  two  reasons  :  1)  be- 
cause God  would  have  us  regard  the  judgments 
of  upright  men  (Eoolesiast.  vi.  1  sq.) ;  2)  because 
He  would  also  have  us  serve  as  a  good  example 
to  others  (1  Cor.  x.  31  sq.;  Phil.  iv.  8).^ 
Stakke  :  If  a  good  name  is  better  than  riches, 
then  it  is  our  duty,  in  case  of  need,  to  defend  our 
innocence  (Am.  vii.  11;  John  viii.  49),  but  no 
less  to  rescue  the  good  name  of  others  also  (1 
Sam.  XX.  31  sq.). — [Aknot  :  The  atmosphere  of 
a  good  name  surrounding  it  imparts  to  real  worth 
additional  body  and  breadth. — Mhffet  :  a  good 
name  maketh  a  man's  speeches  and  actions  the 
more  acceptable;  it  spreadeth  his  virtues  unto 
his  glory,  and  the  stirring  up  of  others;  it  re- 
maineth  after  death  ;  it  doth  good  to  the  children 
of  him  who  is  well  spoken  of;  and  iinally  is  a 
means  of  advancement.] 

Vers.  2-5.  Melanchthon  (on  ver.  2) :  Know 
that  there  is  a  Divine  providence,  and  that  not 
by  chance  but  by  God's  ordinance  some  are  rich, 
others  poor.  Therefore  it  is  of  moment  that  both 
walk  before  God  according  to  their  state  and 
calling,  that  the  poor  therefore  do  not  murmur 
against  God,  but  humble  himself  under  His  hand, 
and  take  comfort  in  the  promises  of  His  word 
(Matth.  V.  3), — that  the  rich,  however,  be  not 
presumptuous,  and  do  not  set  his  trust  on 
uncertain  riches  (1  Tim.  vi.  17),  etc. — Tilbingen 
Bible  (on  the  same  verse) : — If  the  rich  were 
always  humble  and  the  poor  patient,  and  both 
alike  penitent,  pious,  loving  and  peaceable,  then 
rich  and  poor  might  live  happy  and  content  to- 
gether.— [R.  Hall: — The  rich  and  the  poor 
meet  together  1)  in  the  participation  of  a  com- 
mon nature;  2)  in  the  process  of  the  same  social 


economy ;  3)  in  the  house  of  God  ;  4)  in  the  cir- 
cumstances of  their  entrance  into  this  world  and 
in  the  circumstances  of  their  exit  out  of  it:  5) 
in  the  great  crises  of  the  future. — Sauein  :— 
That  diversity  of  condition  which  God  hath  been 
pleased  to  establish  among  men  is  perfectly  con- 
sistent with  equality  ;  the  splendid  condition  of 
the  rich  includes  nothing  that  favors  their  ideas 
of  self-preference  ;  there  is  -nothing  in  the  low 
condition  of  the  poor  which  deprives  them  of 
their  real  dignity  or  debases  their  intelligence 
formed  in  the  image  of  God,  «te.— See  Bishop 
Butlek's  Sermon  before  the  Lord  Mayor. — R, 
Hooker  (on  ver.  3) :  ■ — It  is  nature  which 
teacheth  a  wise  man  in  fear  to  hide  himself,  but 
grace  and  faith  teach  him  where. — ^Mcffet:— 
Although  God  can  save  us  only  by  His  power,  yet 
He  will  not  without  our  own  care  and  endeavor, 
nor  without  those  means  which  He  hath  ordained 
to  that  intent  and  purpose]. — Hasius  (on  ver.  3): 
— The  best  hiding  from  danger  and  calamity  is 
under  the  wings  of  the  Almighty  (Ps.  xci.  1  sq.). 
— J.  Lanoe  (on  ver.  4) : — He  who  would  be  ex- 
alted to  glory,  must  first  suffer  himself  to  be  well 
humbled. — (On  ver.  5) : — The  ungodly  finds  in 
the  path  to  hell  nothing  but  thorns  and  snares, 
and  yet  he  presses  on  in  it !  A  sign  of  the  great- 
ness and  fearfulness  of  the  ruin  of  man's  sin. 

Vers.  6-13.  [South  (on  ver.  6): — A  sermon 
on  the  education  of  youth]. — Staeke  (on  ver. 
6) : — The  spirits  of  children  are  like  plastic  wax ; 
according  as  good  or  evil  is  impressed  upon  them 
will  their  chief  inclination  be  a  good  or  evil  one. 
— On  ver.  8)  : — Upon  unrighteousness  and  un- 
godliness there  surely  follows  a  terrible  end. 
But  who  believes  it?  (Ps.  Ixxiii.  18, 19).— Cramhe 
(on  ver.  10)  : — One  sin  ever  develops  itself  from 
another.  From  mockery  comes  wrath,  from 
wrath  comes  strife,  from  strife  one  comes  toblows, 
and  from  blows  comes  reproach. — -(On  ver.  11)  i 
— A  true  heart  and  a  pleasing  speech  are  rarely 
found  together,  especially  at  the  courts  of  thif 
world's  great  ones,  where  there  is  only  quite  to( 
much  hypocrisy  and  unfaithfulness  to  be  found, 
hiding  behind  smooth  words. 

Vers.  18-16.  J.  Lanoe  (on  ver.  13) :— He  tha 
loveth  his  own  soul  and  therefore  on  account  oi 
comfort  and  tenderness  will  not  go  forth  to  carrj 
on  the  Lord's  work,  will  lose  and  eternally  de 
stroy  his  soul,  John  xii.  25. — (On  ver.  15):- 
God's  children  must  in  their  life  have  to  experi 
ence  sharp  strokes  of  affliction  in  many  forms 
for,  still  as  heretofore  spiritually  children,  foil; 
in  many  forms  remains  in  their  hearts,  and  thi 
sin  that  yet  dwells  in  them  makes  itself  peroep 
tible  by  frequent  outbreaks. — Geier  (on  ver.  15) 
— With  mere  loving  words  and  flattering  speed 
can  no  child  be  happily  trained ;  strict  and  wis 
correction  must  be  added. — (On  ver.  16): — Be 
ware  of  all  unrighteous  means  of  becoming  ricl 
through  others'  injury.  Better  to  have  littl 
with  a  good  conscience  than  great  treasure  wit, 
injustice  ! — Calwer  Handb.  (on  ver.  16) ; — He  tha 
enriches  himself  on  the  poor,  one  richer  than  h 
will  in  turn  impoverish  him. — [Edwards  (o 
ver.  16) : — The  rod  of  correction  is  proper  t 
drive  away  no  other  foolishness  than  that  whic 
is  of  a  moral  nature.  But  how  comes  wickednei 
to  be  so  firmly  bound,  and  strongly  fixed,  in  tl 
hearts  of  children,  if  it  be  not  there  naturally  ''■ 


CHAP.  XXII.  17-29.  196 


III   ADDITIONS  MADE  BEFORE  HEZEKIAH'S  TIME   TO  THE  OLD  NUCLEUS  OF  THE 
COLLECTION  MADE  BY  SOLOMON. 

Chap.  XXII.  17— XXIV.  34. 

First  Supplement: — Various  precepts  concerning  righteousness  and  practical 

-wisdom. 

Chap.  XXII.  17.— XXIV.  22. 

a)  Introductory  admonition  to  take  to  heart  the  words  of  the  wise  man. 

Chap.  XXII.  17-21. 

17  Incline  thine  ear  and  hear  words  of  the  wise, 
and  apply  thine  heart  to  my  knowledge ! 

18  For  it  is  pleasant  if  thou  keep  them  within  thee ; 
let  them  abide  together  upon  thy  lips ! 

19  That  thy  trust  may  be  in  Jehovah, 

I  have  taught  thee  this  day,  even  thee  I 

20  Have  not  I  written  to  thee  excellent  words, 
with  counsels  and  knowledge, 

21  to  make  known  to  thee  the  certainty  of  the  words  of  truth, 

that  thou  mightest  return  words  of  truth  to  them  that  send  thee  T 

J)  Admonition  to  justice  toward  others,  especially  the  poor. 
Chap.  XXII.  22-29. 

22  Kob  not  the  poor  because  he  is  poor, 
and  oppress  not  the  wretched  in  the  gate ; 

23  for  Jehovah  wUl  conduct  their  cause, 

and  spoil  the  soul  of  those  that  spoil  them. 

24  Have  no  intercourse  with  an  angry  man, 
and  with  a  furious  man  thou  shalt  not  go, 

25  lest  thou  learn  his  ways 

and  prepare  a  snare  for  thy  soul. 

26  Be  not  among  them  that  strike  hands, 
who  become  sureties  for  debts ; 

27  if  thou  hast  nothing  to  pay 

why  shall  he  take  thy  bed  from  under  thee  ? 

28  Remove  not  the  ancient  landmark 
which  thy  fathers  have  set. 

29  Seest  thou  a  man  that  is  diligent  in  his  business — 
before  kings  shall  he  stand ; ' 

he  shall  not  stand  before  mean  men. 

GEAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Ver.  17.  [Observe  the  interchange  of  the  imperative  BH  with  the  2d  pers.  sing,  of  the  Imperf.  n't^n. — A.] 
Ver.  18.  [In  nn^  ^^  ha^e  iliustrated,  as  in  many  other  instanceSj  the  final  disregard  of  the  originally  strict  applioa 
tion  of  the  BufQxes  to  their  own  person  and  number :  let  them  abide  in  its  entirenesa,  etc. — A.] 

Ver.  20.  [Bott,  §  707,  2,  explains  the  masc.  adj.  0^^/^  of  the  K'ri  as  an  example  of  masculines  used  in  describing 
the  pre-eminent  and  striking,— but  on  account  of  the  OVD  of  ver.  19  gives  the  preference  to  the  E'thibh  DIE' /E^.  8o 
Stuabt  and  MnBNsoH. — A.]  • 


196 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


Ver.  21.  [n^n?^?*  one  of  the  plural  participles,  not  nncommon  in  our  book,  to  be  taken  distributively,  as  applic* 

ble  to  each  of  all  possible  cases.     Bott.  §  702,  e. — A.]  , 

Vers.  22,  2i,  26,  28.  [Further  examples  of  the  Jussiye  with  the  negative  adverb  7^,  instead  of  a  direct  prohibition 

with  the  Imperative ;  comp.  Latin,  Tze  facias  ;  Greek,  fkri  7po0p?  (Koehner,  §  250,  5,  Hadlet.  §  723,  a)  ;  as  though  in  pro- 
hibitions a  sense  of  fitness  or  obligation  were  appealed  to  rather  than  an  authority  asserted. — A.] — (Ver.  24).  J^X    NIS 

here,  in  accordance  with  the  later  usus  loqwmdi,  is  equivalent  to  nx    ^/H  ;  comp.  Ps.  xxvi.  4. 

Ver.  25.  [The  more  compact  form  flSxj^  for  H^^j'^  under  the  influence  of  the  preceding  "73  ;  Bott.  g  io59j  d.— A.] 

Ver.  27.  [An  example  of  what  is  called  "the  concrete  itnI)er9onal  in  Hebrew  is  found  in  np\  why  should  he,  any  one 

do  this !     Bott.  J  935,  c— A.] 

Ver.  29.  [^-^^il^ ;  BoTTCHEB's  Fiens  Uciium  or  debitum,  rendered  by  the  German  darf:  it  is  hia  privilege  or  preroga' 

tive. — A.] 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  That  a  new  division  of  the  collection  begins 
with  ver.  17,  coming  from  another  hand  than 
compiled  the  preceding  maia  division,  appears 
not  merely  from  the  expression  "words  of  wise 
men,"  which  reminds  us  of  i.  6,  but  also  from  the 
characteristic  style  of  the  proverbs  which  are 
found  from  this  point  onward  to  the  end  of  chap, 
xxiv.  These  no  longer  consist  cf  verses  of  two 
clauses  constructed  according  to  the  antithetic 
parallelism,  but  for  the  most  part  of  longer  sen- 
tences, which  as  a  general  rule  comprise  two 
verses,  sometimes,  however,  three  {e.  g.  xxiii. 
1-3,  6-8),  or  even  five  (thus  xxxii.  31-35;  xxiv. 
30-31).  By  the  side  of  the  isolated  proverbs 
containing  an  antithesis  of  two  members,  such  as 
are  here  and  there  interspersed  (e.  g.  xxii.  28  ; 
xxiii.  9,  12,  19,  22;  xxiv.  8  sq.,  23  sq.),  there 
are  found  in  addition  several  verses  constructed 
of  three  clauses  (xxii.  29;  xxiii.  5,  7,  31,  85; 
xxiv.  12,  31).  There  is  prevalent  everywhere 
the  minutely  hortatory  or  in  turn  admonitory 
style,  rather  than  that  which  is  descriptive  and 
announces  facts.  The  /N  which  serves  to  intro- 
duce the  utterance  of  warnings  is  found  not  less 
than  seventeen  times  within  the  two  and  a,  half 
chapters  before  us,  while  in  the  twelve  chapters 
of  the  preceding  main  division  it  occurred  but 
twice  (chap.  xx.  13  and  22).  Many  linguistic 
peculiarities  in  the  section  appear,  moreover,  to 
indicate  a  later  period ;  whether  it  be  the  earliest 
period  after  the  exile,  as  Hitzig  proposes,  may 
indeed  be  the  more  doubtful  and  uncertain,  since 
many  peculiarities  of  the  section,  especially  the 
expression,  "words  of  the  wise"  (in  xxii.  17), 
like  the  prevailing  admonitory  tone  of  the  dis- 
course, seem  to  favor  the  assumption  of  Db- 
iiTZSCH,  that  its  author  is  identical  with  that  of 
the  introductory  main  division,  chap,  i.-ix. 
Comp.  Introduction,  \  12,  p.  29. 

2.  Vers.  17-21.  The  introductory  admonition 
to  give  heed  to  the  words  of  the  wise. 

Ver.  18.  For  it  is  pleasant  If  thou  keep 
them  Twithin  thee.  "  Them,"  vh.,  "  the  words 
of  the  wise,"  for  only  to  these  can  the  sufiix  re- 
late, and  not  to  "  my  knowledge;"  so  that  ac- 
cordingly this  proposition  in  ver.  18  a,  beginning 
with  "for,"  serves  to  justify  only  the  first  half 
and  not  the  whole  of  ver.  17.  With  18  b:  let 
them  abide  together  upon  thy  lips,  the  ad- 
monitory discourse  proceeds,  and  in  the  first 
instance  attaches  itself  to  the  substance  of  17  6 
(coihp.  V.  2).     Against  the  common  construction, 

iwhich  regards  the  verb  uij'  aa  a  continuation  of 


the  conditional  clause,  "if  thou  keep,"  ete.,  [so 
e.g.  De  W.,  N.,  S.,  M.,  Moffet,  c^c],  we  adduce 
the  absence  of  a  second  conditional  particle,  or 
at  least  a  copula  before  the  Imperf.,  which  in  its 
present  position  at  the  beginning  of  a  clause 
clearly  appears  to  be  a  Jussive.  Comp.  HiTzia 
on  this  passage. 

Ver.  19.  That  thy  trust  maybe  in  Jeho- 
vah I  have  taught  thee  this  day,  even 
thee !  The  perfect  represents  the  work  of  teach- 
ing as  already  begun  and  now  in  progress,  like 
the  "I  have  given,"  chap.  iv.  2. — DnN  'IK,  ttiam 
te,  inquam.  Germ.  Jadich!  yea,  thee!  even  thee! 
The  expression  brings  out  strongly  the  idea  that 
the  present  teaching  is  designed  for  the  student 
of  wisdom  who  is  here  addressed,  for  him  and 
for  no  one  else  (Mercer,  Geier,  J.  H.  Miohaelis, 
EwALD,  De  W.,  Bertheau,  etc.).  There  is  no 
occasion  for  Umbreit'9  interrogative  conception 
of  the  words:  "but  thou?":  i.  e.  dost  thou 
also  attend  to  my  teaching  ?  and  the  same  is 
true  of  Hitziq's  attempted  emendation,  accord- 
ing to  which  we  should  read  HnS  ^IX,  "  this 
also,  the  very  same." — The  first  member,  more- 
over, gives  not  so  much  the  substance  as  the 
object  of  the  teaching,  and  that  as  cohsisting  in 
the  development  of  a  firm  trust  in  God,  or  in  the 
increase  and  establishment  of  faith  (comp.  Luke 
xvii.  5). 

Ver.  20.  Have  I  ndt  written  (Z.,  "behold, 

1  write)  to  thee  excellent  -words  ?    (The  K'ri 

D'E'wtJ  from  E^''/^'),  which  is  equivalent  to  TJJ, 
"a   great   man,  a   nobleman"   (comp.   Ksil   on 

2  Sam.  xxiii.  8),  describes  the  words  as  of  the 
highest,  noblest  worth,  of  pre-eminent  value,  as 
verba  ezimia  a,  prindpalia  (comp.  the  Similar  term 
in  viii.  6).  So,  and  doubtless  correctly,  Zieglkb, 
EwALD,  Elster,  etc.  Comp.  the  early  rendering, 
Tpic/^cyiara,  of  the  Vers.  Veneta.  [K.  renders 
"expressive,  or  significant,"  bedeutsam].  Others 
interpret  the  K'ri  diiferenlly,  e.  g.  Hitzig:  be- 
quests,   Vermachtnisse    (in  accordance   with  the 

Rabbinic  K/'TO,  depositarius);  the  Vulg.  and  some 
of  the  older  expositors,  "  three-fold,  i.  e.  Several 
times,  in  various  ways"  (so  Luther)  :  or  even 
"in  three  forms,"  so  that  the  reference  will  be 
to  the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  Hagiographa, 
as  the  three  chief  constituents  of  the  divine 
word,  or  again,  to  the  three  books  of  Solomon, 
etc.     The  K'thibh  is   explained   ordinarily,  by 

supplying  an  omitted  v'lOJl,  in  the  sense  of  "be- 
fore, formerly;"  thus  Umbreit,  c.  g.;  "have  I 
not  formerly  written  to  thee  ?  "  (In  a  similal 
way  Bertheau).     But  the  ellipsis  of  a  "  yester- 


CHAP.  XXII.  17-29. 


197 


4ay"  before  this  DltyytS'  would  be  without  any 
linguistic  analogy ;  and  in  a  section  which  in- 
troduces subsequent  admonitions  a  reminder  of 
teachings  formerly  given  seems  little  appropri- 
ate. For  this  reason  the  K'ri  in  the  sense  above 
given  is  unquestionably  to  be  preferred.  [S. 
aqd  M.  prefer  the  adverbial  rendering ;  the  ma- 
iority  of  the  English  commentators  with  the 
E.  Y.  the  substantive. — A.] — With  counsels 
and  knowledge,  so  far  forth,  viz.,  as  these  are 
contained  in  the  "  princely  words." 

Ver.  21.  To  make  known  to  thee  the  cer- 
tainty of  the  v7ords  of  truth.  "Correct- 
ness, verity,"  as  e.  g.  in  the  Targ.  on  Jer.  xxii. 
13,  15;  Sam.  Gen.  xv.  6  (where  it  is  made  equi- 
valent to   pis,    "righteousness").     Comp.  the 

ehaldee  NBEf-lp  in  the  Targ.  on  our  passage. — 
That  thou  mightest  be  able  to  return 
words  of  truth  to  them  that  send  th^e. 

"Words,  truth,"  a  sort  of  apposition,  describing 
the  discourse  to  be  conveyed  as  consisting  of 
words  which  are  "  as  it  were  themselves  the 
truth"  (Umbreit,  Elster).  The  expression  is 
like  the  "  words  consolations,  i.  e.  consoling 
words,"  in  Zech.  i.  13. — The  "senders"  (comp. 
i.  26)  are  here  naturally  the  parents,  who  have 
sent  their  son  to  the  teacher  of  wisdom,  that  he 
may  bring  bapk  thence  to  them  real  culture  of 
spirit  and  heart;  or  again,  that  "he  may  know 
how  to  bring  home  to  them  in  all  things  true  and 
not  false  or  erroneous  report  "  (HiTzis). — ^[Hol- 
DEN  unnecessarily  makes  the  suffix  of  the  parti- 
ciple represent  an  indirect  object;  "them  that 
send  unto  thee."  For  the  construction  "  words 
truth"  see  Green,  J  253,  2.— A.] 

3.  Vers.  22-29.  Admonition  to  justice  toward 
others,  especially  the  poor  and  distressed. — Rob 

not  the  poor  because  he  is  poor.     71  is  the 

depressed,  the  straitened,  he  who  is  deprived  of 
help  for  judicial  contests  and  other  cases  of 
want,  and  who  therefore  needs  the  protection  of 
the  more  powerful  and  the  more  prosperous. — 
And  oppress  not  the  poor  in  the  gate,  i.  e. 
in  the  place  where  courts  are  held ;  comp.  Job 
V.  4;  xxxi.  21;  Ps.  cxxvii.  5. — [Comp.  Thom- 
son's Land  and  Book,  I.  31 ;  and  other  works 
illustrative  of  Oriental  usages,  passim. — A.] 

Ver.  23.  For  Jehovah  -will  conduct  their 
cause.  The  emphatic  announcement  of  the 
reason  for  the  warning  in  the  preceding  ver. ; 
comp,  xxiii.  11.  With  respect  to  the  just  pun- 
ishment threatened  in  clause  b,  comp.  Matt, 
xviii.  32  sq. — [God  is  not  merely  a  formidable 
because  an  all-just  and  almighty  advocate,  ap- 
pearing before  the  unjust  tribunal,  in  behalf  of 
the  wronged ;  He  is  not  merely  a  judge  sitting 
in  a  higher  court  of  appeal ;  He  is  the  executor  of 
the  universal  laws  of  justice  to  which  the  judges  as 
well  as  the  arraigned  of  earth  are  alike  amenable. 
When  Jehovah  "cheats  or  spoils"  it  is  in  vindi- 
cation and  not  in  violation  of  eternal  justice  and 
right.  Fueest  makes  the  "life"  an  adverbial 
modification,  and  not  the  object,  so  that  it  ex- 
presses the  extent  of  his  work,  "  even  to  the 
life."— A.] 

Vers.  24, 25.  Warning  against  intercourse  with 
men  of  violent  temper,  like  xxvi.  21  ;  xxix.  22; 
comp.  James  i.  20. — And  w^ith  a  furious  man 


thou  shalt  not  go,  lit.,  "go  not  along  witl> 
him." — And  prepare  a  snare  for  thy  soul; 

viz.,  the  passion  that  woald  become  a  snare,  a 
fatal  net  for  thee  (comp.  xx.  26). — With  the  warn- 
ing against  suretyship  in  vers.  26,  27,  comp.  vi. 
1-4;  xi.  16;  xvii.  18;  xx.  16. 

Ver.  28.  Warning  against  the  violent  removal 
of  boundaries ;  comp.  the  prohibitions  of  the 
Law;  Deut.  xix.  14;  xxvii.  17;  and  also  Job 
xxiv.  2 ;  Hos.  v.  10 ;  and  below,  Prov.  xxiii. 
10,  11. 

Ver.  29.  Seest  thou  a  man  diligent  in 
business.  The  verb,  a  Perf.  Kal,  is  conditional ; 
"if  thou  seest;"  comp.  vi.  22.  THO,  apt,  ac- 
tive, expert  (Lutheb,  endelich). — Before  kings 
shall  he  stand  (Z.  "  may  he  set  himself"),  viz. 
to  serve  them,  to  receive  their  commands,  comp. 
1  Sam.  xvi.  21,  22. — He  shall  not  stand  be- 
fore mean  men.  Lit.,  "men  in  the  dark," 
homines  obscuri,  ignobiles  (Vulg.).  The  antithesis 
to  the  "  kings  "  is  naturally  an  idea  of  a  some- 
what general  and  comprehensive  kind,  describing 
those  who  belong  to  the  low  multitude,  the  ple- 
beians. To  generalize  the  idea  of  "king"  iri 
like  manner,  as  if  it  here  expressed  something 
like  "noble,  rich,"  is  therefore  unnecessary  (in 
opposition  to  Hitzig  on  this  passage).  [Lord 
Bacon  says:  Of  all  the  qualities  which  kings 
especially  look  to  and  require  in  the  choice  of 
their  servants,  that  of  despatch  and  energy  in  the 
transactions  of  business  is  the  most  acceptable, 
etc.,  etc.  There  is  no  other  virtue  which  does  not 
present  some  shadow  of  oifenoe  to  the  minds  of 
kings.  Expedition  in  the  execution  of  their 
commands  is  the  only  one  which  contains  nothing 
that  is  not  acceptable  (Z)e  Augmentis  Scientiarum, 
Lib.VIIL)]. 


DOCTEIHAL,     ETHICAL,     HOMILETIO      AND 
PRACTICAL. 

There  are  only  two  main  ideas  with  the  pre- 
sentation of  which  this  section  is  concerned ; 
these,  however,  are  thouglits  of  no  slight  weight 
and  significance.  That  true  wisdom,  which  is 
indeed  one  with  firm  confidence  in  God,  is  to  be 
secured  and  maintained  above  all  things  else,  the 
introductory  admonition  (vers.  17-21)  brings  out 
with  earnest  emphasis.  And  that  such  wisdom 
as  this  should  manifest  itself  in  a  demeanor  tp- 
ward  one's  fellow-men  just  and  kind  in  all  direc- 
tions,— to  impress  this  is  the  single  aim  and  end 
of  the  hortatory  and  admonitory  addresses  that 
follow  in  vers.  22-29. — For  not  merely  the  warn- 
ings against  the  unrighteous  plundering  of  one's 
neighbors  (vers.  22,  23),  against  passion  and  a 
ruinous  familiarity  with  the  passionate,  and 
against  a  wicked  removal  of  boundaries,  have 
this  end  in  view,— but  also  the  cautions  against 
suretyship,  which  are  apparently  brought  for- 
ward merely  as  prudential  suggestions  (vers.  26, 
27),  and  against  the  wasting  of  executive  talents 
and  skill  in  the  service  of  insignificant  masters 
(ver.  29),  fall  under  the  same  generalization,  so 
far  forth  as  both  kinds  of  unwise  conduct  point 
to  an  intentional  hiding  of  the  talent  received 
from  the  Lord,  and  to  an  inclination  to  the  low 
and  the  common,  which  is  as  wilful  as  it  is  un- 
profitable and  contemptible.     He  who  through 


198 


TH^  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


inconsiderate  suretyship  for  unworthy  men  de- 
prives himself  of  the  means  of  a  free  and  vigo- 
rous eiiiciency  in  life,  puts  his  light  under  a 
bushel  quite  as  really,  and  with  no  less  guilt  than 
he  who  fritters  away  his  strength  in  a  narrow 
and  obscure  sphere  of  labor,  rather  than  by 
earnest  striving  for  an  influential  station  seeks 
to  malie  the  results  of  his  activity  the  common 
property  of  many.  Comp.  Matth.  v.  14-16 ; 
XXV.  24;  John  iii.  20,  21  ;  vii.  4. 

These  two  main  truths, — the  praise  of  wisdom 
as  the  source  of  all  real  confidence  in  God,  and 
the  subsequent  admonition  to  righteousness  in 
many  particulars,  meet  in  the  idea  of  Faith,  or 
obedient  consecration  to  the  invisible  holy  God, 
as  the  sum  of  all  true  wisdom  (ver.  19).  Put  in 
form  as  the  leading  thought  in  a  homiletic  discus- 
sion, this  fundamental  idea  would  be  expressed 
in  some  such  way  as  this :  On  faith  in  God  as  the 
ground  of  all  righteousness  and  the  end  of  all 
wisdom  ; — or,  Faith  (confidence  in  God)  as  the 
basis  and  end  of  all  wisdom. — Stockbe.  (regard- 
ing the  whole  as  a  direct  continuation  of  vers. 
1-16) :  Admonition  to  seek  after  a  good  name. — 
Starke  :  Admonition  to  obedience  to  the  true 
wisdom  (17-21),  to  right  treatment  of  the  poor 
(22, 23),  to  the  avoidance  of  intercourse  with  bad 
men  (24-27),  and  to  a  scrupulous  regard  for 
boundaries  (28,  29). 

Ver.  17-21.  Zeltneb:  All  the  world's  plea- 
sure is  to  be  accounted  nothing  in  comparison 
with  the  true,  sweet  pleasure  which  comes  from 
the  word  of  God.  This  they  know  who  have 
tasted  the  sweetness  of  this  word  (Heb.  vi.  5). — 
J.  Lanqe:  Where  the  good  will  to  obey  is  want- 
ing, there  all  teaching  and  preaching  are  vain. 
This  is  the  reason  why  so  many  hundred  sermons 
are  heard  by  the  majority  without  profit. — He 
who  is  heartily  and  willingly  obedient  to  Christ 
finds  in  this  no  burden;  in  Christ's  obedience 
consists  rather  the  highest  joy. — R.  Flokey  (on 
vers.  17-19;  see  Hirtenstimmen  an  die  Gemeinde 
im  Hause  des  Herrn,  II.,  Leips.,  1849):  In  the 
training  of  your  children  let  your  hope  be  di- 
rected to  the  Lord;  for  1)  the  word  of  the  Lord 
gives  the  right  direction  ;  2)  His  service  gives  the 
right  strength  ;  3)  His  grace  gives  the  right  power 
besides. — Th.  Hekoanq  (Reformationspredigt)  on 
vers.  17-19;  (see  Sonntagsfeier,  1861,  p.  357): 
What  a  blessed  duty  is  it  to  hold  in  honor  the 
memory  of  such  men  as  have  deserved  well  in  the 


true  culture  of  their  own  and  succeeding  times! 
[A.  Fuller  (vers.  17,  18)  :  If  we  study  th« 
Scriptures  as  Christians,  the  more  familiar  we 
are  with  them,  the  more  we  shall  feel  their  im- 
portance :  but  if  otherwise,  our  familiarity  with 
the  word  will  be  like  that  of  soldiers  and  doctors 
with  death — it  will  wear  away  all  sense  of  its 
importance  from  our  minds. — Trapp  (ver.  19) ; 
Only  a  Divine  word  can  beget  a  Divine  faith.] 

Vers.  22-29.  Starke  (on  vers.  22,  23) :  If  the 
Lord  efficiently  sympathizes  with  those  who  are 
in  outward  poverty,  still  more  does  He  do  this 
for  the  spiritually  poor,  who  are  of  broken  heart 
and  tremble  at  His  word  (Is.  Ixvi.  2). — [Abmot 
(on  vers.  22,  23) :  There  is  a  causal  connection 
and  not  merely  a  coincidence  between  the  spread 
of  God's  word  and  the  security  of  men's  rights 
in  a  land.  As  worship  rises  to  heaven,  justice 
radiates  on  earth.  If  faith  go  foremost,  charity 
will  follow. — Lawson  (ver.  22) :  For  magistrates 
to  be  guilty  of  the  crime  of  oppression,  is  a  per- 
version of  an  institution  of  God  into  an  engine  of 
abominable  wickedness. — (On  ver.  23) :  The  un- 
just spoiler  has  the  mercy  of  God  against  him  as 
well  as  His  justice. — Trapp  (on  ver.  23) ;  Apoor 
man's  livelihood  is  his  life.  God,  therefore,  who 
loves  to  pay  oppressors  home  in  their  own  coin, 
will  have  life  for  life. — Lord  Bacon  (on  ver.  24): 
It  is  of  the  first  importance  for  the  peace  and  se- 
curity of  life  to  have  no  dealings  with  passionate 
men,  or  such  as  easily  engage  in  disputes  and 
quarrels ;  for  they  will  perpetually  involve  us  in 
strife  and  faction,  so  that  we  shall  be  compelled 
either  to  break  oif  our  friendship,  or  disregard 
our  own  safety.  —Bridges  (on  vers.  26,  27) :  In 
"devising  liberal  things"  we  must  combine 
scrupulous  regard  to  justice  and  truth.  Else  our 
charity  will  prove  the  scandal,  instead  of  the 
glory,  of  our  profession.] — Melanchthon  (on 
ver.  28)  :  The  injunction  (that  boundaries  are 
not  to  be  removed)  may  by  a  simple  allegory  be 
expanded  to  this  prohibition  ;  that  laws  in  gene- 
ral that  are  venerable  from  their  age  are  not  to 
be  altered,  except  in  case  of  the  most  pressing 
and  obvious  need.^VoN  Gerlach  (On  ver.  29): 
Peculiar  facility  and  ability  God  will  bring  into 
an  appropriate  sphere  of  action. — [Trapp:  A 
diligent  man  shall  not  long  sit  in  a  low  place. 
Or  if  he  do  all  the  days  of  his  life,  yet  if  his  dili- 
gence proceed  out  of  conscience,  "  he  shall  stand 
before  the  King"  of  kings  when  he  dies.] 


c)  Warning  against  greediness,  intemperance,  impurity,  ete. 

Chap.  XXIII. 

When  thou  sittest  to  eat  with  a  ruler, 
consider  well  him  who  is  before  thee, — 
and  thou  wilt  put  a  knife  to  thy  throat 
if  thou  art  a  gluttonous  man. 
Crave  not  his  dainties, 
for  it  is  deceitful  food. 


CHAP.  XXIII.  1-35.  199 


4  Labor  not  to  be  rich  ; 

cease  from  (this)  tbine  own  wisdom. 

5  Wilt  thou  look  eagerly  after  it — and  it  is  no  longer  there  ? 
for  assuredly  it  maketh  itself  wings, 

as  an  eagle  that  flieth  toward  the  heavens. 

6  Eat  not  the  bread  of  him  that  hath  an  evil  eye, 
and  crave  not  his  dainties. 

7  For  as  he  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he ; 
"  eat  and  drink  "  saith  he  to  thee, 

but  his  heart  is  not  with  thee. 

8  Thy  morsel  which  thou  hast  eaten,  wilt  thou  cast  up, 
and  wilt  have  lost  thy  pleasant  words. 

9  Speak  not  in  the  ears  of  a  fool, 

for  he  would  despise  the  wisdom  of  thy  words. 

10  Remove  not  old  landmarks, 

and  into  the  field  of  the  fatherless  enter  thou  not. 

11  For  their  avenger  is  a  mighty  one ; 

He  will  maintain  their  cause  with  thee. 

12  Apply  thine  heart  to  instruction, 
and  thine  ears  to  words  of  knowledge. 

13  Withhold  not  correction  from  the  child ; 

for  if  thou  beatest  him  with  the  rod  he  shall  not  die. 

14  Thou  beatest  him  with  the  rod, 

aud  his  soul  thou  deliverest  from  hell. 

15  My  son,  if  thine  heart  be  made  wise, 
my  heart  will  rejoice,  even  mine  ; 

16  And  my  reins  will  exalt, 

when  thy  lips  speak  right  things. 

17  Let  not  thine  heart  press  on  eagerly  after  sinners, 
but  after  the  fear  of  Jehovah  all  the  day ; 

18  for  if  the  end  come 

then  thy  hope  shall  not  be  destroyed. 

19  Hear  thou,  my  son,  and  be  wise, 

and  incline  thine  heart  in  a  right  way. 

20  Be  not  among  winebibbers, 
who  devour  much  flesh. 

21  For  the  drunkard  and  the  glutton  shall  come  to  want, 
and  the  sleep  of  sloth  clotheth  in  rags. 

22  Hearken  to  thy  father  that  hath  begotten  thee, 
and  despise  not  thy  mother  when  she  is  old. 

23  Buy  the  truth  and  sell  it  not, 

wisdom,  and  discipline  and  understanding. 

24  The  father  of  a  righteous  man  rejoiceth  greatly ; 
he  that  begetteth  a  wise  man  hath  joy  in  him. 

25  Let  thy  father  and  thy  mother  be  glad, 
and  her  that  bare  thee  exult. 

26  My  son,  give  me  thine  heart, 

and  let  thine  eyes  delight  in  my  ways. 

27  For  a  harlot  is  a  deep  ditch, 

and  the  strange  woman  a  narrow  pit. 

28  Yea,  she  lieth  in  wait  like  a  robber, 

and  the  false  among  men  doth  she  multiply. 

29  Who  hath  woe?  who  hath  grief? 

who  hath  contentions, — who  trouble, — ^who  wounds  without  causey 
who  hath  redness  of  eyes  ? 

30  They  that  tarry  long  at  the  wine, 
who  come  to  seek  mixed  wine. 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


31  Look  not  on  the  wine,  when  it  is  red, 
when  it  sparkleth  in  the  cup, 

when  it  glideth  smoothly ! 

32  At  last  it  biteth  like  a  serpent, 
and  stingeth  like  an  adder. 

33  Thine  eyes  shall  see  strange  things, 

and  thine  heart  shall  utter  perverse  things ; 

34  and  thou  shalt  be  as  one  that  (is)  in  the  midst  of  the  sea, 
as  one  that  lieth  on  the  top  of  a  mast. 

35  *'  They  have  stricken  me — I  have  not  felt  it — 
they  have  smitten  me — I  have  not  known  it — 
when  I  awake  I  will  seek  it  yet  again." 

GRAMMATICAL   AND  CRITICAL. 

Ver.  1. — [We  have  in  r3,  as  in  7^J,  ver.  24,  examples  of  the  "  spurioua  "  ''^  verhs,  or  mixed '^J?  and  Ij?.  The  preeest 

result  is  that  we  have  here  in  ver.  1,  and  in  the  K'ri  in  ver.  24,  forms  apparently  of  the  Inf.  constr.,  where  the  idiom  of  the 
language  requires  an  Inf.  aba.     See  Geeen,  §  15S,  J,  .'5;  Bott.,  §^988,  4,  a;  1141 ;  1143, 1,  2,  etc.     The  j'^H  is  followed  by  & 

Perf.  coTisec.  to  express  the  idea  of  the  *'Fie»M  debituin,^'  what  ought  always  to  be,  and  so  may  confidently  be  expressed  as 
a  finished  result.    JUott.,  §981,  B.  y. — A.] 

Yer.  4. — The  punctuation  l^t^VH/   is  unquestion  i1»Iy  correct  (see  Exegetical  notes);  to  alter  it  to  '^'^\^VTn  (LXX, 

Targ..  Hitzig),  as  though  the  admonition  were  against  Jaijoring  for  the  favor  of  Che  rich  mantis  unnecessary. 

Ver.  5. — We  render  according  to  the  K'ri  '^•l^^'',  which  is  certainly  to  be  preferred  to  the  unmeaning  K'thibh  ri^Wl 

(for  which  many  conjecture  ^11^1,  "as  eagles   and  birds   of  the  heavens").    [Bott.,  gll32,  3,  very  confidently  propoeee 

ci^^l,  making  the  verb  a  Jussive.— A-] 

Ver.  7. — [For  the  form   /OX  comp.  critical  notes  on  xxii.  7,  8. — A.] 

The  verb  C^y^)  pointed  and  accented  as  here  can  be  nothing  but  3d  pers.  Perf.  Kal ,  equivalent  to  the  Chald.  1V}^, 

cogitavit,  meditcUus  est;  and  this  meaning  of  the  expression  gives  a  general  sense  so  appropriate  that  we  ought  clearly  to 
abide  by  it  (with  Aben  Eza\,  Cmbreit,  Bertheau,  Elstkr,  etc.  [so  the  E.  V.,  N.,  S.,  M.,  W.,  Db  W.,  fuEEBTJ,  although  no 
support  can  be  foutid  for  it  any  where  in  the  Old  Testament.  The  LXX  rendered  1  J?ii/  "  hair  "  [so  he  eats  and  drinks,  as 
if  any  one  should  swallow  a  hair] ;  the  Chald.,  *1^l!',  "  fool ;"  Schultens,  "IJ^K^,  shuddering ;  Ewald  and  Hiizia,  '^VV? 

divided  ("as  one  who  is  divided  in  his  soul  ")  [Holden  and  others,  "as  he  is  vile"];  but  these  are  all  unnecessary  attempts 
at  emendation. 

Ver.  10. — [In  ^ity  Butt.,  g  821,  Decl.  II.,  and  n.  5,  maintains  that  we  have  a  sing,  constr.  from  the  original  form  ''^ip, 

-  T 

and  not  a  plur.  amst.   collateral    to   nni!')   ^9    most   of  the   grammars   and    lexicons   hold.      He   compares  ""Ij?  and 

Ver.  12. — [nX*3n>  a  poetical  form,  a  lengthened  Imper.  pres.    Comp.  r\^1  in  xxiv.  14. — A.] 

Ver.  16. — [The  supplementary  ''JN  conforms  to  the  case  of  the  preceding  euflfix  of  the  same  person,  which  ia  of  coarse 

■  T 

a  genitive.    Bott.,  g  855,  3. — A.] 

Ver.  19. — "ItJ^N  if*  here  a  real  Piel  with  a  factitive  meaning,  unlike  its  use  in  iv.  14- 

Ver.  22. — [The  demonstrative  HI  used,  as  it  is  occasionally  in  poetry  and  prophecy,  not  instead  of  a  relative,  but  as  the 

emphatic  antecedent  of  an  omitted  relative.    Bott.,  §g  896,  8  ;  897,  E. — A.] 

Ver.  25. — [Instead  of  reading  the  verbs  as  simple  Imperf,  to  be  rendered  by  the  future,  they  may  perhaps  be  made 
more  expressive  if  made  examples  of  the  "consultative"  use  of  the  Jussive:  "let  thy  father  and  thy  mother,"  e<fl.  The 
E.  V.  is  "  tijy  father  and  thy  mother  shall,"  etc, — A.] 

Ver.  26.— Instead  of  the  K'thibh,  njY Ifl  (—nyy Ijl),  "  let  them  delight  in  my  words  "  (comp.  xyi.  7),  the  K'ri,  with 
TV:-      .        TV:* 
all  the  old  versions,  calls  unnecessarily  lor  nj"12fn,  "  let  them  preserve  or  keep,"  etc. 

Ver.  32.— [K/TiJ'  Boti  would  explain  as  shortened  from  t!?"!!!'  and  not  from  ty'T3\     See  §1013,  ex.— A.] 

Ver.  33.— [.1XT,  a  masc.  form  agreeing  with  a  fem.  subject,  as  the  fem.  nj''X"ll"l  would  have  seemed  perhaps  to  agree 

withnnt.     SeeBoTT.,  §936,  A.a.— A.] 


EXEGETICAL. 

l.Vers.  1-8.  Warnings  against  courting  the  fa- 
vor of  the  powerful,  against  greed,  and  against 
Intercourse  with  the  envious.  The  iirst  of  these 
warnings,  vers.  1-3.  stands  very  plainly  in  im- 
mediate connection,  with  the  last  verse  of  the  pre- 
ceding chapter.  The  counsel  that  one's  powers 
be  employed  in  the  service  of  kings  is  followed 
by  a  warning  against  the  dangers  of  a  too  confi- 
dential intercourse  with  powerful  and  honorable 
men,   especially   against   the   danger    of  being 


watched  by  them  on  occasion  of  their  banquets, 
and  possibly  recognized  as  immoderate,  as  intem- 
perate, as  an  epicure,  etc.  Comp.  the  Arabic 
proverb:  He  that  eats  the  Sultan's  soup  burns 
his  lips,  though  it  be  not  till  afterward  (Meid., 
II.,  741);  or  this  other:  With  kings  one  seats 
himself  at  the  table  for  the  sake  of  honor,  and 
not  of  surfeiting  (Tha&l  Synt.,  p.  31);  see  Ho- 
race also,  Ars  poet.,  434  sq.,  and  Ecclesiaat.  ii. 
13,  14;  xxxi.  12-14.  —  Consider  well  him 
v^ho  is  before  thee,  viz.,  that  he  is  not  one  of 
thine  equals,  but  one  much  mightier  and  loftier 
(so  Luther,  Umbbeit,  Hitzio  [Kamph.,  N.,  M.] 


CHAP.  XXIII.  1-35. 


201 


etc     Others;  Consider  well  what  is  before  thee, 
I,  e.,  the  food  that  is  set  before  thee  (LXX,  Vulg., 

EWALD,     BeBTHEAU      [E.    v.,    H.,    S  ,    WOEDSW.] 

etc.     Both   explanations   are  possible ;  the  first 
seems  more  consistent  with  the  connection. 

Ver  2.  Thou  ■wilt  put  a  knife  to  thy 
throat  Lit.,  "  and  thou  hast  put  ' — for  which 
reason  Hitziq  thinks  it  necessary  to  put  this  en- 
lire  verse  after  verse  3,  and  to  regard  it  as  a  con 
tinuatiou  of  the  reference  made  in  3,  b,  to  the 
danger  of  eating  with  great  men.  But  no  ancient 
MS.  or  version  exhibits  any  other  order  of  the 
verses  than  the  usual  one,  and  besides  this  gives 
unquestionably  a  good  logical  progress  in  the 
thought  It  13  grammatically  unjustifiable  to  re- 
gard the  verb  as  Imperative  (LXX,  Vulg.,  Lu- 
THEK  [E  V,  etc.]:  "And  put  a  knife  to  thy 
throat  "),  [But  Bott.  justifies  a  rendering  sub- 
stantially the  same  (see  Critical  note)  by  saying  , 
"  Although  the  legislator  and  teacher  prescribes 
only  tor  the  future,  yet  the  hearer  and  reader 
(and  their  point  of  view  must  be  taken)  cannot 
regard  the  thing  prescribed  as  merely  future  — 
Something  that  is  in  general  terms  enjoined  he 
mast,  as  soon  as  he  becomes  cognizant  of  it, 
not  merely  do  in  the  future,  but  in  case,  of  need 
immediately,  etc.  This  Fiens  debitum  remains 
then  indeterminate  in  time."  As  between  the 
two  resulting  ideas:  "Thou  hast  virtually  de- 
stroyed thyself  if  thou  art  a  self-indulgent  man," 
— and  "Thou  must  at  all  hazards  subdue  tiiiue 
appetite'  we  prefer  the  latter,  with  K  ,  N. ,  W  , 
M,  H  ,  against  S. — A.]  If  thou  art  a  glut- 
tonous man,  lit.  a,  master  or  owner  of  desire, 
not  precisely  one  ruled  by  appetite  (Umbeeit), 
but  a  man  cherishing  and  maintaining  strong  de- 
sires; comp.  "Master  of  dreams,'"  Gen.  xxxvii. 
19. 

Ver.  3.  Crave  not  his  dainties  (comp.  6,  A  . 
xxiv.  1);  for  it  is  deceitful  food  ,  lit,  "bread 
of  lies"  (comp.  xx  17).  J.  e..  a  deceptive  meal, 
which  in  reality  has  another  object  than  that 
which  it  seems  to  have. 

Vers.  4,  5  Labor  not  to  be  rich  Since 
what  follows  plainly  emphasizes  the  fugitive  and 
perishable  nature  of  riches  in  itself,  the  senti  • 
ment  as  a  whole  doubtless  aims  to  deter  from 
striving  after  wealth,  or  from  covetoasness.  — 
Cease  from  (this)  thine  oiwn  v^isdom,  viz  . 
from  that  which  has  reference  to  the  acquisition 
and  preservation  of  riches — V7ilt  thou  look 
eagerly  (lit,  "let  thine  eyes  fly  ")  after  it  :—a 
we  render  in  accordance  with  the  K'ri,  which  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  a  Hiphil  of  this  verb  does 
not  occur  elsewhere,  is  to  be  preferred  to  the 
unintelligible  K'thibh;  and  we  do  not  need 
(with  Hitzig)  to  substitute  the  rendering 
"if  thou  faintest,  if  thou  art  weary"  (from 
fy  "to  be  feeble  or  powerless;"  comp 
Jer  iv,  31;  Judg,  iv  21)  — And  it  is  no 
longer  there,  has  disappeared,  is  suddenly 
gone!  Comp.  the  same  expression.  Job  vii  9. 
also  Gen  v  24.— For  assuredly  it  maketh 
itself  wings,  precisely  "  it  will  make  itself 
wings;"  comp  2  Sam  xv.  1 ;  1  Kings  i.  5,  also 
the  Latin  phrase  alas  sibifacere  (SiL  Ital.  16,  351) 
and  our  proverbial  expression  "  to  make  one 
find  his  legs,"  or  again  "  Fusse  hriegm  und  davon 
"  [to   get  feet   and   fly  away]. — As   an 


eagle  that  flieth  towards  the  heavens  (see 
Critical  notes). 

Vers.  6-8.  Bat  not  the  bread  of  him  that 
hath  an  evil  eye,  the  jealous  ;  the  man  of  an 
evil  eye  is  the  opposite  of  the  man  with  the  "  good 
eye,"  to  him  who  is  of  a  "kindly  look,"  (comp. 
xxii.  9,  Deut.  xv.  9;  Matth    vi.  23). 

Ver.  7.  For  as  he  thinketh  in  his  heart 
so  is  he      See  Critical  notes 

Ver.  8.  Thy  morsel  which  thou  hast  eat- 
en thou  Shalt  cast  up,  and  iliis  under  the 
constraint  of  the  "evil  eye'  exciting  vexation 
and  disgust,  under  the  feeling  of  bitterness  which 
the  envy  and  ill  will  of  thine  entertainer  will  ex- 
cite m  thee,  and  from  the  perception  of  the  fruit- 
lessness  of  thy  friendly  words,  which  were  in- 
tended to  gain  the  false  heart  of  this  man. 

2  Vers.  9-11.  Warning  against  intercourse 
with  fools,  and  against  violence  — With  ver.  9 
comp  ix.  8.  — And  into  the  field  of  the 
fatherless  press  thou  not ;  lit.  "  come  not  into 
them."  I.  c,  in  the  way  of  removing  boundaries 
or  other  acts  of  violence.  [Haokbtt  {Scripture 
Illustrations)  and  other  travellers  in  the  East  call 
attention  to  the  simplicity  of  these  landmarks, 
a  single  stone  or  small  heap  of  stones, — and  the 
ease  with  which  an  aggressor  could  encroach 
without  detection. — A.]. 

Ver.  11.  For  their  avenger  is  a  strong  one,  i.  e., 
Jehovah,  who  appears  as  the  vindicator  of  out- 
raged innocence  (as  7Ni,  Job  xix.  25 ;  Jer.  1. 
34,  etc.),  when  human  deliverers  and  protectors 
are  wanting  to  it.  (For  illustration  of  human 
"  redeemers  '  comp.  Kuth  iii  12).  With  b  com- 
pare xxii.  23  ;  also  Ps.  Ixviii.  6;  Mai.  iii.  5,  etc. 

3.  Vers.  12-18.  Admonition  to  the  strict  train- 
ing of  children,  and  to  the  striving  after  true 
wisdom  and  the  fear  of  God  — Apply  thine 
heart  to  correction  For  this  phrase  "  to  ap- 
ply the  heart,  to  incline  the  heart,"  comp.  Ps.  xc. 
12,  b;  for  the  "  words  of  knowledge,"  chap.  i.  2. 

Ver  12  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  an  intro- 
duction to  all  that  follows  as  far  as  ctiap.  xxiv. 
2  (in  opposition  to  Bertheau)  ;  rather  does  the 
general  exhortation  contained  in  it,  to  the  recep- 
tion of  a  discipline  of  the  understanding,  pre- 
pare the  way  only  for  what  immediately  follows, 
— perhaps  as  far  as  ver.  16,  or  18. 

Ver.  13.   Comp   iii   27.  xix   18,   xxii.  15. 

Ver.  14.  And  his  soul  thou  deliverest 
from  hell,  i  e.,  so  far  forth  as  correction  leads 
to  life,  and  is  even  itself  life  ,  comp  iv.  13;  xv. 
24:  also  vii.  27  sq   ,  ix.  18 

Ver.  16,  16  My  son,  if  thine  heart  be- 
Cometh  wise,  «.  «..  if  it  as  the  result  of  whole- 
some discipline  shall  have  become  wise — My 
heart  will  lejoice,  even  mine — therefore  not 
thine  merely  For  the  repetition  of  the  suflSx 
which  expresses  the  genitive  relation,  by  the  ca- 
sus rectus,  compare,  1  Kings  xxi.  1,  9;  2  Sam. 
xvii.  5  ;  xix  1  ,  and  also  chap  xxii  19  above. 
The  "reins  "  in  16,  a,  are  plainly  only  an  inter- 
changeable expression  for  "heart"  (Ps.  xvi.  7; 
xvii.  3),  and  the  "right  speaking  of  the  lips" 
is  Ihe  necessary  efl^ect  or  the  outward  sign  of 
having  become  wise, 

Ver  17.  Let  not  thine  heart  press  on 
eagerly  after  sinners,  but  after  the  fear  of 
Jehovah  all  the  day     Thus  SonELLiNO,  Um- 


202 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


JSKEIT,  HiTziQ,  [K.]  correctly  render,  while  the 
greater  number,  following  the  LXX,  Vulg.,  etc., 
restrict  the  effect  of  the  verb  Wp;  to  the  first 
member,  and  for  the  second  supply  the  Imper. 
of  the  substantive  verb.  For  the  general  idea 
moreover  comp.  iii.  31 ;  xxiv.  i.  19.  [Holden 
gives  a  qualified  endorsement  to  the  interpreta- 
tion which  our  author  adopts  ;  (N .,  M.,  S.  follow 
the  E.  V)  in  the  line  of  the  LXX  rendering.— 
RuEETSOHi  supports  the  view  which  makes  the  one 
expressed  verb  common  to  the  two  clauses,  the 
shades  of  meaning  varying  as  a  person  is  the  ob- 
ject m  the  former,  a  thing  in  the  latter  clause  ; 
in  the  former  case  the  idea  is  very  nearly  that 
of  "  envy,"  in  the  latter  "to  be  zealous  for."  A 
more  delicate  point  discussed  by  R.  is  the  pecu- 
liarity of  the  compound  connective  DN  "3,  in 
ver.  17  and  again  in  ver.  18.  In  the  former  it  is 
hardly  more  than  the  simple  adversative  "but" 
(see  Ew.iLD,  Lehrb.  343,  b);  in  the  latter  (see 
Z's.  view  below),  it  must  Ido  virtually  a  causal 
"for,"  or  by  conjectural  emendation  =  IN  *3. 
"for  then,"  (as  above,  p.  157). — A.]. 

Ver.  18.  Forif  the  end  come.  So  Umbreit, 
Beetheau,  Elster  correctly  render,  for  the  con- 
nective is  here  not  "  rather  "  or  "  but  rather  "  as 
in  ver.  17,  but  "3  is  a  causal  (comp.  xxiv.  20), 
and  DN  supplies  a  condition,  as  in  the  similar 
passage  xxiv.  14.  The  "  end  "  is  not  specifically 
the  hour  of  death  (Umbreit)  but  the  terminus 
which  is  necessarily  reached  in  all  human  rela- 
tions (Elster),  the  hour  of  judicial  decision, 
when  God  fulfils  the  hopes  of  the  pious  but  visits 
the  ungodly  with  righteous  penalties.  So  far 
forth  as  this  decisive  end  is  ordinarily  reached 
not  till  the  future  life,  there  is  undoubtedly  a  hint 
of  the  hope  of  immortality  and  of  a  future  retri- 
bution involved  in  this  passage,  as  in  xi.  7 ; 
xiv.  32. 

4.  Vers.  19-25.  Warning  against  intemperance 
and  extravagance,  and  counsel  to  an  obedient 
endeavor  after  truth.  —  Hear  thou,  my  son, 
and  be  wise.  The  pronoun  is  added  to 
strengthen  the  appeal  in  the  Imper.  "  hear  "  for 
the  sake  of  the  contrast  with  the  disobedient  in 
vers.  20  sq. — And  incline  thine  heart  in  a 
right  way,  lit  "  and  let  thine  heart  go  straight 
forward  in  the  way  "  (i.  e.,  in  the  "  way  of  un- 
derstanding "  chap.  ix.  6).     Comp.  Job  xxxi.  7. 

Ver.  20.  Who  devour  much  flesh.  This 
conception  of  the  Hebrew  phrase  is  the  simplest 
and  best  supported  by  the  authority  of  all  the 
old  translators.  We  are  to  think  of  gluttons  who 
at  their  carousals  with  much  wine  consume  also 
much  flesh.     Comp.  vii.  14 ;  ix.   2 ;  and  for  the 

association  of  7711  "  waster,  consumer,"  with 
K30,     "  drunkard,"  comp.  also  Deut.  xxi.  20,  as 

well  as  the  expression  of  the  New  Testament, 
<pdyo(;  Kal  olvoTrdrj/t;,  Matth.  xi.  19,  which  seems  to 
be  a  free  rendering  of  this  fixed  formula.     It  is 

arbitrary  and  contrary  to  the  meaning  of  77lf 
as  established  in  the  usage  of  the  language, 
when  EwALD  and  Umbreit  refer  it  to  licentious 
voluptuaries,  who  "dishonor  or  destroy  their 
own  body."  Of  the  later  commentators  Beb- 
THEATJ,  Elster,   Hitziq   have   taken  the   right 


view.  [The  author  is  perhaps  too  summary  in 
his  way  of  dismissing  an  interpretation,  which 
has  the  support  of  Hebraists  and  expositors  like 
Gesen.,  Fuerst,  Db  W.,  N.  :  and  yet  we  concur 
in  his  view,  which  is  best  supported  by  scriptu- 
ral parallels,  and  is  that  favored  by  the  LXX, 
Vulg.,  Luther,  E.  V.,  H.,  S  ,  M.,  Wordsw.,  etc. 
-A.] 

Ver  21.  And  the  sleep  of  sloth  clotheth 
in  lags  The  noun  nou,  "sleep,"  which  occurs 
only  bere,  according  to  the  context  describes  tho 
indolence  and  drowsiness  into  which  the  drunk- 
ard and  glutton  sinks  in  consequence  of  his  ex- 
cesses, and  the  necessary  result  of  which  is 
poverty. 

Ver.  22.  Hearken  to  thy  father  that  hath 
begotten  thee, — and  for  that  reason  deserves 
obedience,  as  does  the  mother  alt^o,  to  whom,  ac- 
cording to  clause  b,  it  is  becoming  to  hearken  in 
the  time  of  her  old  age. 

Ver  23  Buy  truth  and  sell  it  not.  The 
"  buying  "  of  the  truth  consists  in  the  acquisition 
of  it  with  labor,  exertion  and  sacrifice  (comp. 
iv  5,  7;  xvi.  16;  Matt.  xiii.  44,  46)  The  "sell- 
ing "  of  it  would  consist  in  its  gross  disparage- 
ment, and  its  sacrifice  for  the  sake  of  sensual 
enjoyment,  or  any  unsubstantial  seeming  trea- 
sure. ["Give  up  everything  for  truth,"  says 
Dr  Chalmers,  "and  let  no  bribery  of  any  sort 
induce  me  to  surrender  it."] 

Ver,  24  The  father  of  a  righteous  man 
rejoiceth  greatly.  The  K'ri  is  unquestionably 
to  be  preferred  to  the  K'thibh,  while  in  clause  b 
we  ought  probably  to  give  the  preference  rather 
to  the  K'thibh  ,  we  render  therefore  literally, 
"  the  begetter  of  a  wise  man — and  he  shall  re- 
joice in  himself." — With  respect  to  the  sentiment 
of  this  verse  and  the  one  following  comp.  x.  1 ; 
XV.  20  ;  xxvii.  11. 

5.  Vers.  26-28.  Warning  against  licentious- 
ness, introduced  by  a  summons  to  a  loving  con- 
secration to  wisdom. — My  son,  give  me  thine 
heart.  The  speaker  is  evidently  wisdom  per- 
sonified, who  appears  here  as  in  chap.  vii.  4,  5, 
in  opposition  to  a  treacherous  harlot,  and  ad- 
monishes to  a  firm  adherence  to  her  "ways,"  i.e. 
to  the  principles  and  rules  of  life  which  are 
prescribed  by  wisdom. 

Ver.  27.  With  a  compare  xxii.  14  a. — And 
the  strange  w^omau  a  narrow  pit ;  there- 
fore, those  that  have  been  ensnared  by  her  arti- 
fices and  brought  to  ruin,  she  releases  again 
with  as  much  difficulty  as  a,  narrow  and  deep 
well  (possibly  of  a  conical,  or,  the  reverse,  a 
funnel  shape)  permits  one  who  has  fallen  into  it 
to  escape. 

Ver  28.  Yea,  like  a  robber  doth  she  lie 
in  wait.  f]^n  is  used  only  here  to  describe  a 
robber.  Comp  Jer.  iii.  2,  where  a  wanton  har- 
lot is  compared  to  an  "  Arab  of  the  desert" 
lurking  about  the  roads. — And  the  false 
among  men  doth  she  multiply ;  i.  e.  by  her 
seductive  arts  she  allures  many  to  unfaithfulness, 
especially  when  it  is  married  men  among  whom 
she  practises  her  impurities.  Umbreit  unneces- 
sarily renders :  she  draweth  to  herself  faithless 
ones  [i.  e.  adulterers) ; — besides,  the  verb  here 
used  could  hardly  express  this  idea.  But  it  is 
likewise  inappropriate,  with  Ewald,  Bektheau, 


CHAP.  XXIII.  1-85. 


203 


EisiEK,  etc.,  to  understand  by  the  "faithless" 
not  so  much  adulterers,  etc.,  as  rather  robbers 
and  murderers.  No  sufficient  support  from  the 
language  can  be  adduced  for  HiTzia's  oouoeptioa 
of  D''^J^3  as  equivalent  to  the  abstract  mj13 
"perfidy,  faithlessness." 

6.  Vers.  29-35.  Warning  against  the  vice  of 
intemperance,  by  means  of  a  vivid  picture  of 
its  ruinous  results. — Who  hath  woe  ?  'Who 
hath  grief?  Lit.,  "to  whom  is  ah?  to  whom 
alas?"  The  interjection  'US,  an  expansion  of 
'IK  is  found  only  here.  Among  the  subsequent 
terms,  the  "trouble"  is  strictly  anxious  care, 
complaint;  "  wounds  without  cause  "  are  wounds 
received  in  causeless  or  wholly  unprofitable  dis- 
putes, wounds  and  stripes  such  as  come  of  the 
brawls  of  drunken  men;  finally  the  dark  "red- 
ness of  the  eyes  "  is  the  revolting  effect  of  exces- 
sive use  of  wine  as  it  shows  itself  in  the  face, 
according  to  Gen.  xlix.  12. 

Ver.  30.  They  that  tarry  long  at  the 
wine  (comp.  Isa.  v.  11),  -who  come  to  seek 
mixed  wine.  There  is  hardly  need  of  our 
supposing  (in  accordance  with  Bertheau's  view) 
•  an  actual  entrance  into  a  proper  wine  store  or 
cellar  (Song  Sol.  ii.  4), — but  rather  a  concourse 
of  several  at  the  house  of  some  one  (comp.  Job 
i.  4),  to  drink  there  strong  spiced  wine  or  mixed 
liquor  (ix.  5). 

Ver.  31.  When  it  sparkleth  in  the  cup 
(lit.,  "giveth  out  or  showeth  its  eye"),  when 
it  glideth  smoothly  (lit.,  "  goeth  a  straight 
or  right  way,"  ingreditur  blande  (Vulg.)).  Comp. 
Song  Sol.  vii.  10.  [The  figurative  use  of  the 
term  "eye"  in  this  vivid  description  has  sug- 
gested two  slightly  different  conceptions  ; — one, 
that  of  BoTT.,  etc.,  derived  from  the  brightness 
of  the  eye;  the  other,  that  of  Fuerst,  etc.,  from 
its  roundness,  setting  forth  therefore  the  "  bead, 
or  pearl"  of  the  wine.  Two  different  interpre- 
tations have  likewise  been  given  to  the  latter 
part  of  the  description ;  one  of  these  is  based 
upon  the  smooth  flow  in  the  glass  of  rich,  oily 
old  wine  (so  B.  V.,  W.,  etc.);  the  other  upon  its 
smooth  pleasant  flow  as  it  is  swallowed,  when 
"it  goeth  down  aright"  (so  substantially  Luther, 
De  W.,  K.,  Z.,  Bertheau,  H.,  N.,  S.,  M.).  The 
LXX  gives  a  curiously  divergent  rendering: 
"  For  if  thou  shouldest  set  thine  eyes  on  bowls 
and  cups,  thou  shalt  afterwards  go  more  naked 
than  a  pestle." — A.] 

Ver.  32.  At  last  it  biteth  like  a  serpent ; 
lit.,  "its  end,"  i.  e.  its  ruinous  influence  which 
finally  becomes  evident,  its  fearful  after-pangs. 
—And  stingeth  like  an  adder.  This  Hiphil 
form,  which  occurs  only  here,  can,  in  accordance 
with  the  Aramaean,  have  no  other  meaning  than 
"to  sprinkle,  or  spirt,"  for  which  in  the  case 
before  us  "poison"  suggests  itself  as  the  natu- 
ral object ;  (the  serpent  is  the  very  poisonous 
species  of  viper  mentioned  also  in  Isa.  xi.  8). 

Ver.  33.  Thine  eyes  shall  see  strange 
things.  The  "  strange  "  (Hill)  standing  paral- 
lel with  "  perverse  (things),"  is  evidently  to  be 
taken  in  a  different  sense  from  that  required 
inxxii.  14;  it  therefore  does  not  denote  "strange 
women"  (Umbreit,  Bertheau,  Elster),  but 
"strange,  marvellous  things,"  as  the  object  of 
the  drunken  man's  vision  ;  thus,  e.  g.,  the  dou- 


bling of  certain  objects,  their  inversion,  their 
tremulous  or  swaying  motion,  etc.  (thus,  cor- 
rectly, KosENM.,  EwAiD,  HiTzio). — With  clause 
b  compare  xv.  28.  [While  the  Bviok  of  Proverbs 
emphasizes  the  connection  of  drunkenness  and 
licentiousness  as  kindred,  and  often  contempora- 
neous or  successive  vices  (see  especially  chap, 
vii.),  still  the  rendering  suggested  by  xxii.  14, 
and  preferred  by  the  E.  V.,  i)E  W.,  N.,  M.,  H., 
S.,  etc.,  is  rendered  less  probable  by  the  paral- 
lelism, which  in  Hebrew  is  not  to  be  lightly  dis- 
regarded.— A.] 

Ver.  34.  And  shalt  be  as  one  w^ho  (is)  in 
the  midst  of  the  sea, — i.  «.  probably  not  one 
who  is  out  in  the  midst  of  the  high  sea  (so  Um- 
breit, Bertheau,  etc.),  but  one  who  is  in  the 
depths  of  the  sea  (Jonah  ii.  4),  and  therefore 
one  who  is  as  unconscious,  with  the  spirit  as 
completely  removed  from  ail  previous  surround- 
ings, as  a  drowned  man  lying  upon  the  deep 
sea-bottom  (HiTzio).  [Kamph.,  H.,  N.,  S.,  M. 
take  the  other  view,  which  has  this  to  commend 
it,  that  it  refers  to  more  common  experiences, 
and  experiences  of  living  men,  and  harmonizes 
better  with  the  second  part  of  the  description. — 
A.] — As  one  that  sleepeth  on  the  top  of  a 
mast, — a  lively  image  fif  the  condition  of  the 
drunken  man,  reeling,  .stnggcring  hither  and 
thither,  rising  and  falling;,  as   it  were,   and   so 

exposed  to    imminent   perils   to   his   life.     73n 

"mast,"  (which  is  usually  described  by  pJ^),  a 
word  occurring  only  here,  and  apparently  re- 
lated to  the  verb  SdH,  "to  bind;''  comp.  Dan. 
iv.  20.  [FuERST  makes  the  primary  meaning 
"  to  conduct,  direct,  guide,"  and  therefore  inter- 
prets the  noun  of  the  "steering  apparatus,  the 
rudder." — A.] 

Ver.  35.  They  have  stricken  me — I  have 
not  felt  it,  etc.  Evidently  language  of  the 
intoxicated  man,  who  first,  in  clauses  a  and  b, 
tells  how  he  feebly  remembers  having  experi- 
enced, without  really  feeling,  even  blows  and 
bodily  abuse  of  other  kinds,  while  he  was  in  his 
intoxication, — and  then  in  clause  c,  although 
still  half-bewildered  by  the  later  influence  of 
the  wine,  expresses  his  intense  craving  for  more, 
and  his  fixed  purpose  to  seek  anew  the  prohibited 
enjoyment.  The  more  characteristic  this  whole 
picture  of  the  mode  of  thought  and  action  of  a 
confirmed  inebriate,  so  much  the  more  unneces- 
sary is  it,  with  HiTZio,  to  read  in  a  and  b  "it 
bath  stricken — it  hath  smitten  me"  CJ^n  'JOiri) 
and  to  make  wine  personified  (as  in  ver.  32)  the 
subject.— With  c  compare,  moreover,  the  lan- 
guage of  the  sluggard  craving  sleep;  chap. 
vi.  10. 

DOCTRINAL    AND   ETHICAL. 

There  is  hardly  need  of  further  demonstration 
to  show,  that  it  is  several  of  the  main  forms  of 
sensual  self-indulgence  of  which  our  chapter 
treats  in  the  way  of  warning  and  dissuasion. 
At  first  it  is  a  very  strong  desire  for  the  pleasures 
of  great  men's  tables,  as  well  as  for  the  eiij  oyments 
and  advantages  which  intercourse  with  envious 
men  secures  (vers.  1-3,  6-8),  that  forms  the  sub- 
ject of  the  admonition.     The  remonstrance  m- 


204 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


terposed  between  these  two  warnings,  and  relat- 
ing to  striving  after  ricliea,  points  to  covetous- 
uess  as  the  deep  root  not  only  of  evils  in  general, 
but  of  this  one  in  particular  (vers.  4,  5 ;  comp. 
1  Tim.  vi.  10).  —  [Lawson:  —  Solomon  often 
speaks  of  riches  as  a  reward  that  wisdom  fre- 
quently bestows  on  those  who  love  her,  but  here 
he  cautions  us  against  supposing  that  wisdom 
encourages  the  love  of  riches].  There  follows 
next  a  further  warning  against  common,  rude 
and  uncultivated  conversation  (ver.  9). — [Chal- 
mers : — Let  me  know  when  to  be  silent  as  well 
as  when  to  speak.  There  is  a  manifest  contempt 
for  what  is  said  that  should  lay  instant  arrest 
upon  me].  There  is  a  like  warning  against  the 
rough  and  greedy  exercise  of  violence  upon 
helpless  orphans,  and  others  who  are  weak  and 
entitled  to  consideration  (vers.  10,  11);  against 
foolish  doting,  and  a  false  carnal  forbearance  in 
the  matter  of  the  discipline  of  children  (vers. 
12-18) ; — [Aknot  : — The  command  isframed  upon 
the  supposition  that  parents  often  fail  on  the 
side  of  tenderness ;  the  word  is  given  to  nerve 
them  for  a  difficult  duty.  There  is  no  ambiguity 
in  the  precept;  both  the  need  of  correction  and 
the  tremendous  issues  that  depend  on  it  are  ex- 
pressed with  thrilling  precision  of  language]  ; — 
next,  against  haughty  contempt  of  the  conside- 
ration due  to  parents,  and  disobedience  to  them 
(vers.  22-25) :  against  intercourse  with  the  glut- 
tonous and  profligate  (vers.  19-21) ;  against 
being  ensnared  by  wanton  women  (vers.  26-28) ; 
against  the  vice  of  drunkenness  (vers.  29-35). 
As  a  basis  for  the  warning  against  these  two 
chief  forms  of  incontinence  and  fleshly  indul- 
gence we  have  at  one  time  more  prominence 
given  to  the  nothingness  and  transientness  of  the 
possessions  or  enjoyments  to  be  obtained  by 
means  of  them  (vers.  5,  21,  35),  and  at  another 
to  the  heavy  penalty  in  temporal  and  eternal 
death  (vers.  11,  14,  18,  27  sq.,  32).  To  the  fool- 
ish sentiments  and  manner  of  life  which  lead 
down  to  such  ruin,  ver.  17,  which  is  cast  in  a 
peculiarly  comprehensive  form,  opposes  the  "fear 
of  Jehovah,"  as  the  only  means  of  deliverance 
and  preservation.  And  as  the  glorious  fruit  and 
result  of  this  we  have  extolled  in  ver.  18  a  hope 
which  outlasts  the  grave  and  death, — the  same 
hope,  therefore,  of  an  eternally  blessed  life, 
which  in  some  earlier  passages  of  the  Book  of 
Proverbs  had  already  come  out  significantly; 
comp.  above,  remarks  on  this  passage,  on  p.  202. 

HOMILETIO   AND   PRACTICAL. 

Homily  on  the  entire  chapter: — The  fear  of  God 
the  only  safeguard  against  the  ruinous  ascen- 
dency of  Beshly  lusts,  especially  avarice,  extra- 
vagance, drunkenness  and  licentiousness. — Comp. 
Stooker:  On  intemperance  in  eating  and  drink- 
ing.— Berlthurg  Bible: — The  art  of  living  well, 
according  to  the  rules  of  wisdom. 

Vers.  1-3,  Luther  (marginal) : — At  court 
there  is  deceitful  bread,  for  one  is  ever  out-lying 
and  out-flattering  another  that  he  may  bring 
him  down,  and  himself  up.  ...  It  is  bad  eating 
cherries  with  lords. — Melanohthon: — To  be 
seeking  offices  and  positions  of  service  with 
great  men  is  allowable  if  we  know  ourselves  to 
be  in  some  measure  fitted  for  it ;  yet  one  striving 


for  these  may  never  restrain  the  independent 
judgment  of  him  who  has  the  choice,  or  in  gene- 
ral seek  to  attain  its  end  by  unjust  means: 
otherwise  it  is  a  guilty  ambition. — Hasius  : — He 
that  cannot  walk  prudently  in  dangerous  places 

does  better  to  keep  away  from  them. — Geiek; 

At  the  table  of  the  Lord's  grace  in  the  Holy 
Sacrament,  one  should  appear  with  special  reve- 
rence and  humility ;  for  there  one  has  to  do 
with  the  King  of  all  kings. — Staeke: — Modera- 
tion and  the  careful  testing  of  that  which  is  and 
that  which  is  not  hurtful  to  the  body  must  always 
be  the  rule  of  prudence,  even  though  one  have 
great  stores  on  hand. — [Arnot  :■ — It  is  of  the 
Lord  that  hunger  is  painful  and  food  gives  plea- 
sure ;  between  these  two  lines  of  defence  the 
Creator  has  placed  life  with  a  vipw  to  its  preser- 
vation. The  due  sustenance  of  the  body  is  the 
Creator's  end;  the  pleasantness  of  food  the 
means  of  attaining  it.  When  men  prosecute  and 
cultivate  that  pleasure  as  an  end,  they  thwart 
the  very  purposes  of  Providence]. 

Vers.  4,  5.  Melanchthon  : — Diligence,  indus- 
try, faithful  striving  to  fulfil  one's  earthly  calU 
ing  this  proverb  does  not  forbid,  but  multiplicity 
of  cares  and  a  greedy  eagerness  under  which 
man,  from  want  of  confidence  in  God,  seeks  witlj 
pain  and  self-imposed  smart  for  the  perishable 
goods  of  this  world.  From  such  wayward  and 
unlawful  striving  it  summons  us  back  to  the  true 
sphere  of  our  calling  and  to  a  prudent  and  dili- 
gent work  therein  with  appeals  for  divine  aid. — 
Tubingen  Bible : — To  toil  for  riches  which  are 
perishable  and  cannot  satisfy  the  soul,  is  a  sin- 
ful folly.  In  heaven  should  we  be  gathering 
treasures  that  endure  forever.  Matt.  vi.  19  sq. — 
[T.  Adams  : — Solomon  compares  riches  not  to 
some  tame  house  bird,  or  a  hawk  that  may  be 
fetched  down  with  a  line,  or  found  again  by  her 
bells  ;  but  an  eagle  that  violently  cuts  the  air  and 
is  gone  past  recalling. — Bp.  Hopkins  : — It  were 
a  most  strange  folly  to  fall  passionately  in  love 
with  a  bird  upon  his  wing,  etc.  How  much  bet- 
ter were  it,  since  riches  will  fly,  for  thyself  to 
direct  their  flight  towards  heaven,  by  relieving 
the  necessitous  servants  and  members  of  Jesus 
Christ?] 

Vers.  6-8.  Zeltneu  ; — Learn  to  be  pleased  and 
content  at  little  cost,  and  thou  wilt  be  able  easily 
to  forget  dainty  morsels.  Follow  Paul:  I  have 
learned  in  whatsoever  state  I  am  therewith  to  be 
content  (Phil.  iv.  11). — Wohlfarth  : — Reflect 
how  much  ruin  envy  works,  this  annoyance  at 
others'  prosperity, — how  it  spares  no  means  for 
the  overthrow  of  the  envied  neighbor,  how  un- 
happy and  discontented  it  also  makes  even  its  own 
slaves,  to  what  grievous  sins  }t  forces  them,  etc. 
Consider  this,  and  thou  wilt  not  merely  take  to 
heart  the  prudential  maxim  :  Beware  of  the  en- 
vious,— but  thou  wilt  seek  to  keep  thyself  also 
from  this  vice  1 

Vers.  9  sq.  Starke  (on  ver.  9) : — To  speak  at 
the  wrong  time  and  in  the  wrong  place  brings 
always  far  more  harm  than  profit. — (On  vers.  10, 
11) : — Pious  widows  and  orphans  have,  notwith- 
standing their  forsaken  and  apparently  helpless 
condition,  the  mightiest  protection  ;  Ecclesiast. 
XXXV.  16  sq. — (On  ver.  12)  : — Not  simply  in- 
struction, but  also  correction  and  punishment 
one  must  receive  gladly  if  one  would  become  wise. 


CHAP.  XXIV.  1-22. 


205 


Vers.  13-18.  Lutiiee  (marginal  comm.  on  ver. 
13) : — If  thou  soourgest  thy  son  the  executioner 
need  not  scourge  him.  There  must  be  scourging 
once;  if  the  father  does  not  do  it,  then  Master 
John  does  it ;  there  is  no  help  for  it.  No  one 
has  ever  escaped  it,  for  this  is  God's  judg- 
ment.— J.  Lanqe  : — Many  parents  deserve  hell 
in  their  own  children,  because  they  have  ne- 
glected to  train  them  in  holiness. — Ckamkr  (on 
ver.  15) : — Next  to  the  experience  of  God's  grace 
there  is  no  greater  joy  on  earth  than  when  one 
finds  joy  and  honor  in  his  children. — [H.  Mel- 
VILL : — If  a.  child  do  that  which  will  make  a 
parent  happier  he  does  that  which  will  also  make 
himself  so.  Heart-wisdom  is  the  thing  desired. 
No  wisdom  is  thought  worthy  of  the  name  that 
has  not  heaven  for  its  origin  and  end,  and  the 
heart  for  its  abode. — Trapp  (on  ver.  17) : — Men 
must  wake  with  God,  walk  with  Him,  and  lie 
down  with  Him,  be  in  continual  communion  with 
Him,  and  conformity  unto  Him.  This  is  to  be 
in  lieaven  aforehand. — Bp.  Hopkins  : — It  is  the 
property  of  grace  and  holiness,  when  there  are 
no  actual  explicit  thoughts  of  God,  then  to  be 
habitually  in  the  fear  of  God,  possessing  the 
heart  and  overawing  it]. — Stakke  (on  ver.  18) : 
— The  true  good  of  the  pious  is  still  future  ;  so 
much  the  less  may  they  be  enamored  of  the  pre- 
sent seeming  good  of  the  ungodly. — Reinhard 
(Gesam.  Predd.,  Bd.  II.,  1804;  Sermon  on  vers. 
17,  18) : — How  much  cause  we  have  to  hold  true 
to  the  old  unchangeable  principles  of  a  genuine 
fear  of  God. — Sackreutek  (Fast-day  Sermon  on 
vers.  17,  18, — see  "  Sonntagsfeier,"  1839) : — Of 
three  excellent  preservatives  from  sin,  viz. :  1) 
the  avoidance  of  evil  example  ;  2)  reverence  for 
God ;  3)  frequent  remembrance  of  the  blessing 
of  virtue. 

Vers.  19  sq,  [Trapp  (on  ver.  19) : — Let  know- 
ledge and  affection  be  as  twins,  and  run  paral- 
lel ;  let  them  mutually  transfuse  life  and  vigor, 
the  one  into  the  other. — John  Foster  : — On  the 
self-discipline  suitable  to  certain  mental  states]. 
— Tubingen  Bible  (on  ver.  20,  21): — Gluttony 
and  drunkenness  are  works  of  the  flesh ;  they 
that  do  such  things  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom 
of  God,  Gal.  v.   19.— Lanqe  (on  ver.   22) :— In 


the  eyes  of  wicked  children  nothing  is  wont  to 
seem  more  worthy  of  contempt  than  the  old 
mother ;  and  yet  he  is  accursed  of  the  Lord  who 
troubles  his  mother,  Eoolesiast.  iii.  18. — Sa0rin 
(on  ver.  23) : — The  investigation  of  truth  involves 
the  seven  following  duties:  1)  be  attentive;  2) 
do  not  be  discouraged  at  labor ;  3)  suspend  your 
judgment;  4)  let  prejudice  yield  to  reason;  5) 
be  teachable;  6)  restrain  your  avidity  of  know- 
ing; 7)  in  order  to  edify  your  mind  subdue  your 
heart. — [A.  Fuller  : — Solomon  does  not  name 
the  price  of  truth,  because  its  value  was  beyond 
all  price.  Buy  it  at  any  rate !  It  cannot  be  too 
dear!  And  having  got  it  make  much  of  it!  sell 
it  not,  no,  not  for  any  price!] — Zeltnek  (on 
vers.  26  sq.) : — The  best  and  most  welcome  pre- 
sent that  thou  canst  bring  thy  God  is  thy  heart 
with  all  its  desires  and  powers.  Is  it  ruined  ? 
He  alone  can  amend  and  cleanse  it. — Starke  : — 
He  who  opens  his  heart  to  the  prince  of  this 
V7orld  thereby  shows  himself  the  enemy  of  God 
and  of  eternal  wisdom. — [Bp.  Hopkins  : — -What- 
ever else  we  tender  unto  God  if  the  heart  be 
wanting,  it  is  but  the  carcass  of  a  duty]. 

Vers.  29-35.  Cramer  : — All  sins  come  in 
agreeably  and  taste  well  in  the  mouth ;  but 
afterward  they  are  as  bitter  as  gall,  and  fatal  as 
the  poison  of  vipers. — Osiandeb  : — Wine  is  a 
noble  gift  of  God ;  but  its  abuse  is  only  the  more 
ruinous,  and  therefore  to  be  shunned  like  deadly 
poison. — Starke: — ^That  man  only  is  really  and 
in  the  spiritual  sense  drunken  who  does  not  dis- 
cern the  great  peril  of  his  soul,  but  under  all 
correction  becomes  only  the  more  confident  and 
defiant  (Jer.  v.  3). — [Trapp: — Such  is  the  drunk- 
ard's lethargy ;  neither  is  he  more  insensible 
than  sensual  and  irrecoverable.- — Lawson  : — An 
inferior  master  in  the  art  of  moral  painting  gives 
us  a  just  picture  of  drunkenness  in  these  words, 
"Drunkenness  is  a  distemper  of  the  head,  a 
subversion  of  the  senses,  <•  tempest  of  the  tongue, 
a  storm  in  the  body — the  shipwreck  of  virtue, 
the  loss  of  time,  a  wilful  madness,  a  pleasant 
devil,  a  sugared  poison,  a  sweet  sin,  which  he 
that  has  has  not  himself,  and  he  that  commits  it, 
doth  not  only  commit  sin,  but  is  himself  alto- 
gether sin  "]. 


rf)  Warning  against  intercourse  with  wicked  and  foolish  men. 
Chap.  XXIV.  1-22. 


Be  not  envious  of  evil  men, 
and  desire  not  to  be  with  them, 
for  their  heart  studieth  violence, 
and  their  lips  talk  of  mischief — 
By  wisdom  is  the  house  builded, 
and  by  understanding  is  it  established ; 
by  knowledge  shall  the  chambers  be  filled 
with  all  treasure  that  is  precious  and  pleasant. 


206  THE  mOVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


5  The  wise  man  is  full  of  strength, 

and  the  man  of  understanding  increaseth  strength ; 

6  for  with  wise  counsel  shalt  thou  make  war, 
and  victory  is  in  abundance  of  counsellors. — 

7  Wisdom  is  too  high  for  the  fool; 

he  openeth  not  his  mouth  in  the  gate. 

8  He  that  deviseth  to  do  evil 

shall  be  called  a  mischievous  person. 

9  The  device  of  folly  is  ein, 

and  the  scorner  is  an  abomination  to  men. 

10  If  thou  faint  in  the  day  of  adversity 
thy  strength  is  small. 

11  Deliver  them  that  are  taken  to  death, 

and  them  that  totter  toward  destruction,  oh  rescue  them ! 

12  If  thou  say  est,  Lo,  we  knew  it  not! 

He  that  weigheth  hearts  will  He  not  mark  it  ? 

He  that  watcheth  over  thy  soul,  will  He  not  know  it  ? 

and  He  requiteth  man  according  to  his  work. 

13  My  son,  eat  honey  because  it  is  good, 

and  honey  comb  which  is  sweet  to  thy  taste ; 

14  so  acquaint  thyself  with  wisdom  for  thy  soul ; 
when  thou  hast  found  it  and  the  end  cometh 
thy  hope  also  shall  not  be  cut  off. 

15  Plot  not  as  a  wicked  man  against  the  dwelling  of  the  righteous, 
assault  not  his  dwelling-place  ; 

16  for  seven  times  doth  the  righteous  fall  and  riseth  again, 
but  the  wicked  shall  plunge  into  destruction. 

17  When  thine  enemy  falleth  rejoice  not, 

and  if  he  stumbleth  let  not  thine  heart  be  glad  ; 

18  lest  Jehovah  see  it,  and  it  be  evil  in  His  eyes, 
and  He  turn  away  His  anger  from  him. — 

19  Be  not  enraged  at  evil  doers, 
envy  not  the  wicked. 

20  For  no  future  shall  there  be  to  the  evil ; 
the  light  of  the  wicked  shall  be  put  out. 

21  My  son,  fear  thou  Jehovah  and  the  King, 

and  go  not  with  those  who  are  given  to  change ; 

22  for  suddenly  shall  their  calamity  rise, 

and  the  destruction  of  them  both,  who  knoweth  it  ? 

GEAMMATICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

Ver.  6,  1*77    a  dafiuusctw-modi  ["for  thyself,  thy  advantage  or  intereBt"];  comp.    I'D?)    chap,  xiiil.  20. 

Ver.  7.  nVoX'^,    scripiio pj^na,  as  in  1  Cbron.  vi.  58 ;  Zech.  xiv.  10.    [Comp.  Gbken,  g  156,  3,  etc.], 

Ver.  8.  For  the  construction  of    J^TD    with    7    comp.  xvi.  21. 

Ver.  11.  DX  stands  here  for  17,  uiinamf  as  in  Ps.  Ixxxi.  9 ;  cxxxix.  19;  it  is  not  to  be  regarded  (as  the  LXX,  Tnlg., 
Umbeeit,  etc.,  take  it)  as  a  negative  particle  of  adjuration,  in  the  sense  of  fit],  ja  nicM,  by  no  means.  [See  also  Fubbst,  sub 
V.  For  the  time  implied  in  the  Part.  DTlp?)  comp.  rem.  on  xxii.  16;  sucb  as  have  been  taken  and  are  now  in  that 
condition.    For  the  full  form    llltynn    comp.  Grit.  Notes  on  xxii.  7, 8. — A.]. 

Ver.  13.  [ri3  j    an  apparent  fem.  construed  here  as  masc.    See  BoTT.  §  648,  t,  and  n.  1. — A.J. 

Ver.  14.  njJI  or  as  the  best  MSS.  read,  HJJT  is  an  Imper.  from  yT  instead  of  the  usual  form  nj?1'  [Oomp. 
BoTT.  J  §  396,  936,'  c,  960,  a;  and  Geeen,  J  §  97, 1,  b,  148,  3.— A.]. 

Ver.  17.  [For  the  form  iSt^Sa  instead  of  the  fuller  Niphal  form,  see  Boll.  §  ?  990, 1,  b,  1036, 2;  and  Qezes,  §  §  91,  6, 
231,  6,  a.— A.J. 

comp.  Ter.  19;  xxlii.  17;  with  ver.  1,  a,  comp. 
EXEGETICAL  ^^^°  xxiii.  3,  6;  with  2,  a,  oomp.  xv.  28. 

2.  Vers.  3-6.  Praise  of  wisdom  and  its  salutary 
results. — By  vtrisdom  is  the  house  bnilded. 
Comp.  xiv.  1,  where  it  is  speolfioally  the  wisdom 


1.  YeTB.  1,  2.  'Warning  against  intercourse  with 
wiclied  men  (lit.  "men  of  evil,"  oomp.  xxviii.  6;) 


CHAP.  XXIV.  1-22. 


207 


of  woman  that  is  commended  as  builder  of  the 
house.  For  the  expression  in  3,  b,  comp.  iii.  19 ; 
for  ver.  4  oomp.  also  iii.  10;  viii.  21. 

Ver.  5.  The  wise  man  is  full  of  strength, 
lit.,  is  "in  strength,"  i,  e.,  furnished  with 
strength,  powerful ;  comp.  the  corresponding 
phrase  in  Ps.  xxix.  4.  The  LXX,  Syr.,  Chald., 
read  Il'j>D,  i.  c,  more  than,  better  than  strength; 
oomp.  xvi.  32.  But  the  Masoretio  reading  plainly 
gives  us  a  simpler  and  more  pertinent  meaning. — 
And  the  man  of  understanding  (lit.  "man 
of  knowledge ")  increaseth  strength,  lit., 
"maketh  power  strong,"  (comp.  ii.  14)  he  de- 
velops mighty  strength  (oomp.  the  phrase  in  Job 
ii.  19),  he  makes  it  available  as  a  quality  of  his 
own. 

Ver.  6.  For  -with  -wise  counsel  mast  thou 
make  war,  lit.  "must  thou  carry  on  war  for 
thyself,"  i.  e.,  must  thou  bring  thy  war  to  an 
end,  carry  it  through.  [So  M.,  Wobdsw.,  K., 
e/c.].  Comp.  XX.  18,  and  for  clause  b,  xi.  14; 
XV.  22. 

3.  Vers.  7-10.  Four  separate  proverbs,  directed 
against  folly,  intrigue,  scoifing  and  faint-hearted- 
ness. — Wisdom  is  too  high  for  the  fool. 
niDNI  is  strictly  "heights"  [exceha,  Vulg.), 
i.  e.,  unattainably  distant  things,  objects  which 
are  altogether  too  high;  comp.  Ps.  x.  5;  Isa. 
XXX.  18.  HiTziQ  conjectures  a  double  meaning, 
so  far  forth  as  the  word  in  the  form  before  us 
could  have  meant  at  the  same  time  also  "  corals, 
costly  ornaments"  (in  accordance  with  Job  xxviii. 
18). — He  openeth  not  his  mouth  in  the  gate ; 
f.  e.,  injudicial  consultations  and  transactions  of 
his  fellow-citizens  (comp.  xxii.  22)  he  can  bring 
forward  nothing.  ["  He  were  two  fools  if  he 
should,"  says  Tbapp,  "  for  while  he  holds  his 
tongue  he  is  held  wise  "]. 

Ver.  8.  Shall  be  called  (him  they  call)  a 
mischievous  person — a  master  or  lord  of  mis- 
chief (an  expression  equivalent  to  that  in  chap. 
xii.  2,  "a  man  of  wicked  devices").  ["This  is 
his  property  and  ownership,  mischief  and  wrong." 

WOEDSW.] 

Ver.  9.  The  device  (meditation)  of  folly  is 
sin;— 8.  «.,  there  also  where  folly  (or  the  fool, 
abstr.pro  concr.)  acts  with  consideration,  and  goes 
to  work  with  a  reflective  prudence  (HHt,  a  simi- 
lar term  to  that  in  ver.  8),  it  still  brings  to  pass 
nothing  good,  but  always  only  evil.  It  is  indeed 
even  worse  with  the  scoifer,  who,  according  to 
clause  b,  is  an  abhorrence  and  abomination  to  all 
men,  because  he,  with  his  evil  plans  and  coun- 
sels, unites  furthermore  great  shrewdness,  subtle 
wit,  refined  speculation — in  general  the  exact  op- 
posite of  folly. 

Ver.  10.  If  thou  hast  shown  thyself  faint 
in  the  day  of  adversity  (anxiety,  distress), 
thy  strength  is  small; — i.  e.,  thou  art  a  coward 
and  weakling,  whose  courage  is  feeble,  and  whose 
moral  power  and  capacity  for  resistance  is,  as  it 
were,  crippled.  Less  appropriately  Umbreit, 
Elsteb,  etc.  (following  the  Vulg.,  Targum,  etc.) 
"then  sinketh  thy  strength  also"  (imminuetur 
fortitudo  tua).  But  HiTzro's  emendation  is  also 
needless,  nan?"!,  "thy  courage,"  for HDna,  "thy 

strength," — as  is  also  his  marvellous  reproduc- 
tion of  the  paronomasia  (pTlS— IS)  \>y  -."amTage 


der  Klemme—klamm  ist  dein  Muth"  ["in  the  day 
of  straits — straight  is  thy  courage  "].  Bertheau 
connects  the  verse  closely  with  the  two  following: 
"Hast  thou  shown  thyself  faint  in  the  day  of  trou- 
ble, was  thy  strength  fearful,  oh  deliver,"  etc.  (?). 
At  all  points  Ewald  has  the  right  view,  and  in 
general  Luther  also  :  "  He  is  not  strong  who  is 
not  firm  in  need."  [The  principle  is  familiar 
enough  that  courage  and  hopefulness  are  half  of 
man's  strength. — A.] 

4.  Vers.  11,  12.  An  admonition  to  a  sympa- 
thizing and  compassionate  demeanor  toward  such 
as  are  in  their  innocency  condemned  to  death, 
and  are  being  borne  to  the  place  of  execution. 
Comp.  L.  MosHEiM  :  Commentatio  ad  loo.  Prov. 
xxiv.  11,  12  ;  Helmstadt.  4to.  [Kamph.  suggests 
an  easy  and  natural  transition  to  this  exhortation 
from  the  preceding.  That  had  reference  to  cou- 
rage in  time  of  one's  own  need,  this  to  quick  and 
sympathizing  helpfulness  in  others'  extremity. 
— A.] — Deliver  them  that  are  taken  to 
death  (the  participle  here  used  has  the  same 
meaning  as  the  forma  of  the  verb  found  in  Isa. 
Ivii.  13 ;  Ps.  xlix.  16).  That  this  appeal  is  made 
specifically  to  a  judge  (Umbreit),  is,  according 
to  ver.  12  a,  very  improbable.  He  who  is  ad- 
dressed seems  rather  to  be  one  who  is  accident- 
ally passing  by  in  the  vicinity  of  the  place  of 
execution,  who  is  on  the  point  of  going  on  after 
the  manner  of  the  priest  and  the  Levite  in  Luke 
X.  30  sq.,  with  no  sympathy,  and  without  lifting 
a  helping  hand.  That  the  author  of  the  proverb, 
notwithstanding  the  singular  which  is  immedi- 
ately employed,  still  has  in  his  eye  a  plurality, 
a  whole  host  of  such  passers  by,  appears  from  the 
"Lo,  we  know  it  not,"  which  in  ver.  12,  a,  he 
supposes  to  be  the  answer  to  his  appeal.  Hitzig's 
assumption  is  arbitrary,  that  the  hard-hearted 
judges  are  Persians,  and  those  who  are  in  their 
innocence  condemned  to  death,  Jews,  or  Syrians, 
Samaritans,  or  some  other  Persian  subjects  of 
the  period  next  succeeding  the  exile,  possibly  of 
the  time  of  Ezra  (ix.  9).  The  same  is  true  like- 
wise of  Bertheau's  opinion  that  there  is  no  re- 
ference whatever  to  a  judicial  execution,  but  to 
a  bloody  battle,  during  which  one  ought  coura- 
geously to  protect  those  assailed  by  the  foe,  and 
not  timidly  to  leave  them  to  the  threatening  de- 
struction. [Hardly  any  two  of  our  English  ex- 
positors agree  as  to  the  structure  of  this  sen- 
tence, although  they  are  nearly  or  quije  unani- 
mous in  explaining  its  general  meaning.  N.  and 
M.  agree  with  the  E.  V.  in  making  the  first  verb 
an  Infinitive  (which  is  possible)  depending  on  the 
final  verb  of  the  sentence  ;  E.  V.:  "  if  thou  for- 
bear to  deliver,"  etc.;  N.:  "  to  deliver,  etc.,  spare 
thyself  not ;"  M.:  "dost  thou  forbear  to  deliver," 
etc.  H.,  S.  and  Woedsw.  agree  with  our  author 
in  making  it  an  Imper.,  although  H.  and  W. 
make  the  last  clause  conditional,  like  12,  a.  The 
explanation  of  Z.,  S.,  Kamph.,  etc.,  is  probably  to 
be  preferred  which  makes  the  DX  a  particle  of 
wishing,  and  the  verb  transitive  rather  than  re- 
flexive or  neuter. — A.]. — Lo!  ^yekneTvitnot! 
— HiTZiG,  in  agreement  with  the  LXX,  "Lo,  we 
know  him  not  I"  But  in  verse  11  there  is  plainly 
enough  mention  made  of  a  number  who  are 
dragged  to  death.  [As  Kamph.  suggests,  the 
time  when  a  plea  of  ignorance  could  fitly  be  put 
in,  as  well  as  the  nature  of  the  plea  itself,  tells 


208 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


against  this  personal  interpretation.  And  it  is 
also  to  be  observed  how  idle  the  plea  of  igno- 
rance becomes  when  it  is  God  rather  than  man 
to  whom  one's  omissions  are  to  be  justified. — A.] 
And  lie  will  requite  man  according  to  his 

work. The   interrogative    K^n  of  the  second 

clause  plainly  has  no  further  iniiuence  on  this 
general  sentence  which  concludes  (comp.  Ps.  Ixii. 
13;  Job  xxxiv.  11  ;  Rom.  ii.  6). 

5.  Vers.  13,  14.  Admonition  to  a  diligent 
striving  after  wisdom. — My  son,  eat  thou  ho- 
ney because  it  is  good,  etc. — A  figurative 
injunction  of  a  preparatory  sort,  serving  as  a. 
basis  for  the  admonition  to  strive  after  wisdom, 
contained  in  ver.  14.  For  this  figure  of  honey 
and  the  honey-comb  as  the  designation  of  some- 
thing especially  lovely  and  agreeable,  comp.  Ps. 
xix.  11. 

Ver.  14,  So  acquaint  thyself  with  wis- 
dom also  for  thy  soul;— lit.,  "know  wisdom 
for  thy  soul,  appropriate  it  to  thyself,  recognized 
as  precious  and  exceedingly  palatable  !"  [The 
E.  v.,  following  the  Vulg.,  takes  the  peculiar 
form  of  the  Imperf.  for  a  peculiar  form  of  the 
noun  "knowledge,"  and  supplies  the  substantive 
verb.  H.  and  M.  are  in  the  same  error, — A.] — 
■When  thou  hast  found  it,  and  the  end 
Cometh. — This  last  clause  is  still  part  of  the 
conditional  protasis,  corresponding  to  the  com- 
mon use  of  tV'  D«,  to  introduce  a  conditional 
clause  ;  comp.  Gen.  xxiii.  8 ;  xxiv.  49 ;  Judges 
vi.  36,  etc.  For  making  it  a  transition  to  the 
apodosis  ("then  cometh  an  end — then  a  future 
remaineth  " — Hitziq,  following  the  LXX,  Vulg., 
Luther,  tic.  [so  K.;  E.  V  :  "then  there  shall  be 
a  reward  ;"  so  also  H.,  N.,  M.,  W.,  while  S.  takes 
our  author's  view. — A.]),  not  a  single  supporting 
case  can  be  cited,  in  which  t^^l  introduces  the 
apodosis,  in  the  sense  "then  or  so  will  be" 
(comp.  Bbktheau  on  this  passage).  For  the  ge- 
neral sentiment  compare  furthermore  xxiii.  18. 

6.  Vers.  15-18.  Warning  against  malicious 
violence  and  delight  in  mischief. — .Lie  not  in 
wait  as  a  wicked  man  (that  is,  with  wicked 
and  mischievous  intent)  against  the  dwelling 
of  the  righteous ;  assault  not  (verb  as  in  xix. 
26)  his  resting  place. — Hitzio  changes  the 
verb  in  clause  a  to  ^^.pn  and  the  noun  to  2'J7'1i 
and  thus  obtains  the  meaning  :  "Bring  not  alarm 
near  to  the  dwelling  of  the  righteous,"  etc.  (?). — 

Ver.  16.  For  seven  times  doth  the  right- 
eous fall  and  riseth  again ; — i.  e.,  many  a  mis- 
fortune overtakes  him  in  life,  yet  he  gives  way 
before  none,  but  always  comes  up  again  (HiTzia). 
Comp.  Ps.  Ixxxvii.  24 ;  Jer.  viii.  4 ;  and  with  re- 
ference to  the  symbolical  number  seven,  particu- 
larly Job  V.  19. — But  the  wicked  shall 
plunge  into  destruction — lit.,  "stumble,  are 
brought  to  a  downfall  by  calamity  ;"  comp.  chap. 
iv.  19. 

Vers.  17,  18  are  closely  connected  with  both 
the  verses  preceding,  not  merely  by  the  recur- 
rence of  the  ideas  "fall"  and  "plunge"  (stum- 
ble), but  also  by  the  substance  of  the  thought; 
for  delight  in  injury  is  the  twin  sister  to  a  plot- 
ting intrigue  and  violence. — Lest  Jehovah  see 
it  and  it  displease  him — lit.,  "  and  it  be  evil 
la  his  eyes." — And  He  turn  away  His  anger 


from  him — i.  e.,  from  the  enemy  (V/i'D  refer- 
ring back  to  ver.  16,  "  thine  enemy  "),  to  turn  it 
upon  thee  thyself  instead  of  him. 

7.  Vers.  19-22.  Warning  against  intercourse 
with  wicked  and  seditious  persons. — Be  not 
thou  enraged  at  evil  doers, — i.  e.,  be  not  ex- 
cited, envious  ("'D'P^" '^)  "burn  not,"  here  equi- 
valent to  the  "  envy  not "  of  ver.  1)  with  regard 
to  the  undeserved  prosperity  of  ungodly  men, 
which  perhaps  might  only  stimulate  to  the  imita- 
tion of  their  wicked  conduct;  comp.  Ps.  xxxvii. 
8;  Ixxiii.  2,3;  also  Prov.  i.  11  sq.  [Fuekst 
and  some  others  understand  this  of  excitement, 
impatience  against  evil  doers,  which  cannot  wait 
for  God's  recompenses.  This  explanation,  we 
think,  is  to  be  preferred  here,  although  the  other 
is  clearly  and  frequently  enough  an  injunction 
of  the  Scriptures. — A.] 

Ver.  20.  For  no  future  shall  there  be  to  the 
vyicked. — ^'"^HN  here  in  a  ditferent  sense  from 
that  found  in  ver.  14  and  in  xxiii.  18.  [The  two 
ideas  most  frequently  conveyed  by  this  noun, 
which  is  literally  an  "  after,"  something  subse- 
quent to  the  present,  are ,  a  "  future,"  and  an 
"end  or  issue,"  i.  c,  to  present  relations.  It  is 
this  last  idea  that  Z.  finds  in  ver.  14  and  xxiii. 
18,  the  first  in  ver.  20.  In  the  first  two  passages 
the  "  end  "  of  the  present  suggests  by  implication 
and  contrast  a  blessed  future  ;  this  our  verse  de- 
nies to  the  wicked,  not  by  implication,  but  by 
express  assertion-  It  does  not  assert  that  he 
shall  reach  no  end  to  his  present  relations,  nor 
that  he  shall  have  no  future  whatever,  but  no  fu- 
ture blessing.  Some  commentators  are  less  exact 
in  these  discriminations,  finding  one  general 
meaning  in  all  the  passages. — A.]  With  the  ge- 
neral sentiment  compare  Job  xx.  5  ;  Ps.  xxxvii. 
2,  9,  38.  With  6  in  particular  comp.  chap.  xiii. 
9  ;  xxi.  4. 

Ver.  21.  With  a  comp.  Eccles.  viii.  2  sq.;  X. 
20 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  17.— Go  not  with  those  who 
are  given  to  change. — DUlt?  [cognate  with 
D'W,  two],  those  "  otherwise  disposed,  wishing 
otherwise,"  i.  e.,  opposing  [the  present  order], 
seditious,  revolutionary  (Vulg.,  detractores).  "Go 
not  with  them,"  lit.,  "mingle  thyself  not,"  as  in 
XX.  19. 

Ver.  22.  And  the  destruction  of  them 
both — viz.,  of  those  who  rebel  against  God  and 
of  those  who  rebel  against  the  king.  Others 
(Umbkeit,  Beetheau,  etc.  [De  W.,  N.,  S.,  M., 
WoRDSW.,  the  genitive  being  treated  as  a  genitive 
of  source,  "the  ruin^rocffrf/n^/rom  them  both"]; 
"  and  the  penalty,  the  retribution  of  them  both," 
i.  e.,  the  punishment  that  goes  forth  from  both, 
God  and  the  king;  Hitzio  (in  accordance  with 
the  Targ.  and  Syr.),  "and  the  end  of  their 
years"  (comp.  Job  xxxvi.  11).  Our  interpreta- 
tion, as  the  simplest,  is  supported  by  the  Vulg., 
Ltithee,  Ewald,  Elsteb.  [Kamph.] — Who 
knoweth  it  ? — i.  c,  who  knows  the  time  of 
their  ruin ;  who  knows  how  soon  it  will  be  pre- 
cipitated?    Comp.  xvi.  14. 

[The  LXX,  etc.,  introduce  here  several  verses 
for  which  there  is  no  authority  in  the  present 
Hebrew  texts.  "A  son  that  keeps  the  father's 
commandment  shall  escape  destruction  ;  for  such 
a  one  has  fully  received  it.     Let  no  falsehood  be 


CHAP.  XXIV.  1-22. 


209 


spoken  by  the  king  from  the  tongue ;  yea,  let  no 
falsehood  proceed  from  •:>?  tongue.  "She  iing's 
tongue  is  a  sword,  and  not  'jne  of  flesh ;  and 
whosoever  shall  be  given  up  to  it  shall  be  de- 
stroyed ;  for  it  his  wrath  should  be  provoked,  he 
destroys  men  with  cords,  and  devours  men's 
bones,  and  burns  them  upas  a  flame,  so  that  they 
are  not  even  fit  to  be  eaten  by  the  young  eagles. 
My  son,  reverence  my  words,  and  receive  them, 
and  repent."  Some  of  the  editions  also  introduce 
at  this  point  chap.  xxx.  1-14. — A.] 

DOCTRINAL,    ETHICAL,    HOMILETIO    AND 
PRACTICAL. 

To  refer  the  ideas  of  this  section,  which  are 
very  various  in  their  substance  and  their  applica- 
tions, to  the  one  fundamental  category  of  a 
"  Warning  against  intercourse  with  wicked  andjool- 
isk  men,"  would  not  indeed  answer  in  all  respects 
and  at  all  points ;  and  yet  the  introductory  and 
the  concluding  verses  at  least  (vers.  1,  2,  19-22) 
do  relate  to  this  subject ;  and  besides,  the  eulogi- 
ums  upon  wisdom  which  are  interspersed  (vers. 
3-6,  7, 13, 14),  and  the  counsels  against  malicious 
intrigue,  mockery,  trickery  and  delight  in  mis 
chief  (vera.  8,  9, 15  sq.,  17  sq.),  may  without  any 
peculiar  violence  be  brought  under  the  same 
classification.  There  remains  isolated,  therefore, 
only  the  censuring  criticism  on  an  unmanly, 
faint-hearted  bearing  in  hours  of  peril  (ver.  10), 
and  the  warning  ag.ainst  a  heartless  indifference 
to  those  who  are  innocently  suffering  (vers.  11, 
12).  The  latter  passage  in  particular  deserves 
attentive  consideration,  and  a  careful  estimate  of 
its  practical  bearings,  for  it  belongs  among  those 
prefigurations  and  precursors  of  the  distinctively 
Christian  ethics,  which  occur  somewhat  rarely  in 
the  stage  of  revelation  reached  in  the  law  of  the 
Old  Testament,  and,  in  general,  in  any  specific 
form  in  the  literature  of  wisdom  which  centres  in 
the  name  of  Solomon.  For  even  in  a  higher  de- 
gree than  the  warning  contained  in  vers.  17,  18 
of  our  chapter,  against  delight  in  injury,  in  one's 
attitude  towards  his  enemies, — and,  if  one  is  so 
disposed  to  view  it,  even  in  a  higher  degree  than 
the  demand  of  love  to  one's  enemies  in  cbap.  xxv. 
21  sq.,— does  this  powerful  enforcement  of  the 
duty  of  a  courageous  protection  and  deliverance 
of  the  innocent  who  are  doomed  to  death,  corre- 
spond with  the  culmination  of  ethical  justice, 
and  the  perfect  fulfilling  of  the  law,  which  Christ 
exhibits  for  the  members  of  the  New  Covenant, 
in  the  narrative  of  the  good  Samaritan  (Luke  x. 
30  sq),  in  His  admonition  to  visit  those  in  pri- 
son, and  to  the  loving  sacrifice  of  life  itself  in 
imitation  of  His  own  example,  etc.  (Matt.  xxv. 
36  sq.;  John  xii.  25  ;  xv.  12-14).  [Only  a  few  of 
the  exegetical  and  practical  interpreters  of  our 
book  have  so  well  brought  out  this  important 
point,  Lawson  suggests  it  when  he  says  :  "The 
wise  man  represents  this  piece  of  charity  as  a 
duty  which  we  owe  to  our  neighbors  without  ex- 
ception ;  and  with  him  agrees  our  Lord  in  the 
parable  of  the  good  Samaritan.  We  are  not  the 
disciples  of  Solomon  or  of  Christ  if  we  show  love 
to  those  only,"  etc.  Abnot  puts  the  principle 
with  more  characteristic  vigor:  "  Under  God  as 
Supreme  ruler,  and  by  His  law,  we  owe  every 
human  being  love  ;  and  if  we  fail  to  render  it,  we 
14 


are  cast  into  prison  with  other  less  reputable 
debtors.  Nor  will  any  thing  be  received  in  pay- 
ment but  the  genuine  coin  of  the  kingdom  ;  it 
must  be  love  with  a  living  soul  in  it  and  a  sub- 
stantial body  on  it." — A.] 

In  the  homilelic  treatment  of  the  whole  passage  one 
might  take  just  this  demand  that  is  contained  in 
vers.  11,  12,  of  a  compassionate  love  of  one's 
neighbor,  that  will  not  shun  even  deadly  perils, 
as  the  highest  exemplification  of  wisdom,  to  the 
attainment  and  preservation  of  which  all  the 
counselling  and  dissuasory  suggestions  of  the 
section  summon  us;  the  topic  might  then  be  an- 
nounced: "Mercy  the  highest  wisdom,"  or 
again :  "The  contrast  between  the  wise  man  and 
the  fool  reaches  its  climax  in  the  timid  selfishness 
of  the  latter,  and  the  former's  self-sacrificing  love 
for  his  neighbor." — Comp.  Stockee:  On  patience 
and  sociability.  In  what  the  virtue  consists 
(ver.  1—12),  and  how  one  is  to  practise  it  (vers. 
13  sq  ). — Calwer  Handb.:  Shun  evil,  choose  wis- 
dom. 

Vers.  1  sq.  Tubingen  Bible  (on  vers.  1-2) :  It 
is  one  element  in  the  prudence  of  the  righteous 
to  have  no  fellowship  with  the  ungodly  and  to 
avoid  their  society. — Luther  (marg.  comment  on 
vers.  3  sq.) :  When  all  is  well  ordered  in  a  house 
it  avails  more  than  great  labor;  as,  e.g.,  when 
one  gives,  where,  to  whom,  and  as  one  ought,  etc. 
— Geieb.  (ou  vers.  3  sq. ) :  A  household,  if  it  is  to 
be  blessed,  must  not  merely  be  wisely  organized, 
but  also  prudently  regulated  and  constructed. — 
Filling  tlie  chambers  with  temporal  good  is  ac- 
counted great  prosperity;  but  mucli  more  beau- 
tiful is  it  when  the  heart's  chamber  is  filled  with 
the  treasures  of  heavenly  wisdom  and  virtue. — 
(On  vers.  5,  6) ;  Strength  of  body  without  wis- 
dom and  prudence  of  heart,  is  like  a  giant  who  is 
robbed  of  the  sight  of  his  eyes. 

Ver.  7-10.  Zemneb  (on  vers.  8,  9) :  As  true 
piety  has  its  degrees,  so  has  ungodliness.  But 
they  are  followed  by  righteous  retribution  and 
punishment. — Stabkb  (on  ver.  10):  Want  and 
trouble  is  a  genuine  touchstone,  with  which  one 
may  determine  how  strong  or  how  weak  one  is  in 
faith  and  reliance  ou  God. — Von  Geelach  (same 
verse) :  In  times  of  adversity  the  man  whose 
strength  stands  fast  in  God  has  more  power  than 
usual.  It  is  the  fault  of  one's  own  indolence  if 
this  is  not  the  case,  though  his  strength  be 
scanty  and  restricted. — [Bp.  Hopkins  :  That  thy 
patience  may  be  perfect,  it  must  be  strong,  as 
well  as  lasting.  It  must  have  nerves  and  sinews 
in  it,  to  bear  weighty  burdens.] 

Vers.  11,  12.  Melanchthon  :  To  unrighteous 
cruelty  one  should  give  no  impulse  ;  even  private 
individuals  ought,  according  to  their  strength  and 
calling,  to  oppose  tyrannical  injustice  without 
uproar  or  tumult. — Geieb:  Man  never  lacks  ex- 
cuses; but  many  of  them  are  by  the  Lord  found 
to  be  too  light,  Luke  xiv.  18  sq.^-STAEKE  ;  To 
deliver  men  from  bodily  death  is  a  great  thing ; 
but  more  glorious  is  it  to  aid  a  soul  toward  deli- 
verance from  spiritual  and  eternal  death,  James 
V.  20. 

Vers.  13  sq.  Berleburg  Bible  (on,  ver.  13) : 
Charge  it  upon  thyself  thatthou  hav^e  such  inward 
experience  of  wisdom,  that  thou,  shalt  relish  its 
sweetness  like  honey  and  the  honey-comb. — 
Staeke  (on  ver.  16) :.  T.<>.  f*ll.iftt<L8iR  aud  to  fall 


210 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


into  calamity  are  two  different  things.  Beware 
of  the  former,  and  the  Lord  will  not  forsalie  thee 
in  the  latter. — Cramer  :  Whosoever  rejoices  in 
others'  adversity,  his  own  calamity  stands  already 
outside  the  door. — [T.  Adams  :  Let  us  beware 
that  we  do  not  slide  ;  if  slide,  that  we  do  not  fall ; 
if  fall,  that  we  fall  forward,  not  backward.  Be- 
hold thy  Saviour  calling,  thy  Father  blessing,  the 
Spirit  assisting,  the  angels  comforting,  the  Word 
directing,  the  glory  waiting,  good  men  associa- 
ting.— Flavel  :  Though  repeated  spiritual  falling 
shows  the  foulness  it  does  not  always  prove  the 
falseness  of  the  heart. — Bridges  (on  ver.  17) : 
— What  has  grace  done  for  us,  if  it  has  not  over- 
come nature  by  a  holier  and  happier  principle? 
To  rejoice  in  the  fall  of  an  enemy  would  be  to 
fall  deeper  than  himself;  to  fall  not  into  trouble, 
but  into  sin. — Tbapp  (on  ver.  18): — Think  thus 
with  thyself.  Either  I  am  like  my  enemy,  or  else 
I  am  better  or  worse  than  he.  If  like  him,  why 
may  I  not  look  for  the  like  misery?  If  belter, 
who  made  me  to  differ?  If  worse,  what  reason 
have  I  then  to  insult?] 

Vers.  19-22.  Starke  (on  vers.  19,  20) :— He 
that  would  look  on  the  prosperity  of  ungodly 
men  without  envy  and  offence  need  only  make  a 
comparison  between  the  brief  instant  of  their 
joy  and  the  unending  eternity  of  their  pain  and 
punishment. — Zollikofer  (Serm.  on  vers.  19, 
20) : — Nullifying  the  objection  against  the  divine 
government  of  the  world,  which  is  made  on  ac- 
count of  the  unequal  distribution  of  external 
prosperity  among  men,  and   the  earthly  well- 


being  of  the  ungodly  (therefore  a  Theodicy).— 
[Arnot  : — Here  it  is  not  the  first  and  direct,  but 
the  secondary  and  circuitous  efi'ect  of  bad  ex- 
ample, that  is  prominently  brought  into  view. 
Some  who  are  in  no  danger  of  falling  in  love 
with  their  neighbor's  sin,  maybe  chafed  by  it 
into  a  hatred  of  their  neighbor]. — Melanchthon 
(on  ver.  21) : — God  has  given  to  men  authority 
because  He  would  have  men  hear  and  know  His 
law,  and  thereby  Himself,  and  also  for  this  rea- 
son, because  He  would  preserve  human  society 
from  dissolution  through  endless  disquiets  and 
controversies.  He  has,  however,  ordained  that 
we  hearken  to  human  governors  for  His  sake, 
and  that  we  must  know  that  He  punishes  the 
rebellious. — [Bp.  Sherlock  : — The  only  lasting 
foundation  of  civil  obedience  is  the  fear  of  God; 
and  the  truest  interest  of  princes  is  to  maintain 
the  honor  of  religion,  by  which  they  secure  their 
own. — Arnot  : — Take  away  godliness,  and  your 
loyalty  without  being  increased  in  amount,  is 
seriously  deteriorated  in  kind  ;  take  away  loy- 
alty, and  you  run  great  risk  of  spoiling  the 
purity  of  the  remanent  godliness.  In  the  Scrip- 
tures the  feebler  force  is  made  fast  to  the  stronger, 
and  30  carried  through  in  trying  times.  Loyalty 
is  most  secure  where  it  has  godliness  to  lean 
upon]. — Geier  (on  ver.  22)  : — Certain  as  death 
in  itself  is,  although  we  cannot  know  the  time 
and  manner  of  it,  so  surely  does  God's  punish- 
ment follow  ungodliness  and  rebellion,  but  its 
time  and  form  remain  uncertain. 


Second  Supplement : 

Chap.  XXIV.  23-34. 


o)  Various  admonitions  to  good  conduct  toward  one's  neighbors. 
Vers.  23-29. 

23       These  also  are  from  wise  men. 

To  be  partial  in  judgment  is  not  good. 
2-i  He  that  saith  to  the  wicked,  "  thou  art  righteous," 

him  the  people  curse,  (and)  nations  execrate; 
26  but  to  them  that  rebuke  (iniquity)  it  is  well, 

and  upon  them  shall  come  a  rich  blessing. 

26  He  kisseth  the  lips 

who  giveth  a  right  answer. 

27  Set  in  order  thy  work  without, 

and  make  it  ready  for  thyself  in  the  field ; 
afterward  build  thine  house. 

28  Be  not  witness  against  thy  neighbor  without  cause ; 
and  wilt  thou  deceive  with  thy  lips  ? 

29  Say  not :  "  As  he  hath  done  to  me  so  will  I  do  to  him : 
I  will  requite  the  man  according  to  his  work." 


CHAP.  XXIV.  28-34. 


211 


6)  Warning  against  indolence  and  its  evil  consequences. 
Vers.  30-34. 

30  By  the  field  of  a  slothful  man  I  passed  along, 

and  by  the  vineyard  of  a  man  void  of  understanding. 

31  And,  lo !  it  was  all  grown  over  with  thorns, 
briars  covered  the  face  thereof, 

and  its  stone  wall  was  broken  down. 

32  Then  I  looked  and  fixed  my  attention ; 
I  saw  and  took  (to  myself)  instruction. 

33  "A  little  sleep,  a  little  slumber, 

a  little  folding  of  the  hands  to  sleep ; " — 

34  then  cometh  thy  poverty  apace, 
and  thy  want  as  an  armed  man ! 

GRAMMATICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

Ver.  23.  73  is  equivalent  to  JO,  as  in  xxii.  29;  xxiii.  7,  etc. 

Ter.  27.  [The  Perf.  with  }  consec.  iT'J^^  is  used,  as  this  tense  so  constrned  not  unfreqnently  is,  in  the  sense  of  an  Im* 

T     '  T 

perative:  and  afterward  thou  hast  built,  etc.;  predictinns  and  injunctions  sometimes  taking  this  way  of  expressing  an 
assurance  that  what  should  be  will  be.     St^e  BoT  r.  ^§  977,  3 ;  W81,  3 :  Green,  ^  -265,  b  ;  Ewald,  Lehrb.  332,  b. — A.] 

Ver.  28.  [A  Perf  with  1  consec.  to  express  what  ottght  to  be, — a  suggestion  rather  than  a  precept, — Bottoher's  Mens 
(feWiwm,  §  981,  B.  Y.j  n*'p3ni.     Because  the  interrogative  particle  occurs  only  in  this  instance  immediately  after  the 

T     .  ■  -:  - 
copula,  EwALD  proposes  to  change  the  form  to  JT'nSjm,  *'and  thou  wilt  open  wide,"  i.  c.  betray  (comp.  xx.  19),  {so 

Fubrst]  ;  HiTziG,  however,  into  ninBDl,  "  aud  thou  wilt  whisper,"  i.  e.  speak  with  subdued  voice  (from  a  form  n2T}, 

to  be  explained  in  accordance  with  the  Arabic) ;  [so  Bott.,  making  it  a  Hiph.  from  riHS   and  not  a  Piel  from  nnS]. 

-T  T  T 

Both  are  alike  arbitrary  and  unnecessary.    [K.,  Bertheau,  S.  and  M.  take  our  author's  view]. 

Ver.  31.  [:iD3i  a  Pual  with  Kamets  Hhatuph ;  see  Green,  g  9!,  a;  D''7"in  one  of  two  examples  in  which  1  in  the 
T  ■  \  -: 

ultima  gives  place  in  forming  the  plural  to  -  with  a  doubled  vowel.    Green, '291,  c. — A.] 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  Vers.  23-25.  Warning  against  a  partial  ad- 
ministration of  justice  — -These  also  are  from 
wise  men.     According  to  the  LXX,  Vulg.,  Mi- 

CHAELis,  Umbeeit,  Elster,  etc,  the  D'non? 
should  be  understood  "for  the  wise."  [So  the 
E.  v.,  which  is  followed  by  Holden].  In  oppo- 
sition to  this  we  have  not  merely  the  usual  mean- 
ing of  the  preposition  in  superscriptions,  hut 
over  and  above  this  we  have  the  "also,"  which 
refers  back  to  the  next  preceding  collection  of 
proverbs,  whose  originating  with  wise  men  was 
expressly  emphasized,  chap,  xxii,  17. — To  be 
partial  in  judgment  is  not  good  :  strictly  : 
to  distinguish  persons  in  judgment  is  not  good. 
This  short  proverb,  forming  only  a  single  clause, 
is  plainly  nothing  but  a  preliminary  observation 
or  introduction  to  the  two  following  verses,  which 
treat  more  fully  of  partiality  in  di,spensing  jus- 
tice. Compare,  furthermore,  the  quite  similar, 
and  almost  literally  identical  sentences,  xviii.  5 
and  xxviii.  21. 

Ver.  24.  He  that  saith  to  the  -wicked, 
"  Thou  art  righteous."  Comp.  chap.  xvii.  16 : 
"  He  that  justifieth  the  wicked."  To  the  threat- 
ening intimation  of  God's  displeasure  there 
given,  there  corresponds  here  the  threat  of  a 
condition  in  which  one  is  hated  and  cursed  on 
the  part  of  the  nations  (comp.  xi.  26  ;  xxii.  14); 
for  to  turn  justice  into  injustice  by  partiality  in 
judgment  impairs  the  well-being  of  entire  nations 
and  states. 


Ver.  2-5.  But  to  them  that  rebuke  (ini- 
quity) it  is  well ;  i.  e.  upright  judges  who  pun- 
ish evil-doers  according  to  their  desert  (not 
merely  with  words  but  also  with  stringent  disci- 
plinary enactments),  instead  of  the  curse  of 
men,  obtain  as  a  reward  nothing  but  blessing 
and  welfare  from  God. 

2.  Vers.  26-29.  Four  additional  admonitions 
to  righteous  conduct  toward  one's  neighbors. — 
He  kisseth  the  lips  that  giveth  a  right  an- 
s\ver ;  i.  e.  faithful  and  truthful  answers,  espe- 
cially before  a  court  of  justice,  affect  one  as 
favorably  as  the  most  agreeable  caress,  or  a 
sweet  kiss  on  the  lips.  The  mention  of  the  "  lips" 
is  to  be  explained  simply  by  the  remembrance  of 
the  question  to  which  the  upright  and  truthful 
answer  corresponds.  The  author  of  the  proverb 
passes  wholly  by  the  fact  that  hearing  is  the  ap- 
propriate organ  for  the  reception  of  the  answer. 
Therefore  Hitzio's  conception  of  the  first  clause, 
which  differs  from  the  common  one  :  "He  com- 
mends (ingratiates)  himself  with  the  lips  who," 
etc.,  is  plainly  unnecessary.  [Bertheau,  Kamph., 
De  W.,  N.,  etc.,  agree  in  our  author's  construc- 
tion and  conception ;  while  the  E.  V.,  Mhffet,  H., 
S.,  M.,  etc.,  understand  the  allusion  to  be  to  tri- 
butes of  love  and  }io-a.or paid  to  him  who  answers 
rightly:  "Every  man  (or,  the  people)  shall  kiss 
his  lips."  According  to  this  view  the  people's 
curse  (in  ver.  24)  is  contrasted  with  their  respect- 
ful and  loving  salutation  ;  according  to  the  other, 
which  is  grammatically  simpler  and  probably  to 
be  preferred,  the  offence  given  by  tlie  partial  or 
partisan  judge  is  contrasted  with  the  cheering, 
soothing  power  of  him  who  answers  rightly. — A.J 


212 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


Ver.  27.  Set  in  order  thy  work  without ; 

t.  e.  take  care,  by  the  profitable  and  diligent 
prosecution  of  your  labors  in  the  field,  first  of  all 
for  the  needful  and  reliable  support  of  your  ex- 
istence; then  you  may  go  on  to  the  building  up 
of  your  establishment.  The  "house"  in  clause 
c,  is  thus  doubtless  equivalent  to  "  family,  do- 
mestic establishment,"  as  in  Ruth  iv.  11  ;  comp. 
above,  Prov.  xiv.  1.  The  literal  rendering  given 
by  HiTzio  and  others  to  this  phrase,  "build  thy 
house,"  seems  less  appropriate,  although  Bibli- 
cal parallels  might  be  adduced  for  this  also,  e.  </. 
the  passage  Luke  xv.  28,  which  in  its  moral 
bearing  is  certainly  kindred. 

Ver.  28.  Be  not  w^itness  against  thy 
neighbor  without  cause.  "Without  cause," 
I.  n.  without  an  actual  reason,  without  necessity; 
comp.  xxiii.  29;  xxvi.  2;  John  xv.  25,  elc.  It  is 
not  so  much  a  false  witness  that  is  meant,  as  one 
not  called  for,  one  who  is  incited  to  say  injurious 
things  by  nothing  beyond  his  own  animosity. — 
And  -wilt  thou  deceive  w^ith  thy  lips? 
See  Criticdl  notes  for  various  constructions  of 
the  verb.  With  regard  to  the  expression  "  de- 
ceive with  thy  lips,"  comp.  Ps.  Ixxviii.  36  ;  "and 
they  did  riatter  him  with  their  mouth." 

Ver.  29.  Say  not,  "As  he  hath  done  to 
me  so  vsrill  I  do  to  him."  We  can  hardly 
find  here  (with  Hitziq,  who  follows  several  of 
the  earlier  expositors)  a  special  connection  be- 
tween this  verse  and  the  preceding,  as  though 
the  man  who  had  been  wronged  by  the  ofiicious 
witness  were  here  introduced  as  speaking, 
and  a  warning  were  given  him  against  allowing 
free  course  to  his  revenge.  Comp.  rather  the 
similar  thought  in  chap.  xx.  22,  which  like  this 
stands  quite  isolated. 

3.  Vers.  30-34.  The  vineyard  of  the  slothful:  a 
narrative  in  form  closely  resembling  the  parable. 
Comp.  Isa.  V.  1  sq.,  as  well  as  the  passages  which 
correspond  still  more  closely  with  the  form  of 
this  narration,  .Job  v.  3  sq.  ;  Ps.  xxxvii.  3-5  sq. 
— By  the  field  of  a  slothful  man  I  passed 
along.  The  figure  of  the  field  ia  in  the  sequel 
entirely  dropped,  from  a  preference  for  the 
closely  related  one  of  the  vineyard.  The  "man 
void  of  understanding  "  in  clause  b,  is  naturally 
another  sluggard,  one  who  is  indolent  from  lack 
of  understanding. 

Ver.  31.  And  lo !  it -was  all  gro^wn  over 
with  thorns  [lit.,  "  it  came  up  all  of  it 
thorns"]  (comp.  the  same  word  in  Isa.  xxxiv. 
13,  which  is  there  also  translated  in  the  Vulg. 
by  the   term  uriicse),  brambles  covered  the 

face  thereof  (D'b'in,  lit.,  "  what  one  may  not 
touch,  things  not  to'  be  approached"  [Ftjeest, 
"stinging,  burning  things,"  nettles,  e.  g.'],  is  an 
accusative  subordinate  to  the  verb  in  the  Pual), 
and  its  stone  wall  (lit.,  "its  wall  of  stones'') 
was  broiien  down.  All  these  features  are 
found  also  in  the  parable  of  the  vineyard  in 
Isaiah,  which  has  been  already  cited,  Isa.  v.  6,  6 ; 
comp.  likewise  Ps.  Ixxx.  13,  14.  [Travellers  like 
Hackett  (Illustrations  of  Scripture)  call  attention 
to  the  minute  accuracy  of  the  description  as  illus- 
trated by  the  fact,  that  in  the  richer  soils  of  Pa- 
lestine it  is  thorny  shrubs,  of  which  twenty-two 
kinds  are  enumerated,  that  are  specially  quick  to 
spring  up, and  overspread  a  neglected  field. — A.] 


Ver.  32.  Then  I  looked.  Hitziq  proposes 
to  read  HinSl  instead  of  riTHKl  (comp.  2  Sam. 
iv.  10) :  "  and  I  stopped  "  (from  the  intransitive 
verb  tni<,  sistere,  to  stand  still).  But  the  ordi- 
nary reading  ia  abundantly  confirmed  by  tha 
parallel  in  clause  b.  [Kamph.  calls  attention  lo 
the  introduction  of  the  pronoun,  as  ah  element 
in  the  graphic  fullness  of  the  poet's  description 
of  his  meditation. — A.] — I  savr  and  took  (to 
myself)  instruction,  lit.,  "a  correction  or  re- 
proof." What  was  contained  in  this  admonition 
is  expressed  in  what  follows. 

With  vers.  88,  34  comp.  the  almost  literally 
identical  verses  10  and  11  of  chap,  vi.,  and  the 
Excg.  notes  there  (p.  84),  where  the  meaning  of 
the  divergent  reading  was  also  discussed. — And 
thy  want:  lit.,  "and  thy  wants,"!,  e.  thy  de- 
ficits, thy  pecuniary  embarrassments,  on  account 
of  which  now  one  thing  and  then  another  fails. 

DOCTRINAL,    ETHICAL,   HOMILETIC  AND 
PRACTICAL. 

Righteous  treatment  of  one's  neighbor,  and  a 
prudent  active  industry  in  the  discharge  of  duties 
to  ourselves,  are  the  two  points  to  which  the  ad- 
monitory import  of  this  section  may  be  reduced, 
and  in  a  way  quite  exhaustive.  For  as  vera. 
23-29,  all  of  them  with  the  sole  exception  of  ver. 
28  admonish  to  a  strictly  just  and  honorable 
bearing  in  intercourse  with  others,  so  not  merely 
that  28th  verse,  but  also  the  parabolic  narrative 
in  vers.  30-34,  relates  to  the  vice  of  sloth  and  an 
indolent,  carelessness  in  the  performance  of  the 
domestic  duties  of  one's  calling.  The  general 
substance  of  this  short  section  therefore  bears  a 
resemblance,  at  least  partial,  to  that  of  the  6th 
chapter  (which  is  indeed  much  richer  in  its  full- 
ness). In  attempting  to  obtain  from  it  a  central 
idea  for  homiletic  use,  we  should  be  obliged  lo 
proceed  as  we  did  in  that  instance  (comp.,  above, 
p.  87).  [With  reference  to  ver.  29  in  particular 
(comp.  what  is  said  above  on  vers.  11,  12),  Dr. 
Chalmees  says  :  It  is  pleasant  to  observe  the 
outgoing  of  the  earlier  morality  towards  the 
later  and  more  advanced — of  'that  in  the  Old  to- 
wards that  in  the  New  Testament. — A.]  There- 
fore as  a  homily  on  the  whole:  Neither  injustice 
nor  faithlessness  toward  one's  neighbor,  nor 
want  of  fidelity  in  the  fulfilment  of  one's  own 
domestic  duties,  brings  a  blessing. — Or,  Honor- 
able conduct  in  relation  to  others  is  possible  only 
on  the  basis  of  the  industrious  and  conscientious 
performance  of  the  duties  of  one's  own  calling. 

Vers.  23-25.  Starke  :  .^n  unjust  judge  loads 
himself  with  sighs  which  God  also  hears;  a 
righteous  judge,  on  the  contrary,  will  surely 
enjoy  at  the  same  time  the  blessing  and  the  in- 
tercession of  the  pious. — Wohlfarth:  The  bless- 
ing of  a  wise  severity  in  the  State  (in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  laws). 

Vers.  26-29.  Geiee  (on  ver.  26):  If  thou 
meanest  to  deal  fairly  with  thine  own  soul,  then 
rejoice  heartily  in  good  counsel  given  from  the 
word  of  God  ;  though  it  be  disagreeable  to  the 
flesh,  yet  it  is  like  a  precious  balsam  (Ps.  cxli. 
6). — Staeke  (on  ver.  27):  He  who  with  all  his 
carefulness  in  attention  to  his  occupation  yet 
forgets  the  one  thing  needful,  builds   his  house 


CHAP.  XXV.  1-28. 


213 


on  th«  Band,  because  in  the  midst  of  all  outward 
prosperity  he  still  suffers  injury  in  his  soul. — 
(On  ver.  29) :  If  thou  wouldst  be  really  like 
God  as  His  child,  then  follow  Him  in  compassion 
and  leave  the  right  of  vengeance  to  Him  alone : 
Lev.  xix.  18 ;  Rotn.  xii.  17  sq. 

Vers.  30-34.  Stakke:  Indolence  is  extremely 
injurious  to  the  Christian  life.  If  one  does  not 
do  good  with  earnestness  and  diligence,  evil 
surely  gains  more  and  more  the  ascendency,  and 
in  all  conditions,  in  Church  and  State  and  in 
domestic  life,  want  and  labor  are  multiplied  as 
the  result  of  neglect  of  of&cial  duty  on  the  part 
of  the  servants  and  stewards  instituted  by  God. 


— WoHLFAETH  (on  vcr.  32) :  To  become  wise  on 
the  follies  of  others  is  in  fact  an  excellent  pru- 
dence.— [AuNOT:  Even  the  sluggard's  garden 
brought  forth  fruit — but  not  for  the  sluggard's 
benefit.  The  diligent  man  reaped  and  carried 
off  the  only  harvest  that  it  bore — a  warning. — 
J.  Foster  ;  Lecture  on  Practical  Views  of  Human 
Life.  Let  it  never  be  forgotten  in  any  part  of 
the  process  that  the  efficacy  of  the  instruction 
must  be  from  the  Supreme  Teacher;  without 
Him,  the  attraction  and  assimilation  of  the  evil 
would,  after  all,  be  mightier  than  its  warning 
and  repelling  force]. 


IV.   LATER  COLLECTION  BY  THE  MEN  OF  HEZEKIAH. 

True  wisdom  proclaimed  as  the  chief  good  to  kings  and  their  subjects. 

Chaps.  XXV.— XXIX. 

SuPERscEiPTioN  :  Chap.  XXV.  1. 

1  These  also  are  proverbs  of  Solomon 

which  men  of  Hezekiah,  the  king  of  Judah,  collected. 

1.  Admonition  to  the  fear  of  God  and  righteousness,  addressed  to  kings  and  subjects. 

Chap.  XXV.  2-28 

2  It  is  the  glory  of  God  to  conceal  a  thing ; 
but  the  glory  of  kings  to  search  out  a  matter. 

3  The  heavens  for  height,  and  the  earth  for  depth, 
and  the  heart  of  kings  (are)  unsearchable. 

4  Take  away  the  dross  from  silver, 

and  there  cometh  forth  a  vessel  for  the  refiner ; 

5  take  away  the  wicked  from  before  the  king, 

and  his  throne  shall  be  established  in  righteousness. 

6  Display  not  thyself  in  the  presence  of  the  king, 
and  stand  not  in  the  place  of  the  great ; 

7  for  it  is  better  that  it  be  said  to  thee,  "  Come  up  hitber," 
than  that  they  humble  thee  because  of  the  king, 

whom  thine  eyes  have  seen. 

8  Go  not  forth  hastily  to  strive, 

lest  (it  be  said  to  thee)  :  "  What  wilt  thou  do  in  the  end, 
when  thy  neighbor  hath  put  thee  to  shame  ?" 

9  Debate  thy  cause  with  thy  neighbor, 
but  disclose  not  the  secret  of  another ; 

10  lest  he  that  heareth  it  upbraid  thee, 
and  thine  infamy  turn  not  away. 

11  (Like)  apples  of  gold  in  framework  of  silver 
is  a  word  fitly  spoken. 

12  (As)  a  gold  ring  and  an  ornament  of  fine  gold 
is  a  wise  reprover  to  an  ear  that  heareth. 


214  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


13  As  the  coolness  of  snow  on  a  harvest  day 

is  a  faithful  messenger  to  them  that  send  him ; 
he  refresheth  the  soul  of  his  master. 

14  Clouds  and  wind  and  no  rain — 

(so  is)  a  man  who  boasteth  of  a  false  gift. 

15  By  forbearance  is  a  prince  persuaded, 
and  a  gentle  tongue  breaketh  the  bone. 

16  Hast  thou  found  honey — eat  to  thy  satisfaction, 
lest  thou  be  surfeited  with  it  and  vomit  it. 

17  Withhold  thy  foot  from  thy  neighbor's  house, 
lest  he  be  weary  of  thee  and  hate  thee. 

18  A  maul,  and  a  sword,  and  a  sharp  arrow 

is  the  man  that  speaketh  as  a  false  witness  against  his  neighbor. 

19  (Like)  a  broken  tooth  and  an  unsteady  foot 

is  confidence  in  an  unfaithful  man  in  the  day  of  need. 

20  (As)  he  that  layeth  aside  clothing  in  a  cold  day— (as)  vinegar  on  nitre — 
is  he  that  singeth  songs  with  a  heavy  heart. 

21  If  thine  enemy  hunger,  give  him  bread  to  eat, 
and  if  he  thirst,  give  him  water  to  drink : 

22  for  (so)  dost  thou  heap  burning  coals  on  his  head ; 
and  Jehovah  will  reward  thee. 

23  North  wind  produceth  rain, 

so  doth  the  slanderous  tongue  a  troubled  face. 

24  It  is  better  to  dwell  in  a  corner  of  the  house  top, 
than  with  a  quarrelsome  woman  in  a  wide  house. 

25  As  cold  water  to  a  thirsty  soul, 

so  is  good  news  from  a  far  country. 

26  (Like)  a  troubled  fountain  and  a  ruined  spring 

is  the  righteous  man  who  wavereth  before  the  wicked. 

27  To  eat  much  honey  is  not  good, 

and  to  search  out  the  difficult  bringeth  difficulty. 

28  (As)  a  city  broken  through,  without  walls, 

is  the  man  who  hath  no  mastery  over  his  own  spirit. 

GRAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

[Ill  the  Bection  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  including  chape,  xxv. — xxix-  peculiar  idioms  are  more  numerous,  peculiaritiei 
in  radical  forms  and  iu  inflections,  some  of  them  comniou  to  thi.s  section  wiih  some  others  in  the  Old  Testament,  others  of 
an  Aramaic  type.  Thpse  have  usually  been  regarded  (if  explained  at  all)  03  resulting  from  the  more  miscellaneous  charac- 
ter of  this  portion  of  the  collection.  Butt,  finds  here  provincialisma  ctiaracteristic  of  Ephraim,  belonging  more  naturally 
to  the  section  of  the  cuuntry  most  in  contact  with  Syria.  The  correctness  of  this  view  needs  to  be  established  by  close 
investigation.     For  the  enumeration  of  particulars  see  Bottcoer's  Aus/ultrliches  Lehrbuch,  ^^29,  34,  35. — A.] 

Ver.  4. — The  Infin.  abs.  "I jn  [old  root  njl,  see  also  Gbei%n,  §  172,  2,  for  the  peculiar  form]  is  in  both  cases,  in  vers.  4  and 

T 

5,  to  be  regarded  as  Imperative  (so  all  the  ancient  versions,  and  also  Umbreit,  Ew\ld,  Elster),  and  not  as  in  the  first  in- 
stance a  substitute  for  tlie  Indie.  Imperl".  tlliTZiQ,  Bertiikau),  or  as  standing  in  both  cases  for  the  gerund  (to  Stier:  is  to 
be,  should  be  taken  away,  etc.).  [In  ver.  4  this  virtual  Imper.  is  followed  by  a  cons(X.  Imperf.,  in  ver.  5  by  ft  cimsec,  Jv£' 
give  :  "  let  his  throne  be  established."  etc.     BiJTT.,  2  980,  iJ,  and  n.  10  — A.] 

Ver.  7. — [10X,  an  impersonal  use  of  the  Kal.  Inf.  constr.,  "  good  is  the  saying  ;"  the  rendering  is  often  appropriately 
T-: 

passive, — so  here  '■  that  it  be  said  to  thee."  Hero  and  in  ver.  27  the  Infin.  has  a  masc.  predicate ;  iu  ver.  24  the  fem.  Infin. 
r\2W  takes  the  same.     BiilT.,  J  990,  1,  a,  and  3  /3  —A.] 

Ver.  9. — [7jn.  a  Piel  Imperf.  apocopate  with  lengthened  vowel.    See  Green,  §  174,  4 ;  Nordh.,  §  451 ;  Hon.,  §1085,  A., 

etc.—k.] 

Ver.  11. — ["131,  either  a  Kal  Pass.  Partic,  written  defectively, — or  a  Hoph.  Partic.  deprived  of  its  initial  0,  which  is 

no  uncommon  loss  ;  the  form  would  then  be  "131 ;  see  Bott.,  g  994,  5,  6, 10. — V  J3N.  regarded  by  BoTT.  as  well  aa  by  Z.  and 

T  \  T  :  T 

others  as  derived  from  tD5<,  wheel,  the  form  is  dual,  the  plural  form  with  the  same  suffix  being  VJlSt^  ;  the  meaning  will 

It  t  - 

then  be  "  on  its  (pair  of )  wheels,"  readily,  aptly.  See  Bott.,  §g  078,  3,  /.;  685,  42,  and  n.  4.  Fuerst  gives  the  preference  to 
another  meaning  supported  from  the  Arabic  and  the  Talm.,  "nach  seinen  Arten,"  according  to  its  various  uses  and  appli- 
cations=fitly. — A.] 

Ver.  16.— [initpn,  a  Perf.  Hiph.  with  peculiarities  in  the  vocalization  and  the  suffix.    BiilT.,  §J1158,  2;  1188,83. 

-• *-i 

Ver.  17.— "ipn,  Imper.  Hiph.  from  Ip'  (Is.  xiii.  12  ;  1  Sam.  iii.  1). 

Vera.  19.— nj?'l,  Partic.  fem.  Kal  from  ir^l—VSI.     [Explained  by  Gesen.  as  an  Infin.  fem.  used  substantively,  but 
by  FUEEST,  BtiTT.,  eic,  as  by  our  author, — a  fem.  part,  passing  into  an  adjective  use.]    Instead  of  rnj?10,  wavering,  un- 

'.'  T 

Steady,  Is  either  to  be  read  n*1,J^lD  (Part.  Eal  from  1_J?D),  or  the  form  is  with  R.  Kuioai,  Bebtheau,  Elster,  etc.,  to  be  re- 


CHAP.  XXV.  1-28. 


210 


garded  as  a  Pual  part,  with  the  omission  of  the  performative  0  (comp.  In.  liv.  11,  etc.);  comp.  Ewald,  Lehrb.,lQ^d. 
ft'uERST  sappoita  the  latter  explanation  ;  GiiSE.N  ,  Lex.  and  Ltkrgeb.,  BiJTT,,  Green  (?)  and  othura  adopt  the  author's  view. 
See  esp.  Bott.,  g§  492,  tj  and  n.  :i;  1063,  C'and  n.  4. — A.] 

Ver.  20. — my  0  is  usually  taken  as  a  Hiph.  Part,  from  mj?,  "  he  who  taketh  off  clothing,"  etc.    }ruEEi,T  suggests  the 

V  ~:  ~  ,  T  T 

coDStruing  and  rendering  of  it  as  a  noun,  with  the  meaning  Pracht,  splendor ;  BoiT.  strenuously  maintains  that  it  can  be 
nothing  else.    Lthr  .,  11.,  p.  3J7,  n.  1,  and  references  there  given. — A.]. 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  Vers.  1.  The  Superscription — plainly  belong- 
ing to  the  whole  subsequent  collection  as  far  as  the 
end  of  chap,  xxix.,  and  not  merely  to  some  such 
portion  as  xxv.  2 — xxvii.  27,  as  HiTZio  suggests ; 
for  thereis  in  chap,  xxviii.l  no  new  superscription, 
and  the  assumption  that  in  chap,  xxviii.  17  aq.  the 
central  main  division  of  the  entire  Book  of  Pro- 
verbs (xii. — xxii.  16)  is  continued,  while  xxviii. 
1-16  is  a  fragment  from  a  later  hand,  lacks 
all  real  support.  Comp.  remarks  above  on  chap. 
xxii.  1. — These  also  are  proverbs  of  Solo- 
mon— whether  precisely  in  the  strictest  sense, 
or  in  the  broader  one  of  an  authorship  that  is 
Solomon's  only  indirectly,  on  this  point  the  ex- 
pression gives  us  no  definite  knowledge.  Pro- 
verbs of  Solomon  in  the  broader  sense  may  very 
properly  be  included  under  the  phrase. — Which 
have  been  collected.— In  regard  to  the  mean- 
ing of  this  verb  see  what  is  already  said  in  the 
Introd.,  I  12  (pp.  26).  The  meaning  "remove" 
(from  the  original  place),  "transfer,  transplant, 
compile  "  is  certainly  lexically  established,  and 
is  to  be  preferred  without  qualification  to  the  ex- 
planations which  diifer  from  it;  to  "  append"  or 
"arrange"  (ordine  disponere),  or  to  "preserve" 
(durarefacere^  conservare).  Whether  as  the  source 
from  which  the  transfer  or  compilation  of  the 
following  proverbs  was  made,  we  are  to  think 
simply  of  one  book  or  of  several  books,  so  that 
the  transfer  would  be  the  purely  literary  labor  of 
excerpting,  a  transcribing,  or  collecting  by  copy- 
ing (comp.  the  af  e^eypdipavro  of  the  LXX) ;  or 
whether  we  have  to  consider  as  the  source  simply 
the  oral  transmission  of  ancient  proverbs  of  wise 
men  by  the  mouth  of  the  people  (Hitzig),  must 
remain  doubtful.  It  is  perhaps  most  probable, 
that  both  the  written  and  the  oral  tradition  were 
alike  sifted  for  the  objects  of  the  collection. — By 
the  men  of  Hezekiah. — Possibly  a  learned 
commission  created  by  this  king  for  the  purpose 
of  this  work  of  compilation,  consisting  of  the  most 
noted  "wise  men"  of  his  time.  Comp.  Introd., 
J  3,  and  ^12,  as  cited  above.  [Fueest,  in  his 
Kanon  des  Alien  Testaments,  cites  the  Jewish  tra- 
dition as  holding  a  different  view  in  several  of 
these  particulars.  In  regard  to  original  author- 
ship, the  title  is  not  interpreted  as  even  claiming 
all  for  Solomon,  though  his  is  the  chief  and  rep- 
resentative name ;  it  is  rather  the  aim  and  effect 
of  the  collection  that  is  emphasized.  Tradition, 
moreover,  interprets  the  "  these  also  "  as  showing 
that  the  preceding  sections  were  likewise,  collected 
by  the  men  of  Hezekiah,  the  verb  Ip'Pi^n  in  the 
superscription  to  this  fourth  collection  meaning 
"continued."  "The  men  of  Hezekiah"  further- 
more are  represented  as  not  simply  literati  and 
poets  of  the  king's  court  temporarily  associated, 
and  engaged  in  a  specific  work,  but  a  "college" 
existing  for  similar  purposes  two  hundred  and 
eighty  years,  seven  full  generations.     For  de- 


tails and  references  see  Fuekst's  Kanon,  pp.  73- 
80.— A.] 

2.  Vers.  2-5.  Of  kings,  their  necessary  attri- 
butes and  duties. — It  is  the  glory  of  God  to 
conceal  a  thing — viz.,  so  far  forth  &a  He,  the 
"God  that  hideth  Himself"  (Is.  xlv.  15),  is  in- 
comprehensible in  His  being,  and  "unsearchable 
in  His  judgments  "  (Rom.  xi.  33),  so  that  accord- 
ingly all  His  action  is  a  working  out  from  the 
unknown,  the  hidden,  a  sudden  revealing  of  hid- 
den marvels  (the  "secret  things"  of  Deut.  xxix. 
29),  ["David  says,  'The  heavens  declare  the 
glory  of  God,'  and  Solomon  adds,  that  God's  glory 
is  seen  not  only  in  what  He  reveals,  but  what  He 
conceals — a  profound  observation,  which  is  the 
best  answer  to  many  Scriptural  objections  to  Di- 
vine Revelation,  as  has  been  shown  by  Bp.  Bft- 
LBK  m  his  Analogy."  Woedsw.,  in  loc.'\. — On  the 
contrary,  it  is  the  glory  of  kings  to  search 
out  a  matter,  rightly  to  discern  and  to  make 
clear  debatable  points  in  jurisprudence,  and  in 
general,  on  the  ground  of  careful  inquiry,  inves- 
tigation and  consultation,  to  issue  commands  and 
to  shape  political  ordinances.  Comp.  what  Gothe 
once  said  (Sammtl.  Werke,  Bd.  XLV.,  p.  41)  :  "  It 
is  the  business  of  the  world-spirit  to  preserve 
mysteries  before,  yea,  often  after  ihe  deed;  the 
poet's  impulse  is  to  disclose  the  mystery;"  and 
also  Luthee's  marginal  comment  on  our  pas- 
sage (see,  below,  the  Homiletical  notes). — 
"mi  is  moreover  in  both  instances  to  be  rendered 

XT 

by    "thing,     matter,"     and     not    by     "word 
(Vulg.,  CocCEius,  Umbeeit,  etc);  for  in  clause  A 
in    particular  this  latter  meaning  seems  wholly 
inapposite. 

Ver.  3.  The  heavens  for  height,  the  earth 
for  depth,  and  the  heart  of  kings  (are)  un- 
searchable.— ^P^1  pX,  "no  searching  out,"  is 
plainly  the  predicate  of  the  subjects  in  clause  a 
also,  so  that  the  entire  verse  forms  but  one  pro- 
position. And  this  is  not  a  possible  admonition 
to  kings  (not  to  suffer  themselves  to  be  searched 
out,  but  to  preserve  their  secrets  faithfully),  as 
Umbeeit,  Van  Ess,  De  W.,  etc.,  think,  but  a 
simple  didactic  proposition,  to  bring  out  the  fact, 
that  while  the  heart  of  man  is  in  general  deep 
and  difficult  to  fathom  (Jer.  xvii.  9;  Ps.  Ixiv.  7), 
that  of  kings  is  peculiarly  inaccessible  and  shut 
up  within  itself,  much  as  may  be  depending  on 
its  decisions.  [While,  then,  according  to  ver.  2, 
"  it  is  a  king's  glory  to  get  all  the  light  he  can  " 
(Stcaet),  it  is  his  glory,  and  often  an  absolute 
condition  of  his  prosperity  and  that  of  his  king- 
dom, that  he  be  able  to  keep  his  own  counsel,— 
that  of  his  heart  there  be  "no  searching  out." 
—A.] 

Vers.  4,  5.  Take  away  the  dross  from  sil- 
ver.— The  "dross,"  whose  removal  empowers  the 
"refiner"  or  goldsmith  to  prepare  a  vase  of  no- 
ble metals,  corresponds  here,  as  in  Jeremiah  vi. 
29,  to  the  wicked  or  lingodly  men  who  are  to  be 
purged  out  of  a  political  commonwealth. — Take 
away  the  wicked  from  before  the  king— 


216 


THE  PROVERBS  OP  SOLOMON. 


i.  e.,  before  the  court  or  by  virtue  of  the  king's 
judicial  decision.  Tlie  wicked  ia  probably  not 
to  be  designated  as  a  "  servant  of  tlie  king"  by 
the  phrase  •'  before  the  king  "  (contrary  to  the 
view  of  EwALD  and  Bkktiieau  [Kamph.,  Donek- 
lEiN,  H.,  p(c.]).— With  5,  b,  comp.  xvi.  12; 
xxix.  14. 

3.  Vers.  6,  7.  Warning  against  arrogance  in 
intercourse  with  kings  and  their  nobles.— Dis- 
play not  thyself  in  the  presence  of  the 
king;— lit.,  "bring  not  thy  glory  to  view,  make 
not  thyself  glorious  "  (Stier).— With  the  phrase 
"  great  men  "  in  clause  b  comp.  xviii.  6  ;  2  Sam. 
iii.  38  ;  2  Kings  x.  6,  eic.—Vlith  ver.  7  compare 
in  general  Luke  xiv.  8-11,  as  well  as  the  Arabic 
proverb  (Meidani,  p.  72),  "Sit  not  in  a  place 
from  which  one  may  bid  thee  rise  up." — Than 
that  they  humble  thee  (thy  humbling) 
before  the  king. — Z.  renders  "  because  of  a 
prince,"  and  goes  on  to  say:  "Usually,  'before 
a  prince,  in  his  presence.'  But  then  we  .'jhould 
have  expected  rather  the  plural,  'before,  in   the 

presence  of  princes  and  nobles.'  'JS/  seen.i  to 
require  to  be  employed  here  rather  in  the  sense 
of  'because  of,  in  relation  to'  (comp.  2  Sam.  iii. 
31);  and  the  following  'whom  thine  eyes  have 
seen '  seems  to  suggest  the  criminality,  by  no 
means  ignorant,  of  the  dishonor  put  on  the  dig- 
nity of  the  prince  (thus  Hitzig  correctly  ex- 
plains)." [We  cannot  see  the  fitness  of  this  de- 
parture from  universal  usage  in  regard  to  'JI)7, 
which  occurs  hundreds  of  times  in  the  0.  T.  with 
various  modifications  of  the  meaning  "before," 
but  has  not  in  one  conceded  instance  the  meaning 
"  on  account  of."  It  has  been  used  twice  just 
before  with  its  ordinary  meaning,  and  before  the 
end  of  the  chapter  occurs  again  with  the  same 
meaning.  There  is  room  for  difference  of  opinion 
as  to  the  person  before  whom  the  humiliation  is  to 
be, — whether  it  be  the  king  himself,  or  some 
prince  or  noble  of  his  court,  but  there  can  be 
none  as  to  the  preposition  required  to  express  the 
idea.  It  is  probably  best  to  regard  the  king,  who 
is  chiefly  aif routed  by  such  arrogance,  as  de- 
scribed here,  not  by  his  specific  and  official  title, 
but  as  the  exalted  one  who  was  to  see  and  be  seen, 
and  before  whom  the  humiliation  is  most  crush- 
ing.- A.] 

4.  Vers.  8-10.  Warning  against  contentious- 
ness and  loquacity. — Go  not  forth  hastily  to 
strive; — i.  e.,  do  not  begin  controversies  with  un- 
due haste  (Luther;  rush  not  forth  soon  to  quar- 
rel).— Lest  (it  be  said  to  thee)  "  What  wilt 
thou  do  in  the  end,"  etc. — Lit.,  "at  the  end 
thereof,  at  its  (the  strife's)  end,"  at  the  time, 
therefore,  when  the  evil  results  of  the  contention 
have  shown  themselves.  It  is  so  natural  to  sup- 
ply a  verb  of  saying  with  the  "lest"  before 
"  What  wilt  thou  do  ?"  that  we  may  without  hesi- 
tation have  recourse  to  this  expedient  for  filling 
out  the  form  of  expression,  which  certainly  is 
perplexingly  concise  and  elliptical  (comp.  Um- 
BBEIT,  Elsteb,  Stier  [Kamph.,  H.,N.,  M.],  etc., 
and  even  a  commentator  as  early  as  Jabchi,  on 
this  passage).  At  all  events  this  solution  ia  bet- 
ter th  an  that  devised  by  Ewald  and  Bebtheau 
[De  W.,  S.],  who  take  the  "  what"  in  the  sense 
of  "  what  evil,  what  terrible  tiling  ''  ("  lest  dis- 


gracefully treated  by  thine  opponent  and  excited 
to  wrath,  thou  do  some  fearful  thing!") 

Ver.  9.  Debate  thy  cause  (strive  thy  strife) 
■with  thy  neighbor,  elc. — If  the  contest  has  be- 
come really  inevitable,  if  it  has  come  to  process 
of  law,  then  press  thy  cause  with  energy,  but  ho- 
norably, with  the  avoidance  of  all  unworthy  or 
low  means, — and  especially  in  such  <*  way  that 
thou  do  not  by  any  possibility  with  a  malicious 
wickedness  betray  secrets  of  thine  opponent  that 
may  have  been  earlier  entrusted  to  thee. 

Ver.  10.  Lest  he  that  heareth  it  upbraid 
thee. — The  "hearer"  does  not  denote  possibly 
the  injured  friend  (LXX,  Schultens  [Wordsw.], 
etc.) — which  would  be  intolerably  flat  and  tauto- 
logical, but  very  indefinitely,  any  one  who  ob- 
tains knowledge  of  that  dishonorable  and  treach- 
erous conduct.  The  Piel  IDn  is  used  here  only 
in  the  sense  of  "curse,  despise;''  comp.  the  cor- 
responding noun  "  reproach  "  in  chap.  xiv.  34. — 
And  thine  evil  name  turn  not  away, — die 
not  out  again,  depart  not  from  thee.  Comp.  the 
use  of  SW  of  wrath  that  is  allayed  or  quieted ; 
Gen.  xxvii.  44,  45,  and  frequently. 

5.  Vers.  11-15.  Five  symmetrically  con- 
structed and  concise  comparisons,  in  praise  of 
wisdom  in  speech,  of  fidelity,  liberality  and 
gentleness. — Ver.  11.  Apples  of  gold  in 
framew^ork  of  silver.  n'Sfc'D  which  occurred 
in  chap,  xviii.  11,  in  the  sense  of  "imagination, 
conceit,"  is  unquestionably  to  be  left  with  its 
usual  meaning,  "sculpture"  (carved  or  embossed 
work) ;  comp.  Ezek.  viii.  12 ;  Lev.  xxvi.  1 ;  Num. 
xxxiii.  52.  Under  the  term  we  are  to  understand 
some  such  thing  as  sculptured  work  for  the  de- 
coration of  ceilings,  pillared  galleries,  etc.,  which 
exhibits  golden  apples  on  a  groundwork  of  silver. 
That  in  this  case  we  must  have  expected  the  pre- 
cise term  for  "pomegranates"  (D^J1?31)  is  an 
arbitrary  assertion  of  HiTZio's,  in  support  of 
which  we  need  neither  emend  with  him,  to  read 

r\)h3Wq2  (from  an  alleged  noun  nb3ro-Vl3t»N, 
palm  bough)  "  or  branches,"  nor  with  Luthbk 
give  to  the  word  in  question  the  signification 
"  baskets,"  which  has  no  parallel  to  support  it. 
[Kamph.,  H.,  M.,  etc.,  support  this  rendering  of 
Lctheb's;  De  W.  and  N.  suppose  the  silver  work 
to  be  inlaid  or  embossed  on  the  golden  apples; 
while  Bebtheau,  Gesen.,  S.,  Wordsw.,  etc.,  un- 
derstand the  description  to  be  of  golden  fruit, 
represented  either  in  solid  or  embroidered  work 
on  a  ground-work  of  silver.  Fueest  seems  to 
favor  the  application  of  the  term  to  ornamented 
furniture  or  plate  for  the  table;  and  this  cer- 
tainly has  the  advantage  of  natural  probability 
in  its  favor — A.] — Cis)  a  word  fitly  spoken 
["spoken  in  its  time." — Z.]  Comp.  xv.  23, 
where  however  we  have  IPJ^S  instead  of  the 
unique  expression  found  in  our  verse.  That  this 
peculiar  form  of  speech,  which  appears  to  sig- 
nify strictly  "after  the  manner  of  its  wheels,  or 
on  its  wheels,"  is  in  reality  equivalent  to  Justo 
tempore,  in  tempore  suo.  is  expressed  as  early  as 
Stmmaohds  and  the  Vulg.,  as  well  as  supported 
by  the  analogy  of  a  similar  Arabic  expression, 
in  which  the  radical  word  ]£)1N  is  in  like  manner 
used  to  describe  time  revolving  in  its  circuit, 
moving  on  in  the  form  of  a  ring,  or  after  the 


CHAP.  XXV.  1-28. 


2H 


manner  of  wheels.  Comp.  also  the  well  known 
Tision  of  Ezekiel;  Ezek.  i.  15  sq.  [See  Grit. 
Notes.  Bkrtheau,  H.,  favor  the  exposition 
above  given;  Qesen.,  S.,  M.,  Wokdsw.  favor  the 
other  and  less  figurative  way  of  reaching  the 
same  idea. — A.] 

Ver.  12.  A  gold  ring  and  an  ornament  of 
fine  gold.  Qn>  elsewhere  a  ring  for  the  nose 
(xi.  22,  etc.),  is  here,  as  clause  b  shows,  rather 
an  ear-ring  or  ear-drop  (comp.   Gen.  xxxv.  4). 

'Sn  is  in  general  a  pendant,  a,  jewel,  such  as  is 
usually  worn  on  the  neck  or  in  the  ears,  (Song 
Sol.  vii.  2 ;  Hos.  ii.  15) ;  and  is  here  naturally 
used  in  the  latter  sense,  therefore  possibly  of- 
the  ornament  of  pearls  which  was  hung  below 
the  ear-ring. — (So  is)  a  'wise  reprover  to  an 
ear  that  heareth.  "The  reprover,  or  pun- 
iaher,"  is  a  concrete,  lively,  illustrative  expres- 
sion instead  of  "rebuke  or  censure."  The  bold- 
ness of  the  expression  still  fails  to  justify  HiT- 
zig's  attempted  emendation,  according  to  which 
n'O  is  to  be  read  instead  of  HOTOi  and  this  is  to 
be  taken  in  the  sense  of  "conversation"  ("ra- 
tional conversation" — comp.  the  ?.6yoc:  aocjjoc  o( 
tlie  LXX).  With  the  general  sentiment  comp. 
besides  chap.  xv.  31,  32. 

Ver.  13.  As  the  coolness  of  snow  on  a 
harvest  day,  i.  e.  probably,  as  a  refreshing 
drink  cooled  by  the  snow  of  Lebanon  amidst  the 
heats  of  harvest  labor.  Comp.  Xenoph.  Mem- 
orab.  II.  1,  30;  Plin.  Hist  Nat.,  XIX.  4;  and 
especially  the  passages  cited  by  Hitziq  from  the 
"Oesta  Dei  per  Francos"  (Han.  1611),  p.  1098: 
"The  coldest  snow  is  brought  from  Lebanon,  to 
be  mixed  with  wine,  and  make  it  cold  as  the 
very  ice."  [See  Haokett's  Illustrations  of  Scrip- 
ture, pp.  53-5,  for  illustrations  of  the  usage,  and 
statements  in  regard  to  the  extent  of  the  traffic. 
— A.]  With  clauses  b  and  c  comp.  x.  26 ;  xiii. 
17;  xxii.  21. 

Ver.  14.  Clouds  and  Twind  and  no  rain— 
(so  is)  a  man  vrho  boasteth  of  a  false  gift. 
That  is,  a  boaster  who  makes  much  talk  of  his 
liberality,  and  yet  withal  gives  nothing  (who 
"promises  mountains  of  gold,  but  does  not  even 
give  lead,"  (Stier),  is  like  clouds  of  vapor  borne 
aloft  and  driven  about  by  the  wind  (D'S^'K/J,  lit, 
light  rising  vapors,  which  gather  in  clouds), 
which  dispense  no  rain.  The  same  figure,  with 
a  similar  application:  Jude  12;  2  Pet.  ii.  17; 
likewise  in  several  Arabic  proverbs,  e.  g.  Exc. 
ex  Sent.  43  (ed.  Soheid.):  "A  learned  man 
without  work,  is  as  a  cloud  without  rain." 

Ver.  14.  To  the  recommendation  of  liberality 
in  the  verses  preceding  there  is  very  appro- 
priately added  an  admonition  to  gentleness  and 
mildness,  especially  in  the  use  of  the  tongue. 
Comp.  XV.  1. — By  forbearance  is  a  judge 
persuaded,  lit.,  "talked  over,  misled,"  i.  e., 
changed  in  his  disposition,  influenced,  comp. 
Luke  xviii.  4,  5.  [':fp  here  certainly  means 
"judge,"  as  in  vi.  7,  and  not  "  King,  prince,"  as 
some  of  the  older  expositors,  and  Luther  also, 
render  it,  and  as  Umbreit  is  inclined  to  regard 
it.  [Why  not  the  "prince,"  acting  in  his  judi- 
cial capacity,  and  in  other  relations  also  where 
the  bearing  and  spirit  of  those  about  him  will 
more  or  less  consciously  mould  his  action  ?     He 


is  the  "decider"  in  more  ways  than  one. — A.] 
And  a  gentle  tongue  breaketh  the  bone, 

i.  K.,  subdues  even  the  most  obsiinate  resistance. 
Comp.  the  Latin:  "  Gutta  cavai  lapidem,^^  etc.,  as 
well  as  the  German,  "Patience  breaks  iron." 

6.  Vers.  16-20.  Warning  against  intemper- 
ance, obtrusiveness,  slander,  credulity  and 
levity. — Hast  thou  found  honey — eat  to 
thy  satisfaction  (lit.,  "  thy  enougli").  Comp. 
Samson  and  Jonathan  as  finders  of  honey 
(.Judges  xiv.  8  sq.  ;  1  Sam.  xiv.  26),  and  also  a 
warning  against  partaking  of  it  to  excess,  ver. 
27,  and  Pindar,  Nem.  7,  52  :  K6pov  ixst  k-o-1  p-tki. 

Ver.  17  first  introduces  the  real  application  of 
this  warning  against  eating  honey  in  excess. 
Withhold  thy  foot  from  thy  friend's 
house.  "Make  rare,  keep  back,  seldom  enter 
with  it,"  etc.  Comp.  the  awdvLov  elaaye  tov  -Kdda 
of  the  LXX. — Comp.  besides  the  similar  pro- 
verbs of  the  Arabs,  which  warn  against  ob- 
trusiveness :  "  If  thy  comrade  eats  honey  do 
not  lick  it  all  up,"  or  "Visit  seldom,  and  they 
love  thee  the  more,"  etc.  Also  Martial's  senti- 
ment:  Nulli  te  facias  nimis  amicum. 

Ver.  18.  A  maul  and  a  sword  and  a  sharp 
arrow.  V"3a  an  instrument  for  crushing,  a 
club  shod  with  iron,  a  war-club  (Nah.  ii.  2; 
comp.  the  cognate  terms  in  Jer.  Ii.  20,  and  Ezek. 
ix.  2).  For  additional  comparisons  of  false, 
malicious  words  with  swords  and  arrows,  comp. 
Ps.  lii.  4 ;  Ivii.  5  ;  Ixiv.  4 ;  cxx.  4,  etc.  See  also 
the  previous  rebukes  of  false  testimony ;  Prov. 
vi.  19;  xii.  17;  xix.  5,  9;  xxi.  28. 

Ver.  19.  A  broken  tooth  and  an  un- 
steady foot  (is)  confidence  in  an  unfaith- 
ful man,  etc.  H.l'T  W  is  to  be  explained  either 
by  a  substantive  construction,  "  tooth  of  break- 
ing" (Umbreit,  Stier  following  Aben  Ezra),  or 
by  a  participial  construction,  "a  breaking 
tooth."  The  latter  is  to  be  preferred  as  the 
simpler  (Bebthead,  Elster,  etc.,  [See  Crit. 
Notes]) ;  to  change  the  punctuation  so  as  to  get 
the  meaning,  "a  bad,  worthless  tooth,"  Hitziq, 
is  at  any  rate  unnecessary,  since  the  meaning 
"decayed,  rotten,"  is  in  general  not  question- 
able. "  Trust  in  (lit.,  of)  an  unfaithful  man"  is 
here  a  foolish,  credulous  reliance  on  one  who  is 
false.  For  the  figure  comp.  furthermore,  espe- 
cially Is.  xxxvi.  6 ;   1  Kings  xviii.  21. 

Ver.  20.  He  that  layeth  aside  clothing 
in  a  cold  day.  This  is  plainly  a  senseless  pro- 
ceeding, an  entirely  aimless  and  absurd  move- 
ment. The  same  is  true  of  the  action  suggested 
by  the  words  following,  "vinegar  on  nitre;"  for 
the  moistening  of  nitre  (comp.  Jer.  ii.  22),  i.  e,, 
doubtless  carbonate  of  soda,  or  soda,  with  vine- 
gar or  acid  destroys  its  substance,  while  to  com- 
bine the  same  thing  with  oil,  etc.,  produces  a 
useful  soap.  Thus,  and  doubtless  correctly, 
RosENM  ,  iSEHTHEAC,  VoN  Gerlaoh,  and  sub- 
stantially Umbreit  also  (although  he  thinks 
rather  of  potash  or  saltpetre  as  the  substance 
here  designated).  J.  D.  Michaelis  (de  nitro 
Hebrxorum),  J.  F.  VoN  Meyer,  Stier,  etc.,  think 
specially  of  the  fermentation  and  the  offensive 
odor  which  the  nitre  produces  in  contact  with 
vinegar(?).  Sohultens,  Ewald  and  Elster  un- 
derstand ipj  in  accordance  with  the  Arabic 
(and  also  in  harmony  with  the  eA/cej  of  the  LXX), 


218 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


of  a  wound,  which  is  washed  with  smarting 
vinegar  instead  of  soothing  oil;  against  this 
view,  however,  we  have  of  the  other  ancient 
versions  except  the  LXX,  especially  the  Vulg., 
Symmachus,  the  Vers.  Venet.,  elc.  Hitziq  finally 
emends  here  again  according  to  his  fancy, 
and  obtains  the  meaning:  "He  that  meeteth 
archers,  with  arrow  on  tlie  string,  is  like  him 
who  singeth  songs  with  a  sad  heart"(!)  — 
[Gesen.,  Fuerst  and  the  lexicographers  gener- 
ally refer  to  descriptions  of  Egypt  and  its  natu- 
ral productions,  in  describing  the  material  and 
its  properties.  H.,  N.,  M.,  Woedsw.,  etc.,  take 
the  same  view,  and  multiply  and  vary  the  refer- 
ences. See  Thomson's  Land  and  Book,  II.  302, 
303.  WoR])sw.  expresses  a  decided  preference 
for  the  rendering  of  clause  u,  which  (see  Crit. 
Notes)  is  preferred  by  Fuerst,  Bott.,  etc.,  "dis- 
play in  dress"  instead  of  comfort;  "  as  he  that 
tricks  out  a  man  in  a  gay  dress  in  winter,  he 
who  busies  himself  about  the  fineness  and  bril- 
liancy instead  of  the  texture  and  warmth  of  the 
attire,"  etc.  This  certainly  secures  a  better  cor- 
respondence of  incongruities. — A.]  Moreover, 
tlie  "singing  songs  with  u.  Jieavy  heart"  (for 
these  last  words  comp.  the  similar  phrases  in 
Gen.  xl.  7;  Neh.  ii.  1,  2;  Eccles.  vii.  3),  which 
is  described  by  the  two  comparisons  in  clause  a, 
as  a  senseless  and  perverse  proceeding,  is  doubt- 
less to  be  understood  in  the  sense  of  Ps.  cxxxvii. 
1,  4,  and  not  to  be  taken  as  possibly  a  disregard 
of  the  Apostolic  injunction  in  Rom.  xii.  15.  For 
the  heart  is  hardly  that  of  another  [E.  V.,  De  W., 
H.,  N.,  S.,  M.,  ffoRDSw. ;  "to  a  heavy  heart"], 
but  most  probably  the  speaker's  own  heart.  The 
procedure  against  which  the  sentiment  of  the 
verse  is  directed  seems  therefore  to  be  frivolity, 
and  superficial,  insincere  conduct,  and  not  a 
rude  indifference  and  uncharitableness  toward 
one's  neighbor. 

7.  Vers.  21,  22.  Admonition  to  the  love  of 
enemies. — If  thine  enemy  (lit.,  "thine  hater") 
hunger,  give  him  bread  to  eat,  etc.  "Bread" 
and  "water"  are  named  here  as  the  simplest 
and  readiest  refreshment.  To  name  meat,  wine, 
dainties  and  the  like  would  have  been  quite  too 
forced.  In  the  citation  in  the  N.  T.,  in  Rom. 
xii.  20,  both  objects  are  for  brevity  omitted  and 
thereby  the  expression  is  made  more  like  Matt. 
XXV.  35. — For  so  thou  dost  heap  burning 
coals  on  his  head.  For  this  verb  to  heap,  to 
pile  up,  comp.  vi.  27.  To  "heap  coals  on  the 
head  of  any  one"  cannot  be  the  figurative  re- 
presentation of  a  burning  shame  which  one  de- 
velops in  his  opponent  (Gramb ERG,  UMBREiT),for 
shame  glows  in  the  cheek,  and  not  above  on  the 
head.  The  figure  is  designed  to  describe  rather 
the  deep  pangs  of  repentance  which  one  produces 
within  his  enemy  by  rewarding  his  hatred  with 
benefits,  and  in  the  production  of  which  the  re- 
venge to  be  taken  on  him  may  consist,  simply 
and  solely.  This  correct  view  is  first  presented 
by  Augustine,  Dcdoctr.  Christ.,  III.  16;  and  then 
especially  by  Schultens,  Rosenm.,  Hitziq,  etc. 
These  last  at  the  s.ame  time  adduce  pertinent 
Arabic  parallels,  like  Meidani,  II.  721:  "He 
who  kindly  treats  such  as  envy  him,  scatters 
glowing  coals  in  their  face,  etc.  At  all  events, 
we  must  decidedly  reject  the  interpretation  of 
many  of  the  Church  Fathers^  like  Chrysostom, 


Theodoret,  Theophylaot,  etc.,  who  regarded 
the  coals  as  the  designation  of  extreme  divine 
judgments  (comp.  Ps.  xi.  0;  cxl.  11)  which  one 
will  bring  upon  his  enemy  by  refusing  to  avenge 
himself.  [In  this  last  opinion  our  recent  eom- 
mentators,  perhaps  without  exception,  agree  with 
the  author.  In  regard  to  his  first  discrimination, 
if  any  have  been  inclined  to  limit  the  figure  to 
the  superficial  blush  or  the  transient  emotion  of 
shame,  there  would  be  a  general  agreement  with 
him.  If  he  means  to  discriminate  sharply  be- 
tween shame  and  repentance,  we  must  pronounce 
his  distinctions  too  fine,  as  some  will  be  inclined 
to  regard  his  comment  on  the  proper  seat  of  the 
blush.  A  deep,  true  shame,  may  be  the  first 
step  toward,  tlie  first  element  in  repentance. — 
A.] 

8.  Vers.  2-3-28.  Against  slander,  a  contentious 
spirit,  timidity,  want  of  self-control,  crt.  North 
■wind  produceth  rain.  For  the  verb  comp. 
Ps.  xc.  2  ;  for  a  description  of  the  rainy  wind  of 
Palestine,  which  strictly  blows,  not  from  the 
Nortli,  but  from  the  North-west  and  West,  aa 
]13y  nn,  comp.  Am.  viii.  12,  where  this 
"North"  is  contrasted  with  HITD   "the  East." 

T  :  ■ 

Perhaps  this  term  is  equivalent  to  fd^of  as  a 
designation  of  a  dark,  gloomy  region,  which  we 
are  by  no  means  to  seek  directly  north  of  Pales- 
tine (Umbreit;  comp.  Hltzig).  In  no  case  is 
Jerome  right  (and  Aben  Ezra),  when  in  view 
of  the  predominantly  dry,  cold  and  rough 
character  of  the  north  of  Palestine,  he  renders 
the  verb  by  "  dissipat  pluvias,  it  scatters  the 
clouds,  and  so  ends  the  rain."  [The  author's 
view  is  that  of  De  W.,  Kamph.,  Bertheatj, 
MuFFET,  H.,  N.,  S.,  M.,  Wordsw.,  Gesen.,  and 
the  recent  commentators  and  lexicographers 
almost  without  exception.  Now  and  then  Je- 
rome's rendering,  which  is  that  of  the  E.  V.,  is 
assumed  to  be  right,  and  illustrated,  as  e.  g.  in 
Thomson's  Land  and  Book  I.  131. — A.] — So 
doth  the  slanderous  tongue  a  troubled 
face  [lit.,  "a  secret  tongue"];  i.  c,  artful 
calumny  and  slander  (comp.  Ps.  ci.  5)  produces 
gloomy,  troubled  faces,  just  as  surely  as  the 
North-west  wind  daikens  the  heavens  with  rain- 
clouds.  The  tertium  compar.  in  the  figure  is 
therefore  the  same  as  in  Matt.  svi.  3 ;  Luke  xii. 
54.  Comp.  besides  the  German  proverb,  "  He 
makes  a  face  like  a  three  days'  rain-storm." 
[Those  who  follow  the  E.  V.  in  the  rendering  of 
the  first  clause,  must  with  it  invert  subject  and 
object  in  clause  b,  and  change  the  epithet, 
"troubled,"  dark  with  sadness,  for  "angry," 
dark  with  passion ;  "  so  doth  an  angry  coun- 
tenance a  backbiting  tongue."  Trapp,  e.  g., 
says:  "The  ready  way  to  be  rid  of  tale-bearers 
is  to  browbeat  them  ;  carry  therefore  in  this 
case  a  severe  rebuke  in  thy  countenance,  as  God 
doth."— A.] 

Ver.  24.  Comp.  the  literally  identical  sentence, 
chap.  xxi.  9. 

Ver.  25.  (As)  cold  water  to  a  thirsty 
soul  is  good  ne'ws  from  a  far  country. 
Naturally  we  must  here  think  of  those  far  re- 
moved from  their  home  and  kindred,  who  have 
long  remained  without  tidings  from  them. 
Comp.  XV.  30 ;  Gen.  xlv.  27 ;  and  for  the  figure, 
Jer.  xviii.  14, 


CHAP.  XXV.  1-28. 


219 


Ver.  26.  A  troubled  fountain  and  a 
rained  spring  (comp.  for  this  figure  Ezek. 
xxxii.  2;  xxxiv.  18,  19)  is  the  righteous  man 
who  wavereth    before  the  ^yioked.     The 

meaning  of  this  is  probably  not  the  righteous 
man  who  without  fault  of  his  has  been  brought  by 
evil  doers  into  calamity,  but  he  who  through  the 
fault  of  his  timidity,  his  want  of  faithful  cour- 
age and  moral  firmness,  has  been  brought  to 
waver  and  fall  by  the  craft  of  the  wicked. 
Compare  Stieb,  on  this  passage,  who  however 
understands  the  wavering  perhaps  too  exclu- 
sively of  being  betrayed  into  sin,  or  some  moral 
lapse.  [Lord  Baoon  (Z)e  Augmentia,  etc)  gives 
the  proverb  a  political  application:  "This  pro- 
verb teaches  that  an  unjust  and  scandalous 
judgment  in  any  conspicuous  and  weighty  cause 
is  above  all  things  to  be  avoided  in  the  State," 
etc.;  and  in  his  Essay  (LVI.)  "of  Judicature," 
he  says :  "  One  foul  sentence  doth  more  hurt 
than  many  foul  examples;  for  these  do  but  cor- 
rapt  the  stream,  the  other  oorrupteth  the  foun- 
tain."— A.] 

Ver.  27,  To  eat  much  honey  is  not  good. 
Since  this  maxim,  like  the  similar  one  in  verse 
16,  must  convey  a  warning  against  the  excessive 
enjoyment  of  a  thing  good  in  itself,  we  should 
look  in  the  2d  clause  for  an  analogous  truth  be- 
longing to  the  spiritual  realm.  That  clause  is 
therefore  not  to  be  rendered :  "  And  contempt 
of  their  honor  is  honor"  (thus  J.  D.  Michaelis, 
Aenoldi,  Ziegler,  Ewald, — all  of  whom  take 
Ipn  in  the  sense  of  "contempt"  (comp.  xxviii. 

11) ;  and  Hitzio  likewise,  except  that  he  [by  a 

transfer  of  one  conaonantl  reads  11330 1133,  and 

T  ■  ; 

"contempt  of  honor  is  more  than  honor").    But 

we  must  here  reclaim  for  the  noun  1133  its 
origmal  meaning  "weight,  burden,"  instead  of 
D1133  we  must  read  D'''1133,  "  weighty  things, 
difScultiea,"  and  then  retaining  the  ordinary 
meaning  of  Ipn  we  must  render:  "and  search- 
ing out  the  difScult  brings  difficulty,"  i.  «.,  too 
strenuous  occupation  of  mind  with  difficult 
things  is  injurious;  pondering  too  difficult  pro- 
blems brings  injury  (comp.  the  common  proverb, 
"To  know  everything  makes  headache").  So 
Elstek  alone  [with  Notes  among  our  ex- 
positors, and  FuEKST,  substantially,  of  the  lexi- 
cographers] correctly  explains, — while  Umbkeit 
and  Bertheau  [with  whom  S.  and  M.  agree] 
take  only  the  last  1133  in  the  sense  of  difficulty, 
and  therefore  explain  "  and  searching  out  honor 
(or  "their  honor")  brings  difficulty;"  in  a  simi- 
lar way  the  Vulgate  "  qui  scrutator  est  mafestatis 
opprimelur  a  gloria"  ["he  who  is  a  searcher  after 
dignity  will  be  crushed  by  glory."  The  E.  V. 
renders  "to  search  their  own  glory  (is  not) 
glory;"  the  assumed  meaning  of  the  noun  de- 
mands a  negative  copula,  such  as  has  just  been 
used  in  clause  a;  so  Gesen.(?)  Kamph.  enu- 
merates the  above  and  several  other  renderings, 
and  pronounces  all  unsatisfactory.  Holden  and 
WoEDsw.  retain  the  ordinary  meaning  of  all  the 
nouns,  supply  the  usual  copula,  and  render : 
"To  search  after  their  glory  (their  true  glory)  is 
glory."  The  sentiment  is  fine,  but  to  attach  it 
to  clause  a  requires  skill.] 


Ver.  28.  (As)  a  city  broken  through 
without  walls  (comp.  2  Chron.  xxxii.  5 ; 
Nehem.  ii.  13),  is  the  man  who  hath  no 
mastery  over  his  ow^n  spirit,  i.  e.,  Ihe  pas- 
sionate man,  who  knows  not  how  in  anything  to 
keep  within  bounds,  who  can  put  bit  and  bridle 
on  none  of  his  desires,  and  therefore  is  given 
up  without  resistance  to  all  impressions  fiom 
without,  to  all  assaults  upon  his  morality  and 
freedom,  etc.  Let  it  be  observed  how  nearly 
this  proverb  corresponds  with  the  substance  of 
the  preceding. 

DOCTRINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

In  the  noble  admonition  to  the  love  of  enemies, 
in  vers.  21,  22,  which  bears  witness  for  the  New 
Testament  principle  of  a  perfect  love  even  more 
definitely  and  in  fuller  measure,  than  the  dissua- 
sion contained  in  the  preceding  chapter  against 
avenging  one's  self  (xxiv.  29),  we  reach  the  cul- 
mination of  those  moral  demands  and  precepts 
with  which  the  wise  compiler  of  the  Proverbs 
comes  in  the  present  section  before  the  kings  and 
subjects  of  his  people.  Beside  this,  in  the  ex- 
ceedingly rich  and  manifold  variety  of  ethical 
material  which  this  chapter  exhibits,  the  admo- 
nitions that  stand  out  significantly  are  especially 
those  to  humility  and  modesty  (vers.  6,  7,  14),  to 
a  peaceable  spirit  (vers.  8,  24)  to  honor  and  con- 
siderate forbearance  toward  one's  opponent  in 
controversy  (ver.  9,  10,  23),  to  the  wise  reception 
of  merited  reproof  and  correction  (ver.  12),  to 
gentleness  (ver.  15),  to  fidelity  and  sincerity 
(vers.  13,  18-20),  to  moderation  in  all  things,  in 
enjoyments  of  a  sensual  as  well  as  of  a  spiritual 
kind  (vers.  16,  17,  27),  to  moral  firmness  in  re- 
sisting the  seductive  influences  of  the  wicked,  and 
in  subduing  the  passions  (vers.  26,  28).  In  re- 
gard to  doctrine  it  is  especially  the  delineation 
contained  in  vers.  2-5,  of  the  godlike  dignity  and 
authority  of  the  King,  that  is  to  be  accounted  one 
of  the  pre-eminently  instructive  portions  of  the 
chapter.  The  earthly  king  is,  it  is  true,  in  this 
unlike  to  God,  the  King  of  kings,  that  he  can  take 
his  decisive  steps  only  after  careful  consideration, 
examination,  and  conference  with  wise  counsel- 
lors, and  only  thus  issue  his  commands,  so  far 
forth  as  they  are  to  result  in  the  welfare  of  his 
subjects, — while  with  God,  the  being  who  is  alike 
near  and  afar  ofi',  the  all-wise  and  Almighty, 
counsel  and  act  are  always  coincident.  But  in 
this  again  there  can  and  should  be  an  analogy 
existing  between  earthly  rulei's  and  the  heavenly 
King,  that  their  throne  also  is  established  by 
righteousness,  that  they  likewise  must  watch  with 
unfaltering  strictness,  by  punishing  the  evil  and 
rewarding  the  good,  over  the  sacred  ordinance 
of  justice  and  the  objective  moral  law  (vers.  4, 
5).  And  for  this  very  reason  there  belongs  to 
their  action  also  something  mysterious  and  abso- 
lutely irresistible  ;  their  heart  too  appears  un- 
searchable, and  wholly  inaccessible  to  common 
men,  like  the  heights  of  heaven  and  the  depths 
of  the  earth  (ver.  3) ;  in  a  word,  they  in  the  po- 
litical sphere  stand  in  every  point  of  view  as  God's 
representatives,  as  regents  in  God's  stead  and  by 
the  grace  of  God,  and  even,  according  to  the  bold 
expression  of  the  poetical  language  of  the  Old 
Testament,  as  in  a  certain  sense  even  "  gods  and 


220 


THE  PROVERBS  OP  SOLOMON. 


childrenof  the  Most  High"  (Pa.  Ixxxii.  6;  comp. 
John  X.  34  sq.).  From  this  then  there  results,  on 
the  one  band,  to  themselves  the  duty  of  strict  jus- 
tice, and  the  most  conscientious  conformity  to 
God's  holy  will, — but  on  the  other,  for  their  sub- 
jects the  duties  of  humble  obedience  (vers.  6,  7, 
13)  of  earnest  reverence  for  civil  laws  and  ordi- 
nances, and  peaceable  deportment,  (vers.  8-10, 
18,  23,  24,  etc.);  in  general  therefore,  the/eor  of 
God  and  righteousness,  as  the  conditions  of  a  true 
welfare  of  earth's  nobles  and  nations,  to  be  ful- 
filled on  both  parts,  by  princes  as  well  as  by  the 
people. 

HOMILETIC   AND   PRACTICAL. 

Homily  on  the  entire  chapter :  "  Love  the 
brethren;  fear  God;  honor  the  King!"  (2  Pet. 
ii.  17);  three  apostolical  injunctions,  which  He- 
zekiah's  wise  men  already  preached  to  the  Israel 
of  their  day. — Or,  the  fear  of  God,  justice  and 
love,  as  the  three  foundation  pillars  of  a  well- 
founded  and  well  organized  Christian  common- 
wealth.— Comp.  Stocker;  Of  true  honor,  such  as 
wisdom  confers:  1)  in  the  state  (ver.  2-15  .•  glo- 
ria politicorum) ;  2)  in  the  household  (vers.  16- 
24 :  gloria,  oeconomicorum) ;  8)  in  the  church  (vers. 
2-5-28:  gloria  ecclesiasticorum). — Bcrleburg  Bible: 
Divine  political  maxims. — ^Wohifaeth  :  Honor 
and  renown  as  wisdom's  reward. 

Vers.  2-5.  Luther  (marginal  comment  on  ver. 
2) :  In  God's  government  we  are  not  to  be  wise, 
and  wish  to  know  why,  but  believe  everything. 
But  in  the  secular  kingdom  a  ruler  should  know, 
and  ask  why,  and  trust  no  man  in  anything ! — 
Starke  :  God's  counsel  concerning  our  blessed- 
ness is  revealed  to  us  clearly  enough  in  His  word ; 
act  accordingly,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  mys- 
teries of  divine  wisdom  take  thy  reason  captive 
under  the  obedience  of  faith. — ^[ Jeremy  Ta'slor: 
God's  commandments  were  proclaimed  to  all  the 
world  ;  but  God's  counsels  are  to  Himself  and  to 
His  secret  ones,  when  they  are  admitted  within 
the  veil. — Bates:  God  saveth  us  by  the  submis- 
sion of  faith  and  not  by  the  penetration  of  reason. 
The  light  of  faith  is  as  much  below  the  light  of 
glory  as  it  is  above  the  light  of  nature. — R.  Hall's 
Sermon  on  "  the  glory  of  God  in  concealing,"  1) 
The  Divine  Being  is  accustomed  to  conceal  much. 

2)  In  this  He  acts  in  a  manner  worthy  of  Him- 
self, and  suited  to  display  His  glory. — Lord  Ba- 
con (on  ver.  3) ;  Multitude  of  jealousies,  and  lack 
of  some  predominant  desire,  that  should  marshal 
and  put  in  order  all  the  rest,  maketh  any  man's 
heart  hard  to  find  or  sound], — Geier  (on  ver. 

3)  :  Every  one,  even  the  greatest  and  mightiest, 
is  to  know  that  God  knows  his  heart  most  per- 
fectly and  searches  it  through:  Ps.  cxxxix.  1,  2. 
— Cramer  ^on  vers.  4,  5) :  As  well  in  matters  of 
religion  as  in  matters  of  justice  (in  the  sphere  of 
the  church  and  in  politics)  the  duty  belongs  to 
the  ruler  of  removing  all  abuses  and  offences. 

Vers.  6  sq.  Geier  (on  ver.  6):  An  excellent 
means  against  pride  consists  in  looking  to  those 
who  are  better,  more  pious,  more  experienced, 
more  learned  than  we  are,  rather  than  to  esti- 
mate ourselves  solely  by  those  who  are  lower. — 
Starke  (on  vers.  9,  10):  If  thou  hast  a  reason- 
able complaint  against  thy  neighbor,  thou 
shouldst  not  mingle  foreign  matters  with  it,  nor 


from  revenge  reveal  secrets  which  weigh  heavily 
against  thy  neighbor. — Lange  (on  ver.  11) ;  In 
religious  discourses  heart  and  mouth  must  agree- 
the  orator  must  besides  always  examine  what  is 

best  adapted  to  his  congregation :   1  Pet.  iv.  11, 

[Bp.  Hopkins  :  As  the  amiableness  of  all  duties 
consists  in  the  right  timing  and  placing  of  them, 
so  especially  of  this  holy  and  spiritual  discourse], 
— Hasihs  (on  ver.  12):  He  who  can  hearken  and 
gladly  hearkens  to  rational  reproofs,  does  his  ears 
a  far  better  service  thereby,  than  if  he  adorned 
them  with  jewels  of  the  finest  gold,  and  with  ge- 
nuine pearls. 

Vers.  13  sq.  Luther  (marginal  comment  on 
ver.  13):  A  true  servant  or  subject  is  not  to  be 
paid  for  with  gold.— Starke  (on  ver.  13):  A 
chief  characteristic  of  able  teachers  of  the  divine 
word  is  that  they  as  stewards  over  the  myste- 
ries of  God  (1  Cor.  iv.  1,  2)  seek  to  be  found 
faithful. — (On  ver.  14);  Satan  promises  moun- 
tains of  gold,  but  gives  only  smoke  and  empty  va- 
por. Jesus  keeps  His  word  plenteously  above  all 
requests  or  understanding. — (On  ver.  15):  He 
who  will  everywhere  put  his  head  through  the 
wall,  will  hardly  succeed.  But  how  beautiful 
and  salutary  is  it  to  be  gentle  and  full  of  love! — 
Zeltner  (on  vers.  16,  17):  Of  all  things,  even 
the  most  charming  and  lovely  one  becomes  at 
last  weary.  Therefore  there  is  nothing  better 
or  more  blessed  than  to  strive  for  heaven  and  the 
eternal,  where  satiety  is  without  weariness  (John 
iv.  14),  life  without  death  (John  vi.  50;  Col.  iii. 
1,2). 

Vers.  19  sq.  Starke  :  Beside  the  confidence 
of  believers  in  God  every  other  hope  is  deceptive 
and  unreliable  as  a  brittle  cake  of  ice  or  as  a 
bending  reed. — (On  ver.  20):  Even  joyful  music 
is  not  able  to  drive  away  cares  and  troubled 
thoughts,  but  an  edifying  song  of  the  cross  or  of 
consolation  may  do  it;  fs.  cxix.  92;  Col.  iii.  16. 
— Tubingen  Bible  (on  vers.  21,  22) :  True  wis- 
dom teaches  us  by  gentleness  to  break  down  the 
haughtiness  of  enemies,  and  even  to  win  them  to 
one's  self  by  benefits :  Matth.  v.  44  sq.  But  how 
excellent  is  it  not  merely  to  know  these  rules  of 
wisdom,  but  also  to  practise  them! — [Teajp: 
Thus  should  a  Christian  punish  his  pursuers;  no 
vengeance  but  this  is  heroical  and  fit  for  imita- 
tion.— Arnot:  This  is  peculiarly  "the  grace  of 
the  Lord  Jesus."  When  He  was  lifted  up  on 
the  cross  He  gave  the  keynote  of  the  Christian 
life:  "  Father,  forgive  them."  The  Gospel  must 
come  in  such  power  as  to  turn  the  inner  life  up- 
side down  ere  any  real  progress  can  be  made  in 
this  difficult  department  of  social  duty]. 

Vers,  23-28.  Geier  (on  ver.  23):  Cultivate 
sincerity  and  honor,  that  thou  mayest  not  speak 
evil  things  in  his  absence  of  one  whom  thou 
meetest  to  his  face  with  all  friendliness. — 
[Bridges  :  The  backbiting  tongue  wounds  four 
at  one  stroke — the  backbiter  himself,  the  object 
of  his  attack,  the  hearer,  and  the  name  of  God]. — 
Zeltner  (on  ver.  25) :  When  we  hear  from  dis- 
tant lands  the  glad  news  of  the  course  of  the  gos- 
pel among  the  heathen,  it  must  cause  us  hearty 
rejoicing,  and  urge  us  to  thanksgiving  to  God 
(an  application  then  of  ver.  25  for  a  missionary 
festival  sermon). — Starke  (on  ver.  26) :  As  a 
fountain  made  foul  becomes  in  time  pure  and 
clear  again,  so  likewise  the  stained  innocence  of 


CHAP.  XXVI.  1-28.  221 


a  righteous  man  will  in  due  time  be  revealed 
again  in  its  purity ;  Vs.  xxxvii.  6. — (On  ver.  27) : 
The  laborious  and  diligent  will  never  laclt  work, 
and  the  more  vigorous  and  systematic  he  is  in  it, 
the  more  honor  does  it  bring  him. — Calwer  Handb. 
(on  ver.  27) :  Search  not  into  things  too  hard. — 


Stabke  (on  ver.  28) :  A  man  who  cannot  govern 
himself  cannot  be  usefully  employed  in  conduct- 
ing public  affairs. — [Bates  :  Satan  hath  an  easy 
entrance  into  such  men,  and  brings  along  with 
him  a  train  of  evils]. 


2.  Various  Warnings,  viz.  : 

a)  Against  dishonorable  conduct, 

(^especially  folly,  sloth  and  malice). 

Chap.  XXVI. 

1  As  snow  in  summer  and  rain  in  harvest, 
so  honor  befitteth  not  the  fool. 

2  As  the  sparrow  flitting,  as  the  swallow  flying, 
so  the  curse  undeserved :  it  cometh  not. 

3  A  whip  for  the  horse,  a  bridle  for  the  ass, 
and  a  rod  for  the  fool's  back. 

4  Answer  not  a  fool  according  to  his  folly, 
lest  thou  be  like  him. 

5  Answer  a  fool  according  to  his  folly, 
lest  he  become  wise  in  his  own  eyes. 

6  He  cutteth  ofi"  the  feet,  he  drinketh  damage, 
who  sendeth  a  message  by  a  fool. 

7  Take  away  the  legs  of  the  lame, 

and  the  proverb  in  the  mouth  of  a  fool. 

8  As  a  bag  of  jewels  on  a  heap  of  stones, 
so  is  he  that  giveth  honor  to  a  fool. 

9  As  a  thorny  staff  that  riseth  up  in  the  hand  of  a  drunkard, 
so  is  a  proverb  in  the  mouth  of  a  fool. 

10  An  archer  that  woundeth  everything, 

and  he  that  hireth  a  fool,  and  hireth  vagrants  (are  alike). 

11  As  a  dog  that  returneth  to  his  vomit, 
so  the  fool  (ever)  repeateth  his  folly. 

12  Seest  thou  a  man  wise  in  his  own  eyes, 
there  is  more  hope  of  a  fool  than  of  him. — 

13  The  slothful  saith  :  There  is  a  lion  in  the  way, 
a  lion  in  the  midst  of  the  streets. 

14  The  door  turneth  on  its  hinges, 
and  the  slothful  on  his  bed. 

15  The  slothful  thrusteth  his  hand  in  the  dish ; 

he  is  too  sluggish  to  bring  it  to  his  mouth  again. 

16  The  sluggard  is  wiser  in  his  own  eyes, 
than  seven  (men)  who  give  wise  judgment. 

17  He  layeth  hold  on  the  ears  of  a  dog 

who  passing  by  is  excited  by  strife  that  is  not  his. 

18  As  a  madman  who  casteth  fiery  darts, 
arrows  and  death, 

19  so  is  the  man  that  deceiveth  his  neighbor, 
and  saith :  Am  I  not  in  sport  ? 

20  Where  the  wood  faileth  the  fire  goeth  out, 

and  where  there  is  no  talebearer  the  strife  ceaseth. 


222  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


21  Coal  to  burning  coals  and  wood  to  fire  ; 
so  is  a  contentious  man  to  kindle  strife. 

22  The  words  of  the  talebearer  are  as  sportive  (words), 
but  they  go  down  to  the  innermost  part  of  the  breast. 

23  Silver  dross  spread  over  a  potsherd, — 
(so  are)  glowing  lips  and  a  wicked  heart. 

24  With  his  lips  the  hater  dissembleth, 
and  within  him  he  layeth  up  deceit. 

25  When  he  speaketh  fair  believe  him  not ; 
for  seven  abominations  are  in  his  heart. 

26  Hatred  is  covered  by  deceit, 

(yet)  his  wickedness  shall  be  exposed  in  the  assembly. 

27  He  that  diggeth  a  pit  falleth  into  it, 

and  he  that  rolleth  a  stone,  upon  himself  shall  it  return. 

28  The  lying  tongue  hateth  those  that  are  wounded  by  it, 
and  a  flattering  mouth  will  cause  offence. 

GRAMMATICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

Ver.  3.  [The  form  IJ  (comp.  x.  13;  xix.  29)  is  ordinarily  explained  as  derived  from  HIJ  the  more  common  IJ 
(Lex.,  IJ)  as  from  11J;  Bott.  (§  498>  1')  ^°S8<!^'^  "^^' "^^  *°'™  ^^  is  nsed,  as  in  numerous  similar  cases  the  formu 
with  weaker,  flatter  Towels  are  employed,  to  convey  in  their  very  sound  the  idea  of  the  weak,  the  suffering,  the  miserable; 
IJ  then,  in  every  instance  except  perhaps  one,  is  used  to  describe  a  back  that  is  beaten  or  threatened.— Iinm,  a  form 
with  the  article,  as  is  indicated  not  by  the  vocalization  alone,  but  by  the  parallel    0 W  7  ;  Bott.  I.,  p.  403,  n.  1.— A.J. 

Yer.  6.  [H^pO  a  P'el  part.,  therefore  active  in  its  meaning,  and  not  to  be  rendered  by  a  passive,  nor  need  it  be  ex- 
changed for  the' Pual  (pass.)  part,  as  Ew.ui)  proposes.  The  emendations  of  D'7JT  ^'^'iP'?  in  clause  a  which  have  been 
proposed  by  recent  expositors  are  unnecessary ;  e.  g.,  EsvALn'3  reading  H  il'^^pO  "  is  deprived  of  his  feet,  etc."  HlTZM 
would  read  l"l  DXpD  immediately  connecting  the  following  words ;  "from  the  end  of  the  feet  he  swallows  injury 
(? !)  who  sends  messages  by  a  fool." — A.]. 

Ver.  7.  rbl  is  taken  most  simply  as  Imper.  Piel  from  Pl'll,  to  "lift  out,  draw  out"  (Ps.  xxx.  2).  [So  Fdeest; 
Green,  §141,  1;  Nohdh.  g  452.  Bott.  ?  1123,  4,  and  §  300  6,  makes  it  from  Sll-  This  resolution  of  7  and  substitution 
of  ^  for  the  second  ^  BoTT.  regards  as  a  probable  sign  and  characteristic  of  the  Ephraimito  dialect  which  he  is  inclined 
to  find  in  this  section  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs.  Gesek.,  This.,  was  at  first  disposed  to  take  it  from  T^^^,  but  in  the  sup- 
plement brought  out  by  Rodigee  appears  to  have  changed  his  view,  taking  it  as  a  fuller  form  of  yT\.    The  rendering  of 

BoTT.,  etc.,  would  be  "  the  legs  of  the  lame  hang  useless." — A.]. 

Ver.  14,    [31Dn,    illustrates  BoTTOHER's  J^ienssoiiiMm,  "is  wont  to  turn,"   and   in  ver.  20    nSDjI    and    pjTE''    U« 

Fiens  dcbitum :  "must  go  out,  must  cease."     See  Lehrb.  ^ OoO,  h,  and  c,  e. — A.]. 

Ver.  18.   nSnSnO    from    HH^    o^  perhaps  from  a  root    H /H    still  preserved  in  the  Arabic. 

Ver.  26.    [nD^ljl;    the    Pt    of  the  Hithp.  prefix  is  elsewhere  not  assimilated. — A.]. 

Ver.  28.  [IIE^V  as  here  used  BiiTT.  regards  as  one  of  the  traces  of  an  Ephraimite  dialect,  the  noun  with  this  meaning 
being  otherwise  feminine.— V31  Qesen.  derives  from  T^  in  the  active  sense  the  form  being  plural  with  snff.  and  the 
construction  ace.  as  object.    Fherst  makes  it  a  peculiar  derivative  (without  suffix)  from    HDI    in  the  sense  of  "  bowed 

T  T 

down,  humble,  pious."    BiiTT.    pointing    VDT    as  the  K'thibh,  makes  it  from    iJT    with  the  suffix  of  the  singular.    See 

:  T  ■  t: 

Exegetical  notes  for  the  various  interpretations. — A.]. 

tober  or  November,  and  the  sky  is  almost  always 
clear,"  etc. — Comp.  furthermore  the  remarks 
above  on  chap.  xxv.  13,  as  well  as,  for  clause  b, 
chap.  xi.K.  10;  and  also  ver.  8  below. — Ver.  2. — 
As  the  sparroTV  flitting,  as  the  swallow  fly- 
ing: lit.  "as  the  sparrow  for  fleeing  or  wander- 
ing, na  the  swallow  flying,"  viz.  is  Jilted.  Comp. 
(he  similar  construction  in  chap.  xxv.  3,  and  also 
the  similar  comparison  in  xxvii.  8.     [The  Inf. 

with  7  may  be  rendered  by  the  abl.  as  readily 
as  by  the  dative  of  the  gerund  or  verbal  noun;  by 
or  in  respect  to  flying,  etc.'] — So  the  curse  (that 
is)  undeserved:  it  cometh  not.  "A  curse 
that  is  in  vain,  that  has  been  uttered  without  just 


EXEGETICAL, 

1.  Vers.  1-3.  Three  proverbs  against  folly,  sym- 
metrical in  their  structure  (in  each  ease  bringing 
two  related  ideas  into  comparison). — As  snow  in 
summer  and  rain  in  harvest.  According  to 
Jerome,  Comm.  in  Am.  iv.  7,  rain  in  harvest  time 
is  in  Palestine  a  thing  not  heard  of,  and  even  im- 
possible. Comp.  1  Sam.  xii.  17  sq.,  where  a 
sudden  thunderstorm  at  this  season  appears  as  a 
miracle  from  God,  and  also  the  confirmatory 
statements  of  modern  observers,  like  Robinson, 
Pal.  II.  307:  "In  ordinary  years  no  rain  at  all 
falls  from  the  end  of  the  spring-showers  till  Oo- 


CHAP.  XXVI.  1-28. 


223 


ground,  that  is  unmerited,"  like  that,  «.  g.,  in  2 
Sam.  xvi.  5  sq.,  or  that  in  1  Kings  ii.  8.  for  ihe 
"iu  vain"   comp.  xxiv.  28  and  the  remarks  on  the 

-Instead  of    Nbn  vh    K'ri  calls  for   i'? 


sbri:    "to  him,  to  the  fool  who  utters  it,  will  it 
return,"  it  will  find  its  fulfilment  in  his  own  case 
(thus  the  Vulg.  and  Jarchi).     But  the  verbal  ex- 
pression agrees  poorly  enough  with  this  render- 
ing, and  moreover  the  two  comparisons  in  a.plainly 
favor  rather  the  idea  expressed  by  the  K'thibh. 
[Such  a  curse  is  then  fugitive,   transient   as   a 
bird ;  it  does  not  come  to  stay.      The  E.  V.  sug- 
gests the  idea  very  blindly.      Trapp   explains: 
"As  these  may  fly  where  they  will,  and  nobody 
cares  or  is  the  worse ;  so  here."     He  would  carry 
the  comparison  farther:  as  birds  after  their  aim- 
less flight  return  to  their  nest,  "  so  the  causeless 
curse  returns  to  the  authors.     Cursing  men  are 
cursed  men."     A.]. — Ver.  3.   Comp.  x.   13;   xix. 
29;  Ecolesiast.  xxx.  2-3-27. — The  assertion  of  J. 
D. MiCHAELis  thattheideas  "whip"  and  "bridle" 
in  clause  a  are  not  rightly   distributed   between 
the  horse  and  the  ass,  is  refuted  by  Nah.  iii.  2; 
Ezek.  xxxix.  9,  where  express  mention  is   made 
of  riding  whips  in  connection  with  horses,  as  well 
as  by  Ps.  xxxii.  9,  where  with  horses  mules  are 
also   mentioned   as   bridled    animals.       [Gesen. 
Thes.,  a.  v.,  abundantly  illustrates  the  nobler  na- 
ture of  the  Eastern  ass,  and  the  higher  estimate 
put  upon  it.     See  also   Houghton's   article  in 
Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  1. 182,  Am.  Ed.  A.] 
2.  Vers.  4-12.    Eight  additional  proverbs  di- 
rected against  the  folly  of  fools  (among  them  one 
consisting  of  two  verses,  vers.  4,  5). — Ans^wer 
not  a  fool  according  to  his  folly,  i.  e.,  speak 
not  with  him  in  accordance  with   his   folly,  con- 
forming thyself  to  it,  imitating  it,  and  thereby  be- 
coming thyself  a  fool.     On  the  other  hand,  ver.  5: 
Answer  a  fool  according  to  his  folly,  i.  t., 
serve  him  in  his  senseless  babbling  with   an  ap- 
propriate, sharply  decisive  retort,  use   with  the 
coarse  block  (blockhead)  the  heavy  wedge  that 
belongs  to  it.     The  proverb  in   ver.  6  does  not 
then  stand  as  a  restriction  on  the  meaning  of  ver. 
4  (as  EwALD  holds),  but   yet  adjusting  it,   and 
guarding  against  what  might   be  misunderstood 
in  the  former  language.      [Says  Andrew  Fuller: 
The  terms  in  the  first  instance   mean  "in  a  fool- 
ish manner,"  as  is  manifest  from  the  reason  given. 
In  the  second  instance  they   mean   "in  the  man- 
ner which  his  folly  requires."     This  is  also  plain 
from  the  reason  given.     A  foolish  speech  is  not 
a  rule  for  our  imitation ;   nevertheless  our   an- 
swer must  be  so  framed  by  it  as  to  meet  and  re- 
pel it.     "This  knot  will  be  easily  loosed,"  says 
MnPFET,   "  if  it  be   observed    that  there  are  two 
sorts  of  answers,  the  one  in  folly,  the  other  unto 
folly."  A,] 

Ver.  6.  He  cutteth  off  the  feet,  he  drink- 
eth  damage,  ■who  sendeth  a  message  by  a 
fool.  Comp.  the  two  figurative  expressions  in 
clause  a,  the  first  ("  he  cutteth  off  the  feet,"  i.  e., 
uis  own  feet,  amputat  sibi  pedes — Miohaelis, 
ScHELLiNO,  Bertheau,  Elster,  Stieb,  [Kamph. 
WoEDsw.]  f(c,,)  means:  he  deprives  himself  of 
the  means  of  attaining  the  end,  he  puts  himself 
Bio  a  helpless  condition;  [and  the  idea  is  better 
•spreased  in  this  way  than  if  we  adopt  the  ex- 


planation of  H.,  N.,  S.,  M. ;  he  acts  as  though 
he  cut  ofi'  the  feet  of  his  messenger  who  chooses 
a  fool  for  the  errand.  N.  errs  in  completing  a 
proposition  in  clause  a:  "he  that  has  his  feet 
cut  ofl'  drinks  damage."  A.J  The  second  phrase 
"he  drinketh  injury  or  wrong,"  according  to  Job 
xxi.  20  ;  xxxiv.  7,  is  equivalent  to  "  he  suffers 
abuses,  he  experiences  in  the  largest  measure  an 
injury  self-devised."  For  similar  use  of  the  term 
"  words  "  in  the  sense  of  commands,  directions, 
a  message,  comp,  Ex.  iv.  13;  2  Sam.  xv.  36. 
For  the  general  meaning  compare  like  complaints 
of  bad  and  foolish  messengers  in  x.  26 ;  xxv.  13. 
Ver.  7.  Take  away  the  legs  from  the  lame. 

The  verb  n 7T  appears  to  be  used  here  with  the 
meaning,  which  it  is  true  is  not  to  be  discovered 
elsewhere,  of  tollere,  to  take  away.  For  Ihe 
meaning  of  the  comparison,  according  to  A,  seems 
to  be  this  :  Always  take  from  the  lame  his  legs, 
(j.  e.,  his  lame  legs), /or  they  are  really  useless  to 
A™,  just  as  the  "proverb,"  {i.e.,  the  maxim  of 
wisdom,  the  Maschal)  in  the  mouth  of  the  fool  is 
useless,  something  that  might  without  loss  be 
never  there  ;  for  the  fool  is  and  continues  still  a 
fool  (ver.  9;  xii.  16;  xiv.  24,  etc.).  Thus  Um- 
CREIT,  Bertheau,  Stier  [Stuart,  Kamph.]  cor- 
rectly explain,  while  the  rest  take  some  one  and 
some  another  way  to  explain  the  peculiarly  obscure 

and  difiBculfc  '  V^.  So  Luther  takes  the  phrase 
altogether  arbitrarily  in  the  sense  of  "  to  dance  " 
("  as  dancing  to  a  cripple,  so  does  it  befit  a  fool 
to  speak  of  wisdom  ") ;  in  like  manner  Jarchi 
and  Levi  ben  Gerson   ("his  legs  are  too  long 

for  the  lame,''  V /T  being  taken  as  equivalent 
to    in^J),   and   also  Geier,   Rosenm,  J.  H.   Mi- 

chaelis,  Schellinq,  etc.,  who  take  VvT  as  a  sub- 
stantive equivalent  to  riVTT  in  the  sense  of  ele- 
vatio.  [TheE.  V.  renders  "the  legs  of  the  lame 
are   not    equal"].        Ewald    and   Elster   read 

1''7^,  "the  legs  of  the  lame  are  too  loose"  (Aben 
Ezra  had  already  given  a  similar  rendering) 
[Gesen.,  "hang  down,"  so  De  W.,  N.,  Wordsw.; 
"  are  weak,"  H.  M.].     IIitzio   finally  gives  the 

Inf.  abs.  JwT:  "leaping  of  the  legs  on  the  part 
of  a  lame  man — so  is  a  proverb  in  the  mouth  of  a 
fool,"  (the  same  meaning,  therefore,  substan- 
tially as  in  Luther's  conception.) 

Ver.  8.  As  a  bag  of  jewels  on  a  heap  of 
stones,  so  is  he  that  giveth  honor  to  a  fool. 
If  the  noun  nOJ'ip  which  occurs  only  here  ex- 
presses the  idea  "heap  of  stones,"  acervus  lapidum, 
which  is  altogether  probable  from  its  derivation 
from  DJ1,  to  stone,  to  heiip  up  stones,  then  the 
pN  ins  must  be  a  parcel  not  of  common,  but  of 
precious  stones  (comp.  Ex.  xxviii.  9 ;  xxxv.  27, 
where  [px  alone  stands  for  lapis  pretiosior),  and 
this  all  the  more  since  the  2d  clause  makes  this 
rendering  peculiarly  natural.  So  R.  Levi  ben 
Gerson,  then  Luther,  Geier,  Schultens,  Ge- 
senius,  Umbbeit,  Stieb,  Elster,  [E.  V.  in  mar- 
gin, De  W.,  N.,  W.],— of  whom  Luther,  Geier, 
Schultens,  Stieb  [Worusw.]  think  particularly 
of  a  heap  of  stones  raised  by  the  stoning  of  a 
malefactor,  a  tumulus  ag(jestus  supra  corpus  lapida- 
tum,  which  is  certainly  more  natural  than  with 


224 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


Jeeome,  (Vulg.,  accrvus  Mercurii),  several  of  the 
early  Rabbis,  Jaechi,  V.  E.  Loschee,  (iu  the 
"  Umchuldigen  Nachrichlm,"  Vol.  13,  p.  49tiJ,  and 
Oetingee,  to  thiak  of  a  Hermes,  a  heap  of  stones 
dedicated  to  Mercury  (M^of  ip/iaiov,  atatua  mer- 
curialis).  Others  (bERTHEAU,  Ewald  [Fuerst, 
Kamph.,  E.  v.,  in  text,  H.,  S.,  M.]  e/c.,)tollowing 
the  LXX  and  Chald.,  take  HDJia  in  the  sense  of 
"sling,"  and  regard  "inS  as  an  Infiu. ;  "as  the 
binding  a  stone  fast  to  the  sling"  ; — but  against 
this  may  be  maintained  the  inappositeness  of  the 
figure  as  compared  with  the  idea  in  clause  b,  and 
the  fact  that  such  a  meaning  cannot  be  proved  to 
belong  to  the  noun,  and  the  circumstance  that  the 

sling  is  elsewhere  always  called  i'^p. — HiTzio  : 
"as  a  little  stone  on  the  beam  of  a  balance," 
etc., — forhe  says  the  noun  ID  means,  according  to 
the  Arabic,  the  "beam  of  a  balance,"  and  IN  IS 
signifies  a  "  bit  or  kernel  of  stone,"  a  little  stone 
serving  to  bind  the  balance  (?). 

Ver.  9.  A  thorny  staff  that  riseth  up  in  the 
hand  of  a  drunkard,  (so  is)  a  (wise)  proverb 
in  the  mouth  of  a  fool.  If  in  ver.  7  a  Maschal, 
a  maxim  of  wisdom,  taken  into  the  mouth  of  a 
fool  was  represented  as  something  useless,  desti- 
tute of  all  aim  and  effect,  it  here  appears  rather 
as  something  working  absolute  harm,  wounding, 
injuring  like  thorns,  and  in  particular  like  an 
instrument  of  correction  heedlessly  carried,  stri- 
king in  the  wrong  place,  and  so  grossly  misused. 
Comp.  Luther's  marginal  note,  which  in  the 
main  point  certainly  interprets  correctly :  when 
a  drunkard  carries  and  brandishes  in  his  hand 
a  sweet  briar,  he  scratches  more  with  it  than  he 
allows  the  roses  to  be  smelled  ;  so  a  fool  with  the 
Scriptures  or  a  judicial  maxim  oft  causes  more 
harm  than  profit." — HiTzia  following   the  LXX, 

reads  in  clause  b  l^D  instead  of  lE'O,  and  fur- 

T   T 

thermore  takes  the  verb  of  clause  a  in  the  sense 
of  "  to  shoot  up,"  and  therefore  renders :  Thorns 
shoot  up  by  (under)  the  hand  of  the  hireling  (?) 
and  tyranny  by  the  mouth  of  fools."  But  we  do 
not  need  to  give  to  the  verb  here  even  as  a  secon- 
dary meaning  the  sense  of  growing  up  (as  Ewald, 
Umbeeit,  Stiee  propose),  as  the  simple  original 
meaning  of  rising  up;  raising  itself  gives  a  mean- 
ing in  every  way  satisfactory.  [The  rendering 
of  the  E.  v.,  H.,  W.,  "as  a  thorn  goeth  up  into 
the  hand,"  etc.,  wounding  unconsciously,  is  less 
forcible  every  way  ihan  that  of  the  author,  with 
whom  DeW.,  K.,  Beetheau,  N.,  S.,  M.,  etc., 
agree.  A.] 

Ver.  10.  An  archer  that  ■wroundeth  every- 
thing (for  this  meaning  comp.  3T,  "an  archer 
or  dartsman,"  comp.  Jer.  1.  29;  Job  xvi.  43;  for 
the  verb  in  this  sense.  Is.  li.  9),  and  he  that 
hireth  a  fool,  and  he  thathireth  vagrants 
("passers  by,"  i.  e.,  therefore  untried,  unreliable 
persons,  who  soon  run  away  again) — are  alike  ; 
one  of  the  three  is  as  foolish  as  another.  This 
interpretation,  which  is  followed  by  Sohelling, 
EwALD,  Beetheau,  Stiee,  [DeW.,  Kamph.,  and 
virtually  S.  and  M.],  involves  it  is  true  a  certain 
hardness,  especially  in  the  relation  of  the  figure  in 
a  to  the  two  ideas  in  b;  it  corresponds  best,  how- 
ever, with  the  simple  literal  meaning  of  the 
passage.      Luther,  Geiee,   Seb.   Sohmid,   [N., 


.WoRDSw.]  render:  "A master  formeth all  aright," 
magister  format  omnia  recte;  in  a  similar  way 
Elster:  "An  able  man  formeth  all  himself" 
(in  contrastwith  the  fool,  who  seeks  to  hire  others 
and  even  incompetent  persons  of  all  sorts,  strag- 
glers and  vagrants,  etc.,  to  transact  his  business). 
[The  E.  v.,  which  is  followed  against  his  will  by 
HoLDEN,  interprets  the  "master"  as  God:  "the 
great  God,"  etc.J.  Umbeeit  and  Hitzig  [with 
another  common  meaning  of  31]:  '-Much  pro- 
duceth  all,"  as  though  the  meaning  were  similar 
to  that  in  the  oaTi;  Ixci  do'Si/aeTac  avru,  Malt,  xiii. 
11;  XXV.  20.  Others  read  31  instead  of  2^,  e.g., 
the  Vulg.,  judicium  determinat  causas,  and  of  re- 
cent expositors  Ziegler,  etc. 

Ver.  11.  As  a  dog  that  returneth  to  his 
vomit  (comp.  the  New  Testament  citation  of  this 
passage  in  2  Pet.  ii.  22)  so  the  fool  (ever)  re- 
peateth  his  folly;  lit.,  "so  comes  the  fool  for 
the  second  time  again  with  his  folly,"  comp.  xvii. 
9.  Here  is  plainly  meant  not  merely  a  con- 
stantly renewed  return  to  foolish  assertions  in 
spite  of  all  the  rational  grounds  adduced  against 
them,  but  a  falling  again  into  foolish  courses  of 
action  after  brief  endeavors  or  beginnings  at  im- 
provement (comp.  Matt.  xii. '46;  John  v.  14; 
Heb.  vi.  4-8.) 

Ver.  12.  Seest  thou  a  man  -wise  in  his 
ov^n  eyes,  i.  e.,  who  holds  himself  as  wise,  and 
by  this  very  blind  over-estimate  of  himself 
thoroughly  and  forever  bars  for  himself  the  way 
to  true  wisdom  (comp.  xxx.  12),  like  the  Phari- 
sees mentioned  in  John  ix.  41,  who  gave  it  out 
that  they  saw,  but  were  in  truth  stone-blind. — 
With  b  compare  chap.  xxix.  20,  where  this  2d 
clause  recurs  literally. 

3.  Vers.  13-16.  Four  proverbs  against  sloth. — 
Ver.  13.    Comp.  the  almost  identical  proverb  in 

chap.  xxii.  13, — A  lion  is  in  the  ■way.    /n©  a 

synonym  of  'IN  designates  the  lion  as  a  roaring 
animal,  as  rugiens  sive  rugitor;  it  does  not  con- 
trast the  male  lion  with  the  lioness  (Vulg.),  or 
again  the  young  lion  with  the  full  grown,  (Lu- 
ther). 

Ver.  14.  Comp.  vi.  10;  xxiv.  33.  With  this 
figure  of  the  door  ever  turning  on  its  hinges  but 
never  moving  from  its  place  comp.  tlie  well-known 
words  of  Schiller—"  dreht  sick  trdg  und  dumm  wie 
dea  Fdrber^s  Gaul  im  Ring  herum"  [turns  lazy  and 
stupid  like  the  dyer''s  nag  round  in  its  circle.] 

Ver.  15.  Comp.  the  almost  identical  proverb, 
chap.  xix.  24. 

Ver.  16. — The  sluggard  is  vjriser  in  his 
ov^n  eyes  (comp.  ver.  12)  than  seven  men 
who  give  a  virise  answer.  The  number  seven 
stands  here  not  because  it  is  the  sacred  number, 
but  to  express  the  idea  of  plurality  in  a  concrete 
and  popular  way.  Comp.  ver.  25  ;  also  vi.  31 ; 
xxiv.  16;  Jer.  xv.  9;  1  Sam.  ii.  5;  Eoclesiast. 
xxxvii.  14. — With  this  use  of  D,J?B  "  taste  "  in 
the  sense  of  "understanding,  judgment,"  comp. 
1  Sam.  xxi.  14  ;  xxiii.  33  ;  Ps.  cxix.  66  ;  Job  xii. 
20 ;  also  remarks  above  on  Prov.  xi.  22,  where 
is  denoted  in  addition  a  quality  of  the  moral  life. 
"  To  give  back  understanding "  is  naturally 
equivalent  to  giving  an  intelligent,  wise  answer, 
as  a  sign  of  an  intelligent  disposition;  comp, 
xvii.  18. 


CHAP.  XXVi.  1-28 


22B 


4.  Vers.  17-19.  Against  delight  in  strife  and 
wilful  proYOOixtiou. — He  layeth  hold  on  the 
ears  of  a  dog  (and  so  proTokes  tiie  animal  out- 
right to  barking  and  biting)  -who  passing  by 
is  excited  by  strife  that  is  not  his,  lit.,  "over 
a  dispute  not  for  him"  (comp.  Hab.  ii.  6).  For 
the  use  of  this  verb  "  to  provoke  or  excite  one's 
self,"  comp.  the  remark  on  xx.  2.     This  "13^00 

with  the  Part.  13j?  forms  an  alliteration  or  po- 
lyptoton  which  (with  Stieb)  may  be  substantially 
reproduced  in  German:  ^'wcr  vorilbergehend  sick 
iibirgehen  [sich  die  Oalle  ubeHaufen)  Idsst,"  etc. 
There  is  no  occasion  for  Hitzio's  assumption, 
that  instead  of  '12.t?nn  there  stood  originally  in 
the  text  the  S'^J'np  which  is  expressed  by  the 
Syriac  and  Vulg. ;  "he  who  meddleth  in  strife," 
etc.  [The  E.  V.  has  taken  this  doubtless  un- 
der the  influence  of  those  early  versions.] 
Vers.  18,  19.  As  a  madman  -who  casteth 

fiery  darts,  arrows  and  death.  The  nSriSnp 
which  occurs  only  here,  signifies,  according  to 
Symmachtjs,  the  Vers.  Venet.,  and  Aben  Ezra, 
one  beside  himself  or  insane  (ifEtJruf,  ireipijfievoi). 
For  the  combination  of  the  three  ideas,  fiery 
darts,  arrows  and  death  (i.  e.  deadly  missiles), 
comp.  the  similar  grouping  in  xxv.  18  a. — So 
the  man  that  deceiveth  his  neighbor. 
nrai  is  to  "deceive,  to  deal  craftily,"  not  to 
"  afflict "  (TJmbreit),  or  "  overthrow"  (Van  Ess). 
—And  (then)  saith:  Am  I  not  in  sport? 
The  meaning  of  the  simple  "and  saith"  the 
Vulgate  paraphrases  correctly  when  it  renders: 
"etcum deprehensus  fuerit,  dicit,"  etc.  [" Quipping 
and  flouting,"  says  Muefet,  "  is  counted  the 
flower  and  grace  of  men's  speech,  and  especially 
of  table  talk  ;  but  the  hurt  that  cometh  by  this 
flower  is  as  bitter  as  wormwood,  and  the  dis- 
grace which  this  grace  casteth  upon  men  is 
fouler  than  any  dirt  of  the  street." — A.] 

5.  Vers.  20-28.  Nine  proverbs  against  malice 
and  deceit. — Where  the  wood  faileth  the 
fire  goeth  out,  etc.  Comp.  the  Arabic  proverb 
expressing  the  same  idea,  aimed  at  slander  (in 
ScHEiD,  Selecta,  p.  18):  "He  who  layeth  no 
wood  on  the  fire  keeps  it  from  burning."  For 
this  description  of  the  "slanderer"  comp.  xvi. 
2o. 

Ver.  21.  The  direct  opposite  to  the  contents  of 
the  preceding  verse. — Coals  to  burning  coals ; 
lit.,  black  coals  to  burning  coals.  For  the  "man 
of  contentions"  in  clause  b  comp.  xxi.  9;  xxvii. 
16. 

With  ver.  22  compare  the  literally  identical 
proverb  xviii  8. 

Ver.  23.  Silver  dross  spread  over  a  pot- 
sherd. "Silver  of  dross"  is  impure  silver  not 
yet  properly  freed  from  the  dross,  and  therefore 
partly  spurious  (Vulg.,  argentum  sordidum),  and 
not  some  such  thing  as  a  glazing  with  the  glitter 
of  silver  made  of  plumbago  (Lithargyrus),  and 
so  imitation  of  silver,  as  many  think,  and  as 
LuTHEB  seems  to  have  expressed  in  his  "Silber- 
ichaum."  t^in,  potsherd  (Isa.  xliv.  11),  seems 
to  be  used  intentionally  instead  of  tyin-'''73 
"an  earthen  vessel,"  to  strengthen  the  impres- 
sion of  the  worthlessness  of  the  object  named. — 
15 


(So  are)  burning  lips,  i.  e.  fiery  protestations 
of  friendship,  or  it  may  be  warm  kisses  (which 
Berthbau  understands  to  be  the  specific  mean- 
ing), which  in  connection  with  a  genuinely  good 
heart  on  the  part  of  the  giver  are  a  sign  of  true 
love,  but  with  a,  "  wicked  heart"  are  on  the  con- 
trary repulsive  demonstrations  of  hypocrisy, 
without  any  moral  worth  (comp.  the  kiss  of 
Judas,  Matt.  xxvi.  48  so.).     It  is  unnecessary  to 

read  with  Hitzig  D''p7n,  "smooth  lips,"  instead 

1-T-: 

of  D'p7^,  "burning"  lips. 

Vers.  24,  25.  'With  his  lips  the  hater  dis- 
sembleth.  For  the  verb  which  may  not  here, 
as  in  XX.  11,  be  translated  "is  recognized"  (so 
Luther,  following  the  Chald.  and  Vulg.),  comp. 
the  Hithp.  of  '^5J^  which  elsewhere  expresses 
the  idea  of  "dissembling,"  e.  g.  Gen.  xlii.  7; 
1  Kings  xiv.  5,  6. — Andw^ithin  he  prepareth 
deceit.  Comp.  Jer.  ix.  7,  and  with  na'^ip  n'5? 
"to  set,  contrive,  prepare  deceit,"  compare  the 
"setting  or  preparing  snares,"  Ps.  cxl.  6. — For 
seven  abominations  are  in  his  heart.  See 
remarks  above,  on  ver.  16,  and  comp.  the  seven 
devils  of  Matt.  xii.  4.5,  which  represfinl  an  in- 
tensified power  in  present  moral  deformity.  That 
there  is  a  specific  reference  to  the  six  or  seven 
abominations  mentioned  in  chap.  vi.  10-19,  is  an 
arbitrary  conjectui-e  of  Aben  Ezra. 

Ver.  26.  Hatred  is  covered  by  deceit. 
t'lXE'D  from  NtJ'J,  "to  deceive,"  is  doubtless  cor- 

t         T   -  T  T 

rectly  understood  by  the  LXX,  when  they  ex- 
press the  idea  by  6oKor^  (comp.  also  the  fraudu- 
lenter  of  the  Vulg.);  here  it  designates  specifi- 
cally "hypocrisy,  the  deception  of  friendly  lan- 
guage used  to  one's  face"  (Umereit).  The  suf- 
fix in  I'nj?"!  refers  then  hy  an  obvious  constructio 
ad  sensum  to  him  who  conceals  his  hatred  in  this 
hypocritical  way.  The  second  clause  gives  assu- 
rance then  of  the  certain  occurrence  of  an  ex- 
posure of  this  flatterer  "  in  the  assembly,"  (.  e. 
before  the  congregation  of  his  people  assembled 
for  judgment,  who  perhaps  through  some  judi- 
cial process  that  ends  unfortunately  for  him 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  his  villanies.  Hitziq 
partially  following  the  LXX  (6  kjAtttuv  ex^pav 
avvhT-r/ai  66lov),  renders:  He  who  concealeth 
hatred,  devising  mischief  (?),  his  vileness  is  ex- 
posed in  the  assembly." 

Ver.  27.  He  that  diggeth  a  pit  faileth  into 
it.  Comp.  Eccles.  x.  8 ;  Ecclesiast.  xxvii.  26  ; 
Ps.  ix.  16,  and  with  respect  to  the  "falling  back 
of  the  stone  that  has  been  (wickedly)  rolled"  in 
clause  b,  comp.  Ps.  vii.  17;   Matt.  xxi.  44. 

Ver.  28.  The  lying  tongue  hateth  those 
that  are  wounded  by  it.  If  the  reading 
VSl  is  correct  this  may  be  the  rendering,  and 
the  "crushed"  (plural  of  p  [E.  V.  the  op- 
pressed], Ps.  ix.  10;  i.  18;  Ixxiv.  21),  i.  n.  the 
bruised  (or  oppressed  or  wounded — see  TJmbreit 
and  Stier  on  this  passage)  of  the  lying  tongue, 
are  then  those  whom  this  tongue  has  bruised  or 
wounded,  the  victims  of  its  wickednpss^and  not 
those  possibly  whom  it  proposes,  to  wound  oi 
oppress  (Umbreit,  De  W.,  Van  Ess),  or  again 
those  who  wound,  i.  e.  punish,  it  (conterentes  sive 
castigantes    ipsam — LriHEE,   Geier,   Gesenius). 


22S 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


Inasmuch,  however,  as  the  proposition  is  by  no 
means  universally  and  in  every  case  true,  that 
the  lying  tongue,  or  that  detraction  hates  its  own 
victims,  and  since  besides  the  second  clause 
seems  to  demand  another  sense,  it  might  be  jus- 
tifiable to  read  with  Ewald  and  Hitzig  VJT;**; 
accordingly  "the  lying  tongue  hates  its  own  mas- 
ter," i.  t.  it  hurls  him  into  calamity,  brings  him 
to  ruin — a  meaning  which  also  corresponds  ad- 
mirably with  ver.  27.  [SSe  Critical  notes  for 
the  three  chief  explanations  of  the  form  and  de- 
rivation of  the  word.  The  passive  rendering 
has  this  advantage,  that  it  makes  the  fourth  in- 
stance correspond  with  the  other  three  in  which 
the  word  is  used;  this  presumption  must  be  de- 
cidedly overthrown.  This  we  do  not  think  is 
done ;  so  the  E.  V.,  H.,  N.,  S.,  M.,  W.,  Kamph.,  etc. 
■ — A.]  For  the  noun  rendered  "offence,"  in  clause 
b,  comp.,  moreover,  the  cognate  verb  in  clause  a 
of  xiv.  32. 

DOCTRINAL,   ETHICAL,   HOMILETIO   AND 
PEACTICAL. 

It  is  mainly  three  forms  of  dishonorably  and 
morally  contemptible  conduct,  against  which  the 
condemning  language  of  the  proverbs  in  this 
section  is  directed;  foolishness  or  folly  in  the 
narrower  sense  (vers.  1-12;)  sloth  (vers.  13-16) ; 
and  a  wicked  maliciousness  (vers.  17-28),  which 
displays  itself  at  one  time  as  a  wilful  conten- 
tiousness and  disposition  to  annoy  (17-19),  and 
at  another  as  an  artful  calumniation  and  hypocri- 
tical slandering  (20-28).  Original  ethical  truths, 
such  as  have  not  appeared  in  previous  chapters, 
are  expressed  only  to  a  limited  extent  in  the 
proverbs  which  relate  to  these  vices.  The 
novelty  is  found  more  in  the  peculiarly  pointed 
and  figurative  form  which  distinguishes  in  an 
extraordinary  degree  the  maxims  of  this  chapter 
above  others.  Yet  there  are  now  and  then  es- 
sentially new  ideas ;  what  is  said  in  ver.  2  of  the 
futility  of  curses  that  are  groundless  ;  in  vers. 
4,  6  of  uttering  the  truth  staunchly  to  fools  with- 
out becoming  foolish  one's  self;  in  vers.  7  and  9 
of  the  senselessness  and  even  harmfulness  of 
proverbs  of  wisdom  in  the  mouth  of  a  fool ;  in 
vers.  12  of  the  incapability  of  improvement  in 
conceited  fools  who  deem  themselves  wise ;  and 
finally  in  vers.  27,  28  of  the  self-destroying  reflex 
power  of  malicious  counsels  formed  against  one's 
neiglibor. 

Homily  on  the  chapter  as  a  whole. — Of  three 
kinds  of  vices  which  the  truly  wise  man  must 
avoid:  1)  folly;  2)  sloth;  3)  wicked  artifice. — 
Stocker:  What  kinds  of  people  are  worthy  of 
no  honor:  1)  fools;  2)  sluggards  or  idlers;  3) 
lovers  of  contention  and  brawling. — Starke; 
A  (warning)  lesson  on  folly,  sloth  and  deceitful- 
ness. 

Vers.  1-6.  WUrtemberg  Bible  (on  ver.  1): — 
Honor  is  a  reward  of  virtue  and  ability;  wilt 
thou  be  honored,  then  first  become  virtuous  and 
wise! — Melanchthon  (on ver.  2):  As  a  consola- 
tion against  all  calumnies  and  unjust  detraction 
the  assurance  of  the  divine  word  serves  us, — 
■that  false  (groundless)  curses,  though  they  mo- 
mentarily harm  and  wound,  yet  in  the  end  ap- 
pear in  their  nothingness,  and  are  cast  aside,  in 


accordance  with  the  saying :  truth  may  indeed 
be  repressed  for  a  time,  but  not  perish  (Ps.  xciv, 
15;  2  Cor.  iv.  9).  ["Truth  crushed  to  earth 
shall  rise  again  ;  the  eternal  years  of  God  are 
hers." — Lawson  :  The  curses  of  such  men  in- 
stead of  being  prejudicial,  will  be  very  useful  to 
us,  if  we  are  wise  enough  to  imitate  the  conduct 
of  David,  whose  meekness  was  approved,  his 
prayers  kindled  into  a  flame  of  desires,  and  his 
hopes  invigorated  by  them]. — Geier  (on  ver.  3): 
One  may  not  flatter  his  own  unruly  flesh  and 
blood,  but  must  seek  to  keep  it  properly  in 
check. — Stakke  (on  vers.  4,  5) :  Great  wisdom 
is  needful  to  meet  the  different  classes  of  our 
adversaries  in  an  appropriate  way, — (On  ver.  6) : 
Important  concerns  one  should  commit  to  skilful 
and  able  servants. 

Vers.  7-12.  Luther  (Marginal  comment  on 
ver.  7) :  Fools  ought  not  to  be  wise  and  yet  will 
be  always  affecting  wisdom. — [Trapp:  If  thy 
tongue  speak  by  the  talent,  but  thine  hands  scarce 
work  by  the  ounce,  thou  shalt  pass  for  a  Phari- 
see (Matt,  xxiii.  3).  They  spake  like  angels, 
lived  like  devils ;  had  heaven  commonly  at  their 
tongue  ends,  but  the  world  continually  at  their 
finger  ends]. — Stakke  (on  vers.  7,  9):  He  who 
will  teach  others  in  divine  wisdom,  must  first 
have  mastered  it  himself  (Ecclesiast.  xviii.  19); 
then  he  will  not  only  teach  with  profit,  but  also 
have  honor  from  it. — (On  ver.  9):  He  who  mis- 
uses God's  word  does  himself  thereby  the  great- 
est injury. — (On  ver.  8) :  Beware  of  all  flattering 
of  the  ungodly;  for  one  prepares  himself  thereby 
but  a  poor  reward. — (On  ver.  10) :  As  is  the 
master  so  is  the  servant.  Bad  masters  like  bad 
servants. — (On  vers.  11) :  If  all  relapses  in  sick- 
ness are  dangerous,  so  much  more  relapses  into 
old  sins. — (On  ver.  12):  Self-pleasing  and  self- 
relaxation  is  the  prolific  mother  of  many  other 
follies. — WoiiLFARTH  (ou  ver.  12) :  Let  no  one 
esteem  himself  perfect,  but  let  every  one  strive 
for  humility  and  cherish  it  as  his  most  sacred 
possession. — [Lawson  (on  ver.  8):  But  does  not 
God  Himself  often  give  honor  to  fools?  Yes. 
He  is  the  judge  of  nations  who  has  a  right  to 
punish  men  by  subjecting  them  to  the  power  of 
tools.  We  are  to  regulate  our  conduct  not  by 
His  secret  but  His  revealed  will. — Arnot  (on 
ver.  11):  When  the  unrenewed  heart  and  the 
pollutions  of  the  world  are,  after  a  temporary 
separation,  brought  together  again,  the  two  in 
their  unholy  wedlock  become  "one  flesh."  Man's 
true  need — God's  sufficient  cure  is  "Create  in 
me  a  clean  heart,  and  renew  a  right  spirit  within 
me." — J.  Edwards  (on  ver.  12):  Those  who  are 
wise  in  their  own  eyes  are  some  of  the  least 
likely  to  get  good  of  any  in  the  world. — Bridges  : 
The  natural  fool  has  only  one  hinderance — his 
own  ignorance.  The  conceited  fool  has  two — 
ignorance  and  self-delusion]. 

Vers.  13-16.  Lange:  That  the  weeds  of  sin 
are  ever  getting  the  upper  hand  as  well  in  hearts 
as  in  the  Church,  comes  from  this,  that  men  do 
not  enough  watch  and  pray,  but  only  lounge,  are 
idle  and  sleepy:  1  Thess.  v.6. — Berleburg  BiUt: 
The  sluggard  remains  year  in  year  out  sitting 
on  the  heap  of  his  self-chosen  convenient  Chris- 
tianity, reads,  hears,  prays,  sings  in  the  Church 
year  after  year,  and  makes  no  progress,  never 
comes  to  an  inner  complete  knowledge  of  truth; 


CHAP.  XXVII.  1-27. 


227 


just  as  the  door  always  remains  in  one  place, 
although  it  turns  this  way  and  that  the  whole 
year  through,  and  swings  on  its  hinges.  This 
slothfulness  is  the  mother  of  all  the  doctrines 
which  encourage  the  old  Adam,  and  in  the  mat- 
ter of  sanotifioation  throw  out  the  "cannot," 
where  it  is  a  "will  not"  that  hides  behind. — 
WoHLFAETH ;  The  sluggard's  wisdom.  Rest  is 
to  him  the  sole  end  of  life ;  only  in  indolence 
does  he  feel  happy,  tie. 

Vers.  17-19.  Staeke  (on  ver.  17)  :  To  mix 
one's  self  in  strange  matters  from  forwardnesss 
and  with  no  call,  has  usually  a  bad  issue.' — Osi- 
ANDEK  (on  vers.  18,  19):  In  the  sight  of  God  the 
wantonness  and  wickedness  of  the  heart  are  not 
hid ;  moreover  He  does  not  let  them  go  unpun- 
ished.— Zeltner:  Crafty  friends  are  much  more 
dangerous  and  injurious  than  open  enemies. — 
liANGB :  It  testifies  of  no  small  wickedness  when 


one  alleges  quite  innocent  intentions  in  injuring 
another,  and  yet  with  all  is  only  watching  an 
opportunity  to  give  him  a  blow. 

Vers.  20-28.  Hasicjs  (on  vers.  20  sq.):  There 
would  not  be  so  much  dispute  and  strife  among 
men  if  (here  were  not  so  many  base  spirits  who 
nourish  and  promote  it  in  every  way. — Stabke; 
Slanders  and  contentions  are  to  be  regarded  as 
a  flame  to  which  one  should  not  supply  wood, 
but  rather  water  to  quench  them. — [Trapp  (on 
ver.  23) :  Counterfeit  friends  are  nought  on  both 
sides]. — Von  Gerlach  (on  ver.  20):  Though  a 
deceitful  man  may  succeed  in  cheating  individu- 
als, yet  this  is  not  possible  before  the  whole 
Church  (Acts  v.  1-11). — (On  ver.  27) :  A  hypo- 
critical tongue  if  it  has  injured  any  one  follows 
him  still  further  with  lies  to  defend  itself,  and  bo 
it  causes  universal  confusion. 


i)  Against  vain  self-praise  and  presumption. 

Chap,  XXVII. 

(  With  an  admonition  to  prudence  and  frugality  in  agriculture :    vers.  23-27). 

1  Boast  not  thyself  of  to-morrow, 

for  thou  knowest  not  what  a  day  will  bring  forth. 

2  Let  another  praise  thee  and  not  thine  own  mouth, 
a  stranger  and  not  thine  own  lips. 

3  Stone  is  heavy  and  sand  weighty ; 

the  fool's  wrath  is  heavier  than  them  both. 

4  Anger  is  cruel  and  wrath  is  outrageous ; 
but  who  can  stand  before  jealousy? 

5  Better  is  open  rebuke 
than  secret  love. 

6  Faithful  are  the  wounds  of  a  friend, 
but  the  kisses  of  an  enemy  are  deceitful. 

7  The  satisfied  soul  loatheth  a  honeycomb ; 

to  a  hungry  soul  every  bitter  thing  is  sweet. 

8  As  a  bird  that  wandereth  from  her  nest 

so  is  a  man  that  wandereth  from  his  home. 

9  Oil  and  perfume  rejoice  the  heart, 

but  the  sweetness  of  a  friend  is  better  than  one's  own  counsel. 

10  Thine  own  friend  and  thy  father's  friend  forsake  not ; 

and  into  thy  brother's  house  enter  not  in  the  day  of  thy  calamity ; 
better  is  a  neighbor  that  is  near  than  a  brother  far  off. 

11  Be  wise,  my  son,  and  make  my  heart  glad, 

that  I  may  know  how  to  give  an  answer  to  him  that  reproacheth  me, 

12  The  prudent  man  seeth  the  evil  (and)  hideth  himself; 
the  simple  pass  on  and  are  punished. 

13  Take  his  garment,  for  he  hath  become  surety  for  a  stranger, 
and  on  account  of  a  strange  woman  put  him  under  bonds ! 

14  He  that  blesseth  his  friend  with  a  loud  voice  early  in  the  morning, 
let  it  be  reckoned  a  curse  to  him  1 


228  THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


15  A  continual  dropping  in  a  very  rainy  day 
and  a  contentious  woman  are  alike. 

16  He  that  will  restrain  her  restraineth  the  wind, 
and  his  right  hand  graspeth  after  oil. 

17  Iron  sharpeneth  iron  ; 

so  doth  a  man  sharpen  the  face  of  his  friend.  _ 

18  "Whosoever  watcheth  the  fig-tree  eateth  its  fruit, 
and  he  that  hath  regard  to  his  master  is  honored. 

19  As  in  water  face  (answereth)  to  face 
so  the  heart  of  man  to  man. 

20  Hell  and  destruction  are  never  full, 
and  the  eyes  of  man  are  not  satisfied. 

21  The  fining  pot  is  for  silver  and  the  furnace  for  gold, 
but  man  according  to  his  glorying. 

22  Though  thou  bruise  a  fool  in  a  mortar 
among  grain  with  a  pestle, 

his  folly  will  not  depart  from  him. 

23  Thou  shalt  know  well  the  face  of  thy  sheep  ; 
direct  thy  mind  to  thine  herds  ; 

24  for  riches  are  not  forever, 

and  doth  the  crown  endure  forevermore  ? 

25  The  grass  disappeareth,  and  the  tender  grass  is  seen, 
and  the  herbs  of  the  mountains  are  gathered. 

26  Lambs  (are)  for  thy  clothing 

and  the  price  of  thy  field  (is)  goats  ; 

27  and  abundance  of  goat's  milk  for  thy  food,  for  the  food  of  thine  house, 
and  subsistence  for  thy  maidens.- 

GRAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Ver.  4.  ni''1TDX  is  used  here  only  in  the  Old  Testament. 

Ver.  5.  [niJlb  is  regarded  by  BoTT.  (^  113.3, 1  and  7i  3)  aa  the  3d  sing.  fern,  of  the  verb  and  not  aa  the  fern,  of  the  adj.; 

the  chief  eTidence  being  found  in  the  participles  following,  which,  according  to  Hebrew  usage,  more  natnrally  follow 
a  finite  verb. — A.] 

Ver.  9.  [In  ifiy"!  we  have  one  of  the  examples  found  in  Hebrew  in  connection  with  words  in  wide  and  frequent  me, 

in  which  the  suffix  loses  all  distinct  and  speciiic  application ;  comp.  in  modern  languages  Monsieur,  Madonna,  Mynherr, 
etc.;  therefore  one's  friend,  a  friend,  and  not  his  friend.     BoTT.,  §  876,  c.    Pili^  is  regarded  by  Gesen.,  Fubrst,  Bodeelein, 

Dathe,  etc.,  as  a  fem.  of  Vy  used  collectively ;  the  meaning  in  connection  with  IJ?3  J  is  then,  "  more  than  fragrant  wood." 

BoTT.  (9  643,  S)  pronounces  all  the  examples  cited  in  the  lexicons  for  this  use  of  the  noun  "  more  than  doubtful ;"  and,  aa 
the  exegotical  notes  show,  nearly  all  commentators  give  to  r\)£^  its  ordinary  meaning. — A.j 

Ver.  10.  [nU^  is  one  of  three  nouns  whose  full  and  original  form  appears  only  in  the  stat.  consir.;  the  K'ri  therefore 

points  as  though  the  absol.vfere  used  ^"1,  while  the  K'thibh  exhibits  the  form  H^"!-    See  Geeen,  §  215, 1,  e ;  BoTT. 

J§  721,  8;  794,  Decl.  IV— A.] 

Ver.  11.  [n^^tyXT  ^°  Intentional,  or  paragogic  Imperf.,  connected  to  Imperatives  by  1  used  as  a  final  conjunction, 

"  in  order  that ;"  Bott..  g  965,  B,  c.    And  let  me^that  I  may. — A.] 

Ver.  14.  D^^tiTl)  ^h  Infin.  abs.  used  adverbially,  as  in  Jer.  xxv.  4;  here  on  account  of  the  pause  written  with  V  in- 
stead of  simple  _, 

Ver.  15.  On  the  question  whether  ninii'J  is  to  be  accented  and  explained  as  a  3d  pera.  Nithpael,  or  whether,  with 
TT    :   ■ 
KlMOHi,  NoEzi,  and  the  most  recent  editors  and  expositors,  we  should  point  the  form  as  Milel  [with  penultimate  accent], 
and  accordingly  regard  it  as  porh.ap8  a  voluntativo  Hilhpael,  with  the  H-  of  motion  (therefore  "  let  us  compare'.'),  con- 

T 

suit  Bertheau,  Stier  and  HlTZm  on  the  passage,  [Gesen.,  Kod.  (Gesen.  Thes.,  p.  1376,  add,  p.  114),  Fuerst,  tf/c.  make  the 
form  a  Nithpael ;  BoTT.  (§^  474, 4,  a  and  1072,  d)  agrees  with  HiTZio  in  making  it  a  simple  Niphal  with  a  ilifferent  transpo- 
sition of  consonants,  and  argues  at  length  for  this  view,  Fubrst  pronounces  the  form  participial,  in  oppcsition  to  nearly 
all  lexicographers  and  commentators  who  make  it  2d  sing.  fem.  Gesen.  and  some  others,  following  Cbaldee  analogies, 
rendered,  "  are  to  be  feared."  RiimaER  (ubi  supra)  and  most  others  render,  "  are  esteemed  alike,"  or  "  are  alike."  Comp. 
also  BWALD,  Lehrb.  J  132,  d;  Green,  §  83,  c  (2).— A.] 

Ver.  16.  Xip''  =  nip"*,  according  to  an  interchange  which  is  common  of  N  with  H.    [Ii  clause  a  we  have  asingular 

verb  following  a  plural  participle  taken  distributively  as  in  xxii.  21 ;  xxv.  13,  eic— A.] 

Ver.  17.  ln^  is  best  regarded,  as  Geier,  Bertheau  and  Stier  take  it,  as  an  Imperf.  apoc.  Hiphil  from  mP  =*  "l^H 

"  to  sharpen."    Ewam,  Elstee,  etc.,  needlessly  take  the  first  in'  In  clause  a  as  a  Hophal :  ^^'  (<=<"»?•  ""^  Tulg.  exaaatn<<l 

and  would  have  only  the  second  recognized  as  a  Voluntative  Hiphil  (to  be  pointed  ^H''  or  nn"*).    [Bott.  §  1124,  p,  insists 

that  the  Masoretic  forms  can  be  regarded  as  nothing  but  the  ordinary  adverb  "  together,"  and  that  the  pointing  must  be 
changed  to  in.\  IH*,  or  '^T^'',  ln\    Green,  g  140, 1,  makes  it  a  simple  Kal  Imperf.    Fubrst  regards  it  aa  a  NlpW»« 


CHAP.  XXVII.  1-27. 


229 


Imperf.,  no  change  of  vocalization  being  required,  although  the  moro  comtnou  form  would  be  ^^''.    Ron-  {Thes.  Gesen., 

7nd. pp.  6,  88)  regards  the  form  as  an  apoc.  Hiphil.  for  the  mora  common  ^n^  used  imporBonally,  "one  sharpens,  men 

sharpen." —A.] 

Ver.  20.  Tne  parallel  passage  xt.  11  (see  notes  on  this  passage)  shows  that  instead  of  m3N  (or  again  instead  of 

m3X)we  should  read  with  the  K'ri  jITDX,  or  that  we  should  at  least  assume  a  transition  of  this  latter  form  into  the 

former',  in  the  way  of  lexical  decay  (as  in  rijD  (or  j'nja).    [Bott.  (§§  262,  a;  293)  notes  this  as  a  tendency  in  proper 

nouns,  aided  perhaps  in  the  case  before  us  by  the  following  liquid. — A.] 

Ver.  22.  [w^3  instead  of  the  more  regular  ''7_J?3,  mimetically  sharpened  in  its  Tocalization  at  the  end  of  its  clause. 
See  Bott.,  ??  394,' j;  49S,  6.— A.] 

Ver.  25.  [HOE'^  with  Daghesh  diHmens  or  separative,  indicating  the  vocal  nature  of  the  Sheva.  See,  e.  g.  GuEENt 
8  24,6;  216,  2,  a.— A.] 


EXEQETICAL. 

1.  Vers.  1-6.  Three  pairs  of  proverbs,  directed 
against  self-praise,  jealousy  and  flattery. 

Vers.  1,  2.  Boast  not  thyself  of  to-mor- 
row, i.  e.,  "do  not  throw  out  with  proud  as- 
surance high-soaring  schemes  for  the  future " 
(Elster)  ;  do  not  boast  of  future  uudertaliinga  as 
if  they  had  already  succeeded  and  were  assured. — 
For  thou  knowest  not  vrhat  a  day  vrill 
bring  forth ;  i.  «.,  what  a  day,  whether  it  be  to- 
day or  to-morrow,  will  bring  in  new  occurrences, 
is  absolutely  unknown  to  thee.  Comp.  James  iv. 
13-15;  also  Horace,  Od.,  iv.  7,  17  :  Quis  scit  an 
adjiciant  hodierTise  crastina  summse  Tempora  Di  su- 
feri  ? — 

"""  Who  knows  if  they  who  all  our  fates  control 
Will  add  a  morrow  to  thy  brief  to-day  ?" 

Theo.  Martin's  Teanslation.] 

and  Seneca,  Thyest.  V.  619:  Nemo  tarn  divos  habuit 
faventes  Orastinum  ut possitpolliceri  [No  one  has  had 
the  gods  80  favorable  that  he  can  promise  himself  a 
morrow]. — With  ver.  2  comp.  the  German  Eigenloh 
stinkt,  and  Arabic  proverbs  like  "  Not  as  mother 
says,  but  as  the  neighbors  say"  (Fderst,  Per- 
lenschniire,  ii.  8),  or  "Let  thy  praise  come  from 
thy  friend's  and  kinsman's  mouth,  not  from  thine 
own"  (Meidani,  p.  467.) 

Vers.  3,  4. — Stone  is  heavy  and  sand 
weighty,  lit.,  "  weight  of  stone  and  heaviness 
of  the  sand."  Hitziq  fitly  remarks  with  respect 
to  the  genitive  combinations  of  this  as  well  as  the 
succeeding  verse  ("Cruelty  of  anger,  etc.")  "The 
genitive  relation  holding  a  figure  before  our  eye 
instead  of  developing  it  in  a  proposition,  possess- 
es nevertheless  the  value  of  a  combination  of 
predicate  and  subject."  [So  K.,  W.,  etc.,  while 
S.  and  others  make  the  relation  directly  that  of 
subject  and  predicate]. — The  fool's  wrath,  i.  e., 
probably  not:  the  vexation  and  anger  occasioned 
in  others  by  the  fool  (Cocceius,  Schultens, 
Bertheau,  [S.],  etc.),  but  the  annoyance  and  ill- 
humor  experienced  by  himself,  whether  it  may 
have  originated  in  envy,  or  in  a  chafing  against 
some  correction  that  he  has  received,  etc.  Such 
ill-temper  in  the  fool  is  a  burden,  heavier  than 
Btone  and  sand,  and  that  too  a  burden  for  himself, 
Dnt  beyond  this  also  for  those  who  must  besides 
suffer  under  it,  whom  he  makes  to  feel  in  com- 
mon and  innocently  his  ill-will  and  temper. — An- 
ger is  cruel  and  ■wrath  is  outrageous,  lit., 
'cruelty  of  anger  and  inundation  of  wrath." 
"ith  regard  to  the  genitives,  compare  remarks 
above  on  vs.  3,  a.  For  the  expression  "over- 
flowing of  wratli  "  or  "  excess,  outrageousuess  of 


wrath,"  comp.  Is.  xxx.  28,  30;  Dan.  ix.  27;  xi. 
22. —  nxjp  in  clause  6,  often  "envy,"  is  plainly 
"jealousy,"  as  in  vi.  34,  36,  which  passage  is 
here  to  be  compared  in  general. 

Vers.  5,  6.  Better  is  open  rebuke  (open, 
undisguised  censure,  honorably  expressing  its 
meaning)  than  secret  love,  «.  e.,  than  love 
which  from  false  consideration  dissembles,  and 
does  not  name  to  one's  neighbor  his  faults  even 
where  it  should  do  so.  Compare  the  aXriSeveiv 
kv  aydwri,  Eph.  iv.  15,  as  well  as  the  numerous 
parallels  in  classic  authors  (Plautus,  Trinummu», 
I.  2,  57  ;  CiOEEO,  Lsel.  2-5  ;  Seneca,  Episl.  25) ; 
and  Meidani,  II.  64:  "Love  lasts  long  as  the 
censure  lasts,"  etc. — Faithful  (lit.  true,  coming 
from  a  true  disposition)  are  the  wounds  of  a 
friend,  but  deceitful  are  the  kisses  of  an 
enemy,  niljlj;:,  from  the  root  ^n;?,  is  if  this 
be  identical  with  lE'J?,  largus  fuit,  as  is  gener- 
ally assumed,  equivalent  to  "plentiful"  (comp. 
TK/J?),  in  which  case  we  must  think  of  kisses 
"liberally  bestowed  but  faithless,"  or  it  may  be 
kisses  "to  be  lightly  esteemed"  (so  Qesen., 
Umbreit,  Bertheau,  Stier  [Fuerst,  S.,  W.]) 
And  yet  it  corresponds  better  with  the  parallel- 
ism, as  well  as  with  the  exegetical  tradition 
(Vulg.,  fraiidulenta),  to  derive  from  an  Arabic 

root        *  f>  ,     to  stumble  ((r0£i/l/l£dv,/aZ^e7'e,  there- 

foiefalsus,  false — so  Ewald,  ElSter,  etc.),  or  it 


may  be  from     .  _Ji_c,  = 


:  TIJ?  in  the  sense  of  "  to 


miss" — thus  Hitziq, — both  of  which  modes  of 
explanation  give  the  idea  "deceptive,  crafty, 
treacherous."  With  regard  to  the  meaning  com- 
pare, therefore,  chap.  xxvi.  23. 

2.  Vers.  7-14.  Eight  proverbs  in  praise  of  con- 
tentment, of  friendship,  prudence,  etc. 

Ver.  7.  A  satisfied  soul  loatheth  honey- 
comb. The  verb  literally  means  "tramples, 
treads  under  feet,"  comp.  Dan.  vii.  19;  Judg.  v. 
21. — ^With  clause  b  compare  the  German  proverb 
"  Hunger  is  the  best  cook;"  and  also  Ecclesiast. 
iv.  2. 

Ver.  8.  So  is  a  man  that  roameth  far 
from  his  dwelling-place.  As  the  preceding 
proverb  is  directed  against  a  want  of  contentment 
in  the  department  of  food  and  drink,  so  is  this 
against  weariness  of  one's  own  home,  against  ad- 
venturous wandering  impulses,  and  a  restless 
roving  without  quiet  domestic  tastes.  Comp. 
Ecclesiast.  xxix.  28,  29 ;  sxxvi.  28. 

Ver.  9.    With  clause  a  compare  Ps.   civ.  16; 


230 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


cxxxiii.  2. — But  the  sweetness  of  a  friend  is 
better  than  one's  own  counsel.  The  "sweet- 
ness "  of  the  friend  is  according  to  xvi.  21  doubt- 
less sweetness  of  the  lips,  the  pleasing,  agreeable 
discourse  of  the  friend  (lit.  "of  his  friend;"  the 
suffix  stands  indefinitely,  with  reference  i.  e.  to 
every  friend  that  a  man  really  has ;  here  with 
especial  reference  to  the  possessor  of  the  K'SJ). 
See  also  the  critical  notes.  The  m^O  is  best 
taken  in  the  sense  of  comparison  (with  Jarohi, 
Levi,  Cooceius,  Umbreit,  Stier)  :  "better  than 
counsel  of  the  soul,"  i.  e.,  better  than  one's  own 
counsel,  better  than  that  prudence  which  will 
help  itself  and  relies  purely  on  its  own  resources 
(comp.  xxviii.  26).  Ewald,  Elster  (in  like 
manner  also  Luther,  Geier,  De  Wette  [K., 
N.],  e<c.,)  render  :  "The  sweetness  of  the  friend 
springeth  from  (faithful)  counsel  of  soul,"  which 
is  understood  as  describing  the  genuineness  and 
the  hearty  honesty  of  the  friend's  disposition. 
Bertheau  giTCS  a  similar  idea,  except  that  he 
supplies  in  i  from  a  the  predicate  with  its  object: 
"The  sweetness  of  a  friend  from  sincere  counsel 
maketh  glad  the  heart"  (?) ;  [this  is  very  nearly 
the  conception  of  the  E.  V.,  H.,S.,  M.].  HiTzia 
following  the  naTapprjyvvTai  Si  iiiri  avfiiru/idrui/  y 
^X^  of  lliB  LXX,  amends  so  as  to  read:  "but 
the  soul  is  rent  with  cares."  [See  critical  notes 
for  still  other  expositions  of  the  phrase.] 

Ver.  10.  Thine  own  friend  and  thy  father's 
friend  forsake  not.  Whether  one  read  with 
the  K'ri  j^"ll  or  with  the  K'thibh  the  slat,  constr. 
of  the  emphatic  form  [or  according  to  others  the 
primitive  form — see  critical  notes],  in  any  event 
together  with  the  friend  of  the  person  addressed 
"his  father's  friend  "  is  also  named,  but  as  an 
identical  person  with  the  former,  who,  for  that 
reason,  has  a  value  proportionally  greater,  and 
may  so  much  the  less  be  neglected,  because  he  is 
as  it  were  an  heirloom  of  the  family  of  long  tried 
fidelity  and  goodness. — And  into  thy  brother's 
house  enter  not  in  the  day  of  thy  calamity. 
HiTziG,  who  explains  the  three  clauses  of  this 
verse  as  originally  separate  propositions,  only 
"afterward  forced  together,"  fails  to  see  a  logi- 
cal connection  as  well  between  a  and  i  as  between 
b  and  c.  This  is  in  fact  in  the  highest  degree 
arbitrary,  for  the  common  aim  of  the  three  mem- 
bers :  to  emphasize  the  great  value  of  true  friend- 
ship and  its  pre-eminence  in  comparison  with  a 
merely  external  relationship  of  blood,  comes  out 
to  view  as  clearly  as  possible.  The  "near" 
neighbor  is  he  who  keeps  himself  near  as  one 
dispensing  counsel  and  help  to  the  distressed, 
just  as  the  "far  off"  brother  is  he  who,  on  ac- 
count of  his  unloving  disposition,  keeps  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  same.  [Our  commentators  have 
in  general  agreed  substantially  with  this  concep- 
tion of  the  scope  of  the  verse. — A.]. 

Ver.  11.  Be  w^ise,  my  son,  and  make  my 
heart  glad,  etc.  Evidently  an  admonition  of  a 
fatherly  teacher  of  wisdom  addressed  to  his  pupil 
(comp.  i.  8  sq.  ;  xxii.  21  ;  xxiii.  15), — perhaps 
of  the  same  one  to  whom  the  wise  counsel  of  the 
preceding  verse  in  regard  to  conduct  toward 
friends  likewise  belonged. — That  I  may  know 
how^  to  give  an  ansiwer  to  him  that  re- 
proacheth  me  (literally,  "and  so  will  I  then 
return  a  word  to  my  reviler  "),  i.  e.,  in  order  that 


I,  pointing  to  thy  wise  and  exemplary  conduct, 
may  be  able  to  stop  the  mouth  of  him  who  re- 
viles me,  the  responsible  teacher.  Comp.  Ps. 
cxix.  42  ;   also  cxxvii.   5  ;  Ecclesiast.  xxx.  2  sq. 

Ver.  12.  In  almost  literal  accordance  with 
xxii.  3. 

Ver.  13.  Almost  exactly  like  xx.  16  (camp, 
notes  on  this  passage.) 

Ver.  14.  He  that  blesseth  his  friend  with 
a  loud  voice  early  in  the  morning.  These 
words  are  directed  against  a  friend  who  is  flatter- 
ing and  profuse  in  compliment,  but  inwardly  in- 
sincere; who,  by  his  congratulations,  hasty,  and 
offered  with  boisterous  ostentation,  brings,  in- 
stead of  a  real  blessing  to  his  friend,  only  a  curse 
upon  his  house,  at  least  in  the  general  judgment 
of  the  people.  For  of  them  we  must  think  in 
clause  b  as  those  who  are  to  "reckon."  For  this 
last  verb  and  its  construction,  "reckoning  some- 
thing to  some  one,"  comp.  Gen.  xv.  6.  [This  in- 
sincere and  untimely  praise  may  be  accredited  to 
its  giver  as  no  better  than  a  curse  in  his  inten- 
tion, or  more  positively  it  may  be  regarded  as 
veiling  an  evil  intent,  and  so  threatening  au 
actual  curse  to  him  who  is  its  object. — A.] 

3.  Vers.  15,  16.  Two  maxims  concerning  a 
contentious  woman. — A  continual  dropping 
in  a  very  rainy  day  (according  to  the  Arabic 
TIJD  denotes  "a  rain  poured  as  if  out  of  buck- 
ets," and  so  "a  pouring  rain;"  moreover  the 
word  occurs  only  here),  and  a  contentious 
woman  are  alike.  Like  this,  only  more  con- 
cise, is  chap.  xix.  13,  b.  [The  peculiar  force  of 
this  comparison  to  one  who  has  been  in  the  rainy 
season  under  the  flat  earthy  roofs  of  Oriental 
houses,  is  commented  on  and  illustrated,  e.  ff.,in 
Hackett's  Scriptui-e  Illustrations,  p.  85,  and  Thom- 
son's Land  and  Book,  1.  453.  A.] — He  that 
vyill  restrain  her  restraineth  the  w^ind  (]  J( 
literally  "to  shut  out,  dam  up,  confine"),  and 
his  right  hand  graspeth  after  oil,  :'.  e.,  it 
grasps  after  something,  encounters  an  object, 
seeks  to  retain  something  that  is  necessarily  con- 
tinually eluding  it.  [The  idea  of  hiding  her  dis- 
agreeable and  vexatious  disposition  from  the  view 
of  others,  which  is  expressed  by  the  E.  V.,  H., 
AV.,  in  both  clauses,  and  by  N.  and  M.  in  the 
second,  is  less  appropriate  and  forcible  than  that 
given  in  the  version  of  our  author,  K.,  S.,  etc.— 
A.] 

4.  Vers.  17-22.  Six  proverbs  against  haughti- 
ness, selfishness,  a  greedy  eye,  self-praise  and 
folly. — Iron  sharpeneth  iron,  lit.  iron  to  iron 
maketh  sharp,  or  according  to  others,  "  iron  is 
made  sharp  by  iron," — see  critical  notes].  So 
doth  a  man  sharpen  the  face  of  his  friend. 
Whether  we  render  D'J3  by  "face,  look,"  or  (as 
HiTZio  maintains)  by  "  edge,  a«'es  m^emi,  themen- 
tal  keenness,"  in  either  case  the  meaning  is  not: 
"One  enrages,  provokes  the  other  "  (Stier  and  in 
like  manner  Bertheau),  but :  One  stimulates  the 
other,  polishes  himself  by  mutual  spiritual  con- 
tact and  friction  with  his  fellow,  contributes  by 
such  an  interchange  of  one's  own  peculiarities 
with  those  of  his  fellow  to  the  spiritual  develop- 
ment of  both  (compare  especially  Elster  and 
HiTziG  on  the  passage).  ["Conference  hath  in- 
credible profit  in  all  sciences,"  observes  Trapp. 
"A  man  by  himself,"  says  MufFET,  "ia  no  man, 


CHAP.  XXVII.  1-27. 


231 


he  18  dull,  lie  is  very  blunt;  but  if  his  fellow  come 
and  quicken  him  by  his  presence,  speech,  and  ex- 
ample, he  is  BO  whetted  on  by  this  means  that  he  is 
much  more  comfortable,  skilful,  and  better  than 
he  was  when  he  was  alone."  So  most  of  our 
commentators,  while  Stuakt,  and  Notes  with  a 
qualification,  would  find  the  idea  of  provocation, 
not  as  though  anger  were  even  indirectly  com- 
mended, but  "  if  men  must  enter  into  contest,  let 
the  antagonists  be  worthy  of  the  strife"  (S.); 
an  exposition  far  weaker  as  well  as  more  unna- 
tural than  the  ordinary  one. — A.]. 

Ver.  18.,  With  the  general  proposition  in  a 
comp.  xii.  11;  xxviii.  19. — And  he  that  hath 
regard  to  his  master  is  honored.  The  honor 
which  the  master  (i.  e,,  any  master  whatever,  and 
not  God  especially,  the  master  of  all,  as  Stier 
holds)  confers  upon  his  faithful  servant  resembles 
the  fruit  which  the  fig  tree  yields  to  the  proprie- 
tor or  tenant  who  carefully  cultivates  it.  "  To 
regard  one,"  colere  aliquem,  as  in  Ps.  xxxi.  7; 
Hos.  iv.  10. 

Ver.  19.  As  (in)  ■water  face  (answereth)  to 
face,  so  the  heart  of  man  to  man.  0]J^3> 
an  accusative  of  place :  "  as  in  water,"  Ewald, 
§  221.  The  meaning  will  be  like  that  of  ver.  17, 
somewhat  such  as  this:  "As  the  mirror  of  the 
water  reflects  the  likeness  of  one's  own  face,  so 
one's  heart  is  mirrored  in  that  of  his  fellow,  if 
one  only  has  courage  and  penetration  enough  to 
look  deeply  into  this  "  (Ewald;  comp.  Stier  and 
Bertheau).  There  is  contained  in  this  at  the 
same  time  an  admonition  to  the  wise  testing  and 
examination  both  of  one's  own  heart  and  that  of 
our  fellow-men;  or,  the  recommendation  of  a 
comprehensive  knowledge  of  men,  to  be  gained 
by  thorough  knowledge  of  one's  self.  The  Vul- 
gate already  gives  essentially  the  right  idea: 
**  Quomodo  in  aquis  resplendent  vuUus  respicientium, 
sic  eorda  hominum  manifesta  sunt  prudentibus  ;^' 
while  several  other  ancient  expositors,  whom  El- 
STEE  to  some  extent  follows,  find  expressed  in  the 
passage  a  relation  too  exclusively  ethical,  viz., 
that  of  arousing  by  love  a  reciprocal  love,  or  that 
of  the  practical  maxim,  "Si  vis  amari,  ama" 
["  Love  if  you  would  be  loved"]. — Hitzig  thinks 
that  clause  a  D1D2I  must  be  the  reading  instead 
of  D]ra3:  "What  a  mole  on  the  face  is  to  the 
face,  that  is  man's  heart  to  man,"  viz.,  his  disfi- 
guring mole,  his  dark  spot,  hia  partie  honteuse  in 
the  sense  of  Gen.  viii.  21  (?).  [Among  our  Eng- 
lish expositors  the  mirror  and  the  mirrored  ob- 
ject have  been  somewhat  variously  understood  ; 
some  retain  while  others  dismiss  the  specific  idea 
of  reflection  that  is  suggested  by  clause  a.  Mdf- 
PET  and  HoLDEN,  e.  g.,  make  a  man's  own  heart 
the  mirror  in  which  he  may  truly  know  himself; 
WoEnsw.  makes  the  mirror  the  hearts  of  others 
on  whom  we  act;  while  the  great  majority  make 
the  reflected  object  the  oneness,  especially  the 
moral  oneness  of  human  nature,  as  discoverable 
from  any  heart  into  which  we  may  look  (so  e.  g., 
Bp.  Hall,  Trapp,  Lawson,  Bridges,  S.  and  M.) 
-A.]. 

Ver.  20.  Hell  and  destruction  are  never 
full  \i.  e.,  not  the  world  of  the  lost,  but  the  world 
of  the  dead].  The  meaning  of  clause  b  as  indi- 
cated by  this  parallel  in  a  cannot  be  doubtful.  It 
relates  to  the  really  demoniacal  insatiableuess  of 


human  passion,  especially  the  "lust  of  the  eyes ;" 
comp.  1  John  ii.  1(5;  James  iii.  6;  and  in  parti- 
cular Prov.  XXX.  10;  Eccles.  i.  8. 

Ver.  21.  With  a  compare  the  literally  identical 
language  in  chap.  xvii.  3  a. — But  man  accord- 
ing to  his  glorying,  i.  e.,  one  is  judged  ac- 
cording to  the  standard  of  that  of  which  he  makes 
his  boast  (the  noun  to  be  taken  not  in  a  subjec- 
tive, but  in  an  objective  sense,  of  the  object  of 
one's  glorying).  If  his  boast  is  of  praiseworthy 
things,  then  he  is  recognized  as  a  strong,  true 
man,  etc.  ;  if  he  glories  in  trivial  or  even  of  evil 
things,  he  is  abhorred  ;  comp.  above  ver.  2.  Thus 
Ewald,  Bertheau,  Hitzig,  [K.],  while  the  ma- 
jority (the  LXX,  Vulg.,  Luther,  etc.,  also  Um- 
BREiT,  Stier,  Elster,  etc.),  translate  the  second 
<!lause  :  "  so  is  man  for  the  mouth  of  his  praise," 
i.  t.,  for  the  mouth  of  the  oue  that  praises  him 
[testing  the  nature  and  worth  of  the  praise  that 
is  bestowed] — to  which  the  figure  in  clause  a  can 
be  made  to  correspond  only  by  a  considerably 
forced  interpretation.  [Here  again  among  the 
English  expositors  who  adopt  this  general  idea, 
making  the  praise  objective,  there  is  diversity  in 
carrying  out  the  details.  Is  man  the  crucible  or 
is  he  the  object  tested  ?  N.  and  W.  take  the  for- 
mer view,  according  to  which  man  tests  or  should 
test  with  careful  discrimination  the  praise  be- 
stowed upon  him;  H.,  S.  and  M.  take  the  other 
view,  by  which  the  praise  is  represented  as  test- 
ing him  and  disclosing  his  real  character  in  the 
effects  which  it  produces  upon  him. — A.]. 

Ver.  22.  Though  thou  bruise  a  fool  in  a 
mortar  among  grain  (-'grains  of  wheat;"  the 
word  is  used  only  here  and  in  2  Sam.  xvii.  19), 
■with  a  pestle,  etc.  The  meaning  of  this  pro- 
verb, which  has  at  least  its  humorous  side,  is 
plain  ;  lack  of  reason  is  to  such  a  degree  the  very 
substance  of  the  fool,  is  so  intertwined  in  Lis  in- 
ward and  outward  nature,  that  one  might  divide 
him  into  atoms  without  eradicating  thereby  this 
fundamental  character  of  his.  This  idea  is  not 
so  clearly  connected  with  the  preceding  verse  by 
its  substance  as  by  the  similarity  of  the  figures 
employed  in  the  two  (the  crucible  and  the  mor- 
tar) ;  comp.  Hitzig  on  the  passage. 

5.  Vers.  23-27.  Admonition  to  a  prudent  and 
frugal  economy  in  connection  with  agricultural 
possessions.  —  Thou  shalt  kno^w  -well  (Z. 
"  make  thyself  well  acquainted  with")  the  face 
of  thy  sheep.  "The  look  of  the  sheep"  (comp. 
Gen.  XXX.  4U),  i.  e.,  its  condition  and  thrift. 

Ver.  24.  For  riches  are  not  forever — viz., 
the  supply  of  subsistence,  on  the  abundant  pre- 
sence of  which  the  good  appearance  of  the  flock 
depends  above  all  things  else. — And  doth  the 
crown  endure  forevermore  ?  The  question 
introduced  by  this  interrogative  (DXl)  expresses 
the  idea  of  a  very  strong  negation,  standing  as  a 
climax  to  the  preceding :  and  even  the  crown,  the 
royal  diadem,  has  no  perpetual  existence.  The 
i:f  J  seems  not  to  designate  the  metal  of  itself 
that  composes  the  king's  crown,  but  the  kingly 
dignity  and  authority  represented  by  it;  the  ex- 
pression "from  generation  to  generation  "  plainly 
indicates  this.  Hitzig's  rendering  is  as  trivial 
as  it  is  contrary  to  the  usus  loquendi :  that  I^J 
means  "  grass,  fodder"  (because  it  sometimes 
signifies  the  hair  of  the  head,  and  may  therefore 


232 


•..;E  I'ZIOVEBCS  OF  SOLOMON. 


designate  the  herbage  as  a  hairlike  ornament  to 
the  eart.li!). 

Ver.  25.  The  grass  disappeareth,  etc.  ;  a 
reason  for  the  admonition  contained  in  the  pre- 
ceding verse,  that  one  should  be  intent  upon  lay- 
ing up  ample  supplies  of  nourishment  for  the 
flocks.  The  discourse  passes  over  in  vers.  25-27 
to  a  richly  diversified  description  of  the  beauty 
and  abundance  of  rural  nature,  reminding  us  of 
Ps.  Ixv.  10-14,  but  in  its  present  connection 
having  this  aim, — to  show  how  God's  creation  li- 
berally rewards  the  labor  bestowed  upon  it  by 
the  active  and  industrious  landlord.  Neither  this 
concluding  picture,  nor  the  entire  passage  from 
ver.  23  onward  can  be  interpreted  in  some  alle- 
gorical way  (with  various  ancient  expositors, 
ScHULTENS  and  Stiee),  and  be  applied  to  the 
conduct  of  the  spiritual,  pastoral  office  of  the 
teacher  of  wisdom.  As  the  utmost  that  is  admis- 
sible this  conception  may  have  a  place  under  cer- 
tain conditions  in  the  practical  and  liomiletio 
treatment  of  the  passage.  [WoBDSvf.  character- 
istically makes  much  of  the  secondary  iTTiport 
of  these  verses. — A.]. 

Ver.  26.  And  goats  (as)  price  for  the  field  ; 
».  e.,  goats  of  such  value  that  for  each  one  a  piece 
of  arable  land  might  be  exchanged. 

Ver.  27.  Abundance  also  of  goat's  milk 

.  .  for  subsistence  for  thy  maidens.     D".ni 

(with  which  we  must  repeat  7  from  the  pre- 
ceding) "  and  life  "  is  here  equivalent  to  "sub- 
stance, nourishment."  Female  servants,  maid- 
ens, waiting  women,  were  wanting  in  no  large 
household  among  the  Hebrews,  not  even  in  the 
royal  palace  and  the  temple  ;  comp.  2  Sam.  iv.  6  ; 
1  Sam.  ii.  22  sq.  Here  we  must  naturally  think 
first  of  shepherdesses,  milkmaids,  etc. 

DOCTEINAL   AND    KTHICAL,    HOMILETIC 
AND   PRACTICAL. 

Modesty,  contentment  and  prudence  are  the 
central  ideas  about  which  we  may  group  the 
practical  instructions  of  the  section  just  expound- 
ed, if  not  in  all  their  items  at  least  in  large  mea- 
sure. Especially  may  we  throw  under  these  ca- 
tegories what  is  said  of  the  necessity  of  avoiding 
all  vain  self-praise,  and  of  boasting  in  an  incon- 
siderate extravagant  way  neither  of  our  own 
prosperity  nor  of  our  neighbor's  (vers.  1,  2,  14, 
21);  in  like  manner  that  which  relates  to  the 
duty  of  moderation  in  ill  temper  and  jealousy,  in 
sensual  enjoyments,  in  love  of  restless  wandering 
and  of  sight-seeing  (vers.  3,  4,  7,  8,  20) ;  and  not 
less,  finally,  the  admonition  which  recurs  in  ma- 
nifold transformations  to  a  general  prudence  in 
life,  as  it  should  be  exhibited  in  social  and  busi- 
ness intercourse  with  others,  and  in  the  diligent 
discharge  of  the  domestic  duties  of  one's  calling 
(vers.  11,  13,  17-19,  23-27).  If  so  inclined  we 
might  reckon  among  these  commendations  of  an 
all-embracing  practical  wisdom  even  the  warning 
against  the  contentiousness  of  a  bad  woman 
(ver.  15,  16),  as  well  as  the  encomiums  upon  a  ge- 
nuine, unfeigned  friendship,  in  vers.  5,  6,  9,  10; 
and  in  theSe  especially,  and  above  all  in  the  com- 
mand (ver.  10) :  to  regard  the  love  of  a  true 
friend  more  highly  than  the  bonds  of  relation- 
ship of  blood, — an  injunction  which  reminds  us 


of  expressions  in  the  New  Testament,  such  as 
Matth.  X.  37  ;  xii.  48-50,  we  might  see  the  very 
climax,  and  the  main  theme  of  the  discourse  of 
wisdom  which  constitutes  this  chapter.  Over 
against  this  counsel,  to  give  to  the  love  of  a  true 
friend  the  preference  above  all  vain  passions  and 
selfish  interests,  we  have  presented  in  a  signifi- 
cant way  the  evidence  which  establishes  the  sad 
truth,  that  the  fool  is  not  disposed  at  any  price 
to  let  go  his  selfish,  vain,  ariogant  nature  (ver. 
22),  in  connection  with  which  fact  allusion  is 
made  to  the  natural  corruption  of  human  hearts 
in  general  and  to  the  necessity  for  their  being 
given  up  to  the  delivering  and  renewing  influ- 
ences of  divine  grace  (eomp.  ver.  11). 

Homily  on  the  chapter  as  a  whole :  "  Godliness 
with  contentment  is  great  gain  "  (1  Tim.  vi.  6). — 
Or,  boast  neither  of  thy  prosperity,  nor  of  thy 
deeds,  nor  of  any  earthly  and  human  advantages 
whatsoever,  but  only  of  the  Lord  (1  Cor.  i.  31).^ 
Stockek:  Of  conceit  and  vain  presumption  as  a 
first  and  main  hinderance  to  the  progress  of  true 
wisdom  (comp.  besides  comments  on  chapters 
xxviii.  and  xxix). — Calwer  Handbuck:  Of  the 
means  of  attaining  true  honor. 

Ver.  1-6.   Melanohthon   (on  verse  1):    That 
which   is  necessary  and  first  demanded  by  our 
duty  we  must  do  before  all  else,  conscientiously, 
and  with  appeals  for  divine  help,  lest  in  reliance 
upon   our   own  strength  or  on  foolish   hopes  we 
undertake  needless  and  futile  things. — Starke; 
lie  walks  the  more   cautiously  who   always  con- 
siders that  to-day  may  be  the  day  of  his  death 
(James   iv.   13   sq.  ;  .Ecclesiast.  vii.  40). — Comp. 
the  New  Year's  Sermon  by  Rohr  (Sonntagsfeier, 
1844,  No.  15):      "The  high  and  weighty  import 
that  each  year  of  life  has  for  us." — [J.  Edwards: 
Not   depending    on   another  day,  is  a  different 
thing  from  concluding  that  we  shall  not  live  an- 
other day.     We  ought  not  to  behave  ourselves  in 
any  respect  as  though  we   depended   on  another 
day. — Arnot  :    This  proverb   contains  only  the 
negative  side  of  the  precept ;  but  it  is  made  hol- 
low for  the  very  purpose  of  holding  the  positive 
promise  in  its  bosom.    The  Old  Testament  sweeps 
away  the  wide-spread  indurated  error;  the  New 
Testament  then   deposits  its  saving  truth  upon 
the  spot. — A.  Fuller  (on  verse  2) :  A  vain  man 
speaks  well  of  himself;   and  Paul  speaks  well  of 
himself.     The  motive  in  the  one  case  is  desire  of 
applause;    in    the    other  justice    to   an  injured 
character,  and   to   the  Gospel  which  suffered  in 
his  reproaches. — Bp.  Hopkins:    The   tongue  is 
of  itself  very  apt  to  be  lavish  when  it  hath  so 
sweet    and    pleasing   a   theme  as   a  man's   own 
praise]. — TUbingen  Bible:  Self-praise  is  a  sign 
of  great  pride,  and  must  be  in  the  highest  degree 
offensive  to   the   wise  man  when  he  has  to  hear 
it. — -Geier  (on  verses  3,  4):    If  even  the  pious 
man   may  easily  transgress   in   his   anger,  how 
much   more    easily    the    ungodly ! — Lance    (on 
vers.  5,  6) :     He  who  truly  loves  his  neighbor  is 
bound,  when  the  occasion  presents  itself,  to  per- 
suade, admonish   and    warn    him;    Ps.  cxli.  6; 
Gal.  vi.  1. — WoHLFABTH    (on  vers.  5,  6,  9,  10): 
Moral  perfection  the  highest  aim  and  blessing  of 
true  friendship. — Von  Gerlach  :    A  rebuke  be- 
fore the  whole  world  is  better   than   a  love  that 
proves  itself   by  nothing,   that  onjy  flatters  in 
connection  w^th    a    neighbor's    faults. — [Lord 


CHAP.  XXVIII.  1-28. 


233 


Bacon  :  This  proverb  rebukes  the  mistaken 
kindness  of  friends  who  do  not  use  the  privilege 
of  friendship  freely  and  boldly  to  admonish  their 
friends  as  well  of  their  errors  as  their  dangers.] 

Ver.  8  sq.  Mblanoihon  (on  ver.  8):  Solomon 
here  warns  against  our  forsaking  our  lawful 
calling  from  weariness  ;   Eph.  iv.  1 ;   1  Cor.  vii. 

20. Luther    (marginal    comment    on   ver.   8) : 

Let  no  assault  drive  thee  from  thy  calling  ;  hold 
fast,  and  God  will  make  thee  prosper. — Lanqe  : 
By  discontent  with  one's  position  and  calling  one 
only  doubles  his  need,  and  sins  grossly  against 
God's  holy  providence. — [Muffet:  The  wan- 
dering person  is  hated  and  despised  by  all ;  none 
honoreth  his  kindred,  none  regardeth  his  beauty, 
none  oareth  for  him,  and  none  feareth  to  hurt 
him. — John  Howe  (on  ver.  10)  :  If  it  be  an  in- 
decency, and  uncomeliness,  and  a  very  unfit 
thing,  that  is,  contrary  to  the  precept  of  study- 
ing whatsoever  is  lovely,  and  thinking  of  those 
things,  to  forsake  my  friend  and  my  father's 
friend,  how  much  more  horrid  must  it  be  to  for- 
sake my  God  and  my  father's  God!] — ^Starke 
(on  vers.  9,  10) :  God  is  the  best  of  all  friends ; 
strive  with  great  care,  that  thou  mayest  obtain 
God's  favor  and  friendship,  and  thou  mayest 
never  lose  them. — Von  Geriaoh  :  Union  of  spirit 
with  an  old  family  friend  from  the  father  down 
is  to  be  much  preferred  to  mere  relationship  of 
blood. — [T.  Adams  (on  ver.  12) :  The  fool  goes, 
he  runs,  he  flies ;  as  if  God  that  rides  upon  the 
wings  of  the  wind  should  not  overtake  him. 
Haste  might  be  good  if  .the  way  were  good,  and 
good  speed  added  to  it,  but  this  is  the  shortest 
way  out  of  the  way.  He  need  not  run  fast :  the 
fool  may  come  soon  enough  to  that  place  from 
whence  he  must  never  return]. 

Ver.  14.  sq.  Luther  (marginal  comment  on 
ver.  14) ;  He  who  reproves  much  praises,  and  he 
who  praises  much  censures ;  for  they  are  not 
believed  because  they  go  too  far. — Tiibingen 
Bible:  Too  much  praised  is  half  censured. 
Trust  not  the  flatterer  who  praises  thee  to  ex- 
cess.— [Bp.  Hopkins  :  Let  all  thy  reproofs  be 
given  as  secretly  and  privately  as  thou  canst ; 
otherwise  thou  wilt  seem  not  so  much  to  aim  at 
thy  brother's  reformation,  as  at  his  shame  and 
oonfusion. — Lord  Bacon  :  Moderate  praise  used 


with  opportunity,  and  not  vulgar,  is  that  which 
doeth  the  good. — Arnot  (on  ver.  17) :  One  half 
of  the  human  faculties  are  framed  for  maintain- 
ing intercourse  with  men,  and  one  half  of  the 
divine  law  is  occupied  with  rules  for  regulating 
it]. — Melancthon  :  Let  us  recognize  our  weak- 
ness, and  see  that  the  individual  man  is  ignorant 
of  much,  errs  and  stumbles,  and  ....  that  God 
has  furnished  us  men  with  the  power  of  speech 
chiefly  for  this,  that  one  may  befriend  another 
with  counsel  and  instruction. — Zeltner  :  The 
pious  should  arouse  one  another,  and  stimulate 
to  all  good  works  (Heb.  x.  24),  and  that  too  in 
all  circumstances. — Geier  (on  ver.  18):  Faithful 
labor  and  diligence  find  at  length  their  rich  re- 
ward— if  not  from  men,  at  least  from  God ;  Heb. 
vi.  10. 

Ver.  19  sq.  Luther  (marginal  comment  on 
ver.  19) :  As  the  outline  in  water  trembles  and 
is  uncertain,  so  also  are  hearts.  The  lesson  is : 
Trust  not! — [Bp.  Hopkins:  In  the  world  we  see 
our  own  hearts  unbowelled ;  and  there  we  can 
learn  what  ourselves  are  at  the  cost  of  other 
men's  sins]. — Luther  (on  ver.  21):  He  who 
loves  to  hear  himself  praised  is  easily  deceived : 
for  he  proves  thereby  that  he  is  a  reckless  man 
who  values  his  honor  above  all  right. — Starke 
(on  ver.  21) :  If  thou  art  praised,  let  it  serve 
thee  as  a  test,  a  humiliation,  and  a  profit. — ■ 
Lange  (on  ver.  22) :  The  urging  and  chastise- 
ment of  the  law  makes  no  one  pious,  and  does 
not  change  the  heart.  The  power  of  the  Gospel 
must  change  and  renew  the  hard  heart. — Von 
Gerlach  :  No  outward  cure  helps  at  all  where 
the  inward  part  is  obstinately  corrupt. 

Vers.  23-27.  Starke  :  Let  every  one  labor 
diligently  in  his  calling,  let  him  indeed  bring 
everything  to  counsel,  and  be  thoroughly  syste- 
matic in  his  actions. — Geier:  If  it  be  important 
carefully  to  guard  and  to  cherish  silly  sheep,  oh, 
how  much  more  Christ's  sheep,  the  souls  which 
He  has  redeemed  with  His  precious  blood !  Acts 
XX.  28. — •Wohlfarth  :  The  husbandman's  pros- 
perity (a  sermon  for  a  harvest  thanksgiving). — 
Von  Gerlach  :  To  persevere  is  as  needful  as  to 
acquire  in  every  kind  of  possession. — [Lawson  : 
God's  bounty  is  a  great  encouragement  to  our 
industry]. 


c)  Against  unscrupulous,  unlawful  dealing  (especially  of  the  rich  with  the  poor). 

Chap.  XXVIII. 

1  The  wicked  flee  when  no  man  pursueth, 
hut  the  righteous  are  bold  as  a  lion. 

2  In  the  rebellion  of  a  land  its  princes  become  many, 

but  through  wise,  prudent  men  one  (the  prince)  continueth  long. 

3  A  man  who  is  poor  and  oppresseth  the  lowly 

is  (like)  a  rain  flooding  and  (bringing)  no  food. 

4  They  that  forsake  the  law  praise  the  wicked, 
but  they  that  keep  the  law  contend  with  them. 


234  THE  PEOVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 

5  Evil  men  understand  not  judgment, 

but  they  that  seek  Jehovah  understand  all. 

6  Better  (is)  a  poor  man  that  walketh  in  his  uprightness, 
than  he  that  walketh  in  crooked  ways  and  is  rich. 

7  He  that  keepeth  the  law  is  a  wise  son, 

but  the  companion  of  profligates  causeth  his  father  shame. 

8  He  that  increaseth  his  wealth  by  interest  and  usury 
gathereth  it  for  one  that  pitieth  the  poor. 

9  He  that  turneth  away  his  ear  from  hearing  the  law, 
even  his  prayer  is  an  abomination. 

10  He  that  leadeth  the  righteous  astray  in  an  evil  way, 
in  his  own  pit  shall  he  fall ; 

but  the  upright  shall  inherit  good. 

11  The  rich  man  thinketh  himself  wise, 

but  a  poor  man  that  hath  understanding  searcheth  him  out. 

12  When  righteous  men  exult  there  is  great  glory, 

but  when  wicked  men  arise  the  people  hide  themselves. 

13  He  that  hideth  his  sins  shall  not  prosper, 

but  he  that  confesseth  and  forsaketh  them  shall  find  mercy. 

14  Happy  is  the  man  that  feareth  always ; 

but  he  that  hardeneth  his  heart  shall  fall  into  evil. 

15  A  roaring  lion  and  a  ravening  bear 
is  a  wicked  ruler  over  a  poor  people. 

16  O  prince,  poor  in  understanding  and  abounding  in  oppressions ; 
he  that  hateth  unjust  gain  shall  prolong  his  days  ! 

17  A  man  laden  with  the  blood  of  a  soul 
fleeth  to  the  pit ;  let  them  not  detain  him  ! 

18  He  that  walketh  uprightly  shall  be  delivered; 

but  he  that  walketh  in  crooked  ways  shall  fall  suddenly. 

19  He  that  tilleth  his  land  shall  be  satisfied  with  bread, 
but  he  that  followeth  vanity  shall  have  poverty  enough. 

20  A  faithful  man  aboundeth  in  blessings ; 

but  he  that  hasteth  to  be  rich  shall  not  go  unpunished. 

21  To  have  respect  of  persons  is  not  good, 

and  (yet)  for  a  piece  of  bread  (many)  a  man  will  transgress. 

22  He  that  hath  an  evil  eye  hasteth  after  riches, 
and  knoweth  not  that  want  shall  come  upon  him. 

23  He  that  reproveth  a  man  shall  afterward  find  favor 
more  than  he  that  flattereth  with  his  tongue. 

24  He  that  robbeth  his  father  and  his  mother, 
and  saith  it  is  no  wrong, 

he  is  companion  to  one  that  destroyeth. 

25  He  that  is  of  a  covetous  heart  stirreth  up  strife, 

but  he  that  trusteth  in  Jehovah  shall  be  richly  rewarded. 

26  He  that  truateth  in  his  own  heart  is  a  fool, 

but  he  that  walketh  in  wisdom,  shall  be  delivered. 

27  He  that  giveth  to  the  poor  (suffereth)  no  want, 

but  he  that  covereth  his  eyes  hath  abundance  of  curses. 

28  When  wicked  men  rise  men  hide  themselves, 
but  when  they  perish  the  righteous  increase. 

GRAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Yer.  2.  J^tVa  might  perhaps  bo  more  correctly  read  as  an  Indnitive  :  ^^32— Comp.  HiTZia  on  thlB  passage.  As  tht 
words  of  the  original  Hebrew  now  stanJ,  wo  can  supply  a  subject  for  'IJ^N''  only  the  singular  IK;  ("the  true  prince  •"');  in 
like  manner  the  2  in  D1X21  must  be  takon  in  the  sense  of  nVHS  "when  there  is  at  hand;"  the  [3  howevor  must  be 
taken  as  an  introduction  to  the  concluding  clause,  like  our  "  then"  or  "so."  In  all  this  there  is  indeed  the  difflcultj 
remaining  that  the  participles  pan  and  j;T  stand  aide  by  side  without  a  copula— an  anomaly  that  is  hardly  romoyed 
l)y  referring  to  chap.  xxii.  i  (BuElHfUD).     And  yet  the  construction   thus  brought  out  la,  In  spite  of  the  manifold 


CHAP.  XXVIII.  1-28. 


23S 


anomalies  which  it  inTolves,  after  all  better  than,  c.  g.  that  of  Umbreit,  who  takes  t3  as  a  subatautivo  in  the  sens* 

of  "right"  as  dependent  on  T}^\ — or  than  HiTZia's  violent  emendation  (tna  WT"    instead  of  T1K'    [3  yv),  the 

meaning  resulting  from  which  "but  through  a  man  of  understanding  contrntion  ceases,"  does  not  agrte  very  well 
with  the  context.    [The  E.  V,  takes  |3  ad  a  noun :  •'  the  state  thereof,"  etc.     do  11.  and  M.  (tlie  sLabjlity  ").    N.  without 

this  specific  rendering  reaches  the  same  result  by  finding  for  the  verb  " shall  prolouj<  its  days,  or  endure"  the 
subject  "it"  (the  state)  suggested  in  clause  a.  S.  follows  UMB,t£iT.  ]36tt.  (^  035,  ^)  regards  the  verb  as  furnishing 
an  exampli  of  what  he  calls  "concrete  impersonals,"  having  a  general  subject  "  one,"  a  euiistnictiuu  not  uncoijimon 
where  reference  is  made  to  public  offices  or  functions.     This  reaches  Z's.  result  by  a  dilfereiit  path. — A.J 

Yer.  17.— [The  participle  TiWV  BolT.  prefers  an  account  of  its  peculiar  voculiz.itiuu  to  regard  as  a  mutilated 
Pual  part.,  deprived  of  its  initial  O,  and  would  therefore  point  pty^ ;  so  xxv.  11,  etc.    See  §  991,  6,  10.— A.J 

Ter.  18.— Q'OTT  U/Dl^J  is  equivalent  to  D'DIT  ^PV  ™  '""^-  ^• 

Ver.  23. — ''TnX  a  somewhat  stronger  form  in  its  vowel  elements  than  '•TnX,  used  here  as  "IHX  is  elsewhere. 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  Vers.  1-5.  Of  the  general  contrast  between 
the  righteous  and  the  ungodly  (unscrupulous 
transgressors,  men  of  violence). — The  'wicked 
flee  when  no  man  pursueth.  "  The  wicked" 
(singular)  is  on  the  ground  of  its  collective,  or 
more  exactly  its  distributive  meaning,  subject  of 
a  plural  verb;  compare  similar  constructions, 
mri  avveaiv:  Job  viii.  19;  Isa.  xvi.  4;  and  also 
below,  ver.  4  of  the  present  chapter ;  1  Tim. 
ii.  15  (-yirvij — eav  u-eivuaLv),  etc.  [See  Ewald 
Lehrb.  J  309,  u,  and  other  grammars]. — But  the 
righteous  are  bold  as  a  lion.  nOT  is  to  be 
explained  as  a  relative  clause  and  referred  to 
the  preceding  "  as  a  lion  " — "  which  is  confident, 
rests  quietly  "  in  the  consciousness  of  its  supe- 
rior strength  and  the  security  which  results  from 
it,  see  the  same  figure  in  Gen.  xlix.  9.  [This 
seems  to  be  needlessly  artificial ;  according  to  a 
common  Hebrew  construction  the  verb  may  be 
a  distributive  singular  after  a  plural,  "the 
righteous."     See  e.  g.  Green,  \  275,  6. — A.] 

Ver.  2.  In  the  rebellion  of  a  land  its 
princes  become  many.  For  this  use  of 
"transgression"  in  the  sense  of  "rebellion,  re- 
volt," comp.  the  verb  employed  in  this  sense  in 
2  Kings  i.  1 ;  also  Ex.  xxiii.  21,  eic.  The  allu- 
sion is  plainly  to  the  uprising  of  many  petty 
chiefs  or  tyrants,  or  many  pretenders  to  the 
throne,  or  usurpers  opposing  each  other,  in 
lands  which,  through  revolt  from  the  lawfully 
reigning  house,  have  fallen  a  prey  to  political 
anarchy,  as  e.  g.  the  Kingdom  of  Israel,  espe- 
cially in  the  period  after  Jeroboam  II., — to  which 
the  author  of  the  proverb  now  under  considera- 
tion might  very  well  have  had  special  reference. 
[On  account  of  the  form  of  clause  b  we  prefer, 
with  Kamph.,  to  understand  the  allusion  to  be  to 
a  rapid  succession  of  half  established  kings, 
rather  than  to  a  number  of  competing  claimants. 
Thomson,  Land  and  Booh,  I.,  498,  cites  an  Arabic 
proverb  :  "  May  Allah  multiply  your  sheikhs  !  " 
as  embodying  in  its  intense  malediction  a  con- 
stant Oriental  experience  of  fearful  calamity. 
It  is  only  incidentally  illustrative  of  the  proverb 
before  us. — A.] — But  through  wise,  prudent 
men  he  (the  prince)  continueth  long.  [See 
Critical  notes.] 

Ver.  3.  A  man  who  is  poor  and  oppress- 
eth  the  poor.  We  are  to  think  of  some  magis- 
trate who  is  originally  poor,  an  upstart,  who 
seeks  to  enrich  himself  rapidly  by  oppression  of 
his  subjects.  This  man  is  in  clause  b  very  ap- 
propriately described  as  a  "rain"  that  floods  I 


the  sowed  field  or  the  fruitful  district,  and  thus 
destroys  the  prosperous  condition  of  the  crops. 
[Here  again,  and  more  appropriately,  Thomson 
(ubi  supra)  illustrates,  both  from  natural  and  po- 
litical experiences  common  in  the  East,  the  im- 
pressivenesa  of  this  proverb  to  an  Oriental  mind. 
-A.] 

Ver.  4.  They  that  forsake  the  law  praise 
the  wicked,  i.  e.  for  his  success;  comp.  Ps. 
xlix.  12,  19;  Ixxiii.  3,  10,  12.— But  they  that 
keep  the  law  (xxix.  18)  contend  w^ith  him; 
lit.,  "with  them;"  comp.  remarks  above  on  ver. 
1.  For  thisverb,  "tocontcnd  or  dispute,"  comp. 
Jer.  1.  24;   Dan.  xi.  10,  etc. 

Ver.  5.  Evil  men  (lit.,  "men  of  evil,"  comp. 
remarks  on  vi.  23)  do  not  understand  judg- 
ment; their  wickedness  darkens  their  under- 
standing likewise,  which  is  especially  the  faculty 
for  distinguishing  between  good  and  evil ;  comp. 
chap.  xxix.  7.  In  contrast  with  them  "they  who 
seek  God  understand  everything,"  i.  c.  every- 
thing-that  relates  to  the  investigation  and  deter- 
mination of  right;   comp.  Eccles.  viii.  5. 

2.  Vers.  6-12.  Against  wanton  oppression  of 
the  poor  by  the  rich. — With  ver.  6  compare  the 
quite  similar  proverb  chap.  xix.  1. — Than  he 
that  walketh  in  crooked  ways;  lit.,  "than 
one  who  is  crooked  in  the  two  ways,"  or,  "than 
one  who  is  perverse  in  a  double  way  "  (the  dual 
of  the  noun  is  used  here  as  in  ver.  18  [see  Green, 
Oram.  §  203,  3]),  i.  e.  one  who  unskilfully  and 
waywardly  passes  from  one  way  to  another,  one 
who,  with  divided  heart,  stands  midway  between 
the  right  path  and  the  bypath  of  immorality ; 
comp.  Ecclesiast.  ii.  12 ;  James  i.  6. 

Ver.  7.  With  clause  a  compare  x.  1  ;  xxix.  3. 
— But  the  companion  of  profligates.  For 
the  verb  nj^l,  to  cherish,  to  cultivate  intercourse 
with  some  one,  comp.  xiii.  20.  For  the  term 
"profligate  or  waster,"  comp.  xxiii.  21. 

Ver.  8.  He  that  increaseth  his  w^ealth  by 
interest  and  usury.  The  "interest"  and 
"  usury"  are  so  distinguished  according  to  Lev. 
xxv.  36,  37,  that  the  former  denotes  the  annual 
revenue  of  a  sum  of  money  loaned  out,  the  latter 
an  exaction  in  other  things,  especially  in  natural 
products.  The  former  is  then  fcenus  pecuniarium, 
the  latter  fcenus  naturale  sive  reale.  [Here  again 
Orientals,  ancient  and  modern,  have  a  peculiarly 
deep  and  painful  experience  of  the  enormities  of 
usury. — A] — He  gathereth  it  for  one  that 
pitieth  the  poor,  i.  e.  for  an  heir  who  will  at 
length  show  himself  more  liberal  and  compas- 
sionate toward  the  poor ;  comp.  xiii.  22,  and  also 
Jobxxvii.  16,  17.  Meroerus,  Ewald,  Bektheau, 


286 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


Elster  take  the  tJin"?  as  an  Infinitive  of  the  in- 
tensive form  :  "  ad  largimdum  j>auperibus,"  for 
bestowal  upon  the  poor,  to  show  himself  merci- 
ful to  the  poor.  But  such  an  involuntary  giving 
is  a  harsh  idea,  difficult  to  realize;  and  the 
meaning,  "to  bestow,  laryiri,"  [jn  has  elsewhere 
only  in  the  Kal  conj.,  the  participle  of  which 
corresponds  best  with  the  general  context  before 
us. 

Ver.  9.  Comp.  xv.  8;  and  with  clause  a  in 
partioiilar  Isa.  xiii.  15. 

Ver.  10.  He  that  leadeth  the  righteous 
astray  in  an  evil  way.  The  "evil  way  "  is 
unquestionably  a  way  of  sin  and  ungodliness, 
whether  the  J?!  be  taken  as  a  neuter  substantive 
in  the  genitive  (as  in  ver.  6  ;  vi.  24),  or,  which 
is  perhaps  to  be  preferred  here,  as  an  adjective. 
With  clause  b  compare  xxvi.  27;  with  c,  ii.  21. 
The  "pit"  in  b  is  naturally  (he  way  of  sin  into 
which  one  betrays  the  upright,  not  as  it  is  in  it- 
self, but  in  its  ruinous  issues  to  which  he  is 
finally  brought.     Comp.  chap.  xi.  6,  8. 

Ver.  11.  With  a  compare  xxvi.  16. — But  a 
poor  man  that  hath  understanding  search- 
eth  him  out ;  i.  e.  he  sees  through  him,  and 
accordingly  knows  his  weaknesses,  and  there- 
fore outstrips  him  in  the  struggle  for  true  pros- 
perity in  life. 

Ver.  12.  'When  righteous  men  exult  (tri- 
umph). V/i',  lit.,  "  to  rejoice,"  here  expresses 
the  idea  of  the  victory  of  the  good  cause  over  its 
opposers,  in  which  victory  "all  the  people" 
(according  to  xxix.  2)  sympathize  with  great 
exultation.     Hitzig's  alteration  is   unnecessary 

'f 'i'.?  into  ]'7n3,  suggested  by  the  Sia  jSof/Sscav 
of  the  LXX)  :  "when  righteous  men  are  deli- 
vered."— But  Tvhen  Viricked  men  rise,  come 
up,  attain  to  power.  Compare,  with  respect  to 
this  as  well  as  the  people's  anxious  "hiding 
themselves,"  ver.  28. 

3.  Vers.  13-18.  Against  the  secret  service  of 
sin,  hardening  of  the  heart,  tyranny,  and  thirst 
for  blood. — With  ver.  13  comp.  Ps.  xxxii.  1-5. 

Ver.  14.  Happy  is  the  man  that  feareth  ai- 
rways, !.  e.  he  wlio  lives  in  a  holy  dread  of  trans- 
gressing the  will  of  God  by  sins  of  any  kind 
whatsoever;  comp.  2  Cor.  v.  11 ;  Phil.  ii.  12,  elc. 
The  antithesis  to  this  man  "  who  feareth  always" 
is  the  "confident,"  the  carnally  presumptuous, 
hardened  in  the  service  of  sin ;  ver.  26  and  also 

chap.  xvi.  14 .-With  b  comp.  Ps.  xcv.  8 ;  Prov. 

xvii.  20. 

Ver.  15.  A  roaring  lion  and  a  ravening 
bear.  ppyi^  the  ancient  translators  (LXX : 
iiipav;  Vulg.  esuriens,  etc.),  already  give  with  a 
substantial  correctness,  when  they  interpret  it 
of  the  raging  hunger  or  the  blood-thirstiness  of 
the  bear;  comp.  Isa.  xxix.  8;  Ps.  cvii  9.  Not 
so  well  Bertheait  and  Elster  (following  KiM- 
CHi,  Levi,  Cocoeius,  elc,  [Gesen.,  Fuerst, 
K.  v.,  H.,  S.,  while  Luther,  De  W.,  K.,  N.,  M., 
Rod.,  etc.,  agree  with  our  author]):  "a  roam- 
ing, ranging  bear," — for  which  rendering  neither 
Joel  ii.  9  nor  Isa.  xxiii.  4  can  be  adduced  as  de- 
cisive supports. 

Ver.  16.  O  prince  poor  in  understanding 
(lit.,  in  "discernments")  and  abounding  in 


oppression.  This  conception  of  the  first  clause 
as  an  animated  appeal  to  a  tyrant  (Ewald,  Bbr- 
THEAu,  Elster,  etc.),  seems  to  correspond  better 
with  the  second  clause  than  Hitzig's  view,  ac- 
cording to  which  clause  a  is  a  nominative  abso- 
lute, not  to  be  resumed  by  a  sufiBx  in  A,  or  than 
Stier's  still  more  forced  translation  :  "  A  prince 
who  lacks  understanding — so  much  more  does 
he  practice  oppression,"  etc.  [Lutheb.,  E.  V., 
De  W.,  H.,  N.,  M.  make  the  general  relation  of 
the  clauses  antithetic,  each  clause  having  its 
normal  subject  and  predicate,  although  H.,  e.  g., 
admits  the  want  of  precision  in  the  antithesis. 
K.  agrees  with  Hitzig's  abrupt  sundering  of  the 
clauses  ;  while  S.  makes  the  first  a  synecdochical 
clause,  "as  to  a  prince,"  elc.  Our  author's  ren- 
dering if  animated  is  certainly  unusual. — A.] — 
He  that  hateth  unjust  gain  shall  prolong 
his  days.  For  the  generalizing  plural  ''NJE', 
which  stands  here  quite  as  appropriately  as  e.  g. 
iii.  18 ;  xxvii.  16,  the  K'ri  unnecessarily  calls 
for  the  singular  NJi^.     [So  Bott.,  J  702,  e]. 

Ver.  17.  A  man  laden  with  the  blood  of 
a  soul.  For  this  participle,  "  burdened,  loaded" 
(with  the  sense  of  guilt),  comp.  Isa.  xxxviii.  14. 
[The  E.  V.  loses  the  passive  form  and  force  of 
the  expression  ;  so  Lutheb  and  H. ;  while  De  W., 
K.,  N.,  S.,  M.,  W.  agree  with  Z.— A.]— Fleeth 
to  the  pit,  is  restless  and  a  fugitive  (like  Cain, 
Gen.  iv.  14),  even  to  the  terrible  destruction  to- 
ward which  he  is  hastening  by  God's  righteous 
decrees,  and  from  which  no  human  exertion  is 
able  to  hold  him  back.  Hence  the  warning  ex- 
clamation at  the  end:  "let no  one  detain  him," 
i.  e.  let  no  one  attempt  the  impossible,  after  all 
to  recover  him  who  is  irrecoverably  lost! 

Ver.  18  forms  an  antithesis  to  the  preceding 
verse,  cast  in  a  somewhat  general  form. — He 
that  walketh  uprightly  (comp.  Ps.  xv.  2 ; 
Mic.  ii.  7)  shall  be  delivered,  but  he  that 
walketh  in  crooked  vrays  shall  fall  sud- 
denly. Comp.  "  the  perverse  in  a  double  way," 
in  ver.  6.  The  "suddenly,  at  once,"  points  to 
the  fact  that  the  one  or  the  other  of  the  two  per- 
verse ways  which  the  ungodly  alternately  pur- 
sues, must  bring  him  at  last  to  ruin. 

4.  Vers.  19-28.  Various  warnings  and  cau- 
tions, directed  mainly  against  avarice  and  vio- 
lence.— With  ver.  19  comp.  xii.  11. —  ....  is 
surfeited  w^ith  poverty.  A  stronger  and 
more  direct  antithesis  to  a  than  the  "is  void  of 
understanding  "  in  xii.  11  4. 

Ver.  20.  A  faithful  man  aboundeth  in 
blessings.  For  the  "man  of  fidelities,"  comp. 
the  similar  expression  in  chap.  xx.  6 ;  also  2 
Kings  xii.  16  ;  xxii.  7,  etc. — But  he  that  hast- 
eth  to  be  rich,  naturally,  in  unfaithful,  dis- 
honorable ways.  Comp.  xx.  21 ;  xxi.  5 ;  and 
for  the  concluding  phrase,  iv.  29. 

Ver.  21.  With  a  compare  the  somewhat  more 
complete  expression,  xxiv.  23. — And  (yet)  even 
for  a  piece  of  bread  (many)  a  man  will 
transgress.  The  morsel  of  bread  (1  Sam. 
ii.  36)  probably  stands  here  not  as  an  example 
of  a  peculiarly  insignificant  bribe,  but  as  the 
concrete  designation  of  a  trifle,  a  very  slight 
value  or  advantage  of  any  sort.  Comp.  A.  Gel- 
Lius,  Noct.  Atl.  I.,  15,  where  Cato  says  in  pro- 
verbial  phrase   of  the   tribune   Cselius,  ''frusta 


CHAP.  XXVm.  1-28. 


237 


panis  cojiduci  potest,  vel  ut  taceat,  vel  ut  loquatur" 
[with  a  crust  of  bread  he  can  be  hired  eitlier  to 
keep  silenoe  or  to  speak] . 

Ver.  22.  He  that  hath  a  covetous  eye  hast- 
eth  after  riches,  lit.,  "  with  an  evil  eye,"  and 
therefore  the  envious  ;  comp.  xxiii.  6.  For  the 
idea  of  hastening  after  riches  comp.  xx.  21. — And 
knoweth  not  that  vrant  shall  come  upon 
him. — Instead  of  "Ipn  "want"  (comp.  Job  xxx. 
3  and  akindred  term  inEocles.  i.  15)  the  LXXread 
ion  (so  likewise  the  Edit.  Bomberg.,  1525,  and 
the  Planiin.,  1566).  If  this  reading  were  origi- 
nal, then  we  must  undoubtedly  render  in  accord- 
ance with  chap.  xiv.  34;  xxv.  10;  by  "shame, 
reproach."  Yet  the  Masoretic  reading  also  gives 
a  good  sense,  as  a  comparison  of  vi.  11 ;  xxiii.  5, 
and  other  passages  that  refer  to  the  vanity  and 
perishableness  of  riches  teaches. 

Ver.  23.  He  that  reproveth  a  man  findeth 
afterward  more  favor,  etc.—"  Later,  after- 
ward," in  the  general  sense,  and  not  possibly 
with  Aben  Ezra,  J.  H.  Michaelis,  to  be  taken 
in  the  sense  of  "after  me,  i.  e.,  according  to  my 
precepts."  With  the  flattering  "smoothness  of 
the  tongue"  in  b  compare  xxix.  5;  Ps.  v.  10; 
cil.  4;   Rom.  iii.  13. 

Ver.  24.  He  that  robbeth  his  father  and 
hia  mother. — Comp.  xix.  26  ;  also  Mai.  i.  8 ; 
Mark  vii.  11  sq.;  and  for  the  expression  "com- 
panion of  a  destroyer"  in  clause  c,  chapter 
xviii.  9. 

Ver.  25.  The  covetous  kindleth  strife. — 
tfap   SriT  is  certainly  not  the   "proud"   (Vulg., 

LUTHEK,     EWALD,    BeKTHEATJ,    ElSTER     [GeSEN., 

FuEEST,  Db  W.,  E.  v.,  N.,  S.,  M.],  etc.),  but  the 
man  of  large  cupidity  (comp.  Is.  v.  14 ;  Hab.  ii. 
5),  the  avaricious  and  insatiable,  ajrAi/crrof  (LXX, 
Umbkbit,  Stieb.,  Hitzio  [K.,  H.]).  By  his  co- 
vetous grasping  and  his  overreaching  others,  he 
"kindles  strife"  (comp.  xv.  18;  xxix.  22),  in- 
stead of  living  like  the  man  who  patiently  trusts 
in  the  Lord's  help  in  peaceful  quietness  and  with 
the  prosperous  development  of  his  possessions  as 
they  multiply  under  the  Divine  blessing.  For 
the  expression  "shall  be  made  fat,"  i.  e., 
shall  be  richly  rewarded,  compare  xi.  25 ; 
xiii.  4. 

Ver.  26.  He  that  trusteth  in  his  ov7n  heart 
■ — i.  e.,  not  "he  who  relies  on  his  own  immediate 
feelings  "  (Umbeeit,  Elster),  but  he  who  suffers 
himself  to  be  guided  solely  by  his  own  spirit 
(eomp.  Jer.  xxx.  21),  by  his  own  inconsiderate, 
defiant  impulse  to  act,  and  therefore  follows  ex- 
clusively his  own  counsel  (xxvii.  9).  Comp. 
Hitzio  and  Stikr  on  the  passage. 

Ver.  27.  He  that  giveth  to  the  poor  (suf- 
fereth)  no  ■want. — For  the  sentiment  comp.  xi. 
24;  for  the  elliptical  construction  (the  omission 
of  the  pronoun  "  to  him  "  with  the  "  no  want  "), 
chap,  xxvii.  7  b. — He  that  covereth  his  eyes, 
i.  e.,  turns  them  unsympathizingly  away  from 
such  as  need  help,  that  he  may  not  see  their 
wretchedness ;  comp.  Is.  i.  15,  as  well  as  the  si- 
milar expressions,  Deut.  xxxi.  17;  1  John  iii.  17 
{Kleieiv  TO.  an^ayxiia). — Hath  abundance  of 
curses — of  iiliprecations  from  the  oppressed 
poor;  the  opposite,  therefore,  of  ver.  20. 

Ver.  28.  Comp.  12  b. — But  Twhen  they  per- 
ish the  righteous  increase; — >'.  e.,  the  right- 


eous who  were  before  oppressed  and  chased  away 
come  out  to  view  again  on  all  sides  and  form  once 
more  a  numerous  and  strong  party.  Comp.  xxix. 
2  ;  and  also  xi.  10,  21. 


DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

A  peculiar  "  religious  complexion  "  belongs  not 
merely  to  the  first  half  of  the  chapter,  vers.  1-16 
(as  HiTziQ  asserts,  who  separates  this  portion 
from  its  older  surroundings  as  a  peculiar  inter- 
polation originating  after  the  exile),  but  to  the 
whole  section,  as  is  shown  with  reference  to  the 
second  part,  particularly  by  vers.  18,  20,  24,  25. 
That  which  gives  to  the  chapter  its  specifically 
religious  character  is,  the  repeated  admonitions 
to  hear  and  keep  the  Divine  law  (vers.  4,  7,  9),  to 
seek  Jehovah  (ver.  5),  to  trust  in  Him,  (ver.  25, 
26),  to  a  walking  in  "  faithfulness  "  (ver.  20),  and 
in  blamelessness  or  innocence  (ver.  18),  and 
therefore  in  a  general  consecration, — -to  fear  of 
God's  sacred  anger  (ver.  14) ;  and  also  in  no  less 
degree  the  warnings  against  wanton  and  flatter- 
ing suppression  of  the  consciousness  of  sin  (vers. 
13,  24),  against  a  hardening  in  the  service  of  sin 
(ver.  14),  and  against  the  betrayal  of  others  into 
sin  (ver.  10).  Undoubtedly  it  is  the  desire  to  ex- 
hibit as  the  "  root  of  all  evil "  and  as  a  main  ra- 
dical form  of  ungodliness  and  lawlessness  in  ge- 
neral, the  vice  which  is  most  sharply  censured 
and  opposed,  that  of  covetousness,  or  the  mighty 
rapacity  of  the  wicked, — and  accordingly  to  warn 
against  it  in  the  most  emphatic  way, — that  led 
the  compiler  to  accumulate  just  in  the  passage 
before  us  so  many  thoughts  with  respect  to  the 
religious  relation  of  men  to  God.  For  beside  these 
admonitory  and  warning  proverbs  which  refer 
directly  to  this  relation,  the  substance  of  the 
chapter  is  made  up  almost  exclusively  of  warn- 
ings against  wicked  violence  on  the  part  of  rulers 
in  their  dealing  with  the  lowly  (ver.  1,  3,  12,  15, 
16,  28),  of  rich  with  the  poor  (vers.  6,  8, 11,  24), 
and  of  the  covetous  and  greedy  of  gain  in  their 
relation  to  the  inoffensive  and  unsuspecting  (vers. 
19-22,  25,  26).  A  logically  developed  progress 
of  thought,  it  is  true,  is  wanting ;  the  combina- 
tion is  mixed  of  many  colors,  in  the  style  of  the 
"  strings  of  pearls  "  in  the  gnomic  poetry  of  the 
East,  in  which  it  is  rather  external  than  internal 
contacts  and  analogies  that  determine  the  conca- 
tenation of  the  several  proverbs  or  groups  of 
proverbs. 

HOMILETIO   AND   PRACTICAL. 

Homily  on  the  entire  chapter.  Of  avarice  as  the 
foulest  stain  on  the  conscience,  or  as  the  mother 
of  all  vices  (1  Tim.  vi.  10). — Or,  on  walking  in 
the  fear  of  the  Lord  and  a  good  conscience,  and 
also  on  the  chief  dangers  that  threaten  such  a 
devout  conscientious  life. — Comp.  Stocker  :  On 
the  second  hinderance  to  the  attainment  of  true 
wisdom  :  an  evil,  terrified,  timorous  conscience ; 
its  source  and  characteristics,  as  well  as  the 
remedies  .for  it  (in  a  similar  style,  Wohl- 
parth). 

Vers.  1  sq.  Lpther  (marginal  comment  on 
ver.  1)  ;  One's  own  conscience  is  more  than  a 
thousand  witnesses. — Cramer:  An  evil  conscience 
makes  timid  (Job  xv.  21) ;  but  faith  and  a  good 


238 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


conscience  make  the  heart  joyous,  so  that  it  is  not 
terrified  before  death  and  the  devil  (Pa.  xci.  7). — 
[Aenot  :  No  man  pursueth  ;  and  yet  a  pursuer 
is  on  the  track  of  the  fugitive,  otherwise  he  would 
not  flee.  When  they  escape  from  man,  God  is 
the  pursuer  of  the  guilty.  By  conscience  chiefly 
God  apprehends  us — thereby  chiefly  we  appre- 
hend God]. — Lange  (on  ver.  2) :  When  subjects 
are  oppressed  and  vexed,  they  are  not  to  rebel  or 
curse  the  authorities,  but  seek  the  causes  of  such 
judgments  in  themselves,  turn  and  bring  forth 
fruits  meet  for  repentance. — VoN  Gerlach  (on 
ver.  5)  :  To  the  understanding  of  the  law  there 
belongs  a  disposition  to  fear  God,  otherwise  the 
clearest  knowledge  of  the  letter  is  of  no  avail; 
while  men  that  fear  God  attain  a  sure  compre- 
hension of  all. — [MuFFET:  Albeit  there  is  some 
light  in  the  wicked  man  which  is  sufficient  to 
make  him  inexcusable,  yet  he  is  always  so  blinded 
by  natural  ignorance  .and  malice  that  both  Christ 
and  the  law  to  him  is  a  mystery. — Bridges  ;  When 
knowledge  stands  in  the  stead  of  faith  ;  when  the 
man  reasons  instead  of  submitting  to  Divine 
teaching  ;  knowledge  abused  becomes  a  positive 
hinderance  to  a  correct  understanding.] 

Vers,  fi-12.  Cramer  (on  ver.  6) :  As  his  riches 
do  not  help  the  rich  man  at  all  toward  blessed- 
ness, so  his  poverty  does  not  harm  the  poor  in 
that  direction. — (On  ver.  8) :  God  often  rewards 
even  here  kindness  shown  to  the  poor,  though  it 
may  show  itself  first  to  the  children  of  the  bene- 
factors.—  W'drlemberg  Bible  (on  ver.  9) :  He  that 
would  be  heard  by  God  in  liis  prayer  must  first 
hear  God  in  His  word  and  subject  himself  to  its 
direction. — [Bp.  Hopkins  :  God  stops  His  ears 
against  their  prayers  who  stop  their  ears  against 
His  law.  And  this  is  but  equity  with  God.] — ■ 
Von  Gerlach  :  Even  the  best  that  man  can  do 
becomes  a  sin  to  him  when  he  does  it  with  a  dis- 
position of  disobedience  to  the  Divine  word. — (On 
ver.  11) :  Trust  in  outward  blessings  easily  brings 
with  it  false  self-confidence,  and  it  is  very  natu- 
ral for  the  rich  to  wish  to  lay  claim  likewise  to 
inward  excellencies  and  advantages.  The  poor 
man  standing  by  unconcerned  and  simple,  never- 
theless overlooks  and  searches  him  through,  and 
by  his  very  poverty  has  more  of  spiritual  supe- 
riority.— Starke  (on  ver.  12) :  A  large  propor- 
tion of  subjects  conform  to  the  conduct  of  their 
superiors.  Blessed  is  the  land  whose  rulers  go- 
vern piously  and  praiseworthily  ! — [Trapp  (on 
ver.  10) :  Heaven  is  kept  for  the  upright,  and 
they  for  heaven ;  how  then  should  they  miss  of 
it?] 

Ver.  13-19.  Melanchthon  (on  ver.  13):  As  in 
all  conversion  repentance  must  be  the  first  thing, 
i.  c,  recognition  of  transgression  and  guilt,  com- 
bined with  a  sore  change  of  disposition, — so  here 
confession  of  sin  is  demanded,  and  such  a  one  as 
leads  to  sincere  reformation  of  the  feelings  and 
conduct,  like  that  of  Paul,  1  Cor.  xv.  9,  10.  For 
necessarily  in  confession  of  sin  every  evil  pur- 
pose must  be  given  up,  because  with  persistence 
in  these  penitence  is  no  true  penitence. — Comp. 
the  Absolution-sermon  on  ver.  13  by  Welcker 
(Sonnlagsfeier,  1839) :  Be  not  ashamed  to  confess, 


for  he  only  who  confesses  will  obtain  mercy,  and 
no  competitor  is  crowned  except  he  strive  law- 
fully.— [Lawson  :  To  endeavor  to  shelter  our- 
selves under  coverings  that  are  not  of  God's  Spi- 
rit, is  an  additional  provocation  to  the  eyes  of 
His  glory. — Tbapp  :  Sin  is  a  deformity  that  must 
be  uncovered,  or  God  will  never  cover  it;  see  it 
we  must  to  confession,  or  see  it  we  shall  to  our 
confusion.  No  man  was  ever  kept  out  of  heaven 
for  his  confessed  badness ;  many  are  for  their 
supposed  goodness. — Arnot  :  Sin  cast  forth  from 
the  heart  is  harmless.  It  cannot  then  pollute  the 
life  ;  and  it  will  not  then  remain  an  element  of 
treasured  wrath. — Bates  (on  ver.  14)  :  Blessed 
is  the  man  who  considers  that  God's  eyes  are  al- 
ways upon  him  in  order  to  judgment,  and  whose 
eyes  are  always  upon  God  in  order  to  accept- 
ance.— J.  Howe  :  It  is  a  very  hopeful  character 
upon  you  when  you  are  really  afraid  lest  a  con- 
troversy should  still  depend,  and  not  be  taken  up 
between  God  and  you. — J.  Edwards  :  A  saint  is 
apt  to  be  sensible  of  his  spiritu.al  dangers,  jealous 
of  himself,  full  of  fear  when  he  cannot  see  Ma 
way  plain  before  him,  afraid  to  be  left  alone,  and 
to  beat  a  distance  from  God. J — Starke  :  Searing 
and  hardening  the  heart  is  a  heavy  judgment.  If 
thou  wouldst  not  fall  into  it,  then  hear  betimes 
the  grace  that  knocks  at  thy  door. — (On  ver.  18): 
There  is  only  one  way  to  eternal  life;  he  that 
turns  from  that  to  the  right  or  to  the  left,  and 
would  make  himself  sidepaths,  will  fall  into  ruin. 
— Von  Gerlach  (on  ver.  19):  As  a  reward  for 
his  vain  striving  the  simple  receives  only  vanity. 
—  [Lawson  (on  ver.  17):  The  murderer  of  hia 
neighbor  is  his  own  murderer.] 

Vers.  20  sq.  [Lord  Bacon  (on  ver.  21):  In  a 
judge  facility  of  disposition  is  more  pernicious 
than  bribery  ;  for  it  is  not  every  one  that  offers 
a  bribe,  but  there  is  scarcely  a  case  wherein 
something  may  not  be  found  to  bias  the  mind  of 
the  judge,  if  he  be  a  respecter  of  persons.] — 
Cramer  (on  vers.  20-22)  :  Striving  after  riches 
has  become  to  many  a  one  a  cause  of  many  sins; 
and  these  are  the  very  tares  which  (according  to 
Luke  viii.  14)  choke  the  word  of  God. — Tilhingen 
Bible  (on  ver.  23) :  Speak  the  truth  always,  even 
though  tho'd  see  that  it  is  bitter.  The  future  will 
show  that  thou  still  farest  better  with  this  than 
do  shameful  flatterers. — (On  ver.  24) :  To  take 
any  thing  from  parents  the  Spirit  of  God  calls  a 
theft,  robbing  (he  children  of  all  prosperity  and 
all  blessing. — [Flatel  (on  ver.  23) :  There  is 
no  better  way  to  secure  our  own  interest  in  any 
man's  heart,  than  to  fasten  it  in  his  conscience 
by  our  faithfulness,  and  by  being  willing  to  haz- 
ard it  for  God's  glory.. — South  (on  ver.  26):  Of 
all  the  fallacies  and  scurvy  cheats  put  upon  men 
by  their  trusting  others,  there  are  none  so  shame- 
ful, and  indeed  pernicious,  as  the  baffles  which 
men  sustain  by  trusting  themselves.] — Geibb 
(on  ver.  26)  :  In  our  own  important  afi'aira  we 
should  never  rely  upon  ourselves  alone,  but  ever 
hearken  to  others'  counsel.  Does  not  even  a 
physician  in  hia  sickness  employ  the  counsel  of 
other  physicians  ? — Wohlfahth  :  Trust  not  in 
thine  heart,  but  in  the  Lord. 


CHAP.  XXIX.  1-27.  231> 


d)  Against  stubbornness  and  insubordination. 
Chap.  XXIX. 

1  He  that  being  often  reproved  hardeneth  his  neck 
shall  suddenly  be  destroyed  and  without  remedy. 

2  When  the  righteous  increase  the  people  rejoice, 
but  when  a  wicked  man  ruleth  the  people  mourn. 

3  He  that  loveth  wisdom  maketh  his  father  glad, 

but  he  that  keepeth  company  with  harlots  spendeth  his  substance. 

4  The  king  will  establish  the  land  by  judgment, 
but  a  man  (fond)  of  bribes  destroyeth  it. 

5  A  man  who  flattereth  his  neighbor 
spreadeth  a  net  for  his  feet. 

6  In  the  transgression  of  the  wicked  man  is  a  snare, 
but  the  righteous  will  rejoice  and  be  glad. 

7  The  righteous  knoweth  the  cause  of  the  poor ; 
the  wicked  doth  not  discern  knowledge. 

8  Scoffers  set  on  fire  the  city, 
but  wise  men  turn  back  anger. 

9  A  wise  man  contendeth  with  the  fool ; 

but  he  rageth,  and  laugheth,  and  there  is  no  rest. 

10  Men  of  blood  hate  the  upright, 

but  the  righteous  seek  his  soul  (to  deliver  it). 

11  All  his  wrath  doth  the  fool  pour  forth, 
but  the  wise  quieteth  it  afterward. 

12  A  ruler  that  giveth  heed  to  deceitful  words, 
all  his  servants  are  wicked. 

13  The  poor  man  and  the  usurer  meet  together ; 
Jehovah  giveth  light  to  the  eyes  of  both, 

14  A  king  who  judgeth  the  poor  faithfully, 
his  throne  shall  be  established  for  ever. 

15  The  rod  and  reproof  impart  wisdom ; 

but  a  neglected  son  causeth  his  mother  shame. 

16  When  the  wicked  are  multiplied  transgression  increaseth ; 
but  the  righteous  shall  see  their  fall. 

17  Correct  thy  son,  and  he  will  give  thee  rest, 
and  bring  delight  to  thy  soul. 

18  When  there  is  no  revelation  the  people  are  ungovemed, 
but  he  that  keepeth  the  law,  blessed  is  he ! 

19  By  words  a  servant  will  not  be  corrected ; 

for  he  perceiveth  them  but  doth  not  conform  to  them. 

20  Seest  thou  a  man  hasty  in  his  words ; 
the  fool  hath  more  hope  than  he. 

21  One  bringeth  up  his  servant  tenderly  from  a  child 
and  afterward  he  shall  be  a  son. 

22  An  angry  man  stirreth  up  strife, 

and  a  passionate  man  aboundeth  in  transgression. 

23  A  man's  pride  shall  bring  him  low, 

but  he  that  is  of  a  lowly  spirit  retaineth  honor. 

24  He  that  is  partner  with  a  thief  hateth  his  .own  soul; 
he  heareth  the  curse  and  showeth  it  not. 

25  Fear  of  man  bringeth  a  snare, 

but  he  that  trusteth  Jehovah  shall  be  preserved. 


540 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


26  Many  seek  the  favor  of  the  ruler, 

but  from  Jehovah  cometh  man's  judgment. 

27  An  abomination  to  the  righteous  is  the  unjust  man, 

and  an  abomination  to  the  wicked  is  he  who  is  upright  in  his  way. 


GRAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Yer.  6. With  P^VhD  we  should,  according  to  xxviii.  23,  supply  p'E^7  ;  and  7^  expresses  here  the  dative  relation  u 

'^N  usually  does ;  Comp.  Ps.  xxxvi.  3. 

Ver.  6.— *^"1''  stands  for  p"*,  illustrating  a  very  common  transition  from  ^^  roots  into  the  ^^  form;  Ewald,  gl38,  a. 

It  '     t 

[Green,  J  140, 1-.  Bott.  ?  1147,  A.,  etc.'] 

Ver.  10. — Between  D''D1  and  Djh  there  seems  to  be  an  assonance  intended. 

■   T  T 

Ver.  18. — [^n"lI^N  an  instance  of  the  attachment  of  the  suffix  of  the  singular  to  form  pluralia  ianium;  comp.  ntyX 

in  xiv.  21 ;  xvi.  20,  the  only  other  instances  in  which  the  noun  occurs  with  the  suffix  of  3d  pers.  sing.    BoTT.  suggests  that 
this  may  he  a  trace  of  the  diiilect  of  Ephraim ;  ?  886,  S  and  n.l;  I  888,  1.— A.] 

Ver.  25. — HT^H  BiiTT.  treats  as  a  fem.  Infin.  (g  990,  4,  B  and  n.3),  and  notices  the  not  uncommon  sequence  of  a  maa- 

cnline  predicate  (990,  3,  p.).— A.] 

ral:  Fir  afcrrtis,  and  also  Stiee's;  "he  who  will- 
ingly receives  presents."  [K.  agrees  with  HiT- 
ziG,  etc. ;  H.,  N.,  S.,  M.,  take  our  author's  view.] 

Ver.  5.  A  man  who  flattereth  his  neigh- 
bor; see  Critical  notes. — Spreadeth  a  net  for 
his  feet.  "He  does  this  even  when  he  is  not  in- 
tending it ;  the  web  of  enticing  errors  before 
his  neighbor's  eyes,  become-s,  when  he  comes  into 
contact  with  them,  a  net  in  which  he  is  caught " 
(Hitzig).   For  the  sentiment  comp.  xxvi.  24, 25, 28. 

Ver.  6.  In  the  transgression  of  the  wick- 
ed man  is  a  snare,  i.  e..,  for  himself;  comp. 
xviii.  7;  xx.  25;  xxii.  25.  Hitziq  proposes  in- 
stead of  the  noun  the  corresponding  verb  (in  the 
Niphal)  ;  "In  the  sin  of  the  wicked  he  ensnareth 
himself."  A  change  plainly  as  superfluous  as 
that  of  Ewald,  who,  following  the  steps  of  some 
earlier  expositors  but  clearly  in  violation  of  the 
order  of  words,  combines  the  epithet  "  evil "  with 
the  "snare." — But  the  righteous  w^ill  re- 
joice and  be  glad,  i.  e.,  in  his  own  happy  es- 
cape from  danger.  For  a  like  combination  of 
]J"1  to  exult,  or  shout  for  joy,  and  Wti^  to  be 
glad,  comp.  Ps.  sxxv.  27. 

Ver.  7.  The  righteous  knoweth  the  cause 
of  the  poor,  i.  e.,  their  judicial  cause,  their 
claims  before  a  court.  For  this  use  of  the  verb 
"  to  know  "  comp.  xii.  10 ;  for  the  sentiment  ver. 
14  ;  Job  xxix.  12,  16.— The  wicked  doth  not 
discern  knovrledge  (others  "  know  under- 
standing ") ;  i.  e.,  he  listens  to  no  reason,  has  no 
sensibility  for  right  and  equity  (Hitzig).  Comp. 
xxviii.  5.  [This  explanation,  which  is  also 
Wordsworth's  ("knowledge,  which  consists  in 
piety  and  charily  "),  we  prefer  to  the  more  ex- 
ternal one  given,  e.  g.,  by  H.,  S.,  M.  ;  does  not 
acquaint  himself  with  the  poor  man's  cause. — A.] 

2.  Vers.  8-11.  Against  scoffing,  contentious- 
ness, thirst  for  blood  and  passionateness. — 
Mockers  set  on  fire  the  city.  "  Men  of  de- 
rision "  is  a  more  select  expression  for  the  com- 
mon D"!?/  "  scorners,"  one  found  likewise  in  Is. 
xxviii.  14  [intending  and  meaning  more  than 
would  be  ordinarily  suggested  by  the  rendering 
of  the  E.  V.  ;  "  scornful  men."— A.].  The  "  set- 
ting on  fire"  (lit.  "blowing  upon,"  comp.  Ezek. 
xxi.  36)  the  city  is  a  fitly  chosen  figurative  ex- 
pression for  the  excitement  of  the  passion  and 
the  party  spirit  of  the  people  of  the  city;  ri"1[3 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  Vers.  1-7.  Against  various  forms  of  ob- 
stinate unrighteousness,  especially  oppression, 
prodigality,  flattery,  etc. — He  that  is  often  re- 
proved, being  stiffnecked.  A  "man  of 
corrections"  or  "reproofs"  (for  which  Hitzig 
needlessly  substitu  i  s  ninDlD  "punishments" 
[which  Gesen.  would  render  "  arguments,"  i.  e., 
a  man  who  when  censured  defends  himself])  is 
one  who  deserves  many  corrections,  is  continu- 
ally bringing  them  upon  himself  (comp.  the  "man 
of  sorrows,"  Is.  liii.  8).  Here  he  is  described  as 
such  a  man,  who  "maketh  his  neck  hard,"  i.  e., 
the  stiifnecked  man  who  will  everywhere  defiantly 
carry  through  his  own  will  (comp.  Ex.  xxxii.  9  ; 
xxxiii.  3 ;  xxxix.  9 ;  Deut.  ix.  6 ;  xxxi.  27,  etc.;  and 
also  the  "hardening  of  the  heart"  in  chap,  xxviii. 
14).  [The  E.  V.  which  is  followed  by  nearly  all 
our  expositors,  and  which  we  have  given  in  the 
general  version  of  the  chapter,  makes  the  obsti- 
nacy not  the  original  cause  of  the  many  correc- 
tions, that  for  which  the  offender  is  in  the  first 
instance  reproved,  but  the  disposition  evinced  by 
him  under  all  reproofs  whatsoever.  The  final 
difference  is  not  great ;  sudden  and  utter  destruc- 
tion will  follow  and  end  unavailing  reproofs. — 
A.].  With  b  compare  the  literally  identical 
second  cl.ause  of  chap.  vi.  15. 

Ver.  2.  'When  the  righteous  increase. 
According  to  chap,  xxviii.  28  this  is  the  same 
thing  as  "the  wicked's  perishing"  Hitzig: 
"  when  righteous  men  attain  to  power,'" — an  un- 
necessary assimilation  of  the  meaning  of  the  verb 
to  that  in  clause  b.  For  the  rest  compare 
xxviii.  12. 

Ver.  3.  With  a  compare  a.  1  ;  with  4,  vi.  26  ; 
xxviii.  7. 

Ver.  4.  A  king  w^ill  establish  the  land  by 
judgment,  (t.  c,  by  the  maintenance  of  justice). 
For  the  verb  comp.  1  Kings  xv.  4.  The  "man  of 
gifts  (bribes)  "  is  then  naturally  the  unjust  ruler 
who  "  perverts  justice  from  love  of  gifts  "  (Ber- 
THEAu).  Rosenmuei.ler  and  Hitzig  explain  the 
phrase  as  meaning  "a  man  of  taxes  or  assess- 
ments;" in  like  manner  Luther:  "he  who  as- 
sesses the  land  excessively."  This  is  possible, 
but  not  demonstrable  with  full  certainty.  The 
conception  of  the  Vulgate  is  at  any  rate  too  gene- 


CHAP.  XXIX.  1-27. 


241 


Btands  here  like  ttSXi^  in  Matth.  xii.  21  of  the 
community  of  the  oily. — With  b  comp.  xv.  1,  18; 
Eccles.  X.  4.  [The  connection  is  not  unknown  in 
modern  times  of  religious  skepticism  and  rational- 
ism, with  political  radicalism  and  a  revolutionary 
spirit. — A.]. 

Ver.  9.  A  vrise  man  oontendeth  -with  a 
fool;— but  he  rageth  and  laugheth  and 
there  is  no  rest.  The  first  clause  forms,  some- 
what like  the  abl.  absol.  in  Latin,  a  clause  by 
itself,  the  participle  of  which  may  he  resolved 
into  "if  or  when  the  wise  contendeth,  ete."  The 
subject  of  the  verbs  in  b  is  the  fool  and  not  the 
wise  man  (Ewald,  Umbreit,  Elster,  Stier 
[De  W.,  MuFFET,  N.,  etc.,  while  Bertheau,  K., 
H.,  S.,  etc.,  understand  "the  fool,"  the  E.  V.,  M. 
and  others  being  ambiguous]),  in  which  case  the 
nnj  rSl  (and  there  is  no  ceasing,  no  rest  comes, 
comp.  1  Sam.  xxv.  9)  would  form  quite  too  short 
aconolusiou;  moreover  the  "raging"  and  the 
"laughing"  appear  to  be  much  rather  charac- 
teristic signs  of  the  fool's  conduct  than  of  the  wise 
man's  ;  comp.  ver.  11  and  chap.  xii.  16. 

A''er.  10.  Men  of  blood  hate  the  upright. 
"  Men  of  blood  "  as  in  Ps.  v.  7  ;  xxvi.  9  ;  Iv.  24  ; 
cxxxix.  19. — But  the  righteous  seek  his 
soul,  viz.,  to  preserve  and  prosper  it.  That  the 
"seeking  the  soul"  here  stands  bono  sensu,  un- 
like its  use  in  some  other  passages  {e.-g.,  Ps.  xl. 
15;  1  Kings   xix,  10,   etc.,)  [on   the  other  hand 

comp.  'IZ'i)J7  !!'^n  in  Ps.  cxlii.  5],  appears  from 
the  contrast  with  clause  a;  Hitzig's  emendation 
is  therefore  unnecessary,  substituting  D'Si!/?] 
for  D'"1K'M,  and  thus  obtaining  as  the  meaning: 
"and  seek  to  separate  his  soul,  to  isolate  it"  (!). 
[Of  our  expositors  H.  prefers  the  common  ren- 
dering of  the  predicate,  and  makes  "the  up- 
right" a  nom.  or  ace.  absolute. — A.] 

Ver.  11.  All  his  wrath  doth  the  fool  pour 
forth,  "Spirit"  ia  here  plainly  wrath,  as  in 
xvi.  32,  and  not  "soul"  (Umbreit)  or  "mind" 
Stier,  etc.;  [so  E.  V.  and  some  of  our  interpre- 
ters]),— But  the  wise  quieteth  it  afterward. 
linXS,  which  occurs  only  here,  means  "after- 
ward, at  length " ;  others  explain  this  unusual 
expression  by  "back,  retrorsum ;"  e.  g.,  De  W., 
Stier,  Hitzio,  Gesen.,  etc.  :  "Keepeth  it  back, 
restraining  it,  pressing  it  in  as  it  were  (?)." 

S.  Vers.  12-17.  Admonitions  to  a  just  and  mild 
mode  of  government,  and  also  the  strict  discipline 
of  children.  With  ver.  12  comp.  Ecclesiast.  x.  2, 
and  also  Cio.  Ve  Leg.,  III.  13  and  the  Latin  pro- 
verb ;  Qualis  rex  talis  grex,  "  like  king,  like  peo- 
ple." 

Ver.  ]3.  The  poor  man  and  the  usurer 
(oppressor)  meet  together.  The  "man  of  ex- 
actions "  should  be  iuterpreted  with  the  LXX 
(davetoTTlc),  Vulg.  (creditor),  Ewald,  Hitzig, 
FtiKRST,  etc.,  by  "  usurer,"   inasmuch  as  O'JJDri, 

as  a  plural  from  ^n  (roKOf)  [?]  ia  very  probably 
equivalent  in  meaning  to  ^B'J  "usury;"  [Rod., 
BoTT.,  etc.,  prefer  the  broader  meaning  "oppres- 
sion"]. A  "man  of  usury,  money-lender"  ia 
fnrthermore  only  a  more  concrete  expression  for 
a  "rich  man,"  and  this  is  the  corresponding 
term  in  chap.  xxii.  2. — Jehovah  giveth  light 
to  the  eyes  of  both  j  i.  c,  according  to  the 
16 


parallels  cited,  Jehovah  has  given  to  them  both 
the  light  of  their  life  ;  from  God  comes  to  both 
the  light  of  life  and  tlie  joy  of  life  ;  comp.  Ps. 
xiii.  4 ;  Job  xxxiii.  30;  Eccles.  xi.  7.  ["Here 
is  comfort  to  the  poor  in  his  suiferings  ;  here  is 
warning  to  the  rich  in  his  violence."   Words.] 

Ver.  14.  A  king  w^ho  judgeth  the  poor 
faithfully.  "  In  truth,  or  fidelity  "  is  not  here 
"  conscientiously,  with  truth  to  his  own  convic- 
tions," but  conformably  to  the  state  of  the  facts, 
"so  that  he  permits  true  judgment  (Zech.  vii. 
9)  to  reach  the  poor  "  (Hitzig).  With  the  senti- 
ment comp.^  XX.  28 ;   xxv.  5. 

Ver.  15.  With  a  comp.  xxiii.  13  ;  xiii.  24 ;  with 
6,  X.  1  ;  xvii.  21  ;  xxviii.  7.  The  "neglected" 
is  literally  "  he  who  is  exempted  from  discipline, 
who  is  left  to  his  own  will." 

Ver.  16.  When  the  w^icked  are  multiplied 
transgression  increaseth,  so  far  forth  as  the 
wicked  who  are  found  in  the  decided  majority 
think  that  they  may  with  impunity  commit  all 
manner  of  wickedness.  With  b  comp.  Ps.  xxxvii. 
34  where  the  joyful  beholding  of  the  destruction 
of  the  wicked  is  expressed  by  the  same  phrase. 

Ver.  17.  With  a  comp.  xix.  18. — And  give 
delight  to  thy  soul.  D'J"li'n  not  "delica- 
cies, dainties  "  (Bebtheau),  but  delights,  joys  in 
general,  whose  increasing  variety  ia  expressed 
by  the  plural  (Stier). 

4.  Vers.  IS-ZS.  Against  lawlessness,  insubordi- 
nation, a  passionate  temper,  and  pride. — When 
there  is  no  revelation  the  people  are  un- 
governed.  t'lm  here  denotes  prophetic  pre- 
diction, the  revelation  of  God  by  His  D'TJl  or 
rr'N'l,  "seers"  (1  Sam.  ix.  9),  [E.  V.  "when 
there  is  no  vision"]  ;  the  chief  function  of  these 
consisted  in  their  watching  over  the  vigorous  ful- 
filling of  the  law,  .or  in  the  enforcement  of  the 
demands  of  the  law.  By  the  phrase  "in  lack  of 
vision  "  a  time  is  described  like  that  mentioned 
in  1  Sam.  iii.  1,  when  "  the  word  of  the  Lord  was 
precious  ;"  or  like  those  m«ntioued  in  Hos.  iii. 
4;  Am.  viii.  12;  2  Chron.  xv.  3;  Ps.  Ixxiv.  9, 
times  distinguished  by  poverty  in  prophetic  tes- 
timonies and  activities.  In  such  times  the  peo- 
ple must  necess.'irily  be  "  undisciplined  and  un- 
bridled," (so  Ex.  xxxiv.  25  [where  the  E.  V. 
incorrectly  renders  "naked"]  ). — But  he  that 
keepeth  the  law  blessed  is  he  !  (comp.  xiv. 
21;  xvi.  20.)  This  benediction  forms  no  strict 
antithesis  to  clause  a.  The  connection  of  ideas 
seems  to  be  this  :  But  he  who  in  such  seasons  of 
ascendant  lawlessness  nevertheless  keeps  God's 
law,  etc."  (Hitzig). 

Ver.  19.  By  Tvords  a  servant  w^ill  not  be 
corrected ;  e.  e.,  mere  words  do  not  reform  a 
servant,  who  rather  needs  a  sharper  correction. — 
For  he  perceiveth  them  but  doth  not  0007 
form  to  them ;  lit.  "  but  there  ia  not  an  an- 
swer," that  is  in  action,  by  actual  obedience,  by 
inraiiorj  (2  Cor.  X.  6,  etc.).  Bertheau  is  wrong: 
"  For  he  will  observe  it — that  there  ia  no  com- 
ing to  blows — and  there  will  be  no  answer  ;"  no 
less  is  EwAiD  incorrect :  "But  he  becomes  in- 
telligent (gains  understanding)  without  an  an- 
swer," and  likewise  Von  Hofmann,  Schriftbew., 
II.  2,  377  :  "  if  he  has  understanding  no  answer 
follows." 


242 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


Ver.  20.  Almost  exactly  like  xxvi.  12.  Comp. 
also  Eoolesiaat,.  ix.  18,  where  the  TrpoTrerr/c  h  Uyy 
avTov  corresponds  precisely  with  the  "hasty  in 
his  words  "  of  our  verse. 

Ver.  21.  If  one  bringeth  up  his  slave  ten- 
derly from  a  child  afterward  he  will  be  a 
son.  The  relation  of  the  two  clauses  is  like  that 
in  ver.  9,  pJ3  "  to  fondle  "  is  used  here  only  in 
the  0.  T.  ;  it  is  more  common  in  Aramaic,  pjn 
which  according  to  the  Rabbinic  is  cognate  with 
n  suboles,  seems  to  be  designed  to  distinguish 
"the  son  of  the  household,"  the  free  filius  fami- 
lias  in  contrast  with  the  house-slave  ;  comp.  Ln- 
ther's  term  "Junker"  [a  "squire"].  Others  in- 
terpret the  Hapaxlegom.  differently,  e.  g.  Ewald, 
following  the  Arabic  :  "he  will  be  unthankful" 
[FoEKST,  "intractable"]:  Stier  "  hia  end  will 
be  (evil)  development;"  Von  HorM.\NN,  wit sw^ra; 
"  there  is  at  last  a  lamentation,"  etc.  [Holden  : 
"  shall  be  grieved  "].  Hitzig  reads  HiJD  which 
is  to  be  interpreted,  like  Ps.  xliv.  15  (14)  "a 
shaking  of  the  head,"  or  even  "  a  wringing  of  the 
hands  !"  To  write  tHD  would  be  more  natural 
than  this:  "his  end  will  be  contention,"  as  the 
Vulgate  seems  to  have  understood  the  expression, 
when  it  renders  :  poslea  sentiet  eum  contumacem. 

Ver.  22.  An  angry  man  stirreth  up  strife. 
Almost  precisely  like  xv.  18  ;  comp.  xxviii.  2.5. — 
And  a  passionate  man  aboundeth  in  trans- 
gression ;  for  31  in  the  sense  of  "  great  or 
rich  in  something,"  comp.  xxviii.  20,  27.  See 
chap.  xxii.  24  for  a  phrase  kindred  to  the  "lord 
of  passion,"  {.  c,  the  passionate  man. 

Ver.  23.  With  acomparexvi.  18;  xxv.  7;  with 
b,  xvi.  19;  xi.  16. 

5.  Ver.  24-27.  Warning  against  the  fear  of 
man,  disposition  to  please  men,  and  complicity 
in  transgressions. — He  that  is  partner  with 
a  thief  hateth  himself;  i.  «.,  inasmuch  as  he, 
as  the  concealer  of  a  thief,  brings  upon  himself 
the  guilt  and  likewise  the  penalty  of  the  fu'.l 
theft. — He  heareth  the  curse  and  showeth 
It  not;  i.  e.,  he  hears  the  curse  which  according 
to  the  law  (Lev.  v.  1  sq. )  marks  a  theft  as  an 
offence  deserving  a  heavy  penalty,  and  yet  does 
not  reveal  the  perpetrators  of  the  deed  which  is 
laden  with  such  a  curse,  and  thus  brings  the 
curse  also  upon  himself.  [The  E.  V.  is  altogether 
ambiguous  and  misleading.] 

Ver.  25.  Fear  of  man  bringeth  a  snare. 
Fear   of    man    (for    which    Hitzig    conjectures 

VrXXl  IDHi  "  desiring  or  delighting  in  man")  is 
strictly  "  trembling  before  men ;"  comp.  1  Sam. 
Xiv.  15.  Such  a  fear  of  man  "  bringeth  a  snare," 
because  it  easily  betrays  into  a  participation  in 
the  sinful  actions  of  men.  With  6  comp.  xviii.  10. 
Ver.  26.  Many  seek  the  face  (favor)  of  the 
ruler;  they  wait  upon  him,  the  potentate,  in  per- 
son, as  a  token  of  their  homage,  and  in  order  to 
gain  his  favor.  Comp.  xix.  6  ;  1  Kings  x.  24. — But 
from  Jehovah  cometh  man's  judgment; 
I.  0.,  God,  the  Supreme  Ruler,  allots  the  destinies 
of  men  most  justly  and  equitably;  with  Him  one 
obtains  the  desired  judgment  more  certainly  than 
with  any  human  ruler  whatsoever.  Comp.  xvi. 
38.  HiTzio  arbitrarily  says  :  "judgment  is  here 
equivalent  to  rank,  dignity." 


Ver.  27.  Comp.  xi.  20 ;  xxviii.  4  ;  and  for  th« 
expression  "they  that  walk  uprightly,"  or  are 
"upright  in  the  way,"  in  clause  b,  see  in  parti, 
oular  Ps.  xxxvii.  14,  and  also  Prov.  ii.  7. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

When  early  expositors  (Stockek,  Wohlpaeth, 
etc.,  comp.  also  Stier)  represent  the  chapter  be- 
fore us  as  directed  especially  against  stiff-necked 
obstinacy,  or  against  wilful  disobedience  and 
persistent  refusal  of  correction,  this  conception 
of  its  main  subject  not  only  corresponds  with 
ver.  1,  but  also  with  the  repeated  occurrence  of 
rebukes  of  lawless  conduct  and  the  bad  training 
of  children,  such  as  the  following  series  of  pro- 
verbs exhibits  (vers.  9,  12,  16,  17,  18,  19,  21). 
Besides  the  manifold  warnings  against  violent 
temper  and  its  evil  consequences  fall  under  the 
same  category  (vers.  8,  11,  22) ;  In  like  manner 
the  dissuasions  against  prodigality  (ver.  3),  op- 
pression of  the  poor  (vers.  2,  7,  13,  14),  pride 
(ver.  23),  flattery  and  bribery  (vers.  4,  5,  12),  in- 
justice and  deeds  of  wickedness  in  general  (vers. 
6,  10,  16,  27).  As  a  peculiar  form  of  insubordi- 
nation, or  persistent  disregard  of  the  divine  law, 
there  is  brought  out  prominently  toward  the  end 
of  the  chapter  Vaefear  of  man,  which  has  not  be- 
fore been  expressly  mentioned  in  the  Book  of 
Proverbs.  And  this  is  done  in  such  a  way  as  to 
distinguish  three  degrees  of  this  fault;  the  con- 
cealing of  a  theft,  as  its  rudest  and  lowest  form 
(ver.  24) ;  the  "  trembling  before  men,"  or  pli- 
ability with  respect  to  such  conduct  of  wicked 
persons  in  general  as  is  sinful  and  entices  to  sin 
(ver.  25) ;  and  the  mere  disposition  to  please  men, 
or  reliance  on  the  protection  and  favor  of  power- 
ful men,  instead  of  on  God  alone  (ver.  26). 

A  special  adaptation  to  the  theocratic  political 
organization  of  the  people  of  God  under  the  Old 
Testament  is  given  to  the  general  direction  which 
the  chapter  takes  against  wilfulness,  insubordina- 
tion and  want  of  discipline,  in  ver.  18 :  When 
there  is  no  revelation,  the  people  become  law- 
less; but  he  that  keepeth  the  law,  blessed  is  he! 
In  this  remarkable  testimony  to  the  need  of  pro- 
phecy as  the  living  watch  and  ward  of  the  law, 
there  is  evidently  brought  to  view  that  thought 
which  is  doctrinally  and  in  respect  to  the  history 
of  salvation  the  most  significant  in  the  section. 
This  is  a  thought  which  could  develop  itself  and 
find  expression  only  after  repeated  periods  had 
occurred  in  which  prophecy  was  wholly  or  par- 
tially silent,  and  therefore  only  on  the  ground  of 
sorrowfill  experiences  that  had  accumulated  in 
such  seasons.  The  appearance  of  this  thought, 
however,  in  the  section  before  us  by  no  means 
compels  the  assumption  that  this  division  of  the 
book  may  not  have  originated  till  after  Hezekiah, 
and  this  Hitzig  also  admits.  Comp.  above,  the 
exegetical  interpretation  of  the  passage. 

The  great  significance  of  prophecy  for  the  mo- 
ral  life,  both  of  the  theocratic  people  of  God 
and  of  Christian  nations,  has  been  well  presented 
by  Elster,  in  connection  with  this  passage. 
"Where  the  continuity  of  these  prophetic  revela- 
tions (to  which  it  belonged  to  maintain  in  life  and 
to  develop  the  fundamental  revelation  made  in 
the  law)  was  interrupted,  this  was  the  sign  of  a 
stagnation  in  the  theocratic  life,  of  an  incapacity 


CHAP.  XXIX.  1-27. 


248 


to  understand  the  voice  of  God  that  ever  contin- 
ued to  exist  in  Israel.  Such  a  condition  must 
therefore  necessarily  bring  with  it  also  a  moral 
lawlessness  in  the  people.  For  when  the  law  was 
a  yivid  reality,  it  must  necessarily  develop  pro- 
phetic manifestations,  because  there  is  in  the  law 
itself  a  struggling  toward  a  higher  perfection,  so 
that  the  faithful  keeping  of  the  law  stood  in  the 
most  intimate  reciprocity  with  the  flourishing  of 
prophecy. — Naturally  the  relation  of  this  proverb 
to  the  life  of  Christian  nations  is  thereby  not 
excluded,  for  we  muat  then  contemplate  the  law 
as  iirst  revealed  in  its  true  import  in  the  light  of 
the  gospel,  and  revelation  as  the  continued  work- 
ing of  the  Spirit  in  the  Church  " 

How  far  moreover  in  the  life  of  Christian  na- 
tions we  can  and  must  speak  of  an  abiding  co- 
operative work  of  prophecy  {«.  e.,  naturally  that 
of  the  New  Testament),  upon  its  successful  deve- 
lopment, religious  and  moral.  Von  Zezsohwitz 
has  shown  with  peculiar  force  and  pertinence  in 
his  three  discourses  on  "Domestic  Missions,  po- 
pular education  and  prophecy  "  (Frankfort  on 
the  Main,  1864) ;  see  in  particular  pp.  86  sq. 

HOMILETIC   AND   PRACTICAL. 

Bomily  on  the  chapter  as  a  whole :  The  blessing 
of  strict  discipline  on  the  basis  of  the  word 
of  God,  or  its  necessity  for  the  prospe- 
rity whether  of  individual  persons  and  house- 
holds, or  of  entire  nations  and  States. — Stookbr: 
Third  hinderance  to  the  attainment  of  true  wis- 
dom ;  obstinate  disobedience  or  stubbornness ; 
origin,  characteristics  and  remedy  of  this  evil. 

Vers.  1-7.  [Tbapp  (on  ver.  1) :  If  men  harden 
their  hearts,God  will  harden  His  hand. — J.  Howe  : 
A  fearful  thing  when  the  gospel  itself  shall  not  be 
my  remedy  ! — Chalmers  :  The  hardening  effect 
of  continued  resistance  to  the  application  of  a 
moral  force. — -S.  Davies  :  To  follow  the  conduct 
of  our  own  folly  and  refuse  the  advantage  we 
might  receive  from  the  wisdom  of  others  disco- 
vers an  unoreaturely  pride  and  self-sufficiency  ; 
and  the  career  of  such  a  pursuit,  whatever  be  its 
object,  will  always  end  in  disappointment  and 
confusion. — Hooker  (on  ver.  2) :  Religion  un- 
feiguedly  loved  perfecteth  man's  abilities  unto 
all  kind  of  virtuous  services  in  the  common- 
wealth.]— Zeltner  (on  ver.  1):  He  that  obsti- 
nately opposes  the  Holy  Ghost  and  will  not  re- 
ceive the  wholesome  corrections  of  God's  word, 
his  heart  the  evil  spirit  hardens  ;  he  thereby 
plunges  himself  into  calamity. — (On  ver.  3):  Pious 
parents  can  experience  no  greater  joy  than  when 
they  see  their  children  walk  in  true  wisdom  and 
the  fear  of  God. — (On  ver.  6) :  The  caress  of  a 
flatterer  is  much  more  dangerous  than  the  hatred 
of  an  enemy. — [South  (on  ver.  5) :  Three  Ser- 
mons on  Flattery. — Bridges  (on  ver.  6) :  There 
is  always  a  snare  in  the  ways  of  sin ;  always  a 
song  in  the  ways  of  God.] — Lange  (on  ver.  7)  : 
Let  judges  and  rulers  take  good  heed  lest  they  by 
their  negligence  in  the  cause  of  the  humble  be 
reckoned  as  among  the  ungodly. — Von  Geklach  : 
By  righteousness  there  is  opened  to  man  a  view 
into  all  departments  of  life ;  especially  may  he 
transfer  himself  into  the  position  and  case  of  the 
oppressed ;  while  to  the  wicked  man,  who  looks 
on  every  thing  superficially,  such  insight  is  de- 


nied, and  he  therefore  easily  comes  to  oppress  the 
poor. 

Vers.  8-11.  Hasius  (on  ver.  8):  An  unwashed 
mouth  may  easily  stir  up  much  evil ;  but  it  is  a 
characteristic  of  wisdom  to  make  the  best  of  every 
thing. — Stabke  :  A  true  Christian  is  at  the  same 
time  a  good  citizen  in  the  commonwealth  ;  for  he 
seeks  to  produce  and  preserve  peace. — [Lord 
Bacon  :  Scorners  weaken  all  the  foundations  of 
civil  government ;  a  thing  the  more  to  be  at- 
tended to,  because  the  mischief  is  wrought  not 
openly,  but  by  secret  engines  and  intrigues. — 
Lawson  :  The  holy  seed  are  the  substance  and 
strength  of  a  land. — Lord  Bacon  (on  ver.  9)  :  In 
this  contest  the  chances  are  altogether  unequal ; 
seeing  it  is  no  victory  to  conquer,  and  a  great 
disgrace  to  be  conquered.]— Lange  :  One  should 
not  suffer  himself  to  be  kept  from  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  truth  by  the  opposition  of  foolish  peo- 
ple, 2  Tim.  iv.  2;  if  one  does  not  receive  it,  ano- 
ther does. — Von  -Gerlaoh  (on  ver.  11)  :  Among 
the  characteristics  of  folly  there  is  always  found 
a  boisterous,  ungovernable  nature ;  to  wisdom 
belongs  self-command. 

Ver.  12-17.  Melanchthon  (on  ver.  12) :  The 
example  of  distinguished  persons,  such  as  rulers, 
teachers,  etc.,  avails  and  effects  very  much,  and 
that  in  both  directions,  by  promoting  good  as 
well  as  evil.  Most  rapidly,  however,  is  the  plague 
of  base  vices  transmitted,  especially  in  the  circle 
of  household  companions,  and  in  the  daily  retinue 
of  these  persons  of  high  station. — [Muffet  :  He 
that  carrieth  Satan  in  his  ear  is  no  less  blame- 
worthy than  he  which  carrieth  him  in  his  tongue.] 
— Cramer  (on  ver.  13) :  The  Holy  Scriptures  are 
for  poor  and  for  rich  ;  every  one  findeth  his  own 
chapter  therein  adapted  to  himself.  But  in  order 
that  the  one  as  well  as  the  other  may  see  what  is 
needful  for  them,  both  need  enlightenment  and 
divine  help  — Starke  (on  ver.  14) :  Not  so  much 
by  strength  and  might  as  rather  hy  faithful,  kind 
and  righteous  treatment  of  subjects  is  a  govern- 
ment preserved  and  confirmed. — -Von  Gerlach 
(on  vers.  1-5,  17) :  Mothers  are  wont  to  be  most 
at  fault  in  indulging  their  children,  and  must 
therefore  bear  away  the  chief  shame  of  its  fruits. 
— [Chalmers  :  By  joining  the  rod  with  the  re- 
proof, the  moral  is  sometimes  the  better  en- 
forced when  there  is  added  to  it  the  physical  ap- 
pliance.] 

Ver.  18.  Luther:  Without  God's  word  man 
can  do  nothing  but  practise  idolatry  and  his  own 
will. — Melanchthon  :  As  well  princes  as  people 
must  consider  that  pious  governments,  which 
God  aids  by  His  counsel  and  blessing,  are  more 
needful  than  all  things  beside  ;  they  must  there- 
fore beseech  God  for  such  a  wholesome  govern- 
ment, and  not  plunge  themselves  in  sin  and  vice, 
lest  God  withdraw  it  from  them  as  a  judgm.ent. — 
Stocker  (special  sermon  for  married  people, 
based  on  ver.  18) :  On  the  indispensable  necessity 
of  the  divine  word  to  a  blessed  domestic  relation,: 
a)  How  Christian  hearts  should  stand  related  to 
the  word  of  God;  b)  What  advantage  and  reward 
they  have  from  its  right  use. — Wohlfarth  :  Take 
religion  from  man  and  he  sinks  into  the  deepest 
barbarism. — [Flavel:  The  Spirit  and  the  word 
of  God  usually  come  and  go  together.] 

Vers.  19-27.  Zeltner  (on  vers.  19-21):  As 
self-willed  menials  do  when  they  are  indulged,  so 


244 


THE  PR0VEEB9  OP  SOLOMON. 


likewise  our  own  vile  flesh  and  blood.  If  one 
leaves  to  this  its  own  will  even  a  little,  it  will 
quickly  rule  over  tiie  spirit,  Gal.  v.  17  sq. — 
[LoED  Bacon  (on  ver.  21) :  Princes  and  masters 
ought  to  keep  a  measure  in  conferring  grace  and 
favor  on  their  servants.  .  .  Sudden  promotion 
begets  insolence  ;  continual  obtaining  of  desires 
begets  impatience  of  refusal ;  and  if  there  be  no- 
thing further  to  aspire  to,  there  will  be  an  ab- 
sence of  alacrity  and  industry.] — Starke  (on 
ver.  24)  :  Both  the  bold  sinner  himself  and  he 
likewise  who  makes  himself  partaker  in  the  sins 
of  others,  brings  upon  himself  God's  wrath  and 
punishment. — (On  ver.  25)  :  It  is  a  siaful  fear  of 
man  when  one  from  timidity  acts  to  please  others 
against  his   conscience. — A  means   against  this 


fear  of  man  is  pre-eminently  prayer  for  a  joyous 
spirit  (Ps.  li.  12,  14),  and  faith  and  child-like  re- 
liance on  God's  protection.  —  [Flavel  :  Men 
vainly  "hope  to  find  mercy  with  God,"  but  expect 
none  from  men ;  so  the  voice  of  conscience  is 
drowned  by  the  louder  clamors  and  threats  of  ad- 
versaries.— Arnot:  It  is  not  a  transference  of 
fear  from  man  to  God  that  makes  a  sinner  safe ; 
the  kind  of  affection  must  be  changed  as  well  as 
its  object.  Safety  lies  not  in  terror,  but  in  trust. 
Hope  leads  to  holiness.] — Von  Gerlaoh  (on  ver. 
26) :  Justice  and  favor  which  princes  can  ensure 
are  indifferent  in  the  presence  of  God's  decision, 
. — (On  ver.  27) :  It  is  no  good  sign  for  him  who 
would  be  upright  when  he  can  be  on  friendly 
terms  with  the  ungodly. 


V.    THE  SUPPLEMENTS. 

Chaps.  XXX.  and  XXXI. 

First  Supplement:  The  ■words  of  Agur. 

Chap.  XXX. 

o)  Inteoduction  :  Of  God's  word  as  the  source  of  all  wisdom. 

Vers.  1-6. 

"Words  of  Agur,  the  son  of  the  princess  of  Massa. 
The  man's  saying :  "  I  have  wearied  myself  about  God, 
wearied  myself  about  God — then  did  I  withdraw  ! 
For  I  am  a  beast  and  not  a  man, 
and  the  understanding  of  a  man  I  have  not ; 
neither  have  I  acquired  wisdom, 
nor  gained  knowledge  of  the  Holy. 
Who  hath  ascended  to  the  heavens  and  descended  ? 
who  hath  grasped  the  wind  in  his  fists  ? 
who  hath  wrapped  the  waters  in  a  garment? 
who  hath  fixed  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  ? 
what  is  his  name  and  what  is  his  son's  name,  if  thou  knowest  ? 
Every  word  of  God  is  pure  ; 
a  shield  is  He  to  them  that  trust  in  Him. 
Add  thou  not  to  His  words, 
lest  He  rebuke  thee  and  thou  be  made  a  liar." 


b)  Various  expressive  numerical  proverbs,  relating  to  the  golden  mean  between  rich  and  poor,  to 
recklessness,  an  insatiable  disposition,  pride  and  arrogance,  etc. 

7  Two  things  have  I  entreated  of  thee, 
refuse  me  not,  before  I  die : 

8  Deceit  and  lies  keep  far  from  me ; 
poverty  and  riches  give  me  not ; 
cause  me  to  eat  the  food  allotted  me  ;  • 

9  lest  I,  being  full,  deny  (God) 
and  say :  Who  is  Jehovah  ? 

aad  lest  I,  having  become  poor,  steal 
and  take  the  name  of  my  God  in  vain. — 


CHAP.  XXX.  1-33.  245 


10  Cause  not  the  servant  to  slander  his  master, 

lest  he  curse  thee  and  thou  suflfer  (be  destroyed). — 

11  (There  is)  a  generation  that  curseth  their  father, 
and  doth  not  bless  their  mother ; 

12  (there  is)  a  generation  that  are  pure  in  their  own  eyes, 
and  are  not  washed  from  their  filthiness  ; 

13  (there  is)  a  generation,  how  haughty  are  their  eyes, 
and  their  eyelids  are  lifted  up  ; 

14  (there  is)  a  generation  whose  teeth  are  swords,  and  their  jaw-teeth  knives, 
to  devour  the  poor  from  the  earth,  and  the  needy  from  among  men  I — 

15  The  leech  hath  two  daughters  :  give,  give  I 

there  are  three  (things)  that  are  not  to  be  satisfied ; 
four  say  not :  enough ! 

16  The  world  of  the  dead,  the  barren  womb ; 
the  earth  (which)  is  not  satisfied  with  water, 
and  the  fire  that  saith  not :  enough  ! — 

17  An  eye  that  mocketh  at  its  father, 
and  despiseth  obedience  to  its  mother, 

the  ravens  of  the  valley  shall  pluck  it  out, 
and  the  young  eagles  shall  eat  it. — 

18  Three  things  are  too  wonderful  for  me, 
and  four  I  do  not  comprehend ; 

19  the  way  of  the  eagle  in  the  heavens, 
the  way  of  a  serpent  upon  a  rock, 

the  way  of  a  ship  in  the  midst  of  the  sea, 
and  the  way  of  a  man  with  a  maid. 

20  Thus  is  the  way  of  the  adulterous  woman  : 
she  eateth,  and  wipeth  her  mouth,  and  saith  : 
I  have  done  no  iniquity ! — 

21  Under  three  things  doth  the  earth  tremble, 
and  under  four  can  it  not  stand : 

22  under  a  servant  when  he  ruleth, 

and  a  fool  when  he  is  satisfied  with  bread  ; 

23  under  a  hated  (rejected)  woman  when  she  is  married, 
and  a  maid  when  she  succeedeth  her  mistress. 

24  Four  are  the  little  things  of  earth, 
and  yet  are  they  wise,  quick  of  wit : 

25  the  ants,  a  people  not  strong, 

that  prepare  in  summer  their  food ; 

26  conies,  a  people  not  mighty, 

that  set  their  dwelling  among  rocks ; 

27  no  king  have  the  locusts, 

and  yet  they  go  forth  organized  all  of  them ; 

28  the  lizard  layeth  hold  with  her  hands, 
and  dwelleth  in  kings'  palaces. — 

29  There  are  three  that  make  stately  their  walk, 
and  four  that  are  comely  in  going  : 

30  the  lion,  mighty  among  beasts, 
and  that  turneth  not  before  any  : 

31  the  greyhound,  slender  in  its  loins,  or  the  goat, 

and  a  king  with  whom  there  is  no  resistance  (possible). — 

32  If  thou  art  foolish  in  exalting  thyself, 

and  if  thou  devisest  evil — (put)  thy  hand  on  thy  mouth ! 

33  For  the  pressing  of  milk  giveth  forth  cheese, 
and  pressing  the  nose  giveth  blood, 

and  pressing  wrath  giveth  strife. 


246 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


GEAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Ver.  6.— [In  eiDijT  we  have  the  Biuglo  instance  in  which  daghesh  Urn  is  omitted  after  a  silent  eheTa.    See  Gbeek,  J  22 

6;  66(2),  a:  BoTT.',  §325.— A.]  .        ^     ^^       ■        ,  ■         ..  -it     >       ,■    ..     ^ 

Ter.  10.— [IQ  IJliX  the  suinx  is  of  the  form  appropriate  to  the  singular,  as  is  not  uncommon  with ^jiMrciiia  tantum; 

T     ■"■ 

BSlT.,  ?  886, 1,  S.  In  nS'?  p'  the  verb  has  the  sense  of  a  subj.  pres.  in  a  negative  or  final  clause ;  Bon.,  J  981,  2.— A.] 

Ters.  15.— [The  noun   tin,  as  a  st'  °f  independent  accusative,  becomes  virtually  an  Interjection.    Botioheb,  §  610, 
J.- A.] 
Ter.  17.— [nnp'?  for  Hnp''?  ha*  »  daghesh  dirimmsmthe  p,  the  long  Hhiriq  being  shortened;  Geeem,  J14,  o;  24,6; 

»7,  2,  (3;  a  ;  Borr.,  j  399,  6,  3  ;  458^  1,  d.— A.J 

Ver.  25.— [D'^DJ,  a  fern,  noun  construed  as  masculine;  Green,  J  200,  e;  Boti.,  J715,  «.— A.] 

Ver.  29.— [UO'D,  where  it  occurs  the  second  time,  drops  the  characteristic  ■>  as  superfluous  ;  Boll.,  5 171.— A] 

Ter.  31.— [For  ix  Biill.  would  read  ISil,  the  wild  goat  or  antelope.] 


6,  d.— A.] 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  Preliminary/  Remark.  If  our  reading  and  ex- 
planation of  the  superscription  in  ver.  1  is  cor- 
rect (see  what  is  said  immediately  below,  under 
No.  2),  the  contents  of  this  Supplement,  like  that 
of  the  one  following  (chap.  xxxi.  1-9),  can  be 
accepted  neither  as  from  Solomon,  nor  from 
Hezekiah.  For  aside  from  the  fact  that  it  is  quite 
as  impossible  that  "Agur"  as  that  "Lemuel" 
in  chap.  xxxi.  1  is  some  allegorical  substitute  for 
the  name  of  Solomon,  as  many  of  the  olden  com- 
mentators claim  (e.  c/.,  Stocker,  J.  Lange,  etc., 
[so  Jerome,  Rashi,  etc.,  earlier,  and  Wordsw., 
etc.,  more  recently]),  the  name  Massa  clearly 
points  to  a  land  beyond  the  bounds  of  Palestine 
as  the  dwelling-place  of  the  author  or  collector. 
The  name  must  belong  to  the  Massa  mentioned  in 
Gen.  XXV.  14 ;  1  Chron.  i.  30  with  Duma,  as  the 
name  of  a  district  or  tribe  in  northern  Arabia, — 
which  from  the  direction  of  Jerusalem  (according 
to  Is.  xxi.  11)  was  beyond  Seir,  and  therefore  in 
any  case  south-easterly  from  Palestine,  and 
which  we  shall  be  obliged  to  regard  as  an  Ish- 
maelitish  kingdom,  or  an  Israelitish  founded  by 
members  of  the  covenant  people  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament who  had  wandered  from  home.  Delitzsch 
holds  the  former  view  (Article  Spriiche  Salomo's 
in  Herzog's  Real-Encyclopddie).  His  reasons  are, 
that  both  sections,  the  "  words  of  Agur  "  and  the 
"  words  of  Lemuel  "  contain  numerous  traces  of 
an  origin  outside  the  Hebrew  while  yet  Semitic 
(e.g.,   the  insatiable  "Aluka "   or  blood-sucker, 

chap.  XXX.  15 ;  the  Divine  name  HI  7X,  chap.  xxx. 
15;  the  expressions  nnp'i  xxx.  1,  17  ;  ]in 
"enough,"   xxx.   15,    16;     13    C"??),    xxxi.    2; 

'N=[''N,  xxxi.  4;  "ij?  'J3,  xxxi.  5,  etc.) ;  and  be- 
cause the  reception  into  the  canon  of  the  prophe- 
cies of  Balaam,  and  yet  more  that  of  the  dis- 
courses of  Job,  a  dweller  in  the  land  of  Uz,  which 
notoriously  was  never  inhabited  by  Israelites, 
furnish  proofs  sufficiently  weighty  of  the  pos- 
sibility of  a  transplanting  into  the  soil  of  the 
sacred  national  literature  of  Israel,  of  the  pro- 
ducts of  a  religious  literature  originating  beyond 
the  bounds  of  Israel.  The  second  of  the  views 
above  mentioned  Hitziq  has  endeavored  to  pre- 
sent as  probable  in  his  treatise  on  "  the  kingdom 
of  Massa"  (1844),  already  cited  in  g  12  of  our 
Introduction,  and  likewise  in  pp.  310  sq.  of  his 


Commentary  ;  and   he  has   done   it  with   argu- 
ments which  we  must  deem  more  weighty  than 
those  adduced  by  Dehtzscu,  and  whose  decisive 
weight  is   admitted  by  Bertheau  also.     These 
arguments   for   the  Israelitish  character  of  the 
land  of  Massa,  and  of  its  rulers  Agur  and  Lemuel, 
whose  wise  maxims  are  before  us  in  our  two  Sup- 
plements,   are  briefly  the   following.      1)  Agur 
confesses  expressly  in  chap.  xxx.  9  his  faith  in 
Jehovah  the  God  of  Israel.     2)  The  introductory 
words  in  xxx.  1-6,  as  well  as  the  utterances  in 
vers.  7,  8,  14,  22,  32  of  the  same  chapter,  and  in 
chap.    xxxi.   8,  9,  breathe   forth   that   sense  of 
justice  and  that  humble  subjection   to  the  hand 
of  God,  which   are  peculiar  to  the  theocratic  re- 
verer  of  the   law  who  is  of  Israel,  and  such  as 
appear  in  numerous  other  passages  of  our  Book 
of  Proverbs,  of  the  Book  of  Psalms,  the  Prophets, 
etc.     3)  The  Massa  of  Gen.  xxv.  14;  1  Chron.  i.  ■ 
30,  is  indeed  in  these  passages  numbered  among 
the  sons  of  Ishmael,  and  therefore  characterized 
as  a  district   inhabited   mainly  by  Ishmaelites ; 
but  later  Arabian  and  Jewish  authors  (especially 
Benjamin  of  Tadela  in  his  accounts  of  the  city  of 
Telmas  see  Ritter'3  Arabia,  II.  406)  describe  the 
region  of  Massa  and  the  Duma  which  is  its  near 
neighbor,  as  occupied  by  numerous  Jews, — and 
already  among  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah  from  the 
time  of  Hezekiah  there  is  found  a  prophecy  which 
relates  to  Duma  (Is.  xxi.   11,  12),  a  "burden  of 
Duma  "  which   with   great  probability  presents 
Hebrews   as   dwelling  in   this   region.      4)  The 
passage  (1  Chron.  iv.  38-43)  expressly  records  a 
migration  that  occurred  in  the  days  of  Hezekiah 
to  Mount  Seir,  and   so  quite  into  the^  neighbor- 
hood of  Massa   and  Duma, — a  migration  of  Is- 
raelites of  the  tribe  of  Simeon  who  had  settled  in 
the  region  of  the  remnant  of  the  Amalekites,  and 
therefore   in   northern   Arabia  ;    and  moreover 
from  Micah   i.  15;  ii.  8-10;  I».  xxviii.  12  there 
may  be  inferred   as  probable  a   considerable  ad- 
vanced movement  of  certain  roving  Israelites  to- 
ward  the  South,  as  having  occurred  about  that 
time.     Therefore  Agur   and  Lemuel   might  very 
probably    be    regarded    as   Arabian-Israelitish 
shepherd  princes,  or  as  kings  (Emirs,  Captains) 
of  a  colony  of  Israelites  of  the  tribes  of  Simeon 
that  had  emigrated  to  northern  Arabia, — and  this 
Simeonite  colony  Massa,  quite  like  Job's   "land 
of  Uz,"  should  be  conceived  of  as  a  district  to  a 
great  extent  if  not  chiefly  occupied  by  kinsmen 
of   the  Old  Testament  people  of  God,  who  were 
believers  in  Jehovah.     [Boil'  in  his  ieArf.,  has 


CHAP.  XXX.  1-33. 


241 


of  course  no  occasion  to  enter  into  the  details  of 
this  discussion.  He  does,  however,  g  29,  36,  37, 
refer  to  these  chapters  as  probably  largely  of 
Simeonitish  origin,  and  cites  various  words  and 
constructions  as  plainly  showing  afBnity  with 
and  the  influence  of  the  cognate  Arabic  and 
Aramaic  dialects.  Stcart  [Gomm.  pp.  401-407) 
enters  very  elaborately  into  the  examination  of 
the  arguments  for  and  against  the  generally  re- 
ceived conception  and  construction,  and  decides 
strongly  in  favor  of  Hirzio's  view,  which  our 
author  adopts.  Nearly  every  other  English  and 
American  interpreter  dismisses  the  subject  with 
a  few  lines,  quietly  retaining  the  rendering  of 
the  E.  V.  possibly  with  slight  modifications. 
Kamph.  rejects  lliis  part  of  Hitziq's  theory  while 
agreeing  witli  it  in  many  other  points.  Bleek 
admits  its  possible  correctness. — .4.] 

2.  The  superscription  to  the  discourses 
of  Agur,  ver.  1,  according  to  the  Masoretic 
punctuation  is  literally  rendered :  Words  of 
Agur,  the  son  of  Jakeh,  the  divine  utterance 
(prophetic  utterance),  the  saying  of  the  man  to 
Ithiel,  to  Ithiel  and  Uoal."  Inasmuch  as  of  the 
four  proper  names  which  these  words  include, 
according  to  this  conception  of  them,  one  at  least, 
Ithiel,  appears  also  in  Neh.  xi.  7  as  an  Israelitish 
name  of  a  man,  and  since  Agur  is  not  to  be  at  all 
suspected  as  a  Hebrew  personal  name,  whether 
we  interpret  the  word  (with  Herder  and  the  ma- 
jority) by  "collector,"  and  so  regard  it  a  col- 
lateral form  of  IJX  (Prov.  i.  5), — or  whether 
with  HiTZio,  following  the  Arabic,  we  claim  for 
it  the  signification  "  exile,  the  man  living  in  a 
strange  land,"  this  interpretation  of  this  difficult 
passage,  which  was  already  given  in  the  Chaldee 
version,  and  partially  in  the  Syriac,  and  has  been 
retained  by  most  moderns,  seems  to  excite  no 
suspicion,  if  it  be  assumed  that  we  are  to  regard 
Ithiel  and  Ucal  as  sons  or  pupils  of  Agur,  and 
are  to  conceive  of  the  whole  as  the  communica- 
tion, not  indeed  of  a  dialogue  of  the  teacher  Agur 
witli  these  pupils  (so  e.  g.,  Doderlein),  but  of  a 
didactic  address,  or  a  "fatherly  counsel"  given 
to  them.  But  this  conception  is  lexically  impossi- 
ble. And  1)  because  neither  "Jakeh"  nor 
"Ucal"  occurs  elsewhere  as  a  Hebrew  proper 
name,norcantheyeven  be  satisfactorily  explained 
as  such  (see  Hitzio  on  this  passage) ;  [Fuerst 
taking  Jakeh  as  an  irregular  participial  form  in- 
terprets it  symbolically  "  one  holding  to  the  as- 
sembly of  the  wise  ;" — Gesen.  more  concisely 
"  pious  "].  2)  Because  the  remarkable  doubling 

of  /X'n'N?  can  in  no  way  be  brought  into  har- 
mony with  the  laws  of  the  Hebrew  modes  of  ex- 
pression,— not  even  by  the  assumption  of  Herder 
and  Umbreit  that  this  is  a  solemn  repetition  pro- 
duced "by  the  vehemence  of  parallelism."  3) 
Because,  finally,  XiS'IDH  in  the  sense  of  "  pro- 
phetic utterance,  prophetic  burden "  would  in 
connection  with  the  following  DXJ  give  a  combi- 
nation unknown  in  the  whole  prophetical  litera- 
ture of  the  Old  Testament, — one  to  the  justifica- 
tion of  which  neither  Zeoh.  ix.  1 ;  xii.  1,  nor  any 
other  passage  whatsoever  can  be  brought. 
[Kamph.  while  admitting  that  only  a  greater  or 
less  degree  of  probability  can  at  the  best  be 
reached,  meets  this  difficulty  by  separating  the 


two  nouns  whose  combination  is  pronounced  un- 
exampled. The  first  he  connects  with  Agur, 
while  admitting  the  term  is  elsewhere  used  only 
in  strict  prophecy.  The  second  he  regards  as 
describing  the  "  utterance  "  of  "  the  man,"  some 
friend  or  stranger,  whose  words  are  given  in  vers. 
1-4,  while  Agur  himself  begins  to  speak  in  ver. 
6.  He  fails  to  find  any  sutficient  reason  for 
taking  X©D  as  a  proper  rather  than  a  common 
noun.  Stuart  argues  that  in  xxxi.  1  NE/D  must 
be  a  genitive  limiting  ^'70,  no  other  construction 
being  grammatical ;  the  noun  must  therefore  be  a 
proper  noun,  the  name  of  the  kingdom,  and  the 
noun  must  be  presumed  to  be  the  same  here. — A.] 
The  allegorizing  interpretations  are  however 
likewise  untenable,  which  have  been  attempted 
in  various  forms,  taking  the  four  proper  names 
as  either  wholly  or  partially  appellative.  This 
was  early  done  by  the  LXX  and  Vulg. ,  the  former 
of  which  appears  to  have  regulated  the  text  in  a 
way  wholly  arbitrary,  while  the  latter  follows 
the  text  more  closely,  and  renders  Agur  by  con- 
gregans,  Jakeh  by  vomens,  Ithiel  by  cum  quo  est 
Deus,  and  Jucal  by  con/ortalus.  Of  modern  ex- 
positors EwALD  has  taken  at  least  the  last  half 
of  the  ver.  in  a  similar  way  :  Thus  does  the  man 
speak  to  God-with-me,  to  God-with-me  and  I-am- 

strong.  The  73X  according  to  this  view  stands 
for  '73W,  and  in  combination  with  the  appella- 
tive Ithiel  composes  a  single  name.  Instead  of 
DKJ  however  we  should  need  to  read  DW-  Since 
the  objections  expressed  above,  especially  those 
which  relate  to  the  name  Jakeh,  and  the  doubling 
of  the  name  Ithiel  are  not  removed,  and  still 
others  are  added  to  them,  there  is  nothing  left 
but  to  alter  the  reading  of  the  verse  thoroughly. 
Of  the  various  emendations  which  are  possible 
and  have  been  in  part  already  attempted,  that  of 
HiTziG  commends  itself  most  strongly,  which  we 
have  made   the  basis  of  the  version  given  above. 

According  to  this  we  should  in  the  first  place  read 
Xij'p  nnp'  [3  "Son  of  her  whom  Massa  obeys," 
or  again  'D  y\T\^^  Jj}  (which  is  equivalent  to 
ID  nnnp]  |3)  "  Son  of  her  whose  dominion  is 
Massa,"  which  in  any  case  gives  as  the  result 
"  son  of  the  ruler,  the  princess  of  Massa  "  (comp. 
No.  1) 

Furthermore  we  must  then  read  twice  'l^'X  ' 
bx,  "I  have  labored,  have  wearied  myself  upon, 
about,  with  God,"  i.  e.,  have  sought  with  difficulty 
and  eifort  to  conceive  and  comprehend  Him  in 

His  nature  (comp.  nX7j  in  Is.  xvi.  12  ;  and  also 
passages  like  Job  xi.  7  ;  Acts  xvii.  27,  etc.) 
Finally  the  concluding  word  7JXI  must  either 
be  pointed  '5^1,  "  and  have  become  dull,  am 
wearied,"?,  e.,  in  seeking  afterGod  (thus  Hitziq); 
or,  which  seems  to  be  lexically  easier,  73X1  (from 

ri/J,  evanuit)  "and  have  withdrawn,  have  be- 
come faint"  (comp.  Ps.  Ixix.  4;  Ixxxiv.  3;  Job 
xix.  27,  etc.),  which  latter  reading  is  the  one 
followed  by  Bertheau  [Kamph.,  S.,  etc.~\.  It  is, 
indeed,  true  that  even  by  these  emendations  the 


24.T( 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


difficulties  of  the  passage  are  uot  rsmoved  ;  and 
yet  the  meaning  thus  resulting  for  the  second 
half  of  the  verse  agrees  admirably  with  the 
further  utterances  of  the  Introduction,  especially 
with  vers.  3  and  4.  Moreover  the  ov  irabofiai  of 
the  LXX  which  corresponds  with  the  7JX1  at  the 
end  confirms  on  the  whole  tlie  interpretation 
given  to  that  obscure  expression  (and  that  of 
HiTzio  as  well  as  that  of  Bertheau,  which  be- 
sides are  not  essentially  different).  And  as  re- 
spects the  expression,  which  is,  it  is  true,  some- 
what harsh,  ID  nnp''  p,  an  indirect  confirmation 
of  this  appears  in  the  fact  that  the  rare  word 
nnp'  "  obedience  "  (comp.  Gen.  xlix.  lOJ  occurs 
again  immediately  below  in  ver.  17. 

8.  Vers.  2-6.  Continuation  and  conclusion  of 
ihe  Introduction.^ — For  I  am  a  beast  and  not 
a  man,  etc.  To  the  confession  given  at  the  out- 
set, that  he  has  wearied  himself  in  vain  in 
fathoming  the  divine  nature,  there  is  here  appro- 
priately added  the  admission  of  the  autlior's 
ignorance,  and  his  natural  incapacity  for  higlier 
spiritual  knowledge.  His  vexation  in  view  oi  i  ho 
fact  tliat  his  wisdom  has  come  to  shame  in  con- 
nection with  God  and  things  divine,  finds  vent 
for  itself  in  strong  expressions,  which  remind  us 
of  Ps.  Ixxiii.  22 ;  comp.  also  reaiarks  above  on 
chap.  xii.  1. — t^'KO  l]?!  is  probably  not  "more 
stupid  than  any  man  "  (as  is  commonly  rendered, 
EwALD,  Bertiieau  [E.  v.,  De  W.,  H.,  N.,  S.,  M., 
W.,  K.]  etc.),  but  "  brutishly  stupid,  unlike 
(away  from)  a  man,''  and  so  "  a  beast  and  not  a 
man"  (Hitzig).  [We  see  no  reason  for  preferring 
this  to  the  common  comparative  rendering  of  tn. 

A.] 

Ver.  3.  Nor  gained  knoiwledge  of  the 
Holy.  For  this  last  clause  comp.  remarks  on 
ix.  10. 

Ver.  i.  Who  hath  ascended  to  the  hea- 
vens and  descended  ?  For  the  form  of  words 
here  employed  comp.  Gen.  xxviii.  12 ;  also  John 
iii.  13  ;  Rom  x.  6,  7.  The  ascending  to  heaven 
and  descending  thence,  is  like  the  "  grasping  the 
wind  in  the  fists,"  the  wrapping  up  the  waters, 
etc.,  an  activity  belonging  exclusively  to  God,  and 
characteristic  of  Him  in  His  supermundane  na- 
ture. That  there  is  an  activity  of  this  sort,  ruling 
the  world  and  upholding  the  world,  on  the  part 
of  the  invisible  God,  he  knows;  but  who  the  in- 
visible divine  Ruler  of  all  is,  and  how-constituted, 
this  has  hitherto  remained  hidden  from  his  view, 
and  it  is  to  this  that  his  amazed  inquiries  relate, 
reminding  us  of  Job  xxvi.  14;  Is.  xl.  12,  etc. — 
Who  gathereth  the  -wind  in  his  fists? — so 
that  he  can  at  his  pleasure  restrain  it  and  let  it 
blow.  rj2n3,  lit.  "in  his  two  fists;"  an  expres- 
sion employed  probably  because  there  are  al- 
ways two  opposing  currents  of  wind,  of  which 
now  the  one  and  again  the  other  blows  (comp. 
Eccles.  i.  6. )  [There  seems  to  be  no  occasion  for 
going  beyond  the  fact  that  fists  usu.ally  exist  in 
pairs,  to  find  in  the  remoter  facts  of  nature  an  ex- 
planation for  a  very  natural  phrase. — A.] — Who 
■wrappeth  the  -wraters  in  a  garment?  The 
water  is  the  upper  mass  of  waters,  wrapped  in 
the  clouds  of  heaven  as  in  a  capacious  garment, 
and  so  kept  back  from  pouring  down  upon  the 
tarth.      Comp.   Job   xxvi.   8 ;  Ps.    civ.   6 :   and 


above,  notes  on  Prov.  viii.  28. — Who  fiseth  all 
the  ends  of  the  earth  ?     By  this  is  probably 
intended   the  bounds   of  the  continents  against 
the  sea  (Jer.  v.  22;  Job  xxxiii.  10,  II.)— What 
is  his   name,  and  his  son's  name,  if  thou 
knowrest?     In   this   question   is  contained  the 
idea:  No  one  knows  God   adequately, in  His  in- 
most nature  ;  none  is  able  to  attain  a  genealogical 
knowledge  of  Him  and  His  family,  in  such  way 
as  may   be  done   among   men;  especially   is  the 
question,  what  is  true  of  His  son,  veiled  in  in- 
scrutable mystery.     That  God  has  no  son  at  all  is 
plainly  not  implied  in  this  remarkable  question, 
which  is  left  unanswered   (in  reply  to  Hitzig); 
but   only    this,  that  no  one  knows  the  name  of 
this  son, —  that  his  nature  and  his  relation  to  the 
other  .manifestations  of  God's  nature,  e.  g.,  to  His 
hypostatic   wisdom  (chap.   viii.  22  sq.)  is  known 
to   none.     Agur    therefore    confesses  here   with 
sufiicient   distinctness  the  defectiveness   of    his 
knowledge  of  God  the  Son, — a  fact  which  serves 
to  confirm  in  the  most  welcome  way  our  remarks 
on  the  passage  viii.  22  sq.  concerning  the  incom- 
pleteness,   the    embryonic    imperfection   of    the 
doctrine  of  the  Logos  (or  the  Christology)  of  the 
proverbs  in  general.     Both  Geier  who  identifies 
the  "Son"  of  our  passage  without  qualificatioT 
with    God's   hypostatic  wisdom,   and  J.   D.  Mi- 
CHAELis,  who  finds  here  ascribed  to  God  with  the 
clearness  and  precision  of  the  New  Testament  an 
only    Son,    go    too  far   and   intermingle   foreign 
ideas.      [So    Stuart:    "To    think    of  the   Logos 
here,  under  the  name  of  ]3  would  be  'travelling 
very  far  out  of  the  record.'  "     And  yet  we  may 
well  go  as  .far  a-s  J.   Pye  Smith  [Scripture  Testi- 
mony, etc.,  1. 469)  when  he  s.ays  :  "  The  concluding 
clauses  of  this   energetic  passage  are  rationally 
and   easily    interpreted,    if    we   admit  that  the 
ancient  Jews  had  some  obscure  ideas  of  a  plurality 
in  the  divine  nature."     The  objections  to  as  much 
of  an  inference  as  this  are  forced  and  feeble.    It 
is  possible  that  the  meaning  may  be  only  this :  We 
know  neither  himself  nor  his, — while  in  human 
relations  the  man  and  his   genealogy  are  objects 
of  eager  inquiry  and  extensive  knowledge.     But 
the  Messianic  Psalms  had  already  spoken  of  "the 
Sou,"  mysteriously,  perhaps,  and  yet  enough  to 
supply  germs   of  knowledge  as  well  as  of  faith. 
See  HoLDEN,  etc. — A.] — Strangely  insipid  and  ra- 
tionalizing is  Umbreit's   view   [held  by  Notes, 
etc.'\,  that  by  the  Son  is  here  intended  the  pupil  of 
the  philosopher  who  understands  all  the  myste- 
ries of  the  world  and  the  world's  government! — 
Furthermore  the  LXX  instead  of  iJ3  must  have 
read    VJS  for  they  render  fj  to  bvajxa-  rolg  riiwoig 
avToii. 

Vers.  5,  6.  Instead  of  unprofitable  puzzling 
about  God  and  divine  mysteries  there  is  recom- 
mended the  humble  reception  in  faith  of  the 
only  true  divine  revelation  which  affords  light 
and  peace,  and  needs  no  supplementing  or  per- 
fecting on  the  part  of  man. — With  5  a  comp.  Ps. 
xix.  9  ;   cxix.  140 ;   with  a  and   6,  Ps.   xviii.  31, 

where  however  mn^  takes  the  place  of  the  divine 
name  ni7!<  which  is  characteristic  of  our  passage. 
In  regard  to  this  comp.  above,  remarks  under 
No.  1. — Add  thou  nothing  to  His  words. 
A  similar  warning  with  respect  to  the  law  as  » 


CHAP.  XXX.  1-33. 


249 


revelation  of  the  divine  will  fully  sufficient  in 
itself  and  adequate  occurs  in  Deut.  iv.  2 ;  xii.  82 ; 
oomp.  also  Rev.  xxii.  18. 

4.  Vers.  7-10.  Prayer  of  the  poet  to  Jehovah  for 
preservation  from  all  that  is  false,  and  from  the 
two  extremes  of  poverty  and  riches  (vers.  7-9), 
together  with  a  warning  against  the  vice  of  slan- 
der. This  last  forms  with  ver.  17  the  Bole  ex- 
ception to  that  mode  of  coaslructing  the  proverbs 
which  dsewhoro  iu  the  section,  vers.  7-33,  is 
consistently  carried  through,  viz.,  the  numerical. 
Comp.  on  these  peculiar  numerical  proverbs  or 
Middolh,  the  Introd.,  §  14,  and  remarks  on  chap, 
vi.  16. — Two  things  have  I  entreated  of 
thee.  This  double  prayer  is,  as  the  2d  clause 
shows,  a  prayer  not  merely  once  offered,  but  the 
abiding  utterance  to  God  of  the  desire  of  the  poet's 
heart,  his  importunate  request  from  Him  continued 
to  his  death. 

Ver.  8.  Deceit  and  lies  keep  far  from  me. 
"Deceit"  (NIE')  and  "lying  words  "  stand  in  the 
mutual  relation,  of  the  devising  of  inward  un- 
truth and  deceitful  wickedness,  and  the  false, 
lying  utterance  which  springs  forth  from  (his  as 
its  necessary  expression.  No  further  justifica- 
tion is  added  for  this  first  half  of  the  prayer ;  the 
second,  however,  which  relates  to  the  golden  mean 
between  rich  and  poor,  is  more  minutely  explained 
and  justified  in  ver.  8,  c  and  ver.  9.  [The  idea 
"vanity  "  given  in  the  E.  V.  and  retained  by  H., 
M.,  W.,  etc.,  is  a  secondary  meaning  of  the  noun 
whose  primary  meaning  according  to  Gesen.  is 
"evil,"  according  to  Fuerst  "insecurity,  or 
slipperiness."  It  seems  to  be  more  than  the  un- 
substantial, it  is  the  positively  deceitful  that  is 
here  intended. — A.] — Cause  me  to  eat  the 
food  allotted  me,  lit.  "the  food  of  my  lot  or 
portion,"  i.  e.,  the  part  or  assignment  that  falls  to 
me,  so  much  as  is  intended  and  is  needful  for 
me,  no  more  and  no  less.  Comp.  xxxi.  1.5  ;  Gen. 
xlvii.  22  ;  and  also  the  aprog  ciriovaiog,  the  "daily 
bread"  of  the  Lord's  prayer,  Matth.  vi.  11,  which 
is  equivalent  at  least  in  a  general  way. 

Ver.  9.  Lest  I  being  full  deny,  etc.  Bold 
denial  of  the  Holy  One,  and  the  mocking  ques- 
tion "  who  is  the  Lord,  or  what  can  He  do?" 
(oomp.  Ps.  Ixxiii.  11  ;  Job  xxi.  14)  appears  in 
other  passages  likewise  as  the  indication  of  pride 
developed  by  surfeiting  and  luxurious  enjoyment 
in  life;  see  Deut.  viii.  12-15;  xxxii.  15  sq. — And 
lest  I  be  poor  and  steal  (comp.  vi.  30)  and 
take  the  name  of  my  God  in  vain.  WDPi 
"to  lay  hands  upon  or  seize  hold  of  something" 
here  denotes  the  wicked  profanation  of  the  di- 
vine name  which  consists  in  mockery,  cursing 
and  contumely  with  respect  to  it.  For  such  of- 
fences as  these  the  bitter  necessities  of  hunger 
and  poverty  may  according  to  Isa.  viii.  21  pro- 
duce (comp.  Prov.  xix.  3),  and  not  merely  false 
swearing  by  the  name  of  God  in  denying  the  guilt 
of  theft,  which  alone  is  usually  thought  of  here. 

Ver.  10.  Cause  not  the  servant  to  slan- 
der his  master.  Usually  rendered  ;  "betray 
(or  slander)  not  the  servant  to  his  master " 
(Vulg.,  Luther,  Umbreit  [E.  V.,  Dk  W.,  H.,  N., 
M.],  etc.).  But  the  Hiphil  cannot  have  the  same 
meaning  as  the  Pool,  Ps.  ci.  6  ;  it  must  mean  ' '  to 
cause  one  to  slander,  to  excite  one  to  calumny 
tgainst  anotker."     The  warning  is  not  against 


slander  in  itself,  but  against  incitement  to  slan- 
der, and  more  specifically  betraying  servants  into 
tattling  and  accusations  against  their  masters 
(thus  correctly  Ewald,  Berthead,  Hitzio,  Els- 
TER  [Kamph.,  S.],  etc  ). — Lest  he  curse  thee, 
and  thou  be  destroyed.  The  instigator  to 
slander  might  easily  hit  upon  the  wrong  person, 
a  faithful,  diligent  servant,  who  instead  of  al- 
lowing himself  to  be  misled,  might  rather  curse 
the  betrayer,  and  so  bring  merited  calamity  upon 
his  head  (comp.  remarks  on  xxvi.  2). 

5.  Vers.  11-14.  An  utterance  expressive  of  exe- 
cration, vehement  abhorrence,  concerning  a  peo- 
ple or  a  generation  characterized  by  four  forms 
of  ungodliness  (not  quatuor  genera  detestabilia  ho- 
minum,  as  J.  D.  Michaelis  and  others  hold).  Th« 
Tn  which  is  four  times  repeated,  may  be  taken 
either  as  a  vocative,  "Oh  generation!"  (Ewald, 
Elstee),  or  as  a  nominative,  which  then  express- 
es simply  the  existence  of  a  generation  of  the 
kind  described,  and  is  used  in  a  certain  sense  for 
in  K(',  (Luther,  E.  V.,  etc.  "  There  is  a  ge- 
neration").—  A  generation  that  curseth 
their  father,  etc.  Comp.  chap.  xx.  20;  Ex. 
xxi.  17  ;  and  then  with  respect  to  ver.  12  ;  Isa. 
iv.  4;  with  reference  to  ver.  13,  Isa.  x.  12  ;  Ps. 
cxxxi.  2;  Prov.  vi.  17. — And  their  eyelids 
are  lifted  up!  Hitzig  finds  in  this  exclama- 
tion, which  appears  at  first  to  be  only  a  rhetori- 
cally expanded  parallel  to  "the  loftiness  of  the 

eyes  "  iu  clause  a,  an  allusion  to  the  name  y^'^V. 
Amalek,  which  in  the  Arabic  signifies  "  one  look- 
ing with  wide  open  eyes,  a  man  with  eyelids 
lifted  up  or  painted."  He  therefore  conjectures 
that  the  entire  delineation  of  a  reckless  genera- 
tion here  before  us  refers  to  the  people  of  the 
Amalekites,  whose  deadly  national  hatred  toward 
the  children  of  Israel  (the  "needy  or  poor,"  ver. 
14  b)  and  whose  warlike  love  of  plunder  are  de- 
scribed in  ver.  14  especially.  With  the  assump- 
tion that  Agur  is  the  prince  of  a  colony  of  Sime- 
onites,  Massa,  founded  iu  the  Amalekite  terri- 
tory (see  remarks  above.  No.  1),  this  hypothesis 
would  admirably  agree,  on  account  of  1  Chron. 
iv.  53.  And  yet  the  conjecture  is  in  itself  too 
uncertain,  and  particularly  too  little  established 
on  the  linguistic  side. — With  ver.  14  a  comp.  Ps. 
Ivii.  5;  Iviii.  7;  with  b,  Jer.  v.  17;  xxx.  16;  1. 
17  ;  Isa.  ix.  12,  etc.  [Wordsw.  with  his  fond- 
ness for  allegorizing  finds  iu  these  "four  evil  ge- 
nerations" an  undoubted  reference  to  spiritual 
mysteries,  e.  g.,  various  offences  within  and 
against  the  church. — A.]. 

6.  Vers.  15,  16.  Of  four  kinds  of  insatiable 
things. — The  leech  hath   two  daughters; 

Give,  give !  The  rare  name  Aluka  (npl7^) 
the  old  versions  (the  LXX,  Symm.,  the  Venet., 
Vulg.)  render  by  (SScUtj,  sanguisuga,  with  which 
there  should  undoubtedly  be  taken  into  account 
the  fact  that  galukS,  or  galoM  in  the  Indian  is 
the  name  of  the   blood-sucker,   and  that  essen- 


>, 


tially  the  same  word 


(liA) 


is  in   Arabic 


the  designation  of  a  ghostly  demon  (or  accord- 
ing to  Camus,  possibly  of  a  ravenous  wolf).  And 
this  is  the  more   confirmed  by  the   fact  that  th^ 


250 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


Targ.  on  Ps.  xii.  9  speaks  of  "  an  Aluka  going 
about  in  a  circle,  and  sucking  from  men  their 
blood,"  and  by  this  is  undoubtedly  meant  avam- 
pyre-like  spirit,  a  ghostly  monster  of  the  nature 
of  the  ghouls  of  the  Arabs  and  Persians,  or  the 
Indian  dakini  (which  congregate  in  graveyards, 
and  live  on  the  flesh  and  bones  of  the  corpses). 
An  Indian  origin  of  the  conception  described  by 
"Aluka"  is  indicated  also  by  the  occurrence  of 
a  proverb  closely  related  to  our  own,  with  refe- 
rence to  the  insatiableness  of  four  things,  in  the 
Hiiopadesa  (ed.  Lassen,  p.  66) :  "  The  fire  is 
not  sated  with  wood,  nor  the  great  sea  with  the 
streams ;  nor  the  god  of  death  with  all  the  living, 
nor  the  beautiful-eyed  with  men."  The  simila- 
rity of  this  Indian  maxim  to  our  passage  is 
clearly  much  more  significant,  than  that  of  the 
Arabic  proverb  in  Meidani,  III.  64,  where  only 
"death  not  to  be  satisfied  with  creatures,  and 
fire  not  to  be  satisfied  with  wood"  make  up  the 
objects  compared.  The  assumption  of  a  deriva- 
tion both  of  the  name  Aluka,  and  of  the  entire 
proverb  in  its  essential  substance  from  the  old 
Indian  literature  need  the  less  excite  any  well- 
founded  suspicion,  since  Agur's  residence,  Massa, 
doubtless  lay  quite  near  to  the  old. highway  of 
caravans  leading  from  India  and  Persia  to  Petra 
and  Teima,  and  on  this  Sabasan  and  other  mer- 
chants will  have  brought,  not  only  Indian  arti- 
cles of  trafiBc,  but  Indian  ideas  and  literary  pro- 
ductions to  the  lands  of  South  Western  Asia  (comp. 
IIiTzio,  p.  313).  But  the  name  Aluka  and  the 
proverb  as  a  whole  is  conceived  with  substantial 
correctness  by  Doderlein  and  Zeigier,  whom 
afterward  Gesen.,  Umbreit,  Hitzig,  Bertheau, 
Delitzsch,  and  in  general  most  of  the  recent  in- 
terpreters have  followed.  [For  illustration  sup- 
plied by  travellers  in  Palestine,  see  Thomson's 
Land  and  Book,  I.  368,  and  Wood's  Bibls  Ani- 
mals, p.  646. — A.] 

We  must  reject  as  untenable  both  Jaechi's  in- 
terpretation of  "Aluka"  by  Sheol,  hell  (so  ren- 
dered in  alleged  accordance  with  the  Arabic), 
and  Bochart's  assertion,  that  the  word  signifies 
fate,  fiolpa,  insatiable  destiny.  In  this  latter 
view  there  is  only  so  much  of  truth,  that  "  Aluka  " 
does  indeed  appear  generalized  to  a  conception  of 
quite  a  comprehensive  sort,  so  far  forth,  plainly, 
as  "personified  insatiableness,  craving  in  its 
highest  intensity  "  (Bertheau)  is  denoted  by  it. 
Therefore,  it  appears  also  as  a  female  spirit,  and 
has  two  daughters  ascribed  to  it.  These  two 
"daughters  of  the  blood-sucker"  are  in  the  first 
instance  designated  by  a  double  "give,"  in  ac- 
cordance with  their  character  as  craving,  insa- 
tiable natures,  and  these  are  also  expressly 
mentioned  by  name.  For  it  is  plainly  these  that 
are  meant  by  the  first  two  of  the  four  insatiable 
things,  which  are  named  in  vs.  16  a  as  "  Sheol" 
and  the  "barren  womb."  Hell,  or  the  kingdom 
of  the  dead,  is  also  in  Isaiah  v.  14,  as  well  as 
above  in  chap,  xxvii.  20,  personified  as  a  spirit- 
ual power  that  with  insatiable  greediness  ga- 
thers   men    to    itself.       The     "closing   of   the 

"womb"   (for  IVJ'  comp.  Gen.  xvi.  2;  xx.  18), 

1.  «.,  the  unfruitful  womb  of  woman,  in  connec- 
tion with  which  there  is  no  conception  and  bear- 
ing of  children,  gives  indications  of  itself,  accord- 
ing to  what  is  said  in  Gen.  xxx.  1  sq.  of  Jacob's 


wives,  likewise  in  an  insatiable  craving,  in  con- 
stant desire  for  sexual  enjoyments.  On  this  se- 
cond example  of  insatiableness  the  most  weight 
seems  to  be  laid  by  the  author  of  the  proverb 
(comp.  chap,  xxvii.  20).  He  does  not,  however, 
externally  distinguish  it  specially,  and  assigns  it 
a  prominent  place  in  the  series  of  his  enumera- 
tions only  by  making  it  together  with  "hell" 
emphatically  the  daughter  of  the  blood-sucker, 
while  the  "  earth  "  as  a  third,  and  the  "fire"  as 
a  fourth  example  he  simply  allows  to  follow  in  a 
subordinate  place.  The  whole  sentence  evidently 
lacks  the  symmetrical,  simply  and  clearly  organ- 
ized structure,  which  distinguishes  the  analogous 
Indian  proverb  above  cited.  Yet  in  this  fact  that 
just  that  which  is  the  main  thought,  or  the  truth 
in  the  moral  world  among  men  which  is  to  be  il- 
lustrated by  the  associated  similes  from  nature, 
the  insatiableness  of  the  craving  of  the  barren 
woman,  is  pushed  on  to  the  second  place,  and  so 
in  a  sense  hidden  (unlike  the  order  in  that  San- 
scrit proverb  where  the  never  satisfied  "beauti- 
ful-eyed" are  emphatically  placed  at  the  end), 
there  is  with  the  greatest  probability  involved  a 
fully  conscious  intention  of  the  author  of  the  pro- 
verb, who  wished  by  this  artifice  to  give  to  his 
maxim  the  heightened  charm  of  ingenuity,  and 
to  form,  instead  of  a  mere  numerical  proverb,  a 
sharp  enigmatical  proverb  (a  HTn,  comp.  Introd., 
^11,  note  2).  Of  these  numerical  proverbs  which 
are  at  the  same  time  enigmas,  our  chapter  con- 
tains several  besides,  especially  vers.  18-20 ;  vers. 
24-28  ;  and  vers.  29-31.  [As  compared  with  the 
numerical  proverbs  that  follow,  the  complexity 
and  the  more  artificial  character  of  the  one  before 
us  at  once  arrests  attention.  They  all  have  this 
in  common,  that  whatevermoral  lesson  they  have 
to  convey  is  less  obvious,  being  hinted  rather 
than  stated,  and  in  this  view  they  may  merit  the 
name  "  enigmas."  In  the  one  now  under  consi- 
deration insatiable  desire  and  the  importance  of 
its  regulation  seem  to  be  the  remote  object.  In 
the  development,  instead  of  the  "three  things" 
and  "four  things"  which  repeatedly  appear  af- 
terward, we  have  the  "leech,"  its  two  daughters, 
the  three  and  the  four.  Some  have  regarded  the 
two  daughters  as  representing  physical  charac- 
teristics of  the  blood-sucker, — others  as  express- 
ing by  an  Orientalism  a  doubly  intense  craving. 
Parallelism  suggests  making  the  first  two  of  the 
four  the  two  daughters  apart  from  other  conside- 
rations ;  other  allusions  of  the  Scriptures  to  the 
greediness  of  the  world  of  the  dead,  justify  the 
first,  while  the  second  alone  belongs  to  human 
nature.  We  can  see  no  other  reason  than  this  for 
making  the  second  the  most  emphatic  of  the  four 
as  Z.  is  disposed  to  do. — Only  the  most  unnatural 
theory  of  inspiration  can  take  exception  to  the 
suggestion  of  a  possible  Indian  origin  for  the  sub- 
stance and  the  external  form  of  this  proverb,  its 
place  and  form  here  being  secured  by  an  appro- 
priate and  adequate  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  Book  of  Proverbs  applies  a  very  severe  test 
to  some  theories  of  inspiration. — A.] 

7.  Ver.  17.  The  punishment  of  him  who  sins 
against  his  parents ; — an  ethical  maxim  introduced 
without  any  close  connection  into  the  series  of  th» 
"Middoth"  in  our  section,  as  ver.  10  is  above. 
EwALD  would  have  the  insatiableness  of  the  birds 
of  prey,  which  are  to  execute  the  judgment  on  the 


CHAP.  XXX.  1-33. 


251 


wicked  man,  regarded  as  the  main  idea  of  the 
proyerb,  oonneoting  it  with  vers.  15,  16.  This 
element,  however,  is  plainly  too  far  in  the  back- 
ground, and  the  main  thought  is  rather  hia  de- 
sert of  curse  and  penalty  who  daringly  tramples 
under  foot  the  fifth  commandment ;  and  from  this 
there  is  a  sort  of  connection  with  vers.  11-14.— 
An  eye  ....  the  ravens  of  the  valley  (lit., 
brook)  (comp.  1  Kings  xvii.  4-6)  shall  pluck  it 

out,  etc.  [The  vDJ,  the  Arabic  Wady,  is  some- 
times the  torrent,  sometimes  the  valley  through 
which  it  flows.  See  full  illustrations  and  citations 
in  Stanley's  Palestine,  p.  496. — A.] — The  "ra- 
ven" and  the  "eagle"  (i.  e.,  vulture)  are  named 
here  as  birds  that  feed  upon  carrion  ;  the  "  sons 
of  the  eagle,"  i.  e.,  the  young  eagles,  are  named 
because  it  is  especially  upon  sons,  wayward  sons, 
it  is  true,  that  the  penalty  is  to  be  inflicted.  The 
punishment  itself,  however,  consists  in  strang- 
ling and  leaving  the  bodies  unburied,  so  that  they 
become  food  for  the  fowls  of  heaven  ;  comp.  1 
Sam.  xvii.  44 ;  1  Kings  xiv.  11  ;  xvi.  4,  etc. — 
[With  reference  to  the  raven  consult  Wood's 
Bible  Animals,  p.  445  ;  and  to  the  eagle  or  griffin 
vulture,  p.  346.— A.] 

8.  Vers.  18-20.  Four  incomprehensible  things. 
— The  way  of  the  eagle  in  the  heavens, 
etc. — Besides  the  ease  with  which  the  eagle,  a  large 
and  heavy  bird,  soars  high  above  in  the  air  (comp. 
Job  xxxix.  27),  this  circumstance  is  also  surely  an 
object  of  the  poet's  amazement,  that  it  leaves  be- 
hind no  trace  of  its  course ;  for  the  same  thing  is 
also  true  of  the  progress  of  the  smoothly  gliding 
serpent  over  the  slippery  rock,  and  also  of  that 
of  the  ship  that  swiftly  ploughs  the  waves  of  the 
sea.  Of  the  fourth  of  the  ways  here  compared, 
the  "way  of  the  man  with  the  maid"  (or  "in  the 
maid"),  i.  e.,  of  the  mysterious  way  in  which  the 
man  in  sexual  intercourse  has  fruitful  connection 
with  the  maid,  this  failure  to  leave  any  trace  be- 
hind seems  indeed  to  be  less  true.  And  yet  the 
author  in  this  connection  doubtless  thinks  not  of 
pregnancy  and  the  woman's  child-bearing  as  later 
results  of  sexual  connection,  but  as  ver.  20  shows, 
at  first  only  of  this,  that  the  intercourse  leaves 
behind  it  no  traces  immediately  and  directly  ap- 
parent ;  man  and  wife,  adulterer  and  adulteress, 
can  the  night  following  the  accomplishment  of 
the  mysterious  process  be  convicted  of  it  by  no 
one;  the  act  is  as  little  to  be  detected  in  them 
both  as  eating  in  him  who  after  table  has  wiped 
his  mouth  (ver.  20,  b,  c).     Moreover,  the  woman 

in  ver.  19  is  designated  as  r\u]^,  i.  e.,  as  virgo 
pubescens,  as  a  young  woman  capable  of  sexual 
intercourse  (comp.  Gen.  xxiv.  43 ;  Is.  vii.  14 ; 
Song  Sol.  vi.  8),  undoubtedly  for  this  reason,  that 
she  ia  to  be  put  in  contrast  with  the  adulterous 
woman  in  ver.  20 ;  in  other  words,  the  sexual  in- 
tercourse between  man  and  woman  is  to  be  de- 
scribed first  in  its  pure  and  normal  type  (the  first 
love  of  the  bridegroom  and  the  bride,  comp,  Gen. 
ii.  24 ;  Eph.  V.  31,  32  ;  John  iii.  29),  and  only  af- 
terwards in  its  degenerate  form  as  adultery. 
Furthermore,  the  "Alma"  of  our  passage  has  been 
'a  many  ways  interpreted  also  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
*•?•)  by  Ambrose,  Lyra,  Corn.  aLapide,  andFR. 
QsisEmns  (in  Losoher's  "Unsch.  Nachrichten," 
Vol.  13,  p.  503)  [and  also  by  Wordsw.  in  loco]. — 
Dathe  has  very  unnecessarily  been  disposed  to 


regard  ver.  20  as  a  spurious  addition  by  a  later 
hand.  It  is  not  even  necessary  (with  Hiizia)  to 
regard  the  verse  as  a  later  addition  coming  from 
Agur  himself,  which  he  "  had  not  originally  had 
in  view." 

9.  Vers.  21-23.  Four  intolerable  things  under 
which  the  earth  trembles  (not  "the  land,"  as 
Luther,  Umbreit,  Bbbtiieau,  etc.,  render,  weak' 
ening  the  sense).  With  ver.  21  comp.  Am.  ii.  13  ; 
vii.  10,— -Under  a  servant  when  he  be- 
oometh  ruler, — This  is  the  first  and  most  fami- 
liar example,  by  which  the  moral  danger,  and 
even  the  ruinous  consequences  of  a  sudden  eleva- 
tion of  men  from  a  depressed  condition  to  an  in- 
fluential station  and  unwonted  prosperity,  are  il- 
lustrated.— And  a  fool  w^hen  he  is  satisfied 
^vith bread. — The  "becoming surfeited"  isusu' 
ally  attended  by  a  becoming  insolent  (see  ver.  9), 
especially  in  the  case  of  a  fool  to  whom  not  satiety 
but  hunger  is  properly  becoming  (chap.  xiii.  25 ; 
Job  xxvii.  14), 

Ver.  23.  Under  a  hated  woman  when  she 
is  married.  By  the  "hated  woman  "  ia  meant, 
not  one  who  ia  "odious,"  "worthy  of  hate'' 
(RosENM.,  [E.  v.,  H.,  N.,  S,,  M.,]),  nor  again  a 
woman  already  married  and  only  neglected  and 
disparaged  by  her  husband  (Dathe,  Umbreit,), 
but,  as  appears  from  the  "  when  she  is  married, 
when  she  obtains  a  husband,"  one  who  has  re- 
mained waiting,  the  maiden  (old  maid)  who  at 
first  could  obtain  no  husband,  but  afterward  when 
she  has  been  married  triumphs  insolently,  and 
deals  harshly  and  contemptuously  with  her  sis- 
ters or  companions  who  are  single  (comp.  Gen. 
xxix.  31,  33  ;  Deut.  xxi.  15-17.)  The  same  will 
be  the  conduct,  according  to  clause  6  of  a  maid 
"when  she  becomes  heir  to  her  mistress,"  «'.  e., 
undoubtedly,  when  she  supplants  her  mistress  in 
the  favor  of  her  husband,  and  so  becomes  Jiis  all- 
powerful  favorite. 

10.  Vers.  24—28.  The  four  things  that  are  small 
and  yet  wise  (with  respect  to  D'OIinp,  made  wise 
or  quick  of  wit,  comp.  Ps.  Iviii.  6;  Ixiv.  7).  Four 
species  of  small  animals  are  thus  described,  which 
in  spite  of  their  comparatively  diminutive  size 
and  strength  of  body,  yet  by  virtue  of  their  dili- 
gence (ver.  25),  shrewdness  (ver.  26),  harmony 
(ver.  27),  and  flexibility  (ver.  28)  serve  as  in- 
structive emblems  for  the  domestic,  social  and 
political  life  of  men. — With  ver,  25  comp.  vi.  7,« 
8. — Forthe  "conies"  (Z.  "oliff'-badgers")  inver 
26,  i.  c,  the  hyrax  Syriacus  which  live  in  com 
panics  in  Syria,  Palestine  and  Arabia  Petraei* 
(not  the  marmot,  the  mus  sive  dipus  jaculus,  comp 
LiNN^ns,  or  the  rabbit,  as  Luther  renders  th« 
word,  following  the  Chald.  and  the  Rabbins),  sea 
Ps.  civ.  18;  Lev.  xi.  5;  Deut,  xiv.  7.  [See 
Thomson's  Land  jmd  Book,  I.  459,  and  also 
Wood's  Bible  Animals,  pp.  312-18;  and  "for  his 
illustration  of  the  nature  and  habits  of  the  ant  of 
Palestine,  pp.  616-22;  for  the  locusts  see  pp. 
596-604;  and  for  the  gecko,  a  species  of  lizard 
which  he  understands  to  be  referred  to  in  ver. 
28  instead  of  the  "  spider,"  see  pp.  643,  534  sq. 
A.]. — For  the  "organized  going  forth"  of  the 
locusts,  in  ver.  27,  comp.  especially  Joel  ii.  2sq., 
[and  Thomson,  Land  and  Book,  II.  109].  Finally 
the  lizard  in  ver.  28  is  as  its  name  signifies  the 
poisonous  spotted  lizard  [stellio,  Vulg.)  in  re- 
gard to  which  the  thing  here  made  prominent  it 


252 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


its  sly  entering  into  the  interior  of  houses,  and 
even  into  the  palaces  of  the  great.  For  this 
characteristic  of  the  animal  Bochart  brings  for- 
ward various  testimonies,  Hieroz.,  I.  iv.  7,  p.  1090, 
Frankfort  Ed.  [Gesenius,  Fuebst,  etc.,  favor 
this  rendering,  and  Wood  [ubi  supra)  describes 
and  depicts  the  peculiar  form  of  the.feet  by  which 
the  lizard,  the  Gecko,  "layeth  hold  "  even  upon 
flat  surfaces  like  the  walls  of  apartments. — A.] 

11.  Ver.  29-31.  The  four  creatures  that  have 
a  stately  movement ;  three  animals,  and  the  king 
in  his  all-ruling  dignity  and  power.  The  whole 
description  really  turns  upon  the  last. 

Ver.  31.  The  greyhound,  slender  in  its 
loins.  This  is  the  probable  meaning  of  the  dif- 
ficult phrase  D'jnD  1'PJ  (according  to  the  Jew- 
ish interpreters,  JEwald,  Bertheau,  [E.  V.,  S., 
M.,]  etc.).  For  I'nj  is  plainly  derived  from  the 
root  ^}  ''to  compress,"  and  therefore  denotes  a 
compact,  slender  animal ;  and  the  neighboring 
term  seems  to  indicate  the  intention  not  to  bring 
together  exclusively  examples  of  animal  majesty 
of  the  high  rank  of  the  lion,  but  to  give  to  the 
enumeration  as  a.  whole  in  a  certain  sense  a 
ludicrous  variety  and  an  air  of  wit.  The  old  ver- 
sions (LXX,  Vulg.,  Targ.,  etc..)  suggest  the  coci; 
with  this  meaning  of  the  main  noun  the  modify- 
ing term,  however,  does  not  at  all  agree,  even 
though  one  were  disposed  to  transform  it  into  a 
Hithp.  Part.  D':na.  Others,  like  Sohultens, 
Gesen.  (?),  Umbreit,  Elster,  Hitziq  [De  W.,  K., 
MuFFET,  N.]  take  the  Till  in  the  sense  of  "  that 
which  is  girded  about  the  ioins,  or  panoplied,"  and 
therefore  the  war-horse, — a  meaning  however 
which  is  not  surely  demonstrable.  [Starting  with 
the  same  idea  WoRDSw.  understands  a  "warrior," 
and  Wood  an  "athlete."  Fuerst's  rendering  is 
"stag"]. — And  a  king  with -ro-hom  no  re- 
sistance (occurs).  In  this  way  (with  the 
Vulg.,  the  Rabbins,  Geiek,  Michaelis,  Ber- 
theau, EwALD,   [K.,  E.  v.,  H.,  S.,  M.],  etc.),  we 

must  interpret  the  words  IHJ?  Wp7N,  although 
the  niD"7X  of  chap.  xii.  28  is  a  very  doubtful 
parallel  for  this  way  of  regarding  □■lp7^>  as  a 
compound  of  7X  and  Dip.     For  the  identification 


of  this  noun  with  the  Arabic 


r 


j\\     "tte  peo- 


ple" (Castellio,  Pocockk,  Umbreit,  [De  W., 
N.],  etc.),  an  argument  might  seem  to  lie  in  the 
fact  that  the  meaning  so  reached,  "the  king  at 
the  head  of  his  people,"  agrees  almost  literally 
with  the  SrifiTiyopiiiv  iv  e&vei  of  the  LXX,  and  the 
similar  version  of  the  Syriac.  But  to  bring  in 
an  Arabic  word,  especially  one  compounded  with 
the  article  al  is  here  quite  too  unnatural.  Hit- 
tia's  emendation  might  better  recommend  itself, 

D'7l7N  instead  of  D-lp/^,  and  all  the  more  be- 
cause it  gives  a  very  pertinent  sense:  "A  king 
with  whom  God  is." 

12.  Vers.  32,  83. ,  Warning  against  pride, 
haughtiness  and  love  of  strife,  with  an  indica- 
tion of  three  forms  of  evil  resulting  from  these 
vices. — If  thou  art  foolish  in  exalting  thy. 
•elf  (comp.  1   Kings  i.  6)  and  if  thou  devi- 


sest  evil.  To  these  two  hypothetical  antece- 
dent clauses,  which  do  not  present  an  antithesis 
(the  foolish  and  rational — as  Hitzig  explains) 
but  two  different  forms  of  human  error  :  foolish 
self-exaltation  and  wicked  plotting,  the  sentence 
"the  hand  on  the  mouth,"  forms  the  conclusion 
interjectioual  and  imperative  (comp.  Job  ix.  5). 
Ver.  33  then  justifies  the  warning  by  a  signifi- 
cant intimation  of  three  cases  in  which  the  fool- 
ish act  of  "pressing"  (]"□)  brings  forth  unde- 
sirable results, — strong  cheese,  flowing  blood, 
sharp  strife. — And  pressing  (forcing)  -wrath 
produceth  strife.  The  last  word  supplies 
plainly  the  object  of  the  whole  discourse  from 
ver.  32  onward.  The  dual  D'3N  stands  doubtless 
intentionally  (comp.  Dan.  xi.  20)  to  indicate  that 
it  is  the  wrath  of  two  whose  sharp  pressing  upon 
each  other  leads  to  the  development  of  strife. 
[Thomson,  Land  and  Book,  1.393,  describing  the 
Oriental  mode  of  churning  by  squeezing  and 
wringing  a  leathern  bag  or  bottle  that  contains 
the  milk,  makes  more  apparent  and  vivid  the 
meaning   of    this   comparison.     The   dual  D'|N 

is  employed  probably  because  nostrils  usually 
exist  in  pairs,  and  the  transition  is  easy  from 
the  physical  organ,  through  the  heavy  breathing 
of  passion,  to  the  metaphorical  sense  "wrath." 
Whether  two  or  many  are  concerned  in  strife  is 
not  material. — A.] 

DOCTRINAL  AND   ETHICAL. 

As  the  confession  of  an  Israelite,  a  believer  in 
Jehovah  in  a  strange  land,  one  separated  from 
his  people  of  the  ten  tribes,  who  among  Arabs 
and  the  sworn  and  mortal  enemies  of  Israel,  ad- 
heres firmly  to  the  faith  of  his  nation,  this  dis- 
course of  Agur  is  one  of  great  doctrinal  import- 
ance, and  of  no  slight  interest  to  the  history  of 
redemption.  Its  fundamental  idea,  which  is  put 
forward  as  a  sort  of  programme,  is  contained  in 
the  six  verses  of  the  introduction,  and  comes  out 
most  clearly  in  ver.  5:  Every  word  of  God  is 
pure ;  a  shield  is  He  to  them  that  trust  in  Him. 
It  is  the  truth,  purity  and  saving  power  of  the 
word  of  God  alone,  in  contrast  with  the  nullity 
and  inadequacy  of  all  human  wisdom  (vers.  2-5), 
that  forms  the  starting  point  in  the  instructive 
discourse  of  this  poet  of  wisdom,  and  to  which 
all  the  manifold  apothegms,  numerical  proverbs 
and  enigmas  which  he  combines  in  a  varied 
series  in  vers.  7-33,  sustain  a  closer  or  more 
remote  relation. 

While  it  appears  at  the  first  view  that  the 
flowers  and  fruits  from  the  cornucopia  of  Agur's 
wisdom,  original  and  in  part  so  rarely  fashioned, 
are  heaped  up  wholly  without  order,  yet  they  all 
agree  in  this,  that  they  depict  the  glory  and  all- 
sufBciency  of  the  word  of  God,  dissuade  from 
adding  to  it  by  any  human  supplements  (see  in 
particular  ver.  7),  and  most  urgently  commend  the 
fulfilling  and  following  it  by  a  pious  life.  There 
is  hardly  a  single  commandment  of  the  Decalogue 
that  is  not  directly  or  indirectly  repeated  and  em- 
phasized in  these  maxims.  Observe  the  relation 
of  the  prayer  for  the  hallowing  of  God's  name 
(vers.  7-9),  to  the  first  and  third  command- 
ments; the  reference  contained  in  ver.  11  and 
again  in  ver.  17  to  the  fifth  commandment ;  the 


CHAP.  XXX.  1-33. 


25} 


warnings  against  the  transgression  of  the  sixth 
commandment  in  ver.  14  as  well  as  in  vers.  32, 
33 ;  the  reproving  and  warning  aim  of  vers. 
18-20,  and  23,  in  their  bearing  upon  the  seventh ; 
the  allusion  to  the  eighth  in  ver.  9,  and  to  the 
ninth  in  ver.  10 ;  and  finally  the  reference, 
reminding  us  of  the  tenth,  in  vers.  15,  16, 
as  bearing  on  the  unsatiableness  of  evil  de- 
sire (this  "daughter  of  the  blood-sucker"  and 
sister  of  hell!).  No  one  of  these  proverbs  is 
wholly  without  an  ethical  value,  not  even  the 
two  numerical  proverbs,  vers.  24-28  and  29-31, 
which  at  the  first  view  stand  apart  as  incidental 
reflections  on  merely  natural  truths,  but  in  re- 
ality hide  under  their  ingenious  physical  dra- 
pery decided  moral  aims.  For  in  vers.  24-28 
four  chief  virtues  of  one's  social  and  political 
avocation  are  specified  through  an  allusion  to  a 
like  number  of  examples  from  the  animal  world 
(oomp.  exeg.  notes,  No.  10),  and  vers.  29-31  run 
into  a  delineation  of  the  high  dignity  and  glory 
of  a  king  by  the  grace  of  God  (in  contrast  with 
the  insuiferable  tyranny  of  base  upstarts,  vers. 
21-23). 

It  is  true  that  the  point  of  view  taken  in  the  au- 
thor's doctrinal  and  ethical  knowledge  nowhere 
rises  above  the  level  of  the  pure  religion  of  the  law. 
The  law's  doctrine  of  retribution  he  holds  with 
inexorable  strictness  and  severity,  as  is  indicated 
particularly  in  the  fearful  threatening  predic- 
tion in  ver.  17  against  children  who  are  disobe- 
bedient  to  their  parents  {yovevaiv  a-n-ei^el;,  Bom. 
i.  30).  Against  those  who  do  not  belong  to  the 
people  of  God  of  the  Old  Testament  he  appears 
to  cherish  prevailingly  dispositions  of  hate  and 
abhorrence,  as  the  utterance  in  vers.  11-14, 
which  is  probably  directed  against  such  non- 
Israelitish  people,  shows  (see  remarks  above  on 
this  passage).  With  respect  to  knowledge  in 
the  department  of  theology  and  Christology  his 
point  of  view  seems  in  no  respect  more  elevated 
than  that  of  the  author  of  chaps,  i.-ix. ;  for  in 
ver.  4  he  confesses  that  he  knows  nothing  of  the 
name  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  he  nowhere  makes 
reference  to  the  existence  and  eiEciency  of  the 
hypostatic  wisdom  of  God,  not  even  where  this 
would  have  been  natural  enough  (e.  g.  in  vers. 
4-6).  He  need  not  be  charged  in  addition  with 
the  intermingling  of  impure  and  superstitious  no- 
tions from  polytheistic  religions,  for  the  Aluka 
with  its  two  daughters,  in  ver.  15,  is  evidently 
mentioned  by  him  only  with  a  symbolical  design, 
as  a  personification  of  insatiableness  (an  evil 
lust  that  nothing  can  quell),  and  is  by  no  means 
represented  as  an  actually  existing  spectre,  or 
demoniacal  nature.* 

HOMILETIC   AND    PRACTICAL. 

Homily  on  the  entire  chapter: — The  all-sufficient 
power  and  the  fullness  of  blessing  in  the  divine 
word  in  contrast  with  the  weakness  of  mere 
human  wisdom :  a)  in  general  (vers.  1-6)  ;  b) 
with  special  reference  to  the  glory  and  indispen- 
sable necessity  of  the  Decalogue  (vers.  7-33) ; 
comp.  Doctrinal  and  Ethical  notes.— Or  again : 

*  The  case  appears  to  be  otherwise  with  the  spectre  of  the 
night  r\^  7^  7  mentioned  in  Isa.  xxxiv.  14 ;  comp,  Djeutzsoh 
on  this  passage. 


To  God's  word  and  law  man  is  to  add  nothing 
(vers.  1-6),  but  he  is  also  to  take  nothing  away,  not 

evenoueof  its  least  commandments  (vers.  7-33), 

Stooker  :  All  true  wisdom  comes  from  God  alone 
(1-7),  not  from  human  nature,  which  is  rather 
exceedingly  corrupt  (11-17),  and  whose  under- 
standing is  greatly  weakened  (18-24). 

Vers.  1-6.  Melanohthon  :  Human  wisdom  is 
able  to  devise  no  means  of  preservation  from  the 
ignorance  and  spiritual  weakness  which  natu- 
rally belong  to  us.  But  the  Church  in  its  divine 
revelation  possesses  a  light  which  not  only  re- 
veals to  it  the  causes  of  its  spiritual  destitution, 
but  also  points  out  the  means  for  its  elevation 
and  healing.  Therefore  this  divinely  revealed 
truth  must  be  listened  to  by  us,  must  be  received 
in  faith  as  well  in  its  threatenings  of  punishment 
as  in  its  consolatory  contents,  and  be  guarded 
from  all  corruption  and  perversion. — Luther 
(marginal  comment  on  ver. 2) :  Wise  people  know 
that  their  wisdom  is  nothing  ;  fools  know  every- 
thing and  cannot  err. — Geier  (on  vers.  2,  3) : 
With  the  knowledge  of  himself  and  of  the  deep 
corruption  that  dwells  in  him  the  Christian  must 
make  the  beginning  in  the  contemplation  of  di- 
vine things, — [Abnot  :  It  is  a  precious  practical 
rule  to  look  toward  heaven  while  we  measure 
ourselves. — Tbapp  :  Godliness  as  it  begins  in 
right  knowledge  of  ourselves,  so  it  ends  in  a 
right  knowledge  of  God, — Edwards  :  All  true 
spiritual  knowledge  is  of  that  nature  that  the 
more  a  person  has  of  it  the  more  is  he  sensible 
of  his  own  ignorance], — Starke  (on  vers.  4-6): 
Whoever  is  engaged  in  the  investigation  and  ex- 
position of  God's  word,  let  liim  take  his  reason 
captive  to  the  obedience  of  faith,  and  not  curi- 
ously scrutinize,  that  he  may  make  divine  mys- 
teries comprehensible. — Stooker  (on  vers.  5,  6): 
On  the  glory  of  the  divine  word,  especially  its 
clearness,  utility  and  perfectuess. —  BerUburg 
Bible  (on  ver.  6) ;  How  many  counterfeiters 
there  are  who  from  their  poor  copper  make  addi- 
tions to  the  royal  gold  currency  of  God's  word, 
and  thereby  debase  it! — [Lawson:  Our  trust 
must  be  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  as  it  is  repre- 
sented to  us  in  the  word  of  God ;  the  seed  and 
the  ground  of  our  faith  in  Him, — Muffet  :  It  is 
treason  to  corrupt  or  falsify  the  prince's  coin  ; 
what  high  treason  must  it  needs  be  then  to 
counterfeit  or  corrupt  the  pure  word  of  God !] 

Vers.  7-17.  Oomp.  P.  Gerhard's  poetical  re- 
production of  vers.  7-9:  "  Zweierlei  bill'  ich  von 
dir,"  etc.  (Oesamm.  geietliche  Lieder,  No.  41). — 
[Teapp  :  God  heaps  mercies  on  His  suppliants, 
and  blames  them  for  their  modesty  in  asking. — 
Arnot  :  Agur's  requests  are  specific  and  precise  ; 
the  temporal  interests  are  absolutely  subordi- 
nated to  the  spiritual  prosperity  of  the  suppli- 
ant ;  and  a  watch  is  set  against  the  danger  to  a 
soul  which  lies  in  extremes  either  of  position  or 
of  character. — Bp.  Hopkins  :  There  is  a  seeking 
of  worldly  advantages  which  is  not  to  be  branded 
with  the  black  mark  of  self-seeking;  e.  g.  when 
we  seek  them  with  a  due  subordination  to  the 
higher  and  more  noble  ends  of  piety  and  holi- 
ness, such  as  that  we  may  escape  those  tempta- 
tions which  possibly  the  want  of  them  might 
expose  us  unto. — Flavel  :  How  much  better 
were  it  for  thee  to  endure  the  pains  of  hunger 
than  those  of  a  guilty  conscience. — Bates  :  To 


364 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


receive  no  hurtful  impressions  by  great  changes 
of  condition  discovers  a  habit  of  excellent  grace 
and   virtue    in    the    soul]. — Geiee  :    Although 
poverty  and   riches    of  themselves   can   neither 
make  us  blessed  nor  damn  us,  yet  both  are  wont 
incidentally  and  through  the  fault  of  men  not 
rarely  to  bring  after  them  consequences  injuri- 
ous to  our  spiritual  welfare. — (On  ver.  10) :  Keep 
thy  tongue  bridled,  especially  when  it  is  disposed 
to  rage  against  the  needy  and  helpless ;  for  though 
it  is  not  right  to  curse  thy  neighbor,  yet  such 
curses  when  they  have  been  uttered  do   not  re- 
main without  effect,  particularly  if  he  who  utters 
them  is  one  who  has  been  unjustly  oppressed. — 
Starke  (on  ver.  11-14):   The  natural  corruption 
of  men  is  great;  yet  it  is  possible  that  they  be 
purged  from  it  by  the   blood    of  Jesus   Christ; 
1    Cor.   vi.    11;    1    John   i.    7.— Unthankfulness 
(ver.  11),  self-righteousness  (ver.  12),  pride  (ver. 
13),  and   unmercifulness    (ver.   14)   are   usually 
associated  as  an  unblessed  quartette  of  sisters. — 
WoHLFARTH  (ou  vers.  15,  16) :   Many  are  the  evil 
spirits  that  go  about  among  men  to  spread  mis- 
fortune and  ruin,  the  cruel  spectre  of  avarice  is 
one  of  the  most  formidable  enemies  of  our  race. 
Like  the  vampyre  which   in  the   night  attacks 
sleepers  and  sucks  their  blood,  this  demon  rages 
in   palaces    and    cottages,    etc, — (On   ver.    17) ; 
What  Agur  here   says   by  way   of  warning   of 
ravens   and   vultures,    etc.,  has   already  gone  a 
thousandfold  into  literal   fulfilment  in  a  horrible 
way  on  children  who  are  wayward  and  in  conse- 
quence of  their  disobedience  to  parents  sunk  in 
the    deepest   spiritual   need;    who   were  either 
driven  to  self-murder,  or  died  on  the  sca£fold. 


I  Vers.  18-31.  Ldther  (marginal,  on  ver.  19); 
Love  (the  mystery  of  love,  Eph.  v.  31,  32)  is  not 
to  be  thought  out  or  expressed. — Geieh  (on  vers. 
18-20) :  As  it  is  with  adulterers  so  it  is  with 
flatterers;  they  will  never  allow  their  vicious 
nature  to  be  called  by  the  right  name. — (On  vers. 
21-23) :  It  always  causes  manifold  disquiet  and 
misfortune,  when  they  rule  over  others  whom  it 

would  better  befit  to  be  subject  to  others. (On 

vers.  24-28) :  Despise  not  things  that  at  the  first 
glance  appear  small  and  contemptible.  Under  a 
poor  garment  there  is  often  a  wise  man  hid  • 
Dan.  i.  18-20.— (On  vers.  29-31):  In  matters 
belonging  to  one's  office  and  public  calling  it  is 
important  to  be  courageous  and  firm,  especially 
in  times  of  need.  It  is  not  well  then  if  one  for- 
sakes those  over  whom  "one  is  set ;  Ecclesiast. 
X.  31. — [Lawson  (on  ver.  20) :  Do  not  imagine 
that  the  secrecy  of  sin  is  your  security  from  pun- 
ishment; it  is  the  snare  of  your  souls]. 

Vers.  32,  33.  Luther  (marginal,  on  ver.  32) : 
Be  not  ashamed  if  thou  hast  chanced  to  err, 
and  do  not  defend  it.  For  to  err  is  human,  but 
to  defend  it  is  devilish. — Lange:  Strut  not  with 
lust  of  the  eyes,  fleshly  lust  and  insolence. 
Thereby  thou  only  provokest  the  wrath  of  God, 
that  will  come  down  too  heavily  for  thee  ;  Eccle- 
siast. V.  2  sq. — BerlebuTg  Bible:  He  that  would 
gladly  shun  strife  must  seek  to  avoid  obstinacy 
and  self-will.  How  many  useless  disputes  in 
matters  of  religion  might  not  in  this  way  be 
escaped! — [Edwards:  Silence  attends  humility. 
— Mcffet:  He  which  falleth  through  pridt 
should  rise  again  to  repentance]. 


Second   Sapplement : 

The  words  of  Lemuel^  together  with  the  poem  in  praise  of  the  matron. 

Chap.  XXXI. 

o)  Lemuel's  maxims  of  wisdom  for  kings. 

Vers.  1-9. 

1  Words  of  Lemuel  the  king  of  Massa 
'With  vrhich  his  mother  instructed  him: 

2  Oh,  my  son !  oh,  thou  son  of  my  womb  ! 
oh  thou  son  of  my  vows! 

3  Give  not  thy  strength  to  women, 
nor  thy  ways  to  destroy  kings. 

4  Not  for  kings,  oh  Lemuel, 

not  for  kings  (is  it  becoming)  to  drink  wine ; 
nor  for  princes  (wine)  or  strong  drink  ; 

5  lest  he  drink  and  forget  the  law, 

and  pervert  the  judgment  of  all  the  sons  of  want, 

6  Give  strong  drink  to  him  that  is  perishing, 
and  wine  to  him  that  is  of  a  heavy  heart. 

7  Let  him  drink  and  forget  his  poverty, 
and  let  him  remember  his  want  no  more  I 


CHAP.  XXXI.  1-31.  266 


8  Open  thy  mouth  for  the  dumb, 

for  the  right  of  all  orphan  children. 

9  Open  thy  mouth,  judge  righteously, 
and  vindicate  the  poor  and  needy. 

i)  Alphabetical  song  in  praise  of  the  virtuous,  wise  and  industrious  woman. 

Vers.  10-31. 

10  A  virtuous  woman  who  can  find  ? 
and  yet  her  price  is  far  above  pearls. 

11  The  heart  of  her  husband  doth  trust  in  her, 
and  he  shall  not  fail  of  gain. 

12  She  doeth  him  good  and  not  evil 
all  the  days  of  her  life. 

13  She  careth  for  wool  and  linen, 
and  worketh  with  diligent  hands. 

14  She  is  like  the  ships  of  the  merchant, 
from  afar  doth  she  bring  her  food. 

15  She  riseth  up  while  it  is  yet  night, 
and  giveth  food  to  her  house 

and  a  portion  to  her  maidens. 

16  She  considereth  a  field  and  buyeth  it, 

a  vineyard  with  the  fruit  of  her  hands. 

17  She  girdeth  her  loins  with  strength, 
and  maketh  her  arms  strong. 

18  She  perceiveth  that  her  gain  is  good, 
her  light  goeth  not  out  by  night. 

19  She  putteth  her  hands  to  the  distafi", 
and  her  fingers  lay  hold  on  the  spindle. 

20  She  stretcheth  forth  her  hand  to  the  poor, 
and  extendeth  her  arms  to  the  needy. 

21  She  is  not  afraid  of  the  snow  for  her  household, 
for  all  her  household  is  clothed  in  crimson. 

22  Coverlets  doth  she  prepare  for  herself; 
fine  linen  and  purple  is  her  clothing. 

23  Her  husband  is  known  in  the  gates, 

when  he  sitteth  with  the  elders  of  the  land. 

24  She  maketh  fine  linen  and  selleth  it, 

and  girdles  doth  she  give  to  the  merchant. 

25  Strength  and  honor  are  her  clothing ; 
she  laugheth  at  the  future. 

26  She  openeth  her  mouth  with  wisdom, 
and  the  law  of  kindness  is  on  her  tongue. 

27  She  looketh  well  to  the  ways  of  her  household 
and  the  bread  of  idleness  she  will  not  eat. 

28  Her  sons  rise  up  and  praise  her, 

her  husband,  he  also  boasteth  of  her : 

29  Many  daughters  have  done  virtuously, 
but  thou  hast  excelled  them  all ! 

30  Grace  is  deceitful,  beauty  is  vanity, 

a  woman  that  feareth  the  Lord  ;  let  her  be  praised ! 

31  Give  to  her  of  the  fruit  of  her  hands, 
and  let  her  works  praise  her  in  the  gates. 

GEAMMATICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Ver.  2. — [no,  where  it  occurs  the  third  time,  is  pointed  HD,  as  is  not  uncommon  in  repetitions,  to  secure  Variety ; 
nee  BiiTT.,  g  499,  e.  The  consonant  succeeding  is  Che  same  in  the  tiiree  cases. — A.] 


25G 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


Ver.  3.— HiTZiG  changes  the  JlinD7  (Inf.  Iliph.  from  PinO)  to  the  fern.  part,  of  nO?,  "to  leer  or  ogle,"  m'nbS: 
•'and  give  not  thy  way  to  them  (the  seductive  courtesans)  who  leer  after  kings  "  (?).  [Bott.  prefers  to  make  of  it  a  Kal 
part.  fern.  plur.  from  nHTD,  and  would  point  ^11107  and  rander  "  the  caressers  of  kings."  This  is  certainly  easier  than  the 
causative  Infinitive  with  its  abstractness.    See  Bott.,  §  1089,  2.    pD/D.  an  Aramaic  form  immediately  followed  in  ver.  4 

by  the  regular  plural  twice  repeated.    Green,  ?199,  a;  Bott.,  §277,  3. — A.] 

Ver.  4. — We  render  IX  "or"  according;  to  the  K'thibh,  which  is  recommended  by  like  examples  of  a  distributive  loca- 
tion of  this  diejanotive  particle  (such  as  chap.  xxx.  31  [where  Bott.  would  read  IXH  rather  than  allow  the  irregularity]; 
Job  xxii.  11).  AVe  do  not  need  therefore  to  substitu  te  for  it  1 X,  "  desire  "  (that  is,  "  for  strong  drink,"  Qesen.  and  others),  or 
to  read  with  the  K'ri  ^X,  "  where  ?"  ("where  is  strong  drink  for  princes  ?"  comp.  Gen.  iv.  9).  [Bott.  regards  it  as  a  proba- 
ble Simeonite  synonym  for  niXH,  "desire,"  §436,  3;  453,  g.     The  two  forms  of  the  king's  name,  Sx^?37  and  SxiD*?,  a 

genitive  in  ver.  1  and  a  vocative  in  ver.  4,  also  deserve  attention.    The  changing  person  of  the  verba  is  no  uncommon  phe- 
nomenon.    See  EWALD,  3309,  n.— A.J 

Ver.  5.— ppno,  a  Pual  part,  from  pprii  signifies  "  that  which  is  decided,  the  prescribed,"  and  is  therefore  equivalent 


■P 


V." 

Ver.  6. — [Un  t^Q  permissive  use  of  the  Imper.;  Bott.,  §959,  5. — A.] 
Ver.  12. — 7DJ1  is  used  with  two  accusatives  as  in  1  Sam.  xxiv.  18. 

~  T 

Ter.  13.— [The  fem.  noun  Dnt^S  seems  to  be  used  of  the  raw  material, ^aaj,  while  this  plural  from  JlK/3  is  used  of  the 
T  ;    ■  ■.■  -  ■ 

product,  the  materials  for  clothing. — A.] 

Ver.  15.— niD  (comp.  the  verb  ci'ltDH  in  xxx.  8)  is  a  strong  expression   for  Dn7,  ver.  14  (comp.  above  in  ver.  11, 

bW,  "spoil").*  '  ■ 

T  T 

Ver.  16.— The  K'thibh  j;DJ,  Stat,  constr.  from  J?OJ,  "planting,"  la.  T.  7,  is  undoubtedly  to  be  preferred  to  the  K'ri 
nj^tOJ,  notwithstanding  all  the  old  versions  prefer  the  latter  (see  Bertheau  and  HiTZlQ  on  the  passage).  [Bott.  defends 
the  Masoretic  reading,  and  renders  as  a  Terb.] 

Ter.  21. — [The  short  form  of  the  part.  ^"21  seems  to  be  explained  and  justified  by  the  close  connection  of  words  and  the 
sequence  of  li^.     Bott.,  §994,  6. — A.]  .' 

Ver.  27.— Instead  of  the  K'thibh  flO/TI  we  must  either  with  the  K'ri  read  nU'vn,  or  reg.%rd  the  former  as  an  Ara- 
maic collateral  form  (n37n)  for  JIO*?!!. 
T  :  ■   ,  T~: 

Ver.  30.— riNT  before  niiT'  is  here  the  Stat,  constr.  not  of  the  abstract  substantive  HXT,  but  from  the  fem.  part 

nX"l\  "the  woman  who  feareth." 


EXEGETICAL. 

1.  Ver.  1.  The  superscription  to  LemueVs  discourse. 
— Words  of  Lemuel,  king  of  Massa. — That 
we  must,  in  disregard  of  the  Masoretic  pointing, 
connect  the   "Massa"  with  the  first  clause,  and 

regard  it  as  a  genitiTe  governed  by  the  ^7D,  which 
has  no  article,  was  the  right  view  taken  as  early 
as   the    Syriac  version,  when   it   interprets  the 

HE'D  ^70  by  "king  of  utterance  "  (regis prophets:). 
We  ought,  however,  here,  as  in  chap.  xxx.  1,  to 
regard  NtJ/D  rather  as  the  name  of  a  country,  and 
Lemuel,  the  king  of  the  land,  as  perhaps  a  bro- 
ther of  Agur,  and  consider  his  mother  aa  the 
same  wise  princess  who  was  there  designated  as 
"ruler  of  Massa."  To  her  therefore  belong  pro- 
perly and  originally  the  counsels  and  instruc- 
tions for  kings  contained  in  vers.  1-9.  And  yet, 
since  Lemuel  first  reduced  them  to  writing,  and 
so  transmitted  them  to  posterity,  tliey  may  well 
be  called  also  "  words  of  Lemuel," — a  title  which 
there  is  therefore  no  need  of  altering  (with  HiT- 
ziG)to  "words  to  Lemuel."  The  name  "Lemuel," 
or,  as  it  is  written  in  ver.  4  by  the  punctuators, 
"  Lemoel,"  appears  furthermore  to  be  quite  as 
properly  a  genuine  Hebrew  formation  as  "Agur  " 
(see  above,  Exeg.  notes  on  chap,  xxx.,  No.  2).  It 
is  probably  only  a  fuller  form  for  that  whicn  oc- 
curs in  Numb.  iii.  24  as  an  Israelitish  masculine 

name,  "JnS,  "to  God,  for  God"  [Deo  deditus). 
That  it  is  purely  a  symbolical  appellative  desig- 


nation, a  circumscribing  of  the  name  Solomon, 
and  that  accordingly  by  the  "  mother  of  Lemuel " 
no  other  than  Bathsheba  is  intended,  this  opinion 
of  many  old  expositors  (and  recently  of  Schell- 
ING,  EosENMUELLER  [WoRDS.],  etc.)  lacks  all 
further  corroboration.  [The  impossibility  of  re- 
garding Y?Tp  without  an  article  as  an  appositive 
of  'WO?,  even  though  ViWO  be  not  a  limiting  ge- 
nitive, but  an  appositive  to  ''^^'l,  is  not  admitted 
by  those  who  defend  the  prevailing  interpretation 
of  ver.  1.  The  construction  is  admitted  to  be 
exceptional,  but  claimed  to  be  possible  (see,  e.  g., 
Green,  \  247,  a).  Hitzig,  Bertheau,  Z.  and 
others  make  this  one  chief  reason  for  seeking  a 
new  rendering.  Another  is  (he  peculiar  use  of 
Niyp  out  of  prophecy,  and  as  an  appositive  to  the 
sufficient  and  more  appropriate  ''"l.-?^-  Here  as  in 
xxx.  1  Kamph.  retains  the  ordinary  meaning  of 

NTO,  while  S. ,  here  as  there,  follows  HiTzio. — A.l 
T  -  -' 

In  regard  to  the  peculiar  linguistic  character  of 
the  section  vers.  1-9,  which  in  many  points  agrees 
with  Agur's  discourse  [and  in  which  Bottohee 
again  recognizes  a  Simeonitish  cast],  see  above, 
p.  246. 

2.  Vers.  2-9.  The  rules  of  wisdom  from  Lemuel') 
mother. — Oh  my  son !  Oh  thou  son  of  my 
womb  !  etc, — The  thrice  repeated  HD,  usually 
"what" — which  Luther  appropriately  rendered 
by  "Aoh!"  isplainly  "  an  impassioned  exclamation 
expressing  the  inward  emotion  of  the  mother's 
heart  at  the  thought  that  the  sou  might  possibly 


CHAP.  XXXI.  1-31. 


25T 


fall  into  an  evil  way  "  (Elsteb)  ;  it  is  therefore 
substantially  "  What,  my  son,  wilt  thou  do  ?"  or 
"  How,  my  son,  wilt  thou  suft'er  thyself  to  be  be- 
trayed?" etc. — With  "son  of  my  vows"  oomp.  1 
Sam.  i.  11. 

Ver.  3.  Give  not  thy  strength  to  'women 
— i.  e.,  do  not  sacrifice  it  to  them,  do  not  give  thy 
manly  strength  and  vigor  a  prey  to  them.  It  is 
naturally  the  ways  of  licentiousness  that  are  in- 
tended, which  ruin  physically  and  morally  kings 
and  princes  who  give  themselves  up  to  them. 
See  Critical  notes. 

Vers.  4.  This  warning  against  licentiousness  is 
immediately  followed  by  a  dissuasion  from  drunk- 
enness, which  is  naturally  closely  connected  with 
the  preceding. — -Also  not  for  princes  (is  wine) 
or  strong  drink. — See  Critical  notes.  For 
IDty,  "mead,  strong  drink,"  comp.  notes  on  xx. 
1.— [Gesen.,  Bott.,  De  W.,  H.,  N.,  S.,  M.,  etc., 
would  render  by  "desire,"  if  the  K'thibh  is  fol- 
lowed, which  they  are  disposed  to  do.  The  K'ri, 
pointing  IX,  suggests  either  the  interrogative  'N, 
"where,"  or  an  abbreviated  form  of  the  negative 
rS.   FcEKST  renders  IX  as  an  interrogative  here. 

-A.] 
Ver.  5.  Lest  he  drink  and  forget  the  la-w 

— i.  e.,  the  king,  who  is  here  in  question.  The 
construction  ("drink  and  forget"  instead  of 
"drinking  forget")  is  like  that  in  chap.  xxx.  9. 
—And  pervert  the  judgment  of  all  the 
sons  of  want — i.  e.,  of  all  the  poor  and  help- 
less.    For  the  Piel  DiliJ',  "in  deterius  mutare,  to 

T  • 

distort,  wrest,  destroy,"  comp.  Job  xiv.  20.  For 
the  sentiment  comp.  Punt,  Bist.  Nat.,  XXIII. 
25:  Inproverbiam  cessit  sapientiam  vino  obumbrari. 
[It  has  become  proverbial  that  wisdom  is  clouded 
by  wine.] 

Vers.  6,  7.  The  enjoyment  of  wine  and  strong 
drink  is  seasonable  in  its  cheering  influence  upon 
the  sorrowful,  whom  it  is  desirable  to  cause  to 
forget  their  sorrow;  oomp.  Ps.  civ.  15;  Matlh, 
xxvii.  34. — Give  strong  drink  to  him  who 
is  perishing — the  man  who  is  on  the  point  of 
perishing,  who  is  just  expiring,  as  Job  xxix.  13  ; 
xxxi.  19:  "the  heavy  in  heart"  are  afilicted, 
anxious  ones,  as  in  Job  iii.  20 ;  1  Sam.  xxii.  2, 
etc.  [That  even  these  be  made  to  drink  to  un- 
consciousness is  not  the  recommendation,  but 
that  ia  their  extremity,  physical  or  mental,  wine 
be  given  to  fulfil  its  office  in  imparting  elasticity, 
and  increasing  power  of  endurance,  and  taking 
the  crushing  weight  from  calamities  that  might 
ocherwise  be  overwhelming.  As  there  is  a  misuse 
pointed  out  before  in  drinking  to  the  destruction 
of  kingly  competence  and  the  thwarting  of  kingly 
duty,  self-indulgence,  sinful  excitement  and  ex- 
cess overmastering  reason  and  conscience, — so  it 
is  a  kingly  grace  to  bear  others'  burdens  by  mi- 
nistries of  helpful  kindness.  As  on  the  one  hand 
'here  is  nothing  here  to  preclude  the  pressing  of 
other  pleas  for  abstinence,  so  on  the  other  there 
IS  nothing  to  encourage  the  too  early  and  willing 
resort  to  the  plea  of  necessity,  or  to  commend  in 
any  case  drinking  to  utter  oblivion. — A.] 

Vers.  8,  9.  Continuation  of  the  exhortation, 
commenced  in  ver.  5,  to  a  righteous  and  merciful 
administration. — Open  thy  mouth  for  the 
dumb. — That  is,  help  such  to  their  right  as  are 
not  able  to  maintain  it  for  themselves  ;  be  to  them 


a  judge  and  at  the  same  time  an  advocate  (comp. 
Job  xxix.  15,  16).— For  the  right  of  all  or- 
phan children. — "  Sons  of  leaving,  of  abandon- 
ment or  disadvantage"  (not  of  "destruction,"  as 
EwALD  and  Bertheau  would  interpret  here,  with 
a  reference  to  Ps.  xc.  5;  Is.  ii.  18),  are  clearly 
those  left  behind  as  helpless  orphans ;  the  word 
therefore  conveys  a  more  specific  idea  than  the 
"  sons  of  want"  in  ver.  5. 

3.  The  praise  of  the  virtuous  matron  {yQxs.  10-31) 
is  an  alphabetic  moralpoem  (like  Ps.  ix.,  x.,  xxv., 
xxxiv.,  cxix.;  Lam.  i. — iv.,  etc.),  "a  golden  A  B 
C  for  women"  according  to  Doderlein's  perti- 
nent designation,  a  highly  poetic  picture  of  the 
ideal  of  a  Hebrew  matron.  Not  the  alphabetic 
structure  indeed,  which  it  has  in  common  with 
not  a  few  Psalms  of  high  antiquity,  partly  such 
as  come  from  David  (comp.  Delitzsch,  Psalms 
1.  69;  II.  187),  but  very  probably  some  trace» 
ihat  are  contained  in  it  of  a  later  usus  loquendi, 
especially  the  more  frequent  scriptio  plena,  even 
apart  from  the  distinctive  accents  (comp.  Hiizio, 
p.  334),  and  also  in  particular  the  position  as- 
signed it  by  the  compiler,  even  after  Hezekiah'a 
supplement  and  Agur's  and  Lemuel's  discourse, 
mark  the  poem  as  a  literary  work  produced  quite 
late  after  Solomon's  time,  and  even  as  probably 
the  latest  constituent  of  the  whole  collection.  Al- 
though separated  from  the  "words  of  Lemuel" 
by  no  superscription  of  its  own,  it  shows  itself  to 
be  the  work  of  a  different  person  from  the  wise 
prince  of  Massa,  and  that  probably  a  later  poet, 
by  its  not  sharing  the  linguistic  idioms  of  that 
section,  and  by  the  whole  of  its  characteristic 
bearing  and  structure.  Besides,  in  its  contents 
and  general  drift  it  does  not  stand  in  any  particu- 
larly close  and  necessary  connection  with  the 
maxims  of  wisdom  from  the  mother  of  Lemuel. 
And  that  it  has  by  no  means  steadily  from  the  be- 
ginning held  its  place  immediately  after  these, 
appears  with  great  probability  from  the  fact  that 
the  LXX  attach  it  directly  to  xxix.  27,  and  give 
to  the  proverbs  of  Agur  and  Lemuel  an  earlier 
place  (within  the  limits  of  the  present  24th  chap- 
ter).    Comp.  Introd.,  §  13,  p.  30. 

With  the  greatest  arbitrariness,  R.  Stiee 
{Politik  der  Weisheit,  pp.  134  sq.)  has  felt  con- 
strained to  interpret  the  matron  of  this  poem  al- 
legorioally,  and  to  make  the  application  to  the 
Holy  Spirit  renewing  men  and  educating  them 
for  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  whole  attitude  of 
the  section  speaks  against  such  an  interpretation, 
most  of  all  the  praise  bestowed  in  vers.  23  sq.  upon 
the  influence  of  the  matron  as  advancing  the 
standing  of  her  husband  in  the  political  organi- 
zation of  the  State,  as  well  as  what  is  said  in  ver. 
30  of  the  fear  of  God  as  her  most  eminent  virtue. 
Comp.  Von  Hofmann,  Schriftbew.,  II.,  2,  378. 
[According  to  Wordsw.  we  find  here  a  propheti* 
representation  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  in  he* 
truth,  purity  and  holiness,  and  as  distinguished 
from  all  forms  of  error,  corruption  and  defile- 
ment, which  sully  and  mar  the  faith  and  worship 
which  he  has  prescribed." — A.] 

4.  Vers.  10-22.  The  action  and  management 
of  the  virtuous  woman  within  her  domestic  sphere. 
A  virtuous  -woman,  who  can  find  ?  The 
"  virtuous  woman,"  as  in  xii.  4 ;  chap.  xi.  16. 
[The  transition  is  easy,  from  physical  strength 
to  moral  strength  and  probity.     The  word  "  vir- 


258 


THE  PROVERBS  OP  SOLOMON. 


tuous "  13  therefore  to  be  taken  in  this  high 
sense. — A.].  The  interrogative  exclamation 
"  who  will  find  ?  "  express  the  idea  of  a  wish,  as 
in'  'D  does  elsewhere  ;  it  is  therefore  equivalent 
to  "  would  that  every  one  might  find  so  gracious 
a  treasure!" — And  yet  her  price  is  far  above 
pearls.  The  "and"  at  the  beginning  of  this 
clause  is  either  the  exegetical,  "  that  is,  that  is 
to  say,"  as  in  xxv.  13,  etc.  (thus  Hitzig),  or, 
which  seems  to  be  more  natural,  the  adversative 
"aud  yet,  however"  (Ewald,  Elsteb).  For 
the  figure  comp.  iii.  10;  viii.  11.  [Thomson, 
Land  and  Book,  11.  572  sq.  illustrates  the  force 
and  fitness  of  the  successive  points  in  this  de- 
scription in  contrast  with  the  ordinary  ignorance, 
weakness  and  worthlessness  of  the  women  of 
the  E.ast.— A.] 

Ver.  11.  And  he  shall  not  fail  of  gain. 
Sbt?.  strictly  "the  spoil  of  war,"  is  a  strong  ex- 
pression to  describe  the  rich  profit  to  which  the 
co-operation  of  the  efficient  wife  helps  ier  hus- 
band's activity  in  his  occupation.  According  to 
HiTziG,  "  spoil,  fortunate  discovery,"  is  to  be 
taken  here  as  in  Ps.  cxix.  162  ;  Isa.  ix.  2,  figur- 
atively, and  to  be  interpreted  of  the  joy  which 
the  wife  prepares  for  her  husband  (?). 

Ver.  12.  She  doeth  him  good  and  not 
evil.     Comp.  1  Sam.  xxiv.  12. 

Ver.  13.  She  careth  for  wool  and  linen  ; 
lit.,  "she  seekeih  (busieth  herself  with)  wool  and 
linen,"  i.  e.,  she  provides  these  as  materials  for 
the  products  of  her  feminine  skill.  — And 
■worketh  with  diligent  hands;  lit.,  "and 
laboreth  with  her  hands'  pleasure  "  (Umbeeit, 
Ewald,  Elster)  [De  W.,  E.,  E.  V.,  N.,  S.,  M.], 
or  inasmuch  as  ]'£Jn  might  here  signify  "  occu- 
pation" (as  in  Is.  Iviii.  3;  Eocles.  iii.  17); 
"and  laboreth  in  the  business  of  her  hands" 
(Hitzig). 

Ver.  14.  She  is  like  the  ships  of  the  mer- 
chant, so  far  forth  as  she  selling  her  products 
to  foreigners  (ver.  24),  brings  in  gain  from  re- 
mote regions  (comp.  i),  and  provides  long  in 
advance  for  all  the  necessities  of  her  house. 

Ver.  15.  And  distributeth  food  to  her 
house.  The  "portion"  of  the  next  clause  is 
not  a  possible  synonym  for  the  "food"  of  this, 
80  that  it  should  denote  the  definite  allowance 
of  food,  the  rations  of  the  maidens  (Luthek, 
Bektheab  [E.  v.,  S.,  M.]  etc.)  ;  what  is  de- 
scribed by  it  is  the  definite  pensum,  what  each 
maid  has  to  spin  of  wool,  flax,  etc.,  and  there- 
fore the  day's  work  of  the  maidens  (Ewald, 
Umbreit,  Hitzig  [De  W.,  K.,  H.,  N.]  etc.). 

Ver.  16.  She  considereth  a  field  and 
buyeth  it,  that  is,  for  the  money  earned  by 
her  diligent  manual  labor. — A  vineyard  (Z.  "  a 
vineyard-planting")  with  the  fruit  of  her 
hands.  A  "planting  of  a  vineyard"  [genii, 
apposit.)  is  however  the  same  as  a  planting  of 
vines.  See  Critical  Notes  for  another  construc- 
tion and  rendering. 

Ver.  17.   Comp.  ver.  25  a. 

Ver.  18.  She  perceiveth  that  her  gain  is 
good.  For  this  verb  DJ^I3  "to  taste,"  i.  e.,  to 
discern,  to  become  aware,  comp.  Ps.  xxxiv.  9. 
For  the  succeeding  phrase,  "  excellent,  charm- 
ing is  her  gain,"  comp.  iii.  14.  What  she  now 
does  in  consequence  of  this  perception  of  the 


pleasing  nature  of  her  gain,  is  shown  in  the  2d 
clause. 

Ver.  19.  She  putteth  her  hands  to  the 
distaS.  This  is  the  usual  rendering.  But 
probably  Hitzig's  rendering  is  more  exact  (fol- 
lowing Vatabl.,  Mebcerus,  Gesen.,  ete.):  "Her 
hands  she  throweth  out  with  the  whorl,"  for 
llty'S  is  not  properly  the  "distaif,"  but  the 
'whorl,  or  wheel,'  verticuluni,  "a  ring  or  knob 
fastened  upon  the  spindle  below  the  middle,  that 
it  may  fall  upon  its  base,  and  may  revolve 
rightly."  [Kamph.  rejects  this  explanation,  and 
gives  an  extract  of  some  length  from  a  "  Book 
of  Inventions,  Trades  and  Industries,"  to  justify 
his  own,  which  is  the  old  view.  The  word  trans- 
lated "fingers"  is  literally  her  "bent  hands." 

A.] 

Ver.  20.  Her  hand  she  stretcheth  forth 
to  the  poor,  lit.,  "her  hollow,  or  bent  hand," 
in  which  she  holds  her  gift. 

Ver.  21.  She  is  not  afraid  of  the  snow 
for  her  household,  lit.,  "  feareth  not  for  her 
house  from  snow."  The  snow  stands  here  for 
"winter's  cold,"  and  for  this  reason, — that  the 
sh.arpest  possible  contrast  is  intended  with  the 
clothes  of  "crimson  wool,"  woolen  stuffs  of 
crimson  color  with  which  her  household  go 
clothed  in  winter.  The  same  alliterative  anti- 
thesis of  D'm  and  jW  is  found  in  Is.  i.  18.— 

■  T 

Umbkeit,  Ewald,  Beetheau,  S.,  etc ,  render 
D'itS  incorrectly  by  "purple  garments"  (see  in 
objection  to  this  Baehr's  Syinbolik  des  Mosaischen 
Cultus,  I.  333  sq.),  while  the  LXX,  Luthek, 
RosBNM.,  Vaihingee,  H.,  etc.,  read  U]XJ  (vesti- 
menta  duplicia,  "double  clothing"),  by  which 
the  strong  contrast  is  sacrificed. 

Ver.  22.  Coverlets  doth  she  prepare  for 
herself.  For  the  "  coverlets"  comp.  vii.  16. 
An  article  of  clothing  can  be  intended  no  more 
here  than  there.  In  the  costly  articles  of  ap- 
parel which  the  woman  wears,  the  contrasted 
colors,  white  and  purple,  recur  again.  The 
byssus  (Copt,  schensch)  and  the  "purple"  (red- 
dish purple  in  contrast  with  the  (violet)  "bluish 

purple  "  ri70n)  are  both  foreign  materials,  the 
one  an  Egyptian,  the  other  a  Syro-phoenician 
production. — Comp.  Baehr,  ubi  supra;  WiNEE 
in  his  Realwiirterb,  Articles  Baumwolle  and 
Purpur. 

5.  Vers.  23 — 31.  The  influence  of  the  matron 
beyond  the  narrow  sphere  of  the  domestic  life. 
— Her  husband  is  vrell  known  in  the 
gates,  because  the  excellence  of  his  wife  not 
only  makes  him  rich  but  important  and  famous. 
With  this  being  "known  in  the  gates,"  see  also 
ver.  31  b  [i.  c,  well  known  in  counsel),  comp. 
Homer's  :  cvapW/iiog  hi  l3ov?^y,  Iliad  ii.  202. 

Ver.  24.  She  maketh  fine  linen,  etc. 
^^'^0=alvSi)v  (comp.  LXX  here  and  in  Judg.  xiv. 
12)  fine  linen  and  shirts  made  of  it  (comp.  Mark 
xiv.  51 ;  Is.  iii.  23,  and  Hitzig  on  this  passage). 
— And  girdles  doth  she  give  to  the  mer- 
chant, lit.  to  "  the  Canaanite,"  the  Phoenician 
merchant,  who  knows  well  how  to  prize  her  fine 
products,  and  to  dispose  of  them. 

Ver.  26.  With  a  comp.  ver.  17  ;  Job.  xxiv.  14. — 
She  laugh  eth  at  the  future.     In  reliance  on 


CHAP.  XXXI.  1-31. 


259 


her  ample  stores,  and  still  more  her  inward 
strength  and  skill,  she  laughs  at  the  future  as 
respects  the  evil  that  it  may  perchance  bring. 
fB.  V.  :  "She  shall  rejoice  in  time  to  come;" 
H.,  M.,  W. ;  while  De  W.,  K.,  Bektheau,  Muffet, 
N,,  S.,  etc.,  take  our  author's  view.  This 
"laughing  at  the  future"  is  of  course  not  to  be 
understood  as  expressive  of  a  presumptuous 
self-confidence,  but  only  of  a  consciousness  of 
having  all  appropriate  and  possible  preparation 
and  competence  for  the  future. — A.] 

Ver.  26.  Her  mouth  she  openeth  -with 
wisdom.  HiTZiG  well  says:  "The  mouth, 
which  in  25  a,  is  smiling,  is  here  a  speaker." — 
The  "law  of  kindness"  in  b  is  not  "amiable, 
loving  instruction,  but  that  which  is  pleasing, 
gracious ;"  comp.  Is.  xl.  6 ;  and  especially  Luke 
iv.  22  {Idyoi  riji;  ;t(ip(rof). 

Ver.  27.  She  looketh  well  to  the  ways 
of  her  household;  lit.  "she  who  looketh," 
etc. — for  the  partic.  n'31X  is  probably  to  be  con- 
nected, as  HiTZio  takes  it,  as  grammatically  an 
appositive  to  the  subject  of  the  preceding  verse, 
so  that  according  to  this  view,  it  is  now  the  ob- 
ject of  her  pleasing  instruction  that  is  given. 
The  "ways  of  the  house"  are  naturally  its  or- 
ganization and  management,  the  course  of  the 
household  economy  (comp.  Lhtheb.:  "How  it 
goes  in  her  house"). 

Vers.  28,  29  describe  the  praise  which  the  ex- 
cellent housekeeper  has  bestowed  upon  her  by 
her  sons  and  her  husband.  The  words  of  the 
latter  are  expressly  quoted,  but  they  are  proba- 
bly not  to  be  extended  through  the  last  three 
verses  (as  Umbeeit,  Ewald,  Elstek,  etc.,  would 
do),  but  to  be  restricted  to  ver.  29  ;  for  verse  30 
immediately  separates  itself  as  a  proposition 
altogether  general,  by  which  the  poet  comes  in 
with  his  confirmation  of  the  husband's  praise. 
[So  De  W.,  Bertheau,  K.,  N.,  S.,  M.]. — Many 
daughters  have  done  virtuously.  The  hus- 
band says  "  daughters"  and  not  "  women,"  be- 
cause as  an  elder  he  may  put  himself  above  his 
wife  (comp.  Heb.  vii.  7).  With  the  phrase  "have 
done  virtuously,  or  show  themselves  virtuous," 
lit.  "  make,  produce,  manifest  virtue,"  comp. 
Num.  xxiv.  18;  Ruth  iv.  11. 

Ver.  30.  Grace  is  a  deception,  beauty  a 
breath ;  both  are  no  real  abiding  attributes  of 
man,  and  are,  therefore,  not  to  be  praised.  As 
an  imperishable  and  therefore  really  praise- 
worthy possession,  there  is  contrasted  with  them 
iu  b  the  disposition  to  fear  God.  Comp.  Is.  xl. 
6 ;  Ps.  ciii.  15—18 ;  1  Pet.  i.  24,  25.  [Observe 
how  our  book  just  at  its  close  dwells  in  a,  very 
different  way,  yet  with  a  significant  empha- 
sis, upon  that  "fear  of  the  Lord,"  which  in  i. 
7  was  pronounced  "the  beginning  of  wisdom." 
-A.] 

Ver.  31.  Give  her  of  the  fruit  of  her 
hands,  t. «.,  of  the  praise  which  she  has  deserved 
by  the  labor  of  her  han.ds. — And  let  her  work 
praise  her  in  the  gates  [not  with  Z.,  "let 
them  praise  her  work  in  the  gates,"  for  the  verb 
has  its  object  in  its  suffix. — A.].  In  the  place 
where  the  population  of  the  city  gathers  in 
largest  numbers,  in  the  assembly  of  the  com- 
munity at  the  gate  (ver.  23),  there  must  the 
praise  of  her  excellent  life  and  work  resound. 


DOCTRINAL,    ETHICAL,   HOMILETIC   AND 
PRACTICAL. 

The  central  idea  to  which  we  may  trace  back 
the  two  divisions  of  this  concluding  chapter, 
quite  unequal,  it  is  true,  in  their  size,  is  this: 
Of  a  pious  administration,  as  the  king  shouldmain- 
tain  it  in  the  State,  and  the  woman  in  her  family. 
For  the  fear  of  God  quite  as  really  constitutes 
the  foundation  of  the  virtues  of  chastity,  sobri- 
ety, righteousness  and  compassion,  to  which 
Lemuel's  mother  counsels  this  son  of  her's  (vers. 
2—9),  as  it,  according  to  ver.  30,  forms  the  deep- 
est basis  and  the  glorious  crown  of  the  excellen- 
ces for  which  the  virtuous  matron  is  praised 
(vers.  10  sq).  It  has  already  been  brought  out 
prominently  in  the  exegetical  comments,  that  the 
delineation  which  is  shaped  in  praise  of  the 
latter,  in  turn  falls  into  two  divisions  (which  are 
only  relatively  different), — the  first  of  which 
treats  of  the  efficiency  of  the  virtuous  woman 
within  the  circle  of  her  domestic  relations,  the 
second  of  her  activity  as  extending  itself  beyond 
this  sphere  into  wider  regions. 

Homily  on  the  chapter  as  a  whole : — Of  the  pious 
administration  of  the  king  in  his  State  and  the 
woman  in  her  household  ;  what  both  should  shun 
and  what  they  should  strive  for,  with  an  exhibi- 
tion of  the  blessed  reward  that  awaits  both. 
Or,  more  briefly :  A  mirror  for  rulers  and  a 
mirror  for  matrons,  with  the  fear  of  God  as  the 
centre  and  focus  of  both. — Stocker  :  I.  Instruc- 
tion of  Solomon  the  king  by  his  mother,  a) 
To  be  shunned :  lust  and  drunkenness,  b)  To 
be  practised :  justice.  II.  Praise  of  a  virtuous 
woman.  1)  Her  duties  or  general  virtues;  2) 
her  ornaments  or  special  virtues  (ver.  25-27) ; 
3)  her  reward  (vers.  28-31). 

Vers.  1-9.  TUbingen  Bible  (on  ver.  1) :  How 
good  is  the  report  when  parents,  especially 
mothers,  teach  their  children  good  morals.  It 
is  the  greatest  love  that  they  can  show  them, 
but  also  their  foremost  duty! — Geier  (on  ver.  2): 
If  parents  have  dedicated  their  children  from 
birth  to  the  Lord,  they  must  so  much  more  care- 
fully educate  them  from  youth  up,  and  so  much 
more  diligently  pray  for  them, — (On  ver.  3): 
Let  every  husband  be  content  with  the  wife  con- 
ferred upon  him  by  God,  let  him  live  with  her 
chastely  and  discreetly,  and  serve  God  heartily; 
that  is  a  truly  noble,  kingly  life.— Starke  (on 
vers.  6,  7) :  A  draught  of  wine  which  is  bestowed 
on  a  suffering  member  of  Christ's  body  on  his 
sick  or  dying  bed  is  better  appropriated  than 
whole  casks  that  are  misemployed  for  indulgence. 
—Von  Gerlaoh  (on  vers.  8,  9) :  The  highest 
duty  of  kings  is  to  befriend  the  helpless. 

Vers.  10  sq.  Luther:  There  is  nothing  dearer 
on  earth  than  woman's  love  to  him  who  can  gain 
it.  Comp.  also  P.  Gerhard's  poetical  treatment 
of  the  passage,  "  Voller  Wunder,  voller  Kunst,  etc. 
[Gesamm.  geistl.  iic&r,"  No.  107).  — Melanch- 
THON :  As  virtues  of  the  true  matron  there  are 
named,  above  all  the  fear  of  God  as  the  sum  of 
all  duties  to  God ;  then  chastity,  fidelity,  love  to 
her  husband  without  any  murmuring  ;  diligence 
and  energy  in  all  domestic  avocations ;  frugality, 
moderation  and  gentleness  in  the  treatment  of 
servants;  care  in  the  training  of  children,  and 


360 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  SOLOMON. 


beneficence  to  the  poor. — Zeltner  (on  vers.  11 
sq. );  God  gives  to  pious  married  people  their 
subsistence  and  their  needed  bit  of  bread,  yea, 
He  blesses  them,  yet  not  without  prayer  and 
work. —  [Abnot:  Empty  hours,  empty  hands, 
empty  companious,  empty  words,  empty  hearts, 
draw  in  evil  spirits,  as  a  vacuum  draws  in  air. 
To  be  occupied  with  good  is  the  best  defence 
against  the  inroads  of  evil], — Gteiee  (on  ver. 
23) :  A  pious  virtuous  wife  is  her  husband's 
ornament  and  honor  (1  Cor.  xi.  7).  A  vicious 
one,  however,  is  a  stain  in  every  way  (Ecclesiast. 
XXV.  22  sq.). — [Abnot  (on  ver.  25) :  If  honor  be 
your  clothing,  the  suit  will  last  a  lifetime;  but 
if  clothing  be  your  honor,  it  will  soon  be  worn 
threadbare]. 

Vers.  30,  31.  Luther  (marginal,  on  ver.  30): 
A  woman  can  dwell  with  a  man  honorably  and 
piously  and  be  mistress  of  his  house  with  a  good 
aonscience,  but  must  to  this  end  and  with  this 


fear  "God,  trust  and  pray. — Cramer:  The  fear 
of  God  is  the  most  beautiful  of  all  ornaments  of 
woman's  person  ;  1  Pet.  iii.  4. — Zeltner  :  If  thou 
hast  outward  beauty  see  to  it  that  thy  heart  and 
soul  also  be  beautified  before  God  in  faith. — 
[Tbapp  :  The  body  of  honor  is  virtue,  the  soul 
of  it  humility. — Aenot:  True  devotion  is  chiefly 
in  secret ;  but  the  bulk  of  a  believer's  life  is  laid 
out  in  common  duties,  and  cannot  be  hid.  Lift 
up  your  heart  to  God  and  lay  out  your  talents 
for  the  world ;  lay  out  your  talents  for  the  world 
and  lift  up  your  heart  to  God]. .^Starke  (on 
ver.  31):  Works  of  piety  and  love  preserve 
among  men  a  good  remembrance,  and  are  also 
rewarded  by  God  of  His  grace  in  everlasting 
joy;  Heb.  vi.  10;  Ps.  Ixi.  6.  My  God,  let  my 
works  also  graciously  please  Thee  in  Christ 
Jesus. 

AMEN. 


ECCLESIASTES; 

OK, 

KOHELETH. 


BY 


DE.  OTTO   ZOOKLEE, 

PEOr.  OF  THEOLOGr,  OEEIFSWALD. 


AMEEIOAN  EDITION. 


EDITED,   WITH  ANNOTATIONS,  DISSERTATIONS  ON  LEADING  IDEAS, 

TOGETHER  WITH 

A  NEW  METRICAL  VERSION  and  AN  INTRODUCTION  THERETO. 

BY 

PEOF.  TA.TLEE  LEWIS,  LL.D. 

OP  BCHIKECIADr,  N.  T. 


TRANSLATED  BY 

WILLIAM  WELLS,  A.M. 

PHOrESSOR  OP  THB  OBBMAIT  LANGUAGE  ANP  UTEEATURB,  UNION  COLLKGE,  H.T- 


NEW  YORK: 
CHAELES    SCRIBNEE'S    SONS, 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1870,  by 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER,  &  CO., 

In  the  Clerk'o  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District 

of  New  York. 


ECCLESIASTES. 

SOLOMON,  THE  PREACHER 


INTRODUCTION. 


§  1.    NAME   AND  CHAEACTEB  OF  THE   BOOK. 

According  to  the  title:  "  The  words  of  Koheleth,  Son  of  David,  King  of  Jerusalem,"  this  book 
contains  the  discourses  or  reflections  of  a  king  whom  the  author  presents  as  Solomon,  but  whom 

he  designates  with  the  peculiarly  symbolical  appellative  Jl^plp*     This  expression,  which  is  not 

used  outside  of  this  book,  is  used  again  in  it  several  times,  and  twice  with  the  article  (vii.  27 ; 

xii.  8;  comp.  i.  2,  12;  xii.  9,  10).     It  is  clearly  allied  with  7nD  assembly,  congregation  of  the 

people,  and,  as  there  is  no  such  verb  in  Kal,  is  to  be  connected  with  Hiphil,   7*nnj7  (Numb. 

viii.  9;  x.  7;  xx.  8  ;  Job  xi.  10),  and  is  accordingly  to  be  considered  as  the  feminine  participial 
form  with  the  signification  of  one  holding  an  assembly,  preaching.  This  signification  which  the 
oldest  translators  and  expositors  express  (Sept.:  iKKlriaiaaTiiQ ;  Hiebontmus:  concionaior ;  hence 
Lutheb:  "Preacher")  appears  to  stand  in  direct  relation  to  the  Ghokmah  of  the  Old  Covenant, 
the  personified  Wisdom,  preaching  in  the  streets  and  on  the  market  places,  gathering  around  it 
all  who  were  eager  to  learn  (Prov.  i.  20  sqq.;  viii.  1  sqq.;  ix.  1  sqq. ).  From  an  original  designa- 
tion of  this  wisdom,  the  name  Koheleth  seems  to  have  become  the  surname  of  Solomon,  the 
teacher  of  wisdom  /cor"  Hoxfrv,  or,  as  it  were,  wisdom  incarnate, — a  surname  that  with  special 
propriety  could  be  conferred  on  the  great  King,  when  he  was  represented  as  teaching  and  preach- 
ing, as  in  the  apocryphal  book  of  wisdom  (chap.  vii.  1  sq.;  ix.  7,  8,  etc.),  or  as  in  ours.  If  one 
does  not  wish  thus  to  explain  the  feminine  form,  Koheleth,  as  a  designation  of  a  male  individual 
(with  EwALD,  KosTEE,  Hbngstenbeeg,  Hitzig,  and  others),  there  is  nothing  left  but  to  accept 
an  ahsiractum  pro  concrao,  or^  what  is  the  same  thing,  to  derive  the  feminine  ending  from  the 
character  of  the  name  as  an  official  name;  for  which  analogies  may  be  quoted  in  the  Syriao  and 

Arabic,  as  in  the  later  Hebrew  [e.g.,  Pf\j}'Q=?n'l2>  (1113  administrator,  J^J3  ^^llow-citi- 

zen,  etc.;  comp.  J.  D.  Michaelis,  Supplement  to  Heb.  Lex.,  p.  2168;  Gesenius,  Lehrgebdude, 
p.  468,  and  Knobbl  Commentary,  10.) — In  any  case,  Solomon,  who  was  pre-eminently  and  em- 
phatically the  wise  man  among  the  kings  of  Israel,  must  be  understood  under  the  peculiar  name 
of  Koheleth ;  as  is  shown  not  only  by  the  title,  but  also  by  the  studied  description  of  the  learn- 
ing of  Koheleth,  comprehending  every  thing  under  heaven  (i.  13;  viii.  9),  and  by  his  zealous 
searching  after  wisdom  and  truth  (i.  13 ;  xii.  9),  his  transcendent  fame  as  a  sage  (i.  16 ;  ii.  15), 
and  finally  his  activity  as  a  teacher  of  wisdom  and  author  of  proverbs  (xii.  9).  For  these  are  all 
characteristics  which  the  book  of  Kings  attribute  honorably  to  Solomon,  and  of  all  the  posterity 
of  David,  to  him  only  (1  Kings  ii.  9  ;  iii.  12  ;  v.  9-13 ;  x.  1 ;  see  the  Introduction  to  the  Litera- 
ture of  Solomon  in  general  (in  the  beginning  of  this  volume). 
The  whole  literary  character  of  the  book  proves  also  that  it  belongs  to  the  circle  of  the  Solo- 

1 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ECCLESIASTES. 


monio  writings  on  wisdom,  if  not  in  the  narrower  then  in  the  broader  sense,  and  raises  it  to  a 
certainty,  that  under  the  Koheleth,  therein  appearing  as  speaker,  none  other  can  be  meant  than 
Solomon.  For  the  book  belongs  clearly  to  the  class  of  didactic  teachings,  and  is  distinguished 
from  the  Proverbs  as  the  characteristic  and  principal  representative  of  this  poetic  style  in  the 
Old  Testament,  mainly  by  the  fact  that  it  does  not  range  numerous  individual  proverbs  loosely 
and  without  consecutive  plan,  but  rather  develops  one  narrow  and  close  circle  of  thoughts  and 
truths  in  poetical  and  rhetorical  form.  The  idea  of  the  vanity  of  all  human  things  clearly  forms 
the  centre  of  this  circle  of  thought,  the  common  theme  of  the  four  discourses,  into  which  the 
whole  falls  according  to  the  division  mainly  corresponding  to  the  intention  and  plan  of  the  au- 
thor. To  the  dialectically  progressive  development  and  illumination  in  various  directions  which 
these  discourses  cast  upon  the  theme  in  question,  there  corresponds  an  appropriate  change  from 
special  moral  maxims  to  longer  or  shorter  descriptions  of  conditions,  citations  of  doctrines  or  ex- 
amples, observations  regarding  personal  experience,  and  reflections  on  prominent  and  subordi- 
nate truths.  There  is  also,  in  a  formal  view,  a  strophic  division  of  the  discourse,  marked  by 
formulas  and  terms  repeated  either  literally  or  in  sense,  and  a  fitting  diversity  of  style  corre- 
sponding to  the  various  objects,  expressed  in  rhythmical  prose,  or  lofty  rhetorical  and  poetical 
diction.  As  the  shortest  expression  for  the  designation  of  these  peculiarities,  the  term  "Philo- 
sophical and  Didactic  Poem  "  might  be  used;  but  in  this,  however,  the  idea  of  the  philosophical 
must  embrace  the  characteristic  peculiarities  of  the  spiritual  life  and  aspirations  of  the  Hebrews 
or  rather  of  the  Shemitic  people  in  general  (comp.   Introd.  to  Proverbs,  ?  2,  p.  5  sqq.). 

Obseevation  1. — The   tracing   of  the  name  Jl^np    to    7np,   7*rTpn  in  the  sense  of 

congregare,  conscionari,  has  the  best  authority,  and  is  supported  by  the  oldest  as  well  as  by 
the  most  numerous  and  critical  among  the  modern  expositors  of  this  book.  Hieeonymus  says, 
Comment,  in  Eceles.  i.  1 :  "  Coeleth,  i.  e.,  Ecolesiastes.  ''EnKlTiaiaaTiji  autem  Orceco  sermons  ap- 
pellatur,  qui  coetum,  i.  e.,  ecclesiam  congregat,  quem  nos  nuncupare  possum.us  coneionatorem, 
eo  quod  loquaiur  ad  populum,  et  sermo  ejus  non  specialiter  ad  unum,  sed  ad  universos  generaliter 
dirigalur."   Later  expositors  and  lexicographers  have  fixed  the  fundamental  meaning  of  the  root 

7np  properly  as  that  of  "  calling,"  and  hence  compare  7'ip  Arabic  quala,  and  Greek  KoKia.,  with 
Latin,  calare,  clamare.  H  7rip  "  the  caller,  the  preacher,"  is  clearly  nearest  allied  to  the  sy- 
nonymous }<'nipn  Isaiah  xl.  3.     On  account  of  this  fundamental  signification  of  "  calling,"  we 

condemn  those  expositions  of  the  name  which  proceed  from  the  supposed  root  idea  of  gathering 
or  collecting.  To  these  belong  1)  the  opinion  of  Grotius,  Heedee,  Jahn,  etc.:  that  the  word 
means  collector  senteniiarum,  a  collector  of  sentences — a  view  that  some  ancient  translators  have 
already  expressed,  e.  g.,  Aqttila  [amadpoiur^g) ;  Stmmachus  {napoifiiaar^;) ;  2)  Van  dee  Palm's 
modification  of  this  view  from  a  partial  consideration  of  1  Kings  viii.  1 ;  in  which  Solomon  ia 

spoken  of  as  the  assembler  of  his  people  and  his  elders  n/Ptp  ^-  S->  congregalor,  coactor;  3) 
the  view  of  Nachti&al  and  Doderlbin,  that  jy^'iy^=congregatio,consessus,  "learned  assem- 
bly, academy,"  according  to  which  the  book  would  be  marked  as  a  collection  of  philosophical  dis- 
putations in  the  style  of  the  Seances  of  Hariri,  or  the  Colleetiones  Patrum  of  Cassian  (an  ac- 
ceptation clearly  at  variance  with  such  passages  as  i.  12;  xii.  9,  10,  etc.) ;  4)  the  strange  asser- 
tion of  Kaisee  :  that  n7r1p  i^  the  same  as  coUectivum,  and  means  the  whole  of  the  Davidio 

Kings,  from  Solomon  to  Zedekiah,  whose  history  the  book  delineates  in  chronological  order  (Kai- 
see, Koheleth,  the  CoUectivum  of  the  Davidic  Kings,  Erlangen,  1823,  comp.  ?  6). — That  no  one 
of  these  explanations  deserves  attention,  in  view  of  the  illustrations  already  given,  is  quite  as 
certain  as  that  it  must  also  remain  doubtful  which  of  the  two  efforts  to  explain  the  feminal  form 
of  the  name,  which  our  paragraph  has  named  as  the  principal,  or,  rather,  only  possible  ones,  de- 
serves the  preference.  For  the  view  of  the  expression  taken  by  Ewald  and  Kostee,  that  it  is 
synonymous  with  wisdom,  and  in  so  far  a  fitting  designation  of  Solomon,  the  embodied  wisdom, 
various  significant  parallels  besides  those  above  quoted  press  themselves  on  our  attention ;  e.  g., 


?  1.  NAME  AND  CHAEACTER  OF  THE  BOOK. 


in  an  extra-biblical  field  the  surname  given  to  the  sophiat  Protagoras,  So^ia,  and,  what  is  more 
important,  the  self-designation  of  Christ,  the  New  Testament  Solomon,  as  the  2o0ia  or  So^ia  tov 
toil  (Matth.  li.  19 ;  Luke  xi.  49),  with  which,  according  to  Bbngel's  example,  may  be  directly 
combined  the  declaration  concerning  the  desire  of  gathering  the  children  of  Jerusalem  under  his 
wings_  (Matth.  xxiii.  37 ;  Luke  xiii.  34).*  The  view  first  advanced  by  Michablis,  and  then 
adopted  by  Gesbnitjs,  Knobel,  Eisteb,  Vaihin&ee,  Hahn,  Keil,  and  others,  now  again  ap- 
pears, namely,  that  the  feminine  ending  is  explained  by  the  character  of  the  name  as  an  official 

name,  besides  the  already  quoted  names,  t^f]Q,  rV^jlDt  nj3.  a-nd  still  more  are  we  aided  by 
the  analogies  of  expression  such  as  J1")3D  "  t^^  writer,"  Ezra  ii.  55 ;  Neh.  vii.  57 ;  and  ri'l^S 

"the  catcher,  hunter"  (contained  in  the  proper  name  C^lfJl  Jllifl  *•  «■■  gazelle-hunter, 

Ezra  ii.  57;  Neh.  vii.  59) ;  for  these  names  are  closely  allied  with  ri/lip't     And,  moreover, 

since  the  Koheleth  of  our  book  appears  every  where  as  a  real  person,  and  no  where  clearly  as  a 
personified  idea,  and  since  expressions  such  as  those  contained  in  i.  16  i;  ii.  12,  etc.;  according  to 
which  the  speaker  attributes  to  himself  an  effort,  a  seeking,  an  obtaining,  would  not  be  especially 
appropriate  in  the  mouth  of  personified  wisdom,  the  weightiest  arguments  seem  to  declare  in  fa- 
vor of  the  second  mode  of  explanation,  but  without  the  absolute  exclusion  of  the  other. — But  in 
any  case  we  must  adopt  for  the  explanation  of  the  feminine  form  one  or  the  other  of  the  above 
quoted  hypotheses,  and  not  the  opinion  of  Meecbetts,  that  by  the  feminine  ending  there  is  an 
intimation  of  the  senile  weakness  of  the  preacher,  and  consequently  of  the  advanced  age  at 
which  Solomon  wrote  the  book ;  nor  the  view  of  Ziekel  (see  g  6),  that  the  feminine  ending  is 
chosen  because  of  the  delicate  and  graceful  style  of  the  book,  nor  the  still  more  fanciful  assertion 
of  AuGUSTi  (Introd.  to  tlie  0.  T.,  §  172),  that  Koheleth  is  the  spirit  of  Solomon  returned  to  the 
realm  of  the  living,  and  now  represented  as  the  preacher  of  wisdom,  and  that  its  feminine  desig- 
nation is  to  be  understood  in  the  neutral  sense,  because  those  deceased  and  living  after  death 
were  considered  destitute  of  gender,  in  harmony  with  Matth.  xxii.  30.  It  has  been  justly  made 
to  appear  in  opposition  to  this  latter  view,  by  Knobel,  Elstbe  and  others,  that  the  book  itself 
no  where  hints  at  the  character  of  the  speaker,  as  of  a  spirit  from  Scheol,  and  that  apparitions 
in  the  Old  Testament,  as  1  Sam.  xxviii.  11  S.  proves,  clearly  appear  as  something  rare  and  abnor- 
mal, and  that  on  account  of  the  well  known  prohibition  of  conjuration  of  the  dead  (Lev.  xix. 
31 ;  XX.  6 ;  Deut.  xviii.  11 ;  Isa.  viii.  19)  even  the  poetic  fiction  of  an  apparition  of  Solomon 
could  hardly  occur,  especially  in  religious  writings  laying  claim  to  canonicity. 

OBSEEVATION    2. 

The  character  of  this  book  has  suffered  manifold  misapprehensions,  as  well  in  a  theological 
point  of  view  (for  which  see  below  §  5)  as  in  the  rhetorical  and  esthetical.  It  has  been  accused 
of  numerous  contradictions  with  itself,  of  absence  of  plan  and  connection,  on  account  of  a  faulty 
perception  of  its  inner  economy,  and  the  development  of  its  thoughts.  It  has  been  declared  in- 
consistent that  passages  like  i.  11;  ii.  15, 16  ;  iii.  19,  20;  ix.  25,  etc.,  assert  the  complete  equality 
of  the  final  fate  of  the  godly  and  the  ungodly  ;  whilst  others,  as  iii.  17  ;  viii.  12,  13;  xi.  9 ;  xii. 
13,  14,  promise  a  corresponding  divine  reward  for  each  individual  moral  act,  and  therefore  ex- 
pressly exhort  to  uprightness  and  the  fear  of  God.  It  has  also  been  found  contradictory,  that 
the  author  sometimes  praises  wisdom  as  bringing  profit  and  blessings  (ii.  3, 12-14;  vii.  10-12 ; 
viii.  1-6 ;  X.  2 ;  x.  13-16),  and  sometimes  declares  that  it  is  injurious,  making  men  ill-humored, 
and  not  leading  to  the  goaf  of  its  endeavors ;  sometimes  indeed  causing  more  unhappiness  than 

*  Comp.  BENGEL'.i  remarks  on  Luke  x.  49  ia  the  Grwmon,  N.  T.,  p.  164 :  i}  tropia  to3  Oeov,  Sapimiia  Dei,  Siiave  nomm. 
Koheleth,  congregatrix,  chap.  xiii.  34  (n-owiiici!  ^fleXrjo-n  e-nurvviiat.  «.  t.  K.).  Comp.  also  Starke  (Pref.  to  Ecclesiastes,  J  2), 
who  also  considers  Koheleth  synonymous  with  wisdom,  following  the  examole  of  Seikr,  Seb.  Schmidt,  Rambach,  et  al.; 
also  DlSDOKF,  Quomodo  rumm  Koheleth,  Solommii  fribuatur,  Lips.;  1791,  and  Ouklitt;  "Sttidienund  Kritiken"  in  explana- 
tion of  the  Book  of  Koheleth,  1865,  II.,  325  £f. 

t[The  strongest  coniirmation  of  all  this  Is  found  in  the  use  of  the  Greek  feminine  noun  apxh,  for  ruler,  magistrate,  as 
though  it  were  equivalent  to  dpxiov,  JMBt  as  we  use  the  word  authority,  or  the  authoritip^,  for  magistrates.  See  especially 
Paul's  remarkable  use  of  this  feminine  noun  for  authorities,  powers,  " jmncipalities,  m  the  heavens,"  Rom.  viii.  35 ;  Bph. 
i.  21 ;  iii.  10 ;  vi.  12 ;  Col.  i.  16 ;  ii.  16 ;  Titus  iii.  1.— T.  L.] 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ECCLESIASTES. 


does  folly,  (i.  18 ;  viii.  14  ;  ix.  11,  18  ;  x.  1).  It  is  not  less  contradictory  that  at  one  time  he 
praises  his  own  wisdom,  and  at  another  maintains  that  he  has  not  acquired  wisdom  (Sec.  16;  ii 
3  9,  15,  with  vii.  23,  24);  that  now  he  praises  women,  and  recommends  association  with  them, 
and  now  warns  us  against  their  seductive  and  immoral  nature.  (Comp.  ii.  8 ;  ix.  9,  with  vii.  7, 
26-29) ;  at  one  time  recommends  repose,  at  another  activity  (see  iv.  6,  with  ix.  10) ;  again  he 
praises  obedience  to  authority  as  being  not  without  profit,  and  then  he  complains  of  the  unjust 
oppression  of  subjects  by  their  superiors  (comp.  viii.  5,  with  iii.  16;  v.  7;  x.  4ff.),  and  finally  he 
declares  the  dead  and  the  unborn  as  happier  than  the  living,  and  soon  again  calls  life  sweet,  and 
greatly  prefers  it  to  death,  (comp.  iv.  2,  3,  with  ix.  4-6;  xi.  7). — But  aside  from  the  fact  that 
many  of  these  so-called  contradictions  are  but  apparent,  and  become  perfectly  harmonious  in 
view  of  the  diverse  tendency  and  surroundings  of  the  individual  assertions,  or  indeed  through 
the  double  signification  of  one  and  the  same  word,  as  is  here  and  there  the  case,  comp.  {e.g.Q  ^3  vii. 
3,  with  the  sarhe  word  in  vii.  9;  7f7  in  ix.  11,  with  ?f7  in  x.  12,  etc.,)  a  certain  vacillation  and 

unsteady  efibrt  in  the  presentation  of  the  author  is  a  necessary  condition  of  his  peculiar  theme — 
the  doctrine  of  the  varviiy  of  all  earthly  things.  The  most  contradictory  experiences  which  he 
may  have  made  in  life,  he  seeks  to  reproduce  in  a  corresponding  and  often  abrupt  change  of  his 
feelings,  a  vivid  transition  of  his  thoughts  and  expressions, — a  peculiarity  which  Umbeeii  has 
not  inappropriately  characterized  by  his  designation  of  the  entire  contents  of  the  book  as  a 
"  soul  struggle,  an  inner  strife  between  the  judgment  and  the  feelings  of  a  wise  old  King;" 
(comp.  I  6). 

In  this  respect,  also,  Vaihinger  strikingly  observes,  {"Ucclesiastes  and  the  Song  of  Solomon'' 
p.  8,  f.) :  "  It  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  preacher  is  not  free  from  a  timid  uncertainty,  from 
a  doubting  vacillation  and  striving  in  his  mode  of  reflecting;  that  he  strikingly  depicts  the  want 
of  a  perfect  clearness  regarding  human  life  and  divine  providence,  in  the  varied  experiences  of 
man.  The  reason  of  this  may  be  easily  discovered  by  a  consideration  of  the  general  and  special 
stand-point  on  which  he  rests.  He  was  once  as  Job,  a  thinking  mind,  that  did  not  accept  the 
traditional  faith  untried,  that  did  not  stop  at  the  poetry  of  life,  but  penetrated  into  its  prose.  In 
this  direction  he  encountered  a  struggle  when  he  compared  the  daily  experiences  of  life,  in 
which  men  are  often  left  to  their  own  impulses,  with  the  promises  of  the  divine  word,  in 
which  a  sure  punishment  is  announced  to  the  sinner.  He  could  not  but  perceive  how  evil  often 
has  a  wonderful  and  incomprehensible  success,  whilst  the  good  is  not  rewarded.  At  the  same 
time  he  himself  may  have  variously  experienced  the  buffetings  of  life,  and  have  passed  through 
highly  repulsive  trials  that  unsettled  his  mental  repose,  and  shook  his  faith  in  the  eternal  wis- 
dom, goodness,  and  providence  of  God,  and  disposed  him  to  be  discontented  with  life  and  tradi- 
tional prejudices.  In  this  frame  of  mind,  and  with  such  experiences,  his  faith  contended  with 
the  thought  and  the  reality  with  the  poetry  of  life,  until,  like  Job,  he  had  conquered  a  new 
stand-point.  And  from  just  this  view  is  this  book  so  instructive,  lifting  us  out  of  a  partial, 
arbitrary,  and  thoughtless  faith,  showing  us  the  struggles  of  the  thinking  mind,  and  yet  ever 
leading  us  back  to  the  true  faith.  And  this  is  the  real  profit  of  the  genuine  life  of  faith.  If  it 
is  to  be  freed  from  the  dross  of  thoughtlessness  and  self-sufficiency,  from  an  idle  clinging  to  tra- 
dition, it  must  be  seemingly  lost  in  the  struggle  of  life  to  be  found  again  in  loftier  purity.  Di- 
vine truths  must  all  be  questioned,  in  order  that  we  may  fijid  them  again  by  inward  struggles, 
and  new  experiences  of  God  in  a  sanctified  form;  (Ps.  Ixii.  12,  13) ;  and  in  this  relation  also 
avails  the  expression  :  "  He  who  loses  his  life,  shall  find  it  again."  The  author  presents  to  us 
also  in  this  respect,  the  true  life  of  faith  in  his  conflicts.* 

Besides  the  intention  of  presenting  to  the  reader  an  intuitive  vision  of  his  inward  strifes  and 
contests,  many  reasons  of  a  more  formal  and  external  nature  may  have  exerted  an  influence  on 

*[Tbe8e  admirable  remarks  of  VAiniNastt  suggest  a  thought  of  great  value  to  one  who  would  read  the  Scriptures  with 
spiritual  profit.  In  Ruch  books  as  Job  and  Ecclesiastes,  the  lesson  is  in  the  picture,  the  dramatic  represerUatiim,  as  we  may 
call  it.  It  is  tn  be  found  in  the  total  impression,  and  not  in  any  separate  texts  or  precepts.  The  struggle,  the  doubt,  the 
erronpous  sentiment,  often,  are  necessary  to  this  total  elfect.  Its  very  contradictions,  when  rightly  viewed,  ftarnish  the 
strongest  arguments  for  the  truth  ultimately  brought  out.  This  does  not  affect  the  idea  of  its  plenary  inspiration.  It  is 
all  given  to  us  by  the  ultimate  divine  Author,  all  intended  for  one  great  purpose,  and  thus  all  of  it,  even  its  pecnlial 
diction  "  profiteth  for  our  instruction  in  righteousness." — T.  L.] 


2  2.  CONTJ)NTS  AND  PLAN. 


the  vacillating  and  contradictory  recital  of  the  author ;  e.g.,  the  intentional  interweaving  of  many 
digressions  (see  e.  g.  xii.  2-6),  and  especially  the  direct  introduction  of  the  expressions  of  con- 
trary thinkers  for  the  purpose  of  immediate  refutation.  Thus  appears  in  Chap.  iv.  5,  an  appa- 
rently antagonistic  assertion,  which  in  the  sixth  verae  is  disapproved  and  rejected ;  the  same 
relation  is  held  by  x.  16-19,  and  x.  20.  In  any  case  it  is  perfectly  proper  and  just  to  consider 
what HiTzm  says,  [Preliminary  Oh%ervations,'^o.  5,  p.  125):  "It  wouldseem  that  much  that 
the  author  says  possesses  but  a  momentary  influence  as  a  link  in  the  chain  of  deductions.''  It  per- 
forms its  duty  and  is  neutralized ;  the  latter  assertion  abolishes  the  former;  and  at  the  close  Ko- 
HBLETH  teaches  only  that  which  finally  remains  uncontradicted.  Comp.  below  exegetical  expla- 
nations to  chap.  ii.  Iff.,  No.  1. 

OBSEEVATION    3. 

It  cannot  much  surprise  us  now,  after  the  above  demonstrations,  that  the  plan  and  thread  of 
thought  in  the  book  have  been  very  variously  comprehended,  and  that  the  schemes  adopted  for 
the  subdivision  of  its  contents  have  deviated  strongly  from  one  another;  and  indeed  to  speak  with 
ViLMAE  (Abt.  Koheleth,  Pastoral  Theological  Journal,  vol.  v.  p.  253),  "  the  economy  of  the 
book  bears  almost  exactly  as  many  forms  as  it  has  found  expositors."  Of  these  views  and  trea- 
tises the  principal  ones  will  be  summarily  recounted  in  Observation  1  of  the  following  paragraph: 
The  poetical  form  of  the  book  will  also  receive  more  critical  attention  in  the  following  para- 
graphs, on  account  of  the  close  connection  of  its  strophical  design  with  its  subdivision  and  the 
logical  progress  of  its  thoughts. 

?  2.    CONTENTS   AND   PLAN. 

"All  is  vanity,"  a  sentence  that  appears  no  less  than  twenty-five  times,  forms  the  fundamen- 
tal thought  of  the  book ;  an  assertion  of  the  vanity  of  all  human  relations,  destinies,  and  efforts, 
based  upon  experience.  As  there  is  in  the  objective  phenomena  of  this  world,  i.  e.,  in  nature  and 
history; no  true  progress,  but  ever  a  constant  return  of  old  things  that  long  have  been,  a  perpe- 
tual monotony,  a  continual  circle  of  things  (i.  4-7,  9, 10 ;  iii.  15);  thus  man,  with  all  his  efforts, 
attains  to  nothing  new,  but  rather  shows  himself,  in  everything  that  he  wishes  to  investigate, 
fathom  and  acquire,  most  manifoldly  limited  and  controlled  by  the  all-pervading  and  all-power- 
ful hand  of  God ;  (iii.  1-8,  11, 13;  viii.  6, 17;  ix.  1,  5,  11,  12,  ete.).  On  the  way  of  his  own  efforts 
and  strivings,  man  is  able  to  arrive  at  no  true  and  lasting  happiness ;  for  neither  sensual  pleasures 
(ii.  2,  11;  vii.  6,  etc.)  nor  earthly  possessions  and  treasures  (ii.  4-11 ;  vi.  1-7,  etc.),  nor  wisdom 
(i.  13-18;  ii.  14-18;  ix.  1,11;  x.  6,  etc.),  not  even  virtue  and  the  fear  of  God  (iii.  16-18;  iv.  1; 
vii.  15-17 ;  viii.  10,  14)  help  here  below  to  lasting  happiness.  But  we  are  not  the  less  to  doubt 
of  the  presence  of  a  personal  God,  and  of  a  moral  system  of  the  world  regulated  and  watched 
over  by  him,  (iii.  11,  13,  17;  v.  5,  7,  17-19;  vi.  2;  vii.  13,  14;  xi.  5,  9;  xii.  7,  14),  and  the  be- 
lief of  this  activity  of  God  governing  and  directing  the  world,  lends  to  all  sensual  and  moral 
blessings  of  life  their  only  worth  (xi.  9;  xii.  13,  14).  On  the  basis  of  this  belief  it  behooves  us 
to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  this  life  in  a  cheerful,  thankful,  and  contented  manner  (ii.  24;  iii.  12, 
13;  V.  17,  18;  viii.  15;  ix.  7-9;  xi.  8-11),  but  we  must  combine  this  cheerful  enjoyment  of  life 
with  an  earnest  endeavor  after  wisdom  as  a  truly  lofty  and  valuable  treasure  (vii.  11,  12 ;  ix. 
13-16;  viii.  1-6,  etc.),  and  above  all  this  strive  after  the  fear  of  God  as  the  source  of  the  highest 
happiness  and  peace,  and  the  mother  of  all  virtues  (v.  6;  vii.  18 ;  viii.  12,  13;  xii.  1,  13).  In 
short,  the  author  regards  as  end  and  aim  of  human  life  on  earth,  a  joy  in  the  blessings  and  en- 
joyments of  this  world,  consecrated  by  wisdom  and  the  fear  of  God,  with  renunciation  of  a  per- 
fect reconciliation  of  existing  contrasts,  difficulties,  and  imperfections,  and  an  eye  steadily  fixed 
on  the  future  and  universal  judgment,  as  the  final  solution  of  all  the  mysteries  of  the  universe. 

These  contents  of  the  book,  as  was  remarked  in  I  1,  are  divided  into  four  discourses  of  about 
equal  length : 

1.  Discourse  :  Chap.  1  and  2. — The  theoretical  wisdom  of  men,  directed  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  things  of  this  world,  is  vanity  (i.  2-18),  as  well  as  the  practical,  aiming  at  sensual  enjoy- 
ments, great  worldly  enterprises,  creations,  and  performances,  (ii.  1-19);  neither  of  these  leads 
to  lasting  happiness,  or  to  any  good  that  may  be  considered  as  the  actual  fruit  of  human  labor 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ECCLESIASTES. 


(as  the  actual  fi^H'  °f  man),  and  not  rather  an  unconditional  gift  of  Divine  Providence,  (ii. 
20-26). 

II.  DiscouESB:  Chap.  3-5. — In  view  of  the  complete  dependence  of  human  action  and  effort 
on  an  immutable  and  higher  system  of  law  (iii.  1-11)  the  answer  to  the  inquiry  after  earthly 
happiness  (or  fllH')  must  be  that  there  is  no  higher  good  for  man  than  to  enjoy  this  life  and  to 

do  good,  (iii.  12-22) ;  a  good  that  is  not  easily  attained  in  the  diversely  changing  circumstances 
of  fortune,  and  the  frequently  unfavorable  situations  in  private,  social,  and  civil  life  (iv.  1-16), 
but  a  blessing,  nevertheless,  after  which  we  must  strive  by  piety,  conscientiously  honest  actions, 
and  a  spirit  sober,  contented,  and  confiding  in  God,  (iv.  17 — v.  19). 

III.  Discourse:  Ch.  vi.  1 — viii.  15.  Since  worldly  goods  and  treasures  in  themselves  cannot 
lead  to  true  happiness,  but  are  rather  vain  and  transitory,  (vi.  1-12),  we  must  strive  after  the 
true  practical  wisdom  of  life,  which  consists  of  patience,  contempt  of  the  world,  and  fear  of  God 
(vii.  1-22) ;  and  we  must  seek  to  gain  and  realize  it,  in  spite  of  all  the  allurements,  oppressions, 
injustices  and  misfortunes  of  this  world,  (vii.  23— viii.  15). 

IV.  Discouese:  Chap.  viii.  16— xii.  7. — As  the  providence  of  God  in  the  allotment  of  human 
destinies  is,  and  will  ever  remain,  unfathomable,  and  apparently  has  little  or  no  reference  to  the  mo- 
ral and  religious  conduct  of  men  in  this  world  (viii.  16 — ^ix.  16),  and  as  there  are  no  other  means 
for  the  wise  man  to  preserve  his  peace  of  soul  in  presence  of  the  arrogance,  impudent  assump- 
tion, and  violence  of  fortunate  and  powerful  fools,  than  godly  patience,  silence,  and  tranquility 
(ix.  17 — X.  20):  therefore  benevolence,  fidelity  to  duty,  a  contented  and  serene  enjoyment  of 
life,  and  sincere  fear  of  God  from  early  youth  to  advanced  age,  are  the  only  true  way  to  happi- 
ness in  this  world  and  the  world  beyond,  (xi.  1 — xii.  7). 

Epilogue:  Chap.  xii.  8-14.  This  contains  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  whole,  and  a  recom- 
mendation of  the  truths  therein  taught,  with  reference  as  well  to  the  personal  worth  of  the  au- 
thor (9-11),  as  to  the  serious  and  important  contents  of  his  teachings  (12-14). 

Each  of  these  principal  divisions  falls  into  subdivisions,  already  indicated  by  the  preceding 
scheme,  and  within  these  are  again  separate  paragraphs  or  verses.  These  smaller  divisions  are 
either  marked  by  the  mere  inward  progress  of  the  thought,  or  by  certain  other  external  signs, 
as  here  and  there  by  peculiar,  cumulative,  closing  sentences,  (i.  15:  i.  18;  ii.  11,  19,  23,  26),  or 
also  by  like  formulas  and  turns  in  the  beginning  {e.g.  by  the  opening  formula:  "I  saw:"  iii. 
10,16;  iv.  1,  7,  15),  or  by  other  similar  expressions  and  sentences  (e.  ^.  vii.  26;  viii.  12).  In 
accordance  with  this  the  first  discourse  contains  three  divisions  (i.  1-11;  i.  12  —  ii.  19;  ii. 
20-26),  of  which  the  first  has  three,  the  second  six,  and  the  third  two  strophes.  The  second 
discourse  consists  of  three  divisions  (iii.  1-22;  iv.  1-16;  iv.  17 — v.  19),  each  of  three  strophes; 
the  third  oithree  divisions,  (vi.  1-12;  vii.  1-22;  vii.  23— viii.  15),  of  which  the  first  counts  two, 
the  second  and  third  each  three  strophes;  the  fourth  of  three  divisions,  of  three  strophes  each, 
(viii.  16 — ix.  16;  ix.  17— x.  20;  xi.  1— xii.  7).  The  conclusion  compriBes  two  strophes  or 
half  strophes  (xii.  9-11;  xii;  12-14),  together  with  a  shorter  proposition  (xii.  8).  More  about 
this  division  into  strophes  may  be  found  in  VAmiN(jER,  Ecclesiastes  and  Song  of  Solomon,  pp. 
26-44  [also  in  Studien  und  Kritiken,  1848,  11) ;  and  in  Haeveshick,  Introduction,  to  the  Old 
Testament,  edited  by  Keil,  Vol,  III.  p.  438  fif. 

Observation  1. 
With  the  arrangement  of  the  contents  of  Ecclesiastes  above  given,  which  we' designate  accord- 
ing to  Its  principal  representatives,  as  that  of  Vaihingee  and  Keil,  correspond  most  nearly  the 
diy^s^om  of  KosTEU  (the  Book  of  Job  and  Ecclesiastes,    Sohleswig,   1831)  of  H  A  Hahn  (Com- 
ment on  Ecclesiastes  of  Solomon,  1860),  and  of  Bwalo  (The  Poetical  Books  'of  'the  OH  TesZ 

TalLntl^nP  ?  In-  'n^-^-    '''"'  °'  ''''  ''''''■  '°  "'^^"^  Heiligstebt  subscribes, 
iyToTZ  I  ""r'^lT'-  ''"''-  -'•'•-P-ds  almost  exactly  with  the  one  accepted 

by  us,  only  that  the  second  of  the  four  discourses  laid  down  in  it,  extends  from  iii  1  -  vi  9 
and  consequently  the  third  from  vi  10— viii   Ti^      w»,;.i,  =  ua  irom  iii.  i        yi.  », 

snhordinan^p  nf  i-L  „       *i,       uTJ   .'^'^     ^"'-  15) —which  seems  scarcely  m  harmony  with  the 

^thln  Tffi  "'''  ^'°""°S  ^"^  ^'-  10-     ^^^^"  ^°d  Heiligstedt  also  avoid, 

■Without  su^cient  reason,  a  more  special  classification  of  the  separate  discourses,  according  to 


§  2.   CONTENTS  AND  PLAN. 


strophes  and  sections.  Kostee,  who  also  accepts  four  principal  divisions  or  discourses,  has  at- 
tempted a  more  special  division  into  strophes,  but  in  the  whole,  as  in  the  individual  parts,  in- 
dulges in  many  arbitrary  assertions.  His  divisions  are  a)  Introduction :  i,  2-11,  consisting  of  a 
proposition  as  a  theme,  and  two  strophes ;  b)  I.  Sec;  i.  12 — iii,  22,  containing  eight  strophes ;  c) 
II.  Sec:  iv.  1 — vi.  12,  containing  nine  strophes ;  d)  III.  Sec;  vii.  1 — ix.  16,  containing  nine  stro- 
phes ;  e)  I V.  Sec.  ix.  17 — xii.  8,  of  eight  strophes ;  f)  conclusion :  xii.  9-14,  of  two  strophes.  Hahn 
makes  nearly  the  same  classification,  only  he  extends  the  third  part  merely  to  ix.  10,  instead  of 
to  ix.  16,  and  adds  the  introduction,  i.  2-11  to  part  I. — Of  the  remaining  modes  of  classification 
we  notice  the  following  :*  M.  Gbieb  :  Solomon  tells  I.  wherein  happiness  does  not  consist ;  and 
this  1)  irom  his  own  experience  (i.,  ii.) ;  2)  from  the  experiences  of  others,  namely,  a.  from  the 
change  in  the  times  (iii.),  b)  from  the  character  of  persons,  of  the  unjust,  the  envious,  the  avari- 
cious, and  of  godless  kings  and  the  rich  (iv.,  v.),  c)  from  the  uncertainty  of  earthly  things,  a.  of 
wealth  (vi.,  vii.),  |8.  from  the  arrangement  of  human  as  well  as  divine  things  (viii.,  ix.) ;  II. 
wherein  true  happiness  consists,  1)  in  upright  conduct  towards  superiors  (x.) ;  2)  in  beneficence 
towards  the  poor  (xi.) ;  3)  in  the  fear  of  God  (xii.). 

Sebastian  Schmidt:  Three  parts:  I.  Treatise  concerning  the  highest  good,  1)  negative, 
showing  wherein  it  does  not  consist  (i.  2 — ^iii.  11) ;  2)  positive,  wherein  it  is  to  be  placed  (iii.  12- 
14) ;  II.  six  instances  by  which  man  may  be  prevented  from  obtaining  the  highest  good  (iii.  15 
— iv.  16) ;  III.  guide  to  the  true  worship  of  God,  and  the  way  to  happiness,  contained  in  four- 
teen rules  of  conduct  (iv.  17 — xii.  7),  together  with  a  summary  (xii.  8-14). 

Siaekb:  Three  parts:  I.  wherein  the  highest  good  is  not  to  be  found  (i.  2 — iii.  11);  II. 
wherein  it  is  to  be  found  (iii.  12 — iv.  16) ;  III.  of  our  demeanor  after  finding  this  good,  taught 
in  fourteen  rules  (iv.  17 — xii.  7) ;  then  the  close  (thus  differing  but  little  from  the  previous 
division). 

Oetinqbe  :  Two  parts :  One  must  not  let  himself  be  driven  by  the  prevalence  of  vain  things 
into  folly,  avarice,  and  temerity  (chap  i. — vii.) ;  II.  One  should  not  be  led  astray  by  vanity 
from  the  fear  of  God  (chap.  viii. — xii.). 

Paultjs  :  As  the  former,  only  pointing  out  that  in  chap.  i. — vii.  Solomon  speaks,  and  in  chap, 
viii.-xii.  another  person  answers  him. — Van  d.  Palm  :  Two  parts :  I.  Theoretical  part :  illustra- 
tion of  the  vanity  of  human  endeavors  (chap.  i. — vi.) ;  II.  practical  part :  rules  that  are  to  be 
followed  under  such  circumstances  (oh.  vii.-xii.) ;  J.  Day.  Miohaelis  :  I.  Theoretical  part :  the 
great  insuf&ciency  of  the  happiness  of  a  man  left  to  himself,  and  isolated  from  God  (i.  2-iv.  16) ; 
II.  practical  part:  the  means  leading  to  a  true  and  lasting  happiness  in  this  life  (iv.  17— xii. 
14) ;  the  first  of  these  parts  containing  four,  and  the  second  six  subdivisions.— Fe.  Seilse  :  As 
the  preceding,  only  that  he  accords  to  the  theoretical  part  six,  but  to  the  practical  part  eleven 
subdivisions.    So  also  Eosenmijellee  and  others. 

Mendelsohn:  Thirteen  sections :  1)  chap.  i.  1-11;  2)  chap. i.  12— ii.  11;  3)  chap.  ii.  12-26; 
4)  chap.  iii.  1— iv.  3;  5)  chap.  iv.  4-16;  6)  chap.  iv.  17— v.  19;  7)  chap.  vi.  1— vii.  14;  8)  ch. 
vii.  15— viii.  9;  9)  chap.  viii.  10— ix.  12;  10)  chap.  ix.  13— x.  15;  11)  chap.  x.  16— xi.  6;  12) 
chap.  xi.  7— xii.  7 ;  13)  chap.  xii.  8-14. 

E.  Che.  Schmidt  :  also  thirteen  sections :  but  which  correspond  with  the  preceding  in  scarcely 
any  point,  and  of  which  the  last,  chap.  xii.  8-14,  is  regarded  as  the  addition  of  a  younger  hand. 
Knobbl  and  Umbebit  take  the  same  position  ;  (consult  the  following  paragraph  concerning 
them  and  other  contestants  of  the  genuineness  of  the  conclusion,  chap.  xii.  8-14). 

HiTzia :  Three  main  divisions :  I.  The  theoretical  foundation,  or  investigation  for  the  reader 
regarding  the  situation  (chap.  i.  2— iv.  16) ;  II.  Eecommendation  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  life 
cheerfully,  with  various  provisions  and  restrictions  (iv.  17— viii.  15)  ;  III.  Positive  and  direct 
illustration  of  what  it  is  salutary  for  man  to  do,  or  development  of  the  principles  of  a  genuine 
and  practical  wisdom  (viii.  16 — xii.  14). 

E.  Stibe:  Introductory  Preface  (chap.  i.  2-11),  and  then  three  main  divisions :  I.  To  the  na- 
tural man  all  is  vanity;  he  falls  into  confusion  and  trouble,  aa  long  as  he  does  not  look  to  God 
(chap.  i.  12— vii.  29) ;  II.  Various  passages  alluding  in  various  ways  to  the  foregoing,  but  illu- 
minating everything  with  the  light  found  in  the  first  part  (viii.  1— xi.  10) ;    III.  The  teaching 

*  For  the  titles  of  the  expositions  here  quoted,  comp.  g6. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  ECCLESIASTES. 


of  the  Book,  "  Regard  thy  Creator  before  thou  becomest  old,  for  this  yields  an  iramortality  ;" 
together  with  conclusion  and  recapitulation  (xii.  1-14) ; — each  of  these  principal  divisions  falls 
into  several  subdivisions ;  the  first  into  four,  the  second  into  three,  and  the  third  likewise  into 
three. 

Fe.  de  Eougement  :  Two  main  divisions  of  very  unequal  length  :  I.  Philosophical  discourse 
(i.  2 — xii.  10) ;  II.  inspired  teaching  (xii.  11-14).  The  first  of  these  parts  is  introduced  by  the 
presentation  of  the  problem  to  be  solved,  (i.  2-11),  and  then  divided  into  three  books :  1)  the 
vanities  of  human  existence  (i.  12 — ^iv.  16) ;  2)  the  human  conditions  of  happiness  (v.  1 — vii. 
14) ;  3)  the  divine  conditions  of  happiness  (vii.  15 — ^xi.  6) :  each  of  these  books  is  again  divided 
into  three  or  four  paragraphs,  and  the  last  is  accompanied  by  a  special  conclusion  :  "  Ufe  and 
death,"  (xi.  7 — xii.  10). 

A.  P.  C.  ViLMAE  :  Seven  divisions  (mainly  for  practical  utility).  I.  General  introduction: 
everything  on  earth  is  transitory,  and  returneth  to  the  place  whence  it  came,  etc.  (chap,  i.) ;  11. 
deeds  in  life  are  vanity ;  -God  alone  carries  their  success  in  his  hand  ;  we  see  no  profit  of  cur  la- 
bors, and  no  result  of  our  life  (ii.  1 — iii.  15);  III.  to  expect  a  recompense  on  earth,  is  a  decep- 
tive hope  (lii.  16^v.  8) ;  IV.  riches,  with  all  that  they  are  permitted  to  accomphsh  and  effect, 
are  vain  and  transitory  (v.  9 — ^vii.  9) ;  V.  wisdom  on  earth  is  no  avail,  for  it  can  find  out  much 
but  not  all  things,  and  the  end  of  the  wise  man  is  (externally)  like  the  end  of  the  fool  (vii.  10 
—  X.  4)  ;  VI.  result:  our  unsuccessful  labors,  the  inequality  of  the  things  of  the  world,  the 
nothingness  of  riches,  and  the  insufliciency  of  worldly  wisdom  must  not  deceive  us  in  what  we 
have  to  do  in  our  narrow  circle,  and  least  of  all  the  youth  (x.  5 — xii.  7) ;  VII.  conclusion:  re- 
peated summary  of  the  result  more  circumstantially  given  in  No.  VI. 

OBSEEVATION    2. 

Many  commentators  deny  that  there  is  any  evidence  of  a  well-arranged  and  systematic  train 
of  thought,  and  have  considered  the  book  an  immethodioal  collection  of  individual  thoughts, 
views  and  expressions,  that  have  simply  a  loose  connection  by  the  assertion  that  all  is  vanity, 
and  for  whose  grouping  the  usual  division  into  chapters  presents  a  sufiicient  means.     This  is  the 
view  of  the  older  commentators,  as  also  of  Luther,  Melanchthon,  Deusius,  Meeoeeus,  Baues, 
Hansen,  Spohn,  etc.,  and  it  yet  appears  in  the  most  recent  period  of  Elstee,  and  Hengsten- 
BEEG.     The  two  latter  form,  it  is  true,  certain  sections,  and  groups  of  verses  in  the  course  of 
their  exegesis  of  the  book,  but  bring  these  divisions  together  in  no  unitary  and  well-arranged 
scheme.     GaELiTT  (Studies  and' Oriticisms  of  the  Book  0/ Koheleth,  1865,  II.  321  ff.)  has  also 
declared  this  book  "  anything  but  a  systematically  arranged  writing,  to  bring  whose  contents  in 
the  form  of  a  logical  scheme,  would  be  a  fruitless  undertaking." — Even  those  exegetists  who  see 
a  colloquial  character  in  the  book,  aim  at  no  regular  arrangement  of  its  contents,  and  consider 
the  whole,  therefore,  as  a  conversation  or  disputation  between  the  representatives  of  two  anta- 
gonistic views.     A  few  older  commentators  inclined  to  this  view,  especially  Hieeonymus  (oomp. 
e.  g.  his  remarks  on  chap.  ix.  7,8);  "  et  h<zc,  inquit,   aliquis  loquatur  Epicurus  ei  Arislippus 
et  Cyrenaici,"  and  other  similar  passages,  which  show  a  certain  inclination  to  a  dramatizing  of 
the  contents,  and  Gregory  the  Great,  who   {Dialog.  IV.  4),  seems  to  give  the  book  almost  di- 
rectly the  character  of  a  dramatic  colloquy  between  Solomon  and  various  opponents  of  his  reh- 
gious  views.    Among  the  moderns  these  views  are  represented  by  the  Englishman,  Matt.  Poole, 
(Annotations  on  the  Bible,  London,  1683),  P.  Geaed,  (a  Paraphrase  on  Ecclesiastes,  London, 
1701),  of  whom  the  latter  considers  :  That  the  Preacher  introduces  a  refined  sensualist  or  a  sen- 
sual worldling,  who  interrupts  him,  in  order  to  attack  and  ridicule  his  doctrine.     This  collo- 
quial hypothesis  has  received  its  most  refined  form  from  Heedee  and  Eichhoen.     According  to 
Hbedee's  eleventh  letter  on  theological  study,  there  are  to  be  distinguished  in  the  book  two 
voices,  that  of  a  hypercritio  who  seeks  truth  in  the  tone  of  one  speaking  in  the  first  person,  and 
mostly  ends  with  the  assertion  that  all  is  vanity,  whilst  another  voice  in  the  tone  of  "  Thou," 
often  interrupts  hira,  represents  to  him  the  temerity  of  his  investigations,  and  mostly  ends  with 
the  question  :  what  remains  as  the  result  of  a  whole  life  ?     It  is  not  fully  question  and  answer, 
doubt  and  solution,  but  something  that  out  of  the  same  mouth  resembles  both,  and  is  distin- 
guished by  interruptions  and  continuations.     One  can  therefore  divide  the  book  into  two  00- 


2  2.  CONTENTS  AND  PLAN.  9 


lumns,  of  whicli  one  belongs  to  the  exhausted  seeker,  and  the  other  to  the  warning  teacner. 
Under  these  two  columns  Heedeb  distributes  the  separate  sections  of  the  book  as  follovrs : 
1.  The  Seeker.  2.  The  Teachee. 

1. 1-11. 
1. 12-18. 
II.  1-11. 

II.  12-26. 

III.  1-15. 
III.  16-22. 

IV.  1-16 


IV.  17. 

V.  1-8. 

VII.  2-15. 

VII.  17-23. 

V.  9-19. 
VI.  1-11. 
VII.  1. 

VII.  16. 
VII.  24-33. 

VIII.  1.  VIII.  2-13. 
Vni.  1^17. 

IX.  1-3.  IX.  4-10. 
IX.  11-18. 

X.  1-3.  X.  4. 

X.  5-7.  X.  8-19. 

X.  20. 
XI.  12. 
ElCHHOKN,  independent  of  Heedee,  arrived  at  a  very  similar  view,  on  the  path  of  more  care- 
ful critical  and  scientific  procedure.     According  to  his  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament  (III. 
648  ff.)  two  kinds  of  persons  clearly  alternate  in  the  book,  a  contemplator,  observer,  investigator, 
who  regards  with  gloomy  eyes  the  life  and  destiny  of  men,  and  in  youthful  fervor  exaggerates 
the  deductions  from  his  observations  and  seldom  does  justice  to  the  good  of  this  world;  by  bis 
side  stands  an  aged  man  of  wisdom,  who  tempers  the  fire  of  ardent  youth,  and  brings  him  back 
to  the  path  of  truth  beyond  which  he  in  his  excitement  has  hurried,  and  even  shows  how  evil 
has  a  good  side.     The  former  ends  with  the  lamentation  that  all  is  vanity,  the  latter  with  the 
deductions  that  a  wise  man  will  draw  from  the  course  of  the  world.    In  sympathy  with  this 
Eiohhoen's  divisions  are : 
1.  The  Seekee.  2.  The  Teachee. 

I.  2— IV.  16.        ■  IV.  17— V.  11. 

V.  12— VI.  12,  VII.  1-14. 

Vn.  15.  VII.  16-22. 

VII.  23-29.  VIII.  1-8. 

VIII.  9— IX.  6.  IX.  7-10. 

IX.  11-18.  X.  1-4. 

X.  5-7.  X.  8— XII.  7. 

CoNCLtrsiON:  XII.  8-14. 

Similar,  but  deviating  frequently  in  details,  is  the  view  of  Beeqst,  in  Eichhoeh's  Repertory, 
X.  963  ff.  From  these  eflForts  at  introducing  dialogues,  in  which  but  one  thing  can  be  acknow- 
ledged as  true  and  tenable,  namely,  that  in  some  few  passages  the  author  introduces  his  oppo- 
nent as  speaking,  in  order  immediately  to  contradict  them  (see  above  §  1,  Obs.  2,  towards  the 
end)  there  is  clearly  only  one  step  to  that  view  which  regards  the  whole  as  a  compilation  of  va- 
rious investigations,  reflections,  and  songs  or  sententious  poems  of  Israelitish  philosophers,  a 
view  directly  destructive  to  the  unity  of  the  book  ;  as  is  done  by  Doderlbin  and  Nachtigat., 
in  connection  with  their  already  mentioned  peculiar  explanations  of  the  name  Kohelbth  by 
"session,  assembly"  (comp.  ?  1,  Obs.  1).  According  to  this  view  of  Doderleik,  presented  in 
his  scholia  in  lihros poetieos  V.  T.,  t.  1,  (1779),  but  at  a  later  period  [Solomon's  Song,  and  Eo- 


10  INTRODUCTION  TO  ECCLESIASTES. 

ctesiastes,  1784)  again  rejected  and  opposed,  (which  however  found  a  so  much  more  zealous  and 
determined  advocate  in  Nachtigal)  the  whole  is  a  collection  by  some  later  hand  of  variom 
philosophical  and  didactic  poems,  sayings  of  wise  men,  obscure  questions,  together  with  theit- 
solutions,  and  a  few  additions  in  prose.  The  entire  contents  are  classified  therefore  in  eight  di- 
visions, together  with  a  supplement: 

I.  Section  :  Poems  (  i.  2  ;  iv.  16) ; 
II.  "        Proverbs  (iv.  17;  v.  8); 

in.  "        Poems  (v.  9;  vi.  9); 

IV.  "        Proverbs  (vi.  10  ;  vii.  22) ; 

V.  "        Obscure  questions  and  their  solutioa  (vii.  23 ;  viii.  7) ; 

VI.  "        Poems  (viii.  8;  x.  1); 

VII.  "        Proverbs  (x.  2  ;  xi.  6) ; 

VIII.  "        Poems  (xi.  7;  xii.  7). 

Supplement  :  Additions  in  prose  (xii.  8-14). 

This  view,  as  well  on  account  of  its  denial  of  all  connection  between  the  individual  parts,  as 
of  progressive  thought  within  them,  falls  into  the  class  of  those  expositions  which  are  capable 
of  vindicating  a  logically  arrayed  train  of  ideas  in  the  book  only  at  the  sacrifice  of  its  unity. 
With  these  the  following  paragraph  will  be  more  especially  occupied. 

OBSEEVATION    3. 

As  to  the  literary  form  of  the  book,  its  close  connection  with  that  of  the  older  Maschal  poetry 
in  the  Proverbs,  and  its  occasional  transition  into  complete  prose,  comp.  especially  Ewald, 
Poets  of  the  Old  Testament,  p.  285  f. :  "  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  our  didactic  poet  has  much 
that  is  delicate  and  refined  in  expression,  and  finished  in  the  composition  of  individual  thoughts 
and  proverbs,  such  as  one  would  scarcely  have  expected  at  this  late  and  depressed  period.  A 
genuine  poetic  spirit  pervades  everything; — our  poet  understands  how  to  give  a  poetic  mould 
to  the  most  brittle  material,  to  bring  the  most  distant  fields  into  clear  view,  to  unite  the  most 
dissonant  elements,  to  smooth  what  is  rough,  and  either  harmlessly  to  bend  the  views  to  be  op- 
posed, or  get  rid  of  them  before  they  become  too  marked.  But  in  one  direction  he  far  surpasses 
the  limit  even  of  the  freest  of  the  earlier  proverbial  poetry,  and  creates  something  entirely  new. 
He  no  longer  gives  every  where  pure  poetic  lines,  hut  lets  the  discourse  here  and  there  he  con- 
cluded, without  retaining  the  strict  law  of  metrical  construction.  When  he  desires  to  interpolate 
in  his  freer  reflection  something  purely  historical,  he  dispenses  with  the  restraint  of  poetic 
measure  (e,  g.  i.  12 ;  ii.  4  ff. ;  ix.  13-15) ;  for  in  the  process  of  accurate  and  clear  thought,  many 
things  may  be  expressed  most  curtly  and  sharply  without  the  trammel  of  measure.  Thus  there 
is  found  in  our  poet  a  variegated  form  of  discourse,  and  he  is  also  creative  as  a  composer  of  pro- 
Verbs.  The  Arabs  understand  this  change  from  verse  to  prose  in  many  half  poetic  works,  and 
in  the  Indian  drama  it  is  universal  ■  even  in  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament  we  find  much 
that  is  similar,  and  thus  it  became  so  much  the  more  easy  for  this  poet  to  yield  to  it.  When 
the  thought  soars,  the  pure  height  of  poetic  style  always  appears  with  him  (comp.  as  example 
of  the  highest  poetic  flight  especially  chap.  xii.  1-6).  But  especially  where  teaching  and  admo- 
nition appear,  there  the  language  rises  to  the  sharp  brevity  and  genuine  character  of  the  ancient 
proverb ;  to  this  our  later  poet  has  clearly  devoted  all  care  and  skill,  so  that  it  also  in  this  pro- 
duction beams, forth  in  the  highest  beauty.  It  is  neatly  polished,  sharply  stamped,  briefly  and 
pointedly  completed ;  and  he  especially  rejoices  in  retaining  the  old  style  of  genuine  Hebrew 
speech,  whilst  this  is  already  inclined  to  lower  itself  to  the  more  modern  language  of  intercourse. 
It  appears  thus  separately  intertwined,  or  in  series ;  either  in  strictest  poetic  style,  or  in  some- 
what weakened  fetters,  but  may  even  then  be  recognized  by  the  pure  doctrine  that  it  imparts. 
Where  several  proverbs  follow  each  other,  there  are  formed  well  connected  links  of  a  strong 
chain  of  thought,  which  separates  into  its  parts  :  but  such  a  chain  has  at  most  seven  parts  or 
individual  proverbs  (iv.  17;  v.  6;  vii.  1-7;  vii.  8-14),  so  that  we  can  here  every  where  in  the 
entire  composition  recognize  the  significance  of  the  old  Hebrew  strophes.  For  the  whole  con- 
struction of  each  of  the  four  separate  discourses  of  the  book  clings  to  the  structure  of  strophes 


J  3.  UNITY  AND  INTEGRITY. 


and  nowhere  oversteps  the  limits  of  this  structure.''  With  reference  to  the  limits  of  these  stro- 
phes, EwALD  differs  in  many  particulars  from  VA[HiNaEa  and  Keil,  whom  we  in  this  respect 
have  followed  as  in  the  paragraph  above;  just  as  Kostbe,  who  first  perceived  and  pointed  out 
the  strophical  arrangement  of  the  book  in  general,  differs  from  the  three  others  in  various  re- 
spects. This  uncertainty  regarding  many  of  the  specialties  of  the  strophical  construction,  need 
not  mislead  us  as  to  the  fact  in  general,  nor  carry  us  to  the  view  taken  by  HENasTENBEEs, 
Bleek,  Kahnis,  etc.,  that  the  character  of  the  style  of  the  book  is  entirely  without  form  and 
plan.  Comp.  Vaih.,  Art.  Solomon  the  Preacher,  in  Heezoq's  Real- Encyclopedia,  Vol.  XII. 
p.  100  ff. 

\  3.    UNITY   AND    INTBGEITT. 

That  Ecclesiastes  forms  one  connected  whole,  appears  from  the  uniform  character  of  its  lan- 
guage, and  the  universal  reference  of  its  individual  sentences  and  expressions  to  the  fundamental 
thought  of  the  vanity  of  all  earthly  things.  It  appears  also  from  the  unmistakable  progress  of 
its  reflections  throughout  the  whole,  as  it  goes  on  from  the  unharmonious  incongruity  of  the  be- 
ginning to  the  increasing  clearness,  certainty  and  confidence  of  the  final  judgment.  However 
one  may  regard  the  internal  law  of  this  progress,  and  in  accordance  with  it  interpret  the  plan 
and  order  of  the  whole,  it  cannot  be  doubted,  in  the  main,  that  it  is  a  work  from  one  mould,  and 
that  only  isolated  inequalities  and  coarse  asperities  of  structure  remain  for  the  candid  critical  ob- 
server, a  characteristic  peculiarity  of  the  book  which  can  by  no  means  be  denied,  and  which  may 
not,  without  farther  regard,  be  explained  as  a  defect  of  rhetoric  or  style  (see  \  1,  Obs.  2).  In 
just  appreciation  of  this  peculiarity,  nearly  all  the  latest  exegetists  have  opposed  the  hypercriti- 
cal procedure  of  their  predecessors,  towards  the  end  of  the  last  century,  extending  to  the  arbi- 
trary dismemberment  and  mutilation  of  the  whole  (e.  g.,  Spohit,  Schmidt,  Nachtigal,  Paulits, 
Rtatjdlin,  and  partially,  also,  Geotius  and  Whiston),  and  have,  at  the  same  time,  with  the  in- 
ternal uniformity  and  continuity  of  the  style,  also  acknowledged  the  integrity  of  the  traditional 
text.  Only  in  reference  to  the  closing  section  (chap,  xii.  8-14)  has  it  been  doubted  down  to  the 
latest  period  by  certain  expositors,  whether  this  may  be  regarded  as  an  authentic  and  integral 
part  of  the  whole.  But  even  these  doubts  have  justly  been  rejected  by  the  most,  as  unfounded, 
because  the  pretended  contradiction  which  the  doctrine  of  happiness,  immortality  and  judgment 
as  found  in  this  closing  part  presents  to  that  of  the  book  itself,  is  merely  apparent,  and  because 
the  circumstance,  that  therein  Koheleth  is  spoken  of,  not  as  formerly  in  the  first,  but  in  the 
third  person,  is  by  no  means  an  isolated  case,  but  has  in  i.  2  and  vii.  27  perfect  analogies  pre- 
ceding it. 

OBSEEVATION. 

Concerning  Nachtigal's  strange  experiments  in  tracing  back  the  contents  to  divers  wholly 
unconnected  compositions  and  aphorisms,  see  previous  Paragraph  2,  Obs.  2.  H.  Geotius*  is  to 
be  named  as  the  earliest  representative  of  this  mutilating  method,  which  in  many  respects  re- 
minds us  of  Hebdee's,  Eichhobn's,  and  Magnus'  treatment  of  the  Song  of  Solomon.  The 
former,  in  his  Annotationes  in  V.  T.,  describes  the  origin  of  Ecclesiastes  in  these  words :  "  redac- 
tas  esse  in  hunc  librum  varias  hominum,  qui  apud  suos  quisque  habebantur,  opiniones,  •"'epl  rijg 
Macfioviag,  quare  mirari  non  debemus,  si  qumdem  hie  legimus  -non  probanda ;  omnes  enim  sen- 
tentias  cum  suis  argumentis  reeiianii  neeesse  erat  id  acoidere."  He  strangely  imagined  Zebub- 
babel  to  be  the  instigator  of  the  collecting  of  these  proverbs.  "  Qui  hmc  colligereni  ac  sub  per- 
sona Bolomonis  in  unum  corpus  congererent,  mandatum  habuerunt  ab  uno  pastore,  i.  e.,  ul  puto, 
Zorobabele,  qui  oh  res  ienues  Judaeorum  et  Persid  imperii  reverentiam,  regem  se  dicere  non  au- 
sus,  quamquam  inter  suos  pro  rege  habebatur,  nomen  usurpavit  modestius  Pastorii  "  (Annot.  ad 
c.  xii.  11). — Besides  Nachtigal  and  (for  a  while)  Dodeelein,  it  was  especially  H.  E,  G.  Patj- 
tvs  (Cbmment.,  1790)  and  Staudlin  (History  of  the  Moral  Teachings  of  Jesus,  I.,  1799),  who 
maintained  towards  the  end  of  the  last  century  the  fragmentary  and  oompilatory  character  of 
the  book,  at  the  same  time  with  its  post-Solomonic  origin ;  and  each  in.  his  peculiar  way ;  Patt- 

*  Many  trace  to  Luthek  the  assertion  of  a  post-Solomonic  origin  of  Eccloslastes,  currying  it  bock  to  several  collectorf^ 
but  this  occurs  solely  on  the  basis  of  his  "  Preface"  of  the  year  1524,  not  of  his  Annotationes  in  Ecclesiastes  of  15SS^ 
t  far  more  thoughtful  and  conservatiTe  work  of  a  calmer  and  maturer  period,    Gomp.,  §'5« 
18 


n  INTRODUCTION  TO  ECCLESIASTES. 

Ltrs  inclining  to  the  view  of  Herder,  i.  e.,  of  a  dialogue  between  scholar  and  teacher;  Statjd- 
LiN,  with  the  effort  to  trace  as  many  things  as  possible  to  Solomon  himself  as  originator.  The 
vacillating  and  doubtful  condition  of  Solomon  towards  the  end  of  his  life  he  has  depicted  in  iso- 
lated paragraphs,  which  a  later  Hebrew  found,  and  from  them  took  the  main  material  of  which 
he  composed  the  book,  as  from  certain  hitherto  uncollected  sayings  of  Solomon.  This  collector 
then  added  in  his  own  name  some  remarks  at  the  end  of  the  book,  by  which  the  fate  of  the  whole 
is  indicated,  and  some  account  of  the  origin  of  the  book  is  given. — This  hypothesis  of  Staudlin 
forms  the  transition  to  the  second  principal  form  in  which  the  critical  efforts  directed  against  the 
unity  of  the  book  have  appeared.  This  consists  in  the  acceptance  of  one  author,  perhaps  Solo- 
mon, who  wrote  at  various  times  the  single  paragraphs,  sayings  and  reflections  which  form  the 
book,  and  finally  united  them  into  one  rather  unfinished  and  unharmonious  whole.  Thus,  at 
first,  Wm.  Whiston  (f  1752),  who,  under  the  supposition  of  Solomonic  authorship,  says:  "in 
librum  Ecclesiastm  lamquam  in  unuin  sy sterna  redactas  esse  plures  Solomonis  observationes,  su- 
per rebus  gravissimi  momenti,  sedfactas  diversis  temporibus,  ut  longe  maxima  pars  ab  eo  perfecta 
sit,  quum  solius  Jehovce  cuUui  addictus  de  vera  religione  bene  sentiret,  nonnulhe  autem,  cum  per 
illecebras  voluptatum  ab  hoc  cultu  desci  visset."  Thus  also  J.  Chb.  Schmidt  (1794),  according 
to  whom  the  book,  as  it  appears,  consists  of  paragraphs  written  in  various  moods  and  times,  and 
does  not  yet  seem  a  book  fully  finished  for  the  pubUc,  but  rather  a  mere  sketch  drawn  up  (!)  by 
the  author  for  himself,  as  a  guide  for  further  labor.  And  there  are  several  similar  exegetists 
about  this  time,  namely,  Middledoepp(1811),  also  Spohn  (1785),  according  to  whom  the  book 
consists  of  moral  sentences  which  more  or  less  cherish  genuine  reverence  of  God,  and  call  atten- 
tion to  His  wisdom  in  the  government  of  the  world,  in  order  thereby  to  lead  to  a  firm  trust  in 
God,  to  alienate  the  mind  from  the  world,  direct  it  to  virtue,  etc.;  and  in  the  same  strain  writes 
ZiEKEL  (1792),  to  whom  the  whole  appears  as  a  reading  book  for  the  young  inhabitant  of  the 
world,  etc. — This  view,  denying  the  unity  and  integrity  of  the  book,  appears  in  its  most  modest 
form,  and  with  the  greatest  semblance  of  scientific  support  in  Van  dee.  Palm,  Dodeelein, 
Beetholdt,  Heezfeld,  Knobel,  and  Umbeeit,  who  think  the  unity  only  here  and  there  de- 
stroyed by  certain  changes  of  the  text,  alterations,  and  interpolations,  or  at  least  consider  the 
closing  section  (chap.  xii.  8-14)  as  a  later  addition,  either  of  the  author  himself  (as  Heezfeld) 
or  of  a  later  interpolator  (as  Bebth.,  Knob.,  Umbe  .,  etc.).  In  support  of  this  latter  view,  Kno- 
bel says :  1)  the  whole  addition  is  superfluous,  because  the  author  in  xii.  8  (which  verse  Kno- 
bel still  considers  genuine)  biings  the  whole  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion  ;  2)  Koheleth  is  not 
therein  introduced,  as  in  the  book  itself,  in  the  first  person  speaking  of  himself,  but  he  is  referred 
to  as  a  third  person ;  3)  the  thought  of  a  future  judgment  of  God  in  verse  14  contradicts  the 
earlier  denial  of  immortality  on  the  part  of  the  author  ;  4)  presenting  the  fear  of  God  and  piety 
as  the  aim  of  all  wisdom  does  not  comport  with  the  earlier  recommendation  of  a  gladsome,  sen- 
sual enjoyment  of  life  ;  5)  the  expression  in  verse  12  that  "of  the  making  of  many  books  there 
is  no  end,"  does  not  accord  with  the  epoch  of  Koheleth,  since  this  period,  that  of  Persian  rule,  is 
rather  supposed  to  have  been  poor  in  the  literary  activity  of  the  Jews.  None  of  these  reasons 
will  stand  a  test.  For  to  the  1)  a  very  clear  and  expressive  prominence  of  the  principal  didactic 
thoughts  was  by  no  means  superfluous,  in  the  obscure  and  casual  way  in  which  these  had  been 
previously  expressed  (e.  g.,  xi.  9)  ;  to  the  2)  Koheleth  is  spoken  of  in  the  third  person  already  in 
the  i.  2 ;  vii.  27,  and  even  in  verse  8  of  the  12th  chapter,  recognized  by  Knobel  as  genuine ;  and 
again,  the  fact  that  an  author  alternately  speaks  of  himself  in  the  first  and  third  person  has  its 
analogies  in  other  fields  (e.  g.,  Sir.  1.  29  ff.;  to  the  3  and  4),  neither  the  doctrine  of  happiness, 
.nor  that  of  immortality  and  retribution  is  at  variance  with  the  corresponding  views  and  princi- 
ples of  that  closing  section,  since  the  eudemonism  (or  blessedness)  previously  taught  is  by  no 
means  partial,  sensual,  or  even  epicurean,  but  is  rather  coupled  with  frequent  direct  and  indirect 
exhortations  to  piety  (see  iii.  14;  v.  6;  viii.  12  f.),  and  since  the  final  judgment  in  chap.  xi.  9 
has  been  specially  and  clearly  enough  alluded  to  (comp.  J  5).  In  regard  to  the  5th,  the  pre- 
sumption of  a  comparative  literary  inactivity  and  unproductiveness  of  the  Jews  of  the  Persian 
period  is  destitute  of  all  proof,  as  the  learned  activity  of  the  elders  of  the  synagogue,  and  the 
.collectors  and  multipliers  of  the  sacred  writings  beginning  with  Ezra,  proves;  but  since  the  au- 
thor, as  is  probable  from  other  signs,  possessed  a  learned  culture  extending  beyond  the  circle  of 


?  4.  EPOCH  AND  AUTHOR.  13 


Israelitiah  writings  (see  the  following  paragraph),  and  consequently  "  with  the  making  of  many 
books,"  was  thinking  of  the  literary  activity  of  the  Greeks,  Persians,  Egyptians  (for  whose  im- 
mense religious  and  profane  literature,  even  in  the  pre-Alexandrine  age,  comp.  Diodorus  Siculus, 
I.,  49),  and  other  contemporary  nations,  therefore  the  expression  in  question  proves  more  for 
than  against  the  appropriateness  of  that  part  to  the  whole.  Two  arguments  also  of  Umbreit 
against  the  genuineness  of  the  section  are  decidedly  untenable ;  one  consisting  in  the  marked 
self-laudation  of  the  author  in  verses  9  and  11,  and  the  other  in  the  pretended  change  of  expres- 
sion and  tone  of  the  discourse  from  verse  8  onward.  For  the  laudatory  expressions  of  the  author 
concerning  his  own  wisdom  and  learning  have  their  complete  and  signifioant  parallel  in  Prov.  ii. 
1-15;  iii.  Iff.;  iv.  Iff.;  v.  Iff.;  vii.  Iff.;  in  Job  xxxii.  6-19;  in  Sirach  1.80;  and  indeed  in 
many  earlier  expressions  of  Koheleth  himself,  as  i.  16 ;  ii.  3 ;  vii.  23  ; — and  the  change  of  diction 
from  verses  8  or  9  is  simply  an  internal  one,  affecting  the  tone  of  the  discourse  and  not  the  indi- 
vidual linguistic  peculiarities,  and  is  therefore  satisfactorily  explained  by  the  essential  contrast 
existing  between  the  epilogue  and  the  contents  of  the  first  part  (comp.  e.  g.,  also  Sir.  1,  29-31, 
with  the  foregoing ;  and  also  2  Mace.  xv.  38-40 ;  John  xx.  30,  31,  etc.).  One  need  not  even 
consider  (with  Heezfeld)  xii.  9-14  as  a  later  addition  from  the  author's  own  hand  to  his  book. 
For  if,  indeed,  verse  9  treated  of  a  later  activity  of  Koheleth,  this  would  only  then  prove  a  later 
addition  of  the  section,  if  Koheleth,  i.  e.,  Solomon,  were  the  real  and  not  the  pretended  author 
of  the  book.  As  for  the  rest,  Umbeeit,  apart  from  his  exclusion  of  the  ending  as  a  false  addi- 
tion, has  decidedly  defended  and  maintained  the  unity  and  continuity  of  all  the  preceding ;  comp. 
his  valuable  treatise  on  the  "  Unity  of  the  Book  of  Koheleth,''  Siudien  und  Kriiiken,  1857,  i 
1-56.  Next  to  him,  of  the  latest  exegetists,  Ewald,  Vaihin&er  and  Elstbe  have  done  the 
best  service  in  proving  the  unitary  character  and  integrity  of  the  book.  Compare  what  the  last 
named  of  these  beautifully  as  strikingly  remarks  concerning  this  subject  [Preface,  Sec.  III.  f.) : 
"As  in  landscapes,  whose  forms,  in  consequence  of  previous  struggles  of  contending  elements, 
contrast  in  a  manner  apparently  lawless  and  wild,  the  eternal  law  of  all  natural  formation  is 
stamped,  but  in  another  form ;  thus  the  Divine  impulse  that  appears  to  every  candid  mind  in  the 
book  of  Koheleth,  cannot  be  wanting  in  regularity  and  unity  in  its  revelation.  Although  per- 
meated by  the  most  ardent  contest  of  a  human  heart  full  of  inward  glow,  it  presents  in  the  forms 
of  its  revelation,  and  in  consequence  of  this  previous  strife,  somethmg  of  the  not  entirely  lawless 
dismemberment  -of  a  volcanic  region.  Yes,  as  landscapes  of  this  kind  present  to  the  eye  of  the 
artist  an  especially  rich  material  with  which  to  express  his  indwelling  idea  of  beauty  in  bold  and 
stupendous  forms,  so  may  we  say  that  the  sublimity  of  'the  Divine  mind  is  most  deeply  felt  in 
the  rough  and  dismembered  form  of  the  "book  of  Koheleth." 

I  4.     EPOCH    AND   AUTHOR. 

Neither  the  title  nor  the  contents  of  this  book  can  be  used  to  sustain  the  traditional  opinion 
that  Solomon  is  the  author  of  it  (though  it  presents  the  fundamental  features  of  the  physics  of 
Solomon,  as  the  proverbs  those  of  his  ethics,  and  the  Song  those  of  his  logic— comp.  the  general 
introduction  to  the  Solomonic  writings,  |  1,  Obs.).  For  the  manner  in  which  the  self-designa- 
ting Koheleth  speaks  of  himself,  chap.  i.  1 ;  xii.  16,  as  the  Son  of  David  and  King  of  Jerusalem, 
and  then  attributes  to  himself  works,  undertakings,  and  qualities,  whose  originator  and  bearer 
history  teaches  to  be  Solomon  alone  (ii.  4  till  xii.  15  ;  viii.  9  ff.;  comp.  |  2),  indicates  rather  a 
literary  fiction  and  an  artful  self-transposition  of  the  author  into  the  place  of  Solomon,  than  the 
direct  Solomonic  authorship.  For  the  author  says  i.  12 :  that  he,  Koheleth,  has  been  king  in 
Jerusalem,  and  speaks,  vii.  15,  of  the  "  days  of  his  vanity,"  as  if  he  had  long  been  numbered  with 
the  dead !  And  again,  what  he  says  of  himself,  i.  16 ;  ii.  7,  9 :  that  he  was  wiser  and  richer 
than  all  before  him  in  Jerusalem,  points,  under  unbiassed  exposition,  clearly  to  an  author  diffe- 
rent ftom  the  historical  Solomon ;  and,  moreover,  the  allusions  to  his  prosperity,  as  not  less  the 
boasting  expressions  regarding  his  own  wisdom  in  i.  16 ;  ii.  3,  9,  and  finally  the  remarks  in  refe- 
rence to  him  as  a  person  belonging  to  history,  vii.  27  ;  xii.  9-11,  are  scarcely  in  harmony  with 
the  authorship  of  Solomon  the  son  and  successor  of  David.  And  that  also  which  is  said,  vii,  10, 
of  the  depravity  of  the  times,  accords  as  little  with  the  age  of  Solomon,  the  most  brilliant  and  pros- 
perous of  Israelitish  history,  as  the  manner  in  which,  iv.  13-16 ;  v.  7  ff.;  viii.  2-10 ;  x.  4  ff.;  16  ff., 


14  INTRODUCTION  TO  ECCLESIASTES. 

it  is  spoken  of  princes  and  kings,  indicates  the  man  as  speaker  who  himself  is  king.  And  alto- 
gether unkingly  sound  the  complaints  in  iii.  17;  iv.  1;  x.  5-7  concerning  unjust  judges,  violent 
tyrants,  officers  given  to  imposition,  and  slaves  and  fools  elevated  to  high  offices  and  honors,  etc.; 
these  are  all  lamentations  and  complaints  natural  enough  in  a  suffering  and  oppressed  subject, 
but  not  in  a  monarch  called  and  authorized  to  abolish  the  evils  (oomp.  Obs.  1). 

To  these  references  to  an  author  other  than  Solomon,  and  an  origin  considerably  later  than  the 
Solomonic  period,  may  be  added  also  the  linguistic  peculiarities  of  the  book,  which  point  with 
great  definiteness  to  an  epoch  after  the  exile.  Compared  with  the  prosaic  and  poetic  diction  of 
writings  antecedent  to  the  exile,  that  of  this  book  shows  a  comprehensive  breadth  and  superfluity 
of  Aramaic  words,  forms,  particles  and  significations  only  comparable  with  similar  appearance's 
of  well-known  productions  of  post-exile  literature,  e.  g.,  the  Books  of  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  Esther, 
the  earliest  prophetic  writings.  The  linguistic  character  of  the  book  is,  on  the  whole,  in  such 
direct  contrast  with  that  of  the  genuine  and  old  Solomonic  writings,  especially  of  the  constituent 
parts  of  the  Proverbs,  and  in  the  use  and  formation  of  certain  favorite  philosophical  expressions, 
that  these  isolated  contacts  with  the  old  Solomonic  thesaurus  and  custom  are  necessarily  attribu- 
table to  a  direct  use  of  these  older  writings  on  the  part  of  the  author ;  while  in  other  regards  a 
most  radical  difference  is  observable  in  the  two  spheres  of  language  and  observation.  We  con- 
demn, however,  as  an  unscientific  subterfuge,  the  opinion  of  some  that  Solomon  purposely 
used  in  Ecclesiastes  the  Chaldaio  mode  of  expression  of  the  philosophers  of  his  age  (comp. 
Obs.  2). 

For  a  more  exact  determining  of  the  person  of  the  author,  and  the  epoch  in  which  he  wrote, 
the  descriptions  given  by  him  of  the  religious  and  moral  conditions  of  his  nation  and  its  cotem- 
poraries,  offer  some  hints  and  assistance.  According  to  iv.  17 ;  v.  5  and  ix.  2,  the  temple  wor- 
ship was  assiduously  practiced,  but  without  a  living  piety  of  heart,  and  in  a  hypocritical  and 
self-justifying  manner ;  the  complaints  in  this  regard  remind  us  vividly  of  similar  ones  of  the 
prophet  Malaohi  (e.  g.,  Mai.  i.  6  to  ii.  9  ;  iii.  7  ff.),  with  whose  book,  moreover,  our  own  comes 

in  striking  contact  in  some  points  of  language,  namely,  in  the  use  of  the  expression  T|N73n 
"the  angel"  in  the  sense  of  "priest"  (chap.  v.  5  ;  comp.    nlH*  TlJ^^'S  M.a\.  ii.  7).     Other 


expressions  of  the  author,  regarding  the  religious,  moral,  and  social  vices  and  evils  of  his  age, 
remind  us  of  the  lamentations  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  in  reference  to  the  misery  under  the  Per- 
sian Satraps,  e.g.,  what  he  says  about  the  decline  of  public  justice  (iii.  17),  the  violent  oppres- 
sion of  the  innocent  (iv.  1;  vii.  5),  the  perversion  of  judgment  in  the  provinces  (v.  8),  the  ad- 
vancement of  idle,  incapable,  and  purchasable  men  to  high  honors  and  places  (vii.  7;  x.  5-7; 
xvii.  19),  the  debauchery  of  officers  and  lofty  ones  of  the  realm  (x.  16-19),  informers  and  secret 
police  (x.  20),  the  increase  of  immoral,  unrighteous,  and  selfish  conduct  of  the  great  multitude 
(iv.  4,  8 ;  V.  9  ;  viii.  10,  11 ;  ix.  3).  The  harmony  of  these  passages  with  much  that  is  similar 
in  the  books  of  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  and  Esther  (com.n.  e.  g.,  Ez.  iv.  1  ff.;  ix.  1  ff.;  Neh.  i.  3  ff.;  ii. 
10,  19 ;  iii.  33  ff;  iv.  1  ff.;  xiii.  10  ff.;  Esth.  iii.  1  ff,;  v.  9  ff.),  is  the  more  significant  because  our 
book  uses  in  common  with  these  very  literary  productions  of  the  Persian  period  a  word  indis- 
putably Persian,    (  QjriS  edict,  command,  chap.  viii.  11 ;  oomp  Ez.  iv.  17 ;  Esth.  i.  20,  etc.). 

There  is  no  exact  indication  in  the  book  of  a  later  period  of  authorship  than  that  of  the  books  of 
Nehemiah  and  Malaohi,  or  than  the  last  decades  of  the  fifth  century  before  Christ, — neither  in  the 
gloomy  view  of  the  world  and  the  melancholy  philosophy  of  the  author  extending  at  times  to 
inconsolable  doubts  of  Providence,  which  might  have  been  easily  indulged  in  immediately  after 
the  exile,— nor  in  the  complaint  about  the  making  of  many  books  (chap  xii,  12),  to  which  by  no 
means  the  last  period  of  Persian  rule  should  be  the  first  to  offer  an  inducement,  nor  finally  in  the 
apparent  controversy  against  Pharisaical,  Sadduoean  and  Esssean  principles  (iv.  17 ;  v.  6 ;  vii. 
2-6 ;  ix.  2) ;  for  this  is  a  controversy  which  in  truth  refers  only  to  the  germs  and  additions  of, 
the  mode  of  thinking  of  these  parties  extant  since  the  exile,  or  since  the  period  immediately 
preceding  the  exile,  and  jiot  referring  to  the  life  and  doctrine  of  these  sect-like  parties  as  they 
were  in  the  last  century  before  Christ.  The  fact  that  this  book  hints  no  where  in  the  slightest 
at  the  political  conditiou  of  the  Jewish  people  under  the  Ptolemaic  and  Seleucidan  rulers,  and 


?  4.  EPOCH  AND  AUTHOR.  15 


not  less  the  fact  that  it  has  been  accepted  in  the  canon  of  the  Old  Testament,  while  the  book  of 
Siraoh,  composed  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  Macedonian  rule,  was  excluded  from  it,  as 
from  an  already  finished  collection,  testifies  pretty  clearly  against  the  composition  of  the  book  in 
BO  late  a  post-Persian  period  (comp.  Obs.  3). 

If  this  book  may  therefore  be  very  probably  considered  as  about  contemporary  with  Nehemiah 
and  Malaohi,  or  between  450  and  400,  then  we  may  find  the  inducement  and  aim  of  its  produc- 
tion in  the  fact  that  the  sad  condition  of  his  nation,  and  the  unfortunate  state  of  the  times,  led 
the  author  to  the  presentation  of  grave  reflections  as  to  the  vanity  of  all  earthly  things,  and  to 
the  search  after  that  which,  in  view  of  this  vanity,  could  afford  him  consolation  and  strength  of 
faith,  and  the  same  to  other  truth-loving  minds  led  by  the  sufferings  of  the  present  into  painful 
inward  strife  and  doubts.  The  result  of  these  reflections,  the  author — a  God-fearing  Israelite, 
belonging  to  the  caste  of  the  Chakamim,  or  wise  teachers  of  that  time  (chap,  xii.  9-11 ;  comp. 
1  Kings  iv.  31),  whose  personal  relations  cannot  be  more  clearly  defined,  thought  to  bring  most 
fittingly  to  the  knowledge  and  appropriation  of  his  contemporaries,  by  presenting  King  Solomon, 
the  most  distinguished  representative  of  the  Israelitish  Chakamim,  and  the  original  ideal  concep- 
tion of  all  celebrated  wise  men  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  a  teacher  of  the  people,  with  the  vanity 
of  earthly  things  as  his  theme.  And  he  puts  into  the  mouth  of  this  kingly  preacher  of  wisdom 
(Koheleth — comp.  Jl)  as  his  alter  ego,  mainly  two  practical  and  religious  deductions  from  that 
theme;  1)  the  principle  that  while  renouncing  the  traditional  belief  of  a  temporal  adjustment  of 
Divine  justice  and  human  destinies,  we  must  seek  our  earthly  happiness  only  in  serene  enjoy- 
ments, connected  with  wise  moderation  and  lasting  fidelity  to  our  trusts;  and  2)  the  exhortation 
to  a  cheerful  confidence  in  the  hope  of  a  heavenly  adjustment  between  happiness  and  virtue,  and 
to  a  godly  and  joyous  looking  to  this  future  and  just  tribunal  of  God  (comp.  Obs.  4). 

OBSBEVATION    1. 

The  Talmud  seems  to  express  a  certain  doubt  of  the  traditional  Jewish  and  Christian  view, 
that  Solomon  himself  wrote  this  book  when  it,  Baba  Vathra,  f  14,  15  (comp.  Schalschelleth 
Hakkabala,  l  66),  makes  the  assertion  that  Hezekiah  and  his  philosophers  (Prov.  xxv.  1)  wrote 
Isaiah,  Proverbs,  the  Song  of  Solomon,  and  Ecolesiastes.  But  this  assertion  does  not  so  much 
regard  the  actual  composition  of  these  books  as  their  final  revision  and  introduction  into  the 
Canon;  the  origin  of  their  entire  contents  from  the  authors  named,  and  consequently  their  au- 
thenticity in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word,  is  not  called  into  question.  Of  a  more  serious  charac- 
ter are  the  objections  raised  by  Luther  against  the  Solomonic  origin  of  Ecolesiastes.  In  his 
preface  to  the  German  translation  of  this  book,  written  in  1524,  he  says  :  "  The  book  was  not 
written  or  arranged  by  King  Solomon  himself  with  his  own  hand,  but  was  heard  from  his  mouth 
by  others,  and  collected  by  the  learned  men.  As  they  themselves  finally  confess  when  they  say  : 
These  words  of  the  philosophers  are  spears  and  nails,  arranged  by  the  masters  of  the  congrega- 
tion, and  presented  by  one  shepherd ;  i.  e.,  certain  chosen  ones  at  that  time  were  ordered  by  kings 
and  people,  this  and  other  books  of  Solomon,  presented  to  the  one  shepherd,  so  to  place  and 
arrange,  that  no  one  should  have  need  to  make  books  aooordmg  to  his  desire ;  as  they  therein 
complain  that  of  book-making  there  is  no  end,  and  forbid  others  to  undertake  it.  Such  people 
are  called  the  masters  of  the  congregation,  so  that  the  books  must  be  accepted  and  ratified  by 
their  hand  and  office.  For  the  Jewish  people  had  an  external  government  established  by  God, 
in  order  that  these  things  might  be  surely  and  justly  arranged.  Thus  also  the  book  of  the  Pro- 
verbs of  Solomon  was  put  together  by  others,  and  at  the  close  the  teachings  and  sayings  of  some 
wise  men  were  added.  Thus  also  the  Song  of  Solomon  seems  like  a  pieced  book,  taken  by  others 
from  his  mouth.  Therefore  also  is  there  no  order  in  these  books,  but  one  part  is  mingled  with 
the  other,  since  they  did  not  hear  all  at  one  period,  nor  at  once,  as  must  be  the  way  with 
such  books."— He  judges  still  more  boldly  about  the  same  book  in  one  of  those  casual  remarks 
of  his  "Table  Talk,"  to  which,  however,  he  would  himself  scarcely  have  given  any  scientific  va- 
lue (WoEKS,  Erlangen  Ed,,  Vol.  62,  128) :  "  This  book  ought  to  be  more  complete ;  there  is  too 
much  broken  off  from  it — it  has  neither  boots  nor  spurs — it  rides  only  in  socks,  just  as  I  did 
when  in  the  cloister. — I  do  not  believe  that  Solomon  was  damned,  but  it  was  thus  written  to 
terrify  kings,  princes  and  rulers.     Thus  he  did  not  write  Ecolesiastes,  but  it  was  composed  by 


10  INTEODUCTION  TO  ECCLESIASTES. 

Siraoh  at  the  time  of  the  Maocabeea.  But  it  is  a  very  good  and  pleasant  book,  because  it  has  much 
fine  doctrine  concerning  the  household.  And,  moreover,  it  is  hke  a  Talmud,  composed  of  many 
books,  perhaps  from  the  library  of  King  Ptolemy  Evergetis  in  Egypt.  As  also  the  Proverbs  of 
Solomon  were  brought  together  by  others,"  etc. — Luthbe  seems  by  no  means  to  have  always 
entertained  this  opinion  of  the  book,  disputing  its  authenticity  as  well  as  its  unity ;  in  his  Latin 
Commentary  at  least  (Ecclesiastes,  Solomonis  cum  annotationibus,  1532,  Ed.  Erlang.,  Lat.  T., 
XXL,  p.  1  ss.),  he  presents  the  immediate  hearers  and  contemporaries  of  King  Solomon,  aa 
writing  the  pronounced  contents  of  Koheleth  ;  "  Titulum  Eoclesiastce  sive  concionatoris  magis  re- 
ferendum puto  ad  ipsius  libri,  qurim  ad  aaloris  nomen,  ut  intelligas  hcec  esse  verba  per  Salomo- 
nem  publice  dicta  in  condone  quadam  suorum  principum  et  aliorwsn.  Cum  enim  rex  esset,  non 
erat  sid  muneris  neque  officii  docere,  sed  saaerdoium  el  Levilarum.  Quare  hose  arbitror  dicta  a 
Salomone  in  conveniu  quodam  suorum,  seu  a  convivio,  vel  eliam  intra  convivium,  prcesentibus  ali- 
quot magnis  viris  etproaerihus,  postquam  apud  se  diu  et  multum  cogitasset  de  rerum  humanorum 
s.  potius  affectuum  conditione  et  vanitate,  quce  sic  postea  (ut  fit)  illis  prcesentibus  effuderit,  deinde 
ab  illis  ijjsis  magisiris  communitatis  vel  ecclesia  excepta  et  collecta.—  Unde  et  in  fine  fatentur  hao 
se  accepisse  a  pastore  u7io  et  congessisse.  Sicut  nostrum  quispiann  posset  in  convivio  sedens  de  rebus 
humanis  dispulare,  aliis,  quod  diceretur,  excipientibus.  Ut  scilicet  sit  publica  concio,  quam  ex 
Salo7none  audierint,  a  qua  condone  piacuil  hunc  librum  Coheleth  appellare,  non  quod  Salomon 
ipse  concionator  fuerit,  sed  quod  hie  liber  condonetur,  tamquam  publicus  sermo."  As  the  direct 
Solomonic  authorship  appears  here  decidedly  retained,  so  Lxjtheb  in  other  places  names  Solomon 
without  restriction  as  the  immediate  author,  just  as  do  Melancthon,  Bebnz,  and  the  other 
contemporary  and  next  following  exegetists  throughout.  Geotitjs  was  the  next  one  to  take  up 
again  the  denial  of  the  Solomonic  authenticity,  and  indeed  in  a  far  more  distinct  and  consistent 
manner  than  Luthee.  See  the  Obs.  to  the  last  paragraph,  p.  15  f.  He  sought  in  some  measure 
to  give  a  scientific  foundation  to  the  assertion  of  a  post-Solomonic  origin  by  reference  to  the  later 
Chaldean  style.  "Ego  Salomonis  non  esse  puto,"  he  says,  "  sed  soripium  serius  sub  illius  regis  tam- 
quam posnitentis  ducti  nomine.  Argumenta  ejus  rei  habeo  multa  vocabula,  qua  non  alibi,  quam  in 
Daniele,  Esdra  et  Ohaldais,  interpretibus  reperias.''  Another  opponent  of  the  genuineness  of  the 
book  appeared  then  in  Herm.  v.  d.  Haedt  (de  libra  Coheleth,  1716),  who,  however,  did  not,  aa 
Geotius,  and  aa  subsequently  and  more  decidedly  G.  Ph.  Che.  Kaisbe  (comp.  I  1,  Obs.  1), 
think  Zerubbabel  to  be  the  author  of  the  book,  but  his  younger  contemporary,  Jesus,  son  of 
the  high  priest  Joiada.  Although  these  rather  arbitrary  and  poorly  supported  assertions  met 
strong  opposition  among  all  contemporaries,  and  J.  D.  Michaelis  declared  himself  decidedly  in 
favor  of  the  direct  Solomonic  origin  of  the  book  (Poetic  Outline  of  the  Thoughts  of  Ecclesiastes  of 
Solomon,  2d  ed.,  1762),  nevertheless,  since  the  epoch  of  genuine  rationalism,  the  belief  of  its  com- 
position in  a  post-exile  era,  and  by  a  philosopher  identified  with  Solomon  by  means  of  free  poetic 
fiction,  has  become  so  general,  that  since  that  time,  even  from  orthodox  quarters,  only  a  rather 
isolated  opposition  has  appeared.  The  defence  of  the  Solomonic  origin  has  been  attempted  by 
ScHELLiNQ  (Salojnonis  quce  supersunt,  etc.,  1806),  P.  de  RouaEMENT  (Explication  du  livre  de  I' 
ifccfeioste,  Neuchatel,  1844),  H.  A.  Hahn  (Commentary,  1860),  Wangeman  (Ecclesiastes prac- 
tically treated  according  to  contents  and  connection,  1856),  Ed.  Bohl  (see  Obs.  2),  and  also  the 
Catholics,  Welte  (Heebst's  Int.,  II.,  2,  252  ff.),  Ludw.  van  Essen  (Ecclesiastes,  Schaffhausen, 
1856),  and  others;  while  the  opposite  view  has  found  representatives  not  only  in  Ewald,  Um- 
BEBIT,  Elstee,  Vaihingee,  Bleek  (Int.  to  the  0.  T.,  p.  641  ff.),  H.  G.  Bbenstbin  (comp. 
Obs.  3),  etc.,  but  also  in  Havernick,  Kbil,  Hengstenbeeg,  0.  V.  Geelach,  Vilmae,  De- 
LITZSCH,  and  others. 

OBSERVATION    2. 

The  numerous  Aramaisms  in  the  book  are  among  the  surest  signs  of  its  post-exile  origin  i 
of  these  nearly  every  verse  presents  some :  Eor  example,  yj'i^  if  (vi.  6  ;  Esth.  vii.  14) ;  "7D3  '° 

-     T 

cease,  rest   (xii.  3;  Dan.  v.  19;   Esth.  v.  9);  |Qf  time   (iii,  1  ;  Neh.  xi.  6;  Esth.  ix.  27,  31); 
"^JJ^'^  to  succeed,  prosper  (x.  10 ;  xi.  10 ;  Esth.  viii.  5) ;  ('^J'^J^  province  (xi.  8  ;  v.  7) ;  fninO 


g  4.  EPOCH  AND  AUTHOR.  17 


edict  (compare  what  is  said  above,  (p.   14) ;    "l^»t),  interpretation,  meaning  (viii.  1 ;  comp. 

Dan.  xi.  5ff.) ;  ii\>  ^JJ?K  H^D  so  that  not  (iii.  11) ;  ntSi^'h^  exactly  like  (v.  15);  J^SjJ^ 

to  rule  (ii.  19;  v.  18;  Neh.  v.  15;  Esth.  ix.  1) ;  pj37[J''  authority,  ruler  (viii.  4,  8;  Dan.  iii.  2, 

3) ;  jrjH  to  Ise  right  (i.  15 ;  vii.  13 ;  xii.  9 ;   comp.  Dan.  iv.  33) ;  tj^pf)  powerful  (vi.  10 ;  Dan. 

ii.  40,  42 ;  iii.  3) ;  likewise  the  particles  '^^^  long  since  (i.  10;  ii,  12, 16) ;  ?Q  Y)\l  without  (ii. 

25);  rilll'l   /il  °^  account  of  (vii.  19);  ^  I^Q  what  was   (i.  9;  iii.  15).— Ed.  Bohl  has 

lately  tried  in  vain  to  weaken  the  testimony  against  the  Solomonic  origin  of  the  book,  contained 
in  these  numerous  direct  and  indirect  parallelisms  with  the  books  of  Daniel,  Ezra,  Nehemiah, 
Esther,  etc.  (Dissertatio  de  Aramaismis  libri  Kohelelh,  qua  librum  Salomoni  vindicare  conalur, 
Brlang.,  1864).     To  these  we  may  add  the  many  peculiar  philosophical  expressions,  as :  fTUT 

advantage,  gain,  excellence  (i.  3  ;  ii.  13)  ;  pIST'^,    pSll,    p^ti'h,    ni^^l,    pV^  together 

with  numerous  abstract  forms  in  pf\  as  ni77il  madness  (x.  13)  ril7^D  foolishness  (i.  17; 
ii.  3);  ^!)")ri5y  morning  red,  youth  (xi.  10);  i~Tl'75tJ'  sluggishness  (x.  18),  etc.  Where 
there  appear,  on  the  contrary,  characteristic  expressions  and  terms  from  the  old  Solomonic  lan- 
guage, there  every  time  the  thought  of  borrowing  is  patent.  Thus  the  expression  flJ3  71^3 
the  bird  (x.  10;  comp.  Prov.  i.  17);  that  favorite  conception  7^]^  (i.  2,  etc.:  comp.  Prov.  xiii. 
11 ;  xxi.  6  ;  xxxi.  30) ;  the  expression  Q*'!*  D^ll  ^°^^  the  hands,  as  a  picture  of  idleness  (iii. 

■    -T     )        -     T 

5;  iv.  5;  comp.  Prov.  vi.  10;  xxi  v.  33) ;  J^tJlO  ^emissio  (x.  4  ;  comp.  Prov.  xiv.  30  ;  xv.  4) ; 

Tn'^i^  laziness  (x.  10;  comp.  Prov.  xix.  15) ;   ^))^'  street  (xii.  4,  5;  comp.  vii.  8;  Cantic.  iii. 

2) ;   the  word  play  in   Qjj/  and  |QJj;'  (vii.  1 ;  comp.  Oantio.  i.  3) ;  pi)^^^r\  delights  (ii.  8 ; 

Cantic.  vii.  7 ;  Prov.  xix.  10).  Compare  Haveenick,  Inti'oduction  to  0.  T.,  I.,  p.  233 ;  Ewald, 
Poets  of  0.  T.,  II.,  268  f.  The  Hebrew  is  here  so  strongly  permeated  with  the  Aramaic,  that  there 
are  not  only  many  individual  words  entirely  Aramaic,  but  the  foreign  influence  extends  into  the 
smallest  veins,  while  at  the  same  time  the  material  remaining  from  the  old  language  has  been  far- 
ther developed  under  Aramaic  influence.  Indeed  this  book  deviates  farther  than  any  other  in  the 
0.  T.  from  the  ancient  Hebrew,  so  that  one  is  easily  tempted  to  believe  that  it  was  the  latest  of  them 
all.  But  this  would  be  a  hasty  and  erroneous  conclusion,  for  the  Aramaic  penetrates  not  suddenly 
and  violently,  but  by  degrees ;  so  that  in  this  period  of  intermingling,  the  one  writer  might  adopt  a 
much  stronger  Aramaic  tint  than  the  other.  We  see  from  this,  and  from  many  idioms  here  ven- 
tured on  for  the  first  time,  and  wholly  absent  elsewhere  (e.  g.,  "  under  the  sun,"  i.  e.,  on  the  earth) 
only  so  much,  that  this  book  comes  from  an  author  from  whom  we  have  nothing  else  in  the  0.  T.; 
to  all  appearances  he  lived  not  even  in  Jerusalem,  but  in  some  country  of  Palestine ;  for  we  can 
safely  enough  thus  conclude  from  the  proverbial  phrase,  "  To  go  to  the  city,"  i.  e.,  Jerusalem,  x. 
15,  compared  with  similar  expressions,  vii.  19;  viii.  10  ("I'J^S  in  the  city),  and  on  the  contrary 

nnO  ^-  7>  or  n"l£J'  ■^^  ^>  tte  Seld  (or  soil). — Whether  this  conclusion,  as  well  as  that  one  for  the 

T       ■   :  V  T 

same  reason  based  on  the  expression  "  King  in  Jerusalem,"  i.  1,  is  so  perfectly  well  assured,  might 
well  be  doubted;  comp.  for  the  phrase  "1*1^3  also  Song  of  Solomon,  iii.  2, 3 ;  v.  7 ;  Deut.  xxviii.  3 ; 

and  also  the  exegetical  explanations  to  x.  15.  What  Ewald  (p.  269,  note  1)  adduces  concerning 
the  linguistic  probabilities  in  favor  of  Galilee  as  the  residence  of  the  author,  is  in  any  case  insuffi- 
cient. 

OBSEEVATION    3. 

Haveenick,  Kbil,  Hengstenbeeg,  etc.,  accord  with  our  above  transfer  of  the  epoch  of  the 
composition  of  Ecolesiastes  into  the  second-third  of  the  Persian  period,  or  into  the  times  of  Ne- 
hemiah and  Malachi  (450-400).    EosENMiJLLEE,  be  Wette,  Knobel,  Ewald,  VAmrNGEE, 


18  INTRODUCTION  TO  ECCLESIASTES. 

Elster,  Blbek,  et  al.  go  a  little  farther  down;  they  think  it  could  not  have  originated  until 
the  last  years  of  the  Persian  rule,  or  perhaps  (so  at  least  the  first  three)  even  not  until  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Macedonian  period.  As  reasons  for  this  view  they  say  (Elster,  p.  7  f. ;  Vaih. 
p.  51  ff.) :  1)  the  period  of  Nehemiah,  and  indeed  also  the  next  following  decades,  (mainly  there- 
fore the  years  460  till  3j0),  could  not  be  brought  into  consideration,  they  being  the  happiest 
periods  of  Israel  during  the  Persian  rule;  the  origin  of  Kohbleth  must  occur  m  a  time  of  greater 
national  adversity  and  sorrow,  such  as  did  no/t  begin  till  after  Artaxerxes  II.  (iVlnemon) ;  2)  the 
complaint  about  the  making  of  many  books  (xii.  12),  points  to  a  period  "  in  which  a  diffuse  and 
unfruitful  literature  has  been  formed  by  a  peculiar  learning  of  the  schools,"  (Elster  and 
EwALD);  3)  the  commencement  of  sectarianism  which  did  not  appear  until  after  the  peaceful 
period  of  Artaxerxes  II.  (404-358),  forms  the  historical  inducement  to  many  of  the  expressions 
in  the  book,  as  iv.  17;  v.  6;  vii.  2-6  ;  ix.  2,  (Vaih.)  ;  4)  in  the  same  way  the  book  presupposes 
the  entire  disappearance  of  prophetic  literature,  and  must  therefore  have  been  written  a  consi- 
derable period  after  Malaohi;  5)  the  author  points  on  the  one  hand  to  the  occasional  desire  of 
apostacy  from  the  Persian  Kings  (viii.  2),  on  the  other,  he  foresees  the  fall  of  the  Persian  realm, 
and  admonishes  them  to  wait  for  the  fitting  time,  adding  a  warning'against  precipitate  action 
(viii.  5;  X.  8-11,  18,  20);  these  are  all  references  to  the  last  decades  of  the  Persian  period, 
or  to  the  years  360-340,  as  the  probable  era  of  the  origin  of  the  book  (Vaih.).  HENSSTENBEEa 
has  answered  the  first  of  these  arguments  in  a  thorough  manner,  and  has  shown  that  nothing 
very  definite  is  known  of  a  more  oppressive  and  violent  character  of  the  Persian  rule  during  its 
last  period,  hut  that  this  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  was  severe  and  tyrannical  for  the  Jews, 
and  that  especially  under  Nehemiah  there  was  much  cause  for  complaint,  deep  mourning,  and  des- 
pair, as  may  be  clearly  enough  seen  from  Neh.  v.  15,  18  ;  viii.  9 ;  ix.  36,  37 ;  xiii.  10, 11,  15  ff. 
Against  the  second  argument,  taken  from  KoH.  xii.  12,  we  would  refer  to  what  has  already  been 
said  [I  3,  Obs.)  on  the  reference  of  the  expression  "  making  many  books  "  not  only  to  the  Jewish, 
but  also  to  the  entire  oriental  as  well  as  the  Grecian  literature ;  whereby  this  argument  is  lost 
for  a  later  period  of  composition.  No.  3,  includes  the  wholly  untenable  assumption  that  the 
germs  of  the  "sects  "  of  the  Pharisees,  Sadduoees,  and  Essenes  were  not  known  before  the  year 
400  before  Christ ;  a  view  so  much  the  more  groundless,  the  more  distinctly  the  germs  to  these 
peculiar  religious  and  moral  tendencies  may  be  traced  back  to  a  considerably  earlier  period ;  as 
for  instance  in  the  second  part  of  the  prophet  Isaiah, Sadducean  unbelief  and  materialism  (chap. 
Ivii.  3  ff. ;  lix.  1,  ff.),  and  Pharisaic  justification  by  works,  and  hypocrisy  are  deprecated,  and  the 
same  may  be  shown  in  Jeremiah  (comp.  Reuss,  History  of  Christian  Theology  in  the  Apostolic 
Age,  I.  p.  126  ss.).  Though  it  may  be  a  fact  that  according  to  the  many  quoted  passages  iv.  17  ; 
V.  6 ;  vii.  2-6,  etc.,  in  Kohbleth,  there  appear,  in  the  germ,  the  scepticism  of  the  Sadduoees,  the 
anxiety  and  timidity  of  the  Pharisees,  the  pleasure  in  morose  retirement  of  the  Essenes  (EwALD,. 
Hist,  of  Israel,  IV.  495)  ;  nevertheless,  from  this  fact  but  the  one  probability  for  determining  the 
period  of  this  book  is  to  be  deduced,  and  that  is  that  it  belongs  to  the  time  of  the  exile,  or  to 
one  subsequent;  any  thing  more  definite  cannot  be  deduced  from  it.  Comp.  also  the  exegetioal 
illustrations  to  the  passages  quoted,  and  to  ix.  2.— The  fourth  of  the  above  arguments  is  based  on 
the  erroneous  supposition  that  the  labors  of  the  prophets  were  unknown  to  the  author  and  distant 
from  him,  and  that  with  him  appeared  a  new  mode  of  understanding  the  divine  truth  of  revela- 
tion, beside  which  a  prophetic  literature  could  not  well  be  imagined  (Elstee).  To  which  we 
reply  that  there  is  nowhere  in  this  book  so  decided  an  ignoring  of  the  presence  of  the  prophets 
as  that  contained  in  Mace.  xiv.  41,  and  that  the  author  -did  not  find  sufficient  inducement  to  re- 
fer to  the  labors  of  the  few  bearers  of  prophetic  truth  whom  he  and  his  contemporaries  may  per- 
haps havat known,— men  like  Zachariah,  Haggai,  and  Malaohi— a,ny  more  distinctly  than  he  had 
already  done  in  speaking  of  wisdom  and  wise  men.  As  to  the  fifth  reason  for  the  composition 
of  the  book  in  the  last  decades  of  the  Persian  rule,  it  rests  on  exegetical  supports  entirely  too 
insecure  to  permit  us  to  attach  any  weight  to  it.  The  desire  of  apostacy  from  the  Persian  king, 
or  the  wavering  in  loyalty  (Vaih.)  in  passage  viii.  2,  must  be  artificially  introduced;  and  that 
the  passage  in  chap.  x.  18,  "By  much  slothfulness  the  building  deoayeth;  and  through  idle- 
ness of  hands  the  house  droppeth  through,"  is  a  special  reference  to  the  near  approach  of  th» 


I  4.  EPOCH  AND  AUTHOR.  19 


rain  of  the  Persian  kingdom,  is  quite  as  untenable,  as  it  is  arbitrary  to  find  in  viii.  5;  x.  8-11 
20,  warnings  against  a  national  rebellion,  or  immature  efforts  for  throwing  off  the  Persian  yoke. 
And  in  general  it  is  advisable  to  refrain  as  much  as  possible  from  introducing  political  references 
into  the  book,  and  instead  of  that  to  devote  so  much  greater.attention  to  its  allusions  to  the  re- 
ligious and  esthetical  conditions  of  its  period.  These  allusions  however  present  many  strikingly 
close  parallelisms  with  the  book  of  Malaohi ;  as  whose  most  immediate  contemporary  in  the  whole 
of  the  Old  Testament  literature,  Koheleth  may  therefore  very  properly  be  considered.  On  ac- 
count of  this  unmistakable  connection  with  the  "  seal  of  the  prophets,''  this  book  can  scarcely  be 
brought  down  lower  than  the  year  400  before  Christ,  and  the  hypothesis  nearest  to  our  own,  of 
Beenstein  {QucBstiones  Kohelethance)  and  of  Delitzsch  [Commentary  on  Job, -p.  15)  must 
therefore  be  rejected,  according  to  which  it  originated  under  Artaxerxes  II.  therefore  between 
400  and  360,  B.  C.  Still  more  decidedly  must  we  reject  the  views  of  Beegst,  Beethold,  Schmidt, 
et  al,  which  accept  the  period  between  Alexander  the  Great  and  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  those  of 
ZlKKEL  and  Haetmakn  which  adopt  the  epoch  of  Maccabban  struggles  for  liberty,  as  well 
as  those  of  Hitzig,  who  takes-  the  precise  year  204  B.  C.  as  the  period  of  the  composition. 
The  arguments  presented  by  the  latter  for  this  exact  period,  are  mostly  the  merest  assumptions ; 
e.  g.  the  assertion  that  chap.  viii.  2,  points  to  the  period  after  Ptolemy  Lagi,  who  was  the  first 
to  demand  an  oath  of  allegiance  from  the  Jews  [Josephus,  Archceology,  xii.  1) ;  the  opinion 
that  chap.  x.  16-19  refers  to  the  commencement  of  the  government  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes, 
who  at  his  father's  death  was  only  five  years  old;  that  the  little  city,  chap.  ix.  14  f.  is  the  little 
marine  city  of  Dora  with  its  victorious  resistance  to  King  Antiochus  the  Great,  218  B.  C.  ;  that 
the  amorous  woman,  chap.  vii.  26,  is  Agathoklea,  the  concubine  of  Ptolemy  Philopator  t(xx.  3): 
that  the  former  days  were  better  than  these  of  chap.  vii.  10,  point  to  the  more  happy  periods  for 
the  Jews  of  the  first  three  Ptolemys.  How  poorly  the  acceptance  of  such  special  references  har- 
monizes with  the  otherwise  general  contents  of  the  respective  passages,  the  separate  exegesis  of 
each  will  show  more  pointedly.  The  affinity  between  the  Book  of  Wisdom  and  Koheleth,  ad- 
duced by  H1TZI&,  does  not  therefore  prove  the  composition  of  the  latter  in  the  Alexandrine  era, 
because  the  "  Wisdom  "  is  the  original  Greek  product  of  a  later  imitator  of  the  ancient  Hebrew 
Chokmah-literature,  but  Koheleth  is  an  original  production  of  this  latter,  and  of  a  specific  He- 
brew character,  whose  isolated  parallelisms  with  that  apocryphal  writer  must  arise  from  the  use 
made  of  him  by  the  author  of  it.  (Comp.  Hahn,  in  Beuler's  Repert.  1838,  Vol.  XIV.  p.  104,  ff.) 

OBSEEVATION  4. 

The  aim  of  Ecclesiastes  has  ever  been  defined  in  very  different  ways.  Hieeontmus  under- 
stood it  almost  wholly  in  a  theoretical  sense,  when  he  made  its  object  the  teaching  of  the  vanity 
of  all  earthly  things ;  a  view  in  which  many  modern  men  have  followed  him,  as  Hbbdee,  Eich- 
HOEN,  Peiedlandbe,  Dathb,  and  others.  All  these  define  its  object  mainly  or  exclusively  ac- 
cording to  chap.  i.  2 ;  xii.  8,  and  similar  passages,  whilst  again  Patjltjs,  Umbeeit,  Kostee,  Ew- 
ALD,  etal.  look  solely  to  such  passages  as  i.  3;  iii.  9  ;  vi.  11,  etc.,  and  make  the  aim  of  the  book 
the  demonstration  of  the  nature  of  the  highest  good.  The  view  of  Desvoeux  belongs  also  to 
the  theoretical  comprehension  of  the  book  (?  6) :  viz.,  that  the  author  of  it  would  prove  the  im- 
mortahty  of  the  soul,  and  a  future  reward  in  another  world,  with  which  undue  appreciation  of 
the.religious  character  of  the  book,  others  substantially  coincide,  as  M.  Fa.  Rods  (Footsteps  of 
the  Faith  of  Abraham,  p.  76),  Rhode  [de  vett. poetarum  sapientia  gnomica,  p.  223),  etc.  Kai- 
bee  has  given  to  the  .book  an  historical  and  didactic  aim,  by  supposing  that  he  finds  therein  an 
allegorical  presentation  of  the  secret  history  of  the  Davidic  kings  from  Solomon  to  Zedekiah, 
(See  1 1  and  6).  Db  RouaEMENT,  Umbeeit,  and  Vatke  have,  on  the  contrary,  declared  it  to 
be  a  philosophical  composition,  with  the  difference,  however,  that  the  first  designates  its  tendency 
as  specifically  religious,  the  second  as  skeptical,  and  the  third  as  nihilistic.  Luther  makes  the 
aim  of  Ecclesiastes  wholly  practical  in  his  preface  to  the  books  of  Solomon  (Eel.  Ed.,  Vol.  LXIV. 
P-37);  "Th-e  second  book  is  called  Koheleth,  what  we  call  Ecclesiastes,  and  is  a  book  of 
consolation.  If  indeed  a,  man  will  live  obediently  to  the  teachings  of  the  first  book,  [i.  e., 
Proverbs)  and  obey  its  commands,  he  is  opposed  by  the  devil,  the  world,  and  his  own  flesh, 
80  that  he  becomes  weary  of  his  condition,  and  averse  to  it.    As  now  Solomon  in  his  first 


20  INTRODUCTION  TO  ECCLESIASTES. 

book  teaches  obedience  in  contradistinction  to  mad  frivolity  and  frowardness,  so  in  this  book 
he  teaches  us  to  be  patient  and  constant  in  obedience  against  dissatisfaction  and  opposition, 
and  to  await  our  hour  with  peace  and  joy.''  Comp.  his  Latin  Comment,  p.  8  :  Est  ergo  summa 
et  Scopus  hujus  libri,  quod  Solomon  vult  nos  reddere  pacaios  e.t  quietis  animis,  in  communi- 
bus  negotiis  et  casibus  hujus  vilce,  ut  vivamus  conlenii  prmsenlihus  sine  cura  et  cupnditatefu- 
turorum,  sicut  Paulus  ait:  "Sine  cura  et  soUicitudine  agenles,'' — futurorum  enim  curam 
frustra  affligere.  Ibid.  p.  12:  "Est  ergo  (ut  repetens  dicam)  status  et  consilium  hujus  li- 
belli,  erudire  nos,  ut  cum  gratiarum  actione  utamur  rebus  proesentibus  et  creaiuris  Dei,  quce 
nobis  Dei  benedictione  largiter  dantur  ac  donates  sunt,  sine  soUicitudine  futurorum,  tanfUm 
ut  tranquillum  el  quietum  cor  habeamus,  et  animum  gaudii  plenum,  contenti  scilicet  verba  et 
opere  Dei."  Against  the  traditional  Catholic  conception  of  the  book,  as  a  substantially  theo- 
retical representation  of  the  worthlessness  and  baseness  of  earthly  things,  Luther  argues  with 
energy:  "Nocuerunt  m,ultum  haec  libro  false  intellecto  plurimi  sanctorum  Patrum,  qui  sense- 
rant  Bolomonem  h.  I.  docere  contemptum  mundi,  i.  e.,  rerum  creaiarum  et  ordinatarum  a  Deo," 
etc. — The  Catholic  Hardouin,  quite  independent  of  Luther,  has  given  to  the  book  an  object 
closely  allied  to  his  when  he  says :  "  That  the  best,  that  is  the  most  tranquil,  the  most  in- 
nocent and  the  most  happy  thing  in  this  life,  is  to  enjoy  with  his  family  in  their  repasts, 
the  gain  that  a  legitimate  labor  may  have  acquired,  and  to  acknowledge  that  to  be  able  to  do  so  is 
a  gift  of  God,  which  we  should  consequently  use  with  thanks,  not  forgetting  that  we  shall  all  be 
summoned  to  the  judgment  of  God  for  these  as  for  all  other  things."  This  purely  practical  and 
moral  tendency  of  the  conception  of  most  expounders  of  the  rationalistic  school,  appears  debased 
to  a  meaningless  simplicity ;  for  example,  in  Ziekel,  Spohn,  Bbetholdt,  Schmidt,  Gaab  (Con- 
tributions to  the  exegesis  to  the  Song  of  Solomon,  p.  48),  G.  L.  Bauer,  [Int.  to  the  0.  T.,  p.  411) 
etc.  According  to  them  Ecclesiastes  teaches  "  how  one  can  enjoy  a  happy  life  and  avert  evils," 
(Ziekel);  or  also:  "  How  a  youth,  who  wishes  to  enter  the  great  world,  may  demean  him- 
self sagely  in  many  of  the  scenes  of  human  life,  and  deferentially  towards  God,  religion^  and 
virtue,"  (Spohn);  or:  "How  one  should  accept  fortune  and  misfortune,  joy  and  sorrow,"  (Bee- 
tholdt)  ;  or:  "How  one,  with  all  the  imperfection  of  his  destiny,  may  live  cheerful  and 
happy,"  (Gaab,  Bauee),  or:  "How  laws  may  be  ascribed  to  human  effort,  to  keep  it  within 
proper  bounds,  and  point  out  the  limit  beyond  which  it  may  not  pass,"  (Schmidt),  etc. — The 
just  medium  between  the  practical  and  the  theoretical  in  fixing  the  aim  of  this  book,  is 
found  substantially  with  Geb0OP.t  op  Ntssa  ;  he  in  his  first  homily  regarding  it,  places  its 
tendency  in  the  elevation  of  the  mind  above  all  sensual  perceptions,  and  above  what  is  ap- 
parently greatest  and  most  magnificent,  to  the  super-sensual,  and  in  the  awakening  of  a 
strong  desire  for  this  super-sensual;  and  later,  he  declares  the  constant  joy  in  good  works 
that  springs  from  the  performance  of  them  to  be  substantially  identical  with  that  elevation, 
to  something  beyond  the  sensual;  [rj  6irjvEK.fiQ  ivl  to'ii;  kciXoI^  eyppoaln/T],  ?JTe  kn  tCiv  ayaOiJv  ipyuv 
yfwarai).  *  Just  so  writes  Augustine,  (de  Ciu.  Z)ei  XX.  3) :  Totum  istum  librum  mr  sapien- 
tissimus  depulavit,  non  utique  ob  aliud,  nisi  ut  earn  vitarn  desideremus,  quce  vanitatem  non 
habet  sub  hoc  sole,  sed  veritatem  sub  illo,  qui  fecit  hunc  solera.  Several  expounders  of  the 
period  of  the  reformation,  have  more  fully  and  concretely  comprehended  the  object  of  this 
book  in  its  theoretical  as  well  as  in  its  practical  side,  e.  g.,  Brenz,  who  finds  its  benefits 
and  excellences  as  follows :  "  quod  ad  timorem  et  fiducian  in  Deum  recte  nos  erudil  ac  ducit, 
quibus  seu  indicibus  quibusdam  ad  pium  crealurarum  usum  pertingamus ;"  Melanchthon, 
who  finds  its  principal  aim  in  the  confirmalio  sentenlice  de  providentia,  of  the  doctrina  de 
obedientia  et  patientia,  of  the  asseveratio  futuri  judicii,  and  encouragement  t6  the  duties  of  one's 
calling.  Deusius,  according  to  whom,  .  .  .  "  agit  hie  liber  de  fine  bonorum; — suadet  autem,  ut 
ab  hac  vanitale  animum  attoUamus  ad  sublimia.  Meecbeus,  according  to  whom  Solomon  aperte 
docet  presentibuspacalis  et  tranquillis  animis  frui,  abjecta  humani  cordis  irrequieta  curiosiiate 
et  inconstantia,  quum  divitice,  honores,  magistratus,  uxor  et  celerce  hujus  seculi  creaturw  bonce  sint, 
si  illis  cum  gratiarum  actione  et  Dei  limore  utaris,  animo  semper  in  Deum  sublato  nee  his  ter- 
renis  adicto,"  et  al.     Staeke  (in  his  Int.  I  9)  finds  a  double  aim  in  the  author;  a.)  in  reference 

•'H  yAp  Tiitv  evroKoiV  epyaaia.  vvv  /j^kv  5toL  T^s  cXttlSos  tviftpaivei  Toy  tmv  koXSjv  TtpOKTra-lLiVOV  epytiiV  ixero.  TauTa  5i  air6ka.v 
(Tiv  Tutv  a.ya0u)v  e^TTtSwc  8e^a.p.ivri  ISiOv  Tots  a^iois  frt^  ivppotrvvTiv  iTpotrTCdri(rt.v. 


?  5.  THEOLOGICAL  SIGNIFICANCE  AND  CANONICAL  VALUES.  2} 


to  himself,  he  had  the  intention  publicly  to  confess  and  regret  his  foolish  striving  after  peace 
of  soul  in  vain  things  ;  b.)  in  reference  to  his  readers,  he  desired  to  warn  them  agamst  epicurean- 
ism, and  to  inculcate  therefore  especially  these  three  rules  :  1.)  that  one  must  despise  all  earthly 
things  as  vanity;  2.)  that  one  must  enjoy  the  present  good  with  calmness  and  cheerfulness ;  3.) 
that  one  thereby  must  fear  God  and  serve  Him.  The  latest  exegetists  are  mostly  in  harmony 
in  their  acceptance  of  a  practical  aa  well  as  theoretical  aim,  (namely,  all  those  who,  in  accord- 
ance with  this,  distinguish  two  main  divisions  of  the  book,  one  theoretical  and  the  other  prac- 
tical, comp.  §  2,  obs.  1).  On  the  basis  of  this  view,  Hengstenbeeo,  Vaihingee,  and  Elstee 
have  given  the  best  development  of  the  peculiar  tendency  of  the  book ;  the  latter  in  con- 
nection with  a  detailed  historical  summary  of  the  most  important  views  of  the  earlier  exeget- 
ists regarding  its  fundamental  thoughts  and  aim. 

§   5.    THEOLOGICAL   SIGNIFICANCE   AND    CANONICAL   VALUES. 

On  account  of  the  apparent  leaning  of  this  book  towards  skeptical,  fatalistic,  and  Epicu- 
rean teachings,  it  early  became  the  object  of  doubts  in  regard  to  its  inspired  character,  and 
of  attacks  on  its  canonical  dignity.  According  to  the  Talmud,  the  philosophers  (i,  e.  the  col- 
lectors of  the  canon,  or  also  the  learned  of  the  most  ancient  period)  intended  to  suppress  it 
on  account  of  the  contradictions  within  itself,  and  the  apparent  moral  levity  of  its  teachings;' 
but  this  intention  remained  unexecuted  in  view  of  the  fact,  ."  that  its  beginning  and  its  end 
are  words  of  the  law."  *  That  the  author  of  the  "  Wisdom  of  Solomon  "  belonged  to  these 
earliest  critical  opponents  of  the  book,  is  an  erroneous  opinion  entertained  by  Augusti,  Schmidt, 
ei  al.  (partly  also  by  Knobel)  ;  for  the  controversy  supposed  to  be  contained  in  chap.  2  of 
that  work,  against  the  doctrines  of  the  Preacher,  amounts  in  part  simply  to  seeming  points 
of  contact,  and  it  is  in  part  directed  against  those  lawless  and  immoral  men  who  were  ac- 
customed to  misuse  many  assertions  of  the  Preacher  for  the  purpose  of  glossing  over  their 
base  conduct.  With  much  greater  certainty,  however,  the  book  found  various  opponents  in 
the  ancient  church;  as  Philasteius  (hser.  130)  speaks  of  heretics  who  condemn  the  Preacher, 
because  he  at  first  proclaims  that  all  is  vanity,  and  then  permits  but  one  thing  to  remain, 
viz,,  that  one  should  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry.  Theodorus  of  Mopsuestia  soon  afterwards 
joined  these  opponents  with  the  assertion,  that  Solomon  composed  Ecclesiastes  only  in  ac- 
cordance with  human  wisdom,  and  not  by  virtue  of  divine  inspiration ;  this,  together  with 
other  heresies  attributed  to  him,  was  condemned  at  the  fifth  Ecumenical  Council  at  Constan- 
tinople. At  a  still  later  period  of  the  middle  ages  the  Jacobite  Barhebrssus  (f  1286)  ven- 
tured the  assertion,  that  Solomon  in  Koheleth  had  defended  the  view  of  Empedocles  the 
Pythagorean,  (whom  he  considered  a  contemporary  of  Solomon),  that  there  is  no  immortality 
of  the  soul. — The  opinion  of  Hieeonymus  was  authoritative  for  the  middle-age  theology  of 
the  Occident,  viz.,  that  Ecclesiastes  taught  the  vanity  of  earthly  things,  and  contempt  of  the 
joys  of  this  world  (comp.  ^  4,  obs.  4.).  Under  the  protection  of  this  view  of  the  book,  enter- 
tained by  Hugo  of  St.  Victor,  Bonaventura,  Nioolaus  of  Lyra,  ei!  o^.,  it  maintained  its  authority 
and  acceptability  with  most  of  the  theologians  of  the  Reformation  and  the  next  following 
period.  Luther,  indeed,  gave  here  and  there  a  free  and  bold  opinion  of  the  book ;  viz.,  "  that 
it  has  neither  boots  nor  spurs,  and  rides  only  in  socks,  as  he  himself  formerly  in  the  clois- 
ter;" (see?  4,  obs.  1)  ;  but  again  he  recommended  it  with  special  emphasis  as  a  "noble  book 

*  Fe.  Schabb.  f.  30,  b :  "  The  philosopherB  wished  to  suppress  the  book  of  Koheleth,  because  it  contains  contradictions. 
Why  then  did  they  not  suppress  it  t  Because  its  beginning  and  its  end  are  words  of  the  law." — Comp.  Midb.  Koheleth  f. 
114,  a :  The  philosophers  wished  to  suppress  the  book  of  Koheleth  because  its  wisdom  all  tends  to  what  is  written  in 
chap.  xi.  9 ;  "  Rejoice,  0  young  man  in  thy  youth  ;"  (which  is  incompatible  with  Numbers  xv.  39,  etc.).  But  because  So- 
lomon adds  :  "  Know,  that  for  all  these  things  God  will  bring  thee  unto  judgment  " — they  declare  that  Solomon  spake 
w»ll  (noW  "IDX  nS')  comp.  Pestkta  Sabb.  f  33,  a.  Vajikra  B.  f.  161,  b.;  Midr.  Kohel.  f.  311,  a,  where  we  notice  the 
bearing  of  certain  assertions  of  the  book  to  the  side  of  the  heretics  (Q"'J''D)  perhaps  of  the  sadducees ,  Tr.  Edajoth^  c.  5 ; 
Judaim,  c.  3,  where  direct  divine  prompting  is  denied,  etc.  And  finally  also  Hierontmus  :  ^'Aiunt  Hebrmi  quum  inter  ce- 
tera scripta  SalomoniSy  quse  antiquita  sunt  nee  in  Tnemoria  duraverunt,  et  hie  liber  obliteravdus  videtur,  eo  quod  vanas  assereret 
Uti  creaiuras  et  totutn  putaret  esse  pro  nihilo  et  cibum  et  potum  et  delicias  trans  euntes  pne/erret  omnibus,  ex  ?ioc  uno  ca- 
pUulo  meruisse  auctoritaten,  ut  in  divinorum  voluminum  nunero  poTieretur,  quod  foiam  disputationem  suam  et  omnem  cataJo- 
ffum  Jiac  quasi  ii/a/tei^aXaiaitret  coarctaverit,  et  dixerit  Jlnem  sermonum,  svarum  aitditu  esse  pr&mptissimum,  nee  aliquid  in 
K  habere  difficile :  ut  scil.    Z>eum  timeamus  et  ^us  prsecepta /aciamus." 


22  INTRODUCTION  TO  ECCLESIASTES. 


which  for  good  reasons  was  worthy  of  being  daily  read  with  great  diligence  by  all  men."  He 
declared  this  wisdom  taught  therein,  as  higher  than  any  under  the  sun,  namely,  "  that  every 
one  should  perform  his  duty  with  diligence  in  the  fear  qf  God,  and  therefore  should  not  grieve 
if  things  do  not  go  as  he  would  have  them,  but  should  be  satisfied  and  allow  God  to  con- 
trol in  all  things  great  and  small ;  he  called  it  a  "  book  of  consolation  "  for  every  one,  and 
especially  for  princes  and  kings,  to  whom  it  might  serve  in  some  measure  as  a  consolatory, 
didactic,  and  satisfying  manual  of  "  politics  and  economies."  *  All  evangelical  theology  till 
near  the  end  of  the  last  century,  agreed  in  their  favorable  judgment  of  the  religious  and  mo- 
ral worth,  and  the  theological  character  of  the  book,  a  few  quite  insignificant  and  isolated 
cases  excepted ;  as  for  example,  those  Dutch  opposers  of  whom  Clericus  speaks. 

The  vulgar  rationalism  was  the  first  to  disseminate  that  low  opinion  of  the  book  which  has 
since  been  maintained  in  many  circles,  and  whose  practical  consequence  is  its  degradation  be- 
low the  better  class  of  the  Apooryphas  of  the  0.  T. ;  e.  g.,  below  Siraoh  and  the  Book  of  Wis- 
dom. On  this  platform  Habtmann  affirms  "  Ecclesiastes  to  be  the  labor  of  a  fretful  Hebrew 
philosopher,  composed  in  a  morose  mood,  and  exceedingly  tedious  at  times ;"  Schmidt  de- 
clares that  it  is  not  a  work  fully  prepared  for  the  public,  but  a  hasty  outline  of  the  author 
for  his  own  subsequent  revision,"  (see  §  3  obs.  );  De  Wbtte:  "  Koheleth  represents  the  last 
"extreme  of  skepticism  within  the  Hebrew  philosophy,  and  this  in  a  barbarous  style,  by  means 
of  which  he  shows  himself  partial  and  sensually  prejudiced  in  the  maxims  of  the  cheerful  en- 
joyment of  life,  and  in  virtue  of  which  his  system  is  no  system,  his  consistency  inconsistency, 
and  his  certainty  uncertainty ;"  Bruce  :  "The  skepticism  of  this  book  extends  to  a  painful, 
internal  disorganization,  and  to  a,  perfect  despairing  of  all  order  and  aim  in  human  life ;" 
finally  Knobel  says :  All  ethical  teachings  and  admonishings  in  Kohele1;h,  end  in  the  conve- 
nience and  enjoyment  of  life. 

The  refutation  of  these  accusations,  is  contained  mainly  in  the  foregoing,  viz.,  in  what  has 
been  said  in  ^  2  about  the  contents  and  plan,  and  ?  4  about  the  aim  of  the  work.  The  de- 
cidedly pious  and  sternly  moral  st:'-nd-point  of  the  author,  appears  above  all  in  the  closing 
passage,  chap.  12, 13, 14,  which  lays  down,  as  the  sum  of  the  whole,  the  advice  to  fear  God, 
and  keep  His  commandments,  and  also  a  warning  against  punishment  in  His  future  judgment. 
But  this  conclusion  is  not  detached  from  the  religious  contents  of  what  precedes,  is  not  con- 
nected in  a  mere  outward  manner  with  the  whole  as  if  there  existed  no  deeper  organic  con- 
nection between  this  closing  "  inspired  teaching  "  and  the  preceding  "philosophical  discourse;" 
(expressions  of  Kougement,  comp.  §  2.  obs.  1).  But,  as  is  clearly  pointed  out  in  paragraph 
3,  the  conclusion  forms  the  pinnacle  projecting  with  organic  necessity  from  the  whole;  it  is 
the  concentrated  collection  of  the  rays  of  higher  truth  penetrating  and  illuminating  the  whole 
work,  which  are  designed  to  pour  forth  their  glorifying  light  with  full  power  only  at  the  very 
end.  The  author  has  also  every  where  in  the  preceding  paragraphs  distinctly  announced  that 
God  is  the  Almighty  from  whom  every  thing  originates,  and  especially  every  thing  that  is 
precious  to  men  in  body  and  soul,  (ii.  26  ff.;  iii.  lOfF. ;  v.  1;  vii.  17-19;  viii.  14;  ix.  1-3);  that 
this  Almighty  God,  according  to  the  measure  of  strict  justice  will  deal  out  moral  reward  to 
the  good  and  evil  (iii.  17 ;  viii.  12  ff. ;  xi.  9) ;  that  man,  even  where  he  does  not  understand  the 
works  of  God,  where  they  are  and  remain  incomprehensible  to  him,  may  not  cavil  with  God, 
but  must  humbly  submit  to  the  command  to  fear  God  (iii.  11-18  ;  v.  6,  17  ff. ;  vii.  18 ;  viii. 
16  ff,);  and  that  therefore  also  the  enjoyment  of  temporal  blessings  must  ever  be  accompanied 
with  thanks  to  God,  and  with  contentment  and  moderation,  iii.  12  f.  22  ;  v.  11  ff.,  17  ff. ;  vi.  2ff.). 
The  conclusion  draws  from  all  onl  y  this  result  reduced  to  the  shortest  possible  expression,  and 
gives  to  it  intentionally  a  form  and  shape  which  reminds  us  of  the  sum  and  quintessence  of 
all  other  teachings  of  wisdom  in  the  Old  Testament,  (comp.  ver.  13  with  Prov.  i.  7;  ix.  10; 
Ps.  iii.  10;    Sir.  i.  16,  25,  etc.).     It  also  declares  distinctly  enough  that  the  teachings  of  the  book 

*  "nunc  lihrum  Ecdmaslm  rtctius  Tu>i  vocaranus  PoUtica  ixl  (Eamomica  SaU>monis,  qni  viro  in  politia  versanti  ammlat 
in  casibus  tristibus  et  animum  erudiat  ac  roboret  ad  patientiam.'^  As  an  example  of  a  prince  who  in  accordance  with  Lu- 
ther's advice,  read  Ecclesiastes  with  special  pleasure,  we  may  quote  Frederic  the  Great.  That  he  was  in  the  habit  of  con- 
sidering it  a  genuine  "mirror  of  princes,"  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  he  woa  not  drawn  to  it  simply  by  the  skeptical  cl»- 
racter  of  its  contenta. 


?  5.  THEOLOaiCAL  SiaNIPICANCE  AND  CANONICAL  VALUES.  23 


stre  teatimoniea  of  truth  pertaining  to  the  '-words  of  tne  wise,"  which  must  cling  closely  "  aa 
goads  and  fastened  nails"  to  the  hearts  of  the  people  (xii.  9-11) ;  whereby  the  author  clearly 
wishes  not  only  to  rank  himself  as  in  the  class  of  the  Chokamin,  but  also  to  embody 
his  work  into  the  mass  of  sacred  literature,  and  separate  it  from  the  massive  productions  of 
profane  literature;  (ver.  12).  In  view  of  this  so  emphatic  testimony  of  the  author  himself 
and  the  manifold  direct  and  indirect  references  of  his  book  to  the  older  writings  of  the  canon 
(namely,  to  Proverbs  and  the  Song  of  Solomon,  comp.  §  4,  Obs.  2 ;  to  Job  :  chap.  v.  14  ;  vii.  28 ; 
to  the  Pentateuch :  chap.  v.  3,  4;  xii.  7 ;  and  to  the  Psalms  ;  vii.  6 ;  xi.  5),  we  need  not  as- 
same  that  "  the  antagonism  between  the  divine  perfection  and  the  vanity  of  the  world  is  repre- 
sented as  unreconciled,  or  but  partially  reconciled"  (Oehler),  or  what  is  the  same  thing,  that 
the  Preacher  harmonizes  the  traditional  belief  in  Jehovah,  and  his  unbelief  to  a  simply  external 
agreement  between  the  fear  of  God  and  the  cheerful  enjoyment  of  the  moment,"  (Kahnis).  The 
reconcihation  between  faith  and  doubt  is  actually  effected ;  the  contest  between  a  God-fearing 
life  and  an  irreligiousness  serving  the  world  and  the  flesh,  has  been  fought  out  to  the  decided 
victory  of  the  former ;  and  the  account  could  only  acquire  the  appearance  of  lingering  in  the 
earUer  stagfes  of  this  conflict,  and  of  favoring  skeptical  uncertainty,  looseness,  and  indecision, 
(Jas.  i.  8),  by  purposely  lingering  with  great  minuteness  over  the  description  oi  the  conflict  of 
the  thoughts  of  the  doubter,  "  accusing  and  excusing  one  another,"  in  order  thus  to  afford  a  most 
intuitive  picture  of  the  vanity,  unrest,  and  joylessness  of  a  consciousness  detached  from  God  and 
devoted  solely  to  the  impressions  of  worldly  vanity,  (^  4,  Obs.  2).  It  was  the  philosophical  ten- 
dency of  the  author  that  forced  him  to  this  thorough  development  of  the  dialectics  of  doubting 
consciousness ;  and  it  was  also  the  same  religious  and  speculative  tendency,  philosophizing  in 
the  sense  of  the  Old  Testament,  Chokmah  doctrine,  which  probably  induced  him  always  to  dis- 
pense with  the  sacred  name  of  Jehovah  where  he  speaks  of  God  (in  all  39  times),  and  ever  adopt 
the  more  general  designation  of  Elohim,  usual  also  outside  of  the  sphere  of  the  positive  revela- 
tion of  the  Old  Testament.  As  the  representative  of  such  a  philosophical  standpoint  and  aim, 
the  Preacher  could  lay  no  claim  to  being  so  direct  an  organ  of  divine  revelation  as  the  lawgiver, 
or  as  the  prophets  of  God's  ancient  people.  But  he  certainly  considered  his  writings  as  a  book 
fully  harmonizing  with  divine  revelation  in  the  law  and  the  prophets,  if  we  consider  the  closing 
words  already  prominently  alluded  to,  (xii.  9-12).  And  the  excellent  practical  wisdom,  full  of 
significant  references  to  the  most  precious  truths  of  the  entire  word  of  God,  and  full  of  the  rich- 
est consolation  for  earthly  need  and  temptation  of  every  kind,  as  the  glorious  book  lavishes  from 
beginning  to  end, — this,  we  say,  is  a  well  attested  claim,  that  it  belongs  to  the  series  not  of  the 
secondary,  but  of  the  primary  oanonioal  writings  of  the  Old  Testament. 

OBSEKTATION. 

Oehler  (Prolegomena  to  the  Theology  of  the  0.  T.,  p.  90)  maintains  that  there  is  an  exter- 
nally-dualistic  juxtaposition  of  the  religious  and  worldly-skeptical  character  in  this  book.  "  The 
antagonism  between  the  divine  perfection  and  the  vanity  of  the  world,  is  represented  as  unre- 
conciled ;  the  latter  as  an  inevitable  experience,  the  former  as  a  religious  postulate.  Thus  the 
only  wisdom  of  life  lies  in  resignation,  in  which  man  profits  of  the  nothingness  of  life  as  best  he 
can,  but  therein  commits  all  to  God."  With  a  still  sharper  censure  of  the  skeptical  standpoint 
of  the  author,  Kahnis  (Luth.  Dogmatics,  I.,  p.  309)  declares:  "Trite  sounding  words,  many 
assertions  not  easily  reconcilable,  and  only  relatively  true,  and,  to  say  the  least,  easily  misun- 
derstood expressions,  show  to  him  who  reads  this  book  with  unprejudiced  mind  how,  in  ancient 
and  in  modern  times,  it  could  be  read  with  anxious  eyes.  In  it  traditional  faith  and  a  skeptical 
view  of  the  world,  which  sees  vanity  in  all  spheres  of  nature  and  human  life,  are  united  in  a  co- 
venant between  the  fear  of  God  and  the  cheerful  enjoyment  of  the  moment.  However  easy  may 
be  the  historical  comprehension  of  such  a  standpoint,  it  is  diflioult  to  justify  its  truth."— In  re- 
ply to  these  reproaches,  Bleek  has  strikingly  observed,  in  favor  of  the  religious  character  of  the 
book,  that  "  it  is  affecting  and  elevating  to  see  how  the  faith  in  God's  reconciling  justice  is  never- 
theless retained  amidst  all  doubt,  and  how  the  poet  ever  returns  to  it."  (Int.  to  the  0.  T.,  p. 
644).    HERQSTENBKEa  has  replied  in  a  manner  still  more  definite  and  thorough  to  these  cen- 


24  INTRODUCTION  TO  ECCLESIASTES. 

sures:  "  It  is  not  correct  that  the  book  presents  an  unreconciled  contradiction  between  faith  and 
knowledge,  idea  and  experience.  It  certainly  permits  doubt  to  appear,  as  do  the  Psalms ;  this 
is  the  truth  of  the  view  which  would  distinguish  two  voices  in  the  book ;  but  this  every  where 
occurs  only  in  order  to  conquer  the  doubt  immediately.  Nowhere  stand,  as  in  imitation  of  De 
Wette's  theology,  doubt  and  faith  as  equally  authorized  powers  opposed  to  each  other,  but 
every  where,  when  the  voice  of  the  flesh  has  spoken,  it  is  confronted  by  the  voice  of  the  Spirit,  as 
in  Psalms  xxxix. ;  xlii. ;  xliii.  This  meets  us  most  strikingly  in  the  very  passage  in  which 
doubt  is  poured  forth  like  a  mighty  stream  in  chap.  ix.  7-10.  The  expression  of  a  feeling  that 
is  skeptical  and  dissatisfied  with  Hfe,  extends  only  to  verse  6 ;  in  verses  7-10  it  is  immediately 
conquered  with  the  sword  of  faith. — It  is  also  not  correct  that  the  author  knows  no  higher  wis- 
dom of  life  than  "  resigrraaiion."  It  is  true,  he  teaches  that  human  life  often  presents  difficult 
enigmas,  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  comprehend  the  providences  of  God,  and  that  we  not  seldom 
find  ourselves  committed  to  blind  faith  (chap.  iii.  11 ;  vii.  24;  viii.  17;  xi.  5).  But  who  could 
not  see  that  these  are  truths  that  yet  have  their  force  for  those  who  walk  in  the  light  of  the 
gospel?  Not  in  vain  does  the  Lord  declare  those  blessed,  who,  seeing  not,  yet  believe.  The 
apostle  enjoins  upon  us,  that  we  walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight.  The  clearest  human  eye  is  not 
clear  enough  to  see  every  where  the  causes  of  divine  guidance,  and  to  penetrate  the  ways  of 
God  so  frequently  mysterious.  In  the  epoch  of  the  author,  it  was  so  much  the  more  necessary 
to  make  this  view  prominent,  since  at  that  time  so  many  of  the  clear  eyes  lacked  that  percep- 
tion of  sin  which  gives  the  key  to  the  sanctuary  of  God,  if  we  will  there  seek  the  solution  of  the 
enigma  of  earthly  life.  But  the  author  has  no  thought  of  committing  every  thing  to  blind  faith ; 
it  does  not  occur  to  him  to  yield  the  field  of  knowledge  to  unbelief.  "  Who  is  as  the  wise  man  ?" 
— thus  he  exclaims  in  chap.  viii.  1. — "And  who  knoweth  the  interpretation  of  a  thing  ?"  There 
is  therefore  for  him  a  wisdom  which  leads  into  the  essence  of  things,  illuminates  the  mysterious 
depths  of  the  cross,  and  justifies  the  ways  of  God.  Henqstenbeeo  has  already  illustrated  ( — 
p.  23  fi'.)  the  philosophical  character  of  Koheleth  in  his  relation  to  revelation,  and  demonstrated 
the  exclusive  use  of  the  more  general  name  of  God  as  a  necessary  consequence  of  the  fact  that 
the  author  did  not  wish  to  teach  direct  prophetic  revelation,  but  simply  sacred  philosophy ;  (re- 
ferring to  a  treatise  by  Kleinert  in  the  Dorpat  Supplement  to  Theological  Sciences  1,  where 
also  are  considered  similar  passages  in  the  books  of  Job,  Nehemiah,  etc.). — Vilmar,  in  the  trea- 
tise quoted  above,  (§  1,  Obs.  3),  has  supplied  an  important  aid  to  the  justification  of  the  book 
against  the  usual  reproaches  of  skepticism,  fatalism,  and  Epicureanism.  He  shows  how  the  real 
weight  of  the  paranetic  (the  hortatory)  as  well  as  the  paraoletic  (the  consolatory)  powers  of  the 
author,  the  true  fundamental  thought  of  his  practical  philosophy  of  life,  consists  in  the  effort 
truly  to  fulfil  individual  earthly  duty,  even  where  there  is  no  prospect  of  a  rich  worldly  success, 
and  the  willingness  cheerfully  and  continuously  to  labor  without  seeking  reward  or  gain ; 
(comp.  ii.  10 ;  iii.  22 ;  v.  17  f. ;  viii.  15 ;  xi.  6  ff.).  "  Success  is  of  God  alone,  and  we  are  nothing 
more  and  nothing  less  than  God's  servants."     There  is  really  for  us  no  fll^'    iio'  ^'^81  i'^  ^^ 

kingdom  of  God  in  the  New  Testament.  We  are  to  look  for  no  result ;  but  unconcerned  as  to 
success  or  failure,  and  unaffected  by  the  unfruitfulness  of  our  efforts,  and  without  being  excited 
or  spurred  by  the  hope  of  any  success  whatever,  or  of  results  that  are  all  far-reaching,  we  are 
to  do  day  by  day,  and  day  after  day,  only  that,  and  all  that,  which  lies  within  our  mandate. — 
It  is  true  the  temptation  which  befalls  us  on  account  of  this  failure  of  our  efforts,  by  this  apparent 

immovability  and  retrogression  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  by  apparent    J'2,T^  sven  in  divine 

things,  if  it  is  not  early  conquered,  will  inevitably  become  moroseness,  dissatisfaction  with  life, 
renunciation  of  the  world,  and  misanthropy ;  "  so  that  one  will  let  hands  and  feet  go,  and  do  no- 
thing more,"  from  which  at  last  may  proceed  the  almost  unpardonable  sin  of  aii^fiua  (reckless- 
ness, indifference).  Such  an  actual  disdain  of  the  gifts  of  God  because  he  does  not  satisfy  us,  is 
(as  aiiiidua)  nothing  but  defiance  of  God.  The  natural  and  God-created  strength,  courage,  and 
cheerfulness  of  life  must  therefore  be  preserved  (this  is  the  desire  of  the  Preacher)  in  order  that 
we  may  move  according  to  God's  will  in  the  narrow  circle  which  in  the  will  of  God  still  remains  to 

us.    The    p7ri  is  i^ot  alone,  is  not  indeed  in  the  first  place,  eating,  drinking,  and  being  merry, 


§  6.  THEOLOGICAL  AND  HOMILETICAL  LITERATUKE. 


•which  finally  would  be  nothing  else  than  Dulce  desipere  in  loco;  but  the  T^t^  consists  in  the 
pleasure  of  fatiguing  labor,  in  the  nO^TS  TM^lf  (iii- 12,  22;  v.  17,  ete.)-  It  is  here  a  duty 
to  assume  the  curse  of  the  labor,  and  the  sterility  of  labor,  and  to  bear  them  cheerfully  for  the 
sake  of  God.  In  thus  accepting  and  cheerfully  bearing  this  curse,  lies  the  only  condition  of  its 
removal,  yes,  in  no  small  degree  the  removal  itself  lies  therein.  We  must  especially  preserve 
that  God-created,  cheerful,  vital  strength,  and  the  fresh  courage  of  youth,  which  may  not  carry 
the  bitter  experiences  of  advanced  age  into  its  sphere  of  life  without  destroying  the  divine  work 
which  it  bears  in  itself— for  such  is  indeed  youth  with  its  unconcerned  and  courageous  spirit," 
(xi.  9;  xii.  Iflf.).  As  a  comprehensive,  final  judgment  of  the  theological  value  and  canonical 
dignity  of  the  book,  we  may  finally  consider  what  is  said  by  Elstbe,  p.  33  f. :  "  The  book  bears 
not  only  a  decidedly  ethical  and  religious  character,  it  forms  also  a  material  epoch  in  the  connec- 
tion of  revelation,  a  peculiar  stage  of  development  of  the  Old  Testament  religion,  an  important 
link  in  the  transition  from  the  old  to  the  new  covenant,  and  therein  is  its  canonicity  safely 
grounded,  so  that  we  may  say  with  Cabpzov.  {Int.  in  V.  T.  II.,  221) :  "Divina:  et  Canonicm 
libri  auclorilati  utut  testimonium  perhibeat  universa  turn  synagoga  vetus  turn  primitiva  Ohrisli 
eoelesia,  qv/B  in  Protocanonieorum  numero  eum  unanimi  semper  habuit  consensu,  fidem  tamen 
prmterea  conciliant  indubia  divinitatis  doeumenta  ipsis  textus  visoeribus  innexa." 

I  6.     THEOLOGICAL   AND    HOMILETICAL   LITEEATUEE. 

I.  COMMENTAEIES  PEETIOUS  TO  THE  REFORMATION  : — GbEGOEII  THAtTMATTIEGI  MetaphraSlS 

m  Ecclesiasten  Salomonis,  ex.  ed.  Andk.  Schottii;  Antwerp.  1613;  also  in  0pp.  Greg.  Nazian- 
ismed.  MorelL,  T.  I.,  p.  749  ss.  (Paris,  1630).  Gregoey  of  Ntssa, 'A/cpf/S^f  ejc  tov  ''E.K.iiXiiaLaaTiiv 
i^fiyqaiq,  (in  eight  Homilies)  :  0pp.  T.  I.,  p.  373  ss.  ed.  Paris,  1615. — Hieeontmus,  (Jomwien- 
tarim  in  Ecclesiasten,  0pp.  T.  III.,  p.  383  ss.  ed.  Vallars.,  Venet.,  1766. — Oltmpiodoeus,  in 
Ecclesiast.  Cbmmentarii.  Bibl.  Patrum  max.,  Tom.  xviii.  p.  490  ss.  Saloniits  (sec.  5),  Expositia 
mystica  in  Ecclesiasten.  CEkdmenius,  Catena  in  Ecclesiast.  Veron,  1532.  —  Honorius  of 
AuTUN"  {Augustodunensis),  Expositio  in  Ecclesiasten  Salom.  Bonaventtjea,  Expositio  in  librum 
Ecdesiastes.     0pp.  T.  I.,  p.  294  ss.  ed.     Moguntin.  1609. 

II.  Modern  Commentaries  since  the  Reformation  : — a.)  Jewish  Expositors  :  David 
of  PoMi,  1571 ;  Samuel  Aeipol,  1591 ;  Baetich  ben  Baruch  (double  Commentary,  gramma- 
tical and  allegorical).  Venice,  1599;  Moses  Alschech,  1605  ;  Samuel  Kohbn  of  Pisa,  1661 ; 
MosBS  Mendelsohn  ( The  Preacher  Solomon,  by  the  author  of  the  Phddon  pub.  by  Rabe.  Ans- 
pach,  1771) ;  David  Peiedlander,  1788 ;  Moses  Heinemann,  1831 ;  B.  Herzfeld,  Bruns- 
wick, 1838. 

b.)  Roman  Catholic  Expositoes  : — Joh.  of  Kampen  [Oampensis)  Psalmorum  et  Ecdesi- 
astes paraph,  interpretatio.  Paris,  1533. — JoH.  Maldonatus,  Oommentarii  in  praecipuos  Sa- 
cra SaripturcB  libros  veteris  Testamerdi.  Par.,  1643  f. — Coenelius  a  Lapide,  Commentarius  in 
Ecclesiasten.  Antv.  1694 ;  also  in  the  collected  Comment,  in  V.  et.  N.  T.,  X.  vol.  Venet.,  1730. 
— Cornel  Jansen,  Commentarius  in  Ecclesiasten,  Antverp,  1589,  Joh.  de  Pineda,  Comment, 
in  Eecles.  Antv.  1620. — Du  Hamel,  Salomonis  libri  III.  cum  annotationibus.  Rotomagi, 
1703.  AuGUSTiN  Calmet,  Commentaire  literal  sur  la  Bible.  Par.  1707  ss. — J.  Haedouin, 
Paraphrase  de  'I  Ecclesiaste  aveo  des  remarques.  Par.,  1729.  Thadd.  Deeeser,  The  Sacred 
writings  of  the  0.  T.,  III.  Parts.  Frankfort,  1797— 1832.— L.  van  Essen  :  ITie  Preacher  So- 
lomon; a  supplement  in  illustration  of  the  0.  T.     Schaffhausen,  1856. 

c.)  Protestant  Expositors  :  Joh.  Brentius,  Ecdesiastes  Salomonis  cum  Commentariis,  per 
HiOB.  Gast  e  Oermano  in  Lat.  translatus  el  per  auctorem,  quantum  ad  sententiarum  cognitionem 
satis  est,  restiiutus.  Hagenov.,  1529. — M.  Luther,  Ecdesiastes  Salomonis  cum  annotationibus. 
Vitemb.,  1532,  0pp.,  lat.  ed.  Erlang.  T.  XXI.  (also  German  by  Just.  Jonas,  1533),— Ph.  Me- 
lanohthon,  Ennaratio  brevis  concionum  libri  Salomonis,  cujus  titulus  est  Ecdesiastes,  0pp.  ed. 
Bretschneid.,  T.  XIV. — Theodor.  B'ez a,  Ecdesiastes  Salomonis  paraphrasi  illusiratus.  Qenev. 
1558 — JoH.  Mercbrus,  Commentarii  in  Jobum,  Proverbia,  Ecclesiasten,  etc.,  Ludg.  Bat.,  1573, 
1651, — Joh,  Drusius,  Annotationes  in  Oohdeth.  Amstelod,  1635. — Paul  Eoaed,  Theologia 
yractioa  sapientissimi  regis  Israelitarum,  seu  Salomon  Ecdesiastes,  1619. — Thom,  Cartweiqht, 


26  INTEODUCTION  TO  ECCLESIASTES. 


Metaphrasis  et  Homilia  in  libr.  Salomonis,  qui  inscribitur  Ecdesiastes.  London,  1604.— Hugo 
Geotius,  Annotationes  in  V.  Test.  Par.,  1644  ;  Basil,  1732,  T.  I.— Joh.  Coccbius,  Comm.  in  It- 
hros  Salomonis  (1658)  0pp.  omn.,  VIII.  Vol.  Amstelod.  1675  ss.— Maet.  Gbibb,  Commenla- 
rius  in  Salomonis  Ecdesiasten.  Lips.,  1647,  1711.— Abe.  Calov,  Biblia  Testamenli  veieris  il 
lustrata    II.  Vol.     Francof.,  1672.— Sebast.  Schmidt,  Commentarius  in  Coheleth.    Argentor. 

1691  1704. F.  Yeaed,  A  Paraphrase  upon  JSedesiasies.     London,  1701. — J.  W.  Zieeold,  the 

Preacher  Sohmon,  translated  m  the  spirit  of  the  Hebrew  idiom,  and  thoroughly  explained.  Leip., 

1715. Che.  Wolle,  Best  of  the  Soul,  i.  e.,  the  Preacher  Solomon  translated  and  enriched  with 

moral  annotations.  Leips.,  1729. — Joh.  Jac.  Rambach,  Annotationes  in  Eccles.,  in  J.  H.  Mi- 
OHAELis,  Uberiores  adnotaliones  in  Hagiogr.  Hal,  1720. — JoH.  Cleeicus,  Commentarius  in 
Hagiographa.  Amstel.,  1731. — Che.  Fe.  Batjee,  The  text  of  Ecdesiastes  explained,  which  is 
a  systematically  connected  discourse,  in  which  is  found  Solomon's  last  wisdom  and  penance. 
Leips.  1732  — Ph.  Che.  Zeyss,  Exegetieal  Introduction  to  Proverbs,  Ecdesiastes,  and  the  Song 
of  Solomon.     ZuUichau,  1735. — Peteus  Hansen,  Befiections  on  Ecdesiastes,  Sec.  ed.    Liibeck, 

1744. Fr.  Ad.  Lampe,   Commentar.  in  Psalmos  graduales,  Apocalypsin  el  Ecdesiasten.  Gro- 

ning.  1741. — Stabke,  Synopsis  bibliothecce  exegeticoe  in  V.  T.  etc.,  Vol.  IV.  Halle,  1768. — Pe. 
Che.  Oetinqee,  The  truth  of  the  Sensus  Communis  in  the  Proverbs  and  Ecdesiastes.  Stuttg., 
1753. — Joh.  David  Michaelis,  Poetical  outline  of  the  thoughts  of  Ecdesiastes.  Bremen  and 
Leipsic,  1751,  1762.^A.  V.  Desvceux,  Philosophical  and  Critical  Essay  on  Ecdesiastes.  Lon- 
don, 1760  (German  by  J.  P.  Eambeegee;  Berlin,  1764). — J.  P.  Kleitkee, /Sofoinon's  Writings, 
1st  part.  Leipz.,  1777. — J.  T.  Jaoobi,  Ecdesiastes.  CeUe,  1779. — Van  dee  Palm,  Ecdesi- 
astes philologice  et  critice  illustratus.  Ludg.  Bat.,  1784. — J.  Chr.  Dodeelein,  Solomon's  Ecde- 
siastes and  Song,  newly  translated  with  short  explanatory  notes.  Jena,  1784,  1792. — G.  L. 
Spohn,  Ecdesiastes,  newly  translated  from  the  Hebrew,  with  Critical  Notes.  Leips.,  1785. — G. 
ZiEKEL,  Ecdesiastes,  a  Reading  book  for  the  young,  translated  and  explained.  Wiirzb.,  1792. — 
The  same  author,  Investigations  into  Ecdesiastes,  together  with  Critical  and  Philological  Obser- 
vations.—S.  E.  Dathe,  Job,  Prov.  Salomonis,  Eccles.,  Oantic.  Canticor.  Lat.  vers,  notisque phihl. 
et  criJ,.  illustr.  Hal.,  1789. — J.  C.  Ch.  Schmidt,  Ecdesiastes,  or  Teachings  of  Koheleth.  Giessen, 
1794, — H.  Ebbeh.  G.  Paultjs,  Ecdesiastes,  1790. — Feied.  Seilee,  Biblical  Book  of  Devotion,  6 
parts.  Erlangen,  1791. — J.  Che.  Nachtioal,  Koheleth,  or  the  Collection  of  the  Wise  men,  usu- 
ally called  Ecdesiastes.  Halle,  1798. — F.  W.  0.  Umbeeit,  The  Soul-struggle  of  Eoheleth  the 
Wise  King.  Goth.,  1818.^The  same,  Coheleth  scepticus  de  summo  bono.  Getting.,  1820. — The 
same,  What  Bemains  ?  Befiections  of  Solomon  on  the  vanity  of  all  earthly  things,  translated 
and  explained.  Hamb.  and  Gotha.,  1849. — G.  Ph.  Ch.  Kaisee,  Koheleth,  the  Collectivum  of  the 
Davidic  Kings  in  lerusalem,  an  historical  and  didactic  poem  on  the  Downfall  of  the  Jewish 
state,  translated  and  enriched  with  historical,  philological,  and  critical  observations.  Erlang, 
1823. — H.  W.  Saltmann,  Proverbs  and  Ecdesiastes,  translated  from  the  original  text.  Dort- 
mund, 1828.— C.  F.  C.  Rosbnmtjllee,  Scholia,  in  Vet.  Test.,  P.  IX.,  Vol.  II.  Leips.,  1830.— 
F.  B.  Kostee,  The  Book  of  Job  and  Ecdesiastes,  translated  according  to  their  strophical  ar- 
rangement, Schleswig,  1831. — Arra.  Knobel,  Commentary  on  the  Book  of  Koheleth,  Leips., 
1836.— H.  EwALD,  The  Poetical  Books  of  the  Old  Testament;  Part  IV.  Gott.,  1837.  Second 
ed.  under  the  title  :  Books  of  the  Old  Testament ;  Part  IL,  1867. — Fe.  de  Rougement,  lUm- 
tration  of  the  Book  of  Ecdesiastes.  Neufchatel,  1844. — Wohlfaeth  and  Fishee,  Preacher's  Bi- 
ble, Vol.  IV.  Neustadt  on  the  Oder,  1841. — 0.  v.  Gebiach,  The  Old  Testament  according  to 
Luther's  translation,  with  Introduction  and  explanatory  remarks.  Vol.  III.  Berlin,  1849. — P. 
HiTzia,  Ecdesiastes  explained  "  in  a  concise  exegetieal  Manual  to  the  Old  Testament ;"  7  num- 
bers. Leipsic,  1847. — A.  Hbiliqstedt,  Commentarius  in  Ecdesiasten  ei  Cantio.  Canticorum  (in 
Maurer'a  Commentarius  grammaticus  criticus,  in  V.  Test.,  Vol.  IV.  2).  Leips.,  1848. — Bdeoee, 
Commentarius  in  Ecdesiasten,  1854. — E.  Elstee,  Comment,  on  Ecdesiastes.  Qottingen,  1855. — 
Wangemann,  Ecdesiastes  of  Solomon,  according  to  contents  and  connection  practically  explained. 
Berlin,  1856. — J.  Q.  Vaihinobr,  Ecdesiastes  and  the  Song  of  Solomon,  in  accordance  with  the 
original  text  rythmically  translated  and  annotated.  Stuttg.,  1858. — C.  W.  HENOSTENBEEa,  Ee- 
clesiasles,  exegetically  treated,  1859. — H.  A.  Hahn,  Commentary  on  Ecdesiastes.  Leipsic,  1860. 
— P.  Kleineet,  Ecdesiastes:  translation,  philological  remarks,  and  explanatory  discussions. 


?  6.  THEOLOGICAL  AND  HOMILETICAL  LITERATURE.  27 


Berlin,  1864  (Gymnaaial  Programme).— L.  Young,  A  Commentary  on  the  Book  of  Eedesiaates. 
Philadelphia,  1865. 

III.  MoNOQEAPHs:— Herman  v.  d.  Habdt,  Schediasma  de  lihro  Goheleth,  1716.— Dindoep 
Quomodo  nomen  Coheleih  Salomoni  iribuatur.  Leips.,  1791. — Bebgst,  on  the  Plan  of  Koheleth 
in  Bichhoen's  Hepertory,  Vol.  X.  p.  963ff.— H.  P.  PPAUNKncHE,  Exerdtationes  in  Ecclesiaslen. 
Getting.,  1794.  J.  F.  Gaab,  Aids  to  the  Exegesis  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  Ecclesiastes,  arid  the 
Lamentations.  Tiibingen,  1795. — A.  Th.  Haetmann,  Linguistic  Introduction  to  the  Booh  of 
Koheleth,  in  Winer's  Journal,  Vol.  I.  s.  29  fF. — R.  Henzi,  Programma  quo  libri  Ecclesiastce  ar- 
gumenti  brevis  adumbraiio  continetur.  Borpat,  1827. — R.  Stieb,  Hints  for  afaithfid  understand- 
ing of  the  Scriptures,  Konigsberg,  1824.— P.  Luhes,  Ecclesiastes,  in  the  Quarterly  for  Theology 
and  the  Church,  1847 ;  Vol.  III.— Vaihingeb,  On  the  Plan  of  Ecclesiastes,  Essays,  and  Re- 
mews,  1848,  H.  II. — The  same.  Art.  Ecclesiastes,  in  Herzog's  Real  Encyclopedia,  Vol.  XII.,  p.  92 
ff.— Umbeeit,  Unity  of  the  Book  of  Koheleth,  Studien  und  Kritiken  1857,  H.  I.— Ed.  Bohl,  Bis- 
sertatio  de  Aramaismis  libri  Koheleth,  qua  librum  Salomoni  vindicare  conatur.  Erlang,  1860. 
—A.  F.  0.  ViLMAE,  On  Koheleth,  Journal  for  Pastoral  Theology,  1863,  p.  241  ff, — Fe.  Bott- 
CHEE,  New  Exegetical  Gleanings  from  the  Old  Test.,  Sec.  3,  p.  207  IF. — J.  F.  K.  Guelitt,  Stu- 
dienwidKritiken,in illustration  of  Koheleth,  1865,  II, ,  p.  321  £  Bernstein  Qucestiones  Kohe- 
lethance. — Gelbe,  Supplement  to  the  Introduction  to  the  0.  T.,  p,  129  fF.     Leips.,  1866. 

Special  Exegesis  op  the  Passage  Chap,  xii,  1-7:  Gasp.  Sibel  (f  1658),  Frwnum  juven- 
tutis,  seuperspicua  et  graphica  descriptio  incommodorum  senectutis  a  Salomone,  Eccles.  xii.  1-9 
tradita  homiliis  33  explicata.  Deventer,  1639  (also  in  his  0pp.  Theologica,  Tom.  I.). — J.  F. 
WiNZEE,  Commentatio  de  loco  Kohel.  XI.  9;  XII,  7;  %  programme.  Leips.,  1818,  19.^Gur- 
litt  a.  a.  0,,  p.  331  ff. — The  older  literature  (e.  g.,  John  Smith,  Regis  Salomonis  descriptio  senec- 
tutis; Wedel,  demoribus  senum  Salomoniacis ;  Soheuchzeb,  Physica  sacra,  T.  IV,,  p,  819  ss.; 
Jablonski,  Xasi!  Speeches  of  Solomon ;  Peaun,  Physico-anatomica  analysis  cap.  XII.  Ecclesi- 
astes; Papb,   Weekly  Sermons,  etc.)  is  quite  fully  enumerated  by  Starke  on  this  passage. 

[Works  on  Ecclesiastes  not  mentioned  by  Zockler.  A  Commentary  on  Ecclesiastes  by  Moses 
Stuart,  Prof,  of  Sacred  Literature  in  the  Theological  Seminary,  Andover,  Massachusetts,  New 
York,'1851. — Very  full  and  minute,  containing  valuable  introductions  on  the  design  and  method 
of  the  book,  its  time  and  authorship,  with  an  account  and  description  of  the  ancient  versions. 
The  Book  of  Ecclesiastes,  with  Notes  and  Introduction,  by  Charles  Wordsworth,  D.D,,  Archdea- 
con of  Westminster.  London,  1868 ;  a  condensed  but  valuable  commentary  in  one  volume  with 
Proverbs  and  the  Song  of  Solomon.  It  maintains  the  ancient  view  of  the  date  and  authorship, 
and  is  very  full  of  the  patristic  interpretations,  whilst  exhibiting  a  good  acquamtance  with  the 
modern  German  Exegesis.  To  these  add  (mainly  from  the  lists  given  in  Home's  Introduction, 
and  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible)  a  philosophical  and  critical  essay  on  Ecclesiastes,  with  Phi- 
lological Observations,  by  A.  V.  Desvceux.  London,  1762,  4to.,  (see  a  notice  of  it  in  the 
Monthly  Review,  0.  S.,  Vol.  XXVI.,  p.  485).  Ecclesiastes  translated  with  a  Paraphrase  and 
Notes,  by  Stephen  Guernay.  Leicester,  1781,  8vo. — Ecclesiastes  :  A  New  Translation  from  the 
Original  Hebrew,  by  Bernard  Hodgson,  LL,D.,  Principal  of  Hartford  College,  Oxford.  London, 
1791,  4to. — An  Exposition  of  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes,  by  Edward  Reynolds,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of 
Norwich.  Revised  and  corrected  by  the  Rev.  Daniel  Washbourne,  London,  1811,  8vo, ;  a  work 
that  formed  part  of  the  collection  of  Notes  on  the  Bible,  usually  called  the  Assembly's  Annota- 
tions. London,  1822. — An  attempt  to  illustrate  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  by  a  Paraphrase  (simi- 
lar to  Doddridge's  Family  Expositor)  in  which  the  expressions  of  the  Hebrew  author  are  inter- 
woven with  a  Commentary ;  accompanied  by  valuable  Notes  on  the  scope  and  design  of  the 
book. — The  Synopsis  Criticorum  of  Matthew  Pole  will  be  found  a  great  store-house  of  the  opi- 
nions of  the  Biblical  scholars  of  the  16th  and  17th  centuries.  Among  these  the  Commentary  of 
Martin  Geier,  barely  mentioned  by  Zockler,  stands  preeminent.  It  is  still  a  most  valuable  guide 
to  the  meaning  of  the  old  book,  and,  in  regard  to  its  essential  meaning,  is  unsurpassed  by  later 
criticisms.  There  may  also  be  mentioned,  here,  Scott's  Commentary,  and  especially  the  Com- 
mentary of  Matthew  Henry,  as  contained  in  his  general  commentary  on  the-Bible.  It  makes  no 
show  of  learning,  though  in  reality  the  product  of  more  erudition  than  ia;  commonly  claimed  for 
19 


28  APPENDIX. 


it.     It  shows  how  the  deep  and  difl&oult  things  of  Scripture  are,  ofttimes,  better  comprehended 
by  the  spiritual  than  the  merely  critical  mind, — T.  L  ]. 

APPENDIX   BY   THE   AMERICAN   EDITOR. 

[The  Antiquity  and  Authobship  of  Koheleth. — Notwithstanding  the  plausible  arguments 
adduced  by  Zocklbe,  ^  4,  and  the  authorities  he  quotes,  the  antiquity  and  the  Solomonic  au- 
thorship of  this  book  of  Koheleth  are  not  lightly  to  be  given  up.  The  rationalistic  interest  con- 
tradicts itself.  At  one  time  it  is  argued  for  the  late  date  of  the  work,  that  it  contains  a  recog- 
nition of  a  future  life.  This  is  grounded  on  the  assumption,  so  freely  entertained  without  proof, 
that  the  Jews  derived  their  knowledge  of  a  future  life  from  the  Persians,  during  and  after  the 
captivity.  Another  class  of  rationalists,  for  a  different  reason,  yet  with  the  same  purpose  of 
disparaging  the  book,  strenuously  maintain  that  all  its  teachings  are  confined  to  this  world,  and 
that  there  is  no  recognition  whatever  of  any  life  or  judgment  beyend  it.  Again,  the  difficulty 
of  fixing  any  period  for  its  authorship,  if  we  depart  from  the  date  of  Solomon,  is  another  proof 
that  no  other  time  is  genuine.  The  reader  will  see  how  great  this  difliculty  is  by  simply  advert- 
ing to  the  different  views  presented  by  Zookleb,  all  of  which  are  held  with  equal  confidence, 
and  yet,  in  every  way,  are  opposed  to  each  other.  Once  set  it  loose  from  the  Solomonic  lime, 
and  there  is  no  other  place  where  it  can  be  securely  anchored. 

The  internal  evidence  of  the  Solomonic  authorship,  when  viewed  by  itself,  or  without  reference 
to  the  argument  from  what  are  called  later  words,  or  Chaldaisms,  is  very  strong.  Independent 
of  any  influence  from  such  an  objection,  the  reader,  whether  learned  or  unlearned,  could  hardly 
fail  to  be  struck  with  the  harmony  between  the  character  of  the  book  and  the  commonly  alleged 
time  of  its  composition.  It  is  just  such  a  series  of  meditations  as  the  history  of  that  monarch 
would  lead  us  to  ascribe  to  him  in  his  old  age,  after  his  experience  of  the  vanity  of  life  in  its 
best  earthly  estate,  and  that  repentance  for  his  misuse  of  God's  gifts,  in  serving  his  own  pleasure, 
which  would  seem  most  natural  to  his  condition.  The  language  which  he  uses  in  respect  to 
kingly  power,  and  the  oppression  of  the  poor,  has  been  made  an  argument,  by  some,  against  the 
authenticity  of  the  book  as  ascribed  to  him.  To  another  class  of  readers,  viewing  the  whole  case 
in  a  different  light,  this  very  language  would  furnish  one  of  the  strongest  arguments  in  its  favor. 
Even  if  we  do  not  regard  him  as  referring  directly  to  himself,  yet  his  experience  in  this  respect, 
greater  than  that  of  others  in  a  lower  position,  may  well  be  supposed  to  have  given  him  a  know- 
ledge of  the  evils  of  despotic  power,  and  of  government  in  general,  whether  in  his  own  dominions 
or  in  those  of  other  monarchs,  which  could  not  so  well  have  come  from  any  other  position.  It 
agrees,  too,  with  what  we  learn  of  the  character  of  Solomon  in  other  respects,  that  though  fond 
of  great  works,  and  of  a  magnificent  display  of  royal  state,  he  was,  by  no  means,  a  tyrant,  but 
of  a  mild  and  compassionate  disposition  towards  his  own  subjects,  and  all  whom  he  might  regard 
as  the  victims  of  oppression  ;  hence  his  studious  love  of  peace,  and  the  general  prosperity  of  his 
reign,  which  the  Jews  regarded  as  their  golden  age. 

In  regard,  too,  to  its  literary  claims,  its  ornate  style  and  diction,  and  other  excellencies  of  com- 
position usually  conceded  to  it,  which  period,  it  may  well  be  asked,  is  to  be  regarded  as  best 
adapted  to  such  a  work, — that  splendid  era  of  national  prosperity,  such  as  in  other  historical  pe- 
riods has  ever  been  found  most  favorable  to  literary  efibrt,  the  time  when  Solomon  wrote  his 
three  thousand  parables,  his  poems  one  thousand  and  five,  and  his  discourses  on  Natural  His- 
tory, from  the  cedar  on  Lebanon  to  the  hyssop  growing  out  of  the  wall,  containing  also  a  trea- 
sure of  knowledge  concerning  domestic  animals,  birds,  reptiles,  and  fishes — such  an  era,  we  say, 
of  national  splendor,  and  consequent  intellectual  life,  or  that  time  of  darkness,  retrogradation, 
obscurity,  and  semi-barbarism,  contemporaneous  with  and  following  the  captivity,  that  historical 
twilight  and  confusion,  in  which  almost  any  thing  may  be  found,  or  invented,  by  those  who 
would  throw  discredit  on  the  received  Scriptures?  If  Koheleth  is  to  be  assigned  to  a  later  date, 
the  Book  of  Kings,  it  would  seem,  must  go  still  later;  for  nothing,  so  far  as  the  thought  is  con- 
cerned, would  be  in  better  harmony  with  the  account  there  given  of  Solomon's  splendid  reign  and 
the  sorrows  of  his  old  age,  than  this  production  wherein  both  are  so  graphically  portrayed,  and 
set  forth  as  a  lesson  of  warning.  The  most  stubborn  rationalist  must  admit  the  historical  ac- 
count, we  have,  to  have  been  founded,  at  least,  on  credible  tradition.     Every  thing  goes  to  show 


ANTIQUITY  AND  AUTHORSHIP.  29 


that  Solomon  was  distinguished  for  literary  as  well  as  imperial  eminence.  Some  of  the  books  he 
wrote  retained  their  hold  upon  the  national  memory  long  after  the  greater  part  had  been  lost  by 
failure  of  transcription,  or  a  diminution  of  interest,  or  obsoleteness  arising  from  any  other  causes 
We  can  account  for  the  minor  portion  that  remained.  The  sacred  mystic  song  was  written  in 
Solomon's  pure  youth,  when  his  name  was  Jedediah,  the  beloved  of  Jehovah,  whose  voice  in  the 
visions  of  the  night,  he  had  heard  responding  to  his  earnest  cry  for  wisdom.  Its  preservation 
was,  doubtless,  owing,  in  a  great  degree,  to  the  very  aspect  of  mystery  which  it  presented  from 
the  beginning.  It  was  early  seen  that  it  could  have  no  consistent  meaning  given  to  it  as  an  or- 
dinary epithalamium,  or  even  as  a  picture  of  the  better  human  conjugal  life.  Its  rapt,  ecstatic, 
dream-like,  transitions,  its  most  sudden  and  inexplicable  changes  of  scene,  the  strange  purity  of 
its  language,  even  when  it  seemed  to  be  the  vehicle  of  the  most  ardent  love,  would  bear  no  Ana- 
creontic or  Sapphic  interpretation.  Its  ethereal  chasteneas,  repelled,  as  it  ever  has  repelled,  ail 
,  approaches  of  sensual  feeling.*  Hence  very  early  must  have  arisen  the  thought  of  its  contain- 
ing that  idea  of  a  Divine  bridal  relation  which  was  so  precious  to  the  pious  in  Israel,  as  the 
chosen  people,  the  "beloved  of  God."  This  gives  us  the  reason  why  a  production  so  strange,  so 
unearthly,  we  may  say,  was  preserved  from  becoming  obsolete  like  the  rest  of  Solomon's  nume- 
rous songs.  It  accounts,  too,  for  the  tenacity  with  which,  against  the  strongest  objections  seem- 
ingly, it  ever  kept  its  place  among  the  Scriptures  deemed  canonical  or  inspired, — being  thus  ever 
regarded  in  the  Jewish  Church,  even  until  the  bridegi-oom  came.  A  similar  argument  may  be 
maintained  in  respect  to  the  Proverbs.  Out  of  the  "  three  thousand"  mentioned,  1  Kings  v.  12, 
less  than  a  third  of  that  number  entered  into  the  national  ethics,  and  were  arranged,  in  the  days 
of  Hezekiah  (see  Prov.  xxv.  1),  in  the  form  in  which  we  now  have  them.  All  this  favors  the 
idea  that  out  of  Solomon's  numerous  writings,  or,  rather,  utterances,  as  they  are  called,  1  Kings 

V.  12    [^ti'O    D'37j<    r\U7\^    ^3T"1  ],  there  was,  also,  preserved  this  precious  discourse 

T    T  .    T   -:  V         V  ■■   ~  :- 

on  life's  vanity,  this  series  of  meditations  so  addressing  themselves  to  the  universal  human  heart, 
and  especially  to  the  Jews  as  reminding  them,  by  contrast,  of  the  period  of  their  highest  national 
greatness.  Thus  viewed,  it  is  more  easy  to  account  for  the  preservation  of  Koheleth  than  for 
that  of  any  other  book  in  the  canon  except  the  Psalms  and  the  Pentateuch.  There  may  be  al- 
lowed the  idea  of  a  later  editor,  or  recensor,  who  may  have  added  some  of  the  short  prose  scholia 
by  way  of  explanation,  even  as  they  were  added  to  the  Pentateuch  — some  few  parenthetical  in- 
sertions of  the  name  Koheleth  where  it  was  deemed  necessary  more  clearly  to  announce  the 
speaker,  and  perhaps  some  comparative  modernizations  of  the  language,  or  the  adaptation  of  it 
to  a  later  period.  But  the  book  itself,  in  its  plan,  its  ideas,  its  great  lesson,  belongs  to  the  Solo- 
monic time  beyond  all  others,  as  is  shown  by  intrinsic  evidence,  by  the  extreme  difficulty  which 
the  opponents  of  its  antiquity  find  in  adapting  it  to  any  other  period,  and  the  endless  disputes 
and  contradictions  in  which  they  mutually  involve  themselves  in  the  effort. 

*  It  has  been  said  that  this  portion  of  Scripture  has  a  tendency  to  stir  up  licentious  passions ;  and  even  most  pious  men, 
like  WoRDSWOHTH  and  Matthew  Henry,  have  felt  themselves  called  upon  to  give  a  caution  against  reading  it  in  a  wrong 
spirit,  lest  it  have  this  dangerous  result.  But  it  may  well  be  a  question,  whether  any  such  caution  is  really  needed,  or 
whether  such  an  effect  was  ever  produced  in  the  thorough  sensualist.  In  his  ignorance,  he  might  try  the  experiment,  but 
we  may  well  doubt  whether  such  a  one  ever  read  a  single  chapter  without  getting  wearied  and  discouraged  in  the  unholy 
attempt.  He  can  make  nothing  of  it.  There  is  something  here  too  pure — too  dreamy  and  unintelligible,  he  would  say — 
to  kindle  a  licentious  flame.  There  pervades  it  a  holy,  spiritual,  unearthly  air,  which  chills  every  effort  to  treat  it  as  a 
mere  love  song.  This  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  no  such  attempted  abuse  of  it  is  to  be  found,  or  rarely  found,  in  the 
licentious  literature  of  any,  even  an  infidel,  age.  When,  or  where,  was  ever  love  song  so  written  t  When,  in  any  compo- 
sition of  the  kind,  was  there  ever  such  a  combination  of  power  and  brightness,  or  so  much  of  an  indescribable  awe  mingling 
with  its  serene  beauty?  When  was  the  object  of  affection  ever  thus  described:  "Who  is  she  that  looketh  forth  as  the 
morning,  fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners?"  It  is  the  spotless  Church,  the  Bride 
of  the  Lamb,  arrayed  in  the  white  and  glorious  apparel  that  He  has  given  her.  "Arise,  my  love,  my  fair  one,  arise  and 
come  away."  It  is  the  Bridegroom's  resurrection  voice,  calling  to  the  Beloved  who  lies  sleeping  "in  the  clefts  of  the 
rocks"  (seethe  frequent  allusions  to  this  in  the  Syriac  liturgical  hymns,  and  compare  Isaiah  xxvi.  19:  "Awake  and  sing, 

ye  that  dwell  in  dust").    Surge /(yrmosa  mea,  "arise,  my  sister,  bride  [TlinX — T\v3 — "'H^i^'^ — T^JVl  my  love,  my  dove, 

*:  ■  T  -  •  T :  -  .  T 
my  perfect  one,  arise  and  come  away."  For  lo.  the  morning  breaks,  "the  shadows  flee" — death's  "winter  night  is  past, 
the  rain  is  over  and  gone,  the  flowers  (of  Paradise)  again  appear,  the  voice  of  the  turtle  [the  song  of  love]  is  heard  in  our 
land."  How  heavenly  chaste  is  this  language,  though  so  tender  and  impassioned  I  How  repellent  of  all  impurity  !  It  il 
some  feeling  of  this,  even  in  the  most  licentious,  that  makes  it  impossiblo  to  treat  Solomon's  Song  of  Songs  like  the  amai 
tory  strains  of  MooRE,  or  the  erotics  of  Ovid  and  CAinlius.— T.  L. 


30  API-EXDIX. 


In  nothing  is  this  more  evident  than  in  the  attempts  that  have  been  made  to  explain  what 
have  been  called  its  historical  allusions,  such  as  oh.  iv.  13-16 ;  ix.  15 ;  xii.  12,  etc.  If  they  are 
such,  they  may  be  referred  to  events  preceding,  or  ootemporaneous  with,  the  time  of  Solomon, 
with  as  much  clearness,  or  with  as  little  difficulty,  it  may  rather  be  said,  as  to  any  times  follow- 
ing. But  these  critics  will  have  them  to  be  much  later.  It  is  essential  to  their  argument ;  but 
it  is  wonderful  to  see  how,  in  fixing  them,  they  continually  unsettle  previous  views  just  as  con- 
fidently held,  and  directly  contradict  each  other.  Hitziq  goes  down  to  the  time  of  Ptolemy 
Euergetes,  king  of  Egypt  about  230  B.  C,  and  finds  "  the  old  and  foolish  king  "  (iv.  13)  in  the 
High  Priest  Onias  (no  difficulty  in  making  a  king  out  of  a  priest),  and  the  wise  young  man  in 
his  nephew  Joseph,  who  wrested  his  kingdom  (his  priesthood)  from  him,  etc.  Ergo,  Koheleth 
was  written  after  this.  Another  critic  refutes  Hitzig,  as  he  might  easily  do,  and  then  he  him- 
self is  refuted  by  a  third,  and  so  they  go  on,  in  respect  to  this  and  similar  plans,  refuting  one 
another,  until  there  is  nothing  left  of  them,  whilst  the  old  book  and  the  old  account  of  it  stand 
in  their  historical  integrity,  unaffected  by  any  such  self-destroying  criticism.  The  "  old  and  foolish 
king"  has  been  referred  to  Keboboam  (see  Woedswoeth  and  others  of  the  more  orthodox  com- 
mentators), but  there  is  equal,  if  not  greater  difficulty  in  that.  Better  take  it  as  a  general  illus- 
tration, of  which  history  furnishes  frequent  examples,  such  as  Solomon  would  easily  have  known 
from  his  royal  experience,  or  have  presented  by  the  aid  of  his  imagination,  as  something  which 
would  not  fail  to  find  its  confirmation,  in  some  form,  in  the  annals  of  almost  every  people.     The 

"old  and  foolish  king,"  borfl  to  royalty,  "77*1^    IniD?/!^^^  and  the  ambitious  young  man, 

coming  out  of  obscurity  and  restraint,  D'")1DrT    J^*3Q<   who  rises  to  great  power,  either  be- 

coming  king  himself,  or,  what  is  better,  sometimes,  Mayor  of  the  Palace,  with  an  "impover- 
ished" (jyn)  and  humbled  king  under  him,  are  quite  common  characters  in  history.     It  needs 

T 

no  hunting  among  the  dark  times  of  the  later  Jewish  history,  or  the  assigning  any  prophetic  spi- 
rit to  Solomon,  making  him  to  see  what  a  fool  Keboboam  would  be  when  he  came  to  the  throne, 
to  find  cases  in  abundance,  either  for  the  most  ancient  or  the  most  modern  times.  And  so  of 
what  follows,  about  the  "second  child  standing  up  in  his  stead,"  it  is  quite  a  serious  question 
whether  they  have  not  made  a  particular  historical  allusion  out  of  a  general  and  most  afiecting 
picture  of  the  flowing  generations  :  I  saw  all  the  living  (all  the  human  race  as  presented  to  his 
imagination)  walking  (passing  on,  eub  sole)  beneath  the  sun,  and  the  second  child,  the  second 
generation  (as  the  offspring  of  the  one  before),  that  shall  stand  in  its  place.  How  exactly  does 
this  harmonize  with  what  follows;  there  is  no  end  to  all  the  people,  to  the  all  (literally)  that  was 
before  ;  yea,  those  who  come  after  have  no  joy  in  it  [  1^  m  the  singular  as  referring  to  the  col- 
lected all  (75)  that  is  past].  It  is  highly  poetical  this  treating  all  the  long  past  as  one  antece- 
dent, dead  and  gone,  of  no  account  in  comparison  with  the  boasting  self-satisfied  present.  It 
certainly  seems  out  of  place  to  make  any  application  of  this  graphic  language  ["  all  the  hving  " — 
"  people  without  end  "]  to  Jeroboam,  or  to  the  man  whom  Hitzig  has  dug  out  of  obscurity,  or 
to  any  of  the  later  events  of  Jewish  history.  See  more  fully  on  this  and  the  preceding  verse 
the  exegetical  appended  note,  p.  84.  The  same  may  be  said  of  "  the  poor  wise  man  (ix.  15)  who 
saves  the  city."  It  has  been  again  and  again  repeated  in  history.  Solomon  must  have  known 
enough  to  warrant  the  illustration  without  having  in  view  any  circumstantial  event  that  has 
come  down  to  us.  Again,  the  "  many  books,"  of  ch.  xii.  12,  has  furnished  a  most  fruitful  subject 
of  dispute  about  the  period  to  which  it  best  applies,  and  by  which  these  critics  would  determine 
the  date  of  Koheleth.     If  C*15D  here  means  books  at  all,  in  the  modern  sense  of  separate 

treatises  on  various  subjects,  it  may  have  a  very  fair  application  to  the  many  writings  which 
the  account,  1  Kings  v.  12,  13,  ascribes  to  Solomon  himself;  but  there  is  another  view  of  the 
matter  which  may  be  fairly  taken.  Instead  of  referring  to  Persian,  Greek,  or  Babylonian  litera- 
ture, to  Ptolemaic  collections,  or  Alexandrian  libraries,  the  language  may  be  used  simply  of  this 
little  book,  or  collection,  styled  Koheleth.  It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  DHSD  ^ere  means 
books  at  all,  in  the  large  plural  sense  of  separate  treatises  on  every  variety  of  subject,  or  collec- 
tions of  volumes,  according  to  the  idea  of  the  critics  referred  to.     The  word  "^fJO  seems  to  be 


ANTIQUITY  AND  AUTHORSHIP.  gj 


Bometimes  used  for  a  book  ia  this  separate  sense,  as  "the  Book  of  the  Covenant"  (  "Iftn 
nn^n).  Exod.  xxlv.  ?;  2King8  xxiii.  2;  The  Book  of  the  Law  (nTlfirT  Ifip)  Josh.  IS, 
or  the  Book  of  Life,  Ps.  Ixix.  29,  but  in  these  oasc^  it  may  more  strictly  be  regarded  as  meaning 
an  account,  roll,  catalogue,  or  writing  in  general,  long  or  short,  either  as  a  whole,  or  a  part. 
Thus  in  Job  xxxi.  55  :  "0  that  mine  enemy  had  written  a  book,"— that  is,  his  accusing  decla- 
ration, or  bill  of  indictment.  And  so  it  is  used  of  a  bill  of  divorce,  Deut.  xxiv.  1,  3.  In  2  Samuel 
xi.  14  it  means  a  letter,  the  very  curt  epistle  that  was  sent  by  David  to  Joab  about  Uriah ;  so  in 
2  Kings  X.  1.  Again,  the  plural  may  be  used,  like  the  corresponding  Greek  and  Latin  phrases, 
to  denote  a  writing  collectively,  or  as  a  collection  of  words  and  sentences— ttoaAo-  ypd/ifiara  mul- 
te  ZitertB— much  writing,  or  many  sentences,  though  referring  to  single  treatises,  as  Xen.  Mem. 
IV.  2,  L  In  this  collective  way,  the  plural  form,  in  Greek,  may  be  used  to  denote  a  single  law 
or  precept,  as  Aeistoph.  Ecchsiaa.  1047,  ypafifidTuv  elpt^ndTuv.  Or  lastly,  and  most  probably 
it  is  used  in  the  plural  like  the  Latin  libri,  and  the  Greek  fiiploi,  for  the  different  parts  or  sections 
of  the  same  work,  as  Cicebo  says  in  his  treatise  Be  Divinatione,  II.,  1,  3,  tres  lihri perfecti  sunt 
de  Natura  Deorum.  So  in  the  Greek,  ^i/JXof  was  early  used  of  the  different  parts  of  one  work, 
as  in  the  suppliants  of  ^schylus,  944,  h  Trrvxai^  fiifi?Miv  KaTea^payiafieva,  does  not  mean  in  se- 
parate books,  as  we  take  the  term,  but  in  the  compartments  of  one  and  the  same  book.  There 
is  every  thing  to  favor  the  idea  that  it  is  so  used  by  Koheleth.  The  whole  aspect  of  ttie  passage, 
too,  aside  from  any  exegesis  of  the  single  word  QHfiD.  shows  that  the  writer  had  in  his  mind 
only  this  single  brief  discourse,  or  meditation,  or  collection  of  thoughts,  which  he  is  just  bringing 
to  a  close:  "There  is  only  one  thing  remains  to  be  said"  (nQHO    "iri'T  to  ^otndv  ver.  12) : 

"Of  making  many  chapters  (as  we  have  rendered  it  in  the  Metrical  Version),  sectic^is,  cantos,  or 
books,  there  is  no  end."     Or,  to  make  a  great  book  of  it,  there  is  no  need  (as  }*n,  like  the  Latin 

finis,  the  Greek  riXoc,  and  the  synonymous  Hebrew  ^p  V  will  well  bear  to  be  rendered).     Or, 

"  there  is  no  end  "  to  such  a  train  of  reflections,  if  we  choose  to  carry  it  on.*  But  enough  has 
been  said ;  "  hear  then  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter."  If  this  be  a  right  view,  then  all 
that  learning  and  argumentation  to  which  Zocklee.  refers  go  for  nothing.  Alono-  with  it,  be- 
comes wholly  irrelevant  the  dispute  in  respect  to  the  literary  era  to  which  it  is  supposed  to  refer, 
whether  the  Solomonic,  the  Persian,  or  the  Ptolemaic. 

The  most  plausible  arguments  against  the  Solomonic  authorship  have  been  derived  from  cer- 
tain words,  which  have  been  assigned  (many  of  them  on  the  slightest  grounds)  to  a  later 
time.  There  is,  without  doubt,  something  peculiar  in  the  style  of  this  book,  but  whether  it  is 
owing  to  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  subject  requiring  a  different  phraseology,  or  to  its  meditative 
philosophical  aspect  demanding  abstract  terms  with  varieties  of  form  or  termination  not  else- 
where required,  or  to  the  royal  position  of  the  writer,  giving  him  a  more  familiar  acquaintance 
with  certain  words  really  foreign,  or  seemingly  such  [because  not  ordinarily  used,  or  because 
they  belong  to  a  courtly  dialect],  or  to  all  of  these  causes  combined,  it  may  all  be  reconciled  with 
the  idea  of  its  true  and  Solomonic  authenticity.  Wordswoeth  has  given  a  condensed  but  very 
thorough  treatment  of  this  question  in  the  Introduction  to  his  valuable  Commentary,  together 
with  a  close  examination  of  all  the  words  of  this  kind  cited  by  Zooklee.  It  is  derived  from  L. 
V.  Essen,  der  Prediger  Salomo,  p.  42-45,  where  they  are  all  taken  up  as  they  are  objected  to 
by  Knobbl  and  others.  To  this  is  added  some  admirable  reasoning  by  Dr.  Pusbt,  with  a  refe- 
rence to  a  similarrefutation  by  Wanqemann.  He  gives,  also,  what  to  some  would  seem  to  be 
of  still  more  value,  if  we  consider  their  source,  namely,  from  Heezpeld,  himself  a  rationalist, 
refuting  the  philological  views,  in  respect  to  these  words,  of  other  rationalists,  and  thus  showing 
that,  in  regard  to  most  of  them,  these  critics  have  so  differed  as  to  refute  one  another. 

[The  true  grammatical  construction  is  to  take  Vp  TN,  not  aa  the  predicate,  but  as  qualifying  C3*''n3D,  books,  or,  a 
book,  without  end, — to  make  a  never  ending  book,  or  to  go  on  in  this  way  ad  infinitum.  It  is  the  Hebrew  mode  of  ex- 
pressing such  negation — comp.  1SDD   TX,  innumerable,  Joel  i.  6,  et  al.    So  iC)  is  used,  and  sometimes  7X,  as  in  Prov. 

T  :  ■     I   -• 
XXZ.31  and  Prov.  xii.  2S,  mD~7K,  like  a  compound  word — no  death=0!T.  a'6avaaCa — Lat.  iTn-mtyrtalitas.  An  endless  book; 

VT         ~ 

of  course  taken  hyperbolically,  as  a  ftiode  of  expressing  the  inutility  of  a  prolonged  discourse. — T.  L.] 


32  APPENDIX. 


A  great  part  of  these  words  the  present  editor  of  Zocklee  has  examined  in  exegetioal  notea 
appended  to  the  translation ;  but  there  are  two  or  three  of  so  much  importance,  and  so  much 
insisted  upon  by  the  deniers  of  the  Solomonic  authenticity,  that  he  has  deemed  them  worthy  of 
especial  attention  in  this  place.   Great  stress  has  been  laid  upon  such  words  as  D^IS   DJilfl 

and  nj'10  ^s  proving  the  late  date  of  Koheleth.     The  only  proof  is  that  they  are  found,  be- 

sides  their  use  here,  in  Ezra,  Esther,  Daniel,  and  Nehemiah.  But  certainly  it  cannot  be  pre- 
tended that  the  words  themselves  are  off  his  late  date,  or  that  they  were  not  known  very  widely, 
and  at  a  much  earlier  time,  and  in  such  a  way  that  the  knowledge  of  them  by  a  person  in  the 
condition  of  Solomon  would  be  not  only  possible,  but  highly  probable.  In  fact,  these  words,  al- 
though, philologically,  they  may  be  assigned  to  some  particular  speech,  rather  than  to  others, 
belong,  in  use,  to  all  the  principal  Oriental  tongues  allied  to,  or  territorially  near,  the  Hebrew. 
D1"1Q'  paradise,  for  example,  may  properly  be  called  Persian,  as  the  thing  denoted,  a  magnifi- 
cent garden,  was  more  peculiarly  Persian ;  but  the  word  may  be  Shemitio  too  ["I'lS,  to  divide, 
cut  off  in  portions,  lay  out,  or  with  another  sense,  hke  the  Arabic  ^  ^^   denoting  something 

rare  and  costly  as  being  separate],  with  a  foreign  termination.  Though  rendered  garden,  it  de- 
notes something  more  magnificent  than  the  common  Hebrew  M.  It  is  found  in  the  Greek  of 
Xenophon,  napMciaoc,  but  used  in  such  a  familiar  way  as  to  show  that  it  was  very  early  im- 
ported into  the  language  from  the  East,  like  other  names  of  a  similar  kind.  There  is  every  pro- 
bability that  it  had  come  in  at  the  earliest  intercourse,  peaceful  or  warlike,  between  the  Greeks 
and  Persians,  or  the  Greeks  and  Babylonians.  Why,  in  making  this  transition  to  the  remoter 
West,  may  it  not  have  stopped,  at  a,  still  earlier  day,  at  the  courts  of  David  or  Solomon,  and 
been  employed,  in  their  courtly  dialect,  for  things  to  which  the  more  ordinary  vernacular  was 
not  so  well  adapted  ?   Certainly  it  was  the  very  term  wanted  here  (chap.  ii.  5,  O'Dlld    jllJJ 

gardens  and  parks)  to  express  the  higher  luxury,  and  no  other  word,  in  the  whole  range  of  East- 
ern tongues,  as  they  then  were,  could  have  been  so  well  adapted  to  it.  Splendid  gardens,  or 
parks,  were  more  common  among  the  Persians  and  Babylonians;  but  even  should  we  grant  that 
the  word  is  wholly  foreign,  there  is  nothing  strange  in  the  idea  of  its  being  well  known  to  Solo- 
mon, without  our  supposing  that  he  intimately  understood  or  could  speak  those  foreign  tongues. 
The  word  was  certainly  in  the  Chaldaic  as  well  as  in  the  Persian,  and  the  former  tongue  must 
have  differed  less  from  the  Hebrew  in  the  days  of  David  and  Solomon,  than  in  those  of  Ezra.  As 
a  term  of  luxury,  its  transference  to  the  courtly  or  loftier  language  of  another  neighboring  king- 
dom is  just  what  might  be  expected.  This  justifies  us  in  saying  that  its  use  by  Solomon  appears 
more  natural  than  would  have  been  its  employment  by  an  ordinaiy  Hebrew  writer  of  the  later 
time  of  Malachi.  The  great  king  of  Israel  was  the  literary  superior  among  the  neighboring  co- 
temporary  monarohs,  and  his  knowledge  of  other  royal  terms  and  ideas  was  enough  to  warrant 
him  in  calling  his  own  pleasure  grounds  by  a  foreign  name  that  had  been  widely  appropriated  to 
such  a  purpose.  Such  a  transference,  in  respect  to  things  of  luxury  and  magnificence,  belongs  to 
modern  as  well  as  to  ancient  times.  The  names  of  things  rare  or  precious,  such  as  gems,  costly 
fabrics  imported  from  abroad,  or  other  things  peculiar  to  certain  lands,  are  retained  in  their  na- 
tive form,  and  easily  pass  into  other  languages.    There  is  the  term  PQ  jp  (cinnamon)  which  we 

find  Exod,  xxx.  23;  Prov.  vii.  17.  It  must  have  come  into  Hebrew  as  early  as  the  thing  itself 
was  known,  which  was  doubtless  coeval  with  the  earliest  Phainician  or  Egyptian  traffic.  It 
came  from  the  far  East,  yet  how  unchangeable  its  form  (in  this  respect  like  the  word  paradise) 
even  to  the  present  day.  So  in  1  Kings  x.  11,  22,  we  have  the  names  of  rare  commodities 
brought  by  the  ships  of  Solomon  and  the  Phcenician  king  from  the  far  land  of  Ophir.  They 
have  strange  names,  Q^^nj^^'  (shenhabbim),  Q'^'ID  (kophim),  D»»2ri  [tukkiyyim),  and 
are  rendered  in  various  ways— in  our  version,  ivory,  apes,  and  peacocks.  They  kept  these  names 
in  Hebrew,  for  there  were  no  others  to  be  used.  Now  had  it  so  happened  that  there  had  been 
occasion  to  speak  of  them  by  a  late  writer,  like  Ezra,  or  the  author  of  the  book  of  Esther,  it 
would  have  been  said  that  Kings  too  was  a  book  of  the  later  Hebrew  (Sequioris  Hebraism). 


ANTIQUITY  AND  AUTHORSHIP.  3y 


in 


The  argument  is  an  absurd  one,  though  carried  sometimes  to  an  extravagant  length.  It  is  all 
the  more  inconclusive,  this  manner  of  determining  the  date  of  books,  when  there  is  taken  intn 
view  the  scanty  literature  to  which  it  is  so  confidently  applied. 

A  similar  method  of  reasoning  is  applicable  to  the  word  QJfl^  which  is  found  ch.  viii  11 
This  word  is  Persian— that  is,  there  is  something  like  it  in  use  in  that  language,  though  its  de- 
rivation, as  a  native  term,  is  by  no  means  clear.  It  appears  to  have  been  still  more  ancient  i 
the  Aramaic,  where  it  is  used  (especially  in  the  Syriac  branch)  very  frequently,  and  with  such 
familiarity  that  we  can  hardly  help  regarding  it  as  vernacular.  It  is  not  at  all  treated  as  a  fo- 
reign term.  The  Syriac  QjnS  or,  in  the  emphatic  form,  XDJnS  is  as  common  as  the  He- 
brew  "^31.  'It  is  used,  however,  in  a  higher  sense,  to  denote  edict,  royal  or  JMdida/ sentence. 
When  the  Babylonian  or  Assyrian  was  the  greater  power,  it  was  more  likely  to  have  come  from 
the  Aramaic  into  the  Persian,  than  the  contrary  way.  How  much  more  likely,  then,  its  still 
earlier  passage  into  the  near  Shemitic  branch  of  the  Hebrew,  even  as  a  word  generally  under- 
stood, and  more  especially  as  a  courtly  or  legal  term,  such  as  it  has  ever  been  the  way  to  intro- 
duce from  foreign,  though  not  remote,  languages.  Among  all  nations  what  is  called  their  law 
language,  and,  in  a  more  general  sense,  their  technical  language,  is  more  or  less  of  this  kind. 
We  go  for  our  law  terms  to  the  Latin  and  the  Norman  French ;  the  Latins  had  many  words  of 
this  kind  from  the  Greek.  There  seems  a  necessity  for  such  a  course  in  the  case  of  things  or 
ideas  demanding  peculiar  exactness  in  their  expression,  because  of  the  generality  and  indefinite- 
ness  which  the  attrition  of  very  common  use  brings  into  words  from  native  roots,  though  origi- 
nally as  clear  as  any  that  are  thus  received.  There  is,  therefore,  the  same  reason  for  the  trans- 
ference of  such  a  word  as  l"^1H0.  as  has  been  given  in  the  case  of  D'l'liD-     I*-  is  a  courtly 

term,  and  has,  moreover,  a  judicial  sense,  which  the  most  ordinary  national  intercourse  would 
bring  into  notice.  There  was,  besides,  the  extensive  dealing  of  Solomon  with  the  nations  around, 
excelling  in  this  respect  any  of  the  kings  of  Israel  before  or  after  him.  This  extended  to  Egypt, 
to  Syria,  to  the  remote  Southern  Arabians,  or  Ethiopians,  and,  doubtless,  to  Persia  and  lands 
still  farther  east.  His  ships  went  to  Ophir,  and  his  intimacy  with  the  Phosnicians  put  him  in 
possession  of  much  of  that  wide  knowledge  which  they  possessed  beyond  all  other  peoples.  See 
this  fully  stated  1  Kings  v.  vi.  ix.  and  x.  Such  an  intercourse  must  have  not  only  increased 
his  own  vocabulary,  but  brought  many  new  words  into  the  common  Hebrew  language.  In  view 
of  this,  the  wonder  ceases  that  a  few  such  words  should  be  found  in  the  Solomonic  writings.  It 
is  in  fact  a  proof,  rather  than  a  disproof,  of  authenticity.  However  surprised  we  might  be  to 
find  such  words  in  Amos,  or  even  in  the  later  Malachi,  they  appear  perfectly  natural  in  the 
learned  and  kingly  Solomon,  as  they  do  also  in  the  later  writings  of  the  courtly  Daniel  and  Ezra, 
who,  with  all  their  foreign  intercourse,  were  not  perhaps  equal  in  political  and  statistical  know- 
ledge to  the  ancient  monarch.  Their  dialect  marks  their  position  rather  than  their  time.  And 
this  is  confirmed  by  what  is  well  said  by  Ludwig  Ewald  (Salomo,  Versuch,  p.  429) :  "  Solomon 
had  such  a  variety  of  knowledge  and  intercourse  with  foreigners,  by  his  extensive  commerce  and 
dominions,  and  by  his  relations  with  strange  women,  that  his  style,  especially  in  old  age,  must 
have  been  influenced  thereby.  "With  his  paradise-like  parks  the  word  paradise  came  into  the 
Hebrew  language"  (see  Woedswobth,  Int.,  p.  3,  note). 
The  word  QJinS.  therefore,  so  much  used  in  all  the  East,  would  be  known  to  him  from 

kingly  and  ambassadorial  intercourse,  in  which  juridical  and  diplomatic  language  especially 
occurs,  and  he  would  be  more  likely  to  use  it  in  the  ornate  style  of  Eoclesiastes,  than  an  ordinary 
term  of  less  state  and  magnificence.  Besides,  it  admirably  suits  the  passage  in  which  it  is  found 
in  conveying  an  idea  for  which  the  common  Hebrew  tOStJ^'O  would  have  been  hardly  adequate. 

It  is  intended  to  be  in  the  most  precise  style  of  forensic  diction  :  "  Because  sentence  against  an 
evil  work  is -not  speedily  executed,"  etc.  It  is  the  figure  of  an  edict  issued  from  the  royal  chan- 
cery, but  suspended  over  the  head  of  the  threatened  subject— an  "  arrest  of  judgment,"  as  we  say 
in  our  law  language.  It  was  a  term  probably  much  used  in  such  a  style  of  proceedings,  though 
not  common  in  the  vulgar  speech. 


34  APPENDIX. 


One  more  example  of  this  kind  may  be  given  here.  The  word  HJ^IO  ^s  used  ii.  8,  and  espe- 
cially ver.  7  ("when  thou  seest  injustice  in  &  province,'^  etc.),  is  cited  as  evidence  of  cotempora- 
neity  with  Esther,  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  and  Daniel,  where  the  great  Persian  satrapies  are  expressed 
by  the  term.  [It  occurs,  however,  Lam.  i.  1  and  Ezek.  xix.  8.]  But  besides  the  argument  that 
no  personator  of  Solomon,  of  ordinary  intelligence,  would  subject  himself  to  the  charge  of  such  a 
glaring  anachronism,  there  is  the  strongest  etymological  proof  to  the  contrary.  There  is  no  word 
in  the  Old  Testament  more  purely  Hebrew  in  form,  as  well  as  in  derivation.     nj'HQ  means  li- 

T     ■    ; 

t&ra\[y  place  of  judgment.  Now  Solomon  gave  great  attention  to  the  administration  of  justice. 
He  had  the  land  divided  into  administrative  departments,  as  we  learn  from  1  Kings  iv.  7,  etc., 
and  these,  as  appears  from  other  places,  and  the  practices  of  later  kings,  were  also  judicial  cir- 
cuits. Had  a  word  for  such  a  province  not  existed  in  the  language  before,  this  is  just  the  one 
that  must  have  been  formed  for  that  purpose  from  a  root  denoting  judgment,  and  the  usual  pre- 
fix f2  denoting  place.  The  oppression  mentioned  is  just  that  which  would  be  likely  to  occur  in 
the  departments  of  Israel  as  described  1  Kings  iv.  7  with  the  names  of  the  governors  or  satraps 
there  named,  and  such  cases  of  wrong  may  have  often  come  up  before  the  higher  chancery  of  the 
king,  who,  with  all  his  fondness  for  power  and  magnificence,  is  represented  to  us  as  a  great  lover 
of  justice,  and  noted  for  the  equity  of  his  decisions.  If,  afterwards,  the  same  word,  or  one  formed 
on  the  same  model,  came  to  be  used  by  the  Babylonians  and  Persians,  it  was  because  no  one  was 
better  adapted  to  express  the  idea  of  provinces  whose  governors  or  judges  represented  the  ulti- 
mate sovereignty.  The  word  in  the  later  language  came  from  the  older,  to  which,  in  its  etymo- 
logical purity,  it  so  strictly  belongs. — T.  L.] 


ECCLESIASTES. 


TITLE: 

WORDS  OF  THE  PREACHER,  SON  OF  DAVID,  KING  IN  JERUSALEM. 

FIRST  DISCOURSE. 
Of  the  vanity  of  the  practical  and  the  theoretical  wisdom  of  men. 

Chapteks  1,  2. 
A.  The  theoretical  wisdom  of  men,  directed  to  a  knowledge  of  the  things  of  this  world,  is  vanity. 

2  Vanity  of  vanities,   saith  the   preacher,  vanity   of  vanities;    all    is  vanity. 

3  What  profit  hath  a  man  of   all   his  labour  which  he  taketh  under  the  sun? 

4  One  generation  passeth  away,  and  another  generation  cometh  :  but  the  earth  abideth 

5  for  ever.     The  sun  also  ariseth,  and  the  sun  goeth  down,  and  hasteth  to  his  place 

6  where  he  arose.    The  wind  goeth  towards  the  south,  and  turneth  about  unto  the 

7  north ;  it  whirleth  about  continually,  and  the  wind  returneth  again  according  to  his 
circuits.    All  the  rivers  run  into  the  sea ;  yet  the  sea  is  not  full,  unto  the  place 

8  from  whence  the  rivers  come,  thither  they  return  again.     All  things  are  full  of  la- 
bour ;  man  cannot  utter  it :  the  eye  is  not  satisfied  with  seeing,  nor  the  ear  filled 

9  with  hearing.     The  thing  that  hath  been,  it  is  that  which  shall  be ;  and  that  which 
is  done  is  that  which  shall  be  done :  and  there  is  no'  new  thing  under  the  sun. 

10  Is  there  any  thing  whereof  it  may  be  said,  See,  this  is  new  ?  it  hath  been'  already  of 

11  old  time,  which  was  before  us.  There  is  no  remembrance  of  former  things ;  neither 
shall  there  be  any  remembrance  of  things  that  are  to  come  with  those  that  shall 

12, 13  come  after.  I  the  preacher  was  king  over  Israel  in  Jerusalem.  And  I  gave 
my  heart  to  seek  and  search  out  by  wisdom  concerning  all  things  that  are  done 
under  heaven  ;  this  sore  travail  hath  God  given  to  the  sons  of  man  to  be  exercised 

14  therewith.    I  have  seen  all  the  works  that  are  done  under  the  sun ;  and  behold,  all 

15  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit.     That  which  is  crooked  cannot  be  made  straight ; 

16  and  that  which  is  wanting  cannot  be  numbered.  I  communed  with  mine  own  heart, 
saying,  Lo,  I  am  come  to  great  estate,  and  have  gotten  more  wisdom  than  all  they 
that  have  been  before  me  in  Jerusalem :  yea,  my  heart  had  great  experience  of 

17  wisdom  and  knowledge.   And  I  gave  my  heart  to  know  wisdom,  and  to  know  mad- 

18  ness  and  folly :  I  perceived  that  this  also  is  vexation  of  spirit.  For  in  much  wisdom 
is  much  grief:  and  he  that  increaseth  knowledge  increaseth  sorrow. 

[Ver.  4.— Q71_j?7.    See  the  extended  diecussion  on  this  and  kindred  words,  p.  44  T.  L.] 

[Ver.6.—n"ll :  Primarysense, trradiaiiore,scaiterin5',  like  nTItand  J^'^1,tosow — scatters  its  rays — spargit  lucem.  Part. 

oeamiTig, glowing.  See  Metrical  version.  Compare  Virgil,  frequent,  aurora  spargebai  lumine  terras.   rjX'Z'  Zockler  would  give 

It  here  the  sense  of  running,  going  swift.  It  is  better  to  preserve  the  primary  sense  of  panting.  It  suits  better  the  hidden 
metaphor,  on  which  see  note,  p.  38  T.  L.] 

[Ver.  8.— □i'13'ipi.    Rendered  things  in  E.  G.    So  the  Vulgate,  cimctee  res.    Best  rendering  is  the  more  common  and 

35 


36 


ECCLESIA3TES. 


pnmary  one  of  words:  all  words  weary  in  expressing  the  vanity.  Zockler  objects  to  this  as  making  a  tautology  with 
TB'lb  foUowin".  The  argumint  is  the  oiher  way;  such  seeming  tautologiea  orTerbal  paraUelisma  are  rather  regarded 
by  the  Hebrews  as  an  excellency  of  diction. — T.  L.] 

[Ver.  10.—: — I'nS'pS       See  extended  note,  p.    44  .— T.  L.] 

[Ver.  14. n^UT.    There  is  no  need  uf  resorting  to  the  Chaldaic  for  this  word;  neither  has  it  any  coDnoction  with  Pllfl. 

It  cornea  easily  from  the  very  common  Hebrew  H^'^j  primary  sense,  to  feed  (transitively  or  intransitively), pasiwre  (not 
a  verb  of  eating,  like  '73i<),  then  toprovide,  take  care  of,  then  to  have  the  mind  upon  any  thing  aa  an  object  of  eare  or 


anxiety.    The  order  of  ideas  is  exactly  like  that  in  the  Arabic 


J-J 


or  Greek  ve/iM.    The  form,  as  also  thatof  IVJ?T,  ver. 


17  is  purely  Hebrew.    We  have  the  masculine  form,  Ps.  cxxxix.  2, 17,  applied  to  man,  and  used  in  a  good  sense,  ^J?T, 

my  thought.  "  Thou  knowest  all  my  thought " — not  in  the  sense  of  mere  speculative  thinking,  but  all  my  cares.  And  so 
in   that  still   more    tender  passage,   ver.  17,  where  it  is  applied    to  God  anthropopathically    ■y.J'l      llp'^DD,   "how 

precious  are  thy  thoughts,"  thy  cares,  or  carings,  for  me.  Compare  1  Pet.  v.  7,  "  He  careth  for  you."  In  the  connection 
with  it,  most  uf  the  modern  commentators  vender  nil.  wind — a  caring  or  striving  for  the  wind.  It  is,  however,  by  no 
means  certain  that  the  older  rendering,  spirit,  was  not  the  right  one — a  striving  (a  vain  striving  or  vexation)  of  the  spirit. 

See  a  similar  connection  of  t'rj?1  (precisely^m^l)  with  jS,  the  heart,  ii.  22.  In  that  place  it  is  not  easy  to  distin- 
guish lab     ^J},"^:  anxiety  of  Ms  heart,  from  nil    hlj?"!  in  this — T.  L.] 

[Ver.  17.— niS*?!!— ni'^DK'.  abstract  terms  In  fH,  on  which  some  rely  as  proving  a  later  languaj^e,  and,  conse- 
quently, a  later  date  to  the  book.  They  a^e,  however,  like  others  of  the  kind  that  occur  in  Koheleth,  purely  Hebrew  in 
their  derivation,  whilst  they  have  an  abstract  form,  because  the  idea  required  here,  though  unusual  elsewhere,  demanded 
it.  If  there  were  but  few  literary  compositions  in  the  English  language,  it  would  be  just  oa  rational  to  object  to  one  be- 
cause it  had  several  examples  of  words  ending  in  ism,  though  precisely  adapted  to  the  meaning  intended;  and  this  be- 
cause such  a  termination  was  not  found  in  other  books,  having  little  or  nothing  of  a  speculative  cast.    These  words, 

Tvh^iay    niSScli  differ,  as  madness  oi  frenzy,  uni  fatuity.— T.  L.] 


EXEGETIOAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Title:  Ver.  1.  Words  of  the  preacher, 
Son  of  David,  King  in   Jerusalem. — For 

the  exposition  of  tiie  name  ri7r1p  oomp.  the  lu- 
trod.  I  1.  That  this  designation  here  takes  the 
place  of  the  historically  known  name,  TM2/W, 
has  been  justly  acknowledged  as  an  indication 
that  a  poetic  fiction  lies  before  us.  "All  the 
other  works  of  Solomon  bear  his  usual  name  at 
their  head;  the  Proverbs,  whose  title  ia  the  Pro- 
verbs of  Solomon,  Son  of  David,  King  of  Israel ; 
the  Song  of  Solomon,  Ps.  Ixxii.  and  Ps.  cxxyii. 
As  indeed  is  natural,  that  he  who  will  claim  au- 
thorship uses  no  other  name  Ihan  that  under 
which  he  is  already  known.  Enigma  and  con- 
cealment would  be  quite  out  of  place  here.  Now 
if  Solomon  is  here  called  Koheleth,  the  author 
clearly  indicates  that  it  has  only  ideal  value  when 
he  is  quoted  as  author  of  the  book,  that  he  ap- 
pears only  as  the  representative  of  wisdom.  The 
name,  which  is  clearly  an  impersonal  one,  shows 
that  the  person  to  whom  it  is  attached  belongs 
only  to  poetry  and  not  to  reality^^  (Hengstenberg). 
— Moreover,  in  the  peculiar  designation,  "King 
in  Jerusalem,"  instead  of  "King  over  Israel" 
(comp.  ver.  12),  we  may  perceive  a  trace  of  later 
post-Solomonic  origin.  On  the  contrary,  to  find 
in  this  expression  a  hint  that  the  author  does  not 
dwell  in  Jerusalem,  but  somewhere  in  the  coun- 
try (according  to  Ewald,  in  Galilee),  is  unrea- 
sonable and  too  far-fetched.     See  |  4,  Obs.  2. 

2.  The  whole  first  discourse,  which  we,  with 
Ewald,  Vaih.,  Keil,  etc.,  extend  to  the  end  of 
chap,  ii.,  treats  of  the  principal  theme,  of  the 
vanity  of  all  earthly  things  in  general ;  it  is  there- 
fore of  an  introductory  and  fundamental  charac- 
ter (comp.  Introd.  §  2).  In  harmony  with  Keil, 
we  again  divide  them  into  two  nearly  equal 
parts,  the  first  of  which  (chap.  i.  2-18)  presents 


the  vanity  of  the  theoretical,  and  the  second  (chap, 
ii.  1-26)  the  vanity  of  the  practical  wisdom  of 
men ;  or,  of  which,  number  one  shows  that  the 
strivings  of  human  wisdom  after  knowledge,  and 
number  two  that  the  same  efforts  aiming  at  ea- 
joyment  and  active  control  of  reality,  attain  no 
genuine  success.  This  division  seems  more  sim- 
ple and  comprehensive  than  that  of  EwALD-and 
Vaihinoer,  who  lay  down  three  main  divisions, 
1)  i.  2-11 ;  2)  i.  12— ii.  23  ;  3)  ii.  24-26,  accord- 
ing to  Ewald,  and  1)  i.  2-;il;  2)  i.  12-ii.  19;  3) 
ii.  20-26,  according  to  Vaihinqer,  giving  to  the 
middle  division  a  disproportioned  length. — -The 
first  half  ia  occupied  in  proving  the  vanity  and 
want  of  success  of  the  theoretical  striving  of 
men  after  wisdom,  and  is  again  divided  into 
two  divisions.  For  it  shows,  1)  by  the  conti- 
nually recurring  circle  of  nature  and  history, 
permitting  no  real  progress,  that  the  objects  of 
human  knowledge  are  subjected  to  the  law  of 
vanity  (ver.  2-11)  ;  and  2)  then,  that  to  this  va- 
nity of  the  objective  reality,  there  corresponds  a 
complete  futility  of  effort  at  its  comprehension  on 
the  part  of  the  human  subject,  so  far  that  even 
the  wisest  of  all  men  must  be  convinced  by  expe- 
rience of  the  emptiness  of  this  effort  (ver.  12- 
18).  Each  of  these  divisions  includes  two 
strofihes  of  three  verses  each,  together  With  an 
introductory  half  strophe  or  propoaition,  so  that 
the  scheme  of  the  whole  section  perfected  is 
this  ;  I.  Division :  The  vanity  of  human  know- 
ledge in  an  objective  point  of  view  (ver.  2-11). 
Proposition  or  general  preliminary  remark  (half 
strophe);  ver.  2,  3.  First  strophe:  ver.  4-7. — 
Second  strophe:  ver.  8-11.  II.  Division:  The 
vanity  of  human  knowledge  in  a  subjective  point 
of  view  (ver.  12-18).  Proposition :  ver.  12. — 
First  strophe,  ver.  13-1.5).  Second  strophe,  ver. 
16-18. — We  follow  in  this  strophieal  division  the 
plan  of  Vaihinqer  (also  that  of  Keil  and  Hahn), 
which  differs  materially  from  that  of  Ewald. 
But  the  latter  may  therein  be  right,  that  from 


CHAP.  I.  2-18. 


!^7 


yei*.  9  the  discourse  approaches  prose  style,  and 
(inly  here  and  there,  as  in  ver.  15  and  18,  returns 
to  loftier  poetic  diction.  Vaihinoer  also  ac- 
knowledges this,  in  so  far  as  he  considers  the 
two  rythmically  constructed  apothegms,  ver.  15 
and  18,  as  characteristic  closing  formulas  of  the 
two  last  strophes  of  the  section  (comp.  Introd. 
J  2,  p.  106). 

3.  The  general  preliminary  observation,  or,  if  pre- 
ferred, the  theme  of  the  first  discourse ;  ver.  2,  3. — 
Vanity  of  vanities,  saith  the  preacher,  va- 
nity of  vanities ;  all  is  vanity.  This  excla- 
mation, coiitaining  the  fundamental  thought  of  the 
whole  book,  returns  again  at  the  close,  chap.  xii. 
7,  almost  in  the  same  words,  after  a  previous  ex- 
amination has  everywhere  proved  its  truth.  No- 
thing is  wanting  there  but  the  repetition  of  73ri 
□'YDn,  which  gives  a  specially  solemn  im- 
pression to  the  sentence  here  at  the  head  of  the 
whole.  As  to  the  expression  "vanity  of  vanities  " 
being  a  paraphrase  of  the  superlative  idea  "  ex- 
tremest  vanity,"  comp.  the  observation  on  Tty 
a'TtSfn  Song  of  Solomon  i.  1  (below,  p.  1).  For 
the  punctuation  73ri  comp.  73X  Ps.  xxxv.  14, 
where  the  principal  vowel  is  also  pushed  forward 
and  lengthened  to  a  tseri.  73n  "breath,  steam" 
(comp.  Chald.  73ri  to  become  warm,  to  steam) 
is  a  very  proper  expression  to  mark  the  incon- 
stancy, unsubstantiality,  and  emptiness  that  cha- 
racterize all  earthly  things.*  To  confine  this 
J)redicate  of  nothingness  to  the  actions  of  men 
(Hahn)  is  the  less  allowable  since  farther  on,  in 
verses  9  and  14,  human  action  is  expressly  spoken 
of  as  participating  in  the  emptiness  of  worldly 
things;  and  there  is  previously  given  a  mucd 
more  comprehensive  description  of  this  vanity, 
which  clearly  shows  that  the  author  would  un- 
derstand in  the  "all"  that  he  declares  as  vanity, 
all  earthly  nature  and  the  whole  circle  of  tem- 
poral things,    (in  contrast  to  the   eternal).     It 

is  also  inadmissible  to  accept  the   double    73n 

Dwin  as  subject  of  the  sentence,  instead  of 
taking  the  independent,    animated  exclamation 

rather  as  a  presupposed  predicate  to  7371;  this 
pretended  subject  73n  would  then  have  in  the 
following  73n  another  predicate,  whereby  the 
whole  expression  would  become  awkward,  and 
essentially  lose  in  active  force  and  emphasis, 
(against  Rosenmuellee,  Hahn). — As  cases  simi- 
lar to  the  contents  of  ver.  2,  comp.  the  passages 
in  Ps.  xo.  3-10 ;  Ps.  cii.  25-28 ;  also  Ps.  xxxix. 
6,  7 ;  and  also  what  the  patriarchs  were  obliged 
to  experience  and  confess  regarding  the  vanity 
of  temporal  life:  Gen. iv.  12;  v.  29;  xlvii.  9,  etc. 
Ver.  3.     What  profit  hath  a  man  of  all  his 


j-The  idea  denoted  by  this  frequent  word  is  transitoriTiess, 
i^ft  passing  away ;  rather  than  nothingness  (Nichtiglceit). 
Things  may  be  very  transient,  yet  very  important — lilie  the 
present  human  life,  which  St.  James  styles  dr/xis  (exactly 

equivalent  to  the  Hebrew  73n)  *'  a  vapor  that  soon  pass- 

eth  away,"  James  iii.  The  writer  does  not  mean  to  call  va- 
nity, in  the  sense  o^  nothingness  or  worthlesrness,  that  which 
he  says  elsewhere  God  will  Bur<^ly  call  to  jadgment  with 
all  its  most  secret  deeds.— T.  L.]  | 


labor  which  he  taketh  under   the   sun  ? 

^Ger.,  with  which  he  fatigueth  himself).  Now 
for  the  first  time  the  preacher  more  especially 
touches  the  vanity  of  hutuan  things,  but  means  it 
in  connection  with  the  toil  of  men,  as  thereby  de- 
clared unprofitable  and  unsuccessful  (hoif, 
difficulty,  labor,  exertion,  comp.  ii.  22 ;  iii.  V; 
V.  14,  etc.)  not  only  his  actions,  but  at  the  same 
time  also  his  spiritual  strivings  and  searchings, 
of  which  in  the  sequel  he  principally  treats ;  he 
consequently  mainly  means  the  substance  of  his 
interests  and  efforts,  the  subjective  human  in  con- 
trast to  the  objective  reality  of  all  earthly  life,  to 

which  that  h'ST}  in  ver.  2  referred.  Vers.  2 
and  3  hold  therefore,  substantially,  the  same  re- 
lation to  each  other  as  the  two  subsequent  para- 
graphs in  vers.  4-11,  and  vers.  12-18.  ['nri' 
Synonymous  with  Ifll  Gen.  xlix.  3;  Prov.  xvii. 
7;  Job  XX.  22,  e^c,  is  found  only  in  this  book, 
and  indicates  that  which  is  left,  what  remains  to 
one;  hence  profit,  advantage,  success,*  acquisition, 
b  Tu;  elpyacaro,  2  John,  8,  not  a  superiority  over 
others,  which  signification  appears  most  fitting  in 

chap.  ii.   13.— The  3  in  'h^y-^^^,    Hahn    con- 

;  T  -:       T  : 

siders,  according  to  Isaiah  v.  25,  equal  to  "not- 
withstanding,   in   spite    of,"    which  however   is 
unnecessary,    as   the   usual    signification    "  in  " 
or  "  through"  affords  a  sufliciently  good  sense. — 
For  the  expression    "under  the  sun,"   a  charac- 
teristic and  favorite   form  of  the  author,  comp. 
vers.    14;    2,  11,  17,  20,  23;   3,  16,  etc.     The  sy- 
nonymous expressions  "  under  the  heaven,"   (ii. 
3;  iii.  1;  i.  13;)  and  "upon  the  earth"  (viii.  14, 
16  ;  xi.  2),  are  found  elsewhere  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament.    The  preference  of  Koheleth  for  the  form 
"  under  the  sun,"   is  doubtless  explained  by  the 
fact  that  it  instructively  and  clearly  points  to  the 
contrast  "  between  the  eternal  regularity  which 
the  sun  shows  in  its  course,  and  the  fiuctuating, 
vacillating,   changeable   doings  of  men,  which  it 
illuminates  with  its  ever  equal  light." — (Elster). 
4.  First  division,  first  strophe,  verses  4—7.     In 
an  objective  view,  human  knowledge  shows  itself 
futile,  in  considering   the    continual   change  of 
human  generations  on  the   earth,  ver.  4,  and  the 
steady  course  of  the  sun,  the  wind,  and  the  water 
(ver.  5-7). — One  generation  passeth  away, 

and    another    generation    cometh.      ^bn 

to  go  away,  abire,  as  v.  15 ;  Job  x.  21 ;  Ps.  xxxix 
13.  For  this  sentence  comp.  Sirach,  xiv.  19:  £>(; 
fyXTiov  ddXXov  ettI  divdpov  ddoeog  rd  fiev  Kara  fidX- 
Xel,  aXka  dl  (pijsi,  oWc.)^  yevea  oapKdc  teal  a'ifiarog,  ^ 
/ze-j^  TsXevTd,  irepa  de  yevvdrat — a  capital  compari- 
son,! which  reminds  us  of  Isa.  Ixiv.  5. — But  the 


*[The  word  which,  both  in  composition  and  significance, 
most  nearly  corresponds  to  Koheleth's  frequent  Tnri\  is 

the  Greek  TrXeorefia,  80  much  used  by  Paul,  and  poorly  ren- 
dered covetousaess.  It  rather  mesmB,  having  ttiemftre,  having 
the  advantage  or  superiority  in  anything,  whether  wealth, 
fame,  or  ambition. — T.  L.] 

[fit  would  really  seem  as  though  Sirach,  though  such  a 
thorough  Jew.  as  his  book  shows  him  to  be,  had  known 
something  of  the  poems  of  Homer.  There  is  such  a  striking 
resemblance,  both  in  particular  words  and  in  special  points 
of  the  picture,  between  this  passage  and  the  lines,  so  tre- 
quently  quoted  from  the  speech  of  Glaucua,  Iliad  VI.  146. 
oiTj  Trep  t^uAAwi/  yeverj,  Toi^Se  Kal  avSpu>v, 


ECCLESIASTES. 


earth  abideth  forever;  (literal,  "and  the 
earth  staaJa  eternally"),  ("10;^  as  in  Ps.  xix. 
19;  Lev.  xiii.  5,  ia  of  lasting  existence,  stands 
still).  The  copula  expresses  the  simultaneous- 
ness  of  the  two  circiimstauoes  placed  in  contrast 
with  each  other  :  whilst  the  earth  stands  forever, 
human  generations  come  and  go  incessantly.  In 
the  abiding  of  the  earth,  the  poet  doubtless  thinks 
of  its  foundation  on  pillars  over  the  water,  to 
which  Ps.  xxiv.  2;  civ.  5;  Job  xxxviii.  6,  and 
other  poetical  passages  allude.  But  whether,  at 
the  same  time,  the  earth  is  considered  the  arena 
of  the  curse  and  sinful  misery  brought  in  by  men 
(Gen.  iii.  17-19),  as  a  vale  of  sorrow,  and  a  place 
of  misfortune,  so  that  the  thought  were :  men 
effect  nothing  lasting  on  earth,  new  races  of  men 
must  ever  begin  where  the  old  ones  ceased,  must 
ever  repeat  the  same  Sisyphus  labor  as  their 
fathers  (Hengstenbero,  Hahn):  this  is  doubt- 
ful on  account  of  the  expression  OSlJ^y.  This 
certainly  indicates  not  an  endless  eternity  in  the 
strictest,  sense  of  the  word,  but  only  "  a  future 
of  unlimited  length,"  (Henqstenbekg)  ;  but  it 
shows  the  intention  to  bring  out,  as  a  principal 
thought,  the  character  of  the  continual  and  ever- 
lasting in  contrast  with  the  appearance  of  conti- 
nual change,  and  points  thus  to  the  inability  of 
human  investigation  and  knowledge  to  hold  any 
firm  position  in  the  midst  of  such  change  ever- 
lasting as  the  duration  of  the  earth. — Ver.  5. 
The  sun  ariseth,  and  the  sun  goeth 
doTvn,  and  hasteth  to  the  place  where  he 
arose.  The  first  half  of  this  verse,  is  an  exact 
parallel  of  the  first  clause  of  ver.  4,  the  second 
corresponds  in  substance  to  the  thought  in  the 
second  clause  of  that  verse.  For,  as  in  the 
former,  the  earth,  the  scene  of  the  coming  and 
going  of  the  generations  of  men,  so  in  the  latter 
the  "place"  of  the  sun  (i.  e.,  its  subterranean, 
heavenly  dwelling-place,  from  which  it  daily  en- 
ters upon  its  new  course,  comp.  Ps.  xix.  6),  is 
contrasted  as  abiding  in  the  presence  of  con- 
tinual change.  As  the  human  race,  with  every 
change  of  its  individuals,  makes  no  advance,  as 
its  history  presents  no  real  progress,  so  is  the 
motion  of  the  sun  apparently  a  continual  circuit, 
without  arrival  at  any  fixed  goal,  or  lasting  place 
of  rest.  Contrary  to  the  accents,  the  Sbptuagint, 
VoLGATE,  Chaldaic,   Ldther,  Elster,   Hitzig, 

Hahn,  elc,  connect  ']XE'  IDlpD-Sxi  closely 
with  the  preceding  ;  "  and  hastens  to  its  place, 
and  there  ariseth  again.  But  ^iW  belongs 
clearly  to  what  follows,  and  also  does  not  mean 
running,  hastening,  but  (as  O'SH  in  Hab.  2, 
3)  gaspinij  after  air,  panting,  longing  " — a  sense 
which  strikingly  delineates  the  movement  of  the 
sun,  striving  to  reach  the  vault  of  heaven,  al- 
though in  it  there  lies  a  conception  somewhat 
different  from  this  :  "  and  rejoioeth  as  a  strong 
man  to  run  a  race,"  Ps.  xix.  5.  For  Henqsten- 
BERQ  clearly  brings  into  the  text  the  joyous  de- 


TTjAeSodJcra  0uet  eapos  5'  entyiyi'eTa.i  (iipTJ, 
ias  avSpiav  yever),  ri  fjikv  (^uei  17  5'  aTroA^-yei. 
The  race  of  man  is  like  the  race  of  leaves : 
Of  leaves,  one  generation  by  the  wind 
Is  scattered  on  the  earth ;  another  soon. 
In  spring's  luxuriant  verdure,  bnrpts  to  light. 
So  with  our  race ;  these  flourisfi,  those  dejMy. 

Lord  Derby's   Translation.^  T.  L.]. 


sire,  the  pretended  image  of  "  the  vigorous  cou- 
rage of  the  new  generation."  It  rather  points 
to  the  idea  of  the  exhaustion  of  the  sun  on  ac- 
count of  its  ever  restless  motion,  and  this  doubt- 
less with  the  intention  of  directly  showing  the 
depressing  influence  produced  by  observing  the 
ever  recurring  circuit  of  this  body,  and  the  dis- 
couragement in  this  endless  uniformity,  that  pre- 
sents itself  to  the  comprehension  of  the  human 
observer  (comp.  Elster  on  this  passage).*  Ver. 
6.  It  goeth  to  the  South,  and  turneth  to 
the  North.  (Literalof  the  Ger.  text).  Thesuu 
is  naturally  not  the  subject  (Sept.  Syriac,  M. 
Oder,  etc.),  but  the  wind  named  in  the  second 
clause,  for  only  of  it  can  it  be  said,  "  it  turneth 
to  the  north."  But  south  and  north  are  here 
used  with  the  wind,  because  the  other  cardinal 
points  had  been  previously  used  with  the  sun,  to 
prevent  an  unpleasant  repetition.  The  author 
could  scarcely  have  thought  of  anything  like 
the  law  of  the  revolution  of  the  winds  (Wolf- 
gang Menzel,  in  his  Natural  History  conceived 
in  the  Christian  spirit  I.  270) ;  for  he  had  just  as- 
serted in  ver.  4,  that  the  earth  stands  eternally 
still.  The  opinion  of  Hahn  is  also  objectionable, 
that  the  poet  was  desirous  of  showing  the  conti- 
nual change  between  warm  and  cold  wind,  and 
this  change  from  warmth  to  cold  was  to  depict 
the  vicissitude  of  happiness  and  unhappiness  in 
human  life,  as,  in  the  preceding  verse,  that  from 
night  to  day.  Such  an  allegorizing  of  the  pas- 
sage is  the  less  justifiable  because  the  circuit  ot 
the  waters  described  in  ver.  7  can  only  be  con- 

*•  [There  is  a  concealed  metaphor  in  this  passage  all  the 
more  beautiful  because  of  its  inobtrusiveness.  It  is  con- 
tained in  the  words  HTT    and   HKiy,  beaming  (radiating) 

glowing,  panting. — See  Metrical  Version.  It  is  the  figure  of 
the  race  horse  returning  panting  to  his  goal,  whence  he 
started — 

All  panting,  glowing,  there  again  is  he. 
Such  a  mode  of  conceiving  was  at  the  or'gin  of  the  classi- 
cal figure:  the  horses    of  thesuu   panting  up   the  eastern 
steep  [comp  Ps  xix.  6].     See  both  figures  combined,  aa  they 
are  here,  Virg.  .Mii.  XII.  113. 

Postea  vix  summos  spargebat  lumine  monies 
Orta  dies,  cum  prima  alto  se  gurgite  toltunt 
Soils  equi,  lucemque  elatis  naribus  affiant. 
See  also  the  Georgics,  Lib.  I.  250 : 

Aut  redit  a  Tiobis  aurora,  diem,que  reducit, 
Nosque  ubi  primus  equis  oriens  a;fflamt  antielis. 

To  all  thinking.*nindB,  the  idea  of  the  earth  being  a 
sphere,  or  a  body  lying  in  space,  with  space  all  round  it, 
above  and  below— or  having,  at  least,  an  under  as  well  as  an 
upper  side — must  have  been  very  early.  It  was  at  once 
suggested  by  this  constant  phenomenon  of  sun-setting  and 
sun-rising — going  down  below  on  the  West  (his  tabernacle  or 
pleeping-tent,  as  the  Psalmist  compares  it,  Ps.  xix.  5),  and 
rising  in  the  Eaat  as  one  who  came  from  below,  and  ascended 
^^  a  steep,  weary,  yet  glorious" — like  a  bridegroom  coming 
forth  from  his  chamber  (Ps.  xix.  6)  or  as  a  strong  man  (an 
athlete)  to  run  a  race.  Compare  the  same  image,  though' 
reversed,  Uiad.  TI.  506.  It  was  the  same  sun,  and  he  must 
have  gone  under  (into  his  "  subterranean  heavenly  abode," 
as  Zdckler  well  calls  it)  and  around  again  to  his  starting 
place.  The  heavens  would  be  all  round  it,  and,  thus,  as  the 
Psalmist  graphically  paints,  these  under  heavens  would  be 
his  tabernacle,  where  he  spends  the  night,  as  it  appears  to 
us.  We  detect  the  image  in  the  early  Hesiodean  cosmogony, 
where  it  is  said  that  "  yala  (earth)  gave  birth  to  starry  oupa- 
vbs  corresponding  to  herself,"  Itrov  eavrfj.  Hes.  Theog. 
127,  It  was  almost  obvious  to  sense,  and  the  musing  mind 
must  have  been  very  early  familiar  with  the  conception.  It 
was  not  inconsistent  with  the  other  notion  that  appears  in 
Scripture,  of  the  earth  as  an  extended  plain.  The  latter  was 
phenomenal,  the  former  the  product  of  reflection.  Both 
were  adapted  to  poetry — the  one  to  the  poetry  of  the  el/e, 
the  other  to  that  of  the  thougla.  Compare  Jobxxvi.7, 
"He  hangeth  the  earth  upon  nothing,"  or,  rather,  ''over 
emptiness." — '  T.  L.]. 


CHAP.  I.  2-18. 


sidered  a  picture  of  the  change  from  happineaa  to 
unhappiness  by  virtue  of  a  forced  and  highly 
artificial  interpretation.  The  more  careful  alle- 
gorical interpretation  tried  by  Henqstenbeeq, 
according  to  which  sun,  wind,  and  water  are  all 
symbols  of  human  existence  moving  in  the  cir- 
cuit of  vanity,  is  not  indeed  sufficiently  justified 
by  the  context.  The  wind  goeth  ever  ■whirl- 
ing (Lit.  Ger.).  The  twice  repeated  33'^ 
expresses  continualrepetition,  the  everlasting,  and 
the  ever-returning  change  of  the  wind;  comp. 
the  reduplication  of  ideas  with  the  same  intent 
in  Gen.  xiv.  10 ;  Deut.  ii.  27 ;  xiv.  ii ;  Mark 
vi.  39.      This   double    331D    is    subordinate   to 

"hyn   presenting  the  main  idea,  just   as  'JXIE' 

in  ver.  5  is  to  nil.  —  And  the  wind  re- 
turneth  again  according  to  his  circuits. — 

That  is,  the  circuits  which  it  has  already  made, 
it  ever  makes  again,  it  ever  repeats  the  courses 
that  it  has  previously  described ;  for  that  is, 
properly    speaking,    the     mT3p,     not     circles 

{Sept.  Vulff.,  JSwald,  Knobel,  etc).  The  transla- 
tion "  on  its  circuits  or  circles"  (Ewald,  Knobel, 
etc)  or  also  "  according  to  its  circuits"  (Rosen- 

MCELLEB.)  is  unnecessary;  for  that  7J7,  with  verbs 
of  motion,  especially  ^W,  has  the  sense  of  to, 
until,  (exactly  synonymous,  in  such  case,  with 
1^)  is  proved  by  such  passages  as  Prov.  xxvi. 
11;  Ps.  xix.  7;  xlviii.  11;  Job  xxxvii.  3,  and 
also  by  the  circumstance  that,  in  the  later  Chal- 

daic  style,  7J7  is  mostly  synonymous  with  7X. 
[In  the  above  passage  Zockler  translates  eu  sei- 
nen  Wendungm. — W.]. 

Ver.  7.  All  the  rivers  run  into  the  sea ; 
yet  the  sea  is  not  full,  i.  e.,  it  does  not  over- 
flow notwithstanding  the  immense  masses  of  wa- 
ter that  it  constantly  receives ;  it  does  not  over- 
whelm and  swallow  up  the  land.  In  CD^T},  the 
author  doubtless  refers  to  the  ocean,  not  to  the 
Dead  Sea,  as  Hitzio  arbitrarily  supposes.  The 
previous  mention  of  the  sun,  the  wind,  and  the 
four  cardinal  points,  show  conclusively  that  he 
deals  with  great  cosmophysical  ideas,  and  thus 
hardly  thinks  merely  of  the  streams  like  the  Jor- 
dan flowing  into  the  Dead  Sea,  or  indeed  of  the 
contracted  relations  of  Palestine  at  all.  Comp. 
also  Aristophanes  in  his  "  Clouds,"  v.  1294, 
tt  seq.  : 

avrq  fL€v  (ij  ddXaTTo.)  ovSev  yCyverai 

ilTLppeovToiV  TWV  TTOTa^LtOV  Trkelitiv,  (TU  S^ 

^TjTets  irot^ffai  TapyvpLOv  7T\elov  to  trov. 

Unto  the  place  from  whence  the  rivers 
come,  thither  they  return  again.  Literal, 
"thither  are  the  rivers  to  go  returning,"  thither 
they  always  take  their  course  again.  For  this 
construction  examine  1  Sam.  xx.  19;  Hos.  v.  11, 
etc;  as  in  the  English,  (they  are  going),  the  par- 
ticiple here  expresses  the  continuous  character 
of  the  action.  For  the  construct  state  before  the 
relative  clause  (which  is,  as  it  were,  regarded  as 
a  single  noun)  comp.  passages  such  as  Gen.  xl. 
3;  Lev.  iv.  24;   (Ewald,     Manual.  ?   322,  o.).— 

As  it  is  not  absolutely  necessary  that  ^/H 
must  express  the  "going  whither,"  but  may  also 
well  express  the  going  out,  or  the  coming  whence, 


as  ver.  o  shows,  therefore,  Q'SniinE'  tZj'lpH 
Q'P/n  does  not  mean  the  ocean  as  the  common 
collecting-place  of  all  river-water  (Elstee,  Vai- 
HiNGEK,  etc.),  but  rather  as  the  occasional  source 
and  origin  of  the  individual  rivers.  The  return 
of  the  water  from  the  ocean  the  author  certainly 
thinks  effected  in  a  way  corresponding  to  the  na- 
tural course  of  things,  namely,  that  of  exhalar 
tions,  and  clouds,  and  falling  mists,  and  not  by 
means  of  secret  subterraneous  canals  and  pas- 
sages, as  Luther,  Rosenmueller,  etal.,  pretend. 
See  Gen.  ii.  6;  Job  xxxvi.  27,  28.— Also  Um- 
BREiT,  Hitzio,  and  Henqstenbeko  on  this  pas- 
sage. 

5.  First  division,  second  strophe,  ver.  8-11.  As 
the  natural  objects  of  human  knowledge  truly 
satisfy  neither  the  eye  nor  the  ear  (ver.  8),  so 
there  predominates  in  the  history  of  mankind  a 
restless  flight  of  events,  crowding  and  following 
each  other  in  endless  circuit,  which  necessarily 
destroy,  in  equal  measure,  both  the  interest  in 
new  acquirements,  and  the  endeavor  to  remember 
the  things  that  are  past  (ver.  11). — All  things 
are  full  of  labor,  man  cannot  utter  it. — 

The  words    CD'.J?.J]    D''13'in-'73   are  understood 

by  exegetists  to  mean  either:  "all  words  are 
troublesome,  weary"  (Sept.,  Ewald,  Elster, 
Hitzio,  Henqstenberg,  Hahn,  etc.),  or:  "all 
things  fatigue,  are  full  of  burden  and  trou- 
ble "  (HiBBONTMus,  Luther,  Rosenmueller, 
Vaihinger,  etc.).  The  ruling  signification  in 
this  book,  as  every  where  in  the  Old  Testament 
of  13"!  =  7i6yo^,   sermo,  as  well   as    the    closely 

following  remark,  "man  cannot  utter  it"  (731' 
"1317),  seem  to  speak  in  favor  of  the  former 
meaning.  But  the  word  "131,  as  meaning 
thing,  is  found  also  in  ver.  10  ;  chap.  vi.  12  ;  vii. 
8 ;  and  it  appears,  in  every  view  of  the  case, 
more  appropriate  that  the  quality  of  wearying, 
of  producing  discouragement  and  indifference, 
should  be  predicated  of  the  things  of  the  world, 
and  the  objects  of  human  knowledge,  than  that 
the  words  relating  to  the  naming  and  judging  of 
these  things,  should  be  designated  as  feeble  or 
exhausting.  This  first  meaning  would  also  pro- 
duce a  tautology  of  0'''13in  with  "1317,  which 
one  could  scarcely  attribute  to  an  author  who, 
on  the  whole,  expresses  himself  with  such 
choice  and  delicacy.  Thus  the  sense  of  the  line 
remains  in  every  case  that  which  is  accepted 
even  by  most  of  the  defenders  of  the  first  concep- 
tion ;  namely,  to  recount  all  objects  of  human 
knowledge  and  experience  is  fatiguing  in  the 
extreme,  and  is  indeed  impracticable  ;  no  speech 
can  perfectly  give  the  impression  which  is  pro- 
duced on  our  mind  by  the  thought  of  physical 
endlessness,  and  of  the  never  changing  opera- 
tions and  life  of  the  forces  of  nature  (comp.  Els- 
ter on  this  passage).  For  the  active  sense  of 
^i\  which  elsewhere,  as  in  Deut.  xxv.  18 ;  2 
Sam.  xvii.  2,  expresses  the  passive  thought, 
"faint,"  "  weary,"  but  here  is  clearly  exhaust- 
ive, making  weary,  examine  the  similar  signifi- 
cations of  m:ti,  nSnj,  VIDJ  in  Isa.  xvU.  ll  ; 
T  T  ;  -       I  T  ;  • 

Jer.  XXX.  12 ;  Micah  ii.  10;  and  also  the  Latin 


40 


ECCLESIASTES. 


Zristis  in  the  sense  of  making  sad,  depressing ; 
and  the  German  "  betrubi "  in  phrases  like : 
"es  )st  betrubt  zu  sehen,"  etc.— The  eye  is  not 
satisfied  with  seeing,  nor  the  ear  filled 
Twith  hearing, — Xo  remarkable  quality  is  here 
affirmed  of  the  eye  or  the  ear;  it  is  only  intended 
to  delineate  more  closely  the  relation  held  to  the 
expression,  "all  things  are  wearying."  "  If  the 
eye  should  become  satisfied,  so  that  it  would  no 
longer  see,  then  the  narrating  word  must  step  in 
and  be  able  in  its  turn  also  to  master  things. 
But  the  abundance  of  phenomena,  which  presses 
on  eye,  ear,  and  the  remaining  senses,  is  endless  ; 
there  are  always  oVjjects  which  the  eye  must  see, 
does  see,  and  brings  to  him  who  would  gladly 
close  his  labors"  (Hitziq).  For  parallel  pas- 
sages comp.  Prov.  xxvii.  20.  For  J^DIVp,  lit. 
"away  from  hearing,"  i.  «.,  so  that  it  may  hear 
no  longer,  comp.  Gen.  xxvii.  1 ;  Ex.  xiv.  5  ;  1 
Sam.  viii.  7  ;  Isa.  xxi¥.  10,  etc. — Ver.  9.  The 
thing  that  hath  been,  it  is  that  which 
shall  be  ;  or  also;  "what  has  happened,  that 
will  again  happen,  that  will  occur  anew."  DD 
ri'DK^  cannot  be  considered  a  question  (LXX.  H 
TO  ycyovdg  Vulg.  quid  est  quod  fuit)  ;  for  in  this 
book  ti^"n5  is  always  equivalent  to  "that 
which,"  or  "whatever;"  see  iii.  15;  vi.  10;  viii. 
7;  X.  14;  and  examine  for  the  same  Chaldaic 
style,  Dan.  ii.  25;  Ezra  vii.  18. — And  that 
w^hich  is  done,  is  that  which  shall  be 
done. — .As  the  former  refers  to  the  objective 
course  of  natural  laws  and  phenomena,  so  this 
parallel  expression  alludes  to  the  subjective  ef- 
forts and  actions  of  men ;  and  the  progress  to 
any  thing  really  new  is  denied  of  both. — And 
there  is  no  new  thing  under  the  sun. — 
Lit.   there   is  not    in  existence  any  thing   new, 

(tyin-Sa  I'Nl).  For  the  placing  of  this  nega- 
tion before  13,  to  indicate  the  total  non-exist- 

T 

ence  of  any  thing,  comp.  Judges  xiii.  4;  Ps. 
cxliii.  2  ;  2  Kings  iv.  2 ;  also  similar  Hebrew 
terms  in  the  New  Testament  Greek,  Matt.  xxiv. 
22;  Rom.  iii.  20;  Gal.  ii.  16,  ete.— For  this  sen- 
tence comp.  Seneca  especially;  Epist.  xxiv.: 
Kullius  rei  finis  est,  sed  in  orbem  nexa  sunt  omnia. 
Omnia  transeunt  ut  revertantur,  nil  novi  video,  nil 
novi  facto;  also  Tacitus,  Annal.  III.  65;  Rebus 
cunctis  inest  quidam  velut  orbis,  ut  quemadmodum 
temporum  -vices,  ifa  morum  versentur  ;  and  Marc. 
Aurel.  Comment.,  ad  se  ipsum,  VI.  31:  6  ra  vvv 
opCiV  -rrdi'Ta  eupatcev,  baa  te  e^  dididv  kykvEro,  Kal 
'6aa  Etc  rb  aKeipov  ksTar  Trdvra  yap  dfioycvij  Kal 
b'xoEidrj;  Ibid.  VII.  1:  ov^ev  KaLvbv  Trdvra  Kal 
avvr/dri  Kal  b'Aiyxpivia  ;  Ibid.  VII.  26 ;  ndv  rb  yiv6- 
fiEvov  ouTug  del  kyEvero  Kal  yivrjaeTat  Kal  vvv  izavTa- 
Xov  yivETai. 

Ver.  10.  Is  there  any  thing  whereof  it 
may  be  said,  See,  this  is  new  ?  it  hath 
been  already  of  old  time  w^hich  was  be- 
fore us. — The  first  half  of  this  verse  is  a  hypo- 
thetical preliminary  clause,  introduced  by  t!''' 
131,   to  which  is  added  the  after  clause  without 

T  T 

a  copula,  for  the  sake  of  greater  emphasis ;  comp. 
similarly  formed  conditional  sentences  in  ver. 
18.  — 13?.  '"".?  <''9''y  already  long  since  (Sept. 
ydii;    Vulg.  jam),  is   one    of  the    characteristic 


Aramaic  *  particles  of  the  book,  allied  to  DIM 
"  greatness,  length,"  and  the  Arab.  Kibar,  great 
age ;    (comp.   Introd.  I  4,  Obs.  2).     The  word 

Q'D/^/,  added  as  a  more  special  definition,  in- 
dicates that  the  meaning  of  "  long  ago  "  is  to 
be  understood  in  the  sense  of  time  of  eternal 
length ;    or  also  that    it    continues   in   endless 

spaces  of  time  ;f  for  the  preposition  7,  in  the 
sense  of  "within,"  comp.  Gen.  vii.  4;  Ezra  x. 
8,  and  Elster  on  this  passage. — Instead  of  lE'M 

Vn  there  stands  at  the  close  ^J'Jflbn   irn   -\m 

T  "T  ;   ■  TT        v-; 

because  nTI  is  used  impersonally,  in  the  sense : 
"there  have  been"  (comp.  Gen.  xlvii.  24;  Ex. 
xii.  49)  ;   an  enallage   numeri,    that  could  easily 

occur  with  a  neuter  plural  like  D'D^j;.  Ewald 
takes  the  words  as  subject  of  the  sentence, 
and  translates  them  thus :  "  what  occurred 
before  our  eyes  had  already  been  long  ago." 
But  this  position  of  the  subject  at  the  end  of 
the  sentence  would  be  harsh  and  without  mo- 
tive ;  and  for  U^JflTD,  which  means  according 
to  Isa.  xli.  26  simply  "before  us,  earlier  than 
we,"  would  necessarily  stand  U^JS/  if  the  trans- 
lation "before  our  eyes,  in  our  presence,"  were 
the  correct  one. — Ver.  11.  There  is  no  re- 
membrance of  former  things. — Clearly  an 
explanation  of  the  thought  of  the  preceding 
verse,  which  we  need  not  (as  Hitzio  andELSTBR) 
connect  with  what  precedes  through  the  concep- 
tion :  "  that  our  considering  old  things  as  new  is 
because  of  the  continual  extinction  of  the  re- 
membrance of  former  things."  For  the  con- 
struct state  [1131  before  a  following  noun  with 
a  preposition,  Comp.  similar  cases,  as  Ezek.  xiii. 
2  Sam.  i.  21.  —  D'JK'Nl  and  D'nnN  signify 
every  where  the  earlier  and  the  later  ones  (Lev. 
xxvi.  46 ;  Deut.  xix.  14 ;  Ps.  Ixxix.  8 ;  Isa.  Ixi. 
4;  also  chap.  iv.  16  of  this  book,  consequently 
ancestry  .and  posterity.  The  neuter  idea,  "the 
earlier,"  would  necessarily  be  expressed  by  the 
feminine  niJtI'N'1  (Isa.  xiii.  9;  xlvi.  9;  xlviii. 
3). — 'With  those  that  shall  come  after. — 
mjInXT  in  future,  later.  Comp.  for  the  sub- 
stantive nnnx,  Deut.  xiii.  9;  2  Sam.  ii.  26. 

6.  Second  Division.  Proposition  and  first 
strophe.  Vers.  12-15.  In  a  subjective  view  hu- 
man knowledge  proves  fudle  and  vain,  in  so  far 
as  all  the  desires  and  enterprises  of  men,  to 
which  it  is  directed,  are  empty  and  vain,  and 
lead  to  nothing.     I,  the  preacher,  was  King 


♦[There  is  no  more  reason  for  calling  ")33  an  Aramaic 

word  here,  than  the  feminine  form,  niD3.  Ciei.  xxxv.  16; 

T  :  ■ 
xlviii.  7 ;  2  Kings  v.  ;i9.    It  means  a  conaidorable  but  indefl- 
nicu  auiouut  whether  of  space  as  in  tlie  examples  in  Gon. 
xxxv.  16  or  of  timp,  as  here — some  distance  off,  or  some  timi 
ago  —  tmig  ago.    The  same  may  be  said  of   "^^330  *^°^ 

xxxv.  16;  xxxvi.  31.— T.  L.] 

t[O^D7^7  is  rather  added  as  an  ampliUcation  of  the 
indefinite  T33.  It  hath  been  already — lo«g  ago — yes,  in 
some  of  the  olams  (or  worlds),  cosmical  or  historical,  that 
have  gone  before  in  the  immense  past.  See  remarks  in  note 
on  the  olamio  words,  p.  41,  &c, — T.  L.] 


CHAP.  I.  2-18. 


41 


over  Israel  in  Jerusalem. — Observe  the  pre- 
terit, 'n"n,  I  was — a  clear  iudioation  that  a 
later  personage  than  the  historical  Solomon 
gays  this.*  For  even  in  his  most  advanced  age 
Solomon,  who,  according  to  1  Kings  xi.  40-43, 
was  reigning  king  until  his  death,  could  not 
have  spoken  of  his  kingdom  as  something  be- 
longing solely  to  the  past.  For  the  remaining 
allusions  in  this  verse  to  a  period  later  than  the 
Solomonic,' see  above  on  ver.  1  (No.  1),  and  the 
Introduction,  §  4.  And  moreover  the  author,  as- 
suming the  character  of  Solomon,  Indicates  for 
his  own  person  a  condition  in  life  which  affords 
him  a  broad  view,  rich  experience,  and  know- 
ledge of  men;  comp.  Sirach  xxxviii.  24  ff. — Ver. 
13.  And  I  gave  my  heart  to  seek  and 
search  out  by  ■wisdom. — That  is,  I  gave  it 
entirely  to  that  seeking,  exerted  myself  zealously 

on  that  account;  comp.  21  O't?,  Isa.  xli.  42  ; 
3)  n'Iff,  Ps.  xlviii.  14 ;  and  aS  ]On,  Job  xi. 
J8.  "To  seek"  (E'^l)  and  "to  search"  ("nn) 
are  distinguished  from  one  another — the  former 
hy  being  less  thorough,  and  the  latter  by  pene- 
trating more  deeply  and  searching  after  the 
hidden.  DODHS  is  not  "  wisely "  (Lctheb, 
comp.  Vulgate,  eapienter),  but  "with  wisdom;" 
for  wisdom  was  the  instrument  with  which  he 
made  his  investigations;!  (for  the  well-known  old 
Hebrew  sense,  see  the  Introd.  to  the  Solomonic 
books.  Vol.  XII.  p.  7  of  this  work.)  —  Con- 
cerning all  things  that  are  done  under 
heaven. — Thereby  is  clearly  meant  only  the 
actions  and  lives  of  men,  and  not  occurrences  in 
the  realm  of  nature,  for  which  latter  the  verb 
TWyi  would  be  very  unfittingly  chosen.  And 
what  has  happened  in  itself  is  not  so  much  meant 
as  its  character,  worth,  aim  and  success  as  an 
object  of  seeking  and  searching ;  therefore,  to 

search  concerning  all  things  that  are  done  (7^ 
Ul  73). — 'This  sore  travail,  etc. — Human 
action  itself  is  not  designated  here  as  J?1  VJtV,' 
as  sore  travail  or  pain  (Hitzio,  Hahn),  but  the 
zealous  searching,  the  critical  endeavor  of  the 
wise  observer  of  life,  who  every  where  meets 
only  vanity  and  emptiness,  and  with  all  his  theo- 
retical and  practical  experimenting  with  life, 
reaches  no  lasting  enjoyment  and  success  (and 
thus  with  justice  the  most  exegetists  ;  see  Elsteb 


*fThis  is  certainly  a  slender  basis  on  which  to  build  such 
-an  argument.  The  indefiQlte  use  of  the  Hebrew  tenses  will 
not  allow  it  to  have  much  force,  and,  moreover,  it  is  perfectly 
consistent  (even  if  rendered  was)  with  the  condition  of  an 
old  man,  an  old  king,  who  had  seen  the  vanity  of  the  world, 
and  of  royal  estate,  and  wished  to  impress  it  on  the  mind  of 
his  reader,  to  speak  of  it  as  something  past  and  gone.  I  who 
waa  king — or,  when  I  was  king — in  the  full  exercise  of  power 
and  dignity.  Besides,  if  there  is  an  inconsistency,  it  would 
be  full  as  great  in  one  who  assumes  to  personate  Solomon. 
Spch  a  one  would  be  even  more  careful  to  guard  against 
obvious  anachronisms,  as  this  would  be.  if  thus  regarded. 
See  WouDswoiiTH  on  the  expression,  and  the  argument  drawn 
from  it.  The  word  Koheleth  may  be  a  scholium  of  the  later 
copipiler,  to  explain  (though  unnecessarily)  what  he  deemed 
abrupt :  I  (KoJieleth)  was  King ;  and  so  in  other  places  like 
similar  scholia  in  the  Pentateuch.— T.  L.] 

tLriDDnS  does  not  mean  widely  in  the  sense  of  lcm)w- 
T :  T  : 
tn^/Zy,  or  5fci7/w?Zy— neither  does  it  mean  hy,  or,  with  wisdma, 
as  an  instrument,  though  that  is  nearer  ro  it ;  but  rather 
in  the  way  of  wisdom,  that  is  philosophically,  speculatively, 
theorpMcaUy,  in  distinction  from  experimentally  ov practically, 
as  he  did  afterwards.— T.  L.! 


on  this  passage). — God  hath  given  to  the 
sons  of  man  to  be  exercised  therewith. 

— -This  unsuccessful  and  vain  striving  after  wis- 
dom, to  which  man  feels  himself  impelled  by  a 
natural  necessity,  is  imparted  to  him  by  God 
himself;  it  is  a  part  of  the  salutary  and  disci- 
plinary curse  that  God  has  laid  on  human  nature 
since  the  fall,  a  "part  of  the  whole  system  by 
which  the  Lord  humbles  fallen  man,  and  there- 
with prepares  the  redemption"  (  Hengsteneerg). 
— Ver.  14.  I  have  seen  all  the  works  that 
are  done  under  the  sun ;  and  behold,  all 
is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit. — (Lit., 
"  windy  effort,"  i.  e.,  "an  effort  of  the  wind") 
(Sept.  7z[joaipeai^  TTveijjiaro^)  an  effort  without  re- 
sult, that  effects  no  lasting  good.  Comp.  Hos. 
xii.  2,  which  passage  gives  us  at  the  same  time 
the  proper  sense  of  the  expression  ni;;i.  For 
the  formula  Q'Tp  ^Tl  there  used  parallel  with 
nn  nj?1,  "to  consume  wind,"  really  means 
to  follow  after  the  wind,  to  be  in  quest  of  it,  a 
diligent  striving  after  it  (comp.  H^'T  in  pass- 
ages like  Prov.  xiii.  20:  xv.  14;  Isa.  xliv.  20). 
r\^]l~}  is  consequently  the  bearing,  the  inten- 
tion of  one  zealously  aiming  at,  consequently 
striving,  continuous  direction  of  the  will  (thus 
also  Ezra  v.  7,  18),  the  same  as  jT'J?^,  which 
in  i.  17;  iv.  16  is  also  found  connected  with 
nn.  It  is  therefore  erroneous  to  derive  it  from 
yy'\  =  '^'S^,     to   shatter,    to   break   into    pieces 

(thus  the  Vulg.  "  afflictio  spiritus,"  also  Chald. 
Raschi  et  al). — Ver.  15.  That  which  is 
crooked  cannot  be  made  straight,  and 
that  which  is  wanting  cannot  be  num- 
bered.— Clearly  a  proverbial  sentence,  which 
the  author  perhaps  found  ready  made  in  the 
rich  treasury  of  tbe  proverbial  wisdom  of  his 
people,  and  used  here  to  strengthen  what  he  had 
said  in  ver.  14.  The  sense  is,  as  the  parallel 
passage,  chap.  vii.  13,  shows,  that  human  action 
and  effort,  in  spite  of  all  exertion,  cannot  alter 
that  which  has  once  been  arranged  and  fixed  by 
God.  "  Man  cannot  alter  what  is  (apparently) 
unjust  in  God's  arrangement  of  the  world,  nor 
make  or  regard  its  failures  perfect;  hemmed  in 
within  the  narrow  limits  of  the  world  as  it  is 
constituted,  he  is  not  able  to  perform  the  most 
important  thing  that  he  above  all  things  should 
be  able  to  do"  (Hitzig).  This  thought  is  not 
fatalistic  (as  Knobel  supposes) ;  for,  as  numer- 
ous other  passages  of  this  book  show  (namely, 
iii.  17;  vii.  20  ff.;  xi.  9;  xii.  14),  the  author 
knows  very  well  that  human  sin  is  the  cause  of 
the  incapacity  here  described  in  contrast  with 
the  unchangeable  and  divine  order  of  the  world, 
and  considers  this  inability  as  one  of  self-guilt 
on  the  part  of  man. — "That  which  is  wanting 
cannot  be  numbered,"  i.  e.,  not  completed,  not 
be  brought  to  its  full  number ;  comp.  the  Lat. 
ad  numeros  sues  Tedigi=perfici,  and  also  our  Ger- 
man proverbs:  "  Where  there  is  nothing,  nothing 
farther  is  to  be  counted;"  or,  "There  the  empe- 
ror has  lost  his  right,"  etc. 

7.  Second  Division,  second  strophe.  Vers.  16-18. 
Practically  experiencing  wisdom,  striving  after 
positive  knowledge,  is,  as  the  critically  observing, 
thoroughly  futile,  reaching  no  lasting  result,  be- 
cause its  acquirement  is  inseparably  connected 


12 


ECCLESIASTES. 


with  pain  and  diaoouragement. — I  communed 
with  my  own  heart,  saying,  i.  e.,  I  entered 
inwardly  into  my  own  counsel;  comp.  the  Lat. 
cogitare  cum,  animo  suo,  and  in  the  Hebrew  similar 

phrases  13'73  IS-I,  Ps.  xv.  2 ;  la'?-^^  n,  Gen. 
xxiv.  45;  'ijih  V,  1  Sam.  i.  13.— Lo,  I  am 
come  to  great"  estate,  and  have  gotten 
more  ■wisdom. — The  word  ''ri/'ljn  (comp.  laa. 
xxTiii.  29)  intimates  that  he  possessed  great 
wisdom  before ;  the  word  'nSDin,  that  during 
his  life  he  continually  increased  it.  Comp.  1 
Kings  V.  9-11. — Than  all  they  that  have 
been    before   me  in   Jerusalem. — The  first 

hjf  is  comparative,  as  in  Gen.  xlviii.  22 ;  Ps. 
xvi.  2.  From  the  second  h]}  before  0;Wn;  it 
appears  that  with  the  here  mentioned  prede- 
cessors of  Koheleth  real  kings*  are  meant 
(comp,  also  ii.  7).  The  allusion  here  can  scarce- 
ly be  to  the  old  Canaanitish  princes  f  Adoni-zedek, 
Josh.  X.  1  ;  or,  indeed,  Melchisedec,  Gen.  xv. 
18),  but  to  the  crowned  heads  of  Israel,  who 
alone  were  competent  to  the  realization  of  nnjn. 
This  passage  contains,  again,  therefore,  a  refer- 
ence to  the  difference  between  the  author  of 
this  work  and  Solomon,  but  still  not  one  of  that 
kind  that  we  are  justified  in  reproaching  him 
(with  HiTZio)  of  ignorance  of  history.  He  rather 
commits  this  offence  against  actual  history  with 
the  same  absence  of  suspicion  and  purpose  which 
permitted  him  to  adapt  his  work  only  loosely  and 
distantly  to  the  personal  and  temporal  relations 
of  Solomon,  and  every  where  to  dispense  with 
the  strict  carrying  out  of  the  historical  fiction  in 
question.  (Comp.  Introd.  J  4). — Yea,  my 
heart  had  great  experience  of  wisdom 
and  knowledge.  — Concerning  l^y'^  as  syn- 
onym of  nnon  comp.  Prov.  i.  2.  "To  see,  to 
behold  wisdom  and  knowledge,"  is  as  much  as 
acquiring  it  by  experience,  arriving  at  its  pos- 
session and  enjoyment.  This  beholding  is  attri- 
buted to  the  heart,  because  it  is  indeed  the  seat 
or  instrument  of  aspiration  after  wisdom, -j-  see 
vers.  13  and  17. — Ver.  17.  And  I  gave  my 
heart  to  know  wisdom  and  to  know  mad- 
ness and  folly — that  is,  I  applied  myself  to 
learning  not  only  the  positive  and  normal  con- 
tents of  human  knowledge,  but  also  its  counter- 
part, error  and  perversion  in  their  various 
forms  ;    aacording  to   the   principle ;     contrariis 

contraria  Melliguntur.  ni/Vn  =  nnVin,  chap. 
X.  13;  comp.  the  similar  formation  lUDDn, 
Prov.  i.  20  ;  ix.  1,  etc.,  and  Ewald,  Manual,  J 
165  c),  and  ni7pt?,  want  of  sense  and  folly  are 
also  thus  placed  together  in  chap.  ii.  12  only, 
that  the  latter  word  is  written  111730  with 
more  etymological  exactness   (comp.  also  ii.  3, 


*[Thi9  is  entirely  gratuitous.  It  may  refer  to  any  men  of 
note  an(]  wealth,  together  with  David  and  Saul,  or  the  writer 
may  well  have  had  in  view  old  Princes  in  Jerusalem,  away 
back  to  the  days  of  Melchisedec. — T.  L.] 

t[The  word  37,  hrjiH,  is  used  in  Hebrew  (especially  in 
the  Proverbs  and  Solomonic  writings)  as  much  for  the  mind 
or  intellsct  as  for  the  feeling — ike  affections. — T.  L.J 


13,  etc.). — I  perceived  that  this  also  is  vexation  0) 
spirit.     For   nil    [I'J^l  see  ver.  14 ;  and  comp. 

is'?  ]VJ>"1,  the  striving  of  his  heart,  chap.  ii.  22, 
as  well  as  the  same  word  in  the  Chaldee  of  the 
Book  of  Daniel  (iv.  16;  v.  6,  10;  vii.  28), 
where  it  signifies  thought.  KIH  nr,  a  pleonasm, 
of  which  there  are  many  in  the  book.  Ver. 
18.  For  in  much  -wisdom  is  much  grief; 
and  he  that  increaseth  kno-wledge  in- 
creaseth  sorrow. — Ger.  Proverb:  "Much  wis- 
dom causeth  headache ;"  also  Cioeeo,  Tusc.UI. 
4:  "videtur  mihi  cadere  in  sapientem  segriludo," 
and  what  Elster  remarks  on  this  passage: 
"Such  an  enlargement  of  the  practical  know- 
ledge of  human  life  destroys  the  natural  ease 
and  simplicity  of  the  individual  life,  and  by 
comparisons  with  others,  awaking  the  conscious- 
ness of  being  variously  affected  in  one's  own 
existence  through  influences  operating  from 
without,  produces  a  feeling  of  insignificance 
and  feebleness  of  each  individual  life  as  such; 
and  by  exciting  man  to  many  aspirations  and 
desires  which  remain  unfulfilled,  and  there- 
fore leave  painful  impressions  behind.  It  is  still 
more  important  to  think  of  the  manifold  disillu- 
sions which  a  deeper  insight  of  the  moral  arena 
in  a  stricter  sense  produces,  because  it  not  only 
teaches  how  confidence  in  the  strength  and  worth 
of  individuals  is  often  unjustifiable,  but  also 
shows  how  in  the  great  and  sacred  institutions  of 
humanity,  which  have  originally  a  purely  ethical 
aim,  this  ethical  object  is  frequently  lost,  and 
that  those  only  exist  in  reality  through  a  linking 
of  interests  that  are  entirely  foreign  to  their  real 
nature." — Tpl']  is  an  antecedent:  "and  if  one 
gathers  wisdom,  if  one  makes  much  wisdom.'' 
EwALD,  Elstek,  et  at,  consider  ^'DV  (here  as 
well  as  in  Isa.  xxix.  14  ;  xxxviii.  5)  an  active  par- 
ticiple from  the  stem  reverting  from  Hiphil,  into 
Kal,  with  '-7-  instead  of  —  (Ewald,  Manual,  §  127 
b.  ;  169  a)  while  others  find  In  it  simply  an  im- 
personal future  Hiphil,  and  compare  it  on  ac- 
count of  the  scriptio  plena  with  'flSplH  ver.  16. 

DOCTRINAL    AND    ETHICAL. 

Human  effort,  confined  to  the  conditions  of 
life  and  the  objects  of  knowledge  of  this  earthly 
world,  can  attain  no  enduring  wealth  of  happi- 
ness or  success,  either  in  a  practical  or  theore- 
tical relation.  For  every  thing  that  is  accom- 
plished under  the  sun,  that  is,  in  this  contracted 
sublunary  world  subjected  to  the  curse  of  tempo- 
rality, is,  like  the  great  heavenly  light  of  our 
planet,  or,  like  the  mysterious  course  of  the  wind 
and  the  water,  confined  to  a  changeless  circuit 
beyond  which  there  is  no  progress.  All  efforts 
after  the  attainment  of  a  higher  and  more  dura- 
ble happiness,  which  man  by  means  of  his  own 
natural  power  may  institute,  fail  at  this  stern 
barrier  of  the  earthly  and  temporal.  Be  it  the 
cheerful  enjoyment  of  life,  and  the  active  co- 
operation with  it,  be  it  fulness  of  knowledge  and 
wealth  of  treasures,  of  intellectual  truth  and  in- 
sight, as  long  as  man,  standing  simply  in  his 
own  strength  as  a  mere  child  of  earth,  command- 
ing no  other  than  earthly  and  natural  powers, 
endeavors  to  place  himself  in  possession  of  these 


CHAP.  I.  2-18. 


43 


treasures,  willhe  be  ever  obliged  to  experience  the 
utter  vanity  of  his  labors.  Only  in  submission 
to  the  eternally  Divine,  which  remains  fixed  and 
constant  in  all  the  vicissitudes  of  time,  (Ps.  cii. 
25 ff.),  does  he  obtain  the  power  to  overcome  the 
imperfections  and  annoyances  of  temporal  ex- 
istence, or,  at  least,  true  consolation  while  suf- 
fering their  pressure.  Faith  alone  is  the  anchor 
of  safety  which  is  able  to  preserve  the  bark  of 
life,  tossed  to  and  fro  by  the  storms  of  time,  from 
sinking  into  the  awful  depths  of  despair  and  in- 
consolable doubts  regarding  our  temporal  and 
eternal  welfare. 

Of  these  fundamental  thoughts  of  the  section 
before  us,  only  those  referring  to  the  vanity  of 
earthly  life  and  its  wisdom  are  specially  treated. 
Of  the  religious  solution  of  the  conflict,  which, 
according  to  numerous  and  prominent  allusions 
in  the  subsequent  pages,  forms  the  deeper  back- 
ground for  the  grievous  lamentations  of  the 
preacher,  there  penetrates,  for  the  time,  scarcely 
anything  through  his  picture  of  the  vanity  of  all 
earthly  things.  It  is,  substantially,  only  the  sad 
contrast  between  human  aspirations  after  wis- 
dom, and  the  absolutely  unsatisfying  result  in 
this  world,  to  whose  description  the  author  di- 
rects his  attention ;  that  conflict  between  the  ar- 
dent desire  of  life  and  its  enjoyment,  between 
thirst  after  knowledge  and  its  failure,  whose  deep 
Bigniiicance  Fabri,  in  his  work — "Timeand Eter- 
nity " — has  as  strikingly  as  beautifully  delineated 
when,  in  p.  10  f,  in  direct  connection  with  the 
lamenting  commencement  of  this  book  he  says: 
"Who  does  not  know,  from  his  own  thousand- 
fold experience,  this  wonderful  feeling  of  a  deep 
temporal  grief  that  often,  as  an  armed  foe,  over- 
whelms the  spirit  of  man  with  a  secret  shudder 
in  the  midst  of  the  loudest  merriment  ?  Who 
does  not  know  the  pressure  and  the  pain  of  time, 
when  we  see  it  in  steady  flow  hurrying  quietly 
by  us,  nay,  when  we  see  ourselves,  entirely  help- 
less, carried  away  by  its  stream,  and  daily  ap- 
proaching nearer  to  the  limits  of  life  ?  Do  we 
not  then  feel  as  the  occupant  of  a  frail  boat, 
which,  drawn  into  the  current  of  a  mighty 
stream,  iinds  itself  carried  down  with  arrowy 
speed,  and  if  not  in  its  course  dashed  to  pieces 
on  th«  rocks,  hastens  with  inevitable  destiny  to 
the  cataract  that  is  to  bury  it  in  that  deep  from 
which  no  one  may  ever  rise  and  begin  the  course 
anew?"  That  is  the periculum  vitse,  the  danger  of 
life,  of  which  the  wise  men  of  old  have  spoken, 
and  have  recognized  as  the  inevitable  destiny  of 
every  thing  born  into  this  lower  world.  Thus 
time,  with  its  restless  and  continuous  going  and 
coming,  appeals  to  the  direct  feelings  of  every 
man  as  an  oppressive  destiny,  as  a  travail,  as 
Solomon  says,  (ver.  13,  18),  as  a  tragic  conflict 
between  what  ought  to  be  and  what  is. 

HOMILETICAL   AND   PEACTICAL. 

In  the  homiletical  treatment  of  the  section, 
the  evangelical  preacher  should  not  be  satisfied 
in  merely  presenting  this  sad  conflict  without  its 
solution ;  he  should  rather  connect  with  the  la- 
ment concerning  the  vanity  of  earthly  things,  the 
consolation  of  the  unchanging  grace  of  the  Eter- 
nal One;  and  thus  regard  the  gloomy  picture  of 
the  author  in  the  light  of  divine  revelation,  to 
20 


which  the  entire  course  and  contents  of  the  book 
encourage  us.  In  this  intent  we  might  use  the 
entire  chapter  as  a  text  for  a  connected  view 
whose  theme  might  be  as  follows  :  That  which  ia 
visible  is  temporal,  that  which  is  invisible  is 
eternal  (2  Cor.  iv.  17) ;  or  also  —"For  we  know 
in  part,  and  we  prophesy  in  part.''  "But  when 
that  which  is  perfect  is  come,  that  which  ,is  in 
part  shall  be  done  away."  (1  Cor.  xiii.  9,'  10) ; 
or :  The  flight  of  earthly  things,  its  cause  and 
its  cure,  (with  reference  to  the  90th  Psalm,  and 
appropriate  spiritual  hymns).  In  case  the  text 
is  divided,  there  should  not  be  more  than  two 
parts.  Then  make  vers.  2-11  the  text  for  the 
thought:  "There  is  nothing  new  under  the 
sun;"  and  from  12-18  for  the  thought:  "In 
much  wisdom  there  is  much  grief." 

With  a  view  to  the  practical  treatment  of  the 
individual  passages,  examine  the  following  homi- 
letical hints  and  helps  from  ancient  and  modern 
exegetical  writings. 

Ver.  2.  LuTHEB. : — In  the  introduction  he  gives 
us  the  subject  of  the  whole  book,  when  he  tells 
us  that  there  is  the  greatest  vanity  in  all  human 
pursuits,  to  such  a  degree  that  men,  neither  con- 
tent with  the  present,  nor  able  to  enjoy  the  future, 
turn  even  their  best  things  into  misery  and  va- 
nity, all  through  their  own  fault,  not  that  of  the 
things  themselves. 

M.  Geier: — The  more  the  vanity  of  the  world 
is  discovered,  the  more  will  the  disgust  of  it  in- 
crease in  the  true  Christian;  and  on  the  contrary, 
a  desire  will  arise  for  the  heavenly  and  eternal. — 
Henostbnbbro  : — The  right  solution  of  the  prob- 
lemis  this:  Between  the  assertion — "And  behold, 
all  was  very  good,"  and  that  other  :  "All  is  va- 
nity," lies  the  fact  of  the  fall.  With  this  latter 
a  whole  new  order  of  things  has  appeared.  The 
creation,  which  was  good  in  itself,  was  no  longer 
fitting  for  degenerate  man.  "All  is  vanity,"  is 
no  accusation  of  God.  It  is  rather,  if  we  keep  in 
view  the  nature  of  man,  a  praise  of  God.  It  is 
precisely  in  this  doom  of  punishment,  and  in  the 
adjustment  of  the  economy  of  the  Cross,  that 
God  shows  Himself  especially  great  and  glo- 
rious. 

Ver.  3.  Luther: — The  creature  is  indeed  sub- 
ject to  vanity,  as  Paul  testifies,  Rom.  viii.,  but 
nevertheless  the  things  themselves  are  good. 
Otherwise  he  would  have  called  the  sun  itself  a 
vanity;  but  this  he  excepts,  because  he  says, 
under  the  sun.  It  is  not,  therefore,  of  the  works 
of  God  he  treats,  which  are  all  good  and  true,  and 
above  the  sun,  but  the  works  beneath  the  sun, — 
what  we  do  here  in  this  earthly  life. — Starke: — 
Since  with  decay  the  profit  of  all  outward  occupa- 
tion vanishes,  it  is  folly  for  men  to  be  so  absorbed 
with  external  things  that  they  thereby  forget  the 
care  of  their  own  souls. 

Vers.  4-7.  Cramer  : — That  the  world  has  not 
existed  from  eternity,  one  sees  in  all  its  parts, 
because  these  are  not  fixed  and  constant;  the 
whole  cannot,  therefore,  remain  unchanged. 
But  the  constant  order  in  creatures  and  their 
employments,  proves  that  there  is  a  God  who 
sustains  every  thing. — Starke  : — In  nature  every 
thing  is  governed  by  the  laws  of  motion ;  how 
much  more  should  man  direct  his  steps  according 
to  the  rules  of  life  prescribed  to  him  by  God 
(Gal.  vi.  16 1  Ps.  exix.  9 ;  c.  5). — Wohlfakth  : 


44 


ECCLESIASTES. 


■ — The  existence  of  the  world  clearly  depends 
upon  the  unchangeable  order  given  to  nature  by 
God,  and  just  because  it  follows  these  divine 
laws  without  deviation,  is  nature,  yet  to-day,  as 
it  was  thousands  of  years  ago,  the  inexhaustible 
dispenser  of  the  blessings  and  joys  of  men.  Let 
us  herein  acknowledge  the  wisdom,  goodness, 
and  might  of  the  Eternal  One,  and  adore  him 
who  once  said  :  "Let  there  be  !"  and  there  was! 
who  called  the  sun  of  the  day,  as  well  as  the 
night,  into  existence,  who  prescribed  to  the  wa- 
ters their  course,  and  gave  command  to  the 
winds.  Let  us  comprehend  that  we  can  only 
then  be  happy  and  make  others  happy,  when,  as 
nature  unconsciously  obeys  natural  laws,  we 
obey  with  clear  consciousness  the  commands  of 
virtue  and  the  laws  of  nature  for  the  spirit 
world. 

Ver.  8.  Zeyss: — The  immortal  spirit  of  man 
can  find  no  real  rest  in  temporal  things,  but  only 
in  God,  the  highest  and  eternal  good.  Malt.  xi. 
29. — Hansen: — External  things  do  not  satisfy. 
Daviil  in  Ps.  xvii.  15  gives  us  clearly  to  under- 
stand that  he  recognizes  the  same  truth  ;  for  he 
says :  "I  will  behold  thy  face  in  righteousness," 
and  adds,  "I  shall  be  satisfied,  when  I  awake, 
with  thy  likeness."  He  hopes,  therefore,  in  the 
contemplation  of  God,  to  obtain  what  he  cannot 
have  in  the  form  of  this  world.  And  for  this 
very  reason  Solomon  calls  all  things  vain  that 
belong  to  this  sensual  life. — Bebleb.  Bible: — • 
"The  avenues  of  the  soul  bear  many  thousand 
objects  or  things  to  the  heart,  with  which  man 
fatigues  and  distracts  himself,  as  with  a  bound- 
less mountain  of  sand.  From  these  his  mind 
forms  numberless  images,  which  he  gazes  at,  and 
inwardly  handles.  From  these  come  the  manifold 
thoughts  and  the  distracted  spirit  of  poor  man. 
Therefore,  by  apostacy  from  God,  his  Creator, 
he  has  gone  out  with  his  heart  after  many  things, 
and  now,  instead  of  God,  in  whom  he  would 
eternally  have  had  enough,  he  embraces  so  many 
thousand  creatures  in  his  desires,  and  cannot 
even  then  be  satisfied.  For  the  immortal  essence 
of  the  soul  can  by  no  means  repose  in  the  empty 
creature;  it  seeks  ever  farther,  and  will  ever 
have  more;  it  is  a  fire  that  burns  without 
ceasing,  and  would  gladly  seize  all  things." 

Vers.  9-11.  Luther: — If  we  understand  these 
tpords,  nothing  new  beneath  the  sun,  of  the  things 
themselves,  and  of  the  works  of  God,  it  would 
not  be  true.  For  God  is  every  day  doing  what 
.18  new;  but  loe  do  nothing  new,  because  the  old 
Adam  is  in  all.  Our  ancestors  abused  things, 
just  as  we  abuse  them.  Alexander,  Ctesar,  had 
the  same  disposition;  so  had  all  Kaisars  and 
Kings  ;  so  have  we.  As  they  could  never  be  sa- 
tisfied, so  never  can  we;  they  were  wicked;  so 
are  we. — Ckamee: — No  man  has  so  great  a  cross 
that  he  finds  none  like  himself;  for  we  are  not 
better  than  our  fathers,  1  Kings  xix.  5. — Heno- 
STENBEEa:— "There  is  nothing  new  under  the 
sun;"  let  that  serve  to  sober  down  the  fantasies 
which  gather  grapes  from  the  thorns  of  the 
world,  but  not  discourage  the  friends  of  the 
■Kingdom  of  God,  which  has  its  real  seat,  not  un- 
der the  sun,  but  above  the  sun,  and  whose  hea- 
venly protector,  by  ever  creating  new  things 
(.Jer.  xxxi.  22)  gives  material  to  a  new  song,  Ps 
xl.  4. 


Vers.  13-15.  LuTUBtt  [to  ver.  14]: — All  pain- 
ful anxiety  and  care  in  making  provision,  whe- 
ther in  public  or  private,  through  our  own  coun. 
sels,  and  our  own  wisdom,  are  condemned  in  this 
book.  God  disappoints  the  thoughts  and  plans 
that  are  not  grounded  on  His  word.  And  rightly 
too ;  for  why  should  we  prescribe  and  add  to  His 
wisdom?  Let  us  learn,  then,  to  submit  to  His 
counsels,  and  abstain  from  those  cares  and 
thoughts  which  God  has  not  commanded. — Ver. 
15.  Human  concerns  cannot  be  so  managed  as 
that  all  things  should  be  rightly  done,  and  that 
there  should  not  still  remain  many  evils.  The 
best  way,  then,  is  to  walk  in  faith,  which  lets 
God  reign,  prays  for  the  coming  of  His  Kingdom, 
tolerating  in  the  meantime,  and  patiently  en- 
during, all  evils,  or  committing  them  to  Him  who 
judgeth  righteously. 

Fkeibebq  Bible  : — In  spiritual  as  in  corporeal 
things,  God  alone  can  make  the  crooked  straight 
and  smooth. — Hakman  (to  ver.  13  f — Bible  Re- 
flections of  a  Christian,  Vol.  I.,  p.  103) : — All  human 
wisdom  labors,  and  has  care  and  sorrow  for  its 
reward ;  the  farther  wisdom  looks,  the  greater  is 
the  labyrinth  in  which  it  loses  itself.  It  is  with 
reason  as  to  the  eyes  with  a  magnifying  glass, 
when  the  most  delicate  skin  becomes  disgusting, 
the  most  luscious  dish  a  mess  of  worms,  and  the 
finest  work  of  art  a  mere  botch.  We  see  the  im- 
possibility of  removing  all  inequalities  of  human 
society,  and  we  see  in  it  an  overwhelming  num- 
ber of  faults  and  failings ;  yes,  the  weakness  of 
our  senses  and  judgment  leads  us  to  find  faults 
in  beauties,  because  we  examine  all  things  only 
fragmentarily. — Vers.  16-18.  Hansen  (to  ver. 
17): — Many  thousand  actions  are  considered 
prudent  and  wise,  which  in  reality  are  silly  and 
foolish.  It  is  an  arduous  task  to  correct  one's 
error  in  respect  to  all  this,  and  regard  the  world, 
and  human  life  in  the  world,  with  just  eyes. — 
(To  ver.  18). — Wisdom,  as  such,  is  no  cause  for 
uneasiness  of  mind  ;  it  is  rather  a  cause  for  con- 
tentment. It  sometimes  happens,  however,  that 
peace  of  mind  is  disturbed  by  wisdom.  The 
deeper  our  vision,  the  more  clearly  we  perceive 
the  imperfections  among  the  children  of  men,  and 
that  usually  produces  unrest  in  the  mind. — 
Staeke: — But  because  knowledge  easily  puffelh 
up  (1  Cor.  viii.  1),  wise  and  learned  men  have  so 
much  greater  need  to  beg  God  to  keep  them  in 
true  humility. — Every  righteous  teacher,  yea, 
every  true  Christian,  must  resign  himself  to  many 
evils  which  must  meet  him  in  the  endeavor  to  ac- 
quire genuine  wisdom. 

[Olamio  oe  jEonian  Words  in  Soeipture — 
Eternities  oe  Woeld-Times — Cyclical  Ideas 
IN  KoHELETH. — The  passage,  Ecclesiastes  i.  3, 
rendered,  "  the  earth  abideth  forever,"  is  the  one 
most  commonly  quoted  as  their  key  text  by  those 

who  would  not  only  give  a  limited  sense  to  ch'sy 
here,  which  it  undoubtedly  has,  but  would, 
thereby,  weaken  the  force  of  this  whole  class  of 
words  in  all  other  parts  of  the  Bible,  and  espe- 
cially when  they  are  used  in  reference  to  a  future 
state  of  being.  On  this  account,  the  whole  sub- 
ject has  seemed  worthy  of  a  fuller  discussion 
than  It  has  generally  received  in  Commentaries, 
and  this  the  passage  to  which  such  aa  exegelical 


CHAP.  I.  2-18. 


io 


examination    can     be    most    appropriately    at- 
tached. 
Tlie  best  rendering  of  the  word  Q7lJ?7  i.  3,  is 

"for  the  world-time,"  or  "for  the  world,"  as  we 
have  given  it  in  the  metrical  version  annexed.  It 
may  seem  strange  to  ears  not  accustomed  to  it, 
but  it  is  the  true  translation,  not  only  here,  but  in 
many  other  places,  where  its  proper  significance 
is  concealed  under  general  or  inadequate  phrases. 
In  Ecclesiastes  iil.  11  it  has  been  once  rendered 
by  our  translators,  "the  world,"  which  is  cor- 
rect enough  in  itself,  but  may  mislead  by  raising 
in  the  reader's  mind  the  conception  of  a  space 
world.  For  further  remarks  on  that  import- 
ant passage  see  note,  p.  67.  The  word  ^71^7 
cannot  here  (Eocles.  i.  3)  mean  for  ever,  in  the 
sense  of  endless  duration,  though  it  may  be  used 
for  such  idea  when  the  context  clearly  demands, 
as  when  it  is  employed  to  denote  the  continuance 
of  the  Divine  existence,  or  of  the  Divine  King- 
dom, or  any  thing  else  connected  with  the  proper 
Divine  eternity  as  the  word  is  now  taken.  It  is, 
however,  in  that  case,  only  the  employment  of 
necessarily  finite  language  to  express  an  infinite 
idea  strictly  transcending  all  language,  unless 
poorly  represented  by  a  conceptionless,  negative 
word,  which,  although  logically  correct,  is  far 
inferior  in  vividness  and  power  to  some  vast 
though  finite  term,  which,  by  its  very  greatness 
and  immeasurability,  raises  in  the  mind  the 
thought  of  something  beyond,  and  ever  still  be- 
yond, worlds  without  end.  This  effect  is  still 
farther  increased  by  plurals  and  reduplications, 

such  as  the  Hebrew  O'dS;?,  and  JTd'?;?  dSi^T,  the 
Greek  atav'eg,  and  alOveg  rav  a'liniuv,  the  Latin 
semla,  and  secula  seculorum,  the  old  Saxon,  or 
old  English,  of  'Wicuffe,  to  worldis  of  worldis 
(Heb.  xiii.  21),  or  our  more  modern  phrase, /or 
ever  and  ever,  where  ever  (German  ewig),  was  ori- 
ginally a  noun  denoting  age,  or  vast  period,  just 
like  tile  Greek,  Latin,  and  Hebrew  words  corre- 
sponding to  it.  Another  mode  of  impressing  the 
idea  of  absolute  eternity  is  by  the  use  of  language 
in  the  context,  or  general  scenic  representations, 
which  bring  up  the  thought  of  finality  in  the 
passage,  giving  it  the  aspect  of  something  settled, 
never  to  be  disturbed,  having  nothing  beyond 
that  can  possibly  change  it,  as  in  that  most  im- 
pressive close  of  Matth.  xxv.  In  Ecclesia.stes  i. 
3  it  evidently  expresses  the  duration  of  the  earth 
as  coeval  with  the  great  order  of  things  called 
the  world,  whether  in  the  time  or  space  sense, 
and  vastly  transcending  the  in,  generation,  or 
life-time  (the  aeon,  as  we  might  call  it  in  a  still 
more  limited  sense)  of  man.  There  is  a  similar 
contrast,  Ps,  xc.  1,  where  im  in  "generation 
and  generation,"  or  "  all  generations,"  as  it  is 
rendered,  refers  to  the  human   history,   whilst 

D7li>  "[y  D7IJJD,  from  world  to  world,  airh  tov  alCi- 
vor;  ml  euq  tov  alijvoc,  a  seculo  et  usque  in  seeulum, 
von  Ewigheit  zu  Ewigkeit,  refers  to  the  Divine  ex- 
istence as  measured,  conceptually,  by  world 
times,  even  as  our  brief  individual  life-time  is 
measured  by  years  (Ps.  xc.  10),  and  our  own 
peculiar  world-time  by  dorim,  or  generations. 

These  words  correspond  in  all  the  languages 
referred  to.  They  arise  from  a  philological  exi- 
gency, from  the  demand  for  some  word  to  express 


that  idea  of  time,  or  rather  conception  of  time 
(since  all  language  is  primarily  for  the  sense 
want),  which  goes  beyond  any  known  historical 
and  astronomical  measurements, — some  great 
period,  cycle,  or  age,  not  having  its  measure- 
ment from  without,  but  in  itsUf,  or,  at  least, 
seemingly  independent  of  outward  phenomenal 
measurement.  It  is  something  supposed  to  have 
its  own  chronology,  separate  from  other  chrono- 
logies. In  a  lower,  or  more  limited,  sense,  an 
olam,  £eon,  age,  world,  or  world-time, .  may  be 
historical ;  that  is,  such  indefinite  periods  may 
be  regarded  as  coming,  one  after  another,  during 
the  continuance  of  the  same  earth  or  kosmos  ; 
truly  historical,  yet  divided  from  each  other  by 
some  intrinsic  character,  rather  than  by  mere 
years  or  centuries.  Thus  we  say  the  old  world, 
the  new  world,  the  ancient  world,  the  modern  world, 
the  Greek  world,  the  Roman  world,  &c.  This 
would  correspond  to  our  use  of  the  word  ages, 
and  that  would  make  a  good  sense,  Ecclesiastes 
i.  10,  "the  worlds  or  ages  (O'D/i?)  that  have 
been  before."  They  may  also  have  a  higher 
sense  than  the  historical,  regarded  as  the  history 
of  one  earth  or  kosmos,  continuing  as  it  is  with- 
out any  great  physical  change.  They  may  be 
cosmical  seons,  carrying  the  idea  of  a  new  dis- 
pensation, with  a  change  in  the  space-kosmos 
with  which  they  are  connected,  or  some  change 
in  the  human  state  or  relation  that  is  equally 
significant.  It  might  be  conceived  as  a  decay, 
dissolution,  and  restoration, — a  renewal,  rather, 
instead  of  an  absolute  creation  de  novo.  Such  an 
idea  of  new  cosmical  worlds,  or  seons,  is  favored 
in  a  certain  aspect  of  it  by  some  passages  of 
Scripture  which  speak  of  a  new  (or  rather  re- 
newed) heavens  and  earth,  Ps.  cii.  26 ;  Isa.  IxTi. 
22.  Or  it  might  be  more  like  an  idea  which  was 
certainly  very  ancient,  of  the  same  worlds  coming 
over  and  over  again,  with  all  things  and  all 
events  repeated,  just  as  they  had  taken  place. 
This  was  an  old  Egyptian  and  Arabian  view,  pro- 
bably arising  from  the  observations  of  astrono- 
mical cycles  (see  Pareau  de  Notitiis  Yiise  Futurse  ab 
antiquissimo  Jobi  Scriptore,  etc.,  pp.  65,  66,  etc.). 
Something  like  it  was  taught  by  Pythagoras  and 
Plato  in  their  doctrine  of  the  magnus  annus,  as 
also  by  the  Stoics  in  their  doctrine  of  the  cyclical 
return  of  the  world,  and  all  things  in  it,  through 
a  process  of  rarefaction  and  condensation  (with 
a  final  conflagration),  from  which  came  again 
that  rare  elementary  state  which  is  in  the  begin- 
ning of  each  cycle, — a  kind  of  thinking  to  which 
the  modern  nebular  theories  present  a  fair  coun- 
terpart. These  views  of  the.Platonists  and  Stoics 
were  sheer  speculations.  The  old  notions,  how- 
ever, of  the  Egyptians  and  Arabians  seem  to  have 
had  a  different  character,  and  as  there  is  nothing 
incredible  in  the  thought  of  their  being  known 
to  this  old  writer,  whether  Solomon  or  any  one 
else,  so  is  it  also  admissible,  to  say  the  least,  that 
some  such  view,  in  connection  with  others,  per- 
haps, of  a  more  indefinite  kind,  may  have  been 
included  in  the  words  of  Koheleth,  I.,  9,  11.  If 
some  such  thought  had  suggested  the  language, 
or  been  anciently  suggested  by  it,  the  dogma 
would  by  no  means  have  bound  our  assent,  as 
though  it  were  an  inspired  Bible  truth,  since  it 
is  only  used  by  this  contemplative  writer  as  an 
illustration  of  the  general  cyclical  notion  of  re- 


16 


ECCLESIASTES. 


turns  in  the  world  movement.  This  may  be  re- 
gai-ded  almost  in  the  light  of  an  a  priori  idea,  or 
one  necessarily  arising  to  every  thoughtful  mind 
in  the  contemplation  of  nature,  whether  we  think 
of  it  as  temporal  or  eternal.  Just  as  the  great 
nature  is  made  up  of  lesser  cycles  (a  thing  ob- 
vious to  sense),  so,  when  viewed  as  a  whole,  and 
regarded  simply  as  nature,  without  reference  to 
its  origin,  it  can  only  be  conceived  as  a  vast  re- 
peating cycle,  having  its  birth,  growth,  increase, 
diminution,  ortus,  interitus,  maxima,  minima, 
ever  going  round  and  round,  as  the  very  law  of 
its  continued  being.  A  straightforward  move- 
ment in  one  direction /orewer,  whether  it  be  one 
of  rarefaction,  or  condensation,  of  separation, 
or  combination,  must  end  in  ruin,  stagnation, 
death,  or  utter  sameness,  in  some  period  far  less 
than  an  absolute  eternity,  if  we  may  make  com- 
parisons. To  avoid  this,  nature,  the  great  na- 
ture, as  well  as  the  smaller  ones,  must  be  thought 
of  as  having  its  KafiKT/,  its  turning  or  bending,  as 
Plato  holds,  and  may  even  be  said  to  demonstrate, 
in  the  Phsedo,  72,  73  :  "For  if  the  one  course  of 
things  should  not  give  place  to  the  other,  in  ge- 
neration, but,  on  the  contrary,  there  was  ever  a 
straightforward  development  (^eiiOela  ykveoi^)  with- 
out any  turning  or  circuit,  it  is  certain  that  all 
things  must  finally  get  the  same  form  (to  avrb 
axvf-n),  and  have  the  same  state  or  affection 
(rJ  iivTo  TTiiBoc),  and  all  things  must  cease  be- 
coming" (TTa'u(7aL  TO.  -ycyvdfieva) — that  is,  there 
would  be  an  end  of  all  generation;  things  would 
be  brought  to  a  stand.  This  would  be  universal 
death,  he  shows,  whether  an  absolute  immobility 
and  stagnation,  or  an  absolute  rarefaction  and 
incoherence,  which  would  come  to  the  sape 
thing.  Both  terminations  would  be  the  death  of 
nature,  of  all  natures.  Whether  in  the  individual 
or  the  universal,  it  can  only  live  by  coming 
round  and  round  again.  This  must  be  the  law 
of  all  physical  movement,  whether  we  regard  na- 
ture as  eternal,  or  as  having  its  great  beginning, 
together  with  special  beginnings,  in  a  Divine 
Word.  As  a  nature  commenced,  it  must  thus 
move  in  growth,  maxima  and  minima,  or  it  would 
not  be  a  nature.  Change,  decay,  death,  revival, 
are  the  law  of  its  life.  Aristotle  thus  presents 
the  general  cyclical  idea  [Physica  IV.  14)  as 
grounded  in  human  language  expressive  of  the 
natural  human  thinking.  After  speaking  of 
time  as  motion  in  a  circle,  he  thus  proceeds: 
Aia  de  TOVTo  Kal  to  eiudbg  Xkytadat-avjxliaivEi-  (paul  yap 
KvuXov  elvat  to,  avdp^-mva  irpayfiaTa,  Kal  TCtv  oXXuv 
rCiv  Ktvyaiv  ex^vruu  cpvatK^v,  Kal  yivemv,  Kal  ipOopdv 
OTL  TavTa  TrdvTa  Xafi(3dvet  TeMVTjjv  Kal  dpxrlv  (ootte- 
pavd  KaTa  Tiva  -KEpiodov:  *'0u  this  account  there 
arises  the  usual  mode  of  speech.  For  they  say 
that  all  human  things  are  a  circle  (a  wheel) ;  and 
80  of  all  other  things  that  have  a  physical  move- 
ment, both  of  generation  and  decay — namely, 
that  they  have  a  beginning  and  an  end,  or,  as  it 
were,  a  period  (a  going  round)."  This  reminds 
us   of  the  TpoxoQ  yeveaeac,   "  course  of  nature  " 

(circulus  naiurse),  of  James  iii.  6,  and  the  iJli 
nnSin  "the  wheel  of  generations,"  of  the  Tal- 
Mudists  and  Eabbinioal  writers'— also  of  Plato's 
splendid  Myth  in  the  Politicus  (269  c)  of  the  two 
great  periods,  in  one  of  which  the  Divine  super- 


intendence carries  nature  forward  in  unbroken 
progress,  and,  in  the  other,  it  is  left  to  itself,  and, 
consequently,  to  ruin  and  decay.  Compare  also 
the  citations  made  by  Zockler,  p.  40i  from  Seneca, 
Tacitus,  and  Marcus  Aurelian. 

There  is,  however,  a  diflference  between  the 
Greek  aloin,  in  its  classical  usage,  and  the  Shemi- 

tic  D71J7.  It  consists  in  the  fact  that  the  latter 
is  used  for  world — every  where  in  the  Syriac  and 
Chaldaic,  and  much  more  frequently  in  the  Bible 
Hebrew  than  our  translation,  or  any  modern 
version,  would  seem  to  show.  There  is  a  glimpse 
of  such  a  meaning  sometimes  in  the  classical 
ai6v,  as  in  jEschylxts  Supp.  572 :  Zcv;  a'luvog 
Kpeuiv  airavGTov — "  Zeus,  king  of  the  never  ceasing 
(ever  moving)  world,"  as  it  may  very  appropri- 
ately be  rendered,  or  of  the  never  ceasing  age 
or  eternity.  This  world  sense  of  the  Hebrew, 
and  of  the  Greek  in  the  New  Testament,  does 
not,  however,  denote  the  world  in  space,  more 
properly  represented  by  the  word  Koa/io;,  but  the 
world  in  time,  or  as  a  time  existence.  This  is 
peculiarly  a  Shemitic  conception,  and  yet  it  comes 
directly  from  our  necessary  thinking.  The  time 
of  a  thing  enters  into  the  idea  of  its  true  being 
as  much  as  its  extent  or  its  energy  in  space ;  or, 
to  express  it  more  correctly,  the  movements  in 
succession,  of  any  true  organism  belong  as  much 
to  its  reality  (that  whichmakes  it  a  res,  or  thing) 
as  the  matter  or  collected  cotemporaneous  activi- 
ties to  which  we  give  the  name.  So,  too,  in  ojr 
Saxon  world  (weorld),  the  primitive  etymological 
conception,  we  think,  would  be  found  to  be  lime 
rather  than  space,  as  appears  even  in  the  later 
usage  which  we  find  in  such  expressions  as  this 
world  in  distinction  from  the  other  world,  or  the 
world  to  come, — besides  the  already  referred  to 
usage  in  Wiclip's  translation,  where  it  stands  for 

D71;;  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  for  aliiv  in  the 

New;  as  Psalm  cxlv.   13  for    D'dS;?  Sd  DoSd 
Kingdom  of  all  worldis,  1  Tim.  i.  17  for  liaaOi^i, 
Tuv   aluvuv,  Kynge  of  worldis,  which  puts  us  in 
mind  of  ^sciitlus,  Zev^  aicovo(;  Kpeuv  anavarov. 
The  only  place  in  the  Old  Testament  where  our 

English  translators  have  rendered  Q/IJ*  by  the 
word  world  is  Eccles.  iii.  11  [see  note  on  that 
passage,  p.  67].  It  has  been  objected  to  this  by 
Stuart,  Hitzig,  and  others,  because  it  is  the 
only  place,  and  th^t,  therefore,  the  rendering  is 
to  be  regarded  as  _contrary  to  the  usage  of  the 
language.  But  to  this  it  may  be  replied  by  turn- 
ing the  argument :  It  should  not  have  been  the 
only  place.  There  are  others  in  which  world  is 
the  best  rendering.  Thus  in  the  passages  already 
cited,  Ps.  xc.  2,  it  is  literally  '^from  world  to 
world,"  instead  of  the  vague  term  everlasting;* 
Ps.  cxlv.  13,  "kingdom  of  all  worlds:"  Ps.  cvi. 
31,  45;  Jerem.  x.  10,  "God  oflife.  King  of  the 

world;''  Hab.  iii.  5,   Q*?!;?   OD'^n   "  goings  of 


*  [This  language  is  generjilly  used  of  God,  or  His  KiDgdom. 
There  are,  however,  cases  wliore  it  is  employed  hyperboli- 
cally  of  the  settlement  in  the  promised  land,  as  in  Jeremiah 
vii.  7  :   "And  I  will  cause  you  to  dwell  in  this  place,  which 

I  gave  to  your  fathers,  oSlJ?    1;?1   oSl;?    |D^.  f™"" 

age  to  ago  " — or  from  world  to  world,  or  forever,  if  we  take, 
as  we  may,  if  we  have  faith  for  it,  the  higher  spiritual  sense 
of  the  eternal  settlement,  the  eternal  rest,  of  which  the  set- 
tlement in  Canaan  was  the  appointed  type. — T.  L.) 


CHAP.  I.  2-18. 


the  world,"  Vulg.  itinera  mundi ;  Deut.  xzxiii. 
27,  "the  arms  of  the  world" — that  support  the 
world  movemeat.  [See  further  on  this,  Langb, 
Genesis,  p.  140,  Six  Days  of  Creation,  ch.  xxvii.] 
From  such  usages  came  the  Rabbinical  sense  so 
frequently  found,  and  not  vice  versa,  as  some 
would  have  ua  believe ;  only  that  the  Rabbins  af- 
terward, not  fully  understanding  the  old  Hebrew 
conception  as  denoted  by  the  plural  forms  of 

On}),  or  wishing  to  enlarge  it  so  as  to  make  it  a 
term  of  acienoe,  gave  it  also  the  space  sense,  and 
used  it  for  Kda/iog.  (See  Buxtorf — Lex.  Chald. 
and  Rah.).  The  great  thought  underlying  all  the 
passages  just  quoted  is  that  of  the  world  move- 
ment, aa  an  immense  time,  exhibiting  God's  great 
work,  or  plan,  Bccles.  iii.  14.     So  also  in  chap. 

i.  3,  Cn^yi  may  be  rendered  for  the  world, 
and,  in  fact,  the  context  forces  to  that  view: 
generations  of  men  go  and  come,  but  the  earth 

stands,  oTiy),  for  the  world-time,  as  long  as 
the  world  lasts,  conveying  the  same  idea  that  is 
given,  Ps.  Ixxii.  6,  "throughout  all  generations, 
as  long  as  the  sun  and  moon  endure."  It  is  a  way 
some  critics  have,  of  refusing  to  see  a  sense  in 
places  where  it  occurs,  and  then  asserting  that  it 
cannot  occur  in  any  specific  instance,  because 
"it  is  not  found  elsewhere,"  they  say,  in  the  Old 
Testament.  Thus  regarded,  we  see  bow  it  comes 
to  be  so  common  in  the  earliest  Hebrew  after  the 
canonical, — not  merely  the  earliest  Rabbiuicaland 
Talmudical,  but  in  Sirach,  and  other  Jewish 
books,  that  much  preceded  them.  This  would 
never  have  been  the  case  in  the  early  Rabbinical 
writings,  much  less  in  these  apocryphal  books, 
had  there  not  been  some  ground  for  it  in  the  old 
Biblical  Hebrew  itself.  And  this  may  be  said, 
generally,  in  regard  to  all  other  Rabbinisms,  as 
Ihey  have  been  called,  in  Koheleth.  They  are 
rather  Kohelethisms  which  appear  in  the  earliest 
Eabbinical  and  Talmudical  writers,  because  the 
old  book,  on  account  of  its  having  more  of  a  phi- 
losophical aspect  than  other  ancient  Scripture, 
possessed  great  charms  for  them,  making  it  a  fa- 
vorite study,  leading  them  to  imitate  its  peculiar 
style,  and  to  make  much  use  of  its  rarer  forms 
and  words.  In  the  apocryphal  books,  so  far  as 
they  were  written  originally  in  Hebrew,  the  use 

of  Q/iy  for  world,  or  world  time,  is  beyond  all 
reasonable  doubt.  It  must  have  been  so  employed 
in  Sirach  xxxvi.  17,  where  we  have  the  Greek 
aidvar  in  the  world  sense,  as  also  in  Tobit  xiii.  6, 
10.  In  both  cases  the  language  is  precisely  si- 
milar to  that  Ps.  cxlv.  13  and  1  Tim.  i.  17.  The 
earliest  Syriao  preceding  the  New  Testament  used 

their  emphatic  form  of  the  word  [NoS;?]  in  the 
same  way,  as  appears  from  the  Peachito  version 
of  the  Old  Testament,  as  well  as  that  of  the  New, 
this  same  word  being  used  in  such  passages  as 
Ps.  xc.  2,  cxlv.  13,  Ecclesiaates  iii.  11,  and  He- 
brews i.  3,  xi.  3,  aa  a  rendering  of  a'liyv,  aiavec, 
where  the  Greek  has,  beyond  all  doubt,  the  world 
sense,  though  in  its  time  aspect.  Again,  there  is 
no  accounting  for  this  idiom  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment [this  use  of  al&v  so  different  from  the  clas- 
sical] except  by  regarding  it  as  a  Hebraism, 
which  is  simply  saying  that  the  world  sense,  thus 
Viewed,  was  an  old  and  established  sense  of  the 


Hebrew  a")))).  There  was  nothing  in  any  sci- 
ence, or  thinking,  in  the  Jewish  age  immediately 
preceding,  to  occasion  any  change  or  departura 
from  the  old  meaning.  There  is  neither  autho- 
rity nor  weight  in  Winek's  remarks  {Idioms  oj 
New  Testament,  ^  27,  3)  on  the  plural  forms  of 
alcjv, — that  "  they  are  used  for  worlds  because  the 
object  denoted  consists  of  several  parts,  e.  g.,  oi 
alijvec,  the  whole  world,  the  ufliverse,"  with  which 

he  would  compare  the  Rabbinical  use  of  □'obj; 
"The  Jews,"  he  says,  "imagined  several  hea- 
vens, one  above   the  other."     That  is  true,  but 

they  never  use  DTJ 7^  to  express  such  a  concep- 
tion. It  is  ever  D'Dtff  'DE?,  the  Heaven  of  Hea- 
vens, or  the  Heaven  and  Heaven  of  Heavens,  or 
some  similar  language,  from  which  came  after- 
wards the  third  heaven  of  the  Jews,  and  the  seven 
heavens  of  the  Talmud  and  of  the  Mohammedans. 
But  this  was  ever  in  the  space  sense — worlds  above 
worlds — not  the  time  sense,  worlds  after  worlds, 
which  was  a  conception  peculiarly  Shemitic, 
barely  found,  if  at  all,  among  other  ancient  peo- 
ples, and  giving  rise  to  those  pluralities  of  D/IJ?, 
and  afterwards  of  aldiv,  which  can  be  accounted 
for  in  no  other  way ;  since  the  conception  of  ab- 
solute endlessness  as  etymological  in  a^}^y,  or 
aluv,  would  clearly  have  prevented  it.  It  is 
this  idea  which  so  refutes  the  assertion  of  Stuart 
[Comment.  Ecclesiastes  xii.  1)  that  "time  divided 
is  not  strictly  predicable  of  a  future  state."  He 
means  that  all  duration  before  or  after  the  pre- 
sent world,  as  we  call  it,  must  be  regarded  as  one 
continuous  blank,  or  unvaried  extension  of  being. 
There  are  not  only  no  days  and  years,  such  as 
measure  our  olam,  but  no  oiowf,  or  world-times, 
in  that  greater  chronology.  This  certainly  is  not 
the  Scripture  mode  of  conception,  or  such  lan- 
guage as  we  find  would  never  have  arisen,  or 

such  pluralities  as  Q'n7J>,  aiijvsc,  or  their  redu- 
plications, ages  of  ages,  worlds  of  worlds  exactly 
like  the  space  pluralities  Q'D!!'  ''Dt!',  heaven  of 
heavens.  Such  is  the  Scripture  conception,  we 
say,  and  what  right  had  Stuart,  following  Hit- 
zio,  to  deny  that  it  is  a  Scripture  truth,  or  to  af- 
firm that  it  is  only  a  mode  of  speaking  more 
humano  ?  And  reason  sanctions  it.  What  a 
narrow  idea   that   the   great  antepast,  and   the 

great  future  after  this  brief  world  or  DvlJ^  has 
passed  away,  are  to  be  regarded  as  having  no 
chronology  of  a  higher  kind,  no  other  worlds, 
and  worlds  of  worlds,  succeeding  each  other  in 
number  and  variety  inconceivable  !  Robinson 
seems  to  hold  the  view  of  Winer  that  when  aiCive^ 
is  used  for  worlds  in  the  New  Testament,  it  is  to 
be  regarded  as  a  space  conception,  "the  upper 
and  lower  worlds,  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  as 
making  up  the  universe ;"  and  he  refers  to  Heb. 
i.  2  and  xi.  3,  passages  which  should  have  con- 
vinced him  (jpace  lanti  viri,  do  we  venture  to  say 
it)  that  the  time  sense  (worlds  after  worlds  in- 
stead of  worlds  beyond  or  abome  worlds)  is  not 
only  predominant  but  exclusive,  as  it  is  in  1 
Timothy  i.  17,  fSaai?ievg  rCiv  aiuvuv,  the  King  of 
the  worlds,  the  King  eternal.  This  would  seem, 
too,  to  be  Zocklek's  way  of  thinking,  when  he 
speaks  of  the  rendering  world  (Eccles.  iii.  11)  as 
appearing  first  in  the  Talmudic  literature,  and 


48 


ECCLESIASTES. 


carrying   the   seose    of    kosmos,    macrocosmoa. 

Neither  D^Dy  in  the  Old  Testament,  nor  alan  in 
the  New,  has  ever  the  sense  of  kosmos,  or  any 
space  conception  attached  to  it.  That  idea,  as 
was  said  before,  did  come  in  afterwards  among  the 
Talmudists  and  early  Rabbins,  but  it  was  only  after 
they  had  got  a  smattering  of  science,  and  wished 
to  make  some  of  their  old  words  look  more  philo- 
sophical. See  Buxtobf's  Lexicon  on  the  word. 
They  still,  however,  retained  the  time  sense,  or 
the   world-time,   in   their    favorite    expressions, 

nin  o'?!;'  this  world,  and  Nan  dSi^T,  the  world 
to  come,  which  are  exact  representations  of  the 
ancient  usage,  as  it  arose  in  that  early  day, 
when  time  worlds  were  so  much  more  a  source  of 
wondering  thought  than  worlds  in  space,  the 
boasted  conception  of  our  modern  knowledge. 

It  may  be  thought  that  this  view  of  oTsy  and 
a'ibiv  as  having  plurals,  and,  therefore,  not  in 
themselves  denoting  absolute  endlessness,  or  infi- 
nity of  time,  mast  weaken  the  force  of  certain 
passages  in  the  New  Testament,  especially  of  that 
most  solemn  sentence,  Matth.  xxv.  46.  This, 
however,  comes  from  a  wrong  view  of  what  con- 
stitutes the  real  power  of  the  impressive  language 
there  employed.  The  preacher,  in  contending 
with  the  Universalist,  or  Restorationist,  would 
commit  an  error,  and,  it  may  be,  suffer  a  failure 
in  his  argument,  should  he  lay  the  whole  stress 
of  it  on  the  etymological  or  historical  significance 
of  the  words,  ai6ii,  a'luviog,  and  attempt  to  prove 
that,  of  themselves,  they  necessarily  carry  the 
meaning  of  endless  duration.  There  is  another 
method  by  which  the  conclusion  is  reached  in  a 
much  more  impressive  and  cavil-silencing  man- 
ner, it  is  by  insisting  on  that  dread  aspect  of 
finalitij  that  appears  not  in  single  words  merely, 
but  in  the  power  and  vividness  of  the  language 
taken  as  a  whole.  The  parabolic  images  evi- 
dently represent  a  closing  scene.  It  is  the  last 
great  act  in  the  drama  of  human  existence,  the 
human  world,  or*  aeon,  we  may  say,  if  not  the 
cosmical.  It  is  the  ovvrtXcia  rov  aitjvof,  Matth. 
xiii.  39,  the  end,  the  settlement,  the  reckoning  of 
the  world,  or  more  strongly,  Heb.  ix.  28, 
GuvrkXeta  raif  aluvui/,  *'  the  settlement  of  the 
worlds,"  when  "  God  demands  again  the  ages 
fled,"  Eccles.  iii-  15  (see  the  Metrical  Version, 
and  the    reasons   for  this   translation).     At  all 

events,  our  race,  the  DTX  'JS,  the  Adamio  race, 
the  human  al6v,  or  world,  is  judged;  whether 
that  judgment  occupy  a  solar  day  of  twenty-four 
hours,  or  a  much  longer  historic  period.  There 
comes  at  last  the  end.  Sentence  is  pronounced. 
The  condemned  go  away,  elg  KoXactu  ai/^vtov — the 
righteous,  eif  l^utiv  aiuviov.  Both  states  are  ex- 
pressed in  language  precisely  parallel,  and  so 
presented  that  we  cannot  exegetically  make  any 
difference  in  the  force  and  extent  of  the  terms. 
Aliii'io;,  from  its  adjective  form,  may  perhaps 
mean,  an  existence,  a  duration,  measured  by 
sons,  or  worlds  (taken  as  the  measuring  unit), 
just  as  our  present  world,  or  aeon,  is  measured 
by  years  or  centuries.  But  it  would  be  more  in 
accordance  with  the  plainest  etymological  usage 
to  give  it  simply  the  sense  of  olamic  or  iconic,  or 

to  regard  it  as  denoting,  like  the  Jewish  o'^l^f 
N3n    [olam    habba),    the    world  to    come.     These 


shall  go  away  into  the  punishment  [the  restraint, 
imprisonment]  of  the  world  to  come,  and  thesa 
into  the  life  of  the  world  to  come.  That  is  all  we 
can  etymologically  or  exegetically  make  of  the 
%vord  in  this  passage.  And  so  is  it  ever  in  the 
old  Syriao  Version,  where  the  one  rendering  is 
still  more  unmistakably  clear :   "  These  shall  go 

away  chyh'}  a'p^Wm  to  the  pain  of  the  olam, 

and  these  JZilJ^-\  S'n'7  to  the  life  of  the  olam" 
— the  world  to  come.  Compare  the  same  Syriao 
expressions  in  a  great  many  other  passages,  such 
as  Matth.  xix.  16;  Mark  x.  17;  Luke  xviii.  18; 
John  iii.  15;  Acts  xiii.  46;    1  Tim.  vi.  12,  etc., 

in  which  a'lavio^  is  ever  rendered  D'7J77T  or 
ND7J?7T  (more  emphatic)  "  that  which  belongs 
to  the  glam,"  in  the  singular. 

They  shall  go  away — -the  one  here,  the  other 
there.  The  two  classes  so  long  mingled  are  di- 
vided, no  more,  as  it  would  seem,  to  be  again  to- 
gether. The  "wheat  is  gathered  into  the  garner," 
the  "tares  are  cast  into  the  fire."  The  harvest 
is  over ;  there  is  no  more  to  follow  ;  at  least,  the 
language  gives  us  no  intimation  of  any  thing  be- 
yond. The  catastrophe  has  come ;  the  drama  is 
ended ;  the  curtain  drops.  Shall  it  never  rise 
again  ?  Is  this  solemn  close  forever  in  the  sense 
of  irreversibility  ?  Who  is  authorized  to  say 
that  there  will  ever  be  an  arrest  of  this  judgment, 
or  a  new  trial  ever  granted  ?  Every  thing  in  the 
awful  scene  so  graphically  depicted  seems  to  fa- 
vor the  one  thought  of  finality.  Rash  minds  may 
indulge  the  thought  of  some  change,  some  dis- 
pensation in  still  remoter  "  worlds  to  come,"  but 
there  is  no  warrant  for  it  in  any  of  the  languags 
employed.  If  there  be  allowed  the  thought  of 
change,  it  may  be  inferred  of  the  one  state  as 
well  as  of  the  other.  The  C,u^  aluivto^  may  have 
its  interruption,  its  renewed  probation,  and  ex- 
posure to  evil;  exegetically  this  may  be  as  well 
sustained  as  the  other.  To  rebut  any  such  pre- 
sumption, we  have,  too,  our  Saviour's  words, 
John  xiv.  2  :  "If  it  were  not  so,  I  would  have 
told  you."  There  would  have  been  a  similar 
ground  for  such  language  here  as  when  he  said, 
"Let  not  your  hearts  be  troubled;  in  my  Fa- 
ther's house  are  many  mansions  ;"  there  would 
have  been  the  same  reason  for  allaying  fears  of 
change  on  the  one  hand,  or  preventing  despair 
on  the  other,  had  there  not  been  the  intention  to 
impress  that  thought  of  finality  which  the  whole 
dramatic  representation  so  vividly  conveys :  If 
there  were  ages  of  change  coming  somewhere  in 
the  vast  future,  in  the  infinite  flow  of  the  alSme; 
Tuv  aiiivav,  "the  ages  of  ages,"  when  the  (u^ 
should  cease,  or  the  KoXaai^  be  intermitted,  "I 
would  have  told  you."  He  has  not  told  us;  and 
no  man  should  have  the  audacity  to  raise  the 
veil  which  He  has  so  solemnly  dropped  before  the 
vision  both  of  sense  and  reason.  Let  it  remain 
for  a  new  revelation,  when  he  chooses  to  make 
it.  Till  then  it  stands :  They  shall  go  away,  the 
one  into  the  life,  the  other  into  the  imprison- 
ment, of  the  world  to  come.  There  is  no  more; 
let  no  one  add  to  it ;  let  no  one  take  away. 

Some  have  thought  to  find  the  metaphysical 
idea  of  limelessness  in  the  Scriptural  olamic  words, 
and  especially  in  the  ai,i)i>,  alijvio;,  of  the  New 


CHAP.  I.  2-18. 


49 


Testament.  That  is  a  Platonic  notion  largely 
dwelt  upon  in  the  Timseus  (37  c)  where  alijv  is 
represented  as  fixed,  one  of  the  "  things  that 
stand"  [belonging  to  the  class  called  ra  bvra 
rather  than  ra  yiyvoiieva]  whilst  XP'^°C,  flowing 
lime,  is  its  "moving  image,"  or  the  revolving 
mirror  which  seems  to  set  in  motion  the  landscape 
of  eternity,  though,  in  reality,  all  is  changeless 
and  still.  But  this  timeless  idea  is  no  etymologi- 
cal sense  oi  a'ti)v;  it  is  only  the  speculative  notion 
of  the  philosopher  which  he  represents  by  the 
word  as  supplying  a  supposed  antithesis  to 
Xpivo;,  time.  We  have  no  right  to  say,  however, 
that  there  is  no  ground  for  it  in  the  reason.  It 
appears,  sometimes,  in  the  commoh  thinkiug,  as 
when  we  spealc  of  time  as  contrasted  with  eter- 
nity, or  of  a  state  before  time  was,  or  that  shall 
be  when  "time  shall  be  no  more."  Such  a  style 
of  speech  has  been  favored  by  a  wrong  interpre- 
tation of  the  language,  Eev.  x.  6,  on  xp^^oi  oi'i^ 
iarai  hi,  and  a  severing  it  from  its  immediate 
context.  Still  its  prevalence  shows  that  it  is  not 
altogether  alien  to  the  human  thinking.  It  is 
felt  that  there  is  a  solid  reason  for  predicating 
timelessness  of  God,  of  the  Divine  mind,  and  the 
Divine  ways,  as  lying  above  the  plane  of  the  hu- 
man, even  "as  the  Heaven  is  high  above  the 
earth"  [Isa.  Iv.  9].  To  Deity  all  effects  must  be 
present  in  their  causes,  and  causes  seen  in  their 
effects,  and  all  phenomena,  or  "things  that  do 
appear,"  must  have  their  more  real  existence  in 
the  unseen  seminal  energies  of  which  they  are 
manifestations.  They  have  their  true  being  in  the 
Logos  or  Word  from  whence  they  came.  In  this 
sense  the  Prophet  most  sublimely  represents  God 
as  Dip  SE'V,  Ps.lv.  20,  sedens  antiquitatem,  liter- 
ally, sitting  the  everlasting  antepast,  and  '\}J  Vyi' 
Isa.  Ivii,  15,  inhabiting  eternity,  both  of  which  ex- 
pressions would  seem  to  aim  at  denoting,  as  far 
as  language  can  denote  it,  a  timeless  state,  as  op- 
posed to  movement  or  succession.  And  so  even 
in  regard  to  the  human  soul,  our  own  finite 
thoughts  may  sometimes  faintly  present  to  us  the 
image  of  successionless  spiritual  being,  or  of 
some  approach  to  it.  We  can  think  of  a  condi- 
tion of  the  spirit  in  which  time,  as  movement, 
seems  to  disappear.  It  may  be  the  conception  of 
some  "beatiiiG  vision"  on  the  one  hand,  or  of 
some  "horror  of  great  darkness"  on  the  other, 
the  one  so  enrapturing  and  absorbing,  the  other 
80  dense  and  harrowing,  that  all  division,  or 
sense  of  such  division,  seems  so  wholly  lost  that 
existence,  in  this  respect,  may  not  improperly  be 
said  to  be  timeless.  Again,  there  is  the  school- 
men'snotioil  of  eternity  as  given  by  Boethius,  toia 
aimul  et  interminabilis  vitm  possessio,  or  as  it  is  de- 
fined by  that  quaint  old  Hebraist  and  Lexicogra- 
pher, Robertson — "Eternity  the  everlasting  and 
ever  present,  without  futurition  or  preterition," 
as  in  the  timeless  name  irnx,  TVTY,  the  I  AM 
(Jahveh  or  Jehovah)  6  av,  nal  b  ijv,  ttal  b  ipx6iJ,e- 
"of.  But  such  a  timeless  idea  is  liardly  for  our 
present  thinking,  in  this  present  state  of  change 
and  transition.  "  Such  knowledge  is  too  wou- 
derful  for  us ;  it  is  high,  we  cannot  attain  unto 
It.  The  mere  glimpse  we  sometimes  get  dazzles 
the  vision,  and  casts  us  down  to  that  mode  of 
thinking,  as  necessarily  involving  succession, 
which  God  has  made   the  law   of  our   present 


mental  being.  We  cannot,  therefore,  believe  that 
this  timeless  idea  of  alijv  is  intended  in  those  pas- 
sages that  are  meant  to  impress  us  with  the  so- 
lemnities of  our  future  existence.  If  it  thus  oc- 
curs any  where  in  the  New  Testament,  it  would 
seem  to  be  in  such  passages  as  2  Cor.  iv.  18,  ra 
yap  piendjitva  irpdcmcpa,  ra  de  /^i/  pXeirofieva  ac6- 
via — "the  things  that  are  seen  are  temporal,  the 
things  that  are  unseen  are  eternal."  We  do  not 
think  that  Paul  got  this,  or  other  passages  like 
it  (such  as  Heb.  xi.  1,  3 ;  Rom.  i.  20)  from  Plato, 
or  that  they  were  suggested  to  him  by  any  study 
of  the  Platonic  writings;  but  certainly  there  is  a 
wonderful  resemblance  between  it  and  some 
things  in  the  Timosus,  and  the  Republic.  The 
fiij  l3Hevd/.isva,  the  adpara,  "the  unseen  things," 
of  Paul,  do  strongly  suggest,  and  are  suggested 
by  the  aeidr/,  the  adpara,  the  voijra  of  Plato,  as 
all  denoting,  not  merely  things  absent  from  pre- 
sent vision,  but  that  which  is,  in  its  very  essence, 
unseen,  supersensual,  above  all  the  senses,  for 
which  seeing  is  simply  taken  as  the  higher  and 
general  representative.  So  irpdanaipa  and  aiiivia 
suggest  the  same  distinction  that  Plato  makes  in 
the  Timseus  between  the  jiyvdpeva,  and  the 
a\/iivi.a,  the  becoming,  the  flowing,  the  changing, 
and  the  Ionian,  in  the  sense  of  reality  and  im- 
mutability. We  are  strongly  drawn  to  think  that 
Paul  has  something  of  the  same  contrast,  though 
presented  in  a  far  higher  and  holier  aspect  than 
the  mere  philosophical  contemplation.  Vipianaipa, 
temporal  would  seem  opposed  to  aluvia,  notiutlie 
sense  of  a  short  period  (or  periods)  as  contrasted 
with  a  long  duration,  or  even  an  endless  dura- 
tion, but,  rather,  as  time  itself,  or  existence  in 
time,  as  the  antithesis  of  the  timeless,  that  im- 
mutable, successionless  being  which  even  now  we 
sometimes  seem  to  see  as  in  a  mirror  shadowly, 
(1  Cor.  xiii.  12),  or  enigmatically,  but  which 
then  the  soul  may  behold,  face  to  face,  as  the 
most  real  of  all  realities.  Except,  however,  in 
such  lofty  passages  as  that,  where  the  inspired 
writer  seems  to  see,  and  strives  to  utter,  things 
appTjra,  or  ineffable  (2  Cor.  xii.  4),  it  is  best  to 
be  content  with  that  other  and  more  obvious 
sense,  which  is  best  adapted  to  our  faculties  in 
their  present  state,  and  which  may,  therefore, 
be  rationally  regarded  as  the  sense  intended  for 
us  by  the  divine  author  of  the  Scriptures.  Even 
here,  in  2  Cor,  iv.  18,  this  lower  sense,  if  any 
choose  to  call  it  so,  satisfies  every  demand  of  our 
present  thinking:  the  things  that  are  seen,  the 
changing  transitory  objects  around  us,  belong  to 
our  present  transitory  being — they  are  rrpSaKaipa, 
for  a  season. — The  things  that  "  eye  hath  not 
seen,  nor  ear  heard,"  belong  to  the  great  world 
to  come,  as  an  advanced  period  in  the  vast  suc- 
cessions of  time.  In  this  sense  they  are  olamio  or 
seonian.  A  purely  timeless  state,  it  may  be  said, 
is  above  our  conceptions,  at  least  for  the  human 
or  finite  existence, — above  our  conceptual  think- 
ing even,  though  not  altogether  transcending,  aa 
an  idea,  our  highest  reasoning. 

There  are  other  passages  in  which  the  sense 

of  CD?!);  would  seem  even  more  limited  than  in 
this  verse  of  Eoelesiastes  (i.  3),  or  rather,  to  be 
taken  as  a  hyperbolical  term  for  the  indefinite 
or  unmeasured,  though  of  conceivably  short  du- 
ration.   Compare  Exod.  xxi.  16,  where  it  is  said 


60 


ECCLESIASTES. 


of  a  servant  in  certain  cases  C37lJ?7  n3jj'l, 
"  and  he  shall  serve  him  fureoer" — that  is,  in  dis- 
tinction fi-om  a  set  lime.  So  also,  Lev.  xxv.  26. 
The  same  language  is  used  of  inheritances,  and 
earthly  possessions,  as  in  Ueut.  xxix.  28.  As  an 
example  of  the  immense  extremes  which  the  con- 
text shows  in  the  use  of  the  word,  compare  the 
language  employed  but  a  short  distance  from 
this    latter    passage,    Deut.    xxxii.    40    'JX    TI 

LDh^ph  "  Iliveforei'er,"  spoken  of  God  in  such  a 
way  as  to  mean  nothing  less  than  the  absolute  or 
endless  eternity.  But  it  is  the  subject  to  which 
it  is  applied  that  forces  to  this,  not  any  etymolo- 
gical necessity  in  the  word  itself. 

"And  they  shall  reign  forever  and  forever," 
Rev.  xxii.  5.  Here  is  another  example  of  an 
attempt'to  express  the  immeasurable,  though  in 
a  different  way,  that  is,  by  reduplications :  ical 
jjaaAtuaovaiv  cif  rove  AIQNAS   tuv   AIHNON,   in 

secula  seculorum,  0'D7;7  D 'V ',  Syriao  N^/J'? 
NoS;?^,  or,  in  one  word,  pn'7;?pS^'7,  leolam- 
olemin,  for-ever-ever-more,  for  ages  of  ages,  worlds 
of  worlds,  eternities  of  eternities. — Wickluf, 
"  Ihei  schulen  regne  in  to  worldis  of  worldis."  It 
falls  short,  of  course,  in  conception,  as  all  lan- 
guage must,  yet  still  it  is  conceptually  aiming  at 
the  endless,  or  absolute  eternity,  and  must  be 
taken,  therefore,  as  representative  of  it  in  idea. 
A  negative  term,  in  such  case,  like  infinite,  or 
endless,  might  have  been  used;  but  though  cor- 
rect, logically,  it  would  have  had  far  less  con- 
ceptual, or  even  ideal  power. 

This  is  said  of  the  future.  There  is  a  similar 
language  used  of  the  past;   as  Ephesiana  iii.  9, 

airb  TUV  aluivuv,  a  seculis,    □^D7lJ^    ID,  from  the 

olams,  from  the  ages,  the  eternities,  Wicliffe, 
"hiddefro  worldis,"  Tyndale,  "  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world,"  the  great  world,  including 
all  worlds,— or,  taken  without  division,  the  an- 
tepast  eternity,  before  the  present  aliiiv,  clam,  or 
world,  began. 

There  is  another  method  in  which  an  attempt 
is  made  to  represent  the  absolute  eternity.  It  is 
by  a  phrase  shorter  than  those  before  mentioned, 
but  more  emphatic,  and,  in  some  respects,  more 

impressive.     It   is   by  adding   to   Q7lj?,    or   to 

Q7li?7,  the  particle  "}}?,  or  the  noun  I}!,  some- 
times written  IJ^.  Fuerst  makes  this  word,  as 
a  noun,  denoting  eternity,  from  a  supposed  root 
1J7,  to  which  he  gives  the  sense  obducere,  obvelare, 
to  conceal,  &c.,  making  it,  in  this  way,  like  the 

verb  t3i}},  the  primary  sense  of  which  is  hidden- 

ness,  obscurity,  thus  giving  the  noun  D/IJ?  the 
sense  of  the  unbounded,  the  indefinite.  There  is 
no  authority  for  this  in  the  case  of  ^y.  It  might 
more  plausibly  be  regarded  as  having  the  sense 

of  number,  like  the  Arabic    Jj_^  ;    but  the  best 

view  is  that  of  Gesenids,  who  makes  it,  both 

as  noun  and  particle,  from  mj^  =Arabic    \    V^, 

which  has  the  sense  of  transition.     It  is  rather 


I  transition  to,  arrival  and  going  beyond — a  passing 
beyond,  still  farther,  on,  and  on.  Thus  it  be- 
comes a  name  for  eternity,  as  in  those  remarkable 
expressions,  Isa.  ix.  5,  '\y_  '^N,  poorly  rendered 
everlasting  Father,  and  '\^_  ]D!£',  inhabiting  eternity, 
Isa.  Ivii.  15;  with  which  compare  '\y  'IIH 
Hab.  iii.  6,  H^  niH,  Gen.  xlix.  29,  and  n^ 
1^  'O'Vi  Is^-  ^1^-  17,  where  we  have  the 
same  word  as  noun  and  preposition — the  moun- 
tains of  ad,  the  progenitors  of  ad — io  the  ages  of 
ad — to  the  ages  to  which  other  ages  are  to  be 
added,  indefinitely.  Hence  the  preposition  sense 
to,  making  it  significantly,  as  well  as  etymologi- 
cally  equivalent  to  the  Latin  ad  et,  the  Greek 
tTi,  Saxon  at  and  to,  in  all  of  which  there  is  this 
sense  oi  arrival  and  transition.  The  idea  becomes 
most  vivid  and  impressive  in  this  Hebrew  phrase 

l;?1  D7l^7,  for  ever  and  yet,  for  the  age,  the 
world,  the  eternity,  and  still  on,  on,  on ;  or  as 
the  quaint  old  lexicographer  before  referred  to 
expresses  it,  "  it  imparteth  this.  As  yet,  and  as 
yet,  and  ever  as  yet,  forever,  and  forevermore,  as 
yet " — as  though  there  were,  in  this  short  word 

thus  added  to  CDlty,  the  full  power  of  Handel's 
Hallelujah  Chorus,  as  it  comes  to  us  in  the  seem- 
ingly endless  repetitions  of  that  most  sublime  mu- 
sic.    Unlike  the  others,  the   effect  of  this  short 

addition  to  CDblJ?  is  felt,  in  its  very  brevity  and 
abruptness,  as  something  that  gives  the  impres- 
sion of  endless  iteration.  It  is  like  the  mathe- 
matician's abbreviating  term  +  &c.,  or  the  sign 
of  infinity  oo,  or  the  symbol  by  which  he  would 
denote  the  supposed  last  term  of  an  infinite  se- 
ries. These  pluralities  and  reduplications,  and 
other  striking  methods  of  representing  the  olamic 
ideas,  are  peculiar  to  the  Shemitic  languages,  or 
they  appear  in  our  modern  tongues  only  as  de- 
rived from  them  through  Bible  translations,  much 
changed,  too,  and  weakened  in  the  transfer. 
They  are  utterly  at  war  with  the  thought  of  the 
great  eternal  past  and  future  as  blank  undivided 
durations,  according  to  the  unwarranted  dictum 
of  HiTziQ  and  Stuart,  which  would  confine  all 
history  and  all  chronology  to  this  brief  aeon  we 
call  time.  These  peculiar  terms,  with  their 
strange  pluralities,  would  never  have  grown  up 
in  the  language  of  a  people  who  entertained  such 
a  blank  conception.  The  fact,  however,  is  just 
the  other  way.  In  these  vast  time  ideas,  and  the 
manner  of  vividly  representing  them,  the  She- 
mitic mind  went  beyond  the  modern,  although  WB 
boast,  and  with  reason,  of  so  far  exceeding  the 
early  men  in  the  vastness  of  our  space  concep- 
tions. It  is  only  lately  that  our  science  has  bad 
its  attention  called  to  the  great  time  periods  of 
the  world,  as  transcending  the  ordinary  histori- 
cal. Under  the  influence  of  the  new  idea,  we 
talk  largely  in  our  numerical  estimates,  though 
almost  wholly  hypothetical ;  but  for  real  emo- 
tional power  what  are  our  long  rows  of  decimals, 
our  myriads,  and  millions,  and  billions,  to  the 
aUyve^  tuv  iuavuv,  the  ages  of  ages,  the  worldis  of 
worldis,  the  olam  of  olams,  the  great  world  made 
up  of  countless  worlds,  not  beyond  each  other,  in 
space,  but  one  after  the  other,  in  time  ? 

There  is  still  another  aspect  of  the  world  idea, 
which  seems  to  be  presented,  Ecolesiastes  iii.  Hi 


CHAP.  I.  2-18. 


14.  The  thought  of  the  world,  or  of  a  world, 
when  the  mind  receives  it  complete,  comes  to  It 
in  a  trinal  form  of  contemplation,  like  the  three 
dimensions  in  geometry,  breadth,  length,  and 
height.  It  is  the  world  in  space  and  force,  (or 
the  world  dynamically),  the  world  in  time,  and 
the  world  in  rank  or  range  of  being.  To  use 
some  of  the  language  employed  by  De.  Lange, 
Genesis,  190,  191,  it  is  the  "  world  as  kosmos,  the 
world  as  leon,"  to  which  we  may  add,  the  world 
as  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  application  of  this 
thought,  especially  the  latter  view  of  it,  to  Ec- 
clesiastes  iii.  11,  14,  gives  those  verses  a  force 
and  significance  which  warrants  great  confidence 
in  it  as  the  true  interpretation.  On  ver.  11  of 
that  chapter,  see  some  further  remarks  in  the 
note  adjoined.  In  ver.  14  it  is  said,  "  I  know 
that  all  that  God  doeth,"  or  "whatsoever  God 
doeth,  it  shall  be /oreuer,"  says  our  translation, 
in  perpetuum  says  the  Vulffate,  Ixx.  el(  rbv  a'lava 
(for  the  sson),  Luther,  das   bestehet  immer.     The 

Hebrew  vh^jh  here  may  be  rendered,  as  in 
ver.  11,  for  the  world,  but  it  can  hardly  be  re- 
garded exclusively,  or  mainly,  as  either  the  world 
in  space  or  the  world  in  time.  The  mind  is  not 
satisfied  with  the  rendering  forever,  or  for  eter- 
nity, if  there  is  understood  by  it  simply  endless 
duration.  God's  greater  works,  the  heavenly 
bodies  and  their  motions  may  have  such  a,  term 
applied  to  them,  hyperbolically,  as  compared  with 
the  transieat  works  of  man,  and  this  is  the  view 
which  some  excellent  commentators  take  of  the 
passage.  There  is  a  striking  resemblance  to  it, 
wellworthyof  note,  in  Cicero's  Treatise  AiVatero 
Deorum,  where  the  lower  tellurian  irregularities 
are  contrasted  with  the  heavenly  ordpr  and  per- 
manency as  manifested  in  the  planetary  move- 
ments, or,  to  use  some  of  Koheleth's  language, 
the  flowing,  changing  world,  tifOWT}  nno,  "be- 
neath the  sun,"  and  the  world  supra  solem,  the 
eternal  sphere,  unchanging,  or  forever  constant, 
in  its  one  unvarying  movement:  Nulla  igitur  in 
coelo  nee  fortuna,  nee  temeriias,  nee  erratic,  nee  va- 
rietas  inest;  contraque,  omais  ORDO,  VERITAS, 
RATIO,  CONCORDIA;  qumque  his  vacant,  em- 
entita  et  falsa,  plenaque  erroris,  ea  cireum  terras, 
infra  lunam,  qux  omnium  ultima  est,  in  terrisque  ver- 
lantur.  "  There  is,  therefore,  in  the  heavens 
neither  chance,  nor  arbitrariness,  nor  erroneous 
movement,  nor  variableness,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
all  is  order,  truth,  reason,  constancy  (ratio  in  the 
sense  of  proportion,  harmony) ;  void  of  these,  all 
is  spurious,  false,  full  of  error,  that  lies  beneath 
the  moon,  the  lowest  sphere,  or  that  has  its  home 
here  on  earth"  [Argument  of  the  Stoic  Balbus, 
Cio.  De.  Nat.  Dear.,  II.  22]."  "Beneath  the 
moon  " — compare  it  with  the  frequent  Solomonic 
expression  above  referred  to,   and  the  sublime 

language.  Job  xxv.  2,  VDnn3  DlStV  r\0y 
faeiens  concordiam  in  sublimibus  suis — ' '  who  maketh 
peace  in  His  high  places."     Thus  regarded,  the 


heavens  in  their  larger  and  higher  aspect,  are 
representative  of  the  calmness,  immutability, 
and  unfailing  certainty  of  that  divine  Will  which 
is  ever  one  with  the  divine  Reason.  This  is  in- 
deed a  noble  view  of  the  passage,  but  we  cannot 
think  it  the  exclusively  true  one,  not  simply  be- 
cause it  is  said  in  other  Scriptures  (Ps.  cii.  26, 
Isa.  li.  6),  that  "the  heavens  themselves  grow 
old"  and  "vanish  away,"  but  because  it  can 
hardly  be  made  to  suit  with  the  expression 
Onyi,  either  in  its  cosmical  or  time  sense,  or 

those  other  words  Ityx  7J  "whatsoever  God 
has  made."  Some  things  God  has  made  to  be 
transient,  and  they  can,  in  no  sense,  be  said  to 
"h&  forever,"  or  "for  eternity,"  unless  we  take 
it,  according  to  the  view  of  Zockler,  in  their 
connections  with  other  things  that  are  eternal, 
or  in  their  bearing  upon  eternal  destinies.  Bui 
this  would  be  true  also  of  the  works  and  move- 
ments of  man,  or  things  "beneath  the  sun." 
The  better  view,  therefore,  and  better  satisfying 
the  whole  spirit  of  the  passage,  is  that  which  re- 
gards Q/li?  as  denoting  the  world,  or  world-time 
in  God's  sight^the  great  ideal,  as  it  appears  to 
Him,  including  not  merely  space  and  time,  but 
the  great  range  of  being — or,  to  avoid  the  use  of 
what  might  seem  affected  philosophical  language, 
the  divine  plan  of  being,  to  which  the  smallest 
and  most  transient  things  contribute  as  well  as 
the  greatest, — in  other  words,  the  kingdom  of 
God.  To  this  "  nothing  can  be  added ;  from  it 
nothing  can  be  taken  away."     In  this  sense,  all 

that  God  doeth  is  Cd'71;?7,  for  the  olam,  for  the 
world,  for  the  great  whole  of  being,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  human  plans,  the  human  do- 
ings, with  their  adapted  yet  transient  seasons, 
as  they  are  enumerated  in  the  first  part  of  the 
chapter —  "  a  time  for  evert/  thing,"  but  every 
thing  for  the  olam,  or  great  world  time,  with 
its  inconceivable  range  of  being,  transcending 
man,  as  man  transcends  the  animal  worlds  be- 
low him.  A  somewhat  similar  view  seems  to 
have  been  entertained  by  that  excellent  old  com- 
mentator Martin  Geier.  He  refers  it  to  "  the 
divine  decrees"  —  God's  ideal  world,  in  fact, 
whose  effects  are  determined  in  their  causes,  as 
the  causes  are  all  contained  in  the  effects.  "  By 
God's  doing  here  "  he  says,  "we  are  not  to  un- 
derstand simply  the  things  produced  by  him, 
creatures  which  God  has  made ;  for  they  do  not 
all  remain  forever,  &c.,  but  it  is  to  be  under- 
stood, de  facer e  Dei  interna,  i.  e.,  de  decretis  divinis, 
of  the  divine  decrees  (m  mente  divina)  as  they  are 
forever  in  the  divine  mind,  unchangeably,  with- 
out addition  or  diminution,  nam  consilium  Jeho- 
vah in  seculum  stat,  cogitationes  cordis  ejus  in  gene- 
rationem  et  generationem,  Ps.  xxxiii.  11:  "For 
the  counsel  of  Jehovah  stands,  the  thoughts  of 
his  hea,rt  unto  all  generations."  See  also  the 
note  on  the  astronomical  objections  to  the  Bible  ; 
Bibelwerk,  Genesis,  Eng.  ed.,  pp.  183,  184.— T.L] 


b-2  ECCLESIASTES. 


B. — The  practical  wisdom  of  men,  aiming  at  sensual  enjoyment,  and   magnificent 

■worldly  enterprises,  is  vanity. 

Chapteb,  II.  1-26. 

1.  The  vanity  of  practical  wisdom  in  itself,  proved  by  the  example  of  Solomon. 

(Vers.  1-19). 

1  I  said  in  mine  heart,  Go  to  now,  I  will  prove  thee  with  mirth,  therefore  enjoy 

2  pleasure :  and  behold,  this  also  is  vanity.     I  said  of  laughter,  It  is  mad  ;  and  of 

3  mirth,  What  doeth  it  f  I  sought  in  mine  heart  to  give  myself  unto  wine,  yet  ac- 
quainting mine  heart  with  wisdom  ;  and  to  lay  hold  on  folly,  till  I  might  see  what 
was  that  good  for  the  sons  of  men,  which  they  should  do  under  the  heaven  all  the 

4  days  of  their  life.     I  made  me  great  works ;  I  builded  me  houses  ;  I  planted  me 

5  vineyards :  I  made  me  gardens  and  orchards,  and  I  planted  trees  in  them  of  all 

6  hind  of  fruits.     I  made  me  pools  of  water,  to  water  therewith  the  wood  that  bring- 

7  eth  forth  trees :  I  got  me  servants  and  maidens,  and  had  servants  born  in  my  house ; 
also  I  had  great  possessions  of  great  and  small  cattle  above  all  that  were  in  Jeru- 

8  salem  before  me :  I  gathered  me  also  silver  and  gold,  and  the  peculiar  treasure  of 
kings,  and  of  the  provinces :  I  gat  me  men-singers  and  women-singers,  and  the  de- 

9  lights  of  the  sons  of  men,  as  musical  instruments,  and  that  of  all  sorts.  So  I  was 
great,  and  increased  more  than  all  that  were  before  me  in  Jerusalem :  also  my  wis- 

10  dom  remained  with  me.  And  whatsoever  mine  eyes  desired  I  kept  not  from  them, 
I  withheld  not  my  heart  from  any  joy;  for  my  heart  rejoiced  in  all  my  labour: 

11  and  this  was  my  portion  of  all  my  labour.  Then  I  looked  on  all  the  works  that 
my  hands  had  wrought,  and  on  the  labour  that  I  had  laboured  to  do :  and  behold, 

12  all  was  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit,  and  there  was  no  profit  under  the  sun.  And 
I  turned  myself  to  behold  wisdom,  and  madness,  and  folly :  for  what  can  the  man 

13  do  that  Cometh  after  the  king  ?  even  that  which  hath  been  already  done.     Then  I 

14  saw  that  wisdom  excelleth  folly,  as  far  as  light  excelleth  darkness.  The  wise  man's 
eyes  are  in  his  head;  but  the  fool  walketh  in  darkness :  and  I  myself  perceived  also 

15  that  one  event  happeneth  to  them  all.  Then  said  I  in  my  heart.  As  it  happeneth 
to  the  fool,  so  it  happeneth  even  to  me;  and  why  was  I  then  more  wise  ?     Then  I 

16  said  in  my  heart,  that  this  also  is  vanity.  For  there  is  no  remembrance  of  the  wise 
more  than  of  the  fool  for  ever  ;  seeing  that  which  now  is,  in  the  days  to  come  shall 

17  all  be  forgotten.  And  how  dieth  the  wise  man?  as  the  fool.  Therefore  I  hated 
life;  because  the  work  that  is  wrought  under  the  sun  is  grievous  unto  me:  for  all 

18  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit.  Yea,  I  hated  all  my  labour  which  I  had  taken 
under  the  sun ;  because  I  should  leave  it  unto  the  man  that  shall  be  after  me. 

19  And  who  knoweth  whether  he  shall  be  a  wise  man  or  a  fool?  yet  shall  he  have  rule 
over  all  my  labour  wherein  I  have  laboured,  and  wherein  I  have  shewed  myself 
wise  under  the  sun.     This  is  also  vanity. 

2.  The  aim  of  life  to  be  attained  iu  consideration  sf  the  empirical  vanity  of  practical  wisdom. 

Vers.  20-26. 

20  Therefore  I  went  about  to  cause  my  heart  to  despair  of  all  the  labour  which  I 

21  took  under  the  sun.  For  there  is  a  man  whose  labour  is  in  wisdom,  and  in  know- 
ledge, and  in  equity  ;  yet  to  a  man  that  hath  not  laboured  therein  shall   he  leave 

22  it /or  his  portion.     This  also  is  vanity  and  a  great  evil.     For  what  hath  man  of 


CHAP.  II.  1-26. 


all  his  labour,  and  of  the  vexation  ^of  his  heart,  wherein  he  hath  laboured  under 

23  tbe  sun  ?     For  all  his  days  are  sorrow,  and  his  travail  grief ;  yea,  his  heart  taketh 

24  not  rest  in  the  night.  This  is  also  vanity.  There  is  nothing  better  for  a  man  than 
that  he  should  eat  and  drink,  and  that  he  should  make  his  soul  enjoy  good  in  his 

25  labour.     This  also  I  saw,  that  it  was  from  the  hand  of  God.     For  who  can  eat,  or 

26  who  else  can  hasten  hereunto  more  than  I  ?  For  God  giveth  to  a  man  that  is  good 
in  his  sight  wisdom,  and  knowledge,  and  joy  :  but  to  the  sinner  he  giveth  travail, 
to  gather  and  to  heap  up,  that  he  may  give  to  him  that  is  good  before  God.  This 
also  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit. 

[Ver.  1.— XJ.    A  particle  of  address  or  appeal,  come  on  now,  somotiuies  of  entreaty.    Here  it  denotes  another  trial 

T 

with  an  Ironical  intimation  of  its  failure.    The  address  is  to  his  heart,  and  the  strong  entreaty,  or  emotion,  is  shown  in 
the  paragogio  n  In  njOJS,  O  la  me  try  thee  againl—T.  L.] 

[Ver.  3.— 'rnn— IIIe/D/-    See  ExcaET.  and  Notes.    ISpD  is  somatimes  used  to  denote  paucity,  as  Numb.  ix.  20; 

Qen.  xxxiv.  30:  Ps  cv.  12,  &c.    Here  the  whole  phrase  may  be  rendered  numbered  days,  i.  e.,  few   days.    See  Metrical 
Versioa.— T.  L.J 

[Ver.  5. — Q''DT13.    See  BxEaEi.  and  note  to  Introduction,  p.     32. — T.  L.] 

[Ver,  8.— nUnD-    -fn'-  -iP;  V-      34,mE',  nilt?-    See  BxEOET.  and  Note ;  also  Int.  to  Metrical  Version— 1.  L.] 

[Ver.  10. — T\7y&<  rendered  denied,  but  more  properly  withlwld  from,  primary  sense  to  separate,  place  by  itself.  Gen. 

xxvii.  36.— T.  L.]' 

[Ver.13.— ■'n^NI  denotes  more  properly  here  the  judgment  of  the  mind  than  seeing  stated  as  a  fact.    1  thought,  I 

•    T 

judged.    Such  a  sense  is  a  Tery  common  one  in  the  Arabic  root,  and  in  the  Rabbinical  usage.    It  occurs  also  in  the  oldest 

Hebrew,  as  in  the  language  Qen.  ii.  19,  "  He  brought  them  unto  Adam,"  I    (1X1 7,  for  Adam  to  see  (judge)  what  name  he 

should  give  them.    It  is  only  an  opinion  expressed  here.    See  Metrical  Version. — T.  L.j 
[Ver.  U.— nipp.    See  BxEOET.  and  Note,  p.      68— T.  L.] 

[Ver.  16. — ldilK/3.    The  full  form  would  be  "l^DJ)    lE^XD.    I'or  an  examination  of  such  words,  and  the  manner 
T  ;  V  :  T :  "■  — :— 

in  which  they  have  become  abbreviated,  whether  in  later  or  earlier  Hebrew,  or  as  a  mere  matter  of  orthography,  see 
text  note  to  Gen.  vl.  3  [DJiyB]  — T.  L.J 

[Ver.  20.— TI1301.    See  ExEOET.  and  Note.— T.  L.] 

[Ter.  21. — t11K^3-    One  of  the  words  relied  upon  to  prove  the  late  date  ;  but  it  is  most  purely  Hebrew,  and  a  noun 

ofthesame  root,  and  the  same  sense,  is  found  in  that  old  composition  Ps.  Ixviii.  7  :  niU'13   prosperity,  very  wrongly 

T    T 

readered  chains  in  E.  V.,  as  though  from  "IK^p.    See  Hdpfeld. — T.  L.] 

[Ver.  24.— '70K'»iy.    See  Exeset.  and  Note.— T.  L.] 

[Ver.  25. — V^n  K?^!!''-    Literally  ?iasten  beyond,  go  farther — Tnore  without.    There  is  the  figure  of  a  race.    See  Metri- 
cal Version;  also  the  Exeoet.  and  Note,  p.    55 — T.  L.] 


EXEGETICAL  AND    CRITICAL. 

Of  the  two  diviaiona  of  this  chapter,  the  first, 
(vera.  1-19),  treata  of  the  vanity  of  the  practical 
efforta  of  men,  and  thus  supplementa  the  deacrip- 
tiott  of  the  vanity  of  the  theoretical  strivings 
after  wisdom,  whilst  the  second  division  (vers. 
20-26)  is  of  a  more  general  character,  and  de- 
duces a  provisional  result  from  the  nature  of  hu- 
man atrivinga  after  wisdom  as  therein  set  forth. 
Each  of  the  two  divisions  contains  two  subdivi- 
sions or  atrophea  within  itself,  of  which,  natu- 
rally, that  of  the  first  longer  division  (the  one  of 
nine,  the  other  of  eight  verses)  is  especially  com- 
prehensive, and  is,  in  addition  to  thia,  provided 
with  a  ahort  introductory  proposition  (vers.  1,2). 
The  complete  scheme  of  the  contents  of  thia  chap- 
ter is  therefore  as  follows: — I.  Division.  The 
vanity  of  practical  wisdom  aiming  at  sensual  en- 
joyment and  magnificent  enterprises,  proved  by 
the  example  of  Solomon  :  a.  (proposition,  vers. 
1,  2),  in  general;  b.  (first  strophe,  vers.  3-11), 
in  reference  to  that  seeking  after  enjoyment  and 
extensive  activity;  c.  [second strophe,  vers.  12-19) 
in  reference  to  the  uncertain  and  deceptive  suc- 
oesa  of  the  efforta  alluded  to. — II.  Division :  The 
aim  of  life  to  be  attained  in  consideration  of  the 
empirical  vanity  of  practical  wisdom;  a.  {first 


strophe,  vera.  20-23) :  Negative  proof  of  the 
same,  as  not  consisting  in  grasping  after  earthly 
and  selfish  wisdoii,  and  after  external  worldly 
success ;  b.  (second  strophe,  vers.  24-26) :  Posi- 
tive showing  of  the  life  aim  of  the  wise  man,  as 
consisting  in  the  cheerful  enjoyment  of  worldly 
benefits  offered  by  God  to  those  in  whom  he  de- 
lighta. 

2.  First  Division.  Proposition  or  general  Intro- 
duction: Vers.  1,  2.— I  said  in  my  heart.  'JN 
with    'jllDX    ia   essentially   pleonastic,    as   also 

in  i.  16;  ii.  11,  14,  18;  iii.  17,  etc.,  fov  it  is  in  no 
wise  apparent  that  a  special  significance  is  in 
these  passages  to  be  given  to  the  subject  speaking 
(Henostenbebg),  and  pleonasms  of  all  varieties 
are  very  characteristic  in  the  somewhat  broad 
and  circumstantial  style  of  the  author.  Oo  to 
now,  I  will  prove  thee  with  mirth,  i.  e. ,  I  will  try 
whether  thou  wilt  feel  contented  and  happy  in 
this  new  object  of  thy  experience,  namely,  in 
cheerful  sensual  enjoyment,  Whether,  on  this 
path  of  pleasure   and  joy  thou  canst  become  a 

,310  3"?  (chap.  ix.  7).  For  the  address  to 
his  own  heart  (or  own  soul)  comp.  Ps.  xvi. 
2;  xlii.  5;  xliii.  5;  Luke  xii.  18,  19;  for  the 
construction,  to  prove  one  with  something 
(3nDJ),    1  Kings,  X.    1.  — Therefore    enjoy 


54 


ECCLEdlASr^o. 


pleasure.  (Lit.  (?er., behold  pleasure).  —  This 
beholding  is  here  considered  as  connected  with 
an  enjoyable  appropriation  of  the  object  beheld, 
which  sense  the  preposition  strongly  expresses 
by  virtue  of  its  reference  to  the  conception  of 
lingering  with  the  beheld  object;  comp.  3  ilSI  in 
Gen.  xxi.  16;  Job.  iii.  9;  and  therewith  the  sim- 
ple nxi  in  the  expression  n^l'tO  nXT  Eccles.  vi.  6, 
or  in^'a^'n  ^«^,  chap.  ix.  and  in  HJKf  nSl. 
chap.  vlii.  16,  etc!  Ver.  2.  I  said  of  laughter, 
It  is  taad.  "  Of  laughter,"  does  not  mean  as 
much  as  "in  reference  to  laughter"  (Knobel, 
Vaih.,  etc.):  but  the  laughter,  i.  «.,  the  unre- 
strained cheerfulness  attending  sensual  enjoy- 
ment,   seems   here    to   be   personified,   just    as 

mirth  in  the  next  clause.  VS'lMp,  Part.  Poal, 
as  in  Ps.  cii.  9,  means  really  one  void  of  sense, 
one  infatuated,  and  might  more  properly  be  con- 
sidered masculine,  than  as  neuter  (with  Vaih., 
HiTZiQ,  etc.),  so  that  Lcther's  translation: 
"  Thou  art  mad,"  apart  from  the  address,  seems 
substantially  justified.  See  Hengstenberq,  who 
strikingly  compares  with  it  aippov,  Lulie  xii.  20, 
and  justly  finds  in  this  passage  the  germ  of  the 
Parable  of  the  Rich  Man,  Lulie  xii.  16-21.  And 
of  mirth,  vrhat  doeth  it?  i.  e.,  what  does  it 
accomplish,  what  fruit  does  it  bring  forth  (comp. 
'ID  TW!^)  ?  Luther,  in  imitation  of  the  Sept. 
Vulg.,  etc.,  considers  the  question  as  an  address 
to  mirth  ("what  doest  thou)  ?"  but  it  is  rather, 
as  the  word  rll  shows,  a  bitterly  contemptuous 
exclamation  addressed  to  some  third  person,  and 
an  answer  is  not  expected.  For  the  form  ill 
instead  of  riKI  comp.  v.  15;  vii.  23,  Kings  vi. 
19.  Some  exegetists,  especially  of  the  rational- 
istic period,  have  unjustly  desired  to  find  a  con- 
tradiction in  the  fact  that  Koheleth  here  des- 
pises cheerful  sensual  enjoyment,  whilst  in  con- 
clusion (ver.  24,  f. )  he  vaunts  it  as  the  principal 
aim  of  life.*  What  he  here  blames  and  condemns 
as  foolish,  is  clearly  only  that  empty  merriment 
which  accompanies  the  wild  exhilaration  of  sen- 
8U!il  enjoy oient,  or  sensual  pleasure,  as  only  end 
and  aim  of  human  effort,  not  a  thankfully  cheer- 
ful enjoyment  of  the  benefits  bestowed  by  God. 
Comp.  LoTiiEii  on  this  passage,  and  see  the  ho- 
miletical  hints. 

3.  First  division,  first  strophe:  Vers.  3-11. — I 
sought  in  mine  heart  to  give  myself  unto 
■wine.  (Lit.  Ger.,  to  comfort  my  flesh  with 
wine).  Of  the  sensual  joy  indicated  in  the  first 
verse,  a  special  kind  is  here  named,  by  which 
the  preacher  first  sought  to  obtain  satisfaction, 
and  then  follow,  to  the  11th  verse  inclusive,  still 
other  such  separate  means  of  sensual  enjoyment. 
The  word  Tl'lii),  therefore,  recommences  the 
account  where  the  riDpJX  ver.  1,  had  begun 
it,  and  is  in  substance  synonymous  with  that 
verb.     Comp.  Numb.  xiii.  18;  xv.  39;  c<c.,  where 


"HjT  is  always  used  in  the  sense  of  trying,  ex- 
perimenting, and  not  in  that  of  thinking,  re- 
flecting. (Elsteb,).  1^3  "jti'p  is  most  justly 
explained  by  Gesenius,  Hitzig,  Hengstbnbeeg, 
etc.,  as  "  to  nourish  the  body,"  i.  e.,  to  keep  it  in 
action  or  condition,  to  make  it  lasting  and  strong, 
so  that  the  expression:  "bread  which  strength- 
eneth  man's  heart"  (Ps.  civ.  15),  seems  parallel 
with  it.  Others  explain  it  differently,  as  Knobel 
and  Vaihingee:  "  To  keep  my  sensual  nature 
with  wine;"  Ewald,  Elstee:  "to  attach  my 
sense  to  wine;"  Heezfbld:  "to  entice  my  body  by 
wine,"  etc.  Yet  acquainting  mine  heart 
•with  'Wisdom.  (Lit.  Ger.,  my  heart  led  me  with 
wisdom),  a  parenthetical  clause  that  clearly  indi- 
cates what  the  inner  man  of  the  preacher  did 
whilst  his  flesh  rioted  in  pleasures  and  enjoy- 
ments. The  sense  is  therefore:  I  did  not  plunge 
headlong  into  coarse,  fleshly  gratifications,  but, 
true  to  the  warning  counsel  in  Prov.  xxxi.  4,  f., 
I  tested  with  calm  reflection,  and  in  a  composed 
way,  whether  real  contentment  was  to  be  secured 
by  means  of  sensual  joys.  The  exposition  of 
Ewald  and  Elstee,  which  allies  JilJ  with  the 
Aramaic  Jnj,  "to  sigh,"  and  the  correspond- 
ing Arabic  verb,  in  the  sense  of  "  experien- 
cing disgust  with  something"  ("  whilst  my  heart 
was  weary  with  wisdom  "),  is  too  far-fetched,  and 
contradicts  what  is  said  in  ix.  13;  ff.,  which 
confirms  our   conception  of  the  passage.*    For 


*  [There  is  no  contradiction,  real  or  apparent,  to  be  recon 
ciled,  if  ver.  24  is  only  riglltly  rendered  aa  it  Bimpiy  stands 
in  the  Hebrew,  without  any  addition.  See  Note  on  that 
passage. — T.  L.] 

t[1^J^  —  ^n"^ni    is  very  empluitic  here.      It  denotes  a. 

deep  and  earnest  search.  The  primary  sense  in  go  about, 
hence,  investigate,  appears  very  strong,  Eccles.  vii  2.5 :  I 
went  round  about  (T113D),  "  I  and  my  heart,  to  know  and 
to  explore  (lirib),  and  to  seek  out  wisdom,  eic."    It  is  the 


word  us^d  of  the  spiei  sent  out  to  search  the  land.  Numb, 
xiii.  2,  16,  17,  21,  25,  32;  xiv.  6,  7,  etc.,  also  of  travelling  mer- 
chants, peregrinators  {2  Chron.  ix.  14 ;  1  Kings  x.  15)  seek- 
ing for  precioQS  merchandize.    ''373  not,  with  my  heart  as 

an  instrument,  but  in  my  heart  as  the  dark  place  to  be  ex- 
plored, lie  resolves  to  act  as  a  spy  upon  himself,  or,  to  use 
the  quaint  language  of  Hallilnlrton  in  detailing  his  religious 
experience,  "  to  see  what  his  heart  was  doing  in  the  dark"— 
like  those  whom  Ezekiel  saw  in  "  the  chambers  of  imagery" — 
or  to  find  out  how  it  might  be  possible  in  this  interior  cham- 
ber of  the  soul,  to  reconcile  a  devoted  pursuit  of  pleasure, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  a  true  pursuit  of  wisdom.  The  lan- 
guage implies  a  most  intense  study,  as  well  aa  effort,  to 
solve  a  difficult  problem. — T.  L.J 

*lChap.  ii.  3,    '^Iti^D/-      This    passage  and   word   have 

given  much  trouble.  ZiicKLER's  view,  though  substantially 
that  of  GfiSE.NiDS  and  Hengstsnbbro,  is  unsatisfactory.  It 
is  very  remotely  derived,  if  it  can  be  derived  at  all,  from  the 
ordinary  sense  of  ^IK/O,  to  draw,  draw  out,  and  is  support- 
ed by  little  or  no  analogy  in  language.  The  Latin  iracto, 
from  traho,  never  has  the  sense  curare,  which  would  come 
the  nearest  to  it.    The  Syriac  Tt^D  with  which  Geseniub 

compares  it,  is  a  very  rare  and  doubtful  word,  given  by 
Castell  without  any  examples,  and  nowhere  found,  either  in 
the  Syriac  Scriptures,  or  in  any  well  known  Syriac  writings. 
Knobel  gives  1^0  the  sense  of  holding  fast,  which  would 

have  done  very  well  had  he  attached  to  it  the  idea  of  r«- 
straining,  holding  \i&ek,  a.ud  ma.d0  flesh  the  object,  instead 
of  the  contrary,  of  retaining,  not  remitting  (the  use  of  wine). 
Heiligstedt's  trahere,  attrahere,  attract,  is  inconsistent  with 
the  preposition  3  in  y^2.  Michaelis,  sense  of  protract- 
ing is  wholly  unsuited  to  '^ty3,  flesh,  as  its  object.  EwALD'8 
an  den  Wein  zu  heften  meine  Sinne,  to  fasten  on  the  wine, 
etc.,  gives  hardly  any  sense  at  all,  and  what  little  there 
is,  is  opposed  to  the  evident  context.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  Herzfeld  :  anzulocken  meinen  Leib  ;  the  flesh  needs 
no  alluring,  or  drawing  to  the  wine;  besides  the  preposition 
3  is  here  also  inconsistent  with  such  a  meaning.  The  Ixx. 
ri  KapSia.  jutou  eAKUo-et  tt)v  trapKO.  fiov  wj  olvov,  wholly  inverts 

the  idea.  The  Syriac  IDDDo'?  delight  my  flesh,  is  a 
mere  accommodating  guess.    The  Vulgate  abstrahere,  a  vino 

carnan  meam,  suits  very  well  with  TIB'd'?,  hut  would  re- 
quire  the   preposition    13    (V'O  instead   of  V'S).     Out 


CHAP.  II.  1-26. 


fit 


jnj  in  the  sense  of  guiding,  leading,  comp.  Isa. 
xi.  6;  1  Cliron.  xiii.  7;  2  Sam.  vi.  8,  etc. — And 
to  lay  hold  on  folly,  or  also  to  seize  folly. 

—With  "folly"  (niSjp)  cannot  here  natu- 
rally be  meant  as  an  exclusive  contrast  with 
wisdom ;  therefore  not  folly  in  the  absolute  sense, 
but  mainly  that  foolish,  sensual  pleasure,  which 
is  referred  to  in  ver.  2,  or  even  that  mentioned 
in  ver.  3,  "  comforting  the  flesh  with  wine ;" 
therefore  a  disposition  which  gives  the  reins  to 
pleasure,  and  lives  thoughtlessly  in  accordance 
with  the  assertion  of  IJoraoe  :  Dulce  est  desipere 
m  loco.  KoECELETH,  from  the  beginning,  recog- 
nizes this  sentiment  as  folly,  and  thus  designates 
it  in  contempt.  But  nevertheless  he  will  prove 
it,  and  try  whether  it  may  not  be  relatively  best 
for  man,  better  than  cold,  fruitless,  and  weari- 
some wisdom,  which  when  gained  produces  sor- 
row, and  with  which  he  was  disgusted  according 
to  chapter  first."  (Elsteb). — -Till  I  might  see 
what  was  that  good  for  the  sons  of  men, 
etc.  Comp.  vii.  19. — Which  they  should  do 
under  the  heaven  all  the  days  of  their 
life.  There  is  in  these  words  a  kind  of  mourn- 
fal  resignation.  Short  as  is  the  period  of  hu- 
man life  on  earth,  even  for  this  little  span  of 
time  it  is  not  always  clear  to  man  what  is  really 
good  and  beneficial  for  him ;  and  many,  and 
mostly  bitter  and  painful  experiences,  are  needed 
to  bring  him  to  this  knowledge. — Vw-  4.  I  made 
me  great  lArorks;  I  builded  me    houses. 

EQglish  version,  "  to  give  myself  to  wine,"  is  as  safe  a  guess 
as  any,  but  it  leaves  out  the  important  word  '16^3  "niy 
flesh,"  uulesa  it  is  iatencled  to  have  its  meaning  conveyed  in 
the  word  myself,  as  though  it  were  equivalent  to  ''2/DJ' 

This,  however,  is  without  warrant  in  the  Scriptures.  Be- 
sides, it  destroys  the  contrast  evidently  intended  between 

'^^'2  and  37,  the  l>ody  and  the  mind,  which  37  more 
geoerally  means  (comp.  Prov.  vii.  7 ;  xvii.  7,  with  most  of 
the  places  where  it  occurs  in  that  book  and  this),  or  tho 
sml  generally,  as  in  Ps.  Ixxiii.  25,  where  it  is  in  contrast 
with  7Nty— "  my  flesh  and  heart  " — body  and  soul. 
The  ordinary  Hebrew  meaning  of  "V^O  is  to  draw  out. 


Closely  allied  to  it  is  the  sense  of-the  Arabic 


to  fto?£?,  lay  hold  of,  which  runs  through  all  the  Arabic  oonjn- 
gations.  This  is  the  primary,  and  the  sense  most  likely  in- 
tended here:  to  lay  hold  of,  hold  bach  my  flesh,  that  is,  to 
govern,  check,  restrain  it.  The  unusual  style  of  the  lan- 
guage shows  that  there  is  a  figure  here,  and  what  that  figure 
is  is  suggested  by  the  word  jrjj  in  the  following  clause. 

The  ordinary,  and,  we  think,  the  primary  sense  of  this  word 
IB  egi(  agitmiU.  Hence  it  is  applied  to  the  driving  of  flocks, 
Gen.  xxxi.  18 ;  Exod.  iii.  1 ;  Ps.  Ixxx,  2,  but  more  especially 
and  significantly,  to  the  driving  or  guiding  of  horses  and 
chariots,  aa  2  Sam.  vi.  3 ;  2  Kings  ix.  20,  where  the  noun 
JHJO  ia  most  graphically  used  to  describe  the  mad  driving 

of  Jehu.  From  this  ase  in  the  Scriptures,  the  Rabbins 
have,  very  naturally,  and  according  to  the  analogy  of  secon- 
dary, senses  as  they  spring  up  in  other  languages,  employed 
It,  with  an  ethical  and  philosophical  meaning,  to  denote  a 
■^rse  of  thinking,  conduct  (ductus)  or  aa  a  rule  for  the  gui~ 
dance  of  life.  Thus  viewed  it  strikingly  suggests  some  such 
figure  as  seems  hinted  in  TtyD)  though  ihere  the  meta- 
phor may  be  said  to  lie  concealed;  all  the  more  impressive, 
however,  when  seen,  on  account  of  its  inobtrusiveness.  It 
19  noticed  by  Hitzig,  who  sees  the  figure,  yet  misapplies  it, 
or  falls  back,  after  all,  to  the  other  ilea  of  supporting,  sus- 
teming  generally;  "to  draw  with  wine  my  flesh,  that  is, 
aKMaaGhine  damit  im  Gcmge  zu  erkaUen,  to  keep  the  ma- 
chine going,  parallel  with  the  expression  to  support  the  life 
With  bread."  Here  he  seems  to  drop  tho  metaphor,  yet 
takes  it  up  again  when  he  says,  "  the  wine  here  is  compared 
*t>  a  draught  horse,  or  as  we  say  of  one  who  drinks  on  the 
way»  he  hath  taken  a  relay."  'This  ia  a  vulgar  view  of  the 


We  are  Here  certainly  to  understand  the  struc- 
tures of  Solomon  in  a  general  sense  (1  Kings  vii. 

I,  ff. ;  ix.  19  ;  x.  18,  ft".,  but  hardly  a  special  al- 
lusion to  the  temple,  which  Solomon  could  not 
have  counted  among  his  houses. — I  planted  me 
vineyards      The  Song  of  Solomon,   chap.  viii. 

II,  mentions  one  of  these  ;  and  that  Solomon  had 
more  of  them,  and  had  not  overrated  his  wealth 
arbitrarily,  and  in  violation  of  historic  truth,  (as 
Knobel  supposes),  is  satisfactorily  proved  by  the 
several  vineyards  of  David  enumerated  in  1 
Ghron.  xxvii.  27. — Ver.  5.  I  made  me  gardens 
and  orchards, — in  the  environs  of  these  houses 
or  palaces,  (comp.  1  Kings  xxi.  2;  Jer.  Iii.  7; 
also  the  Song  of  Solomon  i.  16,  f.).  For  the  ety- 
mology of  01^3.  See  Int.  to  the  Song,  §  3, 
obs.  2.— And  1  planted  trees  in  them  of 
all  kind  of  fruits  ;  therefore  not  merely  one 
of  one  kind,  but  many  of  many  kinds  of  fruit 
trees.  The  emphasis  does  not  rest  on  """la  as 
if  it  would  declare  the  King's  object  to  be  to 
raise  trees  aff"ording  delightful  and  delicate  en- 
joyment (Knobel),  but  on  ~73  whereby  the  rich 
variety  of  fruit  trees  is  pointed  out. — Ver.  6. — I 
made  me  pools  of  Tvater ;  perhaps  thosemen- 
tioned  in  the  Song  (vii.  4),  as  at  Heshbon;  per- 
haps also  the  king's  pool  at  Jerusalem,  mentioned 
in  Neh.  ii.  14,  which  a  later  tradition,  at  least, 
marked  as  a  work   of  Solomon.     (Josephus,  B.^ 

comparison,  resembling  some  common  Americanisms  be- 
neath the  dignity  of  the  real  figure.  And  then  he  inter- 
prets what  follows,  of  "  wisdom  guiding,"  by  comparing  it  to 
the  coachman  sitting  on  the  box.  Stuart  follows  him  in 
this,  but  both  may  be  said  to  err  in  making  wine  the  unruly 
horse  that  needs  guidance,  instead  of  the  jle.sh  (^"It^^)- 
"  On  the  whole,"  says  Stuart,  "  there  can  be  no  doubt  tliat 
tho  sense  thus  given  by  Hitzio  is  significant;  the  main  dif- 
ficulty is  the  seeming  strangeness  of  the  figurative  repre- 
sentation." With  a  little  change,  however,  it  is  the  same 
with  Plato's  more  full  and  ornate  comparison  in  the  Phae- 
drua  54  F,  or  as  it  may  bo  called,  the  myth  of  the  charioteer 
and  bis  two  horses.  The  body  (the  flesh  with  its  lusts,  its 
appetites)  is  the  wild  horso  so  graphically  described  as  /cpa- 
Tt(>a.vxv^  tiekdyxP'^'i  u0a,(,;U,o5  k.  t.  A,,  "  strong  necked,  black, 
with  bloodshot  furious  eyes,  full  of  violence,  coarse,  shaggy- 
eared,  deaf,  hard -yielding,  either  to  the  whip  or  the  spur." 
The  gentle  horse  is  the  pure  feeling,  the  ''  Platonic  love,"  or 
celestial  Bros,  and  the  charioteer  is  the  NoOs,  or  Reason,  the 

Hebrew  37  guiding  or  driving  with  HDjn-  If  it  seems 
strange  to  interpret  Koheleth  by  Plato,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  figure  is,  in  itself,  very  easy  and  natural,  coming  directly 
from  primary  analogies,  and  in  accordance  with  the  whole 
train  of  the  preacher's  thought :  I  sought  diligently,  when 
my  flesh  was  furiously  driving  on  in  wine,  or  pleasure  (T"J 

here  not  denoting  the  instrument,  or  figurative  chariot,  but 
the  state  or  condition)  to  draw  it,  to  restrain  it,  to  bridle  it, 
to  keep  it,  in  the  path  of  temperance.  On  this  account  we 
have  rendered  it  in  the  Metrical  Version,  "  to  rein  my  fiesh 
in  wine,"  and  this  ia  in  harmony  with  the  figure,  as  we  find 
it  so  deeply  grounded  in  language  generally — a  fact  which 
makes  its  use  by  Koheleth  bo  little  strange  when  properly 
considered.  It  is  frequent  in  the  Latin,  both  in  prose  and 
poetry.  Comn.  Hor.  Garmina  iv.  15, 16,  evaganti  frena  licen- 
iim  injecitj  Sal.  II.  7,  74.  Jam  vagaprosiliet  frenis  naturare- 
motis;  Ep.  I.  263,  hunc  (animum)  freMis  Jiunc  tu  compesce  ca- 
tena^ Liv.  xxxiv.  2,  date  frems  impotenti  naturm;  Juv.  viii. 
88,  pone  irse  frena  modumque,  Seneca,  Ep.  xxiii.  voluptates 
tenerp.  suh  freno ;  etc.,  etc.  So  the  phrases  dare  frena  and  dare 
habenas — laxis  habenis,  etc.  In  the  same  way  the  Greek  x^^i-- 
vo<;  and  xo-Ati'dw.  Its  use  is  common  in  English,  whether 
derived  from  classical  examples  or,  as  is  more  likely,  having 
a  spontaneous  origin :  "To  give  the  reins  to  appetite  "  (the 
very  eocpression  that  Zogkler  unconsciously  uses,  der  Lust 
die  Zagel  gchiessen  lassen)  or  the  contrary— to  ■'  lay  the  reins 
upon  the  neck  of  pleasure,"— with  the  idea  of  the  unruly 
horse.  If.  after  all,  it  should  be  said  that  this  is  not  in  the 
ordinary  Hebrew  style,  it  may  bo  replied  that  neither  is  Ko- 
heleth in  the  style  of  other  Hebrew  books,  and,  therefore, 
that  kind  of  criticism,  so  assuming,  but,  ofttimes,  so  superfi- 
cial, cannot,  with  certainty,  be  applied  to  it.— T.  L.] 


66 


ECCLESIASTES. 


Jud.  v.,  4,  2) ;  and  certainly  those  situated  in 
Wadi  Urtas,  near  Bethlehem  and  Erham,  "  Fools 
of  Solomon"  mentioned  in  the  exposition  of  the 
Song  of  Solomon,  and  which  are  doubtless  here 
principally  meant. — To  water  thereivith  the 
wood  that  brlngeth  forth  trees,  nni;f 
intransitive*  as  in  Prov.  xxiv.  31;  laa.  v.  6; 
xxxiv.  15.  The  object  of  these  pools  as  artificial 
basins  for  irrigating  the  extensive  orchards  of 
the  king,  testify  to  the  magnificence  and  expense 
of  these  grounds.  Ver.  7.  I  got  me  servants 
and  maidens,  and  had  servants  born  in  my 
house.  [Lit.,  were  to  me,  as  in  ver.  10),  namely, 
from  the  marriages  of  the  men  and  maid  servants 

in  my  house.  H'S  'J3  Gen.  xv.  2,  or  n'3  H'T 
Gen.  xii.  27 ;  Jer.  ii.  14,  are  slaves  born  in 
the  house  (vernie,  ouioycvtlq),  and  on  account 
of  their  natural  fidelity  and  affection  a  very  va- 
luable possession  ;  here,  however,  named  mainly 
because  their  presence  was  the  sign  and  neces- 
sary result  of  numerous  servants,  and,  conse- 
quently, of  a  largo  and  flourishing  household  — 
Also  I  had  great  possessions,  of  great  and 
small  cattle.  After  the  wealth  in  men  and 
maid  servants,  as  in  Gen.  xii.  10;  xxx.  43,  di- 
rectly follow  the  great  possessions  of  cattle,  and 
then  comes  his  wealth  in  unproductive  treasures, 
silver  and  gold,  as  Gen.  xiii.  2.  The  historical 
books  of  the  Old  Testament  mention  not  only 
David  (1  Chron.  xxvii.  29,  f.),  but  also  his  son 
and  tieir  Solomon  (1  Kings  v.  3;  viii.  63),  as 
wealthy  possessors  of  herds.  For  the  concluding 
words  of  this  verse:  above  all  that  -were  in 
Jerusalem  before  me,  see  remarks  on  chap, 
i.  16. — Ver.  8.  I  gathered  me  also  silver 
and  gold.  'r>DJ3,  lit.,  "I  heaped  up,"  that 
is  in  treasuries,  as  in  the  gorgeous  apartments 
of  my  palace.  The  result  of  this  unceasing  ac- 
tivity of  Solomon  in  collecting  treasures,  is  de- 
picted in  2  Chron.  i.  15,  ix.  27  ;  1  Kings  x.  27: 
"Silver  and  gold  at  Jerusalem  were  as  plenteous 
as  stones." — And  the  peculiar  treasure  of 
kings,  and  of  the  provinces.     For  nr"IO 

province,  district,  comp.  Int.  J  4,  obs.  2.  nbjpi 
lit.  property,  is  here  and  in  1  Chron.  xxix.  3, 
equivalent  to  wealth,  treasures.  By  "kings" 
are  naturally  first  meant  those  tributary  rulers 
of  the  neighboring  lands  treated  of  in  1  Kings  v. 
1;  i.  15;  but  farther  on  those  friendly  rulers, 
who,  as  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  1  Kings  x.  2  2'., 
brought  voluntary  gifts,  or  even  sent  them,  (as 
through  the  ships  of  Ophir,  1  Kings,  ix.  28  ;  x. 
11,14,22;  2  Chron.  viii.  28).  The  provinces 
are  those  twelve  districts  into  which  Solomon 
divided  the  land  for  the  purpose  of  taxation,  1 
Kings  iv.  7  if. — I  gat  me  men-singers  and 
women-singers; — the  latter  doubtless  belong- 
ing to  the  women  used  for  courtly  display,  men- 
tioned in  the  Song  of  Solomon  under  the  name 
of  "  Daughters  of  Jerusalem,"  or  "  Virgins  with- 
out number,"  (cLap.  vi.  8);  the  former  were  of 
course  not  singers  of  the  temple  (as  in  1  Kings 
X.  12;  1  Chron.  xxv.  1  ff. ;  2  Chron.  v.  12),  but 

♦[Although  a  participle  in  form,  'HDI^f,  has  rather  the 

force  of  an  adjective  denoting  fnlness,  luxuriance,  (see  Metri- 
cal version) ;  not  bringinj^  forth  trees,  a-j  our  English  ver- 
Bion  has  it,  but  lloofning,  luxuriant  with,  or  in  trees. — T.  L.J 


singers  of  lively,  worldly  songs,  as  kept  by  David 
according  to  2  Sam.  xix.  35,  and  afterwards  cer- 
tainly by  Solomon  for  enhancing  the  pleasures 
of  the  table,  (comp.  Isa.  v.  12 ;  Amos  vi.  5).-^ 
For  niy;?  to  get,  to  keep,  comp.  2  Sam.  xv.  1 ;  ] 
Kings  i.  5. — And  the  delights  of  the  sons  of 
men,  as  musical  instruments,  and  that  of 
all  sorts  (ZooKLEE  has  rendered  /intyi  mi? 
die  Hiille  und  Fiille,  in  great  abundance. — T.  L. 

The  words  PillW]  TMll!  are  most  probably  to 
be  translated  according  to  the  Arabic  by  "  mul- 
titude and  multitudes,"  or  also  by  "heap  and 
heaps"  (EwALD,  Elster,  etc.),  whereby  a  very 
great  abundance  is  meant,  and  indeed  of  niJJJfjl 
i.  e.,  of  caresses,  of  enjoyments  and  pleasures  of 
sexual  love,  to  which  Solomon  was  too  much 
given  according  to  1  Kings  xi.  3  ;  Song  of  Solo- 
mon,   vi.     8.       J.     D.    MiOHAELIS,  KoSENMUELLEE, 

Hekzfeld,  Knobel,  Hitzig,  etc.,  translate  "mis- 
tress and  mistresses,"  or  "  woman  and  women," 
a  signification  which  they  seek  to  justify  etymo- 
logically  in  various  ways  from  the  Arabic,  but 
which  can  no  more  be  considered  certain  than 
the  explanation  resting  on  theChaldaic  idW  "to 
pour,"  which  ancient  translators  turn  into  cup- 
bearers, male  and  female  *  {Sept.  oivox6ovg  Kai 
olvox^aq,  HieTOnymus,  mAnistros  vini  et  mmistras). 
Ver.  9.  So  I  vras  great  and  increased.  (Lit. 
I  became  great  and  added  thereto  (TplH  as  i. 
16).  This  is  meant,  of  course,  in  the  sense  of 
possessions  and  riches,  consequently  in  the  sense 
of  Gen.  xxvi.  13  ;  Job  i.  3. — Also  my  wisdom 

remained  w^ith  me  :  'b-mn;'  Lit.  (/i  stood 
by  me],  it  remained  at  my  side,  left  me  not,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  my  outward  man 
yielded  to  these  follies  and  vanities.  Thus  must 
it  be  rendered  according  to  ver.  3,  and  not  "my 
wisdom  served  me,"  (Ewald),  or  ^^  sustained  me," 
Elster.  (Comp.  the  Vulg.  perseveravitmecum). — 
Ver.  10.  And  w^hatsoever  mine  eyes  de- 
sired I  kept  not  from  them.  That  is,  I  pos- 
sessed not  only  an  abundance  of  all  earthly 
goods,  but  I  sought  also  to  enjoy  them  ;  I  with- 
held from  me  no  object  of  my  pleasure.  Con- 
cerning the  eyes  as  seat  and  organ  of  sensual  de- 
sire, consult  I?3.  oxlv.  15 ;   1  Kings  xx.  6  ;  1  John 

*[nntyl  mC'.  There  is  no  need  of  going  to  the  Ara- 
•  :  T  • 
bic  for  this  word.  A  great  many  different  views  have  been 
taken  of  it,  but  the  best  commentators  seem  agreed  that  it 
refers  to  Solomon's  many  wives  and  concubines.  This  is 
the  opinion  of  Aben  Ezra,  who  thinks  that  it  would  have 
been  very  strange  if  such  luxuries  had  been  omitted  Irom^ 
this  list.  He,  however,  would  make  it  from  ^^ly,  with  the 
sense  of  female  captives,  taken  as  the  spoil  in  wnr.  Others 
who  render  it  wives,  like  HiTZio,  Stuakt,  etc.,  make  it  from 


il!u- 


the  Arabic     ^\j^^^     to  kantipo«,  Infin.  iii.  coDJ.      ^ 

to  embrace.    But  there  Is  a  nearer  Hebrew  derivation  from 
Tty  mamma,  the  breast.  The  feminine  form  is  used  as  more 

voluptuous. — T\1^  the  swelling  breast,  Tnammas  soronan/fls. 

T  ■ 
The  plural  after  the  singular  is  intensive  to  denote  the  vast 
number  of  these  luxuries  that  Solomon  possessed.    The  da- 
gesh  is  easily  accounted  for  without  making  it  from  ^^Iy, 


or  the  Arabic 


By  the  addition  there  is  a  sharp- 


CHAP.  II.  1-26. 


57 


ji.  16. — *  I  ■withheld  not  my  heart  from  any 
joy.  KoHELETH  does  not  meiin  thereby  that  he 
enioyed  every  imaginable  pleasure,  but  only  that 
he  kept  his  heart  open  for  every  pleasure  that 
presented  itself  to  him,  and  profited  by  every  one ; 
that  he  avoided  no  pleasure  that  presented  itself 
to  him,  (comp.  Hitzig).  That  this  is  the  sense 
is  proved  by  the  following:  For  my  heart  re- 
joiced in  all  my  labour ;  and  this  was  my 
portion  of  all  my  labours.  Kohelbth  allowed 
himself,  therefore,  those  pleasures  and  enjoy- 
ments which  resulted  from  his  continued  exer- 
tion and  labor,  which  formed  agreeable  resting 
places  in  the  midst  of  his  painful  and  fatiguing 
life ;  he  sought  and  found  in  the  hours  of  cheer- 
ful enjoyment,  that  interrupted  his  mainly  pain- 
ful existence,  a  recompense  for  his  troubles  and 
sorrows, — a  recompense,  it  is  true,  that  was  only 
of  a  transitory  nature  (consequently  no  lasting, 

but  simply  an  apparent  p7n),  and  which  thus, 
just  as  the  toil  and  labor,  belonged  to  that  vexa- 
tion of  spirit  that  formed  mainly  the  sum  and 
substance  of  his  experience.  For  ]D  nnE/  lit. : 
"to  extract  joy  from  anything,"  comp.  Prov.  v. 
18;  2  Chron.  xx.  27.  In  opposition  to  the  ex- 
planation of  Hahn  et  al. — my  heart  rejoiced  after 
all  my  labor,  stands  the  following  expression : 
This  was  my  portion  (i.  e.,  my  profit,  my  advan- 
tage), of  all  my  labor. — Ver.  11.  Then  I  looked 
on  all  the  works,  etc.,  lit. :  I  turned  to  all  my 
works  (3  nj3  as  Job  vi.  28)  ;  comp.  ver.  12. 
And  on  the  labour  that  I  had  laboured  to 
do,  s.  «.,  to  produce  these,  my  toilsome  works. 
And,  behold,  all  was  vanity  and  vexation 
of  spirit.  "All,"  that  is,  the  substance  of  all 
my  efforts,  those  referring  to  the  collecting  of 
great  riches,  and  the  founding  of  a  great  domi- 
nion, as  well  as  those  aiming  after  cheerful  en- 
joyment;  "  in  nothing  of  all  this  did  I  recognise 

a  lasting  p7n,  a  real  ]l"in''  (comp.  chap.  i.  3) ; 
everything  seemed  to  me  rather  as  HIT  m^T 
(see  i.  14)."  In  how  far  and  why  this  formed  the 
result  of  his  experience,  is  shown  in  the  sequel 
(ver.  12-19) ;  there  only  does  this  general  conclu- 
sion :  there  is  no  profit  under  the  sun,  as  here  ex- 
pressed in  anticipation,  find  its  full  justification. 
4.  First  Division,  second  strophe:  Vers.  12-19. 
That  there  is  no  profit  under  the  sun,  appears 
above  all  clearly  from  the  fact  that  the  wise  man, 
with  reference  to  his  final  destiny,  and  the  end 


e  ling  of  the  firat  syll.able,  which  requires  dagesh  ani  the 
BhorteQing  of  the  vowel  from  p.itach  to  chirek.  See  lutro- 
duotion  to  Metrical  Version,  p.  180.    The  Syriac  has  KDlpE' 

S^n'ptyi  corresponding  nearly  to  thelxx.oJxoxoou!  /cai  oii'o- 

yoat,  mp-hmrers,  or  wine-pourm.  Zooklee's  rendering  has 
hut  little  or  no  support.    The  late  Arabic  translation  of  Dr. 


Vandyke  well  renders  it 


0\_XjUu&    0  JuLm 


ladies, 


miBtresaes;  though  from  a  different  root,  it  comes  to  the 
eame  thing  with  the  Hebrew.— T.  L. 

*  For  a  most  impressive  statement  of  this,  revealing  the 
whole  philosophy  of  will  and  choice  (the  will  following  the 
imse,  or  the  sensj  in  subjection  to  the  will)  see  Job's  decla- 
ration, Job  xxxi.  27,  'sS    ^'771    'yjt?    inx   t!S:Ifmy 

heart,  (the  seat  of  moral  power)  hath  gone  after  mine  eyes 
(the  sense  generally),  then,  etc.  It  is  an  emphatic  denial 
that  ho  had  permitted  sense  to  govern  him.— T.  L.l 


of  his  life,  has  no  advantage  over  the  fool,  in  so 
far  as  he  meets  the  same  death  as  the  latter 
through  a  necessity  of  nature,  and  is  obliged  to 
leave  the  fruits  of  his  labor  often  enough  to  fool- 
ish heirs  and  successors. —  Ver.  12.  And  I 
turned  myself  to  behold  wisdom,  and 
madness,  and  folly;  i.  c,  to  observe  them  in 
their  relation  to  each  other,  and  consider  their 
relative  value  ;  comp.  i.  17.  HiTzicj's  concep- 
tion that  "madness  and  folly  "  are  correlatives  is 
altogether  too  artificial ;  he  holding  that  by  these 
the  result  of  the  consideration  of  wisdom  is  ex- 
pressed, and  that  a  connective  ("and,  behold, 
it  was) "  has  been  omitted.  For  what  can 
the  man  do  that  cometh  after  the  king  ? 
even  that  which  hath  been  already  done. 
This,  "that  has  already  been  done,"  consists  na- 
turally in  a  foolish  and  perverted  beginning,  even 
in  the  destruction  of  what  has  been  done  by  a 
wise  predecessor,  and  in  the  dispersion  of  the 
treasures  and  goods  collected  by  him,  (comp.  for 
this  negative,  or  rather  catachrestio  sense  of  the 
verb  to  do.  Matt.  xvii.  12).  J.  D.  Michaelis, 
Knobel,  and  Henostenbeeg,  substantially  coin- 
cide with  this  explanation  of  the  somewhat  ob- 
scure and  difiicult  words ;  it  is  confirmed  as  well 
by  the  context  as  by  the  masoretic  punctuation. 
Nearest  allied  to  this  is  the  conception  of  Ro- 
senmuelleb:  "For  who  is  the  man  who  can  come 
after  the  king  ?  Answer  :  For  what  has  been 
he  will  do."  Thus  also  De  Rouoement:  "Who 
is  the  man  who  could  hope  to  be  more  fortunate 
in  following  after  him  (King  Solomon)  on  this 
false  path  ?  We  can  try  it,  but  it  will  be  with  us 
as  it  has  been  with  all  before  us."  Hitzig  reads 
in  the  concluding  line  '\T\Wp  instead  of  liHty;?, 
and  therefore  translates  :  What  will  the  successor 
of  the  king  do?  "  That  which  he  hath  already 
done."  LuTHEB,  Vaihihgeb,  as  also  the  Sep- 
tuagint  and  the  Vulgate,  only  translating  more 
concretely,,  do  not  take  'ir\wy  153  ^^m  nx, 
as  an  independent,  responsive  clause,  but  as  a 
relative  clause :  "  What  will  the  man  be  who 
will  come  after  the  king,  who  has  already  been 
chosen  ?"  (Luther,  "  whom  they  have  already 
made").  Hahn  also  says :  "What  is  the  man 
who  will  come  after  the  king,  in  respect  to  that 
which  has  already  been  done  ;"  and  Ewald  and 
EiSTEB :  "How  will  the  man  be  who  fol- 
lows the  king,  compared  with  him  whom  they 
chose  long  ago,"  i.e.,  with  his  predecessor? 
Some  Rabbinic  exegetists,  whom  even  Dru- 
sins  is  inclined  to  follow,  have  referred  VTiWy 

to  God  as  active  subject,  which  is  here  ex- 
pressed as  a  plurality  (trinity):  "with  the  One 
(or  beside  the  One)  who  has  made  him;"  for 
which  sense  they  refer  to  Ps.  cxlix.  2  ;  Job  xxxv. 
10  ;  Isa.  liv.  1,  eCc— Ver.  13.  Then  I  saw  that 
wisdom  excelleth  folly,  as  far  as  light  ex- 
celleth  darkness. — The  poet  recognizes  the 
absolute  worth  of  wisdom, just  as  in  the  first 
clause  of  ver.  14  he  more  clearly  describes  its 
profit  for  the  individual.  For  the  comparison  of 
wisdom  and  folly  with  light  and  darkness,  comp. 
Prov.  vi.  23;  Matth.  vi.  33  f.;  John  viii.  12,  etc. 
'As  light  is  a  creative  power  that  bears  within 
itself  an  independent  life,  and  produces  life 
wherever  it  penetrates,  and  darkness,  on  the 
contrary,  is  a  negation  of  light,  a  numb  and  dead 


58 


ECCLESIASTES. 


element, — so  is  the  real  strength  of  life  in  wisdom 
alone,  whilst  folly  is  vain,  empty,  and  unsub- 
stantial" (Elsteb).— Ver.  14.  The  wise  man's 
eyes  are  in  his  bead  ;  but  the  fool  walketh 
in  darkness. — ^An  assumed  syllogism,  in  which 
the  conclusion  is  wanting:  "therefore,  it  stum- 
bles and  falls;"  comp.  John  xi.  lU.  By  the  eyes 
which  the  wise  man  carries  in  his  head,  i.  t.,  in 
the  right  place,  are  meant,  of  course,  the  eyes  of 
the  understanding  (Eph.  i.  18),  the  inward  organ 
of  spiritual  knowledge,  the  eye  of  the  spirit 
(ProT.  XX.  27  ;  Matth.  vi.  23,  etc.).  Comp.  Cicero, 
deNatura  Deorum,  2,  64.  Tolam  licet  animu  tam- 
quam  oculis  lustrare  terram. — And  I  myself 
perceived  also  that  one  event  happeneth 
to  them  all. — Oi  adversative,  as  iii.  13;  iv. 
8,  16.  nipO  literal:  occurrence,  accident  or 
chance;  comp.  ver.  15;  iii.  19,  etc.,  which  here 
clearly  designate  death,  the  physical  end  of  man, 
the  return  to  dust  of  one  born  of  dust,  as  a  des- 
tiny resting  on  the  Divine  curse  (Gen.  iii.  19).* 
— Ver.  15,  As  it  happeneth  to  the  fool,  so 
it  happeneth  even  to  me. — The  general  as- 
sertion of  the  latter  clause  of  ver.  14  is  now  spe- 
cially applied  to  the  person  of  Koheleth,  as  be- 
longing to  the  class  of  wise  men. — U^P'  'J><"QJ 
literally:  "I  also,  it  will  happen  to  me."  The 
person  being  made  prominent  by  the  isolated 
pronoun  in  the  nominative,  placed  at  the  begin- 
ning, as  in  Gren.  xxiv.  27;  Ezek.  xxxiii.  17;  2 
Chron.  xxviii.  10. — And  why  V7as  I  then 
more  v^ise? — That  is,  "what  profits  me  now 
my  great  wisdom  ?  what  advantage  does  it  afford 
me  compared  with  the  fool '!"  For  this  expres- 
sion comp.  1  Cor.  xv.  30;  Gal.  v.  11. — ?X  now, 
therefore,  if  such  is  the  case,  is  said  in  view  of 
the   dying   hour,  from  which  the  author  looks 

back  on  the  whole  of  his  past  life. — "MV  a  par- 
ticiple used  substantively,  synonymous  with 
]nn',  advantage,  profit,  here  an  adverb,  exces- 
sively, too  much,  comp.  vii.  16. — That  this 
also  is  vanity. — "  This,"  namely,  the  arrange- 
ment that  the  wise  man  dies  as  the  fool,  that  the 
same  night  of  death  awaits  them  both.     Observe 


*[The  word  H^pD,  though  it  may  be  rendered   chance, 

does  not  denote  that  which  happens  without  a  cause,  but 
simply  that  which  oc-curs.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the 
Greek  tuxtj-  The  Hebrew  word,  however,  may  be  better 
compared  with  the  Homeric  K-qp,  which  it  resembles  in 
having  the  same  radical  consonants  (up),  though  doubtless, 
etymologically,  different  [in  this  respect  it  agrees  better 
with  Kvptti].  It  carries  rather  the  sense  of  the  inevitable-,  or 
of  doovi,  like  the  Greek  alo-a,  p.olpa.,  which,  with  Kijp,  are 
used  to  denote  death  as  the  great  doom  of  our  race.  So  the 
li&tmfaticm,  and  so  of  all  those  old  words.  The  earlier  we 
go  up  in  language,  the  less  do  we  find  in  these  or  similar 
words  any  thought  of  chance  or  fate,  in  the  atheistic  sense, 
but  rather  tlio  contrary — namely,  that  of  decree  (fatum), 
destiny  fixed  by  an  intellectual  pow  r.  So  Koheleth  seems 
to  use  nipD   here  and  the  verb  71*1  p-    There  is,  in  the 

whole  context,  a  recognition  of  something  more  than  a 
^debt  of  nature,'^  an  atheistical  kind  of  language  which  our 
Christianity  doe=t  not  prevent  us  from  using.  The  whole 
aspect  of  the  passage  favors  the  idea  of  an  inevitable  doom 
(decree,  sentence)  fixed  upon  the  race,  from  which  no  wis- 
dom, no  virtue  exempts.  "  Death  hath  passed  upon  all  men 
for  that  all  have  sinned."  To  one  who  views  them  in 
their  true  and  earl  est  character,  these  old  Greek  words 
above  mentioned  are  the  very  echo  of  snch  a  sentence. 
They  are  all  used  for  death  and  often,  in  Homer  and  else- 
where, may  be  so  rendered.  The  epithets  joined  with  them 
show  the  same  idea,  as  something  inconsistent  with  the 
thought  of  chance,  or  blind  physical  law. — T.  h.\ 


that  Koheleth  does  not  declare  this  dispositioB 
an  injustice,  but  only  as  vanity,  for  a  new  phase 
of  that  fullness  of  vain,  empty  appearances  which 
his  experience  in  life  has  made  him  acquainted 

with,  /^n  here  signifies,  as  at  the  end  of  ter. 
19  (also  chap.  viii.  10,  14),  something  objectively 
vain,  in  contrast  to  the  vanity  of  subjective  hu- 
man thoughts,  knowledge  and  efforts  hitherto 
indicated  by  it.  It  means  the  same  objective 
/laTaidTTjg  of  this  lower  world,  derived  from  the 
fall,  of  which  Paul,  Rom.  viii.  20,  says,  that  the 
entire  earthly  creature,  like  man  himself,  is  sub- 
jected to  it. — Ver.  16.  For  there  is  no  remem- 
brance of  the  vrise  more  than  of  the  fool 
forever — i.  e.,  as  is  the  fool,  so  is  the  wise  man 
forgotten  after  his  death  ;  posterity  thinks  of  the 
one  as  little  as  of  the  other.  This  assertion  is, 
of  course,  to  be' relatively  understood,  like  the 
similar  one  in  chap.  i.  11  ;  not  all  posthumous 
fame  of  men  is  denied ;  it  is  simply  asserted  to 
be  ordinarily  and  most  generally  the  case,  that 
posterity  retains  no  special  remembrance  of 
those  who  have  previously  lived,  which,  in  re- 
ference to  the  great  majority  *  of  individuals  is 

certainly  wholly  true. —  /'i?3n  D.I7  lit.,  "with  the 
fool,"  is  equivalent  to  "as  the  fool;"  comp.  vii. 
10;  Jobix.  26;  xxxvii.  18.— □Vi;?'?  belongs  in 
conception  with  [IIOJ,  "no  remembrance  for 
eternity,"  fhe  same  as,  no  eternal  remembrance, 
no  lasting  recollection. — Seeing  that  which 
is  now  in  the  days  to  come  shall  all  bq 
forgotten. ^□'N3il  □'D'H  is  the  accusative  of 
time,  comp.  Isa.  xxvii.  6 ;  Jer.  xxviii.  16. — "133 
is  to  be  connected  with  the  verb,  as  also  chap, 
ix.  6,  and  is  therefore  to  be  rendered  :  "  because 
every  thing  will  have  long  been  forgotten " 
Cn3t!/J  the  future  past). — And  how  dieth  the 
vyise  man?  as  the  fool!;— (A  simple  exclama- 
tion in  the  Ger.).     A  painful  cry  of  lamentation,-|- 

*[The  emphasis  here  is  on  the  word  ^n))?l,  and  it  is 
asserted,  whether  hyperbolically  or  not,  ot  all.  No  memorj 
labts  forever,  or  for  tlie  world.    The  greatest  fame,  at  la^t, 

goes  out.    In  this  respect,  or  in  comparison  with  Un}Jl, 
the  differences  of  time,  in  human  fame,  are  regarded  by  the 
philosophical  Seer  as  of  no  moment.    A  remembrance  ever 
lost  is  equal  to  oblivion. — T.  L. 
fii.  16.  TX1  *'And  0,  how  is  it?"    It  is  an  exclamatory 

burst  of  irrepressible  feeling,  laying  open  the  very  heart  ot 
the  writer.  It  is  the  great  mystery  that  se  perplexes  him, 
but  for  which  he  knowB  there  is  some  cause  consistent  with 
the  Divine  wisdom  and  justice.   Some  great  doom  [n*lpD 

like  the  Greek  ktjp,  alo-a  fLolpa]  haa  come  upon  all  the  race, 
the  wise,  the  foolish,  tbe  just,  the  unjust,  the  unholy,  the 
comp  iratively  pure  (see  ix.  2  ,  and  for  some  fundamental 
moral  reason  applicable  to  them  nil  alike, — as  a  race  rather 
than  as  individuald.  '■0,why  is  it?^  It  is  no  scepticism  in 
regard  to  God's  righteous  government,  nodenial  of  essential 
moral  distinctions;  it  is  not  an  assertion  of  Epicurean  reck- 
lessness on  the  one  hand,  nor  ot  a  sto  cat  tatality  on  the 
other,  but  a  cry  of  anguish  at  a  spectacle  evt-r  passing  be- 
fore his  eyes,  and  which  he  fails  clearly  to  comprehend.  _  It 
is  as  though  he  were  arguing  with  the  Sovereign  Omnipo- 
tence. Like  the  language  of  Job  and  Habakkuk,  in  similar 
seasons  of  despondeLcy,  it  seems  to  manifest,  almost,  a  que- 
rulous tone  of  interrogatory;  Why  is  there  no  difference? 
*' Why  dost  thou  make  men  as  the  fishes  of  the  sea?"  [Hah. 
1'.  14,  and  comp.  Bccles,  ix.  12] ;  why  dealest  thou  thus  with 
us  ?  "  What  shall  1  do  unto  thee,  0  thou  Watcher  of  men  ?" 
[Job  vii.  20].  It  seems  almost  irreverent,  and  yet  there  is  no 
cant  about  it,  no  suppression  of  the  honest  feeling  of  sur- 
prise, no  artificial  humility  imposing  on  itself  in  the  use  of 
any  formal  language  of  reciigQatlon.  Koheleth  here  appear 


CHAP.  II.  1-26. 


59 


whioli,  by  an  appeal  to  the  experience  of  the 
reader,  is  to  represent  what  is  asserted  as  in- 
cooteatable. — Ver.  17.  Therefore  I  hated  life. 
— NW  does  not  indicate  the  strong  effect  of 
actual  hatred  or  hostile  feeling,  but  the  feeling 
of  disgust,  weariness,  antipathy  towards  a  thing. 
Comp.  the  Vulg,:  tmduil  me  vitse  mese,  and  also  for 
this  same  milder  sense  of  the  verb,  Isa.  xiv.  1 ; 
Amosv.  13;  Malachi  i.  3. — Because  the  vrork 
that  is  wrought  under  the  sun  is  grievous 
unto  me. — That  is,  the  view  of  every  thing  oc- 
curring under  the  sun  bore  painfully  upon  me, 
tortured  me  with  an  oppressive  feeling  ;  comp. 
EwALD,  Manual,  ?  217,  i.  y.;  comp.  also  chap.  i. 
14._Ver.  18.— Yea,  I  hated  all  my  labor, 
ete. — Not  simply  the  doings  of  men  in  general, 
but  also  his  own  exertions,  appeared  hateful  to 
the  Preacher,  because  they  were  vain  and  fruit- 
less.— Because  I  should  leave  it  to  the  man 
that  shall  be  after  me — that  is,  to  my  succes- 
sor, heir ;  comp.  ver.  12.  He  must  leave  to  his 
heirs  not  the  labor  itself,  but  what  he  had  ac- 
quired thereby,  its  fruit,  its  result,  and  this 
grieves  him — why,  the  following  verse  tells. — 
For  the  form  IJri'i*?  Imp.  Hiph.  from  niJ  comp. 
EWALD,  §  122,  e. — Ver.  19  heightens  the  thought 
of  ver.  18,  and  thereby  leads  back  definitively  to 
ver.  12,  as  the  starting  point  of  the  present  re- 
flection on  the  uncertainty  and  transitory  nature 
of  all  earthly  possessions  (for  wise  men  as  well 
as  for  fools). — Wherein  I  have  labored,  and 
wherein  I  have  showed  myself  ^i7ise  un- 
der the  sun.— 'FIDDnEJI  'Fl'^njJKf  lit.,  "  which  I 
have  obtained  by  trouble,  and  in  which  I  have  em- 
ployed wisdom."  A  zeugma  for:  by  whose  weari- 
some acquirement  I  have  showed  myself  wise. 

5.  Seeand  Division,  first  strophe.— Ner.  20-23. 
On  account  of  the  painful  truth  of  what  has  just 
been  demonstrated,  one  must  despair  of  all  ex- 
ternal earthly  success  of  this  earthly  life,  as  does 
the  Preacher  at  the  evening  of  his  life. — There- 
fore I  went  about  to  cause  my  heart  to  de- 
spair.— (Lit.  Ger.,   "  turned  around  ").     ''niSOl 


like  one  complaininj, — not  in  anger,  but  in  grief.  He  seems 
to  say,  as  Job  said,  "  Suffer  me  to  plead  with  thee."  It  is 
tliat  sublime  style  of  expostulation  which  so  strikes  ns,  and, 
Bometimes,  almost  terrifies  us,  in  the  grand  Old  Testament 
men  of  God.  Our  English  Version  is  very  tame :  "  and  how 
dieth,"  rfc.  The  conjunction  1  has,  iniact,  an  interjectional 
force,  making  more  marked  the  exclamation  TX,  by  show- 
ing an  emotional  rather  than  a  logical  connection ;  as 
though  it  were  something  suddenly  springing  up,  or  irre- 
preSBibly  prompted  by  the  previous  soliloquizing  utterance 
[Bee  remarks  on  Job  xxviii.,  and  on  the  particle  ''2,  in 

the  Introduction  to  Metrical  Version,  p.  1T7] :  "  Since  the 
flays  come  when  all  is  forgotten;  but  0  how  is  it"  (as  it 
should  be  rendered  instead  of  and.  since  the  conjunction  is 
rather  disjunctive  than  merely  copulative,  and,  therefore, 
the  more  suggestive  of  emotion] :  Alas,  how  is  it,  that  the 
wiae  should  die  as  dies  the  fool!  See  the  Metrical  Version. 
It  does  not  mean  that  the  wise  man  dieth  in  the  same  mjn- 
ner  as  the  fool— that  is,  recklessly,  stupidly,  or  despairingly, 
tint  rather  that  he  dies  as  well  as  the  fool ;  he,  no  more  than 
the  other,  escapes  the  universal  "  sentence  that  hath  passed 
upon  all  men"  for  the  reasons  given  Sen.  iii.  19;  Kom.  v. 

12.    In  truth  S''D3n  □;?,  [literally,  with  the  fool)  can 

hardly  mean,  vde  der  Thor,  in  like  manner  as  the  fool,  as 
ZoOKi'Stt  holds — but  rather,  in  comjiany  with  the  fool.  It  is 
companionship,  rather  than  other  resemblance :  and  so,  too, 
does  the_  preposition  kuep  its  original  sense  in  Eccles.  vii. 
11 ;  Job  ix.  26 ;  xxxvii.  18,  the  places  to  which  Zockler  re- 
fers.—T.  L.^  21 


different  from  'n'JSl  ver.  12,  does  not  mean  to 
turn  in  order  to  see  any  thing,  but  a  turning 
around  in  order  to  do  something,  comp.  vii.  26  ; 
1  Sam.  xxii.  17,  18.  The  idea  of  turning  from  a 
former  occupation  is  also  included.* — The  Piel 
tyK'  to  permit  to  despair,  to  give  up  to  despair, 
is  only  found  here  in  the  0.  T.;  the  Niph.  K/NIJ 
desperavit  is  more  usual  (or  also  the  neuter  par- 
ticiple: desperatum  est),  whilst  the  Kal  does  not 
occur. — Ver.  21.  For  there  is  a  man  w^hose 
labor  is  in  wisdom,  and  in  knowledge, 
and  in  equity. — Lit.,  whose  labor  is  with 
wisdom,  etc.  (DDDnS  \myj^),  or  also :  whose 
labor  has  been,  etc.;  for  DTI  the  verb  supple- 
mented to  1 'DJ^,  can  express  both  a  present  and 
a  perfect  sense.  Wisdom  is  not  here  designated 
as  the  aim  of  labor,  as  Ewald  supposes  ("  whose 
labor   aims   after  wisdom"),  but  as  the   means 

whereby  the  aim  of  /OJ?,  the  fruit  of  human 
'exertion  shall  be  attained.  Besides  wisdom, 
knowledge  and  equily  are  also  named  as  means 
to  this  end.  (n;?1  comp.  i.  16,  18  ;  ii.  26) ;  for 
this  is  what  pTl2'3  here  means,  not  success,  favor- 
able result,  as  chap.  v.  9.  The  Sept.  is  also  cor- 
rect, avipha,  and  substantially  so  also  the  Vulg. 
(sollieitudo),  and  Lutheb  (ability,  capability). — ■ 
Yet  to  a  man  who  has  not  labored  therein 

shall  he  leave  it  for    his   portion. — SW 

i3~7ni> ;  for  13  refers  to  the  principal  thought  of 
the  preceding  clause,  and  not  to  ilMn.  For 
3  70p,  to  labor  for  a  thing ;  comp.  Jonah  iv.  10. 
The  suffix  in  liUH'  also  refers  to  ^70^,  and  Ip/TI 
is  a  second  object:  "he  gives  it  to  him  as  his 
portion,  his  ihare" — Ver.  22.  For  what  hath 
man  of  all  his  labor,     nin   lit.:  falls  to,  falls 

TT 

suddenly  down  upon  (.Job  xxxvii.  6) ;  in  the  later 
Chaldaic  style,  to  happen,  to  become,  to  be  ap- 
pointed to;  comp.  xi.  2;  Neh.  vi.  6. — And  of 
the  vexation  of  his  heart. — Herewith  are 
principally,  if  not  exclusively,  meant  these  three 
synonyms :  Wisdom,  knowledge  and  equity,  ver. 
21.  The  aspiration  of  the  heart  is  the  essence 
of  the  plans  and  designs  which  form  the  motive 
of  the  labor  and  exertion  of  man,  and  give  to 
them  their  direction  and  definite  aim. — Ver.  22. 
Wherein  he  hath  labored  under  the  sun. 
— The  relative  refers  to  i'7Dj;  '73  as  well  as  to 
tab  tv;?^.— Ver.  23.  For  all  his  days  are 
sorrow^s  and  his  travail  grief. — IJ'Jl?  (comp. 
i.  13)  bears  here  again  the  meaning  of  daily  la- 
bor (Hjtzio,  Elsteb,  Vaihinger,  etc.),  a  stronger 
expression  that  would  remind  us  of  Ps.  xlii.  3. 
Comp.  also  Ps.  xo.  10. — Yea,  his  heart 
taketh  not  rest  in  the  night — that  is,  it  re- 
maineth  awake,  troubled  by  anxious  thoughts 
and  plans,  or  tortured  by  unquiet  dreams  ;  comp. 
V.  12 ;  Song  of  Solomon  v.  2. 

6.   Second  Division,  second  strophe. — Vers.  24— 
26.     We  are  not  always  to  remain  in  this  aban- 

*  [It  may  be  rather  said  that  TlDD,  here,  is  simply  in- 
tensive of  ''n''33.  It  means  to  turn  round  and  rouwd— indi- 
cating perplexity,  wanderings,  or  evolutions  of  mind — Ir^ 
volved.    See  Metrical  Version — T.  L.J 


60 


ECCLESTASTES. 


donment  of  liope  of  external  happiness,  but  to 
seek  the  necessary  contentment  ot  the  heart  in 
the  cheerful  and  grateful  enjoyment  of  the  bless- 
ings of  life,  which  God  bestows  on  those  of  His 
children  who  find  favor  in  His  sight;  and  even 
this  enjoyment  is  something  vain  and  futile,  so 
far  as  it  does  not  stand  in  the  power  of  man.  but 
must  be  graciously  conferred  by  God. — There 
is  nothing  better  for  man  than  that  he 
should  eat  and   drink,  etc. — The  words    pi^ 

Ul   Sj^'iy   D1X3   DID    permit   a   threefold   con- 

:        -       '.■        T  T  : 

ception  :  1.  Interrogative  :  "Is  it  not  better  for 
man  to  eat,"  etc.  (thus  Luther,  Oetinoer, 
Hengstenberg,  and  the  Vulg.:  '■'■Nonnc  melius 
est  comedere  et  bibere,''  etc.).  2.  Purely  negative  : 
"There  is  no  happiness  for  the  man  who  eats," 
etc.  (thus  the  Sept.,  M.  Geibr,  Dathe,  Knobel, 
Hahn).     3.  On  the  supposition  of  the  omission 

of  tP  or  of  HDX  '3  before  ^O^'^Kf,  "there  is  no 
happiness  for  man  but  in  eating."  This  last 
translation  has  the  most  to  recommend  it,*  be- 

*[This  supposition  that  would  Bupply  |0  or  ^D5^  ^3  be- 
fore 73X^1^'  is  a,  very  old  one,  for  it  is  referred  to,  although 
not  fully  endorsed,  by  Rabhi  and  Aben  Ezra,  and  is  also 
mentioned  by  the  grammarian  Jona  Ben  Gannach  (AbuL 
Walid)  in  Sect.  26,  on  Ellipsis.  It  is  admitted,  however, 
that  there  is  not  a  trace  ot*  it  in  any  ancient  manuscript,  or 
in  any  ifarious  n-niiiing.  It  is  maintained  solely  on  the 
ground  of  a  supposed  exigerdia  loci.  There  is  wanted,  it  ia 
thought,  the  sense  that  such  an  insertion  would  give,  to 
bring  it  in  harmony  with  same  other  passages,  as  tliey  are 
meutionfd  by  Zoukler,  and  especially  ix.  7-9.  Now  in  re- 
spect to  these  it  may  be  said,  that  if  there  were  a  real  or 
seeming  variance,  such  a  fact  would  present  no  exegetical 
difficulty  to  one  who  takes  the  right  view  of  this  book  as  a 
series  of  meditations  in  whicft  the  writer,  or  utterer,  to  use 
his  uwn  exprt-ssioii,  '■^revolves"  (""niDD  ii-  20),  goes  round 
find  round,  trying  and  testing  diflFecent  views  of  human  life, 

"talking  to  his  heart"  ["'37  7t^  ^n*1DXl,  now  taking  up 
one  siippositiuH,  then  "  turning  again"  to  another,  now 
despondmu,  then  again  bo  sure  that  he  says  TiyT",  '*I 
knuw," — at  another  time  indulging  what  is  evidently  a  sor- 
rowing irony,  such  as  especially  charaLterizea  ix.  7-9,  as 
compared  witli  xi.  9  (see  the  Exeget.  and  notes  on  these, 
and  especially  the  two  latter,  in  their  respective  places). 
Tlie  mete  variance,  therefore,  whether  seeming  or  real,  is 
not  sufficient  lo  warrant  so  bold  an  interpolation  into  ihe 
text,  unless  there  is  a  failure  in  obtaining  any  good  sense  at 
all  fruui  the  ptissageas  it  stands.  But  this  surely  cannot  be 
pn=teiided.  What  better  thought,  and,  at  the  eame  time, 
mort*  lit  ral  as  a  version,  than  that  given  by  the  LXX., 
OVK  eiTTtv  ayaOof  avOpunno  6  (fiayerat,  k.  t.  A..:  "  it  is  not 
g  od  lor  mHn,"  or  '■  the  guod  is  not  for  man  what  he  eats," 
or  "  tiiat  he  eat,"  ete.,  which  is  favored  by  Dathe,  Knobel, 
and  Hahn.  Or  perhaps,  still  better  than  this,  if  we  regard 
the  context,  is  the  translation  of  Martin  Geier.  which  he 
gives  from  Junius,  non  est  bonum  penes  liomincm,  td  edat,  bi- 
bat"  etc:  "the  good  is  not  in  ihe  power  of  man  that  he 
ib  >u!d  eat  and  drinii,  eic,  for  this  I  saw  is  fiom  the  hand  ot 
God  himyelf."  Thus,  says  Geier,  all  things  remain  in  their 
native  sense,  and  there  is  no  need  of  any  ellipsis.  It  might 
bo  rendered,  perhaps,  "it  is  not  the  good  for  man  (his 
summuni  bonum)  to  eat  and  drink  ;"  or  if  that  is  regarded  as 
too  philosophical  for  Koheleth,  and  also  as  demanding  the 
article,  it  may  he  rendered  simply,  "it  is  not  good,"  or, 
''there  is  no  guod  in  it"  (of  itself).  Tremellius  translates 
in  the  same  way,  non  est  bonum  penes  ?iominem,  etc.  The  ge- 
neia  sfr-nso  then  wiiuid  be  this:  whatever  good  there  may 
be  in  eaijng  and  drmkiug,  etc.,  it  is  not  m  man's  power  to 
Becuie  it,  Ul-  to  fl  id  enjoyment  m  it  ("make  his  soul  see  grod 
iuit");  an  1  this  is  in  such  admirable  harmony  with  the 
con'ext:    "it  ia  the  gift  of  God."     The  preposition  3  in 

CDIN^'  ^"^  t^is  sense,  as  mav  be  shown  in  many  passages, 
and  i',  correspi  nds  exactly  to  our  own  most  natural  mode  of 
Bpe-ch:  it  is  not  in  him.  Even  the  power  to  enjoy  comes 
■from  God.  It  is  not  strange  thut  Hationahst  Commentators 
should  '•eidc  to  give  an  Epicure.in  aspect  to  the  passMge.  but 
it  is  matter  o(  surprise  ih^t  otheis  called  Evangelical  should 
go  out  of  their  way  to  follow  them.  The  iut'rpretation 
"thus  given,  as  the  most  It' ral  cne,  ia  a'so  in  p-r'ect  har- 
mony wiLhoth'T  pvsag  s,  or  raher,  wo  might  say,  ibat  the 


cause  the  interrogative  and  the  unconditional 
negative  conception  do  not  so  v?ell  comport  with 
the  context,  and  because  this  latter  especially 
would  be  in  contradiction  with  the  passages  of 
chap.  iii.  12,  2'2;  v.  18 ff.;  vii.  14;  viii.  15;  ix. 
7-9,  which  recommend  sereneenjoyment  of  life  as 
a  means  of  acquiring  happiness  and  contentment. 
And  because,  further,  the  ancient  Aramaic  trans- 
lations confirm  the  omission  of  D   (compare  iii. 


positive  unqualified  commendation  of  the  gross  Epicurean 
sentiment  which  the  interpret ition  would  give  is  in  direct 
contradiction  to  the  many  declarations  of  vanity  and  worth- 
lesanesa  in  respect  to  all  mere  wealth  and  pieBSuie-seeking, 
which  are  elaewhere  found.  This  might  be  set  off  against 
the  other  assertion  of  variance,  if  either  can  be  regarded  as 
a  right  mode  of  exegesis  in  this  book. 

At  all  events,  the  literal  remleringis  all  suflBcient  bere — 
whilst  the  fair  interpretation  of  other  seemiugly  Epicurean 
passages  only  shows,  as  we  think,  a  difference  of  aspect 
under  which  the  great  question  is  considered,  but  no  con- 
tradiction to  that  doctrine  which  the  writer  is  throughoct 
most  earnest  to  put  forth  as  one  of  the  fundamental  ideas 
of  his  book,  namely,  that  all  good  is  from  God,  and  that 
nothing  is  good  without  Him.  See  the  Metrical  Version: 
The  consciousness  of  this,  not  eating,  etc.,  is  the  highest 
good, 

Rabhi   interprets  the  2MD    pX   aa  meaning  that   "the 

good  18  not  simply  that  man  should  eat,  etc.,  or  it  is  not 
in  eating  alone;  as  much  as  to  say,  he  should  give  his 
heart  to  do  judgment  and  righteousnesH,  together  with  his 
e  iting  and  drinking ;"  and  then  i  e  proceeds  to  give  his- 
torical illustration. 

Aben  Ezra  suggests  the  supp'ying  (in  the  mind)  of  some 
such  particle  as  p"!,  meaidug,  not  the  only  good,  or  that 

it  ia  not  good,  in  man,  or  for  man,  that  he  shoitld  only 
eat  and  drink,  etc.    Again,  he   seems  to  lay  emphasis  on 

the  word   l7Dl?3   (^'^  bis  toil),  giving  it  as  the  general 

sense  of  the  text,  as  it  stands,  that  "  this  toil,  with  its 
weariness,  finds  no  other  good  (no  higher  good)  than  to 
eat  und  drink,'" — thus  shutting  out  any  Epicurean  idea 
and  making  it  a  depreciation  of  human  effort  rather  than 
a  commeudntion  of  sensual  pleasure,  in  itself,  as  the  best 
thing  in  life.  , 

The  Syriac  inserts  X/X.  unless,  without  any  thing  to 
coriespond  to  it  in  the  Hebrew,  and  having  very  much 
the  appearance  of  an  accommodation  to  some  later  view, 
ainco  it  will  not  answer  as  a  rendering  of  D  comparative 

(7^}<''K'D)i  or  |0  or  ^DK  ^2)  as  proposed.    Besides  this, 

it  would  not  give  the  bald  Epicurean  idea  of  our  translar 
tion  that  "  outing  is  the  best  thing  for  man,"  but  only 
that  there  is  no  good  in  man's  power  (or  as  proposed  in 
human  toil),  unless  it  be  thig, — a  sense  which  would  re- 
semble that  of  Aben  Ezra. 

So   also    the   Targum   has    70^^     ^1    jH/X)   "tmZeiS 

that  he  eat,"  etc.,  but  this  version  is  of  little  or  no  autho- 
rity, on  account  of  its  later  dat^ ,  and  the  paraphrastic 
absurdity  of  its  midrashin.  The  sense  given  by  it,  how- 
ever, is  quite  different  from  that  given  in  E.  V.,  or  hy 
ZooKLER :  "There  ia  nothing  that  is  fair  among  men,  un- 
less to  eat,"  e'c;  and  then  it  goes  on  to  say  pi''    ^^T?D7 

Ul    ""1  N''llp3    "that  they  may  do  the  commandments 

T-      —  I  - 
of  the  Lord,  and  walk  in  his  ways."    If  it  be  said  that  there 
is  nothing  in  the  Hebrew  text  to  wan'ant  this,  it  may  he 
replied  that  so,  also,  is  there  nothing  to  warrant  the  inser- 
tion of   jH/X    (unless),  by  which  ho    supports  this  pars' 

phrastic  sense.  It  all  seems  evidently  done  to  get  a  middle 
way  between  two  views  deemed  untenable  or  inconsiatent, 
— one  asserting,  or  seeming  to  assei  t,  that  there  was  no 
good  at  all  in  eating,  etc.,  and  the  other  that  it  was  the 
highest  and  only  good. 

A  strong  argument  for  the  literal  rendering  is  derived 
from  the  context.    The  particle  QJ  has  an  adversative  and 

accumulative  force ;  It  denotes  a  rising  in  the  thought. 
It  connpcts  itself  here  especially  with  the  last  part  of  what 
precedes:  "that  he  should  make  his  soul  see  good"  (or 
flud  enjoyment  in  it):  *' The  goo  I  is  not  in  the  power  of 
man  that  be  should  eat,  etc.,  and  make  his  soul  se^  goi^d" 
(or  "so  that  he  may  make  his  soul  see  g  lod  in  it,"  taken 
as  a  rolleciive  object);     "yea,  what   jb  more    [□J],  thi» 


CHAP.  11.  1-26. 


61 


22)  before  73N'Kf,  an  omission  which,  on  ao- 
couut  of  the  3  in  01N3,  and  the  like  ending, 
might  so  easily  talce  place,  and  finally  because 
the  idea  of  3  in  01X3  with  the  sense  of  7,  con- 
sequently in  a  sense  designating  an  object,  is 
coniirmed  by  chap.  iii.  12 ;  x.  17  ;  and  the  in- 
strumeatal  conception  of  this  attempted  by  Geier 
and  Knobel,  is  therefore  unnecessary.*  To  eat 
and  drink,  and  let  one's  soul  be  merry,  is  there- 
fore the  triad  of  sensual  life,  which  is  sometimes 
used  in  a  bad  sense,  of  vicious  excess  and  indul- 
gence, and  again  in  a  good  or  morally  unpreju- 
dioial  sense.  The  former  is  found  in  Exodus 
xxsii.  6  ;  Prov.  xxiii.  7,  8  ;  Judith  xii.  13  ;  1 
Cor.  X.  17,  etc.,  the  latter  in  this  passage,  and  in 
Eccles.  iii.  13  ;  v.  17;  viii.  15 ;  and  also  in  1  Sam. 
XXX.  16;  Isa.  Ixv.  13  ;  Song  of  Solomon  v.  1,  elc. 
Comp.  ZocKLER,  Theologia  Naturalis,  p.  661  f., 
wkere  are  also  produced  from  the  classics  many 
parallels  of  this  combination  of  ideas  in  eating, 
drinking,  and  being  merry ;  (e.  g.,  Euripides, 
Alcest.,  788;  Arrian,  Anab.,  II.  5,  4;  Plautus, 
Mil.  glor..  III.,  1,  83). — That  these  maxims,  to 
eat,  drink,  and  be  merry,  are  not  here  meant  in 
the  Epicurean  sense  of  1  Cor.  xv.  32,   is  proved 

by  the  important  addition  1/0^3  in  his  labor, 

in  his  toil,  on  which  a  special  emphasis  rests, 
and  which  excludes  every  thought  of  idle  de- 
bauchery and  luxurious  enjoyment.  See  Int.  g 
5,  and  especially  p.  24. — This  also  I  sa'w, 
that  It  was  from  the  hand  of  God.  That  is, 
not:  I  observed  that  as  all  else,  so  also  this 
comes  from  the  hand  of  God,  but,  at  the  same 
time  with  that  truth,  that  eating,  drinking,  etc., 
is  the  best  for  man,  I  perceived  also  that  only 
the  hand  of  God  can  bestow  such  cheerfulness  in 
toil,  and  such  a  joyous  and  contented  feeling  in 
the  midst  of  the  fatigues  of  worldly  avocations. — ■ 
Ver.  25.  For  who  can  eat,  or  who  else 
can  hasten  hereunto  more  than  I  ?  Lit. 
Ser.,  and  who  enjoy,  except  from  Him?  K^-in 
lit.,  to  malie  merry,  to  pass  a  life  in  carousing, 
deliciis  affluere  (Vulg. )  hence  to  enjoy,  to  delight, 
not  drink,  tipple  [Sept.  Sgr.,  Ewald). — Instead 
of  '3313  Y^T\  we  must  read  with  the  Sept.,  Syr., 
HiBKONYMOS  and  eight  manuscripts  WHD  VIU 
except  from  Bim.  For  '3Sp  Vin  in  the  com- 
parative sense,  "except  me,"  or  just  as  I,  does 
not  afford  a  thought  in  accordance  with  the  text, 

too  [nt  emphatic]  I  saw  was  the  gift  of  God,"  the  power 

<it  anjovmnnt  as  well  as  the  means.  If  there  is  any  good 
in  theai  (such  is  the  implication),  it  comes  from  above. 
Tiiis  clearly  denotes  that  there  is  a  higher  good,  even  the 
consciousness  and  recognition  of  the  truth  thus  stated.  It 
1*  tberalore  in  logical  opposition  to  the  idea  that  there  is 
nothing  better  for  man  than  eating  aod  drinking  thus 
nnqualifledly  asserted.  Every  reader  must  feel  that  there 
19  Homothing  disjointed  in  our  common  English  Version. 
It  does  not  bring  out  the  contrast,  nor  the  climax.  The 
"tiier  is  not  only  the  plainer  and  more  literal  translation 
01  the  Hebrew,  as  it  stands,  but  the  assertion  may  be  ven- 

,p  that  there  is  no  obtaining  any  other  sense  out  of  it. 
— i.  L.] 

*['riie  sense  given  to  3  by  Geier,  Junius,  and   Teemel- 

"us,  is  not  only  more  common,  but  far  more  easy  and  na- 
tural. The  references  to  iii.  12;  x.  17,  do  not  confirm  the 
readering  given  by  Zooklee.    ^133  in  iii.  12,  more  properly 

refers  to  the  works  of  men  taken  collectively,  above ;  or 
If  It  refers  to  men,  it  means  there,  as  here,  in  tfiem — in 
mar  power.— 1.  h.] 


and  would  not  harmonize  with  the  t^in'  and 
/^N'  (see  Vulg.  Luthek,,  etc.).  But  the  trans- 
lation of  Hahn  :  "  for  who  shall  eat  and  who 
shall  pine  for  food,  is  beyond  me,  is  beyond  my 
power,"  is  insufferably  harsh.  On  the  contrary, 
133D  from  Him  (comp.  the  preposition  ]D  in 
2  Sam.  iii.  37  ;  1  Kings  xx.  33),  accords  admi- 
rably with  the  connection,  and  furnishes  that 
thought  reminding  us  of  James  i.  17,  which  we 
here  above  all  things  need.  And,  moreover,  the 
reading    'iBIp    appears    to    coincide    with    the 

equally  faulty  SjN'Ef  for  SjN'iyD  of  the  pre- 
ceding verse.  See  Hitzig  on  this  passage.* — 
Ver.  26.  For  to  the  man  that  is  good  in 
his  sight,  that  is,  to  the  just  and  God-fearing 
(comp.  Neh.  ii.  5;  1  Sam.  xxix.  6),  the  opposite 
of  NBin.  The  idea  of  the  retributive  justice 
of  God,  meets  us  here  for  the  first  time  in  this 
book,  but  not  yet  so  thoroughly  developed  as 
subsequently,  c.  g.,  iii.  17  ;  xi.  8  ;  xii.  14. — But 
to  the  sinner  he  giveth  travail,  to  gather 

and  to  heap  up.  NDin'?  stands  absolute  and 
is  not  to  be  supplemented  by  a  new  VJ37  (like 
the  310  of  the  first  clause  of  the  verse),  as  if 
the  sense  were,  to  the  one  who  is  offensive  to  Him, 
who  is  a  sinner  in  His  sight.  That  he  may  give 
to  him  that  is  good  before  God.     The  object 

of  r\Pr!  is  not  the  travail  of  the  sinner,  but  the 
goods  gathered  by  him  through  toil  and  travail, 
the  treasures  heaped  up  by  him,  but  finally  fall- 
ing to  the  just.  The  same  thought  occurs  in 
Prov.  xiii.  22;  xxviii.  8;  Job  xxvii.  17.— This 
also  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit, 
namely,  that  one  seeks  his  happiness  in  the 
cheerful  enjoyment  of  sensual  blessings,  (accord- 
ing to  the  maxim  in  verse  24).  This  is  also  va- 
nity, because  the  acquisition  of  goods  and  plea- 
sures in  this  life,  is  by  no  means  in  the  power 
of  man,  but  depends  solely  on  the  free  grace  of 
God,  which  gives  to  its  beloved  while  sleeping, 
(Ps.  cxxvii.  2) ;  but  permits  the  wicked,  instead 
of  pleasures,  to  heap  up  vain  wrath  against  the 
day  of  judgment,  (Eom.  ii.  5;  James  v.  3). 
Others  consider  the  heaping  up  of  travail  on  the 
part  of  the  wicked,  as  the  subject  of  the  phrase 
(El.ster  and  Henqstenbero),  or  that  it  desig- 
nates the  arbitrary  distribution  of  the  blessings 
of  life  on  the  part  of  God  as  vanity  and  vexation 
(Knobel),  but  thereby  they  depart  equally  far 
from  the  true  train  of  thought  which  the  author 
maintains  since  verse  24. 

*  [We  cannot  agree  with  Zockler  and  Hitzig  here.  The 
sense  they  would  give  to  J^S,r\  is  found  nowhere  else  in 
the  Hebrew,  unless  it  is  thrust  into  this  place.  Every- 
where el=e,  1  Sam  xx.  38;  Dent,  xxxii.  35;  Ps.  cxix.60; 
Hah.  i.  18;  Ps  xx.  20;  xsxviii.  23;  xl.  14;  Ixx.  26;  Ixxi. 
12;  Job  XX  2;  Isa.  v.  19;  Ix.  22,  etc.,  etc.;  it  means 
simply  to  bftsten,  and   there  is  no  need  of  going  to  the 

Arabic  ..^      or  Syriac  g/n,  which  in  form  would  cor- 

respond  rat.ier  to  W^Xy-  Beside^,  it  r 'quires  a  change 
in  the  text  from  ""il^O  *o  -Ij^O  wliich  lias  no  margi- 
nal keri  to  support  it.  a  id  gives,  moroover.  a  very  far- 
fetched sense.  See  Text  Note  and  Metrical  Version  No- 
thing cjulii  be  more  fitting  thin  the  sense  whi<jh  correi- 
ponds  to  the  Hebrew  as  it  standi. — T.  L.T 


8J 


ECCLESIASTES. 


DOOTEINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 
(  With  Homilelical  Hints.) 

The  transition  of  Koheleth  in  the  beginning 
of  the  chapter,  especially  in  vers.  1-8,  from  the 
striving  after  wisdom  and  knowledge  to  enjoy- 
ment, and  from  that  to  action,  to  the  organizing 
and  artificially  producing  deed  (vers.  4-8)  pre- 
sents a  certain  similarity  with  the  progress  of 
Goethe's  Faust  from  knowledge  to  enjoyment, 
and  from  that  (in  the  sec.  act)  to  the  more  seri- 
ous duty  of  laboring  and  producing.  For  the 
magnificent  undertakings,  structures,  and  exten- 
sion of  possessions  and  acquirements  described 
in  vers.  4-8,  can  scarcely  be  considered  as  inere 
means  of  sensual  enjoyment  in  the  sense  of  Ko- 
heleth (as  in  Elstek,  p.  55).  He  expressly 
confesses  to  have  connected  therewith  a  certain 
ideal  object,  if  not  of  a  religious,  at  least  of  an 
ethical  and  human  character  ;  this  lies  in  the 
repeated  assertion  (ver.  3  and  9),  that  in  the 
midst  of  these  eudemonistic  and  practical  efforts, 
wisdom  remained  the  ruler  of  his  heart.  But 
the  great  difference  between  Faust  and  the 
Preacher,  consists  in  the  final  solution  of  the 
grand  enigma  of  earthly  life,  which  in  the  former 
ends  in  an  obscure,  sentimental,  and  philosophi- 
cal mysticism,  whilst  the  latter  returns  from  his 
wanderings  in  the  sphere  of  effort  after  earthly 
wisdom,  enjoyment  and  acquisition,  into  the  safe 
haven  of  a  clearly  conscious,  modestly  prac- 
tical, and  filially  pious  faith  in  God's  gracious 
and  justgovei'nment  of  the  world.  It  is  thehum- 
ble,  confidently  trusting,  and  gratefully  contented 
i-eliance  on  God's  gracious  hand,  which,  at  the 
close  of  his  vivid  and  almost  startling  descrip- 
tion of  the  vanity  of  all  earthly  things,  he  re- 
commends as  the  only  true  aim  for  the  life  and 
labors  of  man,  (vers.  24-26).  That  all  human 
exertions  are  vanity,  even  that  modest  striving 
after  cheerful  enjoyment  and  serene  employment 
described  in  ver.  24,  is  firmly  fixed  in  his  mind, 
(according  to  ver.  26).  But  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  this  fact  does  not  impel  him  to  a  sullen 
despair  of  all  happiness  and  peace,  but  rather 
leads  from  such  a  feeling  of  discontent  and  dis- 
couragement into  the  blissful  repose  of  a  heart 
wholly  given  to  God,  and  thankfully  enjoying  the 
good  and  perfect  gifts  dispensed  by  Him.  Not 
the  indolent  man  of  enjoyment,  but  the  industri- 
ous, cheerful  laborer ;  not  the  greedily  grasping 
misanthropic  miser,  but  the  friend  of  humanity 
delighting  in  God,  and  well-pleasing  to  Him;  not 
the  sinner,  but  the  pious  child  of  God,  strong  in 
the  faith,  forms  the  ideal  that  he  presents  at  the 
clo.se  of  his  observations  on  the  vanity  of  human 
life,  which,  though  agitated  and  complaining  in- 
deed, nowhere  extend  to  despairing  grief  or  fri- 
volous scepticism. 

A  comprehensive  homiletioal  consideration  of 
the  whole  chapter,  would,  therefore,  be  able  to 
present  as  its  theme  :  "  The  vanity  of  all  earthly 
things,  and  the  consoling  power  of  a  faithful  reliance 
on  God;"  or,  in  order  to  show  more  clearly  the 
feature  distinguishing  this  chapter  from  the  pre- 
ceding: '^  The  wrong  and  the  right  way  to  seek 
one's  happiness  on  earth;''  or:  ^^  Divine  grace  as 
the  heslower  of  that  happiness  of  men,  vainly  sought 
after  by  tluir  own  power  and  with  earthly  means," 


(comp.  the  following  passages  in  the  N.  T. :  John 
vi.  65;  XV.  5;  Eph.  ii.  8;  James  i.  \l,etc.).  The 
principal  divisions  for  a  discourse  on  these  con- 
tents would  be :  1.  No  earthly  enjoyment  or 
possession  leads  to  genuine  happiness,  (1-11). 
2.  Even  the  happiest  and  wisest  man  remains 
subject  to  the  curse  of  death,  common  to  all  the 
sons  of  men,  (12-19)  ;  3.  Genuine  and  lasting 
happiness  (surviving  this  life)  can  only  be  ob- 
tained for  man  by  a  childlike,  contented,  and 
grateful  reliance  on  God's  gracious  and  paternal 
hand,  (20-26). 

HOMILETIOAL  HI.NTS  TO  SEPAEATE  PASSAGES. 

Vers.  1  and  2.  Lutheb:  Many  a  one  arranges 
all  his  matters  with  much  toil  and  trouble,  that 
he  may  have  repose  and  peace  in  his  old  age, 
but  God  disposes  otherwise,  so  that  he  comes  into 
affairs  that  cause  his  unrest  then  to  commence. 
Many  a  one  seeks  his  joy  in  lust  and  licentious- 
ness, and  his  life  is  embittered  ever  after.  There- 
fore, if  God  does  not  give  joy  and  pleasure,  but 
we  strive  after  it,  and  endeavor  to  create  it  of 
ourselves,  no  good  will  come  of  it,  but  it  is,  as 
Solomon  says,  all  vanity.  The  best  gladness  and 
delight  are  those  which  one  does  not  seek  (for  a 
fly  may  easily  fall  into  our  broth),  but  that  which 
God  gives  to  our  hand. 

Staeke  :  The  joy  of  the  world  is  so  constituted 
that  it  entails  repentance,  mortification,  and 
grief  (1  John  ii.  17;  Luke  xvi.  19,  23);  but  the 
pleasure  that  the  faithful  find  in  God,  is  spiri- 
tual, constant,  satisfying,  and  inexpressible, 
(Isa.  XXXV.  10;  John  xvi.  22). 

Staeke  :  Vers.  3  ff. :  Every  natural  man  seeks, 
in  his  way,  his  heaven  in  sensual  delights.  But 
he  too  often  sins  thereby,  and  misuses  the  gifts 
of  God  (Wisdom  2,  6ff.).  God  grants  to  man 
what  is  necessary  to  his  body,  as  well  as  that 
which  tends  to  his  comfort.  But  how  many  for- 
get God  thereby! 

Geiee  :  It  is  allowable  to  possess  riches  if 
they  have  been  righteously  acquired.  But  be- 
ware of  avarice  as  well  as  extravagance. 

Wohlfakth  :  He  who  thinks  to  find  the  aim 
of  his  life  in  the  highest  measure  of  sensual  en- 
joyment, is  the  victim  of  an  error  which  will  de- 
mand of  him  a  fearful  revenge  in  proportion  as 
he  tears  himself  from  God,  strives  simply  after 
false  treasures,  and  neglects  and  despises  the 
treasures  of  a  higher  world  ;  he  heaps  upon  him- 
self a  weighty  responsibility  on  account  of  the 
misuse  of  his  time,  the  wasting  of  his  powers, 
and  the  evil  administration  of  the  goods  confided 
to  him  by  God,  and  by  all  this  excludes  himself, 
unconditionally,  from  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Hansen:— 9-11.  The  things  of  this  world  be- 
long to  the  preservation,  delight  and  convenience 
of  external,  sensual  life.  One  may  arrange 
them,  therefore,  with  as  much  pomp,  majesty 
and  beauty  as  is  possible ;  they  can  never,  ac- 
cording to  their  nature,  do  more  than  delight  our 
senses. — If  we  estimate  their  worth  too  high, 
they  can  take  from  us  in  inward  ease  of  mind 
much  more  than  they  grant  us  in  sensual  delights 
and  convenience,  and  become  to  us  then  a  genu- 
ine scourge  of  the  spirit. 

Starke: — If  the  children  of  the  world  are  not 
without  vexation  and  trouble  in  the  accomplish- 


CHAP.  II.  1-26. 


63 


ment  of  their  sinful  lusts,  tlie  children  of  God 
should  be  less  surprised,  if  they  in  their  work  in 
the  Lord  must  experience  various  disappoint- 
ments and  vexations. 

H.iMANN  (Ver.  10)  : — We  here  find  a  trace  of 
Divine  goodness,  which,  notwithstanding  the 
vanity  of  all  our  works,  has  placed  in  labor,  and 
especially  in  useful  occupations,  which  strike 
tKe  eye  and  gain  our  approbation  as  well  as  that 
of  others,  a  species  of  joy,  a  spice  of  pleasure 
which  delights  us  more  than  the  work  itself,  be- 
cause we  often  do  not  esteem  that  which  was  so 
agreeable  to  us  in  the  process  of  production. 

Luthbr:— Vers.  12-19.  (To  ver.  15).  There- 
fore it  is  better  to  commend  the  highest  govern- 
ment of  all  things  to  the  God  who  made  us.  Let 
every  one  perform  his  duty  with  all  diligence, 
and  execute  what  God  places  to  his  hand ;  if 
things  do  not  always  turn  out  as  we  expected,  let 
us  commend  them  to  God.  What  God  gives,  that 
accept ;  and  again,  what  He  prevents,  that  accept 
also  as  good.  What  we  are  able  to  do,  that  we 
ought  to  do ;  what  we  cannot  do,  we  must  leave 
undone.  The  stone  that  thou  art  not  able  to  lift, 
thou  must  leave  lying. 

(jBELAOH  (to  ver.  17)  : — -If  God  has  disappeared 
from  the  efforts  of  men,  a  disgust  of  life  appears 
sooner  or  later  (John  iv.  8  ff. ). 

Geier  (to  vers.  18,  19) : — It  is  hard  for  flesh 
and  blood  to  leave  the  fruits  of  its  toil  to  others  ; 
hut  a  Christian  arms  himself  against  this  with 
the  reflection  that  every  thing  that  he  has  or 
does  is  given  to  him  by  God,  1  Cor.  iv.  7. 

WoHLFARTH  (vers.  13-19) :— What  must  we 
feel  it  our  duty  to  do,  on  perceiving  that  the 
earth  can  afford  no  perfect  satisfaction  to  our 
demand  for  happiness  ? — The  wise  man  is  pained 
on  perceiving  that  all  earthly  things  are  vain  and 
unsatisfactory ;  his  eye  indeed  becomes  serious, 
and  his  expression  reflective.  But  for  that  very 
reason,  he  hears  not  only  the  cry  of  the  grave, 
but  also  the  words  of  consolation  :  "  Lift  up  thy 
eye,  citizen  of  heaven  in  the  garb  of  a  pilgrim ; 
true  as  it  is,  that  the  world  with  all  its  treasures 
cannot  satisfy  thy  longing  for  what  is  lasting  and 
perfect,  so  foolish  is  it  to  seek  therein  peace  and 
perfect  satisfaction." 

Zeyss  (vers.  20-2.3) ;— This  life  is  full  of 
trouble  throughout,  with  all  men  and  all  classes. 
Why  should  we  not,  therefore,  ardently  long  for 
a  better  life?  (Phil,  iii,  14).— Stabkb  :— The  tra- 
vail of  soul,  by  which  one  obtains  salvation 
through  fear  and  trembling,  is  therein  different 
from  worldly  toil,  in  bearing  its  profit  unto  eter- 
nal life. 

OsiANDER  (vers.  24-26)  : — It  is  pleasing  to 
God  that  we  should  cheerfully  enjoy  our  labor  in 
His  fear,  so  much  as  our  calling  may  permit  it, 
Ps.  oxxviii.  1,  2. 

JoAOHiM  Lanqe  : — According  as  man  is  virtu- 
ous or  vicious,  even  his  eating  and  drinking  is 
good  or  evil.  Because  the  natural  man  lives 
either  in  a  state  of  fleshly  security  or  of  servi- 
tude, and  there   is  nothing  really  good  in  him 


that  avails  with  God  and  satisfies  the  con- 
science. 

Starke  (ver.  26):— Seek  above  all  things  to 
please  God  by  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 
else,  with  all  external  happiness,  tkou  art  still 
unhajppy.  The  wicked  often  have  worldly  goods, 
and  seek  in  every  way  to  increase  them  ;  but 
ttiey  do  not  have  real  profit  and  lasting  fruit  from 
them,  because  their  works  do  not  proceed  from 
the  faith.  He,  on  the  contrary,  who  possesses 
the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  (Gal.  v.  22)  and  is  faithful 
therein,  is  ever  favored  by  God  with  greater 
mercy  (Matth.  v.  28,  29). 

Hansen  (ver.  26) : — If  we  examine  it  closely, 
the  want  of  genuine  wisdom  and  pure  knowledge 
is  the  reason  why  many  do  not  prosper  in  the 
blessings  which  they  possess  in  the  world.  Men 
of  impure  and  confused  conceptions,  who  are 
fettered  by  dazzling  imaginations,  must  suffer 
with  all  their  abundance,  and  lead  a  miserable 
life. 

Hamann  (ver.  26)  : — All  the  vanity,  all  tfie 
toilings  of  men  after  wisdom,  happiness  and 
rest,  which  in  so  many  ways  lead  men  to  the 
grave,  where  ceases  all  the  distinction  which 
they  strive  to  obtain  on  earth,  are  not  allotted 
to  the  pious  man  by  God ;  they  are  a  curse 
which  sin  has  laid  upon  man,  but  which  God  will 
make  a  blessing  to  His  chosen  ones.  For  these 
busy,  restless  creatures  gather  and  heap  up  for 
those  who  are  good  in  God's  eyes.  And  these 
latter  shall  gratuitously  receive  by  the  sinner's 
labor  what  he  (the  sinner)  seeks  and  finds  not, 
what  he  labors  for  and  cannot  enjoy :  wisdom, 
knowledge,  joy. — What  is  the  Divine  word,  and 
whence  are  taken  this  wisdom,  knowledge  and 
joy  that  in  it  exist  ?  Are  they  not  honey  made 
by  bees  in  the  slain  beast?  What  are  the  stories 
that  they  tell  us  but  examples  of  sinners'  toil, 
of  the  vanity  and  folly  into  which  men  have 
fallen? 

Henostenbeeg  (ver.  26): — It  is  manifest  that 
the  expression:  "This  also  is  vanity"  is  not 
meant  in  the  sense  of  an  accusation  of  God,  but 
as  a  cry  of  warning  to  human  perverseness,  that 
seeks  its  happiness  only  there  where,  according 
to  God's  will,  it  should  not  be  sought. 

[For  reflections  on  this  and  other  parts  of  the 
book,  the  reader  is  referred  to  Matthew  Henry. 
In  no  commentary  is  there  to  be  found  a  richer 
treasure  of  most  choice,  discriminating  and 
highly  spiritual  apothegms,  rendered  most 
pleasing  and  ornate  by  what  may  be  styled  a 
holy  humor,  or  a  sanctified  wit.  They  are  un- 
surpassed by  any  thing  in  the  devout  German 
writers  here  quoted,  but  the  ready  access  to  the 
work,  for  all  English  readers,  renders  it  unne- 
cessary that  the  volume  should  be  swelled  by 
inserting  them.  Besides,  among  such  rich  ma- 
terials, it  would  not  be  easy  to  make  a,  limited 
selection.  Much  also  of  a  very  rich  homiletical 
character  may  be  obtained  from  Wordsworth. 
— T.  L.]. 


64  ECCLESIASTES. 


SECOND  DISCOURSE. 
Of  Earthly  Happiness,  its  Impediments  and  Means  of  Advancement. 

Chap.  3-5. 

A.  The  substance  of  earthly  happiness  or  success  consists  in  grateful  joy  of  this  life,  and  a  righteouj 

use  of  it. 

Chap.  III.  1-22. 

I  *  The  reasons  for  the  temporal  restriction  of  human  happiness  (consisting  in  the  entire  dependence 

of  all  human  action  and  effort  on  an  unchangeable,  higher  system  of  things). 

(Vers.  1-11.) 

1  To  every  thing  there  is  a  season,  and  a  time  to  every  purpose  under  the  heaven : 

2  A  time  to  be  born,  and  a  time  to  die ;  a  time  to  plant,  and  a  time  to  pluck  up  that 

3  which  is  planted ;  A  time  to  kill,  and  a  time  to  heal ;  a  time  to  break  down,  and  a 

4  time  to  build  up  ;  A  time  to  weep,  and  a  time  to  laugh  ;  a  time  to  mourn,  and  a 

5  time  to  dance  ;  A  time  to  cast  away  stones,  and  a  time  to  gather  stones  together  ;  a 

6  time  to  embrace,  and  a  time  to  refrain  from  embracing ;  A  time  to  get,  and  a  time 

7  to  lose  ;  a  time  to  keep,  and  a  time  to  cast  away ;  A  time  to  rend,  and  a  time  to 

8  sew ;  a  time  to  keep  silence,  and  a  time  to  speak ;  A  time  to  love,  and  a  time  to 

9  hate ;  a  time  of  war,  and  a  time  of  peace.     What  profit  hath  he  that  worketh  in 
10  that  wherein  he  laboureth  ?     I  have  seen  the  travail,  which  God  hath  given  to  the 

II  sons  of  men  to  be  exercised  in  it.  He  hath  made  every  thing  beautiful  in  his  time ; 
also  he  hath  set  the  world  in  their  heart,  so  that  no  man  can  find  out  the  work  that 
God  maketh  from  the  beginning  to  the  end. 

2.  The  nature  of  the  temporally  restricted  human  happiness. 
(Vers.  12-22.) 

12  I  know  that  there  is  no  good  in  them,  but  for  a  man  to  rejoice,  and  to  do  good  in 

13  his  life.     And  also  that  every  man  should  eat  and  drink,  and  enjoy  the  good  of  all 

14  his  labour  ;  it  is  the  gift  of  God.  I  know  that,  whatsoever  God  doeth,  it  shall  be 
for  ever  :  nothing  can  be  put  to  it,  nor  any  thing  taken  from  it :  and  God  doeth  it, 

15  that  men  should  fear  before  him.     That  which  hath  been  is  now;   and  that  which 

16  is  to  be  hath  already  been  ;  and  God  requireth  that  which  is  past.  And  moreover 
I  saw  under  the  sun  the  place  of  judgment,  that  wickedness  was  there;  and  the 

17  place  of  righteousness,  that  iniquity  was  there.  I  said  in  mine  heart,  God  shall 
judge  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  :  for  there  is  a  time  there  for  every  purpose  and 

18  for  every  work.  I  said  in  mine  heart  concerning  the  estate  of  the  sons  of  men,  that 
God  might  manifest  them,  and  that  they  might  see  that  they  themselves  are  beasts. 

19  For  that  which  befalleth  the  sons  of  men  befalleth  beasts  ;  even  one  thing  befalleth 
them  :  as  the  one  dieth,  so  dieth  the  other ;  yea,  they  have  all   one  breath  ;  so  that 

20  a  man  hath  no  pre-eminence  above  a  beast :  for  all  is  vanity.     All  go  unto  one 

21  place  ;  all  are  of  the  dust,  and  all  turn  to  dust  again.  Who  knoweth  the  spirit  of 
man  that  goeth  upward,  and  the  spirit  of  the  beast  that  goeth  downward  to  the 

22  earth  ?  Wherefore  I  perceive  that  there  is  nothing  better,  than  that  a  man  should 
rejoice  in  his  own  works ;  for  that  is  his  portion :  for  who  shall  bring  him  to  see 
what  shall  be  after  him  ? 


CHAP.  III.  1-22. 


65 


[Ver,  1. — |DT    This  is  one  of  the  words  relied  upon  to  prove  the  later  Hebraic,  or  Chaldaic,  period  of  the  book.    We 

have,  however,  no  right  to  say  that  a  word  running  through  tbe  Shemitic  tongues  [as  this  is  found  in  Arabic,  Syriac, 
Etliiopic,  as  well  as  Hebrew]  is  peculiar  to  any  one  of  them,  or  borrowed  from  any  one  of  them,  though  circumstances  may 
have  made  it  rare  m  an  early  dialect,  perhaps  on  account  of  a  preciaion  of  meaniug  rarely  needed,  whilst  it  has  become 
loose  and  vulgarized  in  another.  It  may  htve  been  well  known  in  the  days  of  So.omon,  tbough  seldom  used  when  the 
more  indefinite  nj?_  would  answer.  H;/  means  time  generally,  I^^ID  a  fixed  time  (like  a  yearly  festival),  m?  iu  its 
earliel  sense,  before  it  became  vulgarized,  a  time  or  an  occasion  precisely  adapted  to  a  purpose.    Hence  we  see  its  very 


probable  connection  with  CDDT  proponit,  and  having  also  the  sense  of  binding,  like  Arabic 


r-^' 


tlio  purpose  linked 


to  the  due  occasion.  This  suits  all  the  acts  following,  as  more  or  less  the  result  of  purpose  in  a  dm  j  proposed.  It  has  good 
support,  too,  etymologically,  in  the  final  □  changing  to  the  t  as  is  the  tendency  in  other  words.  Thus,  besides  other  ex- 
amples, Lam.  iii.  22,  according  to  Kabbi  Tanchum,  Don  becomes  Vap\  to  avoid  the  harshness  of  the  final  D.  making 
UDn  =  ^D^J^  "i?t«3/  are  not  consumed,"  or  spent  [that  is,  the  mercies  of  the  Lordj,  instead  of  "we  are  not  consumed" 

;  T  :    T  _ 

We  may  be  assured  that  the  writer  did  not  intend  a  tautology  here.  |^r  is  more  precise  than  T\V,  as  it  has  more  of 
purpose  than  llTlDi  which  relates  to  things  immovable. — T.  L.] 

[Ver.  18.— m^'l" 7i?.  E.  V.  On  account  of  the  sons  of  men.  Compare  Ps.  ex.  4,  after  the  manner  of.  LXX., 
irepl  AaXta5.  Tulgate,  simply,  defiliis.  Syriac,  K77OD  7J^  after  the  speech  of  men — more  humane — humanly  speaking, 
which  seems  the  most  suitable  of  any,  for  re^ona  given  in  the  Exeget.  and  Note. — T.  L.] 

[Ver.  18, — Qn?  Don  Literally,  themselves  to  themselves — in  their  own  estimation.    CD^D?,  to  prove  them — make  it 
v  T       T  ■■  _  T  T  : 

clear,  literally,  (LXX.,  Stajcptfct  clutou?.  Tulg.,  ut  proharei),  let  tbem  see  from  themselves,  or  from  their  own  conduct  to 
themselves,  how  like  beasts  they  are.  This  qualified  sense  is  very  different  from  asserting  that  they  are  beasts  abso- 
lutely. The  key  to  it  all  is  in  the  rilDT  7^  above.  Tbe  writer  ia  speaking  morehumano — tbe  judgment  that  must 
be  pronounced  if  men  were  judged  by  their  own  ways. — T.  L.] 

[Ver.  21. — Tjl'VT},    It  can  only  mean,  aa  it  stands  in  the  text,  "that  which  goeth  up.^'    An  effort  has  been  made 

to  give  it  another  turn  by  pointing  71  as  interrogative.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  it  is  against  the  text.  For  OLber 
reasons  against  it,  see  Exeget.  and  Note. — T.  L.] 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

The  unconditional  dependence  of  man  on  God's 
government  of  tlie  world,  in  all  his  efforts  for 
happiness,  which  formed  the  concluding  thought 
of  the  preceding  discourse  (chap.  ii.  24-26),  now 
becomes  the  starting  point  of  a  new  and  inde- 
pendent reflection,  in  so  far  as  temporal  condi- 
tions and  restrictions  of  human  happiness  are 
deduced  therefrom,  and  its  essence  is  placed  in 
gratefully  cheerful  enjoyment  and  a  devout  use 
of  the  earthly  blessings  bestowed  by  God.  For 
Divine  Providence  in  its  controlling  power  here 
below  will  ever  remain  obscure  and  mysterious, 
Bo  that  man,  in  this  its  hidden  side,  can  neither 
alter  its  course  nor  observe  any  other  conduct 
than  humble  submission  and  godly  fear  (vers.  9- 
11,  14,  15).  In  the  same  way  the  view  of  the 
many  wrongs  in  this  life,  and  of  the  extreme  ob- 
scurity and  concealment  of  the  fate  that  will 
overtake  individual  souls  after  death,  obliges  us 
tooling  to  the  principle  of  a  cheerful,  confiding 
and  contented  enjoyment  of  the  present  (vers. 
16-20). — In  the  more  special  development  of  this 
train  of  thought,  we  may  either  (with  Vaihingeb 
and  Keil)  make  three  principal  sections  or 
strophes  of  the  chapter  (vers.  1-8  ;  vers.  9-15, 
and  vers.  16-22),  or,  what  appears  more  logical, 
two  halves  ;  of  which  each  13  divided  into  sec- 
tions of  unequal  length.  1.  Vers.  1-11  show 
the  reason  for  the  temporal  restriction  of  the 
earthly  happiness  of  man — a,  as  consisting  in  the 
dependence  of  all  human  action  on  time  and  cir- 
cumstances (vers.  1-8) ;  b,  as  consisting  in  the 
short-sightedness  and  feebleness  of  human  know- 
ledge in  contrast  with  the  endless  wisdom  and 
omnisoienceof  God  (vers.  9-11).  2.  Vers.  12-22 
describe  human  happiness  in  its  nature  as  tem- 
porally restricted  and  imperfect — a,  with  refer- 


ence to  the  awe-inspiring  immutability  of  those 
decrees  of  God  which  determine  human  fate 
(vers.  12-15) ;  b,  with  reference  to  the  secret 
ways  adopted  by  Divine  justice,  in  rewarding  the 
good  and  punishing  the  evil  in  this  world,  and 
still  more  in  the  world  beyond  (vers.  16-22). 

2.  First  Division,  first  strophe. — Ver.  1-8.  Every 
human  action  and  effort  are  subject  to  the  law  of 
time  and  temporal  change. — To  every  thing 
there  is  a  season,  and  a  time  to  every 
purpose  under  heaven. — "Every  thing," 
namely,  every  thing  that  man  undertakes  or  does 
on  earth  ;  a  very  general  expression,  more  clearly 

defined  by  the  following  yBU'b^  every  business, 
every  undertaking,  but  more  clearly  illustrated 
in  the  subsequent  verses  in  a  number  of  special 
examples. —  ]DI  lit.,  precision,  limitation,  indi- 
cates in  later  style  (Neh.  ii.  6;  Esth.  ix.  27,  31), 
a  certain  period,  a  term  for  any  thing,  whilst  the 
more  common  JIJ?  (time)  signifies  a  division  of 
time  in  general. — ^Ver.  2.  A  time  to  be  born 
and  a  time  to  die. — This  is  the  original  text. 
Zock.  renders,  "its  time,"  to  the  8th  verse.*  The 
Sept.  and  the  Vulg.  express  this  construction 
genltively  [naipbi;  tov  renetv  n.  r.  I.,  tempus  nas- 

cendi,  etc.)  The  word  T\'hb  does  not  stand  for  the 
passive  "i'^'hS  to  be  born  (Vulg.,  Luthek,  Ew- 
ALD,  Gesenius,  Elsteb),  but  like  all  the  fol- 
lowing infinitives,  is  to  be  taken  actively ;  to  bear. 
The  constant  usage  of  the  Old  Testament  favors 

this  rendering  with  reference  to  the  verb  ^7^ 
and  also  the  circumstance  that  with  TUl  an  un- 


*rZoCKLEE  renders  "its  time  to  be  born  and  its  time  to 
die  "  making  it  all  dependent  (this  and  tbe  following  vfrses) 
on  the  first  "every  thing  has  its  time."    On  |DT  see  Text 

notes.— T.  L.] 


S6 


ECCLESIASTES. 


dertaking  (I'iJn),  a  conscious  and  intentional 
action  or  business  is  lo  be  named,  whicli  can  only 
be  said  of  the  maternal  part  of  the  act  of  human 
birth,  and  not  of  that  of  the  child.  Death  fit- 
tingly follows  closely  to  birth.  By  this  juxtapo- 
sition of  the  acts  which  marlc  the  entrance  into 
life  and  the  exit  from  it,  the  whole  arena  within 
which  the  subsequent  actions  are  performed,  is 
from  the  beginning  "  marked  by  its  fixed  limits  " 
(Hitzig).  a  time  to  plant  and  a  time  to 
pluck  up  that  which  is  planted.— For  the 
affinity  between  these  two  ideas  and  that  of  birth 
and  death,  comp.  Prov.  xii.  12  ;  Ps.  i.  37  ;  xxxvii. 
35  f.;    xoii.  13  f.;  cxxviii.   3;   Dan.   Iv.    11,  20; 

Matth.  iii.  8-10;  vii.  17  f.;  xv.  18.  "l'lp.y(2  Pro- 
bably from  Chald.*  15)!  "root,"  means  origi- 
nally to  root  out,  to  unroot,  but  is  always  else- 
where in  the  0.  T.  used  metaphorically,  e.  g.,  of 
the  destruction  of  cities  (Zeph.  ii.  4),  of  striking 
down  horses  or  oxen,  and  making  them  useless 
by  severing  the  sinews  of  their  hind  feet  (Gen. 

xlix,  6).— Ver.  3 A  time  to  kill  and  a  time 

to  heal  — A  negative  thouglit  here  precedes,  a-- 
also  in  the  subsequent  clauses,  till  the  first  of 
ver.  5,  after  which,  until  the  end,  the  positive  or 
negative  idea  alternately  precedes.  "  To  kill  " 
(jnn  lit.,  cut  down,  or  stab)  indicates  the  in- 
flicting of  the  very  wounds  whose  healing  the 
following  verb   points  out. — Ver.  4.  A  time  to 

■weep,  etc.  —  HDD/  appears  only  on  account 
of  similarity  of  sound  to  be  placed  immediately 
after  niJ37,  as  in  the  following  clause:  "llp"1  to 
leap,  to  dance,  appears  to  be  chosen  on  account 
of  its  like  sounding  ending  as  a  contrast  to  "1130 
to  lament  i^KiivTcodai,  plangere).f — Ver.  5.  A 
time  to  cast  aivay  stones,  and  a  time  to 
gather  stones  together. — In  this  first  expres- 
sion there  is,  of  course,  no  allusion  to  the  de- 
struction of  the  temple,  of  which,  according  to 
Mark  xiii.  2,  not  one  stone  shall  remain  upon 
another  (as  Hengstenbero  and  others  think), 
and  quite  as  little  to  the  stoning  of  malefactors, 
or  to  the  throwing  of  stones  on  the  fields  of  ene- 
mies, according  to    2   Kings  iii.  19,  25  (Hitzio, 

*  The  root,  though  not  frequent,  is  common  enough  in 
Hebrew  for  thia  purpose ;  why  go  to  the  Chaldaic? 

f  [All  such  inflnitivea  as  rekfidh  and  seplwdh  h  ive  a  like 
rhyming.  The  fact  that  accounts  for  the  choice  here  is 
rather  the  similarity  of  primary  senso  which  is  found  in 
verbs  of  dancing  and  mourning.  All  passions  in  early 
times  were  expressed  by  a  violence  of  outward  action, 
Buch  as  beating  the  breast,  rending  the  garmeuta,  rolling 
on  the  earth,  etc.,  that  in  theae  colder  days  of  the  world's 
old  age  would  be  deemed  utterly  extravagant.  Thus, 
in  the  Greek  KoirreaSai  mentioned  by  Zockler,  Homer's 
TrpojrpoKvAiVSecr^at.  Itiad  XXII.  221,  Hebrew  1130  prima- 
rily to  smite  the  breast.  We  still  find  traces  of  it  in  mo- 
dern words,  tliough  almost  worn  out.  Thus  our  word 
plaint  is  but  a  feeble  echo  of  the  Latin  ptangere.  In  the 
Syriac  this  same  root,  here  rendered  to  dance,  is  used  in 
the  Aphcl  coDJugation  for  mourning-  Thus  in  that  chil- 
dren's ditly,  or  play  upon  words,  recited  by  our  Saviour, 
Matth.  xi.  17,  the  word,  in  the  Peschito  Version,  for 
mourning  is  IpTN,  for  dancing  Ipl,  in  Eoman  letters, 

arked,  raked.  A  play  upon  words  of  this  kind  is  proof  that 
the  gospel  (of  Matthew  at  least)  In  its  oral  form  before 
any  writing,  was  Aramaic,  and  that  our  Saviour  spoke 
it.  Such  children's  ditties  are  very  tenacious,  and  it  must 
have  been  of  long  standing  The  play  upon  words  that 
it  gives  could  not  have  been  original  in  the  Greek,  though 
afterwards  early  translated. — T.  1* 


Elstee,  etc.  But  CJ'JDN  T'?'?'^  '^  ^ei^  identicdk 
with  7J50  "  to  free  from  stones,"  Isa.  v.  2;  Ixii. 
10,  and  alludes  therefore  to  the  gathering  and 
throwing  away  of  stones  from  the  fields,  vine- 
yards, etc.;  whilst  the  latter  expression  naturally 
means  the  collecting  of  stones  for  the  construc- 
tion of  houses  (as  Vaihingbr  justly  observes). 

A  time  to  embrace,  and  a  time  to  refrain 
from  embracing. — Whether  the  connection  of 
the  preceding  expressions  with  pnn  to  embrace, 
is  really  effected  by  the  fact  that  one  embraces 
with  the  hand  the  stone  to  be  cast,  as  Hitzig 
supposes,  is  very  doubtful.  At  all  events,  how- 
ever, p3n  means  the  embrace  of  love  (Prov.  v. 
20),  and  the  intensive  in  the  second  rank  is  pur- 
posely placed  there  to  indicate  that  every  excess 
of  sexual  intercourse  is  injurious. — Ver.  6.  A 
time  to  get,  and  a  time  to  lose. — 13N  as 
a  contrast  to  l£'p3  must  clearly  here  mean  to 
lose  (or  also  to  be  lost,  to  abstain  from  getting, 
Vaihingee)  although  it  every  where  else  means 
to  destroy,  to  ruin ;  for  in  all  the  remaining 
clauses  of  the  series,  the  second  verb  asserts  di- 
rectly the  opposite  of  the  first.  In  contrast  to 
the  unintentional  losing,  the  corresponding  verb 

l]''7tJ'n  of  the  second  clause  then  indicates  an 
intentional  casting  away  of  a  possession  to  be 
preserved  (2  Kings  vii.  15  ;  Ezek.  xx.  8). — A 
time  to  rend  and  a  time  to  sevtr. — One  might 
here  suppose  the  rending  of  garments  on  hearing 
sad  tidings  (1  Sam.  i.  11 ;  iii.  89  ;  Job  i.  20;  ii. 
12;  Matth.  xxvi.  63),  and  again  the  sewing 
up  of  the  garments  that  had  been  thus  rent  as  a 
sign  of  grief.  And  also  by  the  following  "to 
keep  silence "  one  would  first  think  of  the 
mournful  silence  of  the  sorrowing  (Gen.  xxxiv. 
5;  Job  ii.  13). — Ver.  8.  A  time  to  love,  etc. — 
Love  and  hatred,  war  and  peace,  forming  an  in- 
ter-relation with  each  other,  are  now  connected 
with  the  contents  of  the  preceding  verse  by  the 
intermediary  thought  of  the  agreeable  and  disa- 
greeable, or  of  well  and  evil  doing. 

3.  First  Division,  second  strophe  — Vers.  9-11. 
In  consequence  of  the  temporal  character  of  all 
worldly  action  and  effort,  human  knowledge  is 
also  especially  ineffective  and  feeble  in  presence 
of  the  unsearchable  ruling  of  the  Eternal  One. 
— What  profit  hath  he  that  worketh  in 
that  ■wherein  he  laboureth  ? — That  is,  what 
profit  do  all  the  various,  antagonistic  actions,  of 
which  a  number  has  just  been  quoted  (ver.  3-8) 
bring  to  man  ?  The  question  is  one  to  which  a 
decidedly  negative  answer  is  expected,  and 
draws  therefore  a  negative  result  from  the  pre- 
ceding reflection  :  There  is  nothing  lasting,  no 
continuous  happiness  here  below. — Ver.  10.  I 
have  seen  the  travail,  etc. — Comp.  chap.  i.  13. 
This  verse  has  simply  a  transitional  meaning;  it 
prepares  us  for  the  more  accurate  description 
given  in  ver.  11  of  the  inconstant,  transitory  and 
feeble  condition  of  human  knowledge  and  effort, 
in  the  presence  of  the  unsearchable  wisdom  of 
God. — Ver.  11.  He  hath  made  every  thing 
beautiful  in  his  time. — The  principal  empha- 
sis rests  on  the  word  'IPJ^S  "in  his  time,"  as  th'ftw 
connection  with  the  foregoing  vers.  1-8  shows. 


(THAP.  III.  1-22. 


67 


God  has  arranged  all  things  beautifully  in  this 
life  (comp.  Gen.  i.  31),  but  always  only  "in  his 
time,"  always  only  so  that  it  remains  beautiful 
and  good  for  man  during  its  restricted  time,  but 
after  that  becomes  an  evil  for  him;  therefore 
always  only  so  that  the  glory  of  this  earth  soon 
reaches  its  end. — Also  he  hath  set  the  •world 
in  their  heart. — (Zockler's  rendering,  eternity 
in  their  heart). — That  is,  in  the  hearts  of  men;   for 

the  suffix  in  Q3  73  refers  to  the  children  of  men 
in  ver.  11,  whilst  in  the  subsequent  clause  the 
individual  man  (OlXn)  is  placed  opposite  to  the 

one  God.  This  clause  clearly  holds  a  rising  re- 
lation to  the  contents  of  the  preceding:  God  has 
here  below  not  only  arranged  all  things  well  for 
man  in  this  temporal  period  ;  He  has  even  given 
them  eternity  in  their  hearts.  This  is  clearly 
the  author's  train  of  thought.  With  eternity 
given  to  the  heart  of  man,  he  also  means  the 
knowledge  of  God's  eternal  nature  and  rule,  in- 
nate even  in  the  natural  man,  that  notitia  Dei 
natnralis  insita  s.  innata,  which  Paul,  Rom.  i.  19 
f.,  describes  as  an  intellectual  perception  of  God's 
eternal  power  and  divinity,  peculiar  as  such  to 
man,  and  which  develops  itself  in  the  works  of 
creation.     It  appears   as   well  from  the  word 

Q37?  (heart,  here  in  the  same  sense  as  i. 
13-17,  etc.),  as  from  the  following:  "So  that  no 
man  can  find  out,"  that  it  is  substantially  this 
natural  knowledge  of  God,  namely,  something 
belonging  to  the  realm  of  human  conception,  a 
moral  good  from  the  sphere  of  intellectual  life, — 

that  the  author  means  by  the  expression  D7lJ?n 

(consequently  not  simply  the  character  of  im- 
mortality)—although  he  must  have  considered 
this  closely  connected  with  the  natural  conception 
of  God,  according  to  chap.  xii.  7.  For  this  re- 
strictive clause  clearly  expresses  a  restriction  of 
human  nature  in  an  intellectual  sense,  an  inabi- 
lity to  find,  which  is  equal  to  an  inability  to 
know.  But  as  certainly  as  this  inability  to  know 
refers  to  the  extent  and  limits  of  Divine  action, 
80  certainly  will  also  the  knowledge  of  the  hu- 
man heart,  expressed  by  D/li^n  be  a  religious 
knowledge  referring  to  God  and  Divine  things. 
Therefore  we  would  reject  as  opposed  to  the  text 

tiose  explanations  of  LD7li?n  which  give  to  this 
expression  the  sense  of  "  world  "  (Vulg.,  Luther, 
Uhbeeit,  Ewald,  Elster,  etc.),  or  "worldly- 
mindedness  "  (Gesenius,  Knobel),  or  "worldly 
wisdom,"    "judgment "    (Gaab,    Spohn)  ;    also 

HlTziG,  who,  however,  contends  for  oSj;  instead 

of  C^^y.  And  besides  the  connection,  the  style 
of  the  entire  Old  Testament  and  of  this  book  is 
Opposed   to  this  rendering;    according  to  them 

D7l;r  is  always  eternity  (comp.  Eccles.  i.  4,  10; 
ii.  16;  iii.  14;  ix.  6;  xii.  5)  and  first  receives 
the  signiiication  of  "  world  macrocosmos"  in  the 
literature  of  the  Talmud.— So  that  no  man 
can  find  out  the  work  that  G-cd  maketh 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end. — That  is, 
this  one  restriction  is  laid  on  this  human  con- 
ception of  the  Eternal  One,  that  it  can  never  ob- 
tain a  perfect  and  truly  adequate  insight  into  the 


Divine  plan  of  the  world,  but  rather,  is  onlj 
able  to  perceive  the  unsearchable  ways  and  in. 
comprehensible  decrees  of  God,  fragmentarily 
and  in  a  glass  darkly  (Rom.  ii.  32  ;    1  Cor.  xiii. 

12).  ItyS  '73p  is  here  clearly  in  the  sense  of 
only  that,  '^except  that,"  therefore  synonymous 
with  '3  D3N  formerly  used  for  this  (Amoa 
ix.  8;  Judges  iv.  9 ;  2  Sam.  xii.  14).  Comp. 
Ewald,  Lehrbuch,  ^  354  b.  The  deviating  signi- 
fications Vulg.,  Gesenius:  "«Ya  ut  non ;"  (Sept., 
Herzeeld:  hirac:  fiij :  "in  order  not,"  Knobel: 
"without  that;"  Hitziq,  Umbreit,  Hahn  : 
"without  which,"  etc.)  are  not  only  inconsonant 
to  the  text,  but  without  sufiBcient  linguistic  au- 
thority, so  far  as  regards   the   signification   of 

"WiK  '730* — The  author  is  here  silent  in  re- 


*[Ver.  11.  The  strong  objection  to  the  interpretation  of 
Gesenius,  De  Wette,  and  Knobel,  jb  that  the  New  Testa- 
ment use  of  the  word  world  for  worldliness,  love  of  the  world, 
is  unknown  to  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  Equally  unwarranted 

are  HiTzia  and  Stuart  in  first  transforming  Q7l_J?  into 

tD7 1?  (not  found  in  Hebrew  in  any  such  sense,  but  sup- 


posed to  be  equivalent  to  tjie  Arabic    jJLc  \     and  then 
rendering  it  "  JmowUdge,  without  which,"  etc.    The  Arabic 


r^) 


sense  of  the  verb 


Ac.  to 


know,  is  later  thg,u  the  pri- 


mary Hebrew,  to  be  hidden  or  obscure^  though  coming  from 
it  by  a  seeming  law  of  contraries  peculiar  to  the  Shemitic 
tongues ;  it  in  knowledge  aa  discovery.,  or  science  strictly,  or  the 


hidden  found.  It  is  only  in  the  Arabic 


^ 


V 


equal   to  Q'71J^»   t^at  the  old  Hebrew  primary  appears. 

Besides,  this  view  of  HiTZia  and  Stuart  is  at  war  with  the 

"IK'N  ""SSD  which   they  have  no  right  to  render  without 

which.  The  proper  way  of  expressing  that,  in  Hebrew, 
would  be  by  placing  "1K?X  flrat,  and  following  it  with  the 

personal  suffix  and  a  different  particle,  nj?7jlD   ^K'X 

(which  without  it  they  cannot,  etc.).  A  plausible  rendering 
ie,  "  he  hath  put  obscurity  in  their  hearts ;"  but  this,  though 
agreeing  with  the  primary  sense  of  the  verb,  never  occurs 
as  a  sense  of  the  noun.    The  view  of  Zockler,  substantially 

agreeing  with  one  given  by  Geier,  that  □'71^   h*re,  or 

eternity  regarded  as  in  the  heart  of  roan,  refers  to  the  natu- 
ral human  recognition  of  the  eternal  power  and  Godhead,  as 
spoken  of  by  Paul,  Rom.  i.  20,  presents  an  admirable  mean- 
ing if  it  can  be  sustftihed.    It  may  be  said  that  it  is  giving 

CdSiJ?  too  much  of  an  abstract  sense,  but  it  is  certain  that 
the  writer  intends  here  no  common  thought,  and,  therefore, 
the  word  employed  may  be  fairly  extended,  philologi- 
cally,  to  its  uttoost  limits.     It  can  hardly  be  reconciled, 

however,  with  the  '^Vj^    "'^30  which  Zockler,  without 

any  other  warrant  than  his  own  assertion,  makes  equivalent 
to  ''2  D3K  aiaAt\i&[ixenAQTa\tnur  dassnivht,  only  that  not^ 
thus  turning  it  into  a  mere  exceptive  limitation,  as  is  also 
done  by  Tremellius'  and  Grotius  :  excepto  quod  non.    There 

are  no  Scriptural  examples  of  such  use  of  ^730  or  ^730 

^^K,  and  this  would  he  enough,  even  if  every  reader  did 
not  feel  that  thereMs-something  in  it  at  war  with  the  whole 
spirit  of  this  profound  declaration.  In  this  compound  parti- 
cle 'hyo  t^e  D  is  negative,  implying  hinderajice,  and  inten- 
sifying the  negation  in  the  other  part.  The  LXX.  have, 
therefore,  properly  rendered  it  oTrws  /*??,  tJiat  not,  or  rather, 
in  such  a  way  that  not  [oirtoq,  in  distinction  from  'iva.,  refer- 
ring to  the  manner  of  accomplishing,  rather  than  to  the 
■purpose  itself).    "  He  hath  so  presented  it  to  their  mind^ 


fi8 


ECCLESIASTES. 


spect  to  the  profoundest  reasoa  wliy  man  cannot 
thorouglily  know  and  comprehend  the  works  and 
reign  of  God,  that  is  the  interruption  of  the  ori- 
ginal pure  harmony  of  his  Spirit  by  means  of 
sin;  he  is  so  because  he  would  seem  rather,  as 
it  were,  purposely  to  presuppose  this  fact  than 
emphatically  to  express  it, 

4.  Second  Division,  first  strophe.  Vers.  12-15. 
Human  happiness  is  temporally  restricted, 
consisting    mainly    in    the    cheerful     enjoyment 

tint   they   cannot,  etc.     So   the   Targum    X/l   tbe  Syriac 

X^l  TX,  R^shi  xW  nj,  Aquila,  w?  oi^x,  Vulgate,  Pag- 

nin.  Drus.  Merc,  wi  Tinn. 

That  other  idea,  however,  of  the  word  as  world,  world- 
time,  world-plan  (see  ver.  14),  which  has  been  so  fully  dwelt 
upon  in  tbe  Excursus  on  the  Olamic  Words,  p.  44,  harmo- 
nizes perfectly  with  the  immediate  context,  and  tLe  whole 
teuor  of  the  deeper  reflections  contained  in  this  book  :  The 
world-probleni,  hath  Qod  bo  put  into  their  hearts  (literally, 

given  in  theii-   heart,  CD373    |nj)— presented   to    their 

minds, — or,  as  the  Vulgate  well  expresses  it,  tradidit  disjm- 
tationi  eorum,  that,  etc.  Whether  we  take  it  in  the  c(»saii- 
cal  or  olamic  sense,  what  a  comment  upon  this  is  furnished 
by  the  ancient  schools,  Greek,  Egyptian,  Persian,  or  Ori- 
ental generally,  in  their  endless  cosmogonical  disputations 
on  the  world,  its  first  matter,  its  first  moving  principles, 
its  origin, — on  tbe  question  of  its  duration,  whether  it  had 
a  beginning  or  would  ever  have  an  end,  whether  it  had 
any  thing  immutable  (to  oitoj?  ov)  or  was  ever  phenome- 
nal and  flowing, — wbether  there  were  more  worlds  than 
one,  either  in  time  or  space — in  short,  whence  it  came, 
how  it  existed,  and  whit  was  it  all  for,  or  what  did  it 
truly  mean.  These  disputations  were  much  older  than 
Thales,  and  Solomon  must  have  heard  of  them,  at  leaat, 
even  if  unacquainted  particularly  with  all,  or  any,  of  thd 
theories  held.  Let  any  one  see,  especially,  how  these  dispu- 
tations of  the  early  ante-Socratic  Greek  schools  are  summed 
up  by  Xenophon,  Memorabilia,  1. 14 :  twi/  re  nept  t^;  twf 
ndvTtijv  (fnicrews  iJ-epL/Mvuivrtiiy  k.  t.  A.,  and  he  will  well  appre- 
ciate the  force  of  the  strong  language  :  *'  so  that  they  cannot 
find  it  out  lo  the  end  from  tbe  beginning," — especially  as 
confirmtid  by  tbe  still  more  striking  declaration,  viii.  17  : 
"  yea,  though  a  wise  man  (a  philosopher)  say  that  he  knows 
it,  yet  shall  he  not  be  able  to  find  it  out."  In  the  (ime  sense, 
or  the  olamic  sense  of  the  word  world,  it  is  still  more  clear, 
especially  when  regarded  as  the  great  olam,  or  world  period, 
or  world  idea  (ver.  14),  compared  with  that  list  of  brief  pass- 
ing times  mentioned  before  as  belonging  to  "  things  beneath 
the  sun."  The  writer  bad  presented  special  seasons  belong- 
ing to  the  chief  occupations  and  events  of  human  life — a 
time  to  plant,  a  time  to  love,  a  time  to  hate,  to  mourn,  to 
rejoice,  etc.  The  fitness  of  these  man  could  study  and  per- 
ceive, but  the  great  all-containing  time,  the  encircling  eter- 
nity or  world  time,  who  could  understand. — God  had  so  pre- 
sented this  to  the  human  thought,  the  human  mind,  that 
though  it  could  reason  well  of  passing  events,  it  *'  could  not 
find  out  the  end  from  the  beginning."  It  could  not  discover 
the  world  idea  (ver.  14),  that  higher  wisdom  than  the  natural 
from  which  it  all  depended,  nor  that  deeper  wisdom  than  na- 
ture to  which  it  was  all  iis  a  means  to  an  end.  Even  in  its 
highest  state,  taking  tbe  form  of  the  most  lauded  science,  it 
was  only  tlie  study  of  links  (see  remarks.  Int.,  Met.  Ver.),  of 
adaptations  to  adaptations,  among  which  it  could  never  find 
beginnings  nor  ends.  Something  greater  might  bo  divined 
by  faitli,  but,  otherwise,  it  was  as  unsearchable  as  the  wis- 
dom so  anxiously  inquired  after.  Job  xxviii.:  "The  deep 
saith  it  is  not  in  me,"  etc.  It  was  true  even  of  physical 
knowledge,  that  it  could  not  find  out  its  own  limits,  when 
taken  comparatively.  The  individual  man  occupies  but  a 
point  in  the  great  world  cycle.  As  things  go  round,  he  sees, 
or  may  see,  "  how  they  are  all  fair  in  their  season,"  each  fit- 
ting to  the  one  next,  and  so  on,  as  far  as  he  may  carry  liis 
researches;  but  what  it  is  all  about,  or  what  it  all  means, 
that  no  science  of  nature  can  reveal  to  him.  His  angle  of 
vision,  oven  with  the  mightiest  aid  it  has  ever  had,  or  may 
expect  to  have,  is  too  small  to  take  in  more  than  a  very  few 
degrees,  or  a  very  few  seconds  of  a  degree,  in  the  mighty  arc 
we  are  traversing,  or  have  passed  during  the  longest  known 
times  that  eitlier  history,  or  the  observation  of  nature,  hjis 
revealed  to  ns.  The  thought  is  not  beyond  what  maybe 
ascribed  to  Koheleth,  with  his  grand  cyclical  ideas,  and  no- 
thing could  be  in  better  harmony  with  the  contexts,  or  the 
peculiar  particles  by  which  they  are  united.  There  are 
some  rich  homiletical  thoughts  arising  from  such  a  view  of 
verses  11th,  14th,  and  ISth^  but  they  belong  in  another 
place.— X.  L.] 


and  proper  use  of  the  moment,  because  it 
depends  on  the  immutable  decrees  of  divine 
laws,  claiming  fear  and  humble  submission,  ra- 
ther than  bold  hope  and  effort. — I  know  that 
there  is  no   good  in  them — namely,  in  the 

"children  of  men,"  (ver.  10)  to  whom  the  D3'73 
ver.  11  already  referred.  D3  "in  them  with 
them,"*  is  mainly  synonymous  with  "  for  them ;" 
comp.  ii.  24.  ""J^^T  is  literally,  "  1  have  per- 
ceived, and  I  know  in  consequence  thereof;"  it 
means  the  past,  in  its  result  reaching  into  the  fu- 
ture, here  also  as  in  ver.  14. — But  for  a  man  to 
rejoice  and  do  good  in  this  life. — Together 
vi'ith  the  gratefully  cheerful  enjoyment  of  life's 
goods,  the  "doing  good"  is  here  named  more 
distinctly  than  in  chap.  ii.  26,  as  a  principal  con- 
dition and  occupation  of  human  happiness.  And 
therewith  is  also  meant,  as  that  passage  shows, 
and  as  appears  still  more  definitely  from  the  pa- 
rallels in  Ps.  xxxiv.  14  ;  xxxvii.  3  ;  Isa.  xxxviii. 
3,  etc.,  not  merely  benevolence,  but  uprightness, 
fulfilment  of  the  divine  commands  (comp.  xii.  13). 

For  the  meaning  of  31D  mti/^  in  the  sense  of 
"  be  of  good  cheer,''  to  be  merry  (Aben  Ezra, 
Luther,  de  Wette,  Knobel,  Hitzig,  etc.)  there 
is  not  a  single  philological  proof;  for  in  chap, 
ii,  24;  iii.  22;  v.  7,  etc.,  there  are  similar 
phrases,  but  still  materially  different  from  this 
one,  which  express  the  sense  of  being  merry."  f 
— Vn^  lit.,  ^' in  his  life''  refers  again  to  the 
singular  CDIXH,  ver.  11 ,  so  that  in  this  verse  the 

T  TT 

singular  and  the  plural  use  of  this  verb  alter- 
nates as  in  the  preceding. — Ver.  13.  And  also 
that  every  man  should  eat  and  drink,  etc., 
it  is  the  gift  of  God.  Clearly  the  same  thought 
as  in  chap.  ii.  24,  25.  The  particl^  ^^T?  intro- 
ducing still  another  object  of  perception  to  ''P^)?'^'' 
besides  that  named  already  in  ver.  12,  refers  to 
the  whole  sentence.  As  to  the  peculiar  con- 
struction of  the  first  conditional  clause  without 
OK,  or  other  particle,  see  Ewald,  §  357,  c. — 
Ver.  14.  I  knovr  that  ^whatever  God  doeth 
it  shall  be  forever.  Herein  it  appears  that 
all  human  action  is  dependent  on  the  eternal 
law  of  God,  and  that  especially  all  cheerful,  un- 
disturbed enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of  this  life, 
depends  on  the  decrees  of  this  highest  law-giver 
and  ruler  of  the  world.  Comp.  the  theoretical 
description  of  the  ever  constant  course  of  divine 
laws  in  chap.  i.  4-11. — Nothing  can  be  put  to  itf 

noT  anything  taken  from  it.  To  it  (I'*/)')  namely, 
to  all  that  everlastingly  abiding  order  which  God 

•[It  is  by  no  means  clear  that  the  pronoun  in  C33  refers 

T 

to  persons.    The  most  natural  connection  would  be  with  the 

things  mentioned  above,  and  all  summed  up  in  the  J3T}  HX 

of  ver.  11 :  "  No  good  in  these  things  except  to  rejoice,  ric." 

The  0  in  Q3 /3  would  not,  grammatically,  sever  this,  sine* 

T  •   : 
it  does  not  belong  to  the  main  assertion, — T.  L. 
t  niD    r\W^,    tiiis  not  here,  as  Zockler  well  says,  the 

sense  of  "  being  merry ;"  neither  can  it  be  taken  as  denoting 
beneficence;  or  even  good  conduct  (doing  the  divine  com- 
mands), in  a  general  moral  sense.  It  strictly  means  to  do 
well,  in  the  sense  of  prosperity,  to  have  success — correspond- 
ing to  the  Greek  eu  irpoiTTeiv,  rather  than  to'eS  Troietc,  or  efi 
irao'xetj'.— T.  L.} 


CHAP.  m.  1-22. 


«S 


makes,  to  all  those  eternally  valid  enactments 
of  the  Most   High.     For   the   construction    ['X 

«]''Din'7,  Comp.  EwALD,  §  237,  c.  For  the  sen- 
tence: Sirach,  xviii.  5;  Revelation  xxii.  18. — 
And  God  doeth  it,  that  men  should  fear 
before  Him. — And  this  by  those  very  immuta- 
ble laws  of  his  world-ruling  activity,  on  which 
men,  with  all  their  deeds  and  destiny,  depend  ; 
comp.  ix.  12 ;  2  Cor.  v.  11  ;  and  for  the  con- 
struction: Ezek.  xxxvi.  27;  Rev.  xiii.  15.  As  in 
those  places,  so  also  here,  the  expression  "doeth 
it  that,"  does  not  mean  "in  order  that,"  but  "ef- 
feotingthat"  "making  it  to  be  so,"  accomplishing. 
By  NT  "to  fear,"  Koheleth  does  not  mean  a 
feeling  of  terror  and  horror,  but  rather  that  sa- 
cred feeling  of  holy  awe  which  we  call  reve- 
rence; but  nevertheless  "he  here  considers  this 
reverence  not  as  a  beneficent  blissful  sensation, 
but  rather  as  a  depressing  feeling  of  the  vanity 
of  man  in  contrast  with  the  boundless  fulness  of 
the  power  of  God,  as  an  inward  shudder  at  the 
bonds  of  the  divine  decree,  which  envelop  him, 
and  by  which,  in  his  conception,  every  spiritual 
movement  is  restricted  in  advance  to  a  certain 
measure,"  (Elstee). — Ver.  15.  That  -which 
hath  been  is  now,  and  that  -which  is  to 
be  hath  already  been.— (wn  ^33)  i.  e.,  is 
already  long  present,  comes  of  old  (not  exactly; 
is  something  old,  as  Hitzig  translates,  turning 
the   adverb    into   a   substantive).     The   second 

clause  containing  nrn?  IKfN  says,  literally, 
as  in  the  English  rendering:  "that  which  is  to 
be."  For  the  sentence  comp.  i.  9  ;  vi.  10,  and 
especially  Job  xiv.  5  ;  Ps.  cxxxix.  15,  where  still 
more  clearly  than  here,  is  expressed  the  predes- 
tination of  all  the  destinies  of  man  by  God. — 
And  God  requireth  that  -which  is  past. 
(Lit.,  and  God  seeketh  that  which  was  crowded 
out).  He  again  brings  forth  that  which  the  vi- 
cissitudes of  time  had  already  crowded  out,  or 
pushed  back  into  the  past ;  Deus  inslaurat,  quod 
abut  ( Vulgate).  This  signification  alone  of  typ3] 
•jTIJ  n>5  is  in  accordance  with  the  context, 
not  that  given  in  the  Sept.  Syriac,  Takq.,  Heng- 
STEifBEEG,  etc.,  according  to  which  the  allusion 
here  would  be  to  the  divine  consolation  and  gra- 
cious visitation  of  the  persecuted,  (Matt.  v.  10 ; 
Luke  xix.  10,  etc.). 

5.  Second  Division,  second  strophe.  Vers.  16-22. 
The  restriction  of  human  happiness  appears  es- 
pecially in  the  numerous  cases  of  unsatisfactory, 
indeed,  apparently  unjust,  distribution  of  hap- 
piness and  unhappiness,  according  to  the  moral 
worth  and  merit  of  men,  as  this  mundane  life 
reveals  it,  as  well  as  in  the  uncertainty  regard- 
ing the  kind  of  reward  in  the  world  beyond, 
which  ever  exists  in  this  world  below.  And 
moreover  I  saw  under  the  sun. — The 
"moreover"  (^1J')  refers  to  ver.  12,  and  there- 
fore introduces  something  which  comes  as  a  new 
conception  to  the  one  there  described  (and  also 
in  ver.  14  f.),  and  which  holds  the  same  relation 
to  that  as  the  special  to  the  general. — The  place 
of  judgment,  etc.  Lit.,  at  the  place  of  judg- 
ment; for  Dipn  here,  and  in  the  subsequent 
clause  is  strictly  taken,  not  as  the  object  of  "  I 


saw,"  but,  as  the  accents  indicate,  is  an  inde- 
pendent nominative  (or  locative)— an  abrupt  con- 
struction which  produces  a,  certain  solemn  im- 
pression well  adapted  to  the  excited  feelings  of 
the  poet.  02m  and  pnX  judgment  and  righ- 
teousness, differ  materially  as  objective  and  sub- 
jective, or  as  the  judgment  that  must  serve  the 
judge  as  the  absolute  rule  for  his  decisions,  and 
as  the  practical  judgment  in  the  life  of  the  nor- 
mal man ;  the  latter  expression  is,  therefore, 
largely  synonymous  with  "innocence,"  virtue. 
In  contrast  to  both  ideas,  Koheleth  calls  }!W'\T\ 
"the  evil,"  "the  crime,"  thinking  of  course,  in 
the  first  place,  of  objective,  and  in  the  second 
place  of  subjective  wrong,  or,  the  first  time,  of 
crime  as  a  wicked  judge  practices  it,  the  second 
time,  of  the  wantonness  of  the  wicked  in  general. 
— Ver.  17.  God  shall  judge  the  righteous 
and  the  -wicked. — He  will  appoint  to  them, 
therefore,  that  "judgment"  which,  according 
to  ver.  16,  is  so  frequently  in  human  life,  either 
not  to  be  fouud  at  all,  or  not  in  the  right  place ; 
comp.  chap.  v.  7;  Deut.  i.  17;  Ps.  Ixxxii.  Iff. — 
For  there  is  a  time  there  for  every  pur- 
pose, and  every  m-ork. — That  is,  in  heaven 
above,  with  God,  the  just  judge,  there  is  a  time 
to  judge  every  good  and  every  evil  deed  of  men. 
Dty,  pointing  upwards,  (as  in  Gen.  xlix.  24,  Dt^a) 
and  nj^,  here  as  elsewhere,  is  the  "  time  of  judi- 
cial decision,  the  term  ;"  comp.  chap.  ix.  11,  12, 
as  well  as  the  New  Testament  rjukpa,  1  Cor.  iii. 
13;  iv.  2,  etc.     Others  read  Dty  instead  of  QW : 

_T  T 

"  He  has  set  a  time  for  everything,"  (Houbigant, 
Van  der  Palm,  Dodeklein,  Hitzig,  Elster), 
but  which  is  quite  as  unnecessary  as  the  tempo- 
ral signification  of  DK'^time,  in  tempore  judicii 
(HiERONYMHs),  or  as  referring  the  expression 
to  the  earth  as  the  seat  of  the  tribunal  here 
meant  (Hahn),  or  as  the  explanation  of  Dty  ac- 
cording to  the  Talmud,  in  the  sense  of  "  apprai- 
sing, taxing"  (FuRST,  Vaihinger  :  "And  He 
appraises  every  action  "),  or,  finally,  asEwALD's 

parenthesizing  of  the  words  "^SVrl^l  DJ^  'J 
whereby  the  sentence  acquires  the  following 
form:  "God  will  judge  the  just  and  the  unjust 
(for  there  is  a  time  for  everything),  and  will 
judgeof  every  deed."* — Ver.   18.    Concerning 

*{T^m.  Y6T.n,t]iere.    This  little  woi-J  coming  in  such 

connection  is  most  su^^gestive,  Tlie  tlioaght  presented, 
tiiougii  so  unobtrusively  expressed,  is,  in  reality,  one  of  the 
modulating  key  notes  of  this  singular  boolc.  The  connec- 
tion between  this  verse,  17th,  and  the  commencement  of  the 
chapter  is  unmistakable.  In  contrast  with  the  particular 
times  and  occasions  there  mentioned,  there  is  here  placed 
the  great  time,  the  great  olam,  to  which  all  the  particular 
times  have  reference,  and  in  which  they  are  all  to  be  judged. 
For  there,  too,  unto  every  purpose,  and  for  every  work, 

T]W^D  h3  hyi  Y3r\~h2'j  there  is  an  nj;,  a  time  ap- 
pointed. It  immediately  leads  the  mind  away  from  this 
subsolar  state    (lffOWT\  finri)    to  that  higher  world,  that 

more  remote  state,  or  world  beyond  (Jenseits)  to  which  all 
has  reference,  and  which  seems  to  be  constantly  in  the  wri- 
ter's mind  as  an  idea,  but  without  locality,  or  specific  man- 
ner, or  any  assigned  or  assignable  chronology, — as  though 
it  were  something  he  firmly  believed,  but  could  not  define, 
or  even  distinctly  conceive.  It  is  the  basis  of  all  his  con- 
templations, the  ground  on  which  he  so  firmly  rests  in  the 
concluding  declaration  of  the  book.    CDty   may  mean  aiij 


70 


ECCLESIASTES. 


the  sons  of  men,  that  God  might  manifest 
them.  As  the  introductory  words:  "  I  said  in 
my  heart,"  connect  the  yerse  with  the  preceding 
one,  it  assumes  the  same  relation  to  ver.  16  as  to 

that,  and   to  OINH  '23  m^l-S;;,    and,   there- 

TTT":~;"~ 

fore,  the  principal  thought  of  this  16th  verse  is 
to  be  thus  supplied  :  "  On  account  of  the  sons  of 
men,  does  this  unfinished  toleration  of  wrong  on 
earth  exist,  in  order  that  God  may  manifest  (try) 
them,  i.  fi.,  grant  them  their  free  decision  for  or 
against  His  truth  (comp.  Rev.  xxii.  11).  For 
113,   to   test,  prove,  compare  chap.  ix.  1 ;   Dan. 

xi.  35,  as  well  as  the  Rabbinic  style,  according 
to  which  this  verb  means  "to  sift,"  "to  win- 
now" (SoHEBiiT,  5,  9).    a'n'7Nn  DiaS  is  lit. 

"  for  God  proving  them,"  a  somewhat  harsh  con- 
struction, but  which  has  its  analogy  in  Isa.  xxix. 
23. — ^That  they  might  see,  namely,  the  sons 
of  men,  for  whose  instruction  the  test  is  indeed 
instituted  ;  since  God,  for  His  part,  needs  not  to 
see  it,  for  He  knows  in  advance  of  what  men  are 
made,  (Ps.  ciii.  14). — That  they  themselves 
are  beasts.  Men  are  here  declared  to  be  beasts, 
that  is,  not  better  than  the  beasts  of  the  field, 
not  on  account  of  their  conduct  (as  Ps.  Ixxiii. 
22),  but  on  account  of  their  final  dissolution, 
and  their  inevitable  sinking  under  the  dominion 
of  death;  comp.  ver.  19  f. ;  chap.  ix.  12,  and  also 
Hab.  i.  14 ;  Pa.  xlix.  20.  Therefore,  not  the  bru- 
tal disposition,  and  the  lawlessly  wild  conduct 
of  the  natural  mind  (IIiTzia,  Elster,  etc.),  but 
his  subjection  to  the  rule  of  death,  and  the  curse 
of  vanity  (Rom.  v.  12  if. ;  viii.  19  if.),  furnish  the 
reason  for  this  placing  our  race  on  a  level  with 
the  brutes  (as  Luther,  He>(gstenberg,  Vaihin- 
OER  correctly  assume). — "They  themselves," 


great  occasion,  crisis,  or  eventuality,  as  well  as  pl(xce.  Comp. 
Geo.  xi.  9;  Ps.  cx.^xiii.  3.  Aa  used  Iiere,  it  strongly  calls  to 
mind  the  Greek  exet,  and  the  manner  In  which  the  poets 
employ  it  to  expres.s  a  similar  indefinite  contrast  with  the 
present  state  ur  world  in  like  characteristic  manner  styled 
ev^aSe,  here,  DCessnUs  {this  aide  of  time).  Thus  Medea  (t06J) 
says  to  her  children,  kv^a.i.ij.oi'OLTov,  as  though  giving  them 
tne  U3u^l  maternal  blessing,  and  then  suddenly  checlta  her- 
self with  the  thought  of  what  is  coming— 

iAA'EKEI-  Taa'E'NSA'AE 
Tla.T't\p  a.i\ielK^T' — 

"  but  THERE ;  all  HERB  your  Father's  hand  has  taken  quite 
away."  r/«;re  in  that  other  world,  or  time,  or  state.  The 
expression  seems  to  have  little  or  no  direct  connection  with 
their  mythology,  or  the  fabled  regions  of  Hades,  but  rather 
to  have  come  from  this  innate  idea  of  the  human  soul,  or 
the  moral  necessity  that  gives  birth  to  the  thought  of  e-ome 
other  world  and  time  than  this,  but  without  known  chro- 
nology or  locality.  Things  must  be  balanced:  somehow,  and 
somewhere,  and  at  sometime,  the  equation  must  be  com- 
pleted. For  a  similar  use  of  e/cet  and  e^^aSe,  compare  JEs- 
chylus  Iketides  230,  Pindar  Olymp.  11.  105,  and,  especially, 
Plalo  Rcpab.,  3.3(J  D.,  where  both  terms  are  used,  with  my- 
thological reference  indeed,  but  carrying  the  same  general 
and  most  impressive  tliought  of  an  after  world,  or  time  of 
judgment,  as  a  correspondence  to  this  :  oi  re  yap  Keyo^Levoi 
tlvQot  nepl  Tu)v  ei/  'AlSou,  ws  tOi-  'ENOA'AE  iSLKjjcravra  Set 
'EKEI  SiShvat  SUrji/  K.  T.  A. :  '•  For  the  myths  that  are  told 
us  respecting  H.ades  for  the  unseeti),  how  that  the  wrong 
doer  HERE  must  make  compensation  THERE, — myths  once 
derided, — now  disturb  the  soul  with  fear  lest  they  be  true." 
This  striking  passage,  taken  in  its  remarkable  connection, 
ehows  that  there  was,  in  the  old  Greek  mind,  that  same  fear 
of  "a  judgment  to  come,"  of  something  awful  after  this 
world,  that  is  now  felt  by  the  common  modern  mind.  It 
was  before  Christianity.  It  created  myths,  and  was  not 
created  by  them. — It  is  the  voice  of  conscience,  independent 
of  all  mythologies,  but  showing  itself  in  all  their  varied 
forms,  as  though,  without  some  such  idea^  religion  would 
have  no  existence. — T.  L.) 


i.  e.,  apart  from  God's  redeeming  influence,  Which 
can  finally  secure  to  their  spirit  eternal  life  and 
blessedness  notwithstanding  the  subjection  of  the 

body  to  death  (chap.  xii.  7,  13). — DH?  casts  the 
action  back  on  the  subject,  and  serves  to  bring 
out  this  latter  with  special  emphasis,  comp.  Gen. 
xii.  1 ;  Amos  ii.  14 ;  Job   vi.  1 9,  etc.     According 

to  Ewald,  §  315,  a.— Qn7  T\BT]  is  a  playful  in- 
tensity of  the  sense  something  like  the  Latin  ip- 
sissimi;  but  Ewald  can  quote  no  other  proof 
than  this  very  passage. — Ver.  19  affords  a  still 
further  illustration  of  the  comparison  between 
men  and  beasts,  which  extends  to  ver.  21  inclu- 
sive, with  the  view  of  forcibly  expressing  the 
uncertainty  of  the  destiny  of  the  former  in  and 
after  their  death. — For  that  which  befalleth 
the  sons  of  men,  befalleth  beasts.  {Lit. 
Ger.  For  chance  are  the  sons  of  men,  and  chance 
the  beasts) ;  this  because  they  are  both  equally 
under  the  dominion  of  chance  (nipD,  as  chap, 
ii.  14,  15),  because  the  lot  of  both  is  inevitably 
marked  out  for  them  from  without,  (Hengsten- 
bebg).  But  it  is  arbitrary  to  refer  this  appella- 
tion "  chance,"  simply  to  the  beginning  of  life  in 
men  and  beasts,  as  "the  issues  of  a  blind  fate," 
(Hitzig)  and  it  is  in  opposition  to  the  remark 
immediately  following:  (in  the  German)  "and 
one  fate,  or  chance,  overtakes  them  all;"  which 
shows  that  the  end  of  both  is  death,  striking  them 
all  the  same  inexorable  blow ;  on  which  account 
it  is,  by  a  bold  metaphor,  called  "  chance." — As 
the  one  dieth,  so  dieth  the  other,  that  is, 
in  external  appearance,  which  is  authoritative 
for  the  author's  present  judgment;  for  he  is  now 
disregarding  that  life  which  exists  for  man  after 
death,  as  he  simply  wishes  to  call  attention  to 
the  transitory  character  of  the  earthly  existence 
of  our  race. — Yea,  they  have  all  one  breath, 
so  that  man  has  no  pre-eminence  above 
a  beast,  nil  is  here  as  in  ver.  21,  not  spirit, 
in  the  stricter  sense,  but  breath,  or  force  of  life, 
the  animating  and  organizing  principle  in  gene- 
ral, and  is  therefore,  in  that  more  extended  sense, 
applicable  to  men  as  well  as  beasts,  as  in  Gen: 
vii.  21  f. ;  Ps.  civ.  29,  and  chap.  viii.  8,  of  this 
book.  On  account  of  the  broader  latitude  of  the 
conception  nn,  "  breath,"  the  following  remark, 
that  man  has  no  preeminence  (TniD)  over  the 
beast,  is  meant  not  in  the  sense  of  an  absolute, 
but  simply  of  a  relative  equality  of  both  natures ; 
the  poet  will  place  both  oh  the  same  level  only 
in  reference  to  the  external  identity  of  the  close 
of  their  life  (and  not  as  Knobel  supposes,  who 
here  thinks  materialism  openly  taught).*   Comp. 

**  [The  key  to  the  right  interpretation  of  the  whole  passage, 
chap.  iii.  18-21,  together  with  a  complete  defence  to  the 
charge  of  materialism  which  Knobel  brings  against  Kohe- 

leth,  is  found  in  the  phrases  niDT     7J?,     Q"137.    and 

□n?  nortt  tn  verse  18  above.  The  first  is  rendered  in 
our  version,  "on  account  of:"  Vulgate  has  simply  de  (de  fi- 
His  hominum) ;  Ixx.  n-epl  AaXtas  vii^v  tq\i  ai/Bpuiirov  ("cotl- 

cerning  the  talk  of  men");  So  the  Syriac  X7  7^D  7j? 
("according  to  the  speech  of  the  sons  of  men"), — that  is 
"speaking  after  the  manner  of  men,"  speakibg  humanly,  or 
more  fiumano.  The  other  rendering,  "on  account  of,"  or 
"  by  reason  of"  (which  is  nearer  to  the  sense  of  the  phrase 
elsewhere),  comes  to  very  much  the  same  thing,  or  expresses 
the  same  general  idea.  See  Ps.  ex.  4,  where  it  is  rendered 
"after  the  manner  of."    It  is  an  intimation  that  the  Ian* 


CHAP.  III.  1-22. 


71 


algo  the  dogmatical  and  ethical  section. — Ver. 
^0.  All  go  unto  one  place,  i.  e.,  men  and 
beaatsj  for  they  both  alike  become  dust,  as  they 
were  formed  of  dust.  The  following  clause 
shows  that  by  the  "one  place,"  is  meant  the 
earth  as  a  common  burial  place  for  the  bodies  of 
men  and  beasts;  and  not  Scheol,  "the  house 
appointed  for  all  living,"  (Job  xxs.  23). — All 
are  of  the  dust,  and  all  turn  to  dust  again. 
Comp.  Gen.  iii.  19;  Ps.  civ.  29;'cvii.  4;  Sirach 
xl.  11;  xli.  10.  All  these  passages,  like  this 
one,  regard  man  solely  as  a  material  being,  and, 
in  80  far,  assert  a  perfect  likeness  in  his  death 
to  that  of  beasts.  The  question  whether  the 
spirit  of  man  shares  this  fate,  is  yet  unanswered. 
The  following  verse  refers  to  that,  not  to  afford  a 
definite  answer,  but  to  af&rm  the  impossibility 
of  an  answer  founded  on  senseTOxperience. — 
Ver.  21.  For  v^ho  knoweth  tbe  spirit  of 
man  that  goeth  up^^ard*?  —  The  interro- 
gative form  of  this  and  the  following  clause,  is 
uaconditionally  required  by  the  structure  of  the 

sentence  and  the  context.  Therefore  H/i^n  is 
not,  as  in  the  masoretic  text,  to  be  written  with 
the  n  articulij  but  with  the  PI  interroffativum,  (thus, 

Tyf^^T})  and  the  same  way  in  the  following,  or 
nil^n.  The  construction  is  therefore  not,  as 
in  Joel  ii.  14,  that  of  an  affirmative  question,  but 
rather  that  of  a  doubtful  one,  expressing  uncer- 

guage  of  thafbllowing  verses  is  hypothetical,  or  adapted  to 
a  Bupposed  state  of  things,  such  as  Koheleth  had  calied  up 
before  his  own  mind,  that  is,  "said  in  his  heart."  It  is  the 
language  of  human  action.  'The  Arabian  rhetoricians  and 

critics  have  a  peculiar  phrase  for  it,         VV.'^  *        '  \\.mJ  ' 

"thp  tongue  of  the  condition,"  or  "the  case  speakiug." 
See  Rabbi  Tanchum,  AraHc  Commentary  on  Lamentations, 
ill.  36;  also  marg.  note  Genesis,  p.  36i.  This  they  get  from 
the  Kabbiaical  grammarlaas  and  interpreters  who  have  a 

similar  Hebrew  phrase,  'l^'lH   11^7)  for  such  ca8e8a3  this. 

All  the  language  following,  which  seems  to  represent  man 
as  having  no  supremacy  over  the  beast,  is  aflfected  by  this 
hypothetical  impression.  It  is  man's  judgment  upon  him- 
self aa  pronounced  by  his  own  conduct.  The  writer,  in  this 
"talking  to  his  heart,"  takes  men  as  they  are,  as  they  appear, 
fallen,  worldly,  sensual,  animal.  It  is  the  language  of  their 
Uvea.  It  is  all  that  could  be  gathered  by  one  who  confined 
himself  to  this  view,  or  who  had  nothing  to  go  by  but  the 
observation  of  the  general  human  conduct, — the  way  of  the 
world.    Such  an  interpretation  is  fortified  by  what  follows 

in  the  same  verse :  "  that  God  might  prove  them,"  ^3TD 7 

DTIvkH)  "make  it  clear  to  them "  by  their  own  experi- 
ence, their  own  ways,  how  much  like  beasts  they  are,  or  ra^ 
ther,  how  much  lifee  beasts  they  live  and  die,  though  He 
hfiid  created  them  in  His  own  image.  It  calls  up  Ps.  xlix. 
12,  29:  "Man  that  is  in  honor,  and  understandeth  it  not,  is 
like  the  beasts  that  perish."  In  both  cases  it  may  be  said: 
"this  their  way  is  their  folly,"  and  we  have  no  more  right 
to  charge  Epicureanism,  or  materialism,  on  the  one  passage 
than  on  the  other.  The  same  impression  of  hypothetical 
speaking  is  produced,  and,  perhaps,  still  more  strongly,  by 

the  pronouns  nnS  nOH.  a*  t^e  close  of  that  verse. 
Zockler'e  opinion  that  this  is  simply  an  intensive  phrase 
equivalent  to  ipsissimi  is  not  satisfactory.  The  Rationalist 
Hitzig  comes  nearer  to  ths  true  view  of  these  pronouns.  He 
conQecta  them  with  C313,  to  prove  them,"  to  "  try"  (or 
test  them),  to  let  them  see  (zurEinsicht  zu  brinyen)  how  like 
beasts  they  nre.  So  Stuart;  ''Tliac  thuy  might  see  for 
themselves."  As  is  often  the  ca^e,  however,  in  Hebrew,  the 
sense  is  best  brought  out  by  the  most  literal  interpretation 
the  words  will  bear :  "Themselves  to  themselves,"  or,  "to 
let  them  see  that  they  are  beasts,  themselves  to  themselves;" 
not  in  their  treatment  of  one  another,  as  Geier  and  some 
others  take  it  ijumo  lupits  homini),  but  rather  "in  their  own 
estimation"  (see  Metrical  Version),  as  they  are,  or  as  they 


tainty.  As  in  Ps.  xc.  11,  or  above  in  chap.  ii.  19, 
l!  J^"!!^"*  ""P  points  out  that  the  matter  is  difficult  of 
conception,  not,  at  first  view,  clear  and  apparent, 
but  rather  eluding  the  direct  observation  of  sense. 
This  verse  does  not,  therefore,  assert  an  absolute 
ignorance  (as  Enobel  supposes),  but  rather  some 
knowledge  regarding  the  fate  of  the  spirit  in  the 
world  beyond,  though  wanting  certainty  and  ex- 
ternal evidence.  Concerning  the  return  of  the 
spirit  of  man  to  its  Divine  Giver,  it  maintains 
that  no  one,  in  this  world,  has  ever  seen  or 
survived  it,  just  as  emphatically,  and  in  like 
manner,  as  John  [i.  18  and  1  Epist.  iv.  12]  as- 
serts of  the  sight  of  God,  that  it  has  never  been 
granted  to  any  man.  A  denial  of  the  immortality 
of  the  spirit  of  man,  as  an  object  of  inward  cer- 
tainty of  faith  [as  later  testimony  from  this 
standpoint  of  faith  shows,  chap,  xii,  7],  is  as 
little  to  be  found  in  this  passage  as  in  the  asser- 
tion of  John,  "no  one  has  ever  seen  God,"  is  to 
be  found  a  doubt  of  the  fact,  certain  to  faith,  of 
the  future  beholding  of  God  (1  John  iii.  2). 
Ignoring  this  state  of  the  case,  the  Masora,  in 
order  to  destroy  the  supposed  skeptical  sense  of 
the  passage,  has  punctuated  the  twice  repeated 

n,  before  Tn)?  and  before  mT'  as  articles,  and 
so  reached  the  thought  maintained  by  many 
moderns  (Geier,  Dathe,  Kosenmueller,  Henq- 
STENBERG,  Hahn)  :  "Who  knoweth  the  spirit  of 
man,  that  which  goeth  upward?  and  the  spirit 
of  the  beast,  that  which  goeth  downward  to  the 
earth  ?"  The  only  just  conception,  according  to 
connection  and  structure,  is  that  given  by  the 
Sept.,  Vulg.,  Chald.,  and  Syr.,  which  not  only 
the  "rationalistic  exegesis,"  as  Hengstenbekg 
supposes,  but  also  Luther,  Starke,  Michaelis, 
Elster,  and  many  others,  have  adopted,  who 
are  very  far  from  attributing  to  the  Preacher 
skeptical  or  materialistic  tendencies.* — Ver.  22. 


must  appear,  to  themselves,  in  the  light  of  their  own  gene- 
ral conduct, — the  speakiiig  of  their  own  lives.  This  view  at 
once  clears  Koheleth  himself  from  Knobel's  charge  of  mate- 
rialism ;  though  we  see  not  how,  in  any  other  way,  it  can  be 
denied.  It  is  so  far  from  materialism  that,  to  the  devout 
reader,  it  immediately  raises  the  opposite  tbought.  What 
Koheleth  '■^saysin  his  heart,"  throughout  this  passage,  is  a 
mournful  rebuke  (we  will  not  call  it  by  thii  heartless  name 
of  satire)  of  the  worldly,  sensual,  beastlike  life  of  man; 
whilst,  by  this  very  aspect  of  it  he  points  to  a  higher  des- 
tiny which  the  animal  life  of  mere  sense  so  directly  contra- 
dicts: "Who  knows  it,"  who  thinks  of  it  (see  the  next  mar- 
ginal note)  ?  and  yet  the  bare  thougbt  of  such  a  super-solar 
destiny,  though  carrying  with  it  no  knowledge  of  condition, 
lifts  man  above  the  earth  and  the  beasts  who  descend  wholly 
into  it.     There  is,  also,  an  evident  paronomasia,  here,  of 

OnS  non  with  the  two  words  T\'0T\'2  tDrW^  just 
preceding;  and  this  also  furnishes  some  reason  for  the  pecu- 
liar style  of  expression,  niaking  it  all  the  more  forcible  to 
the  Hebrew  ears  addressed. 

Thus  also  must  we  render  ver.  22,  by  giving  T\'*N'1  the 
sense  ofjudgjnent  (as  in  many  other  places)  instead  of  sight 
as  a  fact.  It  is  the  same  hypothetical  judgment,  founded  on 
human  action,  or  what  one  must  conclude  as  to  '*  the  sup- 
posed good,"  and  the  human  destiny,  if  determined  from 
such  a  standpoint  of  human  conduct. — T.  L.] 

•[Ver.  21.  T^ir  '''0,"who  knows"  etc.    Zockler  disposes 

of  this  important  passage  too  easily.  From  the  Hebrew  text 
as  it  stands  there  can  be  made  no  other  translation  ihau 

that  given  in  our  English  Torsion.    The  H  in  T\1'^T\  and 

in  m^'T!  [*'^«^  goeth  up,  that  goeth  down]  is  tho  article. 

This  cannot  be  overthrown,  as  Stuart  and  others  attempted 
to  do,  by  examples  of  T\  interrogative  having  patach  with 
dagesh,  everyone  of  which,  if  not  wholly  anomalous,  depends 
on  peculiar  conditions  that  do  not  here  exist.  The  old  Jewish 


fi 


ECCLESIASTES. 


A  return  to  the  maxim  already  given  in  ver.  12, 
that  one  must  cheerfully  and  joyously  seize  the 
present  as  now  offered  by  God,  and  use  it  to  get 
a  sure  path  into  the  future. —Than  that  a  man 
should  rejoice  in  his  works — Vtyj?03,  i.  c, 
in  his  labor  and  efforts  in  general,  in  his  works 
as  well  as  in  their  fruits  ;  comp.  v.  18.  This 
"rejoicing  in  his  own  works,"  is  not  materially 
different  from  the  passage  in  chap.  ii.  24,  that 
he  should  make  his  soul  enjoy  good  in  his  labor 
[HiTZiG  thinks  otherwise],  nor  from  the  expres- 
sion (ver.  12,  13)  "to  rejoice  and  do  good,"  etc. 
— For  that  is  his  portion — i.  e.,  for  nothing 
farther  is  allotted  to  him  here  below,  comp.  ii. 
10. — For  v7ho  shall  bring  him  to  see  w^hat 
shall  be  after  him  ? — That  is,  not  into  the 
condition  after  death,  into  the  relations  of  human 
life  in  another  world,  but,  as  shown  by  the  pa- 
rallel passages,  ch.  vi.  12  ;  ii.  19 :  into  the  future 
conditions  of  human  life,  into  the  relations  as 
they  shall  be  on  earth  after  his  departure  from 
life  (especially  in  his  immediate  surroundings 
and  sphere  of  activity,  comp.  ii.  19).  This  sen- 
tence involves,  therefore,  neither  a  denial  of  the 
personal  continuance  of  man  (Hitzig),  nor  an 
authorization  of  the  Epicurean  principle  :  "En- 
joy  before   death,  that   you   may   not    go    out 

grammariatia,  wlio  have  never  been  surpassed  in  their  tho- 
rough knowledge  of  these  minutiae  of  their  language,  have 
reduced  the  matter  to  rules  by  an  exhaustive  induction  that 
leaves  no  doubt.    One  of  these  rules  is,  that  every  HVlOp  H 

or  he  Tcamezatus,  to  use  their  technics  [or  n  with  t]  be- 
fore y,  is  every  where  the  article  of  specification  [ni?''T'  Pi]* 
never  the  interrogative.  It  might  have  b-'on  so  said  in  re- 
spect to  the  gutturals  generally,  with  a  very  few  exceptions 
having  their  peculiar  reasons  not  here  found.  But  in  the 
case  of  I?  there  are  no  exceptions.     This  settles  the  question 

for  the  word  r\lVT\  even  if  it  had  stood  alone.    But  there 

T         T 

is  the  participle  rmm  presenting  a  still   stronger  case 

for  the  article.  Here  H  cannot  be  interrogative.  The 
attempt  to  make  it  .so  would  only  iuterfere  with  another  rule 
which  is  settled  without  exception,  namely,  that  n  interro- 
gative may  cause  dagesh  in  a  radical  following  if  it  has 
schewa  [Drills'])  ^"t  no'^^r  without  it,  so  that  the  PI  in 
nTi^n  [the  radical  *'  havingitsvowelcholemjmust  be  the 

pronominal  article  (that  which  goeth  down).  This  is  con- 
firmed by  Aben-Kzra,  Rabbi  Schelomo,  Bpu  Melech,  Kimchi, 
and  others.  In  fact,  the  best  Jewish  authorities  are  here 
all  one  way.  But  than,  it  is  gratuitously  said,  the  authors 
of  the  Maeora  changed  the  punctuation.  There  is  neither 
reason  nor  authority  for  such  an  assertion.  The  LXX.  ia- 
dced  has  et  ava^aivei  (if  it  ascends),  but  this  Version  was 
made  from  unpointed  Hebrew,  and,  on  such  a  question,  set- 
ties  nothing  against  the  better  understanding  of  the  Maso- 
riteg.  Tlie  Vulgate  follows  the  LXX.  [si  ascendat],  and  the 
Syriac  hiw  every  appearance  of  having  been  here  confortiifd 
to  the  Greek,  as  in  many  other  places.  Besides  the  LXX. 
and  Vulgate  rendering  would  not  correspond  to  the  H 
interrogative,  but  rather  to  the  particle  QX  (if),  which 
would  be  the  best  word  in  Hebrew  if  such  a  doubt  were  to  be 

expressed:  ^ly  CDNi  K^H  nHp  HDX  nnp!  }nv  ^n. 

Tf  we  look  at  the  internal  evidence,  the  case  for  the  article 
will  be  found  still  stronger.  Taking  the  pa.ssago  as  Stuart 
dfies  and  Hitzio  ;  or  as  it  is  somewhat  qualified  by  Zookler, 
we  find  ourselves  involved  in  terrible  difficulties.  We 
cannot  rest  with  aBcribing  to  Koheleth  merely  ignorance, 
or  n  on -recognition,  of  the  doctrine  of  the  soul's  survival. 
That  might,  with  some  reason,  be  said  of  an  Old  Testament 
writer  generally,  namely,  that  he  says  nothing  about  it, 
und  seems  to  have  no  knowledge  of  it.  This  is  not,  how- 
ever, the  case  with  Koheleth.  He  had  doubtless  heard  an 
echo  of  the  old  belief,  held,  beyond  all  doubt,  by  nations 
cotemporary,  and  so  curtly  expressed  in  the  Grecimi 
Drama,  as  something  that  had  come  down  from  ancient 
days : — 

TTvevfxa  fiiv  Trpby  aldipa, 
TO  <7^fjia  8  els  yyjv. 


empty  "  (Knobel),  nor,  indeed,  any  reference  to 
the  world  beyond,  but  simply  an  exhortation  to 
profit  by  the  present  in  cheerful  and  diligent  oc- 
cupation, without  being  anxious  and  doubting 
about  the  future,  which  is  indeed  inaccessible  to 
our  human  knowledge.  Hengstenberg  justly 
observes  :  "Man  knows  not  what  God  will  do," 
ver.  11.  Therefore,  it  is  foolish  to  chase  after 
happiness  by  toilsome  exertion,  or  to  be  full  of 
anxiety  and  grief,  ver.  9,  10 ;  and  quite  as  fool- 
ish (chap.  vi.  12)  to  engage  in  many  wide  reach- 
ing schemings,  to  chase  after  the  ady^idTT/ra  irTiov 
Tov  (1  Tim.  vi.  17)  to  gather  and  heap  for  him  to 
whom  God  will  give  it,  ii.  26;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
it  is  rational  to  enjoy  the  present.  Properly 
understood,  therefore,  this  verse  draws  its  prac- 
tical consequence  not  from  the  verses  19-21  im- 
mediately preceding,  but  from  the  contents  of  the 
entire  chapter. 

APPENDIX   TO   THE   EXEGETICAL. 

[Interpretation  of  Verses  11,  14,  15:  the 
Inquisition  of  the  Ages,  ver.  15,  CD'rlvXni 
^1"1J  nx  ^py,-  This  remarkable  language 
is  rendered,  in  our  English  Version,  "Godre- 
quireth  that  which  is  past,"  or,  as  given  in  the 


He  shows  his  knowledge  of  the  dogma,  as  a  belief  existing, 
and  then  denies  its  truth,  or  attempts  to  throw  doubt  upon 
it.  This  is  certainly  strange,  unexampled,  we  may  say,  in 
the  Old  Testament.  Worse  than  all,  he  not  only  denies  it, 
but  scoffingly  denies  it,  as  though  it  were  an  absurd  thought, 
should  it  even  cliance  to  occur  to  one  of  these  poor  creatures 
whose  vain  condition  he  is  so  gi'aphically  describing  —  a 
foolish  hope,  itself  a  vanitas  vanitatum.  He  sneers  at  it  as 
something  which  might  be  vainly  held  by  a  few — some  early 
Bssene  dreamers  perhaps — but  was  wholly  contrary  to  sense 
and  experience.  No  one  knows  any  thing  about  it.  It  would 
be  something  like  the  sneer  that  used  to  be  heard  from  the 
coarser  kind  of  infidels — who  ever  saw  a  soul?  This  cannot 
bo  the  serious  Koheleth,  the  man,  too,  who  so  expressly,  so 
solemnly  says,  xii.  7,  "that  the  spirit  does  go  up  to  God 
who  gave  it." 
How  then  shall  we  take  the  question  ^"^y   "'0?    There  ia 

but  one  way,  and  that  seems  conclusive  of  the  view  pre- 
sented in  the  note  page  71.  It  does  not  express  the  disbe- 
lief or  even  doubt  of  Koheleth,  but  is,  in  fact,  his  reproof  of 
men  in  general,  as  he  sees  them  living  and  acting  in  his  day. 
Their  lives  are  a  denial  of  any  essential  difference  between 
man  and  tbe  brute.  Who  among  them  knows — who  recog 
nizes — this  great  difference?  Moreover,  the  expression 
J?1V  ""D  must  be  taken  as  an  universal  or  a  partial  nega- 
tion, according  to  the  ideas  that  necessarily  enter  into  the 
context;  as  in  chnp.  ii.  19,  it  is  equivalent  to  ??o  otw  i-raows. 
So  in  Pa.  xc.  11,  "who  knoweth  the  power  of  thine  anger,"— a 
thing  most  real,  yet  hard  to  be  appreciated.  Compare  also 
Joel  ii.  14;  Jon.  iii.  9,    QTIJI    2W^   )nV~'D    *here  it 

expresses  a  hope,  "  who  knows  but  he  may  turn  and  re- 
pent." In  Isaiah  liii.  l,a  ]irecisely  similar  expression,  "who 
hath  believed  our  report,"  denotes  what  is  most  rare.  So 
in  Ph.  xciv.  16,  "  who  will  rise  up  for  me  against  the  enemy  ?" 
Again,  "  who  hath  known  tbe  mind  of  the  Lord,"  Rom.  xf. 
34  (rt?  yap  fyvM,  cognovit  recognovit).  This,  says  S.  Babil, 
significat  non  quod  ahsurdum  est,  sea  quod  varum.  So  here: 
How  few,  if  any,  recognize  the  great  truth,  the  great  differ- 
ence between  man  and  beast?  The  context,  the  general  as- 
pect of  the  passage,  together  with  what  tbe  writer  most  se- 
riously affirms  in  other  places,  must  all  be  considered;  and 
it  would  show,  we  think,  that  in  uttering  this  complaining 
query,  he  was  only  the  more  strongly  expressing  his  indivi- 
dual opinion,  or  feeling  rather,  of  the  mighty,  yet  unheeded 
difference.  There  must  surely  be  for  man  something  better 
than  all  this  dying  vanity,  if  he  would  only  recognize  it. 
That  ^T*  may  have  this  sense,  is  shown  by  the  use  of  tbe 
verb  in  many  places,  and  especially  by  the  infinitive  noun 
r\]?\  which  often  means  6eh'e/,  opinion,  (e7ic«,e(c.  Zockler's 
reference  to  John  i.  18;  "No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any 
time,"  we  cannot  help  regarding  as  containing  a  fallacy  of 
interpretation,  and  as  being,  in  reference  to  this  passage, 
quite  irrelevant. — T.  L.] 


CHAP.  III.  1-22. 


7S 


margin,  "  that  which  is  driven  away." — Zookleb. 
has  das  Verdrdngte,  tliat  which  is  pushed  away, 
crowded  out.  None  of  these  give  the  exact  force 
of  '1^"'J)  nor  do  they  seem  to  recognize  the  very 
peculiar  figure  which  is  so  strongly  suggested  by 
E1113  and  ^^2\  when  thus  taken  together. 
Pursued,  the  true  rendering,  is  something  differ- 
ent from  being  driven  away,  or  crowded  out.  The 
expression  does,  undoubtedly,  refer  to  time  past, 
but  not  after  the  common  representation  of 
something  left  behind  us,  but  rather  of  something 
Bent  before,  or  gone  before,  which  is  chased  and 
shall  be  overtaken.  It  is  more  like  an  idea  very 
frequent  in  the  Koran,  and  coming  undoubtedly 
from  the  ancient  Arabic  theology,  that  the  lives 
of  men,  and  especially  their  sins,  are  all  gone 
before  to  meet  them  at  the  judgment.  The 
flight  of  time  is  a  common  figure  in  all  languages, 
and  especially  its  great  swiftness — sed  fuyit  in- 
Uredfugitirreparabile  tempus.  The  representation 
of  the  ages  driving  away  their  predecessors,  and 
taking  their  places,  is  also  a  familiar  cue,  as  in 
Ovid  Met.  XV.  181: 

ut  unda  impellitur  unda, 
JJrgeturque  prior  venienti,  urgetque  prior  em, 
Tempora  sic  fugiunt  pariter  pariterque  sequuntur. 

The  figure  here,  however,  although  presenting 
this  general  image,  has  something  else  that  is 
both  rare  and  striking.  We  know  it  from  the 
words  'ITIJ  and  K'p5!  which,  as  thus  used, 
immediately  call  up  the  idea  of  the  flying  homi- 
cide with  the  avenger  or  the  inquisitor  [iyp3D] 
behind  him.  See  how  ^1"\  is  used  in  such  pas- 
sages as  Deut.  xix. '  6 ;  Josh.   xx.  5    [7SJ   ^ITT 

Ul  min  nns  a^ri],  and  W^l,  denoting  in- 
quisitor (pursuer  or  avenger),  in  places  like  2 
Sam.  iv.  11  [IDT  nx  t^pOS],  Ezek.  iii.  18, 
20;  ixxiii,  8,  and,  without  CDl  [blood],  1  Sam. 
XX.  16,  besides  other  places  where  this  old  law 
of  pursuit  is  referred  to.  They  all  show  that 
the  words  [and  especially  typ3]  had  acquired  a 
judicial,  a  forensic,  or  technical  sense.  The 
figure  here,  however  strange  it  may  seem,  can 
hardly  be  mistaken  :  God  will  make  inquisition 
for  that  which  is  pursued,  that  which  has  gone 
before  us,  seemingly  fled  away,  as  though  it  had 
escaped  forever.  They  are  not  gone,  these  past 
ages  of  wrong;  they  shall  be  called  up  again. 
They  shall  be  overtaken  and  made  "  to  stand  up 
m  their  lot,,"  at  some  "latter  day  "  of  judgment 
and  inquisition.  There  can  be  no  severance  of 
times  from  each  other;   Nin  133  iTnt?  HD; 

t:  tt  V        T 

What  was  is  present  now  ; 

The  future  has  already  been ; 

And  God  demands  again  the  ages  fled. 

The  thought  is  closely  allied  to  the  cyclical  idea 
so  prominent  elsewhere  in  this  book  (see  i.  9,  10 ; 
vi.  10),  and  the  idea  of  the  olam  as  the  unity  of 
the  cosmos  in  time.  As  each  power  or  thing  in 
space,  according  to  an  old  thought  existing  long 
before  Newton,  is  present  dynamically  and  sta- 
tically in  every  other  part  of  space,  so  is  every 


time  present  in  every  other  time,  and  in  the 
whole  of  olamio  duration.     The  cosmos  is  one  in 

both  respects.  It  is  the  U'l)p  of  God  "  to  which 
nothing  can  be  added  (ver.  14)  and  from  which 
nothing  can  be  diminished."  But  besides  this 
cyclical  idea,  which  would  seem  like  asserting  an 
actual  reappearance,  it  may  be  said,  with  equal 
emphasis,  that  the  ages  come  again  in  judgment, 
and  as  really,  too,  in  cue  sense,  as  when  they 
were  here,  in  the  events  to  be  judged.  God  shall 
arraign  these  homicidal  centuries ;  "  He  shall 
call  to  them  and  they  shall  stand  up,  and  say 
here  we  are  "  (Isa.  xlviii.  13  ;  Job  xxxviii.  35). 
It  is  the  same  great  idea  of  judgment  that  seems 
to  pervade  all  the  writer  says,  and  which  comes 
out  so  clearly,  and  so  solemnly,  at  the  close  : 
"  For  God  will  bring  every  work  into  judgment, 
with  every  secret  thing,  whether  it  be  good,  or 
whether  it  be  evil."  It  is  that  great  thought 
which  has  ever  been  in  the  souls  of  men,  and 
which  they  cannot  get  rid  of.     It  appears  in  the 

Old  Testament,  Ps.  i.  5  [C^ym  Wlp^  n'? 
I33tyB3,  "the  wicked  shall  not  stand  in  the 
judgment];"  Daniel  xii.;  Eccles.  xii.  14;  Jab 
xxi.  30  l_y-\  T^m^  TX  CJ'vh  '3]  ;  Proverbs  and 
Prophets  sparsim.  How  prominent  the  idea, 
though  indefinite  as  to  time  and  manner,  in  the 
Greek  dramatic  poetry :  there  must  be  retribu- 
tion for  wrong,  however  it  may  take  place,  and 
however  long  delayed, — retribution  open,  penal, 
positive,  and  not  merely  as  concealed  in  blind 
physical  consequences.  It  presents  itself  more 
or  less  in  all  mythologies ;  but  its  deepest  seat  is 
in  the  human  conscience.  If  there  is  any  thing 
that  may  be  called  a  tenet  of  natural  religion,  it 
is  this,  that  there  will  be,  that  there  must  be,  a 
righting  of  all  wrongs,  and  a  way  and  a  time  for 
its  manifestation.  It  holds  its  place  amid  all 
speculative  difSculties ;  it  rises  over  all  objec- 
tions that  any  philosophy,  or  any  science,  can 
bring  against  it  in  respect  to  time,  place,  or 
manner ;  it  remains  in  the  face  of  all  doubts  and 
questions  arising  out  of  any  doctrine  of  eschato- 
logy,  so  called.  Deeper  than  any  speculative 
reasoning  lies  in  the  soul  the  feeling  that  tells  us 
;'(  must  be  so.  We  cannot  bear  the  thought  that 
the  world's  drama  shall  go  on  forever  without 
any  closing  act,  without  any  ovvTe?i.eia,  reckoning, 
or  winding  up,  whether  final,  or  preparatory  to 
some  higher  era.  We  cannot  read  a  poor  work 
of  fiction,  even,  without  feeling  pain  if  it  does 
not  end  well, — if  right  is  not  made  clear,  and 
wrong  punished,  even  according  to  our  poor 
fallen  standard  of  right  and  wrong.  The  worst 
man  has  more  or  less  of  this  feeling.  We  have 
all  reason  to  fear  the  judgment;  but  when  the 
mind  is  in  something  of  a  proper  state,  or  when 
reason  and  conscience  are  predominant,  the  soul 
would  rather  sufi'er  the  pain  arising  from  the 
risk  and  fear  of  the  individual  condemnation, 
than  obtain  deliverance  from  it  by  the  loss  of  the 
glorious  idea. 

This  doctrine  of  judgment  is  not  only  in  har- 
mony with  that  cyclical  idea  which  is  strongly 
suggested  by  the  general  aspect  of  the  passage, 
and  especially  by  what  immediately  precedes  ia 
this  same  verse,  but  may  be  regarded,  in  some 
respects,  as  identical  with  it.     If  any  choose  so 


74 


ECCLBSIASTES. 


to  view  it,  the  ages  past  may  be  said  to  be  judged 
in  the  ages  that  follow,  though  still  in  connection 
with  the  thought  of  some  general  and  final  mani- 
festation. Such  is  the  view  which  is  most  im- 
pressively given  by  Eabbi  Schelomo  in  his  com- 
ments on  the  passage.  He  deduces  from  it  a 
notion  similar  to  one  that  is  now  a  favorite  with 
some  of  our  modern  authorities.  It  is,  that  his- 
tory repeats  itself;  the  events  in  one  age  being 
types  of  succeeding  events  on  a  larger  scale  in 
another.  The  Jewish  writer  has  the  same 
thought,  though  he  gives  it  more  of  a  retributive 
aspect,  as  though  these  types  came  over  again  in 
judgment.  As  we  should  expect,  too,  he  draws 
his  examples  from  the  Scriptural  history,  or  from 
traditions  connected  with  it.  Thus  Esau  pursues 
Jacob.  It  is  the  same  thing  coming  over,  on  a 
larger  scale,  when  Egypt  pursues  the  children  of 
Israel.  Otiier  examples  are  given  from  other 
parts  of  the  Jewish  history,  and  then  he  says, 
generally  :  "  that  which  is  going  to  be  in  the 
latter  day  is  the  exemplar  [nojn,  it  should  be 
nnj'l,  a  Rabbinical  word  formed  from  the 
Greek  Stly/ia,  KapaSeiyfia']  of  what  already  has 
been;  as  in  the  first,  so  it  is  in  the  last" 
[n:ityNia  IBXD  r-|:nnX3].  He  means  that 
the  first  event  is  the  Selyfia,  the  TrapdSecyfj.a, 
or  paradigm,  to  which  the  latter  is  adapted, 
either  retributively,  or  for  some  other  purpose, 
and  taken,  generally,  on  a  larger  scale. 

The  commentary  of  Aben  Ezra  on  the  passage 
is  also  well  worthy  of  note.  His  general  remark 
on  the  whole  verse  is  that  God's  way  is  one — that 
is,  that  the  world,  whether  regarded  in  space 
or  time,    has  a   perfect   unity   of  idea,  T~\WpO 

nns  1^^  7;?  QTiSk,  and  then  he  thus  proceeds 
to  explain  the  verse:  "What  was  (oris),  already 
had  there  been  like  it,  and  that  which  is  to  be,  of 
old  there  had  been  the  same  ;  and  that  which  is 
pursued    (^TIJ),   or  the  past,  is  that   which  is 

present,  and  that  (the  present)  lies  between  the 
past  and  the  future.  The  meaning  of  it  is  that 
God  seeks  from  time  that  it  shall  be  pursued, 
time  pursuing  after  time,  and  never  fail ;  for  the 
time  that  is  past  again  becomes  the  present 
noi^n  that  which  stands],  and  the  time  that  is 
to  be,  shall  be  again  like  that  which  was,  and  so 
it  is  all  one  time.  If  we  divide  time  into  the  fu- 
ture and  the  past,  then,  in  the  course  of  things 

r^J/J  the  wheel,  or  mundane  orbit),  it  becomes 
clear  that  every  portion  ever  pursues  after  one 
point  (or  towards  one  point),  and  that  is  the 
centre,  so  that  the  portion  that  was  in  the  East 
appears  again  in  the  West,  and  conversely ;  and 
to  the  place  of  the  world's  revolution  there  is  no 
beginning  from  which  such  motion  commences ; 
for  every  beginning  is  an  end,  and  every  end  a 
beginning,  and  that  which  is  pursued,  that  is  the 
centre,  and  so  it  is  clear  to  us  that  all  the  work 
of  God  is  on  one  way," — or,  as  we  would  say,  on 
one  idea,  ever  repeating  itself.  See  something 
like  this  in  the  Book  of  Problems,  ascribed  to 
AaiSTOTLE,  Vol.  XIV.,  Leip.;  Prob.  XVIII.,  Sec. 
3,  on  the  question,  "  How  shall  we  take  the  terms 
Before  and  After?"  (on  the  supposition  of  an 
eternal  repeating  cycle). 

It  is  the  idea  in  ver.  14  which  seems  mainly  to 
have  influenced  Aben  Ezra,  and  other  Jewish 


commentators  [such  as  Levi  Ben  Geeson,  in  his 
profound  book  entitled  Milchamoth  Aa-ScAem],  in 
the  interpretation  of  these  words  of  the  15th: 
"I  learned  that  all  which  God  made  is  for  eter- 
nity [or  the  world  titne,  CI37lif7]  ;  to  it  there  is 
no  adding,  and  from  it  there  is  no  diminishing, 
and*  God  made  it  that  men  might  fear  before 
him."  This,  in  their  view,  would  seem  to  refer 
not  merely  to  the  amount  of  matter  in  the  cos- 
mos, or  the  amount  of  force,  or  motion,  or  even 
to  the  amount  of  space  and  time  assigned  to  it, 
but  to  the  amount  of  eventualities  making  up  the 
olam, — or,  as  we  might  rather  say,  the  amount 
of  historical  action,  as  one  great  drama,  having 
a  perfect  unity,  both  of  movement  and  idea,  so 
that  any  change  would  be  a  diminution  or  an 
addition,  out  of  harmony  with  the  one  great  spi- 
ritual thought  to  whose  manifestation  it  is  de- 
voted. This  is  shown,  "that  men  might  fear  be- 
fore him,"  VJS/D,  in  the  presence  of  such  a 
God  ;  as  though  there  was  something  more  awful 
in  such  an  exhibition  of  the  eternal  thought,  than 
in  any  display  of  mere  power,  whether  in  the 
inatural  or  the  supernatural.  See  remarks  on 
the  Divine  constancy  in  the  greater  movements  of 
Nature,  and  the  quotation  from  Ciceko  in  Note 
on  the  Olamic  Words,  p.  51. 

Some  modern  writers  who  dogmatize  about  the 
supernatural,  and  deny  its  possibility,  might, 
perhaps,  regard  the  philosophizing  author  of 
Koheleth,  especially  when  thus  interpreted  by 
these  Jewish  doctors,  as  being  of  the  same  opi- 
nion. Thus,  in  ver.  14,  he  would  seem  to  say, 
that  there  is  no  change  out  of  a  fixed  law  and 
fixed  idea  of  the  universe,  whatever  may  have 
been  his  conception  of  the  world's  extent.  There 
is  no  addition,  no  diminution,  and  this  would 
seem  to  exclude  every  thing  that  was  not  pro- 
vided for  in  the  original  arrangement  of  forces, 
and  in  the  system  of  causation  which  it  embraces, 
with  all  its  machinery,  great  and  small.  Now 
we  may  say  that  these  venerable  Kabbis,  although 
sincere  and  devout  believers  in  the  supernatural, 
understood  the  nature  of  this  argument  as  well 
as  any  of  its  modern,  English,  French  and  Ger- 
man propounders.  No  where  has  it  ever  been 
more  profoundly  discussed  than  by  Levi  Bek 
Gerson  in  the  Sixth  book  of  the  work  before  re- 
ferred to,  where  he  treats  of  Miracles  and  Pro- 
phecy,— although  written  nearly  six  hundred 
years  ago.  If  by  the  supernatural  is  meant  any 
departure  from  the  system  of  things  which  God 
arranged  from  the  beginning,  or  any  change  in 
the  great  series  of  causes  and  effects,  antecedents 
and  consequents,  which  constitute  the  sum  of 
things,  including  the  Divine  will,  thought,  and 
action,  among  them, — then  is  there  no  superna- 
tural. But  this  would  be  reducing  the  whole 
great  question  to  a  trifling  play  upon  words.  If, 
however,  by  the  words  supernatural,  or  miracu- 
lous— though  they  do  not  mean  exactly  the  same 
thing — there  be  intended  the  changes  which  God 
Himself  may  introduce  into  the  visible  nature, 
"according  to  the  counsel  of  His  own  will,"  but 
which  are  physically  connected  with  no  prior 
working  of  cosmical  dynamical  agencies,  then 
there  is  a  supernatural,  although  this  supernatu- 
ral belongs  as  much  to  the  one  grea\  idea,  or 
system  of  things,  as  the  most  seemingly  regular 


CHAP.  III.  1-22. 


75 


causation,  or  most  fAmiliar  sequence  of  antece- 
dents and  consequents  ever  presented  to  our 
senses.  Far  more  than  this — it  is  not  merely  a 
part  of  that  one  great  idea,  but  truly  constitutive 
of  it,  as  its  very  essence.  The  supernatural,  as 
differing  from  the  merely  miraculous,  is  some- 
thing eternal,  lying  above  nature,  upholding  na- 
ture in  its  origin,  regulating  its  creative  days, 
sending  into  it  new  creative  words  to  raise  it  to 
higher  and  still  higher  planes,  deflecting,  if  need 
be,  its  general  course,  and,  at  times,  interrupting 
it-3  movements,  thus  producing  what  we  call  mi- 
ra.ole3,  prodigies,  signs,  etc.  These,  however,  in 
distinction  from  originating  or  creating  acts, 
must  be  regarded  as  belonging  to  a  world,  or  to 
a  department  of  the  world,  where  evil,  or  moral 
irregularity,  predominates.  We  may  feel  war- 
ranted in  saying,  that  in  a  state  sinless  in  the 
beginning,  if  God  had  so  willed  to  secure  it,  or 
which  had  continued  sinless,  if  God  had  so  willed 
to  keep  it,  or  in  one  which  had  reached  a  sinless 
oonditiou,  and  where  the  moral  order  was  un- 
broken, there  would  be  no  miracles,  so  called,  no 
interruptions  in  the  constant  harmonious  series 
of  things  and  events.  There  would  be  no  need 
of  them ;  for  nature  itself  would  be  religious, 
ever  manifesting  instead  of  hiding  God.  In  such 
constancy  of  movement  there  would  be,  for  holy 
souls,  no  dimming  of  the  Divine  glory,  no  deify- 
ing of  second  causes,  no  veiling  of  a  personal 
Deity  under  the  sheltering  name  of  natural  law. 
There  would  be  sublimity,  admiration,  exalted 
contemplation,  reverence  never  lowered,  adoring 
study  never  tiring,  wonder  never  diminished  by 
familiarity, — all  miranda,  yet  no  miracula,  as  we 
now  use  the  term,  no  prodigies,  portents,  ar/fiE'ia, 
TspaTa,  arresting  signs,  startling  displays  of 
power,  such  as  may  be  demanded  in  the  regula- 
tion of  that  lower  sphere  where  moral  and  spiri- 
tual disorder  have  their  mirrored  counterpart  in 
a  dark  and  refracted  nature.  In  such  a  fallen 
world,  however,  miracles,  signs,  etc.,  may  be 
parts  of  the  Divine  plan,  having  their  proper 
place,  and  to  be  brought  in  at  such  intervals  of 
time,  with  such  intermissions,  and  in  such  ways, 
as  the  eternal  wisdom  may  decide.  They  are  all 
in  the  great  idea,  together  with  all  such  means,  if 
need  be,  for  their  bringing  out  in  time.  If  not 
regular,  in  the  sense  of  calculable  recurrence, 
they  are  all  regulated.      They    belong   to    the 

Q/lJ?,  the  world,  or  whole  (ver.  14),  which 
cannot  be  added  to  nor  diminished.  "God  hath 
done  it  that  men  may  fear  before  him."  To  a, 
fallen  race  there  is  ground  for  fear  both  ways. 
There  is  something  awful  for  them,  both  in  the 
constant  and  in  the  portentous.  To  such  a  mo- 
ral state  there  is  something  terrible  in  this  fix- 
edness of  nature ;  it  so  shows  us  our  impotence, 
our  dependence,  notwithstanding  all  our  boasts 
of  what  our  reason,  or  our  science,  are  going  to 
achieve ;  it  gives  us  such  just  reason  to  fear,  if 
we  have  no  higher  faith  to  allay  it,  lest  we  may 
perchance  be  crushed  in  some  unknown  and 
unknowable  turning  of  its  mighty  wheels, — and 
this,  too,  notwithstanding  the  petty  victories 
which  we  now  and  then  seem  to  obtain  over  it, 
but  which  may  be  only  a  deflecting  of  its  resist- 
less movement  into  some  more  destructive  chan- 
nel. On  the  other  hand,  there  is  the  dread  of 
22 


the  portentous,  the  "coming  out  from  his 
(hiding)  place"  of  the  spiritual  power  that  men 
would  so  gladly  forget,  or  veil  from  themselves 
under  the  deification  of  nature  and  natural 
law. 

It  is  thus  that  Rabbi  Sohelomo  interprets  the 
language  as  referring  to  the  fear  of  the  porten- 
tous :  "The  Blessed  One,  in  the  beginning  of  His 
work,  had  purposed  how  the  world  should  be, 
and  no  change  can  take  place  in  it  either  by  way 
of  increase  or  diminution.  When  it  is  changed 
(or  appears  to  be  changed)  it  is  God  that  does  it. 
He  commands  and  effects  the  change,  that  7nen 
should  fear  before  him."  That  is,  the  belief  in  the 
supernatural,  or  in  some  higher  power  and  will 
that  can,  and  does,  change  the  visible  course  of 
nature  as  presented  to  our  sense  and  our  expe- 
rience, is,  for  us,  the  ground  of  all  religion — • 
that  is,  of  all  "fear  of  the  Lord" — the  term  nxT 
nin''  being  the  Hebrew  name  for  religion  in 
its  essential  definition,  as  niiT  "jTT  (the  way 
of  the  Lord)  denotes  its  practical  action.  And 
then  he  proceeds:  "Thus  it  was  that  Oceanus 
broke  its  bound  in  the  generation  of  Enosh,  and 
inundated  one-third  of  the  world;  and  this  God 
did  that  men  might  fear  before  Him.  Again,  for 
seven  days  the  course  of  the  sun  was  changed  in 
the  generation  of  the  flood,  and  this  was  that 
men  might  fear  before  Him."  After  these  semiv 
scriptural,  semi-traditional  instances,  he  men- 
tions the  turning  back  of  the  ten  degrees  in  thie 
days  of  Hezekiah.  "AH  this  was  done  that  laen 
might  fear  before  Him."  And  then  he  condttdes, 
as  the  Jewish  writers  generally  do,  "that  it  is 
not  good  for  man  to  engage  in  useless  physical 

disputation  (P10J77),  or  to  study  any  thing  but 
the  commands  and  ways  of  God.  and  thus  to  fear 
before  Him."    See  Job  xxviii.  21-28. 

In  rendering  the  15th  verse,  the  Vulgate  pre- 
sents the  idea  of  cyclical  renovation :  quodfactum 
est  ipsum  permanei ;  qusefutura  sintjam  fuerunt,  et 
Deus  instaurat  quod  abii — "  God  renews  what  is 
past."  The  LXX.  seems  to  have  in  view  the  idea 
of  retribution  in  its  very  literal  rendering, 
0  6edf  C^TjTTjoti  Tov  diuKdfi^ou,  where  there  would 
appear  to  be  an  allusion  to  the  fleeing  homicide. 
The  Syriac  :  "  That  which  was  before  is  now, 
and  all  that  is  to  be  has  been,  and  God  seeks  for 
the  pursued  that  is  pursued."  The  tautology 
arose,  perhaps,  from  some  dim  perception  of  the 
idea,  but  in  the  attempt  to  make  it  clear,  the 
Syriao  has  only  made  it  the  more  obscure. 

It  would  seem  to  have  been  an  old  Rabbinical 

fancy  to  represent  one  world,  or  CDl)}!,  thus  fol- 
lowing another,  or  one  cycle  of  events  making 
way  for  another,  by  the  birth  of  Jacob  with  his 
hand  upon  Esau's  heel.  We  have  this  imagery 
of  the  idea  in  a  strange  passage  from  the  Apoc- 
ryphal book  of  2  Esdras  chap.  vi.  7  :  "Then  an- 
swered I  and  said,  what  shall  be  the  parting 
asunder  of  the  times ;  or  when  shall  be  the  end 
of  the  first  and  the  beginning  of  it  that  follow- 
eth  ?  And  he  (the  angel)  said  unto  me,  from 
Abraham  unto  Isaac,  when  Jacob  and! Esau  were 
born  of  him,  Jacob's  hand  held, fast  the  heel  of 
Esau;  for  Esau  is  the,  end  of  the  world  [the 
CDi))f  a'i&v']  and  Jacob,  is  the  beginning  of  it 
that  foUoweth.     Th?  haisd  Orfnvw  is  betwixt  the 


76 


ECCLESIASTES. 


heel  and  the  Land.  Other  question,  Esdras,  ask 
thou  not."  The  book  is  apocryphal,  but  it  shows 
the  reasoning  of  its  day,  and  how  some  of  the  old 
language  was  understood. — T.  L.] 

DOCTRINAL    AND    ETHICAL. 

(  With  liomiletical  Hints. ) 
The  two  halves  of  this  section,  of  which  the 
one  (vers.  1-11)  presents  the  reason  for  the  tem- 
poral restriction  of  earthly  happiness,  and  the 
other  (vers.  12-22)  the  nature  of  this  earthly  and 
temporal  happiness,  are  to  each  other  as  the 
theoretical  and  practical  part  of  a  connected  series 
of  retlections  on  the  theme  of  the  temporal  na- 
ture of  all  human  efforts  and  deeds.  The  clause, 
that  "  to  every  thing  there  is  a  season,"  or  the 
theoretical  principal  part  of  the  reflection,  is 
subservient  to  the  clause,  "  rejoice  and  do  good 
in  thy  life,"  as  a  foundation  sustaining  the  prac- 
tical. The  illustrations  of  the  immutability  of 
the  eternal  decrees  of  God  (vers.  14,  16),  of  the 
ever  just  distribution  of  human  destinies  in  the 
next  world  (vers.  IB,  17),  and  of  the  total  un- 
certainty of  the  fate  of  the  spirit  of  man  after 
death  (vers.  18-21),  are  but  subsequent  glances 
from  the  practical  to  the  theoretical  portion, 
whereby  is  specially  shown,  in  various  ways,  the 
necessity  of  a  joyous  and  diligent  use  of  the  pre- 
sent, in  order  thus  to  lend  more  emphasis  to  the 
final  exhortation  to  rejoice  in  the  works  of  this 
life.  The  entire  contents  of  the  chapter  are  there- 
fore, substantially,  of  an  exhortatory  character, 
a  reference  to  the  eternal  rule  of  the  Highest, 
that  insures  to  the  man,  who  walks  in  His  paths, 
happiness  in  the  next  world,  if  not  in  this,  and 
thus  encourages  him  to  grateful  and  cheerful  en- 
joyment of  present  blessings,  and  to  unalloyed 
confidence  in  the  benevolent  and  assisting  hand 
of  God.  The  theme  of  Koheleth's  present 
section,  according  to  the  just  observation  of 
Hengstenberg,  is  mainly  in  unison  with  the  ex- 
pression of  Jeremiah  (x.  23) :  "  I  know,  0  Lord, 
that  the  way  of  man  is  not  in  himself;  it  is  not 
in  man  that  walketh  to  direct  his  steps,"  or,  with 
the  ground  thought  of  the  hymn  of  consolation 
in  alHiction, 

I  know,  my  God,  that  all  mine  acts. 
And  doings  rest  upon  thy  will, — 

or  of  the  verses, 

"Why,  then,  should  I  repine, 
And  on  the  future  think? 
or  this, 

On  Heaven's  blessing,  and  its  grace, 
Is  all  my  care  reposed, 

and  others  similar.  Only  in  this  text  there  is  no 
necessity  of  referring  the  consoling  tendency  of 
the  section  specially  to  the  people  of  Israel  as  an 
Ecclesiaprrssa,  suffering  amid  stern  persecutions 
and  ill  treatment  on  the  part  of  external  enemies. 
For  if  the  chapter  presents  also  some  allusions  to 
sufferings  and  wrongs  as  prevalent  occurrences 
in  the  epoch  and  surroundings  of  the  author, 
(vers.  16-18,  and  oomp.  also  forthe  impossibility 
of  the  origin  of  these  descriptions  from  the  Solo- 
mon of  history:  Int.  p.  133  nothing  at  all  can 
be  discovered  in  illustration  of  these  sad  events, 
from  the  stand-point  of  the  theocratic  and  re- 
demptive pragmatism  of  the  prophets.  The  de- 
scriptions  in  question  maintain,   rather,  a  very 


general  character,  and  nowhere  reflect  on  the  in- 
dividual position,  or  the  redemptive  calling  of 
the  people  of  Israel.  For  which  reason,  also 
these  must  be  condemned  as  forced  and  artificial 
that  allegorical  conception  of  the  introductory 
verses  1-8,  by  virtue  of  which  Hengstenbebo 
and  some  predecessors  would  discover  here  spe- 
cial allusions  to  the  changing  destinies  of  the 
people  of  God,  and  explain  "  to  be  born,"  and 
"to  die,"  in  the  sense  of  Isa.  liv.  1 ;  Hab.  1.  12; 
and  "  to  plant,"  and  "  to  pluck  up,"  in  the  sense 
of  Ps.  Ixxx.  8,  12;  "to  kill,"  and  "to  heal,"  in 
the  sense  of  Hos.  vi.  1;  "to  break  down"  and 
"build  up,"  in  the  sense  of  Jeremiah  xxiv.  6; 
xxxi.  6;  xlii.  10.  In  the  practical  treatment  of 
this  section,  this  specific  redemptory  reference, 
together  with  others,  may  certainly  have  its  due 
influence,  but  it  can  lay  no  claim  to  exclusive 
attention. 

In  the  practical  and  homiletical  treatment  of 
this  chapter,  we  are  to  give  special  care  to  the 
consideration  of  the  very  characteristic  asser- 
tions regarding  the  world  that  is  set  in  the  hearts 
of  men,  (ver.  11.),  and  the  equality  of  the  final 
destiny  of  men  and  beasts  in  death  (vers.  18-21). 
On  the  basis  of  the  former  passage  we  should 
develop  the  elements  of  the  doctrine  of  the  know- 
ledge of  God,  to  be  derived  from  nature,  and  the 
eternal  nature  and  calling  of  man,  (comp.  Fabki, 
^' Time  and  Eternity,"  already  quoted,  especially 
pp.  60flF. ).  In  connection  with  the  second  part, 
on  the  contrary,  we  demonstrate  that  double 
character  of  human  nature,  belonging  in  the 
body  to  time,  but  in  the  Spirit  to  God  and  eter- 
nity, and  point  out  the  practical  consequences 
resulting  therefrom  for  the  feelings  and  the  con- 
duct of  the  children  of  God.  In  addition  to  the 
homiletical  hints  quoted  below  from  Tadleb, 
Melanchthon,  etc.,  comp.  especially  Kleinert, 
on  the  Old  Testament  doctrine  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  (Annual  for  German  Theology,  1867,  No.  1, 
p.  13):  The  enlivening  and  elevating  truth,  that 
our  flesh  lives  through  the  Spirit  of  God  (Gen.  ii. 
7),  becomes  in  Koheleth  a  two-edged  sword, 
tliat  turns  against  its  own  rejoicing;  since  all 
life  is  from  God,  that  of  man  as  of  beast,  (iii.  19, 
20) ;  our  life  is  that  of  something  foreign  to  us, 
and  belongs  not  to  us  (comp.  viii.  8),  but  must 
again  give  up  its  substance  at  another's  behest, 
to  become  what  it  was — dust,  (iii.  20;  xii.  7). 

To  treat  the  unity  of  thought  in  a  comprehen- 
sive and  homiletical  style,  one  might  most  fit- 
tingly take  up  vers.  11  and  12,  and  make  a  for- 
mula of  them,  something  in  the  following  man- 
ner :  ^'As  a  citizen  of  the  world,  and  an  heir  ofeter' 
nity,  man  should  thankfully  enjoy  the  pleasures  of 
this  life,  and  hy  a  conscientious  performance  of  its 
duties  gather  fruits  propitious  for  eternity."  Or, 
"Live  nobly  in  time,  and  eternity  will  crown  thee." 
Or,  "  Seek  in  time  to  live  thy  eternal  life  ;  then 
will  it,  in  the  future,  certainly  be  thine."  Comp. 
also  these  lines  of  Bohme  : 

From  conflict  ever  freed  is  he. 
To  whom  the  eternal  is  as  time, 
And  time  is  as  eternity. 

HOMILETICAL  HINTS  ON  SEPARATE  PASSAGES. 

Ver.  1.  Bbenz  :  Solomon  condemns  in  the  be- 
ginning  of  this  chapter  all  anxious  reflection 


CHAP.  III.  1-22. 


and  care  concerning  earthly  things,  above  all, 
useless  worldly  anxiety.  For  this  is  so  deeply 
rooted  in  the  minds  of  many,  indeed  of  most  men, 
that  it  can  scarcely  be  eradicated.  This  is  a  tor- 
ment not  only  of  a  very  painful,  but  of  an  en- 
tirely useless  character.  Nearly  all  other  trials 
and  troubles  can  be  easily  borne,  and  oppress 
only  the  body  ;  but  anxiety  ruins  both  body  and 

gQul. Therefore  Solomon  here  says;    Act  ever 

so  justly  or  unjustly,  and  torture  thyself  with 
care  till  death,  thou  wilt  travail  in  vain  before 
the  completion  of  the  time  fixed  by  God.  For, 
everything  occurs  according  to  His  divine  ar- 
rangement, in  His  own  time,  without  our  inter- 
venlion. 

LnTHER. :  That  nothing  occurs  before  the  hour 
arrives  which  has  been  determined  by  God,  So- 
lomon proves  by  examples  drawn  from  all  hu- 
man affairs,  and  says :  There  is  a  time  to  build 
up  and  a  time  to  break  down,  etc.,  and  concludes 
therefrom  that  all  human  resolve  in  thought,  re- 
verie, or  effort,  is  simply  a  phantom,  a  shadow, 
an  illusion,  unless  it  be  first  resolved  in  heaven. 
Kings,  princes,  lords,  may  hold  their  councils 
and  resolve  what  they  will;  the  thing  whose 
hour  has  oome,  will  occur ;  the  others  stand  still 
and  hinder  and  impede  each  other.  And  al- 
though it  may  seem  that  the  hour  is  now  come, 
nothing  will  take  place  till  the  hour  does  come, 
although  all  men  on  earth  should  tear  themselves 
to  pieces.  God  permits  neither  kings,  princes, 
lords,  nor  wise  men  on  earth  to  set  the  dial  for 
Him.  He  will  set  it ;  and  we  are  not  to  tell  Him 
what  it  has  struck.  He  will  tell  us.  Christ  says 
in  the  gospel;  My  hour  is  not  yet  come,  etc. — 
Hamann:  We  find  here  a  series  of  contradictory 
things  and  actions  which  occur  in  human  life, 
but  which  cannot  possibly  exist  together,  and 
hence  each  has  its  special  time.  That  moment  is 
fixed  for  everything  which  is  the  best  and  the 
most  fitting  for  it.  The  beauty  of  things  consists 
in  this  moment  of  their  maturity  which  God 
awaits.  He  who  would  eat  the  blossom  of  the 
cherry  to  taste  the  fruit,  would  form  a  faulty 
judgment  regarding  it ;  he  who  would  judge  of 
the  cool  shade  of  the  trees  from  the  temperature 
of  winter,  and  their  form  in  this  season,  would 
judge  blindly.  And  we  make  just  such  conclu- 
sions regarding  God's  government  and  its  pur- 
pose! 

Vers.  2-8.  Geier  (ver.  2) :  Plants  and  trees  are 
set  and  tended  on  account  of  their  fruits,  and  the 
unfruitful  are  rooted  up.  Art  thou  then,  0  man, 
planted  in  the  garden  of  the  Lord,  but  unfruit- 
ful, beware,  and  reform,  else  wilt  thou  also  be 
rooted  up?  Luke  xiii.  6fF. 

Staeke  (ver.  3,  1st  clause) :  God  is  so  gra- 
cious that  He  wounds  and  lacerates  the  hearts 
of  men  for  their  own  good,  but  heals  them  again 
by  the  assurance  of  His  grace,  and  the  pardon  of 
sins,  Hos.  vi.  1. 

Hengstenbero  (ver.  3,  second  clause):  The 
people  of  God  have  the  advantage  therein  that 
the  destructive  activity  is  ever  a  means  and  a  pre- 
paration for  the  constructive,  and  that  the  final 
purpose  of  God  is  ever  directed  to  the  latter. 
Therefore  one  can  be  cheerful  and  consoled  in 
the  kingdom  of  God,  during  the  momentary  ac- 
tivity of  destruction. — (Ver.  8) :  The  epoch  in 
which  this  book  was  written,  was  mainly  a  "  pe- 


riod of  hatred,"  as  the  faithful  learned  it  by  daily 
and  painful  experience.  But  they  were  assured 
by  the  word  of  God  that,  in  some  future  time,  a 
"period  of  love  would  come,  such  as  they  had 
not  seen"  (Isa.  xlix.  23;  Ix.  16;  Ixvi.  12),  and 
while  hoping  for  this  it  was  more  easy  for  them 
to  accept  the  seeming  hatred  from  the  same  dear 

hand  that  would  dispense  the  love The 

whole  finds  its  end  in  the  sweet  name  of  peace, 
which  is  so  engraven  on  the  heart  of  the  church 
militant.  Peace,  peace,  to  him  that  is  far  off,  and 
to  him  that  is  near,  saith  the  Lord,  Isa.  Ivii.  19. 
Vers.  9,  10.  Luther:  Before  the  hour  comes, 
thought  and  labor  are  lost.  But  we  are,  never- 
theless, to  labor,  each  in  his  sphere  and  with  di- 
ligence. God  commands  this;  if  we  hit  the  hour, 
things  prosper ;  if  we  do  not,  nothing  comes  of 
it,  and  thus  no  human  thought  avails.  They, 
therefore,  who  would  anticipate  God's  hour,  strug- 
gle, and  have  nothing  but  care  and  sorrow. 

Starke  (ver.  10)  :  Sin  causes  man  to  have 
many  cares,  dangers,  and  vexatious  in  the  em- 
ployments of  life.  Gen.  iii.  17.  It  is  not  the  ac- 
tive but  the  permissive  will  of  God,  that  permits 
sinful  men  to  experience  these  various  evil  re- 
sults of  their  sins. 

Ver.  11.  Brenz  : — Although  God  has  created 
all  things  in  the  best  and  wisest  way,  and  fitted 
them  to  our  needs,  our  own  will,  and  our  short- 
sighted earthly  wisdom  nevertheless  prevent  us 
from  deriving  the  profit  and  enjoyment  there- 
from which  the  beasts  find  in  the  works  of  God. 
Geier; — In  searching  out  the  works  and  waye 
of  God  be  careful  not  curiously  to  seek  things 
hidden  of  God,  and  on  the  contrary  to  neglect  His 
revealed  will  to  the  injury  of  our  souls- 

Starkb: — The  indwelling  desire  of  thehuman 
soul  to  live  eternally  is  a  remnant  of  the  divine 
image.  0  that  we  would  endeavor  to  calm  this 
feeling  in  the  right  manner,  how  happy  then 
would  we  be! 

Blster  : — The  ability  of  man  to  reflect  in  him- 
self the  harmony  of  the  world  ( ?  more  correctly, 
the  eternal  power  and  divinity  of  the  Most  High 
mirrored  in  the  things  of  the  world)  is  indeed  a 
power  in  whose  perfect  exercise  the  individual  is 
impeded  by  individual  weakness.  Because  the 
original,  pure  harmony  of  the  spirit,  is  obscured 
in  the  inner  man,  he  cannot  compreuend  that 
which  exists  without  him  in  its  full  purity  and 
truth;  and  that  which  is  highest  he  is  only  able 
to  comprehend  imperfectly,  namely,  the  eternal, 
divine,  creative  thoughts  which  form  the  inner- 
most essence  of  things. 

Vers.  12-15.  Melanohthon  (vers.  12,  18): — 
These  words  are  not  intended  satirically  to  illus- 
trate the  principles  of  a  man  of  Epicurean  en- 
joyment, but  to  express  the  seriously  meant  doc- 
trine that  the  things  of  this  world  are  to  be  used 
and  enjoyed  according  to  divine  intent  and  com- 
mand, and  also  to  impart  directions  for  the  happy 
and  temperate  enjoyment  of  them.  We  must, 
therefore,  look  in  faith  to  God,  perform  the 
works  of  our  calling,  implore  and  await  God's 
help  and  blessing,  bear  patiently  the  toils  and 
burdens  that  He  sends,  and  then  cert.^inly  know 
that,  so  far  as  our  labor  is  crowned  with  success, 
this  comes  from  the  guidance  and  protection  of 
God. 

Luther  :  —  Because   so   many   obstacles  and 


ECCLESIASTES. 


misfortunes  meet  those  who  are  diligent  and 
mean  to  be  faithful  and  upright,  and  because 
there  is  so  much  unhappiness  in  the  world,  there 
is  nothing  better  than  cheerfully  to  employ  the 
present  that  God  gives  to  our  hand,  and  not  to 
worry  and  grieve  with  cares  and  thoughts  about 
the  future.  But  the  sliill  lies  in  being  able  to  do 
it;  that  is  the  gift  of  God. 

OsiANDER,  (vers.  14,  15):  God  acts  immutably 
that  we  may  therein  perceive  His  majesty  and 
power,  fear  Him,  and  serve  Him  with  piety  and 
highest  reverence.  However  God  deals  with  us, 
we  must  accept  it,  and  consider  it  good.  Job  ii.lO. 

Beelebtjbo  Bible: — Tou  must  not  hesitate 
and  let  yourself  for  that  reason  (by  sorrows  and 
tribulations)  be  drawn  away  from  the  highest 
good.  For  God  will  not  let  the  injustice  and 
violence  that  are  done  to  the  pious,  go  un- 
punished. 

Vers.  16,  17.  Hansen: — As  there  is  here  a 
certain  period  when  men  follow  their  inclina- 
tions, so  there  is,  beyond,  a  fixed  time  when 
they  will  be  summoned  before  a  tribunal. 

Henostenbeeg  : — The  sentence  on  the  wicked 
may  be  expected  with  so  much  the  more  confi- 
dence, when  they  have  assumed  the  place  of 
judgment  and  justice,  ai^d  from  thence  practised 
their  iniquity,  thus  abusing  magisterial  power. 

Vers.  18-21.  Tattler: — Man  is  composed  from 
time  and  eternity ;  from  time  as  regards  the  body, 
from  eternity  as  regards  the  spirit.  Now  every- 
thing inclines  towards  its  origin.     Because  the 


body  is  composed  from  earth  and  time,  it  in- 
clines to  temporal  things,  and  finds  its  pleasure 
therein.  Because  the  spirit  came  from  God,  and 
is  composed  from  eternity,  it  inclines  therefore 
to  God  and  eternity.  When  man  turns  from 
time  and  creatures  to  eternity  and  God,  he  has  an 
inworking  in  God  and  eternity,  and  thus  makes 
eternity  from  time,  and  from  the  creature  God 
in  the  godly  man. 

Melanchthon  : — Solomon  speaks  thus  of  ex- 
ternal appearances.  If  one  questioned  only  the 
eyes  and  the  judgment,  without  listening  to  the 
word  of  God,  human  life  would  appear  to  be  go- 
verned by  mere  chance,  to  such  an  extent  that 
men  would  seem  to  be,  as  it  were,  like  a  great 
ant-hill,  and  like  ants  to  be  crushed.  But  the 
revelation  of  the  divine  word  must  be  placed  in 
contrast  with  this  appearance. 

Starke: — As  thou  desirest,  after  death,  abet- 
ter state  than  that  of  beasts,  see  to  it,  then,  that 
in  life  thou  dost  distinguish  thyself  from  the 
beasts  by  a  reasonable.  Christian  demeanor, 
Ps.  xxxii.  9. 

Ver.  22.  Wohlfarth  : — Only  the  moment  that 
we  live  in  life,  is  our  possession.  Every  hour 
lived  sinks  irrevocably  into  the  sea  of  the  past: 
the  future  is  uncertain :  therefore  is  he  a  fool 
who  lets  the  present  slip  by  unused,  wastes  it 
in  vain  amusement,  or  grieves  with  useless  la- 
mentations. 

Henqstenbero  : — See  the  exegetical  remarks 
on  this  passage. 


B.   The  Impeditaents  to  Earthly  Happiness,  proceeding  partly  from  personal  misfor- 
tune of  various  kinds,  and  partly  from  the  evils  of  social  and  civil  life. 

Chap.  IV.  1-16. 

1.  The  personal  misfortune  of  many  men. 

(Vers.  1-6.) 

1  So  I  returned  and  considered  all  the  oppressions  that  are  done  under  the  sun ;  and 
behold  the  tears  of  suoh  cm  were  oppressed,  and  they  had  no  comforter ;  and  on  the 

2  side  of  their  oppressors  there  was  power ;  but  they  had  no  comforter.     Wherefore  I 
praised  the  dead  which  are  already  dead  more  than  the  living  which  are  yet  alive. 

3  Yea,  better  m  he  than  both  they,  which  had  not  yet  been,  who  hath  not  seen  the 

4  evil  work  that  is  done  under  the  sun.     Again,  I  considered  all  travail,  and  every 
right  work,  that  for  this  a  man  is  envied  of  his  neighbor.     This  is  also  vanity 

5  and  vexation  of  spirit.     The  fool  foldeth  his  hands  together,  and  eateth  his  own 

6  flesh.     Better  is  an  handful  with  quietness,  than  both  the  hands  full  ivith  travail  and 
vexation  of  spirit. 

2.  The  evils  of  social  life. 


(Vers.  7-12.) 

7,  8  Then  I  returned  and  saw  vanity  under  the  sun.  There  is  one  alone,  and  there 
is  not  a  second;  yea,  he  hath  neither  child  nor  brother:  yet  is  there  no  end  of  all 
his  labour,  neither  is  his  eye  satisfied  with  riches :  neither  saith  he,  For  whom  do  I 


CHAP.  IV.  1-16. 


79 


labour,  and  bereave  my  soul  of  good  ?    This  is  also  vanity,  yea,  it  is  a  sore  travail. 
9  Two  are  better  than  one;   because   they  have  a  good   reward   for   their   labour 

10  For  if  they  fall,  the  one  will  lift  up  his  fellow:  but  wo  to  him  that  is  alone  when 

11  hefalleth;  for   he  hath  not  another  to  help  him  up.     Again,  if  two  lie  together. 

12  then  they  have  heat:  but  how  can  one  be  warm  alone  f  And  if  one  prevail  against 
him,  two  shall  withstand  him;  and  a  threefold  cord  is  not  quickly  broken. 

8.  The  evils  of  civil  life. 
(Vbks.  13-16.) 

13  Better  &  a  poor  and  a  wise  child,  than  an  old  and  foolish  king,  who  will  no  more 

14  be  admonished.     For  out  of  prison  he  cometh  to  reign ;  whereas  also  he  that  is  born 

15  in  his  kingdom  becometh  poor.     I  considered  all  the  living  which  walk  under  the 

16  sun,  with  the  second  child  that  shall  stand  up  in  his  stead.  There  is  no  end  of  all 
the  people,  even  of  all  that  have  been  before  them :  they  also  that  come  after  shall 
not  rejoice  in  him.     Surely  this  also  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit. 

[Ver.  1.  nSTKI  'JN  'J^32fl  :  I  tiarned  and  saw,  or  I  returned  and  saw,  I  looked  again— ''j132'  used  adverbially, 
to  denote  repetition.— T.  L.] 

Ver.  2.  iJS   nSETl  the  participle  piel  with    D   omitted,    T^3WD.     The  examples  Zocklee  brings  in  support  of  its 

being  the  t!i/imWTO,  do  not  bear  him  out.    Comp.   TPID   for  iriDD  iei>'i- i-M,  in  like  manner  the  Pual  participle  without 

D,  M  np'7  2King8U.10,  forrtpSo,    "hv    for    ib'D    Jad.  xiu.  8,  and    tZl'E'pV    Eccles.  ix.  12,  for  Q'TOVD. 
It"..  It'..  :  t  t\;  -It  •  It     : 

[Ter.  6.  t'nU?3.    See  remarks,  p.  63.— T.  L.] 

[Ter.  8.  ^D7^ :  " and  for  whom."  The  apparent  conjunction  1,  here,  seems  rather  to  have  the  force  of  an  interjec- 
tion, as  in  TXT  ii.l6  (see  remarks  on  it,  p.  58).  Alas  I  how  is  it ;  so  here,  ^/i  me  !  far  whmn.  Our  conjunction  has  some- 
timee  a  similar  emphatic  instead  of  a  mere  copulative  force.    Or,  it  may  be  doubted  whether,  in  such  cases,  instead  of  being 

copulative  at  all,  it  is  any  thing  more  than  the  exclamation     \  *     in  Arabic,  which  is,  in  like  manner,  joined  to  other 

words,  as  waihi,  vae  tibi,  or  wo-  laka,  eheu  tibi,  and  sometimes  to  exclamatory  phrases,  as  wa-sawa  ta  hu,  in  one  word, 
proh  dolor,  0  what  a  calamity!  The  abrupt  exclamation  is  much  more  impressive  and  signiiicant  than  the  filling  up  of 
our  English  Version,  "  neither  does  he  say."  This  is,  moreover,  false,  since  the  writer  does  mean  to  represent  the  solitary 
rich  man  as  thus  saying.  It  is  pressed  out  of  him  by  a  sudden  sense  of  his  folly.  Dr.  Van  Dyke,  in  his  late  Arabic 
translation,  makes  it  thus  abruptly  follow,  which  is  the  more  easily  done,  since  his  Arabic  word  so  nearly  resembles  the 

Hebrew,  whilst  the  conjonction       __5    instead  of     »     gives  it  more  of  subjective  connection.    In  such  cases  as  this 

the  Hebrew  particle  was  doubtless  pronounced  wu,  instead  of  the  mere  vowel  sound  m.  In  like  manner,  wa  is  ua,  or  oiui, 
like  the  French  OMi.  Compare  Greek  ouci,  Mark  xv.  29  (also  found  in  classical  Greek),  and  the  more  frequent  ova-i.;  also 
the  Hebrew  ^1X,  ""l,  wot,  or  ou-oi.    Even  as  a  conjunction  it  has  an  emotional  power  :  "  and  0,far  whom,  etc." — T.  L.j 

[Ver.  14.  On^On  evidently  a  contraction  for  □"'"l^DXH.  It  is  written  according  to  the  sound, — the  X  with  its 
light  shewa,  becoming  a  quiescent  and  disappearing,  ae  in  Iti^X    when  it  becomes    tj?.    This  writing  words  according  to 

the  sound  may  mark  an  earlier  period,  when  some  changes  had  taken  place,  but  attention  had  not  been  much  drawn  to 
the  radical  orthography  as  in  later  times.  It  is,  however,  very  unsafe  to  draw  any  inference  from  it  as  to  dates,  either 
way.    In  Jeremiah  xxxvii.  15,  we  have  I^OXn    JT'3,    the  singular  of  the  word  written  in  full,  and  used  as  synonymous 

"i'htt'p^n  n^a,  hoose  of  restraint.— T.L.f 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 

The  plan  of  this  section  is  extremely  simple 
and  clear.  Each  of  th«  three  divisions  or 
strophes,  aa  given  above,  is  again  divided  into 
two  smaller  parts  or  half  strophes,  with  which, 
each  time,  new  turns  of  thought  commence.  The 
complete  scheme  is  as  follows:  Mrst  strophe: 
Tlie;)CM(maZ  misfortune  of  men:  vers.  1-6;  first 
half  strophe:  vers.  1-3;  second  half  strophe: 
vers.  4-6.  Second  strophe:  The  evils  of  social 
life:  vers.  7-12;  first  half  strophe:  vers.  7,  8; 
second  half  strophe  :  vers.  9-12.  Third  strophe : 
The  evils  of  civil  life:  vers.  13-16;  first  half 


strophe:  vers.  13,  14;  second  half  strophe: 
vers.  15,  16. — Comp.  Vaihinqeb,  Comment.,  p. 
32  f,  and  also  the  Doctkinal  and  Ethical  por- 
tion of  this  section. 

2.  First  strophe:  vers.  1-6.  It  is  not  the  really 
unfortunate  men  that  alone  suffer  sorrows,  op- 
pressions, and  violence  of  the  most  various  na- 
ture (vers.  1-3);  the  fortunate  also  find  the  joy 
of  their  life  embittered  by  envy  and  want  of  true 
repose  of  soul  (vers.  4-6). — So  I  returned— 
namely,  from  the  previous  course  of  my  reflec- 
tions (which,  according  to  chap.  3,  had  dwelt 
upon  the  foundation  and  nature  of  the  earthly 
happiness  of  men).  Hengstenbbrg  justly  claimi 
for  this  passage,  as  well  as  for  ver.  7  and  chap. 


80 


ECCLESIASTES. 


ix.  11  (and  also  for  Zech.  v.  1),  the  acceptance 
of  ^X^{<1  'JX  TIDiJ/l  in  the  sense  of:  "And 
I  turned  back  and  saw,"  which  is  the  same  as: 
"And  again  I  saw  "  (Ewald),  and  indicates  the 
transition  to  a  new  object  of  reflection,  not  the 
repetition  of  a  reflection  already  made,  as  Hahn 
contends.  Luther,  Elster,  Vaihinqer,  etc., 
are  not  correct  in  saying:  "And  I  turned,"  etc.; 
for  2W  expresses  a  sense  different  from  nj3  or 
22D  (ii.  12,  20,  etc.). — And  considered  all 
the  oppressions. — As  in  Amos  iii.  9,  CJ^ppp 
must  here  also  be  taken  in  an  abstract  sense : 
"oppressions,"  "violence;"  for  Q'E'J^J  does  not 
harmonize  with  the  concrete  sense,  "  oppressed," 
whilst  in  the  following  clause  the  concrete  sense 
"oppressed"  appears  from  the  context. — And 
behold  the  tears  of  such  as  -were  op- 
pressed.— In  the  oi'iginal,  tear  of  the  oppressed 
(nj?m  a  collective).  The  description  presents 
a  vivid  reality,  and  does  not  magnify  the  actual 
conditions  in  a  fantastic  or  sentimental  manner, 
or  from  a  bitter  and  peevish  misanthropy,  but 
simply  reports  facts ;  and  facts  such  as  the  au- 
thor had  frequently  experienced  in  consequence 
of  the  civilly  dependent  and  depressed  condition 
of  his  people. — And  on  the  side  of  their  op- 
pressors there  Twas  poTnrer. —  n3  here  is 
equal  to  Hptn  (1  Sam.  ii.  16;  Ezek.  xxxiv.  4) 
violence.  The  repetition  of  the  expression, 
"but  they  had  no  comforter,"  realizes,  with 
striking  emphasis,  the  hopeless  and  desperate 
condition  of  those  who  suffer.  Comp.  the  similar 
repetitions  of  the  same  tragic  turn  in  Isa.  ix.  11, 
16,  20;  i.  4;  Mark  ix.  44,  46,  48.— Ver.  2. 
■Wherefore  I  praised  the  dead  ■which  are 
already  dead. — HSEf  is  not  a  participle  with 
D  omitted,  but  an  infinitive  absolute,  which  here 
contains  the  finite  verb,  as  in  chap.  ix.  11,  and 
in  1  Chron.  v.  20  (comp.  Berth,  on  this  passage, 
and  also  Ewald,  §  351  c). — More  than  the 
living  which  are  yet  alive.  —  <^^'}Jl  con- 
tracted from  Tl^'n'!}},  tn  1}!  adhuc,  yet.     For  the 

sentence  comp.  vii.  1  f.;  also  Herodotus  i.  31 : 
a/iEiVov  avdfjij7r(fi  Tedvavac  fiaXXov  ^  C,C)elv,  as  also 
ver.  6  of  Menanher  :  Zwr/f  Trovypdc  Qavaroi;  alpe- 
Turepo;. — Ver.  3.  Yea,  better  is  he  than 
both  they,  which  hath  not  been. — For 
this  intensifying  of  the  previous  thought,  comp. 
chap.  vi.  3-.5  ;  vii.  1;  Job  iii.  13ff.;  Jer.  xx.  18, 
and  Theognis,  Onom.,  v.  425  ss.: 

MavTuv  fiiv  ixij  (pvvai  eircxOovioiaiv  apiarov, 

M;;^'  sGidelv  aiiyac  b^eog  ^eXiov, 
'i'uvra  J',  6;rwf  uKiara  irtiXag  *A'f-(^ao  Trep^Gai, 

Kal  Kt'laOac  ixoXkrpj  yfjv  STrafiTjad/isvov. 

Other  parallels  will  be  found  in  the  classic  au- 
thors, as  Sophocles  {(Ed.  Col.,  1143  s.),  Euri- 
pides. {Cresphontes  fragm.  IS)  Chalcidamus,  Po- 
siDiPP.jPHiLEivroN,  Yal.  Maxim.  11.6;  Solinus 
{Polyhist,  e.  10),  etc.  Examine  also  Knobel  on 
this  passage,  and  Hengstenberg,  p.  160  f.  The 
difference  between  such  complaints  in  heathen 
authors,  and  the  same  in  the  mouth  of  our  own, 
is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  latter,  like  Job  and 
Jeremiah,  does  not  stop  at  the  gloomy  reflections 
expressed  in  the  lamentation,  but,  by  proceed- 


ing to  expressions  of  a  more  cheerful  nature,* 
announces  that  the  truth  found  in  them  is  in- 
complete,   and    only    partial. — Ver.  4.    Again 

I  considered  all  travail  and  every  right 
wrork. — [11^.3,  as  in  ii.  21,  not  of  the  success- 
ful result  of  work,  but  of  its  excellence  in  kind 
and  manner ;  the  Septuagint  is  correct :  avdpeia, 
and  mainly  so  the  Vulgate :  industrim.  But  it  is 
clear  that  the  author  is  thinking  mainly  of  such 
excellent  and  industrious  people  whose  exertions 
are  crowned  with  success,  so  that  they  can  become 
objects  of  envy  or  jealousy.  He  is  therefore  now 
no  longer  regarding  simply  the  unhappy  and  the 
suffering,  as  in  vers.  1-3,  but  also  the  relatively 
happy. — That  for  this  a  man  is  envied  of 
his  neighbor.  —  [-in;?-!!:  E^'N  J^WP]  i-  t., 
jealous  endeavor  to  anticipate  another  in  availa- 
ble effort  and  corresponding  success;  conse- 
quently envious  disposition  and  action,  invidia 
(comp.  ix.  6,  where  HNJp  has  the  same  meaning, 

and  also  Isa.  xi.  13,  etc.). — This  is  also  vanity. 
— Because  in  the  uncertainty  of  all  earthly  cir- 
cumstances, it  is  of  no  true  profit  to  surpass  one's 


*[There  is  a  still  more  striking  contrast,  a  doul)le  anti- 
thesis, it  may  bo  said,  between  the  classical  and  the  Scriptu- 
ral poets.  In  their  descriptions  of  nature  and  of  human  life 
we  often  find  the  fornjer  class  of  writers  beginning  in  the 
joyful  or  major  mood,  and  ending  in  the  minor.  It  may  be 
called  the  melancholy  of  Epicureanism.  Thus  it  is  with 
Anacreon,  though  be  lived  before  the  time  of  the  sensuHl 
philosopher.  How  often  does  he  begin  with  ''flowers,  and 
love,  and  rosy  wine" — 

Ejrl  fivpaivat^  repeivat^ 
EjtI  AtuTLi/ais  Te  Trot'ais  K.  T.  A. 
On  beds  of  softest  fragrance  laid, 
Soft  beds  of  lote  and  myrtle  shade. 
And  so  goes  on  the  joyful  strain — but  not  far  before  the  mo- 
dulation changes  into  the  mournful  key — into  a  wail  of  de- 
spair, as  it  would  almost  seem; 

^LoTos  TpexeL  KuALcSeis" 
6A.177)  6e  /c€t(rojae(r9a. 
So  swiftly  runs  the  wheel  of  life. 
And  we  shall  lie — a  littte  dust — 
A  heap  of  mouldering  bones. 
See  also  how  similar  jovial  strains  are  closed  by  his  sad  pic- 
ture of  old  age,  and  the  still  darker  one  of  the  dreadful 
Hades : 

*Ai5e'w  ycLp  earl  fieii'bs 

KaBoSos 

For  dreadful  is  that  gloomy  vale; 
And  then  the  dark  descent  so  deep. 
That  none  can  reascend  the  steep. 
This  peculiarity  is  no  less  striking  in  Horace.    Thus, in  the 
4th  ode  of  tile  1st  Book,  there  is  a  most  charming  picture  of 
spring,  continuing  for  some  distance,  till  it  closes  with  the 
exulting  strain — 

Nunc  decet  aut  viridi  nitidum  caput  impedire  myrto ; 
Autjlore  terrx  guamferunt  solutx. 
And  then,  without  any  warning  prelude,  there  comes  the 
mournful  minor: 

Pallida  mors  mquo  pulsat  pede  pauperum  tabemas, 
Hegumque  turres. 
Pale  Death,  with  equal  step,  at  kingly  tower. 
And  at  the  poor  man's  cottage,  knocks. 
Again,  Ode  7th,  Lib.  IV.,  commencing  with — ■ 

DiJJugere  nives,  redeuntjam  gramina  campis. 
The  snows  are  fled,  the  flowers  again  return. 
Then  the  picture  of  the  dancing  Graces,  when  immediately 
a  different  voice  seems  to  meet  our  ears: 


Imviorialia  ne  speres, 

DarnTui  tanutn  cderes  reparani  cwlestia  lunx — 
Nos  ubi  decidimus, 
Pulvis  et  umbra  sumus : 

Hope  not  for  immortality 

The  waning  moons  again  their  waato  repair; 
But  we,  when  once  to  death  gone  down, 
Are  nought  but  dust  and  sttadow. 


CHAP.  IV.  1-16. 


81 


neighbor  in  diligence  and  skill. — Ver.  6.  The 
fool  foldeth  his  hands  together,  and  eat- 
eth  his  own  flesh. — Probably  a  proverb  of 
like  tendency  with  those  of  Prov.  vi.  10;  xxiv, 
33,  i.  e.,  directed  against  idleness  ;  it  is  therefore 
not  the  expression  of  the  author,  but  a  quotation 
of  an  envious  person  who  endeavors  to  defend 
hla  zealous  effort  to  surpass  his  neighbor  in  ex- 
cellence, but  which  is  immediately  refuted  in 
ver.  6.  HiTZia  is  correct  in  this  view  (comp. 
also  the  Int.,  §  1,  Obs.  2),  whilst  Luthek,  Gexeb, 
Oetingbr,  Bauer,  Vaihingee,  etc.,  see  rather 
the  jealous  man  designated  as  a  fool,  who  folds 
his  hands  in  vexation  and  despair,  and  consumes 
his  own  flesh  in  wild  passion,  and  Ewald, 
Hengstenbeeo,  Elstee,  etc.,  think  that  the  au- 
thor is  contrasting  idleness  with  envy  as  it-s  op- 
posite extreme,  in  order  to  warn  against  the 
former;  this  were  manifestly  to  presuppose  a 
very  abrupt  and  obscure  mode  of  presentation. 
Concerning  the  phrase  '* foldeth  his  hands"  as  a 
Biblical  expression  for  idleness,  comp.  Prov.  vi. 
10.  "  Eateth  his  own  flesh  "  is  to  exhaust  one's 
strength,  to  use  one's  fortune,  to  ruin  one's  self, 
as  occurs  on  the  part  of  the  idle;  comp.  Isa. 
xlix.  26;  Ps.  xxvii.  2  ;  Micah  iii.  3  ;  Numb.  xii. 
12. — Ver.  6.  Better  is  a  handful  -with  quiet- 
ness,  than  both  hands  full  -with   travail 


In  contrast  with  this,  liow  joyfully  rings  out  the  prophetic 
straia,  Isaiah  xxvi.  Iii : 

Awake  and  sing,  ye  dwellers  in  the  dust. 
How  different,  too,  in  these  respects,  from  Horace  and  Ana- 
OREON,  are  the  lyrics  of  the  Psalmist.     The  most  mournful 
descriptions  of  the  frailty  and  transitory  state  of  man  on 
earth  are  so  frequently  succeeded  by  assurances  of  some  fu- 
ture blessedness,  which,  although  not  clearly  defined,  and 
containing  little  or  no  direct  allusions  to  an  after  life,  do 
ever  seem  to  imply  it  as  the  ground  of  confidence  in  the  Di- 
vine goodness.    "  He  is  not  the  G-od  of  the  dead,  but  of  the 
living."    Thus  in  the  ciii.  Psalm,  ver.  15,  etc.: 
Frail  man — like  grass  his  days; 
As  the  flower  of  the  field,  so  he  flourishes. 
For  the  wind  passes  over,  and  it  is  gone; 
Its  place  knoweth  it  no  more. 
Immediately  hope  rises : 

But  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  is  from  everlasting — 
Even  unto  everlasting,  upon  those  who  fear  him; 
His  righteousness  to  children's  children. 
Again, — encauragement   in  the   contemplation  of    human 
weakness  is  derived  from  the  thought  of  the  Divine  perma- 
nence and  eternity,  Ps.  cii.  1 : 

My  days  are  like  a  shadow  that  declineth ; 
I  am  withered  like  grass; 
But  thou,  Jehovah,  dost  endure  forever. 
Thy  remembrance  unto  all  generations. 
Again,  Ps.  cxv.  17: 

The  dead  praise  not  the  Lord 

and  immediately  the  language  of  hope,  implying  something 
more  than  that  mere  selfish  thought  of  survivorship,  which 
the  rationalist  would  give  it : 

But  W0  will  bless  the  Lord, 
From  henceforth  and  forever — hallelujah. 
A  similar  transition,  Ps.  Ixxiii.  26: 

Mj flesh  and  heart  do  fail: 
Body  and  soul  .hoth  suffer  from  their  connection  with  a 
feUen  spiritual  state,  and  a  degenerate  nature. 
But  God  ia  the  rock  of  my  soul; 
He  is  my  portion  for  ever. 
Similar  illustrations  of  these  affecting  contrasts  might  be 
derived  from  Job,  as  in  chapters  xiv.  and  xix.,  especially  the 
latter,  where  the  triumphant  strain,  "I  know  that  my  Re- 
deemer Hveth,"  follows  so  soon  after  what  might  seem  al- 
most a_  piteous  cry  of  despair.     In   Koheleth  there  are  no 
fluch  vivid  bursts  of  joy  and  hope,  but  there  is  to  be  found  in 
him  a  species  of  transition  similar,  and  equally  striking.    It 
M  when  he  rises  from  the  seemingly  doubting  mood,  to  a 
firm  faith  in  the  ultimate  Divine  justice,  and  to  a  moat  con- 


and  vexation  of  spirit. — This  is  plainly  -^  the 
answer  which  a  defender  of  a  contented,  quiet 
spirit,  void  of  envy,  would  give  to  that  feverish 
jealousy  which  in  ver.  5  he  had  rebuked  as  fool- 
ish  indolence,  the  disposition  not  to  rival  one's 

neighbor  iu  skill  and  diligence. — ^3  NvD,  lit., 
*'  to  be  filled,  to  be  full  of  hand."  It  means  "  a 
little,"  aa  taken  in  contrast  with  O^Jijn  i<70 
"  both  hands  full,"  i.  e.,  superfluity  of  any  thing, 
great  abundance.     "Quiet"   (DTIJ)  and  so  also 

iD})  "travail,"  do  naturally  present,  not  only 
the  respective  dispositions  and  demeanors,  but, 
at  the  same  time,  the  casual  circumstances  con- 
nected with  them,  and  forming  their  background  ; 
at  one  time  a  modest  portion  of  worldly  goods, 
at  another  a  great  fortune,  collected  with  much 
exertion,  but  bringing  only  care  and  sorrow. 

3.  Second  strophe.  Vers.  7-12.  By  avarice,  the 
nearest  relative  and  affiliated  vice  of  the  envy 
just  described,  man  brings  himself  into  sad  iso- 
lation and  abandonment  of  friends,  which  is  the 
greatest  misfortune  in  social  life,  as  it  not  only 
embitters  all  enjoyment  of  the  amenities  of  this 
life,  but  robs  us  of  all  protection  against  men  of 
hostile  intent.  For  ver.  7  compare  what  is  said 
above  of  ver.  1. — Ver.  8.  There  is  one  alone, 
and  there  is  not  a  second — i.  e.,  one  standing 
entirely  alone,  without  friends  and  companions, 
also  without  near  blood  relations  (according  to 
the  following  clause),  consequently  so  much  the 
more  isolated  and  obliged  to  make  friends  by  the 
free  use  of  his  riches,  but  which  he  does  not  do. 
— Neither  is  his  eye  satisfied  with  riches,  %.  €., 
he  does  not  cease  to  crave  new  treasures  ;  comp. 
ii.  10.     The  K'tib  VJ"";?    must  be    retained,  and 

need  not  be  exchanged  for  I^J^.  Comp.  1  Sam. 
iv.  15;  1  Kings  xiv.  6,  12;  Ps.  xxxvii.  31. — 
For  -whom  do  I  labor  and  bereave  my 
sonl  of  good? — Lit.,  "let  my  soul  fail  of  the 
good,"  a  pregnant  construction  like  that  in  Ps. 
X.  18;  xviii.  19.  This  question  is  put  into  the 
mouth  of  the  covetous,  but  as  one  finally  arriving 
at  reflection,  and  perceiving  the  folly  of  his  thus 
collecting  treasures  ;  comp.  ii.  18-21  ;   Luke  xii. 


fident  expression  of  his  belief  that  somehow,  and  somewhere, 
and  at  some  time,  every  wrong;  shall  be  righted.  Conceding 
to  him  this,  we  are  led,  irresistibly,  to  infer  something  else 
which  is  necessary  to  give  meaning  to  the  aJinoun cement, — 
namely,  that  there  shall  be  a  reaX  forensic  mauifestation, 
with  a  conscious  knowledge  of  it  on  the  part  of  every  intel- 
ligent subject,  or  object,  of  such  righteousness. — T.  L.] 

*[Thi8  is  not  so  clear,  altboui^h  ZoCKLERhas  with  him  most 
of  the  commentators.  There  is  good  reason  for  regardintc  it 
as  the  language  of  the  idle  envier,  who  would  justify  his 
sloth  by  making  a  pretended  virtue  of  it.  "Why  all  this  la- 
bor ?  Better  take  the  world  easy."  It  has  something  of  the 
look  of  the  "sour  grapes"  fable;  or  it  may  be  compared  to 
the  bacchanalian  song  of  tho  shiftless  idler,  assuming  to  de- 
spise what  he  has  not  the  talent  nor  the  diligence  to  acquire . 

"Why  are  we  fond  of  toil  and  care?" 
The  view  taken  by  Zockler  and  others  seems  very  confused. 
It  is  not  easy  to  discover  any  true  connection  in  it.  The 
perplexity,  we  think,  comes  from  assuming  that  ver.  5  is  a 
quoted  proverb,  and  not  the  very  language  of  the  author, 
Betting  the  idle  envious  fool  and  his  words  (in  ver.  6)  in 
contrast  with  the  diligent  and  prosperous  laborer  wliom  tLe 
fool  envies  but  cannot  imitate.  This  is  the  view  presented 
in  the  Metrical  Translation: 

The  fool  [in  envy]  folds  his  hands,  and  his  own  flesh  devours- 
For  better  [saith  he]  is  the  one  hand  filled  with  quietness, 
Than  both  hands  full  of  toil,  and  windy  vain  desire. 
It  eeems  to  make  a  clearer  connection.^T.  L.] 


82 


ECCLESIASTES. 


16-21.  But  it  does  not  follow  from  this  sudden 
revulsion  from  foolish  to  sensible  views,  without 
further  explanation,  that  Koheleth  means  him- 
self (as  above  chap.  ii.  18  ff.)  in  the  person  here 
described  (as  Hitzig  contends).— Ver.  9.  Two 
are  better  than  one. — That  is,  it  is  better,  in 
general,  to  be  associated  than  isolated,  comp. 
Gen.  ii.  18,  and  the  saying  of  the  Talmud  :  "A 
man  without  companions  is  like  the  left  without 
the  right  hand"  {Pirke  Aboth,  f.  80,  2).— 
Because  they  have  a  good  reward  for 
their  labor.— Lit.,  who  have  a  good  reward  for 
their  labor.  What  this  good  reward  consists  of, 
the  three  subsequent  verses  show  by  three  exam- 
ples, which  point  out,  in  a  similar  manner,  the 
pleasure  as  well  as  the  profit  and  protection  af- 
forded by  socially  living  and  cordially  co-opera- 
ting with  one's  fellows.- Ver.  10.  For  if  they 
fall,  i.  e.,  the  one  or  the  other.  We  cannot 
think  of  both  falling  at  the  same  time,  because 
they  then  would  both  need  aid. — But  woe  to 
him  that  is  alone  when  he  falleth  — 17  'X 
"woe  to  him  I"  comp.  "p  'N  x.  16,  and  also  the 
kindred  'H  Ezek.  ii.  10.— Ver.  11.  II  two  lie 
together,  then  they  have  heat. — The  conju- 
gal lying  together  of  man  and  wife  is  certainly 
not  intended,  but  rather  that  of  two  travelling 
companions  who  are  obliged  to  pass  the  night  in 
the  open  air.  The  necessity  ot  this  in  Palestine,* 
on  account  of  the  prevalence  of  cold  nights 
there,  can  easily  cause  great  embarrassment, 
especially  as  poorer  travellers  have  no  other  co- 
vering with  them  than  their  over-garment ;  comp. 
Ex.  xxii.  26 ;  Song  of  Solomon,  v.  3. — Ver.  12. 
And  if  one  prevail  against  him.  —  ^pn 
means  to  overcome  (comp.  the  adjective  'I'pR 
powerful,  vi.  10),  not  to  attack  (Knobel,  Elstek), 
or  fall  upon  (Ewald).  ISpn'  is  an  indefinite 
singular  with  .an  object  presupposed  in  the  suffix : 
"if  one  overwhelmed  him,  the  one;"  comp.  2 
Sam.  xiv.  6;  Prov.  xiii.  24;  and  Eccles.  ii.  21, 
which  passages  satisfactorily  show  that  Ewald's 
proposition  to  read  ISpn'  is  unnecessary. — 
(Comp.  Ewald,  Lehrbuch,  \  309  c).— Two  shall 
■withstand  him. — Of  course  not  the  one  men- 
tioned in  the  first  part,  but  rather  his  opponent, 
who  forms  the  unnamed  subject  in  ISpH'. 
Comp.  similar  cases  in  chap.  v.  18 ;  vi.  12 ;  viii. 
16;  as  well  as  the  phrase  IJJ  lOJ'  "t"  oppose 
somebody,''  to  resist  one;  2  Kings  x.  4;  Dan. 
viii.  7.  Ewald  and  Elstek  are  not  so  correct 
in  saying:  "  thus  stand  two  before  him,"  namely, 
the  attacked  one  himself  and  his  companion — 
which  clearly  affords  too  weak  a  thought. — And 
a  threefold  cord  is  not  quickly  broken. — 
That  is,  if  three  of  them,  instead  of  two,  hold  to- 
gether, then  so  much  the  better.  The  symbol  is 
taken  from  the  fact  that  a  cord  of  three  strands 
holds  more  firmly  than  one  consisting  of  a  simple 

•[Onfi  of  the  best  illiiBtrationa  of  this  is  to  be  found  in 
Captain  Kane's  Journal  of  his  Arctic  Voyage,  Vol.  II.,  p. 144. 
llo  describes  hi.s  camping  out  on  the  snow,  in  company  wth 
the  Esquimaux  Chief,  Kalatunah,  and  the  agreeable  warmth 
arising  from  the  close  contact  of  their  bodies,  at  a  time  when 
the  thermometer  showed  a  most  intense  degree  of  cold. 
The  comfort  of  the  position  overbalanced  all  the  repulsive- 
ness  that,  under  otlier  ctrcimistances,  he  should  have  felt 
towards  his  sqn.alid  companion. — T.  L.l 


strand,  or  of  two  only.  Comp.  the  well-known 
fable  of  a  bundle  of  arrows,  and  the  German 
proverb:  "Strong  alone,  but  stronger  with 
others."  There  is  no  allusion  to  the  saoredness 
of  the  number  three,  and  still  less  to  the  Trinity, 
which  a  few  older  commentators  thought  to  find 
herein.  Moreover,  the  title  of  several  books  of 
devotion  is  derived  from  this  passage,  e,  g.,  the 
celebrated  book  of  the  Priest  of  Rostock,  Niko- 
latis  Russ,  about  the  year  1500:  de  triplicifuni- 
culo,  in  which  faith,  hope  and  love  are  described 
as  the  three  cords  of  which  there  must  be  made 
the  rope  that  is  to  rescue  man  from  the  abyss  of 
ruin.  And  so  of  later  works,  as  (Lilienthal) 
"A  Threefold  Cord,"  a  book  of  proverbs  for  every 
day  in  the  year  (for  every  day  a  saying  contain- 
ing a  promise  and  a  prayer.) — New.  Ed.,  Ham- 
burg, Sigmund.  A  threefold  cord,  woven  out  of 
the  three  books  of  St.  Augustine  :  Manuale,  Soli- 
loquia,  et  Meditationes,  1863.  4.  Third  strophe. — 
Vers.  13-16.  That  fortune  often  shows  itself  de- 
ceptive and  unreliable  enough  in  civil  life,  and 
in  the  highest  spheres  of  human  society,  is  illus- 
trated by  the  double  example  of  an  old  incapable 
king  whom  a  younger  person  pushes  aside,  and 
that  of  his  successor,  an  aspirant  from  a  lower 
class,  who,  in  spite  of  his  transitory  popularity, 
nevertheless  falls  into  forgetfulness,  like  so  many 
others.  Like  the  fact  alluded  to  in  chap.  ix.  13- 
16,  this  example  seems  to  be  taken  from  the  im- 
mediate contemporary  experiences  of  the  author, 
but  can  only,  with  great  difficulty,  be  more 
nearly  defined  on  its  historical  basis.  Only  the 
first  clause  of  ver.  14  suits  the  history  of  Joseph, 
and,  at  most,  ver.  13  contains  an  allusion  to 
David  as  the  successor  of  Saul ;  ver.  15  may  al- 
lude to  Rehoboam  as  successor  of  Solomon,  and 
ver.  14  perhaps  to  Jeroboam.  But  other  features 
again  destroy  these  partial  resemblances  every 
time,  and  demonstrate  the  impossibility  of  disco- 
vering any  one  of  these  persons  in  the  "poor  but 
wise  youth."  Thus,  too,  the  remaining  hypothe- 
ses that  have  been  presented  concerning  the  enig- 
matical fact  {e.g.,  the  references  to  Amaziah  and 
Joash,  and  to  Nimrod  and  Abraham),  can  only 
be  sustained  by  the  most  arbitrary  applications. 
This  is  especially  true  of  Hitzig's  supposition 
that  the  old  and  foolish  king  is  the  Onias  men- 
tioned by  Josephus  (Antiquities  xii.  4)  as  High 
Priest  and  'rrpoardrTjc  tov  Xaov,  and  that  the  youth 
supplanting  him  was  his  sister's  son,  Joseph,  who, 
if  he  did  not  succeed  in  robbing  him  of  the 
priestly  office  (which  his  son  Simon  inherited) 
[see  Sirach  1.  1  ff  ],  at  least  wrested  from  Mm 
the  Trpoaracia,  i,  e.,  the  lucrative  office  of  a  farmer 
of  the  Syrian  revenues  that  he  bad  then  exer- 
cised twenty-two  years,  not  indeed  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  people,  but  in  a  very  selfish  and 
tyrannical  manner.  This  hypothesis  does  all 
honor  to  the  learned  acumen  of  its  originator, 
but  has  so  many  weak  points  as  to  forbid  its  ac- 
ceptance. For  in  the  first  place  the  ruler  of  a 
realm  is  portrayed  in  vers.  15  and  16,  and  not 
a  rich  Judaic-Syrian  revenue  collector;  secondly, 
Onias  was  high-priest  and  not  king,  and  lost  only 
a  part  of  his  functions  and  power  by  that  Joseph; 
thirdly,  the  assumption  that  the  author  exagge- 
rates petty  circumstances  and  occurrences  in 
a  manner  not  historical,  is  destitute  of  the  neces- 
sary proof;    fourthly,  the   supposition   forming 


CHAP.  IV.  1-16. 


83 


the  base  of  the  entire  hypothesis  of  an  authorship 
of  Koheleth  towards  the  eud  of  the  third  century 
B.  C.  is  quite  as  arbitrary  and  bare  of  proof; 
comp.  Int.,  ^  4,  Obs.  3.  We  must,  therefore,  re- 
frain from  specially  defining  the  event  to  which 
these  verses  allude ;  in  which  case  the  two  fol- 
lowing suppositions  remain  possible :  either  the 
author  feigns  an  example,  or,  in  other  words,  has 
presented  the  contents  of  vers.  13-16  as  a  possi- 
ble case  (thus  think  Elster,  Henqstenbekq, 
Vaihinqee,  et  al.),  or  he  refers  to  an  event  in 
the  history  of  the  nation  or  State,  at  his  period, 
not  sufficiently  known  to  us  (the  opinion  of  Um- 
BREIT,  EwALD,  Blbek,  etc.).  In  the  latter  case, 
we  could  hardly  think  of  a  change  of  succession 
in  the  series  of  Persian  monarchs ;  for  the  history 
of  the  rise  of  the  eunuch  Bagoas  about  the  year 
339  B.  C.  harmonizes  too  little  with  the  present 
description  to  be  identified  with  it,  but  we  would 
sooner  think  of  such  a  change  in  some  one  of  the 
States  subject  to  Persia,  as  Phenioia  or  Egypt.— 
Better  is  a  poor  and  wise  child,  etc. — 
Clearly  a  general  sentence  for  the  introduction 
of  the  following  illustration  :  "  better  "  not  here 
said  of  moral  excellence,  but  "happier,"  "bet- 
ter ofi","  just  as  llQ  in  vers.  3  and  9.  "Wise" 
here  is  equivalent  to  "adroit,  cunning,"  comp. 
Jobv.  13  ;  2  Sam.  xiii.  3.— Who  will  no  more 
be  admonished. — S  .J^T  with  the  infinitive, 
as  V.  1;  vi.  8;  x.  16;  Ex.  xvii. '  16.— Ver.  14. 
For  cat  of  prison  he  cometh  to  reign. — 
□mon  n'3  contracted  from  □'"IIDXri  n'3 
(comp.  similar  contractions  in  2  Chron.  xxii. 
6;  Ezek.  xx.  30),  also  synonymous  with 
□'TDS  n^a.  Judges  xvi.  '21,  25  (comp.  Gen. 
xxxix.  20).  Or  else  this  reading  □■'"IIDn  must 
owe  Its  origin  to  the  opinion  that  Joseph's  eleva- 
tion from  the  prison  to  the  throne  (Gen.  xli.)  is 
here  alluded  to,  in  which  case  we  should  read 
CUDn  !V2,  and  explain  this  either  by  "house 
of  the  outcast "  "  of  the  degraded  "  (Ewald, 
comparing  Isa.  xlix.  21),  or  "  by  house  of  the 
fugitives "  (HiTzio,  comparing  Judges  iv.  18 ; 
2  Sam.  iii.  36).  But  these  varied  meanings 
would  produce  very  little  difference  in  the  sense. 
—Whereas  also  he  that  is  born  in  his 
kingdom  becometh  poor. — CDJ  '3,  after  the 
'3  of  the  preceding  clause,  introduces  not  so 
much  a  verification  of  it,  as  an  intensification, 
by  which  is  expressed  that  the  prisoner  (or  fugi- 
tive) has  not  merely  transiently  fallen  into  ad- 
versity, but  that  he  was  born  in  poor  and  lowly 

circumstances ;  and  this  ih07D3  "  in  his 
kingdom,"  i.  e.,  in  the  same  laud  that  he  should 
afterwards  rule  as  king  (Hitzio,  Elster,  Vai- 
HiNOER  and  Ewald,  who  are  mainly  correct). 
Rosenmuellek,  Knobel  and  Hahn  translate : 
"  althouoh  he  was  born  poor  in  his  kingdom  ;" 
Henqstenbero:  "for  although  born  in  his  king- 
dom, he  becomes  poor  nevertheless  " — both  of 
them  less  suitable  meanings,  of  which  the  latter 
should  be  rejected  as  too  artificial  and  contrary 
to  the  accentuation. — Ver.  15.  I  considered 
all  the  living  Twhich  walk  under  the  sun, 
with  the  second  child,  etc. — A  somewhat  in- 
flated description  of  the  dominion  and  adherents 


which  that  youth  (or  child)  had  acquired.  For 
the  same  child  is  doubtless  meant  as  that  named 
in  vers.  18  and  14,  as  the  repetition  of  the  ex- 
pression nV  shows,  as  well  as  the  words  Ityx 

ITinO  ID^].  at  the  end,  which  indicate  clearly 
enough  the  prospective  introduction  of  the  child 
into  the  place  of  the  old  and  foolish  king.     The 

imperfect  '\b^l  marks  the  future  in  the  past — 
comp.  2  Kings  iik  27 ;  Ps.  Ixxviii.  6  ;  and  IHj; 
in  the  same  sense,  as  e.  g.,  (Dan.  xi.  2,  3).  Hahn, 
in  connection  with  some  older  writers,  considers 

the  ^im  •\h\  different  from  the  iS'  in  ver. 
13,  and  identifies  it  with  the  Messiah  child  or 
the  Christ  child  of  Isa.  ix.  5  ;  xi.  1  ff.;  Micah  v. 
1  ;  but  the  contents  of  the  following  verse,  which 
characterizes  the  splendor  of  the  child  most 
clearly  as  transitory  and  vain,  are  very  decidedly 
against  this  position  as  something  that  would 
never  be  in  accordance  with  the  rule  of  the  Mes- 
siah.— And  moreover,  from  the  expression  :  "All 
the  living  which  walk  under  the  sun,"  it  is  by 
no  means  necessary  to  deduce  that  the  author 
had  in  his  eye  one  of  the  great  Asiatic  empires, 
as  Hengstenbbrg  supposes  with  reference  to 
Dan.  iv.  7ff.;  but  the  language  here,  as  in  the 
following  verse,  is  largely  hyperbolical,  and  is 
intended  merely  to  give  an  idea  of  the  number- 
less masses  adhering  to  the  usurper  ;  comp.  simi- 
lar hyperboles  in  the  Song  of  Sol.  vi.  8 ;  Joshua 
xi.  4;  Judges  vi.  5;  vii.  12;  Ex.  x.  4  ff. — 
There  is  no  end  of  all  the  people,  even  of 
all  that  have  been  before  them.  —  ri'n 
,  ■'■^ 

'J37    denotes   here,   as  in    1   Sam.   xviii.   16 ;  2 

Chron.  i.  10,  the  headship  or  leadership  (comp. 
also  Micah  ii.  18).  [Zockler  says  this  to  sup- 
port his  translation,  an  dereii  Spitze  er  stand,  "all 
at  whose  head  he  stood,"  notwithstanding  all  the 
connections  of  the  passage  show  that  priority  in 

time  is  meant  here  by  C3n'237,  and  not  priority 

of  position.  The  references  he  makes  to  1  Sam. 
xviii.  16,  etc.,  do  not,  at  all,  sustain  him,  since, 
in  every  one  of  them,  there  are  other  words 
(such  as  "going  in  and  out  before  them  "),  which 
wholly  change  the  case. — T.  L.].  Ewald,  fol- 
lowing the  Sept.,  Vulg,,  and  Luther,  translate: 
"  all  that  have  been  before  them,"  and  indicate  an 
antagonism  between  these  earlier  ones  and  those 
immediately  after  called  □''jnnN  but  he  thereby 
violates  the  connection,  which  clearly  shows  that 
the  generations  later,  not  those  earlier  than  the 
king  in  question,  were  compared  with  him.     It 

is  said  of  them  U-inn^]  K''?  not  03  — They 

also  that  come  after  shall  not  rejoice  in 
him. — That  is,  they  have  no  pleasant  experiences 
of  him  whom  they  once  greeted  with  joyful 
hopes,  either  that  he  deceived  the  just  hopes  of 
his  people  by  later  misrule,  or  that  the  fickle 
breeze  of  popularity  became  untrue  to  him  with- 
out his  fault.  In  either  case,  Koheleth  could  and 
must  find  a  confirmation  of  his  favorite  expres- 
sion concerning  the  vanity  of  earthly  things. 
This  clause  is  therefore  again  composed  of  the 
strain  with  which  he  closes  his  reflections. 


ECCLESIASTES. 


[Alleged  Historical  Allusions  in  Koheleth. 
•—See  the  general  remarks  on  the  passages  here 
alluded  to,  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Introduction, 
p.  30.  The  older  commentators  who  were  firm 
in  respect  to  the  Solomonic  origin,  first  began 
this  kind  of  speculation.  The  Jewish  Rabbis 
were  excessively  absurd  in  some  of  their  midra- 
shin.  And  so  the  older  Christian  interpreters 
were  very  fond  of  treating  such  passages  as  de- 
scribing real  historical  events.  They  referred 
them  to  Pvehoboam,  Jeroboam,  J[,oseph,  Abraham, 
or  any  body  else,  because  they  thought  it  for  the 
honor  of  the  book,  or  of  the  Scriptures  generally; 
as,  in  this  way,  one  part  confirmed  another. 
The  attempts  to  verify  such  hypotheses,  however, 
only  led  to  confusion,  and  fended  rather  to  dis- 
credit than  to  increase  confidence  in  the  produc- 
tion. What  was  still  worse,  the  Rationalists, 
whose  interest  it  was  to  bring  the  book  down  to 
a  very  late  date,  began,  in  like  manner,  to  use 
these  supposed  references  for  their  own  purposes. 
The  result  has  been  a  still  greater  confusion ; 
and  the  great  difficulty  of  making  any  thing 
clear  out  of  them,  ought  to  satisfy  every  sober 
mind  of  the  falsity  of  the  entire  historical  theory. 
Regarded  as  general  illustrations,  they  are  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  authorship  of  Solomon  ; 
whilst  the  attempts  of  another  kind  show  the  in- 
superable difficulty  of  settling  upon  any  other 
date  than  the  one  claimed  in  the  book  itself. 
The  most  extravagant  hypothesis  is  that  of  Hit- 
ziG,  as  is  shown  by  Zocklee  and  Stuakt.  A 
priest  has  to  be  turned  into  a  king,  and  when  even 
that  fails,  the  taking  away  of  a  very  subordinate 
office  is  to  be  treated  as  a  dethronement.  AVhat 
an  outcry  would  be  made  by  Ewald  and  his 
school,  should  they  find  similar  wrenchings  of 
language  and  history  in  commentators  called  or- 
thodox !  As  presented  by  Hitzig  and  others,  it 
becomes  all  a  mass  of  rationalistic  confusion. 
Even  if  the  author  was  of  so  late  a  date,  he  cer- 
tainly means  to  personate  the  old  king  of  Israel. 
He  must,  therefore,  himself  have  been  "old  and 
foolish,"  or  consistency  would  have  kept  hin) 
from  using  as  an  illustration  an  incident  so  evi- 
dently anachronistic,  as  compared  with  any 
historical  example  likely  to  be  given  by  Solomon. 
A  writer  assuming  to  personate  some  one  in  the 
days  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  then  using  an  il- 
lustration, insignificant  in  itself,  and  savoring 
wholly  of  the  time  of  Gladstone,  Bright,  and 
Queen  Victoria,  would  not  have  acted  more  ab- 
surdly. 

The  confusion  and  difficulty  which  such  a 
mode  of  treatment  (whether  by  Orthodox  or  Ra- 
tionalist) has  made  in  the  interpretation  of  ver. 
13,  have  been  gre.atly  increased  by  a  wrong 
translation  of  ver.  14th.  It  has  been  most  com- 
monly held  that  the  pronoun  in  inoSa  {his 
kingdom)  refers  to  the  young  man,  and  iSlJ,  to 
some  one,  or  to  the  subjects  generally,  born  under 
his  usurped  power.  This  certainly  destroys  the 
contrast  which  the  arrangement  and  the  particles 

of  the  two  verses  seem  to  intend.  Again,  iS'lJ 
(as  a  participle),  or  nVu,  has  been  taken  as  refer- 
ring to  the  young  man  himself,  born  in  his,  that 
is,  the  old  man's,  kingdom — said  young  usurper 


himself  afterwards  becoming  poor.  Such  seemg 
to  be  Zockleb's  view  partially.  All  sorts  of 
twists  are  resorted  to  by  others  to  make  this  ap- 
plicable to  Jeroboam,  or  Hitzig's  "young  man" 
Joseph,  or  to  somebody  else.  Our  E.  V.  is  am- 
biguous as  to' which  is  meant,  and  leaves  the 
sense  in  total  darkness.  There  is  a  striking 
contrast  intended  here,  as  is  shown  by  the  order 
of  the  words,  and  the  particles  QJ  '3.  There 
is  meant  to  be  the  most  direct  antithesis,  as  best 
illustrating  such  a  vicissitude  of  fortune.  The 
one  born  to  a  throne  and  becoming  poor,  is  put 
in  strongest  contrast  with  the  one  born  in  ob- 
scurity and  rising  to  power :  "  For  out  of  prison 
(out  of  servitude  or  some  condition  of  restraint 
it  may  be  actual  imprisonment)  the  one  comes 
forth  to  reign,  whilst  the  other,  though  born  in 
his  kingdom  (in  his  royal  state),  becomes  a  pau- 
per." The  particle  QJ  has  an  emotional  force; 
it  expresses  astonishment  at  such  a  case':  yea, 
more — what  is  stranger  still — "  the  royally  born 
becomes  poor."  There  is  good  authority  for 
such  a  view,  although  most  of  the  commentators 
wander  after  something  else.  The  Vulgate  ren- 
ders it  most  clearly  and  literally  :  De  earcere  et 
calenis  quis  egrediatur  interdum  ad  regnum,  et  alius, 
natus  in  regno,  inopia  consumatur :  "From  prison 
and  from  chains  one  may  sometimes  come  forth 
to  a  kingdom,  whilst  another  born  in  a  kingdom 
may  be  reduced  to  want."  It  is  clear,  from  the 
mode  of  expression,  that  the  Latin  translator 
looked  upon  it  as  a  general  illustration  of  the 
changes  in  human  fortune.  A  still  better  autho- 
rity is  the  old  Greek  Version  of  Symmachus, 
the  best  of  the  Greek  interpreters:  '0  MEN  yap 
eK  (fivXan^g  s^f^^dc  BaaiXsicai,  '0  AE,  Kaiivep  jiatsiXevQ 
yevvrfihg,  iariv  evSsfig :  "  The  one  comes  from  pri- 
son to  reign,  the  other,  born  a  king,  becomes 
needy."  This  is  confirmed  by  the  Syriac  trans- 
lation of  Okigen's  Hexapla,  which  follows  the 
Greek  of  Symmaohus,  word  for  word.  See  it  as 
given  in  the  Syriac  marginal  translations  to 
MiDDLEDORPr's  edition  of  the  Codex  Syriaco-hexa- 
plaris. 

Ver.  15.  "I  beheld  all  the  living  walking  be- 
neath the  sun,"  etc.  Zocklee  may  well  call  this 
"  a  somewhat  inflated  description  of  the  dominion 
which  that  youth  had  acquired."  It  is  indeed 
iiberschivdnglich,  high-flown,  most  extravagant, 
as  thus  applied ;  and  the  thought  should  have 
shown  him  that  there  must  be  something  false  in 
the  application.  It  is  barely  suggested  by  what 
was  said  before  (ver.  14)  about  the  vicissitudes 
of  the  individual  life,  but  has  no  other  connection 
with  it.  It  is  a  rising  of  the  view  to  a  higher 
scale,  so  as  to  take  in  the  world,  or  race  at  large, 
and  its  olamic  vicissitudes,  as  they  might  be 
called.  TI'NI,  I  saw,  I  surveyed,  or  contem- 
plated. It  is  presented  as  a  picture  of  the  mind 
taking  in  not  single   events,  but  all  the   living, 

Q'^nn  13.  No  where  else  in  the  Bible  is  this 
most  sweeping  language  applied  to  such  narrow 
uses  as  are  here  supposed.  Where  it  is  not  used 
abstractly  for  life,  as  the  plural  0"n  often  is, 
it  is  never  found  in  any  less  sense  than  the  hu- 
man race,  or  of  the  living  as  opposed  to  th« 
dead.  Comp.  .Job  xxviii.  12;  Isaiah  viii.  20, 
"Laud  of  the  living,"  Ps.  Ivi.;   oxlii.  6,  "Light 


CHAP.  IV.  1-16. 


85 


of  the  living,"  similar  expressions,  Ps.  cxvi.  9  ; 
also  Eocles.  vi.  8 ;  ix.  5,  and  other  places.    Here 

S3  joined  with  it  (and  it  is  the  only  place  where 
it  is  BO  joined)  makes  it  still  more  difficult  to  re- 
strict it  to  such  a  narrow  sense.  The  language 
rifles  beyond  this :  "  I  surveyed,  I  contemplated, 
all  the  living,  as  they  walked  beneath  the  sun," 
cunctos  vivenles  amhulantes  sub  sole.  These  are 
certainly  very  lofty  words  to  apply  to  a  crowd 
running  after  Jeroboam,  or  Hitzig's  ambitious 
youth,  or  any  other  personage  of  that  kind.  No 
artificial  rule  of  criticism,  de  universalibus  restrin- 
gendis,  etc.,  can  justify  the  use  of  such  language, 
in  such  a  case.  The  true  idea,  moreover,  is  in- 
tensified by  the  participle  QO^HD,  in  piel, 
marching,  stately  stepping,  denoting  a  bold  and 
proud  movement,  as  in  Eocles.  xi.  9  IjSri  "march 
on  in  the  ways  of  thine  heart."  The  piel  does, 
indeed,  seem,  sometimes,  to  be  used  like  the  kal, 
but  here   every  thing  calls   for  its  intensive  or 

frequentative  force.  Comp.  '^/no.  the  bold  in- 
vader, Prov.  vi.  11,  in  parallelism  with  [JD  \i^^H 
"man  of  the  shield."  In  this  intensive  sense  of 
marching  it  would  seem  to  picture  the  grand  pro- 
cession of  the  race,  moving  on,  squadron  after 
squadron,  the  countless  multitude  that  has  al- 
ready passed,  'J^n  ^/'^  Cjy,  together  "with the 
second  generation,"  as  we  do  not  hesitate  to  ren- 
der it,  that  shall  stand  in  its  place, — the  IIDJ7  here 
simply  denoting  the  connection  between  the  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  picture  or  survey.  The  old 
procession  that  he  thus  saw  walking  beneath  the 
sun  (a  term  every  where  else  used  for  the  theatre 
of  the  human  race),  or  the  old  part  of  it,  is  dis- 
appearing, whilst  a  younger  world  is  now  coming 
upon  the  stage  and  continuing  the  same  ceaseless 
movement.    As  this  rises  before  the  mental  vision 

of  the  seer  [nsin],  he  cries  out,  h^h  '['p,  ['N 
0;?n  "  there  is  no  end  to  all  the  people," — there 
is  no  numbering  the  ranks  of  this  vast  host,  as 
they  ever  come  and  go.  As  applied  to  Jeroboam, 
such  language  as  this  would  not  be  a  mere  hy- 
perbole, but  a  transcendental  bombast,  unworthy 
of  the  author  and  his  most  serious  book.  It 
calls  to  mind  that  sublime  picture  which  Addison 
presents  in  his  Vision  of  Mirza,  the  countless 
multitudes  on  the  broken  bridge  of  life,  as  they 
are  ever  coming  out  of  the  dark  cloud  on  the  one 
side,  and  passing  away  with  the  great  flood  of 
eternity  on  the  other.  It  is  this  evident  pictorial 
element  in  the  verse,  when  rightly  rendered, 
that  strongly  opposes  the  idea  of  any  such  com- 
paratively petty  historical  references,  and  forces 
us  to  regard  it  as  a  representation  of  the  great 
human  movement  through  time  into  eternity. 
"No  end  to  all  that  were  before ;  yea,  these  that 
come  after  shall  not  rejoice  in  it "  [13]  that  is,  the 
Dj?  the  people,  the  all,  that  were  before  it,  now 

regarded  collectively  as  the  past  in  whom  there 
is  no  more  delight, — each  generation  satisfied 
with  itself,  and  boasting  of  itself,  as  ours  does, 
deeming  itself,  as  it  were,  the  all  on  earth  ;  for 
what  are  all  the  ages  past  to  this  nineteenth  cen- 
tury !     Now  the  pronoun  in  Vnnn  though  sin- 


gular in  form,  may  have  a  collective  antecedent, 
a  case  too  common  in  the  Hebrew  language  to  re- 
quire citations.  The  only  antecedent  of  this 
kind,    or    of   any  kind,   in    the    verse,   is  the 

O'^nn-Ss-riN  the  all  of  the  living,  and  which 
the  makkepLs,  and  the  accents,  show  to  be  taken 
as  one:  "all  the  living,  etc.,  with  the  second 
generation  that  shall  arise  in  its  stead."  The 
evident  parallelism  favors  this  choice  of  the  sin- 
gular pronoun ;  but  if  we  are  to  overlook  all  this 
for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  a  historical  refe- 
rence, then  we  must  go  back  two  verses,  and  find 
the  antecedent  in  "  the  old  and  foolish  king,"  in 
whose  place  this  second  child,  with  "all  the 
living  beneath  the  sun,  and  the  people  without 
end,"  marching  with  him,  is  to  stand  !  The 
common  sense  of  the  reader  must  judge  in  this 
matter.     If,  then,  the  pronoun  in  mnn  has  for 

its  antecedent  the  Q'^nn-^^-nN,  grammatical 
consistency  would  demand,  as  the  antecedent  of 
the  pronoun  in  13  (in  it,  instead  of  in  him),  the 
"^V.^.  '3  just  before,  especially  as  joined  with 
the  singular  substantive  verb   7VT\.    Besides  the 

,  T  T 

desire  to  find  historic  allusions,  two  verbal  pecu- 
liarities here  seem  to  have  had  much  influence 
upon  translators.  One  is  the  use  of  this  singular 
pronoun  which  has  just  been  explained,  and 
which  the  parallelism  of  the  picture  so  strongly 
demands.     The  other  is  the  somewhat  peculiar 

use  of  the  word  IT  in  ver.  15,  audits  contiguity 
to  IT  in  ver.  13,  leading  to  the  false  inference 
that  they  must  be  used  in  precisely  the  same 
manner.  Now  though  the  use  of  IT  for  gene- 
ration is  not  found  elsewhere  in  the  Bible  He- 
brew, yet  it  is  perfectly  natural  and  in  harmony 
with  the  frequent  generic  use  of  [3.  It  is,  too, 
highly  poetical,  thus  to  regard  one  generation  as 
the  offspring,  t^e  child,  of  the  preceding.     It  is 

only  using  IT  for  the  cognate  mVin  from  the 
same  root,  and  the  unusual  expression  may  have 
been  suggested  by  the  IT  in  ver.  13,  giving 
such  a  turn  to  the  thought  and  the  language. 
The  order  of  ideas  would  be  this :  as  the  "young 
man  "  succeeds  the  old,  so  does  the  young  race 
succeed  its  progenitor.  So  the  primary  sense  of 
yevog  in  Greek  is  child,  offspring,  and  from  this 
comes  its  use  for  race,  generation.  Whilst,  then, 
it  may  be  said  that  the  word,  etymologically,  fits 
the  thought,  nothing  could  be  more  graphic  than 
the  mode  of  representation. 

Agreeing  with  this  is  an  interpretation  given 
by  that  acute  Jewish  critic,  Aben-Ezba,  except 
that  it  takes  the  pronoun  in  13  as  referring  to  the 

ch\y  or  world,  so  frequently  mentioned.  After 
stating  the  other  view,  he  proceeds  to  say: 
"  There  are  those  who  interpret  '^^H  ^7."'^ 
the  second  child,  as  denoting  the  generation 
that  comes  after  another  (nnx  N^n  inn) 
and  the  meaning  as  being,  that  he  saw  the  living 
as  they  walked  beneath  the  sun,  and  they,  with 
their  heirs  that  shall  stand  in  their  place,  are 


86 


ECCLESIASTES. 


like  those  who  went  before  them,  and  these,  as 
well  as  those,  shall  have  no  joy  (13)  in  it,  that  is, 
Ch\)}^  in  the  world."  It  is  the  same  procession 
so  curtly,  yet  so  graphically,  described  ch.  i.  4 : 
"generation     eomes,     and     generation    goes," 

□'71;?^.  Eashi  regards  iV  as  meaning  genera- 
tion, but  strangely  refers  it  to  the  generation  of 
Noah,  and  the  CJ'JinX  or  "  they  who  come  af- 
ter," to  that  of  Peleg. 

The  Hebrew  preposition  I3y  like  the  Latin 
cum  and  the  English  with  when  used  for  And  may 
denote  a  connection  in  thought,  or  in  succession, 
as  preeterea,  besides,  as  well  as,  like  the   Arabic 

<^    ^ 
\  ^  ^  .    "I  saw  all  the  liying  walking,  etc.,  and 

together  with,  or  along  with  them,  or  besides 
this,  I  saw  the  second  generation."  This  is  a 
well  established  use  of  the  preposition.  Comp. 
1  Sam.  xvii.  4  and  xtI.  12:  Hi)'  Oj?  UimX 
nxiD   "ruddy  as  well  as  fair,"  and  in  this  book, 

ch.  ii.  16,  S'n^n  O;?  triDn  "the  wise  man  as 
well  as  the  fool,"    1  Chron.  xxv.   8,  □;>    I'3a 

TdSh  "teacher  (with)  as  well  as  the  disciple," 
Ps.  cvi.  6,  "  we  with  our  fathers,"  we  and  our 
fathers,  or  we  as  well  as  our  fathers  ;  also  Neh. 
iii.  12 ;  Ps.  cxv.  13 ;  Dan.  xi.  8 ;  Ps.  civ.  25, 
"the  great  as  well  as  the  small,"  and  other 
places.  The  great  difficulty  in  the  way  of  the 
common  view  is  the  word  ^WT\.  "The  second 
child,"  "the  child  the  second,"  must  denote  one 
of  two  or  more.  A  concordance  shows  that  there 
is  no  exception  to  this.  To  take  it  in  the  sense 
of  successor  to  something  of  a  different  kind  (a 
second  oue)  is  without  an  example  to  support  it. 
No  mention  is  made  of  any  other  "child,"  or 
"young  man."  The  difficulty  has  led  some  to 
give  ■'Jt^n  the  sense  of  "13n,  companion,  for  which 
they  seek  a  warrant  in  the  10th  verse  ;  and  then 
they  refer  it  to  a  sou  of  Hiram,  who  was  Solo- 
mon's friend  or  companion;  "I  saw  the  child 
(the  son)  of  my  friend."  See  Notes  to  Noldius 
Heb.  Part.  No.  1023.  This  is  very  absurd;  and 
yet  the  one  who  defends  it  denounces  the  absur- 
dity of  the  more  common  reference  to  Jeroboam. 
Whoever  wishes  to  see  "confusion  on  confusion 
heaped,"  in  the  treatment  of  these  passages,  and 
in  the  attempt  to  restrict  the  extent  of  this  lan- 
guage, may  consult  Db  Dieu,  Crit.  Sac,  p.  183. 
Take  these  verses,  however,  as  general  reflections 
on  the  vicissitudes  of  the  individual  and  of  the 
race,  and  all  this  confusion  immediately  gives 
place  to  harmony. — T.  L.] 

DOCTRINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

(  With  Ilomiletical  Hints. ) 
Among  the  examples  in  proof  of  the  imperfec- 
tion and  Inconstancy  of  earthly  happiness,  which 
the  Preacher  communicates  in  the  above  section 
from  the  rich  treasures  of  his  own  experience,  we 
find  the  relation  of  an  ascending  grade  from 
lower  to  higher  and  more  brilliant  conditions  of 
happiness.  From  the  sad  lot  of  victims  inno- 
cently suffering  from  tyrannical  persecution  and 
oppression  (1-3),  the  description  proceeds  di- 
rectly to  the  more  lucky  but  not  more  innocent 


condition  of  persons  consumed  with  envy,  dissa- 
tisfaction and  jealousy,  and  who  with  toilsome 
efforts  chase  after  the  treasures  of  this  earth, 
looking  with  jealous  envy  on  the  successful  rivals 
of  their  struggles,  and  with  scorn  on  those  less 
fortunate,  who  are  contented  with  a  more  modest 
lot  (4-6).  Then  follow  reflections  regarding  the 
happiness  of  such  persons  as  have  risen  through 
the  abundance  of  their  goods  to  a  distinguished 
and  influential  position  in  human  society,  but 
who,  in  consequence  of  this  very  wealth,  run  the 
risk  of  falling  into  a  helpless,  joyless,  and  iso- 
lated condition,  destitute  of  friends  and  adhe- 
rents (vii.  12).  The  illustration  hereby  induced 
of  the  value  of  closer  social  connection  of  men, 
and  harmonious  co-operation  of  their  powers  to 
one  end  (9-12)  leads  to  the  closing  reflection; 
this  is  devoted  to  the  distress  and  disaster  of  the 
highest  circles  of  human  society,  acknowledging 
the  fate  even  of  the  most  favored  pets  of  fortune, 
such  as  the  occupants  of  princely  or  kingly 
thrones,  to  be  uncertain  and  liable  to  a  reverse, 
and  thus  showing  that  the  sentence  against  the 
vanity  of  all  earthly  things  necessarily  extends 
even  to  the  greatest  and  most  powerful  of  earth 
(13-16). 

"  There  is  no  complete  and  ktsting  happiness  here 
below,  neither  among  the  lofty  nor  the  lowly,"  or : 
^^  Every  thing  is  vanity  on  earth,  the  life  of  the  poor 
as  of  the  rich,  of  the  slave  as  of  the  lord,  of  the  sub- 
ject as  of  the  king ;" — this  would  be  about  the 
formula  of  a  theme  for  a  comprehensive  conside- 
ration of  this  section.  The  effort  of  Hengsten- 
BEKG  to  restrict  the  historical  references  of  this 
section  to  the  sufferings  of  the  children  of  Israel 
mourning  under  the  yoke  of  Persian  dominion, 
is  quite  as  unnecessary  as  the  corresponding  po- 
sition in  the  preceding  chapter  ;  yet  still  the 
most  of  the  concrete  examples  for  the  truth  of 
the  descriptions  given,  may  be  drawn  from  the 
history  of  post-exile  Israel,  which  are  therefore 
thus  to  be  chosen  and  arranged  in  the  homiletical 
treatment. 

HOMILETICAL    HINTS    ON    SEPAKATE    PASSAGES. 

¥ers.  1-3.  Brenz  : — The  word  of  God  teaches 
us  that  crosses  and  sufferings  pave  the  way  to 
eternal  bliss,  and  that  the  Lord  grants  to  the 
wicked  in  this  world  a  free  hand  for  the  exercise 
of  their  crimes  and  violence,  with  the  view  of 
sinking  them  ever  deeper  in  their  lusts ;  but  it 
teaches  also  that  the  faith  of  the  pious  is  to  be 
maintained  through  suffering,  and  to  be  finally 
brought  to  light  in  the  judgment  of  the  last  day, 
in  the  great  decision  of  all  things. 

Starke  : — Thou  miserable  one,  whosighestand 
weepest  at  violence  and  wrong,  know  that  the 
Lord  sees  and  counts  thy  tears  (Ps.  Ivi.  9).  Be- 
ware of  impatience,  distrust,  and  self-revenge 
against  thy  persecutors  (Rom.  xii.  19)! 

Hengstenbero  : — Such  an  experience  of  hu- 
man misery  (as  is  here  depicted,  and  also  in  Jer. 
chap.  XX.)  is  not  only  natural,  but  it  lies  in  the 
purpose  of  God,  who  brings  about  the  circum- 
stances that  call  it  forth.  God  wishes  to  draw 
us  to  Him,  by  making  this  world  thorouglily  dis- 
tasteful, and  nothing  but  vanity  to  us.  We  must 
be  liberated  from  earthly  things  through  many 
trials,  and  thus  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 


CrIAP.  V.  1-20. 


87 


Vers.  4-6.  Bkenz: — The  world  greatly  errs  in 
always  demanding  for  its  satisfaction  a,  super- 
fluity of  goods  and  treasures,  and  in  regarding 
modest  possession  as  deprivation  and  misery. 
And  yet  one  can  live  contented  and  satisfied  just 
as  well  with  a  little, as  with  rich  superfluity,  if 
one,  only  aims,  in  a  proper  manner,  after  con- 
tentment, or  in  such  a  way  that  one  lets  God  the 
Lord  be  his  treasure  and  highest  good. 

Gbier: — One  should  not  consider  a  rich  man 
happier  than  a  poor  man,  because  of  his  many 
possessions.  He  who  has  much,  has  also  much 
unrest  and  care,  and  is  moreover  greatly  envied 
by  others. 

WoHLFARTH :  —  With  true  wisdom,  Solomon 
warns  us  just  as  much  against  a  passionate  and 
excessive  effort  after  a  lofty  aim,  as  against  that 
indolence  which  folds  its  hands  in  its  lap  and 
waits  for  miracles.  He  admonishes  us  rather  to 
a  sober  and  well-ordered  labor  in  our  vocation, 
and  thus,  in  every  respect,  recommends  the  just 
medium  in  our  activity. 

Vers.  7-12.  Melanchthon  :  — Solomon  here 
shows  how  necessary  for  human  life  is  the  social 
combination  of  men  for  the  advancement  of  the 
arts,  industries,  and  duties  of  life.  All  classes 
need  such  mutual  aid  and  assistance,  and  each 
individual  must  prosecute  his  labor  for  the  wel- 
fare of  the  whole,  must  advance  their  interest, 
and  make  every  effort  to  prevent  division  and 
separation. 

Ceamer  (vers.  7  and  8) : — The  slaves  of  mam- 
mon are  blinded,  and  are  their  own  tyrants. 
They  do  not  leave  themselves  space  enough  to 
enjoy  their  blessings  ;  therefore  the  rust  of  their 


gold  and  silver  is  a  testimony  against  them 
(Jas.  V.  3). 

Zeyss  (vera.  9-12) :— If  a  community  of  the 
body  is  so  useful  a  thing,  how  much  more  useful 
must  be  a  community  of  spirit,  when  pious  Chris- 
tians with  united  strength  of  spirit  withstand  the 
realms  of  Satan. 

WoHLFARTH : — It  is  Dot  merely  a  sacred  desire 
that  draws  men  to  men,  brings  together  souls  of 
like  inclination,  and  binds  kindred  hearts.  We 
can  neither  rejoice  in  our  happiness,  nor  finally 
bear  the  trials  that  meet  us,  nor  joyfully  advance 
in  the  way  of  piety  and  virtue,  if  we  have  not 
true  friends.  Oh  how  sacred,  therefore,  is  the 
union  of  wedlock,  of  parents  and  children,  of  re- 
latives and  friends ! 

Von  Gerlaoh  : — Joy  shared  js  two-fold  joy  ; 
grief  shared  loses  half  its  pain. 

Vers.  13-16.  Brenz: — Faith  has  here  a  good 
probationary  school,  in  which  it  can  learn  and 
try  its  powers.  For  when  God  elevates  the  lowly, 
faith  can  cherish  hope,  but  when  He  bends  and 
overthrows  the  proud  necks  of  the  rich,  it  learns 
to  fear.  God  presents  such  examples  to  the 
eyes  of  His  chosen,  that  they  may  increase  and 
be  exercised  both  in  the  fear  of  His  holy  wrath, 
and  in  hope  of  heavenly  glory. 

Weimar  Bible  : — We  should  never  depend  on 
large  possessions  and  great  power,  and  much  less 
seek  true  happiness  therein,  Ps.  Ixxv.  5,  6. 

Starke  : — It  is  a  clear  indication  of  Divine 
Providence,  that  in  no  place,  and  at  no  epoch,  is 
there  a  failure  of  children  and  posterity  to  fill 
the  places  of  the  aged  as  they  disappear. 


C.  Means  for  the  Advancement  of  Earthly  Happiness. 

Chap.  V.  1-20. 
1.  First  means  :  Conscientious  devotion  in  the  worship  of  God,  in  prayer  and  vows. 

(Vers.  1-7.) 

1  Keep  thy  foot  when  thou  goest  to  the  house  of  God,  and  be  more  ready  to  hear, 

2  than  to  give  the  sacrifice  of  fools ;  for  they  consider  not  that  they  do  evil.  Be  not 
rash  with  thy  mouth,  and  let  not  thine  heart  be  hasty  to  utter  any  thing  before 
God:  for  God  is  in  heaven,  and  thou  upon  earth :  therefore  let  thy  words  be  few. 

3  For  a  dream  cometh  through  the  multitude  of  business ;  and  a  fool's  voice  is  known 

4  by  multitude  of  words.     When  thou  vowest  a  vow  unto  God,  defer  not  to  pay  it ; 

5  for  he  hath  no  pleasure  in  fools:  pay  that  which  thou  hast  vowed.     Better  kit  that 

6  thou  shouldest  not  vow,  than  that  thou  shouldest  vow  and  not  pay.  Suffer  not  thy 
mouth  to  cause  thy  flesh  to  sin;  neither  say  thou  before  the  angel,  that  it  was  an 
error:  wherefore  should  God  be  angry  at  thy  voice,  and  destroy  the  work  of  thine 

7  hands?  For  in  the  multitude  of  dreams  and  many  words  there  are  also  divers  va- 
nities :  but  fear  thou  God. 


ECCLESIASTES. 


2.  Second  means  :  Abstaining  from  injustice,  violence,  and  avarice. 
(Veks.  8-17.) 

8  If  thou  seest  the  oppression  of  the  poor,  and  violent  perverting  of  judgment  and 
justice  in  a  province,  marvel  not  at  the  matter:  for  he  that  is  higher  than  thehigh- 

9  est  regardeth ;  and  there  he  higher  than  they.     Moreover,  the  profit  of  the  earth  is 
10  for  all :  the  king  himself  is  served  by  the  field.     He  that  loveth  silver  shall  not  be 

satisfied  with  silver ;  nor  he  that  loveth  abundance  with  increase :  this  is  also  va- 
il nity.     When  goods  increase,  they  are  increased  that  eat  them:  and  what  good  is 

12  there  to  the  owners  thereof,  saving  the  beholding  of  them  with  their  eyes?  The 
sleep  of  a  labouring  man  is  sweet,  whether  he  eat  little  or  much :  but  the  abun- 

13  dance  of  the  rich  will  not  suffer  him  to  sleep.     There  is  a  sore  evil  which  I  have 

14  seen  under  the  sun,  namely,  riches  kept  for  the  owners  thereof  to  their  hurt.  But 
those  riches  perish  by  evil  travail :  and  he  begetteth  a  son,  and  there  is  nothing  in 

15  his  hand.  As  he  came  forth  of  his  mother's  womb,  naked  shall  he  return  to  go  as 
he  came,  and  shall  take  nothing  of  his  labour,  which  he  may  carry  away  in  his 

16  hand.     And  this  also  is  a  sore  evil,  that  in  all  points  as  he  came,  so  shall  he  go : 

17  and  what  profit  hath  he  that  he  hath  laboured  for  the  wind?  All  his  days  also  he 
eateth  in  darkness,  and  he  hath  much  sorrow  and  wrath  with  his  sickness. 

3.   Third  means:     Temperate  and  contented  enjoyment  of  the   pleasures    and  treasures  of  life 

granted  by  God. 

(Vers.  18-20.) 

18  Behold  that  which  I  have  seen:  it  is  good  and  comely /or  one  to  eat  and  to  drink, 
and  to  enjoy  the  good  of  all  his  labour  that  he  taketh  under  the  sun  all  the  days 

19  of  his  life,  which  God  giveth  him:  for  it  is  his  portion.  Every  man  also  to  whom 
God  hath  given  riches  and  wealth,  and  hath  given  him  power  to  eat  thereof,  and 

20  to  take  his  portion,  and  to  rejoice  in  his  labour;  this  is  the  gift  of  God.  For  he 
shall  not  much  remember  the  days  of  his  life ;  because  God  answereth  him  in  the 
joy  of  his  heart. 

[Chap.  V.  TPr.  1.    '"[wJI'l   "IDIi'   in  the  Hebrew  Bibles,  the  German  and  Dutch  Tereions,  the  Vulgate,  and  some  others, 

this  is  absurdly  placed  as  the  last  verso  of  the  iv.  chapter.  In  the  English,  Tremellius,  and  others,  it  commences  the 
v.,  whore  it  evidently  belongs;  although  the  division  of  chapters,  as  given  in  this  book  is,  in  any  way,  of  little  value.  The 

Masora  has  pointed    H  wjl"l  for  the  singular,  corresponding  to  Ixx.  and  Vulgate,  though  the  sense  is  equally  good  in  the 

plural.  For  the  connection  of  this  part  with  the  preceding,  consult  Wordsworth,  who  sees  in  the  train  of  thought,  in  all 
these  remarks  about  rashness  in  the  divine  service,  and  in  respect  to  vows  and  rash  religious  speaking,  something  closely 
connected  with  tho  true  Solomonic  experience,  and  therefore  furnishing  evidence  of  the  Solomonic  authorship  of  the 
book.  As  uttered  by  any  one  else,  it  would  seem  disconnected  and  chaotic,  just  as  some  critics  have  pronounced  it.  For 
remarks  on    31  "Ip    and    nHD    see  Exog.  and  Marginal  Note. — T.  L.] 

(Ver.  6.    K^Dn'?   for    X'tannS,    Biph.  InfinU.    llN^Sn    see  Bxeg.  and  Marginal  Note.— T.  L.] 

[Ver.  7.  □'lini,    tho  same —T.  L.] 

■  T  : 
[Ver.  8.  van  a  very  general  and  indefinite  word,  here  rendered,  in  E.  G.,  matter  (thing),  Ixx.  irpiyjian,  Vulgate  mgotio. 

It  never,  however,  loses  its  sense  of  purpose,  will,  etc.,  either  as  positive  or  permissive, — as  it  may  be  rendered  here,  aUow* 
an  V.  Gad's  perrtiissinn  of  such  a  thing;  see  Met  Version. — T.  L.] 

[Ver.  9.  n3;;j.     See  Exeg.  and  Marg.  Note.— T.  L.] 
T  :  "-■ 

[Ver.  10.  JT'XT  :    The  Keri  has    fllXT.     It  is  one  of  those  words  in    fl^    that  have  been  cited  as  evidence  of  a  later 

language.  It  is,  however,  one  of  those  more  studied  Solomonic  words,  denoting  something  philosophical,  ethical,  or  ab- 
stract, demanded  by  the  very  subject  and  style  of  his  writing.  They  are  a  higher  class  of  words  than  were  needed  by  the 
plainer  historian,  or  prophet.  They  may  have  been  invented  by  Solomon  as  to  form  (from  old  and  common  roots),  and 
afterwards  have  become  vulgarized  in  the  later  writings — thus  giving  rise  to  the  later  Aramaic  forms,  instead  of  having 
1  ecu  derived  from  them:  Vision  of  the  eyes,  a  somewhat  more  polished,  or  loftier  word,  than  the  infinitive  to  see,  or 
sigJii.—T.h.]    , 

Ver.  16.  n7in    T\V1  ■'   Gesenius  makes  n^lH  from    7V7V\    to  be  sick,  weak,  etc.,  but  this  does  not  seem  to  give  a 
T  TT  L  "^  "^ 

sense  strong  enough.    Rabbi  Tanchum  makes  it  from    7.in,    to  be  in  great  pain,  torqueri  doloribus,  and  compares  it  with 

the  participle    77inn0    (Jerem.  xxiii.  19,)  oocrio/iBjiiH'nj/,  or  a  "storm  ftwried    (1^0)    on  the  head  of  tho  wicked"— a 

very  sore  and  "overwhelming  evil,"  is  this,  if  man  has  to  return  just  as  he  came,  c  teneiris  in  tenebras,  out  of  darkness  irdA 

darkness.    See  Tawchom  Coram.,  Lam.  iv.  6.    Same  verse    JT3I?-'73:    The  grammarian,  Jona  Ben  Gannach,  in  his  Se- 

pher  Harikma,  p.  30,  regards  this  as  one  word,  or  as  an  example  of  3    added  (as  it  sometimes  is  with  slight  addition  to 

the  meaning)  to   PfO)}!,    (as  in  direct  contrast).    03^;  is  cited  as  one  of  the  words  Sequioris  Hebriismi,  but  the  root 


CHAP.  V.  1-20. 


89 


□01?)    although  only  occurring  hb  a  verb,  Ezek.  xxviii.  3;  xxxi.  8,  is  very  old  in  the  language,  as  appears  from    r~1j? 
people,  the  preposition    ^DV    wiiA,  H^D)?    society,  companion,  all  denoting,  radicallyj  comparison,  one  thing  along  with, 


or  laid  by  the  aide  of  another  (compare  the  Arabic 


r 


and  many  Greek  words  commencing  with  6/i  such  aa  ofio?, 


aiui)9,  Vw5)  oiLLotoj,  witli  their  numer,jus  derivatives,  all  implying  comparison,  society,  likeness,  etc.).    This   word    7173^? 

occurs  in  Bxod.  xxv.  27 ;  xxviii.  27 ;  Ezek.  Ixv.  7. 

Ter.  18. '•JX:  [On  the  street  of  the  accent  here  see  Exeg.  and  Marg.  Note.    The  same  on    ri?   ver.  19. — T.  L.]. 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

Of  the  three  diviaioas  of  this  section,  the  first 
two  are  divided  each  into  two  strophes  of  about 
eonal  length,  and  each  of  the  two  strophes  of  the 
second  division,  being  very  full  in  sense  and  rich 
in  clauses,  is  again  divided  into  two  half  stro- 
phes. The  third  division  consists  of  only  one 
not  very  comprehensive  strophe.  The  complete 
scheme  of  the  section  stands,  therefore,  thus  : — 
I,  Division:  Of  true  piety;  a.  (1  strophe):  in 
worship  and  prayer,  v.  1-3  ;  b.  (2  strophe) :  of 
vowing  and  the  fulfilment  of  vows  :  vers.  4-7. — 
//,  Division:  On  avoiding  various  vices;  a,  (1 
half  strophe) :  of  injustice  and  violence  :  vers. 
8,  9  ;  b,  (half-strophes  2-4)  :  of  avarice  :  vers. 
10-17. — ///.  Division:  Of  the  temperate  and  thank- 
fully contented  enjoyment  of  life :  vers.  18-20,  stro- 
phe 5. — ^Vaihingbk  combines  vers.  8-12,  and 
then  13-20,  each  as  a  principal  division  or  stro- 
phe, and  overlooks  the  fact  that  the  theme  of 
avarice  does  not  begin  at  verse  13,  but  at  verse 
10  (consequently  with  the  first  half  strophe  of 
strophe  3d,  comprising  vers.  8-17),  and  that, 
therefore,  with  verse  18,  introduced  by  the  words 
'n'XI  idK  n^n,  begins  an  entirely  new  series 
of  thoughts,  which  bears  a  concluding  relation  to 
the  main  contents  of  the  chapter. 

2.  First  division,  first  strophe :  Chap.  v.  1-3.  Of 
true  piety  in  the  worship  of  God,  and  in  prayer. 
— Ksep  thy  foot  when  thou  goest  to  the 

house  of  God.  The  k'tib  -y'^Jl  is  to  be  pre- 
ferrad  to  the  keri  -"jSjI.  The  latter  appears  to 
be  modeled  according  to  the  passages  in  Prov. 
iv.  26 ;  XXV.  17,  and  others,  which  present 
"  foot "  in  the  singular.  For  "  feet "  in  the  plu- 
ral in  similar  expressions  oomp.  Prov.  i.  16;  vi. 
18 ;  Ps.  cxix.  59,  etc.  The  sense  of  this  exhor- 
tation is:  "guard  thy  steps  when  thou  goest  to 
the  house  of  the  Lord,  that  thou  mayest  enter  it 
with  sacred  composure,  and  carefully  avoid  every- 
thing that  would  interfere  with  thy  devotion." 
See  Henostenbero  :  "  The  object  is  to  preserve 
the  heart,  but  as  he  goes,  the  heart  receives  its 
impressions,  an  I  is  thus  affected  by  it.  The  au- 
thor doubtless  speaks  of  the  feet  because  by  them 
has  often  been  discovered  the  tendency  of  the 
heart."  And  be  more  ready  to  hear,  etc. 
{Oer.,  to  approach  in  order  to  hear  is  better). 
The  preposition  ID,  without  31£3,  may  in  itself 
expresa  the  preference  of  one  thing  over  another; 
comp.  ix.  17;  Isa.  x.  10;  Ezek.  xv.  2.*    nn^. 


•[The  examples  that  Zockler  gives  of  D  comparative,  with- 
out any  comparative  word  before  it,  will  not  hear  him  out. 
In  chap.  ix.  17,  it  is  dependent  on  D'^ntyj  ;  in  the  other 
caies  citpd  D    is  either  partitive,  or  has  it?  usual  pre- 


is  not  here  for  the  imperative  "be  near,"  (Lu- 
THEK,  Hengstenberg,  etc.),  but  is  an  actual  in- 
finitive absolute,  and  as  such  subject  of  the  sen- 
tence ;  comp.  Prov.  xxv.  27 ;  Isa.  vii.  15,  16. 
"  To  hear"  does  not  mean  to  listen  to  the  read- 
ing of  the  Thora  during  the  service,  (Hitzig)  but 
"  to  obey,  to  regard  the  voice  of  God  with  the 
heart,  to  do  His  will;"  comp.  1  Sam.  xv.  22; 
Jer.  vii.  23.  We  have  here  the  same  contrast 
between  external  sacrifice  and  holy  intent  as  in 
Prov.  xxi.  3,  27  ;  Isa.  i.  11  if. ;  Hosea  vi.  6,  etc. 
— Than  to  give  the  sacrifice  of  fools.  This 
sacrifice    (n^I)    is     specially   pointed   out   from 

among  the  number  of  sacrifices,  as  also  in  Ps.  xl. 
6  ;  Hosea  vi.  6  ;  1  Sam.  xv.  22.  "  To  give  the 
sacrifice,"  does  not  mean  to  give  a  sacrificial 
feast,  (Hitzig),  but  to  offer  a  sacrifice  to  God  in 
order  to  satisfy  him,  or  in  order  to  appease  one's 
conscience.  —  For  they  consider  not  that 
they  do  evil.  Fools,  whose  sacrifice  is  an  of- 
fence to  God  on  account  of  their  evil  disposi- 
tions (oomp.  Prov.  xxi.  27  ;  and  also  the  exegeti- 
cal  illustrations  of  this  passage)  do  evil  in  sacri- 
ficing to  Him,  and  nevertheless  know  it  not,  but 
rather  suppose,  in  their  folly,  that  their  conduct 
is  well  pleasing  to  Him.  As  this  thought  (comp. 
Luke  xxiii.  34)  exactly  fits  the  passage,  and  there 
is  no  linguistic  difficulty  in  the  explanation  (for 

the  construction  ;?T  nityjlS  tDy\y  OrX, 
"  they  know  not  that  they  do  evil,"  comp.  Jer. 

position  sense.  If  any  comparative  word  might  be  thus 
omittfid  it  might  be  the  familiar  word  3'm,  but  there  are 
other  ways  of  explaining  the  apparent  grammatical  anoozaly 
without  any  such  harshness,  wl.<ch  would  be  like  leaving 
out,  in  English,  any  comparative  word  before  iJtan~to  hear 

than  to  give.    If  wo  regard    Dllp    as  an  adjective  it  may 

It 
have  the  sense  of^t,  suitaite,  appropriate,  comingvery  easily 
from  its  primary  and  usual  sense  ot  nearness :  to  hear  is 
more  appropriate  than  to  give;  it  is  nearer  in  the  sense  of 
hetttr.  That  such  a  connection  of  senses  is  natural,  is  shown 
from  the  Latin  prope  propior,  as  HoEAOE,  Sat.  I,  4,  42,  ser- 
moni  propiora,  better  for  prose ;  Terent.  Ileaut:  nulla  alia 
Mectatioqute propior esset;  Chiid.  Mel.,  cura  projiior  ludusqe. 
It  might  be  proved  still  more  clearly  trora  the  Arabic  use  of 

a  comparative  from  this  very  root    I  , i  j 9  \=^J|??' 

in  the  sense  of  fetter— that  which  is  nigher,  more  appropriate. 
Of  this  there  are  frequent  examples  in  the  Koran,  as  in  Stf 

rat.  II.  238,    ^^  JjS^  ^  f-3  I    ''-""'  ^"'  ^ '"''''  ""^' 


pious  ;  80  xviii. 


V 


-*^   "-r^J-^ 


better  for  com- 


passion, more  compassionate.  See  also  Sural  III.  160;  iv.  12; 
v.  11;  xvi.  79;  xx.  13.  Thus  in  R>^brew,  riPD— Dllp, 
nearer,  more  appropriate,  more  occe^tofck  (abetter  ^2*^0 
or  offering)  than  to  give,  etc—audirepropius  esset  quam  dare 


90 


ECCLESIASTES. 


XV.  15  ;  1  Kings  xix.  4  ;  Neh.  xiii.  27)  the  ren- 
derings of  the  passage  that  vary  from  this  are  to 
be  condemned.  They  are  such  as  that  of  Hahn, 
(and  many  older  commentators) :  "  in  their  ig- 
norance they  can  only  do  evil,"  or  of  Knobel  and 
Vaihinobb:  "  They  are  not  troubled  about  doing 
evil,"  or  of  Hitzm  :  "  For  they  linow  not  how  to 
be  sorrowful"  (for  which  sense  reference  is  made 
to  2  Sam.  xii.  18  ;  Isa.  Ivi.  12,  etc.).  The  near- 
est to  our  view  is  that  of  the  Vulgate,  and  of  Lu- 
ther :  "for  they  know  not  what  evil  they  do," 
which,  however,  cannot  be  philologically  justified. 
Ver.  2.  Be  not  rash  with  thy  mouth.  This 
censure  of  outward  sacrifice  is  immediately  fol- 
lowed by  that  of  thoughtless  words,  and  empty 
babbling  in  prayer,  the  next  important  element 
of  divine  worship  in  the  temple.  "To  be  rash 
with  thy  mouth  "  is  essentially  the  same  aa  that 
fiaTTo2.6yEiv  against  which  Christ  warns  us,  per- 
haps with  conscious  reference  to  this  passage. 
Matt.  vi.  7,  f.— And  let  not  thine  heart  be 
hasty  to  utter  anything  before  God.  "  Be- 
fore God,"  i.  e.,  in  the  temple,  in  the  place  of  the 
special  presence  of  God,  comp.  Ps.  xlii.  2  ;  Isa. 
i.  12.  This  warning  against  rash,  thoughtless, 
and  unnecessary  words  in  prayer,  is  as  little  in 
contradiction  with  apostolic  directions  as  found 
in  1  Thes.  v.  17;  Col.  iii.  17;  Phil.  iv.  6,  as  is 
the  wai-ning  of  Christ  against  idle  words,  at  war 
with  His  own  repeated  admonitions  to  zealous 
and  continuous  prayer,  e.  ff.,  Luke  xi.  5  ff.  ; 
xviii.  1,  ff. ;  John  xiv.  13  ;  xvi.  23,  etc.—  For 
God  is  in  heaven,  and  thou  upon  the 
earth.  The  majesty  of  God,  in  contrast  with  the 
lowliness  of  men,  is  here  made  clear  by  the  con- 
tra-position  of  heaven  and  earth,  as  in  Ps.  oxv. 
3,  16  ;  Isa.  Iv.  7  S.  ;  Ixvi.  1 ;  Matt.  v.  34,  f.— 
Ver.  3.  For  a  dream  cometh  through  the 
multitude  of  business;  and  a  fool's  voice 
is  knoTwn  by  a  multitude  of  -words.  That 
is,  just  as  a  too  continued,  exciting,  and  anxious 
occupation  of  the  mind  {y^V.)  produces  the 
phenomenon  of  confused  and  uneasy  dreams,  by 
which  the  sleep  is  disturbed,  so  the  habit  of  an 
excess  of  words,  causes  the  speech  to  degenerate 
into  vain  and  senseless  twaddle.  The  first  clause 
of  the  verse  serves  solely  as  an  illustration  of  the 
second  ;  the  comparison,  as  in  chap.  vii.  1 ; 
Prov.  xvii.  3  ;  xxvii.  21 ;  Job  v.  7,  etc.,  is  effected 
by  simply  placing  the  sentences  in  juxtaposition, 
merely  putting   the   copulative   conjunction  be- 


etc.  It  may  be  objected  to  tbis  that  such  an  infinitive  with 
S  as  ^nty'?,  is  not  used  subjectively,  or  very  rarely.  It, 
however,  comes  very  much  to  the  same  thing,  if  we  take 
31 1p    directly  aa  an  infinitive,  or  as  used  for  an  impera- 

tive:  be  nigher  to  hear,  that  is,  more  ready,  more  prompt 
(proxnor  facUior)  to  hear,  than  fools  are  to  offer  sacrifice 

(taking  O  w''03  as  the  subject  of  rir\)-  Or  the  compa- 
rative 0  may  depend  on  "iOiy  in  the  first  clause,  the  in- 
fluence of  which  may  be  regarded  as  extending  to  the  se- 
cond; be  more  careful  (0 — "iOK?)  to  hear,  or  to  draw 
nigh  to  hear,  etc.  In  such  caae,  we  get  a  governing  word  for 
the  infinitive    ^Hp.    If  it  be  said  that  it  is  implied  or  un- 

ilerstood ;  Ihat  is  always  the  case  where  the  infinitive  seems 
tlMis  u.sed  for  the  imperative.  Some  familiar  wordof  admo- 
IM  mil,  '  r  warning,  id  ever  implied  (look  out,  take  care,  etc.), 
as  s  iiieriiiies  in  tlie  animnted  language  of  the  prophets,  and 
iia  i-t  frequently  tbe  case  in  Greek  and  Latin. — T.  L.] 


fore  the  second  (comp,  the  Int.  to  Proverbs,  g  14 
p.  32).  EwALD  assumes  a  continuous  train  of 
thought,  asserting  that  from  too  much  annoyance 
come  dreams,  from  these,  all  kinds  of  vain  and 
superfluous  words,  and,  finally,  from  these,  fool- 
ish speech  ;  but  tbis  is  decidedly  opposed  to  the 

fact  that  Ownn  is  necessarily  to  be  understood 
as  a  designation  of  the  actual  dream,  not  of  a 
dreamy,  thoughtless  nature,  and  that  the  deriva- 
tion of  a  wordy  nature  from  the  latter  would  be 
in  violation  of  all  psychological  experience. 

3.  If^irsi  Division,  second  strophe. — Vers.  4-7. 
Of  pious  conscientiousness  in  vowing  and  the 
fulfilment  of  vows.  For  vers.  4  and  5  see  Dent, 
xxiii.  22-24,  whose  ordinances  are  here  almost 
literally  repeated. — For  he  hath  no  pleasure 

in  fools. — Q'TCO  are  frivolous  men,  who  are 
equally  ready  to  make  vows  of  every  kind,  but 
then  delay  tlieir  performance  from  indolence  or 
selfishness.  Of  them  it  is  said  :  OnS  Vfln  t'N 
"there  is  no  pleasure  in  them,''  namely,  with 
God  ;  for  the  context  obliges  us  thus  to  finish  the 
thought. — Ver.  5.  Better  is  it  that  thou 
shouldst  not  vow,  than,  etc. — ^Comp.  Deut. 
xxiii.  22  :  "  But  if  thou  shalt  forbear  to  vow,  it 
shall  be  no  sin  in  thee  ;"  also  Acts  v.  4.  Ver. 
6.  Suffer  not  thy  mouth  to  cause  thy  flesh 
to  sin. — IM  here  marks  the  body  as  the  seat 

T   T  '' 

of  desire,  therefore  of  sensuality  and  fleshly 
sense  in  general,  as  the  New  Testament  aap^; 
as  also  above,  chapter  ii.  3.  The  description 
of  James,  in  iii.  6  f.  of  bis  Epistle,  gives  a  clear 
testimony  that  the  sensuality  of  man  is  sinfully 
excited  by  the  sins  of  tbe  tongue,  or  the  mouth, 
and  can  be  enkindled  by  the  fire  of  evil  passion  ; 
and  Henostenberq  should  not  have  quoted  this 
passage  as  a  proof  of  his  position  that  "flesh" 
here  signifies  the  entire  personality.  HiTZio 
translates:  "Let  not  thy  mouth  bring  thy  body 
to  punishment,"  but  fails  to  give  the  proof  for 
the  possibility  of  the  rendering  of  N'Onn  in 
the  sense  of  "  bringing  to  punishment,  atoning 
for." — Neither  say  thou  before  the  angel 
that  it  was  an  error. — [Zookler  here  renders 

1]N7D  messenger,  to  accommodate  to  his  exegesis. 

— T.  L.J.  '^f'7?.  Messenger,  i.  «.,  Jehovah's 
[Comp.  Haggai  i.  13;  Malachi  i.  3],  is  here  the 
designation  of  the  priest*  or  announcer  and  ex- 


*[Thisi8another  case  where  those  who  maintain  the  late 
date  of  tbe  book  give  a  word  an  unusual  sense,  and  then 
build  an  argument  upon  it.     There    is   no   reason  why 

"nX/O  should  not  be  taken  in  its  usual  meaning,  as  an  angel 

of  God,  visible  or  invisible,  supposed  sometimes  to  appear  in 
terror,  the  avenging  angel,  aa  2  Sam.  xxiv.  16,  who  came  to 
punish  Israel  and  their  king  for  his  rash  words.  There  may 
be  an  express  reference  here  by  Solomon  to  hia  father's  fatal 

error;  and  the  words  "^OXn    7X1   may  be  rendered  very 

easily  as  a  caution,  thai  thou  mayest  not  have  to  confess  thine 
error,  as  David  did  (2  Sam.  xxiv.  17).  It  must  have  made  a 
deep  impression  on  the  young  mind  of  the  Prince.  It  is  per- 
fectly in  accordance,  too,  with  the  belief  and  the  recorded 
facts  of  the  Solomonic  times;  and  this  would  be  the  case 

even  if  we  regard  the  ItXlD,  mentioned  in  Ecclesiastes,  as 

beingGad,the7nes5en^erBent  to  David.  Or  it  may  refer  to  the 
belief  In  the  presence  of  angels  aa  invisible  witnesses  to  our 
sins  and  our  improprieties — a  belief  belonging  not  only  to  the 


CHAP.   V.   1-20. 


91 


pounder  of  the  divine  law ;  comp.  Malaohi  ii.  7, 
the  only  passage  of  the  0.  T.  where  this  expres- 
sion is  used  of  the  priest ;  and  see  also  in  the  N. 
T.  Rev.  i.  20;  ii.  1  if.,  where  tlyyeJlof  is  used  es- 
sentially in  the  same  sense.  "That  it  was  an 
error"  \T\W  as  in  Numb.  xv.  27  ff.]  is  the 
oharaoteristio  evasion  of  religious  superficiality 
and  levity,  which  seek  to  excuse  unfulfilled  vows 
by  declaring  the  neglect  of  them  a  mere  error  or 
precipitation  [an  unintentional  error]  ;  comp. 
Malachi  i.  8;  Matth.  xv.  5,  etc.  Hitzig:  "it 
was  a  thoughtlessness^ — that  is,  that  I  made  the 
vow  at  all."  But  a  vow  solemnly  declared  before 
the  priest  could  not  thus  be  recalled  without 
further  ceremony  by  declaring  that  it  was  vowed 
in  a  thoughtless  manner.  The  thoughtless  de- 
linquent will  wish  to  represent  the  evasion  of  its 
fulfilment  as  simply  a  sin  of  weakness  or  precipi- 
tation, whilst  it  is  in  reality  a  crime  of  a  very 
serious  character  [comp.  Elster  and  Hengsten- 
BEEG  on  this  passage]. — Why  should  God  be 
angry  at  thy  voice  [which  thou  dost  misuse 
in  a  vile,  sophistical  and  God-tempting  evasion] 
and  destroy  the  -work  of  thy  hands — 
that  is,  punish  thee,  therefore,  by  a  failure  of 
all  thy  undertakings,  and  destruction  of  all 
treasures  and  goods  ?     For  the   warning  sense 

of  the  question  with  7137  comp.  vii.  16,  17 ; 
Ps.  xo.  17  ;  2  Chron.  x.  37  ;  Ezra  iv.  22 ;  vii.  23. 
Verse  7.  For  in  the  multitude  of  dreams 
and  many  words  there  are  also  divers 
vanities.  Just  as  in  verse  3,  dreams  are 
here  also  to  be  taken  only  as  examples  of 
the  vanity  of  making  many  wordj,  and  of  its 
bad  consequences.  As  we  can  reasonably  con- 
clude that  one  who  has  much  to  do  with  dreams 
[comp.  Jer.  xxiii.  33 ;  Zech.  x.  1]  is  an  unrelia- 
ble man,  little  fitted  for  the  duties  and  aflrairs  of 
sober  reality,  therefore  the  wordiest  babbler 
will  inspire  in  us  the  least  confidence.  Ewald 
and  Heiligstebt's  view:  "for  in  too  many 
dreams  are  too  many  vanities  and  words,"  is 
opposed  by  the  connection,  which  shows  that  no 
information  is  to  be  imparted  here  concerning 
the  nature  and  signification  of  dreams,  and  then 
also  the  circumstance  that  it  is  not  very  clearly 
to  be  seen  in  how  far  dreams  may  cause  much 
useless  prattle. — But  fear  thou  God,  so  that 
thou  dost  really  try  to  fulfill  what  thou  hast 
vowed  to  Him.  'J,  because  co-ordinate  with 
the  preceding,  is  to  be  translated  by  "  but,"  and 
not  "  thus ; "  for  it  expresses  in  a  conclusive 
manner  the  contrast  to  verse  6.* 

Old  Testament,  but  also  to  the  New,  as  appears  from  1  Cor. 
3Ci.  10,  5ia  T0U9  ayyeAov? :"  because  of  the  angels  "  (invisible), 
indecencies  in  the  Church  were  to  be  avoided. — T.  L.] 

''[Ver.  7.  The  simplest  and  moat  literal  rendering  here 
would  seem  to  be  ihe  best,  taking  the  conjunction  1,  in 
each  case,  as  it  stands,  and  in  the  usual  way.  The  copula- 
tije  1  has,  indeed  sometimes,  an  assertive  force,  but  then 
the  context  will  always  clearly  demand  it.  Here  there  is 
no  need  of  it:   "Though   in    multitude   of   dreams,"  or 

though  dreams  abound,  and  vanities,  and  words  innumer- 
able, yet  ('3)  fear  thou  Qod."  The  first  '3  may  be  ren- 
dered for,  and  regarded  as  connecting,  causally,  this  verse 
with  what  precedes,  or  Ihey  may  both  be  regarded  as  ad- 
versative, giving  the  reason  against,  or  notwithstanding. 
See  explanation  of  '3   Int.  to  Metrical  Version,  p  176.    The 

word  D^131  we  have  rendered,  in  the  Metrical  Version, 

■  T  : 
presagjngs  (idle  predictions,  fortune-tellings,  fluch  as  go 

23 


4.  Second  Division,  first  strophe,  a :  vers.  8  and 
9. — On  avoiding  injustice  and  violence — If  thou 
seest  the  oppression  of  the  poor,  and 
violent  perverting  of  judgment  and  jus- 
tice in  a  province.  Comp.  iii.  16;  iv.  J,  ff. 
(Ger.,  robbery  of  judgment,  and  justice).  This 
is  a  robbery  committed  against  these  objective 
and  divine  laws,  a  violation  of  them  by  exac- 
tions, and  other  violence.  Such  violations  of 
judgment  are  most  likely  to  be  practiced  in  the 
provinces,  far  from  the  seat  of  the  king  and  the 
highest  courts,  by  governors  and  generals. 
Therefore  here  PiriO,  by  which  is  doubtless 
meant  the  province  in  which  the  author  lives, 
that  is,  Palestine.  Comp.  Ez.  v.  8;  Neh.  i.  3; 
vii.  6 ;  xi.  3,  and  also  the  Int.  §  4,  Obs.  2. — 
Marvel  not  at  the  matter.  —  j'iDn  [Comp. 
iii.  1],  is  neither  absolutely  the  same  as  "  cause, 
matter,"  [Hitzig]  nor  does  it  indicate  the  divine 
pleasure,  the  execution  of  divine  decrees,  (as 
Hengstenbekg).  It  is  rather  the  yiolent  doing 
of  the  thieving  ofl&cials  that  is  meant,  the 
"  such  is  my"  pleasure,"  of  rulers,  "  who  usually 
commence  their  *  edicts  with  these  words :  it 
seems  good  to  me,  it  is  good  in  presence  of  the 
king,  Dan.  iii.  22;  vi.  2;  iv.  22;  Ez.  v.  17." 
(Hengstenberg).  For  the  exhortation  not  to 
marvel  at  such  things,  not  to  be  surprised, 
comp.  1  Peter  iv,  12  :  ayaTrr^rbi.  firj  ^Evl^eode  k.  t.  A. 
— For  he  that  is  higher  than  the  highest 
regardeth ;  and  there  be  higher  than 
they.  That  is,  over  the  lofty  oppressor  stands 
a  still  higher  ruler,  the  king  ;  and  even  over 
him,  should  he  not  aid  suffering  innocence  in  its 
rights,  is  a  still  higher  one,  the  King  of  kings, 
and  Supreme  Judge  of  the.world.  O'TlDJ  is,  as 
it  were,  a  plural  of  majesty,*  serving  for  a  most 
with  dreams).     "^DT    is  used,  Numb,  xxiii.  5,  16,  for  oraeu- 

T  T 

lum.  It  is  the  oracle  given  to  Balaam,  and  though,  there,  a 
divine  message  given  to  a  bad  man,  yet  there  is  nothing  in 
the  word  itself  tu  prevent  its  denoting  a  false,  as  well  as 
a  true  prediction.  If  the  viww  taken  be  correct,  there  must 
be  meant,  he^e,  faUe  or  superstitious  presagings,  like  the- 
Greek  ^a|ts,  which  is  used  by  Aristophanes  for  the  false  pre- 
dictions of  the  uracle-mongers,  by  whom  Greece  was  in- 
fested,    "l^n  is  used  in  the  same   manner,  Eccles.  x.   14, 

T  T 

where  the  context  shows  that  it  means  either  pretended 
oracular  words,  or  ior U\ne-te.llings,  or  some  such  rash  say- 
ings about  the  future  as  are  coudemned  James  iv.  13.  The 
other  rendering:  "in  multitude  of  dreams  and  vanities 
there  are  also  words,"  besides  having  seemiugly  but  little 
meaning,  puts  its  main  assertion  in  the  first  clause,  and 
thus  makes  the  second:  "fear  thou  God,"  a  merely  inci- 
dental or  rhetorical  addition,  though  really  the  important 
thought:  ^^notwithstanding  the  abounding  of  {all  these 
superstitions)  dreams,  vanities  and  fortuni-telliugs  without 
number,  yet  fear  thou  God.  In  the  other  rendering,  too, 
besides  being  legs  simple  and  facile,  there  is  lost,  or  ob- 
scured, the  contrast  evidi-^ntly  intended  between  Seto-tSaijuo- 
(/ta,  in  the  bad  sense,  or  superstition,  aud  eutre^eia,  true 
religion,  reverence,  niiT'  riKl"',  "the  fear  ol  the  Lord." 
For  an  illustration,  see  the  picture  of  the  superstitious  man 
(SeLo-iSaiinav)  as  given  by  Theophr^stus  in  his  Characters, 
sec.  16.— T.  L.] 

*[The  plural  intensive  undoubtedly  exists  jn  Hebrew,  but 
a  great  deal  that  is  said  about  the  pluralis  majestaticua  is 
very  questionable.  The  best  Jewish  commentators  deny  its 
existence.    The  plural  OTi^J,  here,  may  easily  be  taken 

as  a  sort  of  summing  up,  denoting  all  the  powers  that 
stand  above  the  petty  oppressor,  from  the  earthly  king, 
through  "principalities  in  the  Heavens"  up  to  God  Him- 
self. Our  English  Version  gives  it  well,  '-and  there  be 
hie;hT  than  they,"  leaving  the  application  indefinite. 
Stdart  regards  1  as  intensive:  "Yea  thfre  be  higher  than 
they." — the  petty  oppressors.  Or  it  may  be  an  assertion 
that  there  is  a  vast  series  of  ascending  powers  in  the  olam,  or 
world,  regarded  in  its  rank,  rather  than  its  time  or  spaca 


92 


ECCLESIASTES. 


emphatic  designation  of  tlie  fulness  of  eternal 
power  in  tlie  Godiiead ;  it  is  the  same  construction 
as  □'N"]13,  "Creator,"  chap.  xii.  1;  a'U?np 
Prov.  ix.  10 ;  xxx.  3 ;  Hosea  xii.  1.  □'j'rVj;, 
Dan.  vii.  18,  22,  etc.  Comp.  Ewald,  §  178  b. 
We  cannot  let  this  expression  refer  to  the  king 
as  the  highest  earthly  judge  and  potentate,  on 
account  of  its  analogy  with  other  plural  names 
of  Deity.  It  is  extremely  unfitting,  indeed  al- 
most absurd,  to  refer  the  second  high  one  to  a 
supreme  judge,  and  the  Q'ilaJ  to  the  governor 
(HiTzta).  For  a  poor  consolation  would  be 
offered  to  the  oppressed  by  a  reference  merely 
to  these  courts,  as  certain  as  "that  one  crow 
does  not  pick  out  the  eyes  of  another,"  (a  very 
poorly  sustained  proverb,  quoted  by  Hitziq  him- 
self). Ver.  9.  Moreover,  the  profit  of  the 
earth  is  for  all ;  the  king  himself  is  served 
by  the  field.  That  is,  notwithstanding  that 
God  alone  rules  as  highest  judge  and  avenger 
over  all  the  destinies  of  men,  we  are  not  to  de- 
spise the  protection  and  safety  which  an  earthly 
authority  affords,  especially  a  strong  kingly 
government,  that  can  protect  the  fields  from  de- 
vastation, and  their  boundaries  from  intrusion. 

N'n  ^33  [so  is  it  to  be  read,  as  in  the  K'tib,  in- 
stead of  Nin  ^33]  is  of  like  meaning  with  733 
nx't,  "in  all  this"— or  "notwithstanding  all 
this,"    as   it   is    Isa.    ix.    11.      The    concluding 

words  13i?J  i~11ji'7  "^/J?.  "^^  neither  mean:  "a 
king  honored  by  the  land  "  (Knobel  and  Vai- 
hinrer),  nor ;  "  a  king  honored  throughout  the 
whole  land"  (Hahn),  nor:  "a  king  to  till  the 
field"  (Luther,  Starke,  etc.),  nor:  "a  king 
subject  to  the  field"  (Herzpeld),  nor:  rex 
ajro  addiclus,  (Rosenmueller,  D.^the,  etc.), 
nor:  "a  king  to  the  tilled  field,"  namely,  "a 
profit  and  advantage  to  it,"  (Hitzig,  Henqsten- 
BERQ,  comp.  also  the  Sept.).  n3;;j  is  here 
used  rather  in  the  sense  of  "  made,  installed, 
placed,"  in  accordance  witli  t'.ie  Chaldaic  sig- 
nification of  13];-'T\trj;,  Dan  iii.  1,  15,  29;  vii. 
21 :  Ezra  iv.  19,  etc.,  and  mt?,  field,  is  a  poeti- 
oal  synonym  of  ]'1!<  (Comp.  Gen.  ii.  5  ;  iv.  7 ; 
Ruth  i.  6),  here  undoubtedly  chosen  because 
agriculture,  this  principal  ocoupation  of  the 
provinces  (comp.  ii.  8)  can  only  prosper  through 
the  protection  and  propitious  influence  of  the 
rking.  Compare  the  very  close  connection  in 
which  the  religion  of  the  Chinese,  Persians, 
Egyptians,  and  Romans  placed  the  royal  office 
with  agriculture.  It  does  not  militate  against 
the  view  sustained  by  us  that  there  is  no  definite 
article  before  TMty.  Comp.  Ewalo  g  277,  b  ; 
and  quite  as  little  does  this  view  disagree  with 
the  verbal  collocation,  as  will  be  seen  by  com- 
paring ix.  2  ;   Isi.  xlii.  24;   Dan.  vi.  8.* 


aspect.    Sae  note  on  Olamic  Words,  p.  51.    The  reailer  may 
ima'j;in0  !;tie  gradation  of  ranks  for  himsetf.    Of  course,  God 
is  at  thy  hUtiest,  liowcver  great  it  may  be.     TliiB  would 
ace  >rd  witfl  the  simplest  rendering  of  the  words: 
Height  over  height  are  keeping  watch, 
And  higher  still  than  they. 
The^e  vile  oppressors,  with  all  their  boasts  of  rank,  are 
away  d  twn  in  tlie  lowest  parts  of  the  sc  ile. — T.  L.] 
^'l  Ver.  9.  The  iuterpre  ations  of  ZoCKLER,  HiTZia,  Stuart. 


5.  Second  Division,  first  strophe  b,  and  second 
strophe  a.  b  :  vers.  10-17.  On  avoiding  avarice 
and  covetousness. — As  in  Deut.  xvi.  19  ;  Amos 
viii.  4  ff. ;  Prov.  xv.  25-27  ;  Sirach  x.  8,  so  we 
have  here  the  condemnation  of  the  coarser  form 
of  covetousness,  which  does  not  shun  open  in- 
justice and  violence,  and,  directly  afterwards, 
that  of  the  love  of  money  and  desire  of  gain 
operating  with  more  delicate,  more  genteel,  and 
apparently  more  just  means. — He  that  loveth 
silver  shall  not  be  satisfied  with  silver, 
i.  e. ,  not  satisfied  in  mind,  and  consequently  not 
happy.  Comp.  the  Horatian  line  :  Semper  avarus 
etjet  {Ep.  I,  ii.  20) ;  also  Ovid  Fast.  I,  21 1  S. : 

"  Oreverunt  et  opes  et  opum  furiosa  cupido  ; 
Et  cum posideant  plurinia plura  volunt;'* 
Nor  he  that  loveth  abundance  •with  in- 
crease. Lit.,"  loveth  tumult;"  tinn  in  other 
places,  "noise,  turmoil  of  a  great  multitude  of 
people,"  here  means,  as  in  Ps.  xxxvii.  16,  the 
multitude  of  possessions ;  and  3  3nN  means 
as  elsewhere  3  '('311. — Ver.  11.  When  goods 
increase,  they  are  increased  that  eat 
them.  Lit.  "their  eaters,  their  consumers." 
The  meaning  here  is  clearly  the  numerous  ser- 
vants of  a  rich  household.  Comp.  Job  i.  3; 
1  Kings  V.  2,  ff. — And  -what  good  is  there 
to  the  owners  thereof? — Jill's  here,  "for- 
tune, gain,"  different  from  ii.  21  ;   iv.  4.     The 

plural  IID''7>'3  has  here  a  singular  meaning,  as 
in  ver.  12;  vii.  11;  viii.  8;  Prov.  iii.  27. — 
Save  the  beholding  of  them  -with  theil 
eyes,  i.  e.,  only  the  empty,  not  really  satisfying 
feeling  of  pleasure  at  the  sight  of  heaped-up 
treasures.  In  place  of  JTS"!  read  D-IXT  with 
the  Keri. — Ver.  12.  The  sleep  of  a  laboring 
man  is  sweet,  w^hether  he  eat  little  or 
much ;  i.  e  ,  whether  he  enjoys  a  generous 
food,  or  must  be  satisfied  with  a  scanty  nourish- 
ment.— 13^   "laborer"    is   different  from   13J? 

"slave,"  and  also  from  '\2}}  DD  "serf;"  it 
means  in  general  every  one,  who   according  to 

etc  ,  thiugh  differing  from  eacli  other,  seem  forced.  They 
all  destroy  the  parallelism,  making  only  one  propositivtn  of 
what  evidently  contaius  two  clause^,  one  an  illustration  of 

the  other.    Their  rendering  of  XT!     733,  as  though  it 

were  equivalent  to  J^XT  733,  Isaiah  ix.  11,  20,  cannot  he 
supported.  X^H  is  a  feminine  used  lor  the  neuter,  and  Way 
have,  in  such  case,  an  antecedent  masculine  in  form,  if  it 
expresses  what  is  inanimate  or  impersonal.  "The  profit 
of  the  soil,  in  everything  is  it," — Irke  XT)  HJJB't  "a^ 
error  is  it,"  just  abov. .  "  It  is  in  all,"  in  everything,  in 
every  rank  of  life.    The  word  n3l?J  has  more  of  a  deponent 

than  of  a  pa-ssive  sense.  Tn  other  cases,  Deut.  xxi.  4;  Ezek. 
xxxvi.  9,  34,  it  is  applied  to  t'le  fieid  that  is  madf.  use  of, 
worked,  in  distinction  from  the  barren.  This  is  the  only 
case  in  which  it  is  applied  to  persons,  and  according  to  the 
same  analogy,  it  does  not  mean  served  as  a  master,  which 
would  he  the  direct  passive  of  the  Kal.but  subservient  to, 
or  made  to  serve,  coming  near  to  the  Kal  sense,  or  the  sense 
of  the  noun :  made  woeful,  or  devoted  to  use.  The  connec- 
tion, then,  IS  very  clear.  The  oppressor  is  reproved,  not 
by  extolling  the  king  as  the  guardian  of  justice,  and  patron 
of  agriculture,  but  by  setting  forth  the  value  of  the  lowly, 
the  cultivators  of  the  soil,  to  whom  the  highest  ranks,  and, 
ultimately,  the  king  himself,  are  subservient, — on  whom 
they  are  dependent,  and  to  whom  they  may  be  said,  in  the 
last  resort,  to  owe  homage.  This  more  Itepublican  idea, 
and  s  )  much  more  in  harm  my  with  the  whole  spirit  of  the 
passage,  is  sustained  by  Wordsworth.    The  re.ort  to  the 


CHA^.  T.  1-20. 


divine  direction  in  Gen.  iii.  19;  Ex.  xx.  9, 
must  earn  his  bread  in  the  sweat  of  his  brow, 
be  he  vassal  or  freeman. — But  the  abun- 
dance of  the  rich  w^ill  not  suBer  him  to 
sleep.     HiERONTMUs   justly    says :   incocto   cibo 

in  stomachi  augustiu  eesluanie. — TE'J??  p2WT\,  a 

paraphrase  for  the  genitive  like  7lX2? 7  Q'Sixn 

1  Sam.  xiv.  18,  etc,  ;  comp.  Ewald,  j  292,  a. — 
'For  this  sentence comp.  Horace,  Sat.  I.,  l,76ss.; 
Juvenal,  Sat.  X.,  12  s. ;  XIV.,  304;  also  PnBi. 
Syrus  :  ^'Avarum  irritat  non  saiiat  pecunia.^^ — 
Vers.  13-17.  Second  strophe  :  The  annoying  and 
inconstant  nature  of  wealth.     There  is  a  sore 

evil ;  lit.,  "  a  painful  evil ;  "  nblPI  equivalent 
to  the  participle  Neph  H/riJ*  Jer.  xiv.  17 ; 
Nah.  iii.  19. —  Riches  kept  for  the  owners 
;thej:eof  to  their  hurt.  Carefully  guarded 
wealth  proves  a  misfortune  to  the  possessor 
when  the  latter  loses  this  transitory  and  unreli- 
able possession,  and  becomes,  thereby,  more  un- 
happy than  if  he  had  never  possessed  it.  The 
only  correct  illustration  of  this  thought  is  af- 
forded by  ver.  14.  Ver.  14.  But  these  riches 
perish  by  evil  travail. — |'J;J,  lit.,  "  annoy- 
ance, hardship,"  as  in  i.  13  ;  iv.  8,  does  not  here 
mean  the  unprofitable  business,  the  unfortunate 
administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  rich,  but  any 
misfortune,  an  evil  occurrence  of  the  nature  of 
those  in  Job  i.  14-19,  caused  by  robbers,  tem- 
pests, storms,  etc.f — And  he  begetteth  a 
son,  and  thera  is  nothing   in   his    hand. 

"T7ini  is  correctly  taken  as  a  preterit  in  the 
Sept.,  Vulg.,  and  Syriac  ;  for  after  the  failure 
of  his  means,  he  who  was  rich  leaves  off  be- 
getting sons. — Ver.  15.  As  he  came  forth  of 
his  mother's  v7omb,  naked  shall  he  re- 
turn to  go  as  he  came.— njjb?  312?',  lit.,  "he 

V  V  T  T 

repeats  his   going,"  i.  e.,  he  goes   away  again, 
namely  out  of  this  life.     We  find  the  same  re- 
flection concerning  the  inexorable  operation   of 
death  in  Job  i.  21 ;  Ps.  xlix.  10 ;   1   Tim.  vi.  7, 
and  also  in  the  classics,  e.  g.,  Peopert,  Carm. 
III.,  3,  35  s.  -. 
Haud  ullas  portabis  opes  Acherontis  ad  undas; 
Nudus  ad  injerna  stulte,  vehere  rate  ! 
Comp.  P.  Gerhard  in  the  hymn :    "  Why  should 
I  then  grieve  ?" 


Chaldaic  sigaificatioa  of  '\2]!  =  to  the  Hebrew  T\\S]1,  i3 

i_wholly  needless  and  unsatisfactory.  If  the  monarchical 
interpretation,  as  we  may  call  it,  fails,  then  also  falls  t>  the 
ground  what  is  said  about  the  Persians,  and  "  the  king's 
jiTotection  of  agricnltura  in  the  ^rouinces,"  together  with 
the  inference  that  would  then  be  drawn  in  respect  to  the 
date  of  the  book.  Such  a  dependence  of  the  king  upon 
the  field  is  just  a  truth  which  would  be  perceived  by  the 
wiae  Solomon,  but  would  be  unheeded  by  a  Persian  mon- 
arcli,  or  any  writer  who  would  wish  to  extol  him.  Herz- 
'PELD's  interpretation  is  very  nigh  this.  Our  English  Ver- 
sion, *^the  king  is  served  by  the  fielJ,"  or  from  the  field, 
would  require  a  different  preposition  — T.  L.] 
*[See  ttie  explanation  in  the  text  note. — T.  L.] 
tlj^l  pJ^n  may  mean  here  the  labor  and  travail  ex- 
pended in  acquiring  the  ri-hes.  "That  wealth  perishes 
witli  allilha  labor,"  'etc.,  it  took  to  get  it,  Sucli  is  the  ma-e 
iiter.il  Hense  of  3.  as  well  as  the  more  e.xpressive.  He 
has  lost  all. his  labor  and  travail  as  well  as  hia  wealth. 
Compjre  the  Metrical  Version. 
With  the  sore  travail  [it  hai  cost]  that  wealth  departs. 

T.  L.] 


Naked  lay  I  on  the  earth. 
When  I  came,  when  I  drew 
At  first  my  breath. 
Naked  shall  I  pass  away. 
When  from  earth  again  I  flee, 
Like  a  shadow. 
And  shall  take  nothing  of  his  labor.  Lit., 
"does  he  lift  up  through  his  labor  ;"  m^  as  in 
Ps.  xxiv.  4.— Which  he  may  carry  away 
in  his  hand.  '^S;  is  optative  Hophil  [=':]''7V, 
Mich.  iii.  4;  vi.  13,  etc.],  and  need  not  be 
changed  into  '^T,  as  Hitziq  does  in  accordance 
with  the  Sept.  and  Symmachus.  For  the  thought 
that  a  rich  m,an  at  his  death  can  take  none  of 
his  treasures  with  him,  is  extremely  fitting  here, 
in  case  one  does  not  think  of  the  rich  man  de- 
scribed in  ver.  14,  who,  previously  to  his  death, 
was  bereft  of  all  his  possessions  by  misfortune. 
And  this  is  so  much  the  less  necessary,  since 
before  this  verse  death  has  not  been  considered 
the  final  end  of  all  wealth  and  desire  of  acquir- 
ing it. — Ver.  16  emphatically  repeats  the 
thought  of  the  preceding  verse,  in  order  to 
show  more  strongly  the  entire  fruitlessness  and 
folly  of  toiling  after  earthly  wealth,  and  to  pre- 
pare for  the  closing  description  in  ver.  17  of  the 
tortured  existence  of  a  rich  miser. — And  this 
is  also  a  sore  evil,  namely,  not  simply  that 
named  in  ver.  13,  but  also  that  added  in  ver.  15; 
consequently  not  merely  the  ■kIovtov  adriUTTi^ 
there  described  (1  Tim.  vi.  17),  hut  also  death, 
that  places  an  unconditional  limit  to  all  wealth, 
and  toiling  after  riches.  The  views  of  Hbng- 
STENBERQ,  Vaih[nger,  etc.,  are  correct,  whilst 
HiTziG  wrongfully  supposed  that  the  second 
"sore  evil"  is  not  named  until  the  last  clause 
of  this  verse,  and  that  it  consists  in  the  misera- 
ble existence  of  the  miser,  full  of  vexation  and 
profitless.  This  "having no  profit,"  and  "labor- 
ing for  the  wind,"  coincides  rather  (like  the 
contents  of  ver.  17)  with  the  vanity  of  this 
world,  and  its  inconstancy  and  hardship,  as 
described  in  vers.  13  and  14,  so  that  the  reflec- 
tion at  its  end  again  leads  back  to  its  beginning. 
Ver.  17.  All  his  days  also  he  eateth  in 
darkness,  that  is,  in  a  gloomy,  peevish  state 
of  mind,  in  subjective  darkness  as  described  in 

Matt.  vi.  23 ;  John  xi.  10.     VD'-Vs  can  be  very 

XT  T  " 

easily  taken  as  the  object  of  7DN',  although  the 
phrase  "eateth  his  days"  does  not  appear 
again,*  and  therefore  the  meaning  of  "all  his 
days"  seems  the  more  likely  to  be  merely  used 
as  defining  the  time ;  but  comp.  for  this  view 
the  instances  at  least  approximately  analogous 
in  Job  xxi.  13  ;  xxxvi.  11.     The  Sept.  seems  to 

have   read    7DX1    instead    of    73N\    and   so   in 

V'T 

the  following  clause,  instead  of  DjTpi  they  must 
have  read  Dj^Dl,  and  for  Vyni  they  must 
have  read  '^Hl;   for  thev  translate:  Kaiye  jraaai 

•  t;t 

at  iijiipat  avrov  £v  gk6tel   kqX   £v   nevBei   teat  OvfiC 
*  [We  have   the   similar  phrase  in  English — "  consumeth 

hi^  days" — but  it  is  questionable  whether  7DN  is  ever 
thus  used  in  Hebrew.  In  Job  xxi.  13  ;  xxxvi.  11,  the  verb 
is  different.—!'.  L.] 


94 


ECCLESIASTES. 


jtoAAg  mt  appriaria  mi  X^^CJ-  EwALD  and  some 
other   moderns  follow  it  herein ;  but  certainly 

with  regard  to  the  change  of  /3X',  at  least 
without  sufhcient  reason ;  comp.  Hitzig  and 
Elsttsr  on  this  passage.  But  nothing  obliges 
us,  in  the  second  clause,  to  deviate  from  the 
Masoretic  text,  as  Hengstenberg  has  correctly 
shown  in  opposition  to  the  authors  last  named. 
For  0]}2  as  3d,  prseterite,  suits  the  adverb 
T^7i^^'i^  better  than  does  the  substantive  DJ^3; 
but  the  closing  words  "^Vp^  '^(T}]  g''^e  an  excel- 
lent sense  as  an  independent  animated  exclama- 
tion: "and  lie  hath  much  sorrow  and 
■wrath  -with  his  sickness!"  What  is  meant 
is  the  sickness  of  soul  produced  by  the  annoy- 
ance and  dissatisfaction  felt  as  against  those 
things  that  oppose  his  striving  after  riches,  [in 
substance  the  same  as  that  darkness  in  the  pre- 
ceding line]  a  sickness  which  can  eventually 
extend  to  his  body  and  then  torment  him  only 
the  more  severely.* 

6.  Third  Division ;  vers.  18-20.  Concerning 
a  moderate  and  gratefully  contented  enjoyment 
of  life,  as  the  only  true  and  wise  conduct  for 
the  poor  and  for  the  rich ;  comp.  the  exactly 
similar  closing  sentence  of  the  first  discourse, 
chap.  ii.  24-26,  and  also  the  close  of  the  first 
part  of  the  second  discourse,  chap.  iii.  22. — 
Behold  that  -which  I  have  seen:  it  is 
good  and  comely,  etc.  Hitzig  and  Hahn 
say:  "  What  I  have  found  good,  and  what  beau- 
tiful;" Hengstenberg:  behold  what  I  have 
seen,  that  it  is  good  and  handsome,  elc.  This 
latter  translation  is  the  only  one  that  corres- 
ponds exactly  to  the  accentuation, ■(■  which  (by  a 

*  [Hitzig  regards  the  text  here  aa  corrupt,  and  proposes 
to  read  V/H^  *nd  DJ?3.  There  is  no  serious  difficulty 
in  taking   '0}/2    ^  ^  noun  [the  lirst  patach  lengthened, 

as  JoNA  Ben  G.^nnaoh  shows  may  be  done].  The  other 
correction,  and  HiTZlQ's  charge  of  corruption,  only  show 
that  a  very  jicute  critic,  not  having  much  -imagination, 
may  not  sympathize  wilh  the  poetical  style,  or  the  emo- 
tional earnestness  of  such  a  writer  as  Koheleth,  and  must 
therelbre,  often  fail  in  interpreting  him.  The  apparent 
irregularity  of  the  sentence  shows  a  vehement  utterance, 
the  thoughts  crowding  together,  coining  in,  some  of  them 
out  of  their  order,  as  though  anticipated,  or  in  danger 
of  being  forgotten.  The  most  literal,  therefore,  is  the 
rendering  which  is  most  true  to  this  subjective  emotional 
state:  "great  grief,  sickness  his,  and  wrath;"  or  to  give 
it  something  of  its  rythmical  order: 
Yea,  all  his  days,  doth  he  in  darkness  eat; 
Abundant  sorrow,  sickness  too  is  his,  and  chafing  wrath. 

T.L] 
t  [Those  noble  Bcholars,  tho  Buxtorfs,  and  the  learned  as 
well  as  devout  Boston,  were  not  altogether  without  reason 
in  their  belief  ih-it  the  Hebrew  system  of  accents,  as  found 
in  our  Hebrew  Bibles,  partook,  in  some  degree,  of  the 
Biblical  inspiration.  There  is  a  critical  acuteneaa,  a 
apiritual-mindedness,  we  may  say,  manifested  by  those 
early  accentuators.  from  whom  came  the  traditional  masora, 
that  is  truly  wonderful.  There  are  many  examples  in  the 
Psalms-  There  is  an  instance  of  it,  we  think,  in  this 
passage,  vers.  18  and  19.  They  have  placed  a  rebia,  a  dis- 
junctive  accent,  over    ''ji<    ver.  18,   thereby  separating   it 

from  3iD  that  follows.  This  our  English  translators  have 
observed,  as  a'so  Hahn,  Henqstenberg  and  others,  who, 
after  all.  do  not  make  the  rifrlit  use  of  it.  Zockier  ac- 
knowledging though  disregarding  the  accents,  renders : 
"behold  what  I  have  seen  as  good,  that  it  is  fair  to  eat," 
etc., — making  "liyX  a  conjunction.  To  follow  the  accen- 
tuation, however,  i8  the  only  way  to  bring  out  the  sense 
in  all  its  force  ftnd  clearness.    The  other  method  makes 


rebia  over  ""JX)  strongly  separates  the  31£3  from 
what  precedes,  but  scarcely  expresses  the  sense 
originally  intended  by  the  author  himself.  Our 
own  view  corresponds  rather  to  this  original 
senae,  which  alone  is  rightly  in  accordance  with 
the  position  of  "IKfX  before  T^p\ — To  eat  and 
to  drink,  and  to  enjoy  the  good  of  all  his 
labor.  The  suffix  in  w^J^  belongs  to  the  pre- 
viously unexpressed  subject  of  the  infinitive 
clauses  /bX/,  etc.;  comp.  vii.  1;  Ps.  iv.  9; 
Ixv.  9,  etc.  The  eating,  and  drinking,  and  en- 
joying the  good  [lit.,  "seeing  the  good,"  corap. 
ii.  24)  is  as  little  meant  in  an  Epicurean  sense 
here  as  in  similar  earlier  passages  ;  it  expresses 
simply  the  normal  contrast  to  the  grasping 
avarice   previously   censured. — For   it   is   his 

portion.  ["'P7D  ^'"''^  '^  •  "  ^^^^  '^^  should  be  his 
portion;  "  "'3  denoting  end,  purpose^  or,  as  it  is 
rendered  in  the  Metrical  Version,  "  to  be  his 
portion  here," — so  as  not  to  interrupt  the  flow  of 
the  sentence. — T.  L.]  It  is  his  lot  divinely  ap- 
pointed unto  him  for  this  life,  that  he  cannot 
take  with  him  into  the  world  beyond  (ver.  15) 
and  which  he  must  consequently  properly  profit 
by  here  below  (comp.  iii.  22). — Ver.  19.  Every 
man  also  to  ■whom  G-od  hath  given  riches 
and    wealth.      Hitzig   unnecessarily   renders 

31£3    and    HiS''    synonymous,  and   represents    eating  and 

drinking  as  the  good  per  se,  without  qualification ;  the  asser- 
tion afterwards  made,  about  its  being  the  gift  of  God, 
having  no  effect  in  changing,  or  modifying  this  positive 
declaration.  On  the  contrary,  the  accentual  renderine, 
makes  the  perception  and  the  consciousness  of  this  [SltSH 
miD  mXl /])  the  very  thing  that  constitutes  the  "good 
which  is  fair"  [HS^    ^k^X    D1£3],  in  distinction  from  the 

v  T  v  -: 
mere  pUasiire  which  .he  Epicurean  would  call  good.  Thus 
it  reads,  according  to  the  accents:  '"gooii  th^t  is  fair,  to 
oat  and  drink,  etc.  (that  is,  in  eating  and  drinking),  and 
to  see  the  good,"  etc., — intimating  that  there  is  a  good,  or 
seeming  good,  that  ia  not^fair,  or  beautiful,  a  2)ID  that  is 
not    'r\D'^.     To  take    *1U?X   thus   as  a  relative  pronoun,  is 

the  only  way  to  avoid  a  tautology;  for  the  other  r(^nde^- 
ing  makes  no  distinction  between  310  aud  n3\  or  rather 

VT 

regards  the  one  as  but  a  repetition  of  the  other.  It  is 
true  that,  in  such  use  of  TU^K,  the  personal  pronoun  gene- 
rally follows  [X^n   713"'    "lU^X    D1C3]  hut  not  always,  aj 

VT  '.■  -: 

Gen.  vii.  8,    K'Dh    IlVN   VdI    Hl^^n,  and  similar  cases, 

especially  Hosea  xii.  8,  "  lh?y  shall  not  find  in  me,  |1J? 

XtOn    ^U^X,  iniquity  that  is  sin," — meaning  by  XDH  * 

qualification  of  the  general   term   Tiy,  or  a  known   and 

wilful  sin,  one  deserving  of  punishment,  as  both  KiMCHi 
and  Abbn  Ezra  explain  it.  (Grammatically  and  logically 
it  is  precisely  similar  to  this  case.  It  is  not  easy  to  resist 
the  conclusion  tliat  a  logical  differentia,  some  qualif^'iag 
of  31t3.  ■was  here  intt-nded.  It  is,  in  fact,  that  same  dis- 
tinction which  is  made  by  the  ordinary  mind,  if  devout, 
aud  «hich  we  find  in  Plato,  the  mystical,  as  some  style 
him,  but  who  is,  in  reality,  the  clearest,  and.  in  the  truest 
senae  of  the  term,  the  most  common-sense  of  all  the 
philosophers.  It  ia  the  ayaOov  that  is  KaKov  (since  the 
sensualist  also  has  his  ayaOou,  so  called,  which  is  nnt 
KaKow,  but  only  i75v)  the  ^ikTi.<nov,  or  to  use  similar  lan- 
guage of  Cicero,  the  honum.  that  is  pulcJirum,  the  dulce 
that  is  honestum.  It  is  the  word  used  chap.  iii.  11  to  denote 
the  beauty  of  everything  in  its  season,  as  God  made  it, 

inj73  713"*  ntJ'i?  73n~nX.  or  as  the  world  was  pronounced 
all  good,  all  fair,  at  creation,  whilst  still  lu  unison  with  the 


CHAP.  V.  1-20. 


9.^ 


h  m  1^«  "  that  God  gives  him,"  (or  "if")  etc. 
The  anakolouthon  between  the  nominative  abso- 
lute "  every  man  "  and  the  final  clause  :  "  that 
is  the  gift  of  God,"  cannot  be  thus  removed. — 
And  hath  given  him  power  to  eat  thereof, 

elc.  For  D'7I!'n  "  to  cause  to  rule,  to  empower 
anyone,''  comp.  Ps.  cxix.  133;  Dan.  ii.  28,  48. 
That  is  the  gift  of  God.     The   emphasis   does 

not  rest  on  LD'ri7S>  as  in  the  similar  thought 
in  chap.  ii.  24,  but  on  nj]lD,  which  here  there- 
fore means  a  noble  gift  (iJdojf  ajad^,  daprz/xa 
rilswv,  Jas.  i.  17)  a  gracious  present,  as  the 
following  verse  teaches.  Comp.  also  Hoeaoe, 
Epis.  I.,  4,  6  : 

Di  tibi  dioitias  dederunt,  artemque  fruendi. 

Ver.  20.  For  he  shall  not  much  remember 
the  days  of  his  life.  That  is  not  as  Ewald 
says:  "Memory  and  enjoyment  of  this  life  do 
not  last  long,"  which  would  clearly  give  a  to- 
tally foreign  thought,  but  he  now  forgets  all  toil 
and  vexation  of  his  former  life,*  and  learns,  in 
consequence  of  the  divine  beneficence  which  he 


divine  name  and  presence.    The  y\^  that  is  n3\  the  good 

VT 

that  is  FAIR,  must  hare  aonje  other  element  in  it  than  mere 
aenee-enjoyment,  or  volupias  (velle  quod  optat).  This  appears 
by  another  accentual  mark  The  same  acute  critics  have 
placed  a  zakeph  gadhol,  another  strong  disjunctive  accent, 

upon  the  demonstrative  pronoun  HT  in  ver.  19,  thereby 
making  it  more  emphatic,  by  separating  it  from  the  adjoin- 
ing words,  thus  constituting  it  a  clause  by  itself,  as  it  were, 
to  which  special  attention  is  called.  By  being  thus  sepa- 
rated from  what  is  near,  it  goes  back  to  the  ^1£3  men- 
tioned some  ways  above  or  to  the  idea  contained,  and  carries 
It  through  all  the  clauses:  ^^ good  that  is /at>,  to  eat  and 
drink,  and  see  the  good'^  etc.,  ( thro  ugh  all  that  follows  in  the 
Lng  recital)  "this" — this  (good)  I  say — is  God's  own  gift." 
The  meaning  is,  that  the  recognition  and  the  consciousness 
of  this  are  necessary  to  make  it  good,  or  the  good  emphati- 
cally— "the  good  that  is /air" — and  that,  without  this  it 
would  not  be  HS"'  KoAdi-,  lirniestum,  etc.,  but  sheer  sensual- 

VT 

ism,  frhich  in  itself,  he  so  often  pronounces  worthless- 
neas  a-id  vanity.  The  whole  passage,  18-20,  has  the  air 
of  a  solemn  recapitulation,  in  wbich  the  writer  means 
to  express  his  deepest  and  truest  feeling:  "And  now, 
behold  what  I  have  seen :  good  that  i^  fair,"  etc, ;  all  such 
good  is  from  above,  and  there  is  really  no  other  that  deserves 
to  be  so  called  It  is  imbued  throughout  with  the  name  of 
God,  as  though  His  name  were  inseparable  from  any  true 
idea  of  the  good.  Taking  the  accents  in  their  intended 
form,  the  passage  has  a  most  eloquent  fulness ;  disregarding 
them,  we  tiave  sheer  Epicureanism,  expressed  in  what  seems 
a  verbose  style,  tautological,  unmeaning,  and,  withal,  out 
of  harmony  with  tiie  g-^neral  scope  of  the  book.  The  ear- 
n-stness  of  the  writer  in  his  desire  of  fully  setting  out  the 
thought,  is  shown  by  the  repetition  in  the  beginning  of  the 

19th  verse:  QIXH  Sd  DX  "yea  every  man,  as  God 
has  given  liim  weal  th,  ami  power  to  eat  thereof,  and  bear  his 
portion,"  etc  ,  and  then  the  strong  accented  TlT  making  the 
peroration  of  the  whole ;  so  that  the  Epicurean  or  sensualist 
could  claim  no  fragment  of  it  as.  in  the  least,  favoring  the 
godless  philosophy.  See  the  Metrical  Version.  It  is  all 
Idle  to  put  the  moat  naked  Epicureanism  in  the  mouth  of 
the  writer,  as  Zockler  and  Stoart  do,  and  then  deny  it 
18  such,  or  attempt  to  weave  for  it  some  possible  evan- 
gelical robe.— T.  L  ] 

*  [EwALD'8  viewistobepreferred,  though  with  a  modifica- 
tion. In  the  recognition  of  the  higher  good  (see  marginal 
note,  p.  94),  or  the  gift  and  blessing  of  God,  the  mere  sen- 
sual pleasure,  the  mere  liinng,  as  an  enjoyment,  is  not 
much  remembered,  nor  the  time  it  lasts.  The  higher 
aspect  makes  the  lower  seem  leas,  though  not  undervalued. 

Not  life  itself,  with  all  its  joys. 
Could  my  best  passions  move, 

Or  raise  so  high  my  cheerful  voice, 
As  Thine  endearing  love. 
Compare  It  with  Psalm  iv.  5  :  "  Thou  hast  ptit  joy  in  my 


gratefully  and  contentedly  enjoys,  to  forget  the 
"miserable  life"  (Luthee)  that  he  previously 
led,  and  cares  no  more  concerning  the  rapid 
flight  and  short  duration  of  his  earthly  days, 
(comp.  vi.  12).  Because  God  auswereth 
him  in  the  joy  of  his  heart.  The  second 
'3  is  subjoined  to  the  first  one  in  the  com- 
mencement of  the  clause,  and  is  therefore  better 
translated  with  "because"  or  "since"  than 
with  "for."  3  npjrn  lit.  "he  answers  him 
with,"  i.  e.,  he  hears  him  by  vouchsafing,  etc.; 
for  this  signification  of  the  Hiph,  of  n:;t  comp. 
1  Kings  viii.  35  ;  2  Chron.  vi.  26 ;  Hos.  ii.  23. 
All  other  meanings  are  contr.iry  to  the  language 
and  connection,  e.  g.  Hitziq:  "he  makes  him 
ready  to  serve ;  "  Koster  :  "  he  makes  him  sing 
with  the  joy  of  his  heart;  "  Vaihinger  (accord- 
ing to  the  Sept.  and  Vulg.)  :  "  he  occupies  him 
with  the  joy  of  his  heart,"  etc. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

( With  Homilelical  Hints.) 

The  threefold  means  given  in  this  chapter  for 
obtaining  and  advancing  earthly  happiness,  are 
the  fulfilment  of  duty  towards  God,  our  neigh- 
bors, and  ourselves ;  or  the  three  virtues  corre- 
sponding to  these  three  kinds  of  duties — 
evatj^ELa,  dtnatouvvj/  and  CLxppoavvT}  (Tit,  ii.  12 ; 
Matth.  xxii,  37-39).  Among  the  duties  to  God, 
special  attention  is  directed  to  proper  demeanor 
in  regard  to  prayer  and  vows ;  among  the  duties 
to  our  neighbor,  the  avoiding  of  injustice  and 
covetousness,  and  as  duties  to  ourselves,  tempe- 
rance and  serene  cheerfulness  in  the  enjoyment 
of  the  pleasures  of  this  life.  Each  of  these  spe- 
cial directions  regarding  moral  demeanor  is  so 
presented  that  its  relation  to  the  happiness  and 
peace  of  men's  souls  clearly  appears.  And  thus, 
especially,  in  the  sphere  of  religious  duties,  the 
necessity  of  pure  truthfulness,  sacred  earnest- 
ness, and  careful  bridling  of  the  tongue  (in 
prayer  as  in  vows),  or,  in  a  word,  the  just  fear 
of  God  is  insisted  on  as  the  essence  of  all  those 
conditions  on  which  depends  the  preservation  of 
the  Divine  favor  (ver.  4),  and  thus  the  foundation 
of  all  internal  and  external  happiness.  In  the 
obligations  of  justice  and  unselfishness  towards 
our   neighbor    (vers.   8-17)   special  reference  is 

heart  more  than  [the  joy  of]  the  time  [flj^a],  when  their 

corn  and  their  wine  increase ;"  and  especially  with  the 
verse  preceding  (Ps.  iv.  7)  "Many  are  saying"  (it  is  the 
great  inquiry  among  men)  "who  will  show  us  gooi"  (tht 
good,  the  summum  ionum,  the  Plfl''    TIVS    31Di  the  good 

that  Is  beautiful),  and  then  how  full  of  light,  and  power,- 
and  meaning,  is  the  answer  :  "  Lift  Thou  upon  us  the  ligbt 
of  Thy  countenance,  Jehovah."  That  was  the  good  which 
philosophy,  whether  Epicurean  or  Stoical,  could  never  find: 
"  The  Light  of  Thy  countenance,"  or  of  Thy  presence  I  We 
have  becotne  so  familiar  with  this  precious  Hebraism,  that 
we  lose  sight  of  its  glorious  beauty.  In  what  other  lan- 
guage, or  literature,  can  we  find  anything  like  it?  With 
the  sentiment  of  Koheleth  that  it  is  the  thought  of  God's 
grace  that  makes  the  good,  compare  also  the  language, 
Ps.  XXX.  6:  "In  His  favor  is  life,"  and  Ps.  Ixiii.  4:  -Thy 
loving-kindness  is  better  than  life"— □"na    'l^pH  3f£3 

—a  good  that  is  more  than  life.  It  is  the  same  idea,  though 
the  language  of  Koheleth  is  more  calm,  more  philosophic, 
we  may  say,  than  the  impassioned  diction  of  the  Psalmist, 
made  more  striking  and  emotional  by  the  use  of  the  sec- 
ond person. — T.  L.j 


ECCLESIASTES. 


made  to  the  certainty  of  judicial  visitation  on  the 
part  of  God  or  the  King  (vers.  8  and  9),  to  the 
freedom  from  stinging  avarice  and  torturing 
care  (ver.  10  to  17),  and  to  the  superiority  of 
heavenly  treasures,  which  one  is  not  obliged  to 
leave  here  and  sacrifice  at  death,  as  is  the  case 
with  earthly  treasures  (vers.  13-16) ;  and  these 
are  represented  as  just  so  many  sources  of  real 
inward  happiness  and  peace.  With  regard  to 
the  serenity  of  life  recommended  at  the  close  as 
a  means  of  properly  fulfilling  the  duties  to  one's 
self  (vers.  18-20),  sensual  enjoyment  in  itself  is 
not  so  much  praised  as  a  principal  means  of 
happiness,  as  is  the  grateful  consciousness  that 
all  joys  and  blessings  of  this  life  come  from 
God,  together  with  the  diligence  and  zealous  ac- 
tivity in  vocation  that  truly  give  flavor  to  the 
enjoyment  of  these  pleasures  ("to  enjoy  the  good 
of  all  his  labor,"  ver.  18;  "  to  rejoice  in  his  la- 
bor," ver.  19)  ;  and  just  in  this  manner  is  de- 
monstrated the  way  of  acquiring  genuine  and 
lasting  happiness,  in  contradistinction  to  Epicu- 
reanism and  all  that  philosophy  which  declares 
pleasure  to  be  the  chief  good.  In  a  comprehen- 
sive homiletical  treatment  of  the  section,  the 
theme  might  be  presented  as  follows:  "Of  a 
godly,  just,  and  chaste  life  in  this  world,  as  the 
foundation  of  all  genuine  happiness  in  this  world 
and  the  nest;"  or;  "Of  a  right  truthfulness,  in 
prayer  before  God,  in  administration  of  earthly 
goods  before  men,  and  in  the  wise  enjoyment  of 
the  pleasures  of  life  in  presence  of  one's  own 
conscience;"  or  also  (with  special  reference  to 
contents  of  verses  8  and  9):  "Honor  all  men. 
Love  the  brotherhood.  Fear  God.  Honor  the 
king"  (1  Pet.  ii.  17). 

HOMILETICAL  HINTS  ON  SEPARATE  PASSAGES. 

Chap.  V.  1.  HiEaosTMDS :  Non  ingredi  domum 
Dei,  sed  sine  offensione  ingredi,  laudis  est. 

Melanothon  : — Solomon  declares  that  the 
principal  and  best  worship  of  God  is  to  listen  to 
His  word  and  faithfully  follow  it.  But  it  has  al- 
ways been  the  case  that  men  have  invented  a 
multitude  of  sacrifices,  and  various  ceremonies; 
thus  the  heathen,  the  Pharisees  and  the  monks 
have  falsified  the  proper  way  of  reverencing 
God.  This  audacity  of  man  is  here  condemned 
as  a  deep  sin,  however  much  its  originators  may 
defend  it  and  praise  their  superstition  as  a  glo- 
rious virtue. 

Starke: — ATe  must  visit  the  church  as  crea- 
tures who  humble  themselves  before  their 
Creator,  as  subjects  doing  homage  to  their  Lord, 
as  paupers  begging  for  spiritual  gifts,  as  sick 
men  imploring  aid,  as  Christians  ready  to  serve 
Him  with  willing  and  pure  heart. 

Beeleburg  Bible: — One  must  not  be  sa- 
tisfied with  simple  hearing,  else  it  is  this  and 
nothing  else,  and  this  was  not  meant.  The  out- 
ward is  simply  outward ;  the  true  object  of 
external  worship  must  only  be  to  lead  to  the  in- 
ternal. 

Chap.  V.  2,  3.  Brenz  : — Because  God  alone 
dwells  in  heaven,  i.  e.,  is  alone  true,  wise  and 
just,  and  we  live  on  the  earth,  and  are,  there- 
fore, liars,  fools,  and  sinners,  it  in  no  manner 
becomes  us  with  our  human  wisdom,  which  in 
God's  eyes  is  folly,  to  judge  of  divine  and  hea- 


venly things,  and  to  indulge  in  many  words  with 
God  concerning  our  worldly  affairs,  experiences 
and  knowledge.  But  we  must  listen  to  God; 
leave  to  Him  every  decision,  and  silently  obey 
His  word  as  the  only  true  wisdom. 

Geier  : — Think  at  all  times  in  thy  prayer  of 
the  majesty  of  God  with  whom  thou  speakest,  and 
of  thine  own  unworthiness,  this  will  then 
strongly  move  thy  heart  in  pious  devotion. 

Berlee.  Bible  : — "Let  thy  words  be  few;" — 
how  far-reaching  is  this  precept,  in  teaching,  in 
preaching,  in  prayer,  and  in  ordinary  life ! 
How  many  a  long  sermon  would  be  condemned 
by  this  censorship,  although  it  might  fulfil  all 
the  requirements  of  the  preacher's  art  1  And 
how  few  spiritual  things  would  be  found  in  many 
discourses,  if  they  were  purified  of  all  useless, 
unedifying,  vain,  annoying,  and  improper  words, 
as  they  indeed  should  be  ! — The  Saviour  has  re- 
garded this  counsel,  and  hence  has  given  a  very 
short  formula  of  prayer,  in  the  very  beginning  of 
which  He  impresses  on  the  suppliant  the  majesty 
of  God  who  is  in  heaven,  but  tempers  it  with  the 
loving  name  of  father,  etc. 

Vers.  4-7.  Brenz: — Vows,  which  proceed  from 
unbelief,  or  violate  the  precepts  of  brotherly 
Jove,  the  Christian  should  neither  make  nor  fulfil 
if  he  has  made  them.  But  if  the  vow  proceeds 
from  faith  and  love,  and  accords  with  their  com- 
mands, then  it  must  be  kept:  else  God  will  judge 
thee  as  the  fool,  i.  e.,  as  the  ungodly. 

Lange: — Dear  man,  seek  to  maintain  thy  bap- 
tismal vows,  therein  hast  thou  vows  enough. 

Hansen  (ver.  6)  : — The  mouth  causeth  the  flesh 
to  sin  when  it  promises  what  the  flesh  neither 
can  nor  will  perform. 

Starke  (ver.  7) : — The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the 
essence  of  all  true  virtue,  and  it  also  teaches 
how  one  should  wisely  use  his  tongue  (James  i. 
26)^ 

Hengstenbeeg  : — He  who  really  fears  God 
will  say  nothing  concerning  Him  but  that  which 
proceeds  from  his  inmost  heart,  and  vow  nothing 
but  that  which  he  is  resolved  inviolably  to 
keep. 

Vers.  8  and  9.  Luther: — This  book  teaches 
thee  to  give  thy  heart  to  rest,  and  not  to  fret 
and  pine  too  much  when  things  go  wrong,  but, 
when  the  devil  engages  in  malice,  violence,  in- 
justice and  oppression  of  the  poor,  to  be  able  to 
say  :  "  this  is  the  course  of  the  world ;  God  will 
judge  and  avenge  it."  Let  each  one,  therefore, 
in  his  sphere  do  his  work  with  best  diligence, 
according  to  the  command  of  God :  the  rest  he 
may  commit  to  God  and  suffer.  Let  him  await 
then  what  the  godless  and  unjust  men  may  do  1 — 

The  Btone  thou  canst  not  lift,  let  lie; 
Thy  strength  upon  some  other  try. 

Melanothon  (ver.  8) : — Observe  here  the  dif- 
ference between  a  king  and  n  tyrant.  A  tyrant 
devastates  and  destroys  ;  a  good  ruler  cherishes 
his  country,  protects  and  furthers  the  interests 
of  agriculture,  the  prosperity  of  the  Church, 
the  arts  and  industries,  and  all  good  things. 

Starke  :— God  is  the  ruler  of  all  nations  (Ps. 
Ixxxii.  8).  The  loftiest  noble  and  the  meanest 
peasant  must  alike  humbly  acknowledge  Him  as 
his  Lord,  and  reverence  and  obey  Him. 

Wohlfarih  :— What  Solomon  says  we  see  yet 


CHAP.  VI.  1-12 


to-day.  Although  Church  and  State  make  every 
effort  to  advance  the  cause  of  righteousness  and 
retard  that  of  sin,  the  realm  of  evil  is  neverthe- 
less wide-spread,  and  covetousness,  pride,  envy, 
deceit,  voluptuousness,  every  where  raise  in  op- 
pression their  repulsive  heads.  But  let  us  re- 
member that  the  earth  is  ever  a  land  of  imper- 
fection ;  then  this  will  not  surprise  us  ;  but  we 
shall  rather  be  inclined  to  find  in  the  contrast  in 
which  the  reality  stands  with  the  belief  in  Divine 
justice,  a  reason  for  our  hope  of  immortality  and 
final  reward,  and,  while  we  seek  according  to  our 
strength  to  prevent  evil,  we  will  ourselves  shun 
every  sin,  that  we  may  hereafter  stand  rejoicing 
before  God's  throne. 

Ver.  10  if.  Ldther: — What  is  a,  miser  but  a 
poor,  tortured,  uneasy  soul  and  heart,  that  is 
always  looking  after  that  which  it  does  not  pos- 
sess ;  it  is  therefore  vanity  and  wretchedness. 
Are  not  those  happy  people  who  are  satisfied 
with  the  present  favors  of  God,  and  comfortable 
nourishment  for  the  body,  and  who  leave  it  to 
God  to  care  for  the  future  ? — If  now  God  gives 
thee  riches,  use  thy  share  as  thou  usest  thy 
share  of  water,  and  let  the  rest  flow  by  thee ;  if 
thou  dost  not  do  so,  thy  gathering  will  be  all  in 
vain. 

Geiek: — The  best  inheritance  that  a  rich  man 
can  leave  to  his  children  is  Christian  instruction 
in  the  discipline  and  admonition  of  the  Lord,  and 
thorough  education  in  the  arts  and  sciences. 

Zbmner: — How  happy  are  hearts  that  are 
heavenly  inclined,  that  are  contented  with  what 


the  beneficent  hand  of  God  has  bestowed  on 
them,  and  enjoy  it  with  His  blessing  in  grati- 
tude. 

WoHLFARTH  : — How  foolishly  do  those  act  who 
live  solely  for  their  earthly  existence. 

Vers.  18-20.  Luthek:— To  "eat  in  darkness  " 
is  nought  else  than  lo  pass  one's  life  in  melan- 
choly. All  avaricious  and  troublesome  people 
find  something  that  does  not  please  them,  where 
they  can  fret  and  scold.  For  they  are  full  of 
care,  vexation,  and  anxiety ;  they  cannot  joy- 
fully eat,  nor  joyfully  drink,  but  always  find 
something  that  annoys  and  oflFends  them. 

Lange: — A  true  Christian  uses  the  nourish- 
ment and  needful  supplies  of  his  body,  to  the 
especial  end  that  he  may  recognize  the  goodness 
of  God  in  all  his  labor  under  the  sun. 

Hansen  : — In  order  to  enjoy  the  good  that  there 
is  in  the  riches  of  this  world,  it  is  necessary  that 
one  have  a  perfect  rule  over  them,  i.  «.,  that  in 
the  use  of  them  he  may  at  all  times  act  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Divine  purpose,  Ps.  Ixii.  10. 

Beeleb.  Bible: — As  "to  the  pure  every 
thing  is  pure  "  (Tit.  i.  15),  so  also  wealth  may 
be  used  by  such  u,  one  in  purity,  and  it  will 
therefore  depend  mainly  on  each  one's  own  heart 
how  it  stands  in  the  presence  of  God.  But  if 
one  does  not  remain  contented  and  quiet  when 
house  and  home  burn  up,  or  some  other  injury 
happens  to  his  possessions,  then  is  he  not  yet 
rightly  placid  and  tranquil;  this  is  the  proof 
of  it. 


THIRD  DISCOURSE. 

Of  true  practical  Wisdom. 

Chap.  VI.  1— VIII.  15. 

A.  It  cannot  consist  in  striving  after  earthly  sources  of  happiness. 

Chap.  VI.  1-12. 

1.  Even  those  most  richly  blessed  with  earthly  possessions  do  not  attain  to  a  true  and  lasting 

enjoyment  of  them. 

(Veks.  1-6.) 

1  There  is  an  evil  which  I  have  seen  under  the  sun,  and  it  is  common  among  men : 

2  A  man  to  whom  God  hath  given  riches,  wealth,  and  honor,  so  that  he  wanteth  no- 
thing for  his  soul  of  all  that  he  desireth,  yet  God  giveth  him  not  power  to  eat 

3  thereof,  bat  a  stranger  eateth  it:  this  is  vanity,  and  it  is  an  evil  disease.  If  a  man 
beget  an  hundred  children,  and  live  many  years,  so  that  the  days  of  his  years  be 
many,  and  his  soul  be  not  filled  with  good,  and  also  that  he  have  no  burial;  I  say, 

4  that  an  untimely  birth  is  better  than  he.     For  he  cometh  in  with  vanity,  and  de- 

5  parteth  in  darkness,  and  his  name  shall  be  covered  with  darkness.  Moreover  he 
hath  not  seen  the  sun,  nor  known  any  thing :  this  hath  more  rest  than  the  other. 

6  Yea,  though  he  live  a  thousand  years  twice  told,  yet  hath  he  seen  no  good :  do  not 
all  go  tp  one  place? 


ECCLESIASTES. 


2.   He  who  strives  moat  zealously  after  earthly  happiness,  never  gets  beyond   the  feeling  of  the 
vanity  of  all  earthly  things,  and  the  hope  of  a  totally  obscure  future. 


(Vees.  7-12.) 

7  All  the  labour  of  man  is  for  his  mouth,  and  yet  the  appetite  is  not  filled. 

8  For  what  hath  the  wise  more  than  the  fool?  what  hath  the  poor,  that  knoweth  to 

9  walk  before  the  living?     Better  is  the  sight  of  the  eyes  than  the  wandering  of  the 

10  desire:  this  is  also  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit.  That  which  hath  been  is  named 
already,  and  it  is  known  that  it  is  man :  neither  may  he  contend  with  him  that  is 

11  mightier  than  he.     Seeing  there  be  many  things  that  increase  vanity,  what  is  man 

12  the  better?  For  who  knoweth  what  is  good  for  man  in  this  life,  all  the  days  of  his 
vain  life  which  he  spendeth  as  a  shadow?  for  who  can  tell  a  man  what  shall  be 
after  him  under  the  sun? 

[Ver.  3.  7i3^n    03  J)  tliis  peculiar  word  occurs  Job  iii.  16,  Pa.  Iviii.  9,  as  well  aa  here ;  in  all  which  places  it  has  the 

V  T  —  V  V 

eame  meaning  of  premature  birth,  or  abortion.  It  comes  from  the  Hiphil  sense  of  the  verb  aa  used  in  auch  places  aa 
Isaiah  xxvi.  29,  where  it  is  applied  to  the  earth  as  giving  birth.  For  a  similar  use  of  the  Greek  TrtTTTo),  compare  Homer, 
Jliad.  xix.  110.— T.  L.] 

[Ver.  4.    ^3;    See  Remarks  in  Introduction  to  Metrical  Version,  p.    177. — T.  L.] 

[Ver.  6.    ^7X    SRid  to  he  &  particle  Sequiwis  Hebraisnn  (See  Gesenius)  but  it  is  only  a  matter  of  pronunciation.    It  is 

only  what   ^7    DX    would  be  in  sound  if  written  in  full— the    0    in  such  cases,  where  the  words  are  pronounced  rapidly 

together,  being  elided  in  sound.  This  belongs  to  the  Hebrew,  as  well  as  to  the  Syriac  and  Arabic,  and  its  appearance  or 
non-appearance  in  writing  is  only  a  peculiarity  of  orthography  which  is  not  determinative  of  date,  any  more  than  the  ab- 
breviations of  '^\^^    which  are  found  in  the  ancient  as  well  as  in  the  later  Hebrew  writings.    It  would  easily  come  from 

a  copyist  following  the  sound. — T.  L.] 

[Ver.  10.    QTX,    the  point  intended  here  requires  that  this  should  be  rendered  as  the  proper  name.    The  reference  is 

T  T 

to  the  naming,  Gen.  ii  7. — T.  L.] 


EXEGEXICAL    AND    CRITICAL. 

This  section  contains  firstly  the  negative  of  the 
illustration  relative  to  the  nature  of  true  wisdom, 
which  forms  the  contents  of  the  third  discourse, 
or  a  censure  of  the  vain  and  perverse  efforts  of 
those  who  seek  that  wisdom  in  the  way  of  ex- 
ternal and  earthly  happiness.  In  two  clearly 
marked  sections  or  strophes  of  equal  length,  the 
author  iirst  shows  that  all  worldly  blessings  are 
of  no  avail  to  him  who  is  not  able  to  enjoy  them 
(vers.  1-6)  and  then  that  this  very  incapability 
of  enjoyment  depends  partly  on  the  perception 
of  the  vanity  of  earthly  things,  and  partly  on  the 
necessity,  affecting  all  men,  of  depending  on  a  to- 
tally dark  and  uncertain  future,  while  dissatisfied 
with  the  present  (vers.  7-12).  The  latter  of 
these  two  sections  (especially  in  its  second  half, 
vers.  10-12)  reminds  us  of  previous  reflections, 
as  i.  2-11;  iii.  1-9;  and  partially  also  of  v.  12- 
16.  But  that  tlie  last  named  passage  reappears 
in  its  principal  thoughts  in  the  present  place,  is 
an  unjustified  assertion  of  some  commentators 
(also  of  Vaihinqer,  p.  34).  For,  as  Hitzig  pro- 
perly observes,  there  the  rich  man  loses  his  bless- 
ings without  having  enjoyed  them;  here,  on  the 
contrary,  he  retains  them. —  Ewald,  Elster, 
Hahn,  and  some  others,  begin  a  new  leading  sec- 
tion with  ver.  10  of  this  chapter  (Ewald,  indeed, 
a  new  discourse,  which  he  extends  from  vi.  10 ; 
viii.  15).  But  since  vers.  10-12  clearly  belong  to 
the  description  of  the  vanity  of  earthly  happi- 
ness commenced  in  ver.  1,  whilst  the  admonition 
to  walk  in  the  ways  of  true  wisdom  does  not 
commence  until  chap.  vii.  1,  etc.,  our  division, 
which  corresponds  with  the  division  of  the  chap- 
ters, is  to  be  preferred. 


2.  First  strophe.  Vers.  1-6.  The  unhappiness 
of  not  being  able  to  enjoy  present  earthly  bless- 
ings. There  is  an  evil  which  I  have  seen 
under  the  sun.  In  words  similar  to  chap.  x.  5 ; 
and  in  like  manner  to  chap.  v.  13. — And  is 
common  among  men.  (Zookler's  transla- 
tion, and  it  bears  heavily  on  man).  Literally : 
"And  is  a  great  thing  on  man,"  il3T  cannot 
here  have  been  intended  to  show  the  frequency 
of  the  evil  (Lutheb,  "  and  is  common  among 
men;"  Vulg.  "malum  frequens"),  but  only  its 
extent  and  weight,  as  is  shown  by  the  expression 
nST  n^"1  in  the  parallel  passages  ii.  21 ;  and 
viii.  6. — Ver.  2.  A  man  to  whom  God  hath 
given  riches,  wealth,  and  honor.  The  same 
triad  of  sensual  goods  :  2  Chron.  i.  11 ;  comp. 
similar  combinations  in  Prov.  iii.  16;  viii.  18; 
xxii.  4.  Henqstenbero  is  arbitrary  in  the  as- 
sertion, that  by  the  rich  man  is  meant  the  Per- 
sian, and  by  the  "stranger,"  named  immediately 
afterwards,  the  successor  of  the  Persian  in  the 
dominion  of  the  world.  This  discourse  is  much 
too  general  in  its  character  to  permit  us  to  seek 
in  it  such  special  historical  and  political  allu- 
sions. For  the  doubtful  propriety  of  affirming 
such  political  allusions  in  this  book,  see  Intro- 
duction, §  4,  Obs.  3. — So  that  he  wanteth  no- 
thing for  his  soul  of  all  that  he  desireth. 
(ZooKLBR,    "of  any  thing").     This  is  clearly 

the  meaning  of  SjlD  "iMlS  "lOn  WySl  as  is 
shown  partly  by  the  suffix  in  IJJ'N,  and  partly 
also  by  the  construction  of  "IpH  with  ID  occur- 
ring in  chap.  iv.  8.  Therefore  not:  "he  want- 
eth for  his  soul  nothing  of  all  "  (  Vulg.,  Drusius, 
Bauer,  etc.),  but  "  of  any  thing."  The  Septua- 
gint  is  more  correct,  Koi  ovk  Icnv  iarepov  t^  '/'".S;? 


CHAP.  VI.  1-12. 


99 


airoii,  also  Luther  and  nearly  all  the  modern 
commentators. —  Yet  God  giveth  him  not 
power  to  eat  thereof.  This  incapacity  of  en- 
joyment can  proceed  from  the  sickness  of  the 
wealthy  possessor,  or  from  the  burden  of  heavy 
cares  which  rob  him  of  his  sleep  (comp.  v.  12), 
or  from  a  soul  made  gloorfny  by  melancholy  or 
dejection  (comp.  v.  17).  The  author  can  only 
mean  such  an  inability  to  enjoy  blessings  as  is 
connected  with  a  steady  continuance  of  their 
possession,  as  more  clearly  appears  in  vers.  3  and 
6;  consequently  not  an  inability  caused  by  the 
deprivation  of  them,  by  some  other  misfortune, 
or  by  early  death,  as  Ewald  and  Vaihingee  sup- 
pose. For  D'TOn,  to  empower,  to  enable, 
i.e.,  "to  allow  or  grant,"  comp.  v.  19.  God 
must  grant  us  the  possession  of  goods,  and  also 
the  power  to  enjoj'  them — the  same  God  who  in 
an  ethical  sphere  provides  all  in  all,  the  Posse, 
the  Velle,  and  the  Perficere. — But  a  stranger 
eatethit — i.e.,  not  some  robber  of  his  goods, 
(EwAiD,  Vaihinger)  or  the  successor  of  the  Per- 
sian in  the  rule  of  the  world  (Hengstenberg), 
but  the  reckless  heir*  of  the  rich  man, who,  du- 
ring the  lifetime  of  the  latter,  and  when  he  is 
tortured  by  disease,  sorrow,  or  foolish  avarice, 
already  begins  to  riot  and  revel  with  his  goods, 
and  after  his  death  will  exhaust  them  in  feasting 
and  merry-making.  (Comp.  ii.  18). — This  is 
vanity,  and  it  is  an  evil  disease.  "Evil 
disease  "  is  an  expression  originating  perhaps  in 
Deut.  xxviii.  59,  which  here  signifies  an  evil  re- 
sembling a  very  malignant  disease.     The  word 

'in,  however,  has  no  sort  of  etymological  con- 
nection with  cholera  {xoMpa  from  x''M^  gall)- 
Ver.  3.  If  a  man  beget  a  hundred  children. 
For  the  high  appreciation,  in  the  old  covenant, 
of  the  blessing  of  many  children,  comp.  Gen. 
ixiv.  60;  Ps.  cxxvii.  3-5;  Job  sxvii.  14;  and 
for  the  value  attached  to  long  life,  Ex.  xx.  12  ; 
Deut.  xi.  9,  21 ;  Ps.  xlix.  9. — And  live  many 
years,  so  that  the  days  of  his  years  be 
many.  Herein  is  meant  the  sum  of  all  the  days 
of  which  all  his  years  consist  (Ps.  xo.  10.)  To 
the  first  clause,  "  and  live  many  years,"  is  added 
the  latter  equivalent  one,  as  explanatory  and 
emphatic,  without  producing  an  absolute  tauto- 
logy.—And  also  that  he  have  no  burial,  that 
is,  an  honorable  burial,  that  testifies  of  the  real 
love  of  his  posterity,  and  therefore  truly  deserves 
the  name  of  "burial."  The  opposite  of  such  an 
honorable  burial  is  that  found  in  Isa.  liii.  9. — 
"  He  made  his  grave  with  the  wicked,  and  with 
the  rich  in  his  death;"  or  in  Jer.  xxii.  19. — 
"He  shall  be  buried  with  the  burial  of  an  ass  ;" 
or  in  the  neglect  of  burial  and  the  lying  on  the 
face  of  the  earth  like  dung  (Jer.  viii.  2 ;  ix,  21  ; 
3txv.  33;  Isa.  xiv.  19,  20;  Ps.  Ixxix.  3).  The 
cause  of  such  dishonorable  m-13p,  which  is 
not  truly  mup  we   are  clearly  to  find  in  the 

*tTh6  phrase  '''133   ^''X,  "a  stranger  man,"  cannot  poi- 

Btbly  mean  here  an  heir,  or  one  of  kin,  either  near  or  re- 
mote. BeBides  the  context,  and  especially  the  mention  of 
hia  having  no  funeral,  shows  an  utter  dispossession,  in  what- 
ever way  it  may  be  supposed  to  have  taken  place;  He,  and 
his  hundred  sons,  are  all  reduced  to  poverty,  and  there  is 
none  to  do  him  the  honor  of  such  a  funeral  as  his  estate 
might  have  demanded.    This  is  the  soreness  of  it. — T.  L.] 


absence  of  filial  piety  and  esteem  on  the  part  of 
the  posterity  of  the  avaricious  rich  man,  and  not 
In  the  sordid  meanness  of  the  latter  himself,  who 
"ex  turpi  tenacitate  non  audeat  aliguid  honestse  se- 
puUurie  destinare"  (Schmidt,  Ramb.,  and  Vaihim- 
qer).  Hengstenbebg  unnecessarily  assumes 
for  mop  the  signification  of  "  grave,  tomb," 
a  meaning  elsewhere  quite  common.  As  in  this 
passage,  so  also  does  the  context  In  Jer.  xxii.  19 
rather  demand  the  sense  of  exequim,  funus.  HiT- 
zig's  position  that  the  words  :  "  and  also  that  he 
have  no  burial,"  is  simply  a  note  originally  writ- 
ten on  the  margin  of  verse  5,  is  pure  caprice. — 
I  say  that  an  untimely  birth  is  better  than 
he  ; — because  such  a  birth  has  enjoyed  no  plea- 
sure in  this  life,  but  has  also  experienced  no  suf- 
fering ;  comp.  iv.  2  f ,  and  especially  Job  iii.  16. 
Verses  4  and  5  continue  the  comparison  of  the 
untimely  birth. — For*  he  Cometh  in  virith 
vanity,  i.  «.,  falls  into  nothingness  from  his 
mother's  womb.  And  his  name  shall  be  co- 
vered with  darkness,  i.  e.,  he  receives  no 
name,  "  but  is  given  over  to  absolute  oblivion." 
(Elster).  Moreover  he  hath  not  seen  the 
sun ; — this  sun  which  shines  brightly  and  lov- 
ingly, but  also  shines  on  a  great  deal  of  vanity 
and  vexation,  of  woe  and  misery  ;  wherefore  it 
may  be  considered  a  good  fortune  not  to  have 
seen  it'  This  hath  more  rest  than  the 
other.  "Rest,"  i.e.,  freedom  from  the  annoy- 
ances, toils,  and  troubles  of  this  life.  We  are 
certainly  not  to  think  with  Hitzig  of  that  passive, 
dreamy  rest  so  desired  by  the  Orientals. f  For 
the  use  of  the  comparative  ]□  here,  comp.  Ps. 
Iii.  3;  Hab.  ii.  16.  Ver.  6.  Yea,  though  he 
live  a  thousand  years  twice  told ;  there- 
fore twice  as  long  as  the  life  of  the  oldest  patri- 
archs from  Adam  to  Nof.h.  Hierontmus  is  cor- 
rect in  saying  :  "  et  non  ut  Adam  prope  mille,  sed 
duobus  miUibus  vixerit  annis,"  "Not  lived,  as  Adam, 
near  a  thousand,  but  two  thousand  years," — 
Yet  hath  he  seen  no  good.  Comp.  ii.  24; 
iii.  12,  etc.  Do  not  all  go  to  one  place  ? 
namely,  to  School,  in  which  all  arrive  equally 
poor,  and  where  we  cannot  regain  what  we  have 
failed  to  enjoy  on  earth;  comp.  ix.  10;  xi.  8. 
As  an  extension  to  the  principal  clause,  this 
question  might  be  introduced  with  the  expres- 
sion:  "I  ask  then." 

3.  Second  strophe.    Vers.  7 — ^12.     The  cause  of 
this  inability  to  enjoy  earthly  blessings,  consists 


*[It  should  be  rendered  ^'though  it  cometh  in  with  va- 
nity," etc.  See  the  remarks  on  ^J),  as  denoting  a  reason 
notwithstanding,  as  well  as  a  reason  for,  Introd.  to  Metrical 
Version  p.  177.  The  rendering /dr  completely  changes  the 
sense,  and  makes  the  reader  think  of  the  rich  man,  until  the 
context  forces  to  the  other  conception.  The  same  effect  is 
produced  in  our  E.  V.  by  the  rendering  he  instead  of  it, 
which  is  more  properly  applicable  to  the  abortion,  conceived 
of  as  impersonal.     See  Met.  Ver.— T.  L.] 

t  [The  word    Jinj    does  not  primarily  mean  rest,  repose, 

in  either  sense,  but  simply  a  tying  down.  It  refers  to  the 
state  or  condition  taken  as  a  whole.    So    HmjOi   from  the 

T       : 
same  root,  means  a  place  of  rest,  rather  than  rest  itself,  as  in 
Ps.  xxlii.  2,    ninOO    ^D    means  not  "the  still  waters," 

but  the  streams  by  which  the  sheep  lie  down  to  rest.  It 
does  not  refer  to  the  quality  of  rest,  much  less  to  its  giian- 
(i<j/asourE.V.  would  make  it:  "  More  rest  than  the  other  ;" 
but  is  simply  an  affirming  that  the  state  or  condition,  on 
the  whole,  of  the  vainly  bom  is  better,  more  desirable,  than 
that  of  the  man  who  vainly  lived.  The  one  is  better  off  than 
theother.— I.  L.I 


lOD 


ECCLESIASTES. 


in  the  vanity  of  the  present  and  the  uncertainty 
of  the  future  conditions  of  the  happiness  of  men. 
All  the  labor  of  man  is  for  his  mouth, 
and  yet  the  appetite  is  not  filled. — (Zook- 
LER,  "the  soal.")  That  is,  all  human  life  is  a 
grasping  after  enjoyment,  but  after  an  en- 
joyment vain  in  itself,  and  affording  no  true 
satisfaction.  "  Mouth  and  soul"  stand  in  con- 
trast to  each  other  as  representatives  of  the 
purely  sensual  and  therefore  transitory  enjoy- 
ment (comp.  Job  xii.  11 ;  Prov.  xvi.  26)  as 
compared  with  the  deeper,  more  spiritual,  and, 
therefore,  more  lasting  kind  of  joy.  The  clear 
sense  of  this  verse,  in  essential  harmony  with 
chap.  i.  8,  is,  that  the  necessity  of  the  inner  man 
for  a  more  substantial  and  lasting  enjoyment  is 
not  satisfied  by  pleasures  of  that  kind,  namely, 
by  eating  and  drinking  (ii.  24;  iii.  13;  v.  18; 
viii.  15) ;  and  therefore  t^SJ  here  cannot  be 
translated  by  "desire,  sensual  desire;"  and  this 
same  remark  applies  to  ver.  2,  or  ver.  9,  notwith- 
standing the  opposite  view  of  Hitzig,  Vaihinger, 
Elstee,  etc.  Luther's  translation  is  also  un- 
fitting ;  he  gives  "  heart,"  but  his  entire  concep- 
tion of  the  verse  is  grammatically  inaccurate  : 
"Labor  is  appointed  to  every  man  according  to 
his  strength,  but  the  heart  cannot  abide  by  it." 
Ver.  8.  For  -what  hath  the  wise  more 
than  the  fool  ?  That  is,  one  may  strive  after 
the  more  earnest  and  real,  instead  of  the  mere 
sensual  pleasure,  and  thus,  by  a  desire  for  food 
for  his  soul,  show  himself  a  wise  man  in  contrast 
with  the  fool  who  seeks  only  to  satisfy  his  mouth: 
but  the  former  has  no  real  advantage  over  the 
latter,  since  neither  attains  to  the  desired 
"satisfaction  of  the  soul."  This  sentence  clearly 
holds  a  confirming  relation  to  the  preceding,  and 
not  aa  opposing  one,  as  Elster  holds;  he  trans- 
lates ^3  by  "nevertheless,"  as  does  Hitziq,  who 
regards  this  verse  as  opposing  the  contents  of  the 
verse  preceding.  Hengstenbbrq  aifirms  an  ex- 
travagant comparison  between  the  wise  man  and 
the  fool,  when  he  supposes  that  both  are  here 
equally  accused  of  avarice.  On  the  contrary,  a 
distinction  is  here  clearly  drawn  between  the  de- 
sire of  the  fool,  aiming  at  possession  and  enjoy- 
ment, and  the  more  thoughtful,  more  self-pos- 
sessed, more  honorable  and  worthy  conduct  of 
the  wise  man.*  The  latter  is  indicated  in  the 
second  clause  by  the  words:  The  poor  that 
knoweth  to  walk  before  the  living.  Here 
the  word  poor  ('Ji^  humble)  shows  the  moral 
condition  and  demeanor  of  the  wise  man,  by  vir- 
tue of  which,  with  a  more  just  conception  of 
himself  as  an  humble  "  quiet  one  in  the  land,"  he 
leads  a  modest  and  retired  life  (comp.  Ps.  x.  2; 
xxxiv.  6;  xxxvii.  2;  Zech.  ix.  9,  etc.);  but 
"  knowing  to  walk  before  the  living,"  is 


*[Stna,rt'a  view  here  is  worthy  of  considaratioD.     "It  is 
the    ""^    apodictic,"  he  says,  "  i.  e.,  such  ae  is  employed  io 

sentences  of  this  nature:  If— 80  and  so;  tt«n    ('3)    this  or 

that  consequence."  He  takes  it  as  an  objector's  lano:aage  or 
tlie  author  peraonifying  an  objector,  thus :  "  The  appetite  is 
not  satisfied; — then  (aslts  the  inquirer)  how  do  the  wise  have 
any  advantage,  eic?"  STuiRi  says  "the  question  is  not 
answered  here;"  but  it  may  be  regarded  as  having  a  sug- 
gested if  not  a  direct  response  in  the  verse  foUowiu":  bet- 
ter the  sight  of  the  eyes^  that  is,  the  contented  enjoyment  of 
the  wise,  than  the  fool's  ever  roving  desire.  This  is  tlie  view 
adopted  and  expressed  in  the  Metrical  Version. — T.  L.] 


understanding  the  correct  rule  of  life,  and  thd 
true  and  godly  intercour.se  with  one's  fellow-men, 
and  is,  therefore  a  circumlocution  to  express  the 
idea  of  "  wise  "  in  the  solemn  Old  Testament 
sense.  Ewald,  following  the  masoretio  accen- 
tuation (which  is  here  not  authoritative),  sepa- 
rates J?^V  (knowing)  froifi  the  following  infi- 
nitive clause,  and  regards  this  as  the  subject: 
"  What  profits  it  to  the  patient  man,  to  the  under- 
standing man  to  walk  before  the  living  (i.  e.,  to 
live)  ?"  But  the  adjective  conception  of  i^YV, 
"  knowing,  intelligent,"  is  neither  sustained  by 
Prov.  xvii.  27,  nor  Eooles.  ix.  11,  and  the  paral- 
lel passages  iv.  13,  17,  and  many  others,  support 
the  direct  connection   with   the   following  word 

^7117.  The  explanations  of  Luther  are  ungram- 
matical.  "Why  does  the  poor  man  dare  to  be 
among  the  living?"  and  the  Vulg.  "  Ut  guidpau- 
per,  nisi  ut  pert/at  illuc,  ubi  est  vita?"  Ver.  9. 
Better  is  the  sight  of  the  eyes  than  the 
vrandering  of  the  desire,  (Zockler,  "of  the 
soul").  That  is,  because  the  wise  man  with  his 
strivings  after  higher  aims,  has  nothing  better 
than  the  pleasure-seeking  fool,  therefore  a  con- 
tented enjoyment  of  the  present  is  the  most  de- 
sirable, more  to  be  desired  than  a  restless  stri- 
ving without  satisfaction,  or  than  the  wearying 
one's  self  with  manifold  designs  with  no  hope  of 
their  success.  The  "  sight  of  the  eyes  "  is  here, 
as  in  ver.  11,  7,  the  pleasant  enjoyment  of  (hat 
which  is  before  the  eyes,  or  of  the  good  and  the 
beautiful  which  are  present.  (See  Luther  on 
this  passage,  in  the  Homiletical  Hints).  The 
wandering  of  the  soul  (not  of  the  desire,  see  ver. 
7),  is  the  unea.sy  scheming  of  the  man  dissatis- 
fied with  his  modest  lot,  the  passionate  jieTsupl- 
t^mBai  (Luke  xii.  29)  or  the  (pp6vuv  ri  vijiT/U 
(Rom.  xii.  16),  consequently  the  same  as  the  ex- 
pression: "  His  soul  shall  not  be  filled  "  in  vers. 
3  and  7,  only  marking  more  clearly  than  this  the 
self-caused  guilt  of  the  want  of  spiritual  content- 
ment. This  sentence  has  many  parallels  among 
the  classic  authors;  e.a.,  Horace,  iJEp.  I.  18, 
96  ss:  '■^ 

Inter  euncta  leges,  et  percontahere  dodos. 
Qua  ratione  quoas  traducere  leniter  sevum, 
Ne  te  semper  inops  agitet  vexetque  cupido, 
NepavoT  et  rerum  mediocriter  utilium  apes. 

Comp.  Marcus  Aurelius  III.,  16;  IV.,  26;  Juve- 
nal, Sat.  XIV.,  178  ;  Lucian,  Nea-omant.  I.,  194, 
etc. — This  is  also  vanity  and  vexation  of 
spirit;  namely  this  maxim:  "Better  is  the 
sight  of  the  eyes,"  «<c.,  and  a  life  and  conduct 
in  accordance  with  it.  A  partial  reference  ot 
nt"QJ  to  the  "  wandering  of  the  soul"  (Luther 
and  Henostenbero)  corresponds  quite  as  little 
to  the  sense  as  the  extension  of  the  thought  to 
everything  from  ver.  7  onward  [Vaihinqer  and 
Elster].  Comp.  the  case  precisely  similar  to 
this  in  chap.  ii.  26.  Ver.  10.  That  which 
hath  been  is  named  already.  This  remark, 
reminding  us  of  chap.  i.  9  f.,  proves  the"  author's 
way  for  the  description  of  the  total  uncertainty 
and  obscurity  of  the  future  of  man,  in  so  far  as 
it  points  to  his  banishment  into  the  fixed  circle 
of  all  creature  life  and  action.  "That  which 
hath  been  is  named  already,"  i.  e.,  it  has  already 


CHAP.  VI.  1-12. 


101 


been,  in  the  past,  something  in  its  nature  mani- 
fest and  well-known.  The  exclusive  reference 
of  the  clause  to  m'an,  by  means  of  which  Gen. 
V.  2;  Ps.  cxxxix.  16,  etc.,  would  become  paral- 
lels of  this  passage,  is  forbidden  by  the  neuter 
no.  The  discourse  does  not  make  special 
reference  to  man  until  we  reach  the  following 
clause.  And  it  is  kno'wn  that  it  is  man, 
[ZiiCKLEE,  "the  man"].  Here  Ewald  and  El- 
8TEB.  are  correct;  it  is  not  "that  he  is  a  man  " 
(Knobel,  Vaihingee,  Hengstenberg)  or,  "what 
the  man  is  "(Rosenmuellek),  or,  "who  the 
man  is"  (Hahn),  or  finally,  "that  if  one  is  a 
man  he  cannot  contend,"  etc.,  (Hitzig), — these 
are  all  conceptions  that  militate  against  the  con- 
nection, and  do  not  correspond  to  the  simple 
expression  Q^X  ^'in^lE^N.  *  Neither  may 
he  contend  "with  him  that  is  mightier 
than  he.  That  is  with  God,  namely,  with  Him 
who  is  ^I'pn  or  ^^E;  [Job  v.  17  ;  Ruth  i.  20,  21, 


*[V&r.  10.  "That  which  hath  been  is  named  already,  and 
it  is  known  that  it  is  man/'  This  rendering  of  our  English 
Version  seems  to  have  little  or  no  meaning,  and  points  to 
no  connection  with  the  following  verse.  Stuart's  is  little 
better.  ZoOKLER  sheds  no  light  upon  it.  He  has  no  right 
to  regajd  so  distinct  and  emphatic  a  phrase  as  10^   N*lpJ, 

as  meaning  simply  a  known  existence  in  the  past.  The 
other  interpretations,  of  Ewald,  Elster,  Knobel,  Vaihinger, 
Hbngstbnberg,  Rosenmueller,  Hahn,  fail  to  satisfy.  Their 
very  discrepancies  as  to  the  rendering  of  so  simple  a  phrase 
as  Qli<  Xin  ^lyX,  show  that  they  have  miesed  some 
fondameutal  idea  which  would  at  once  take  away  from  it 
all  uncertainty.  Hitzio's  is  the  moat  unmeaniug  of  them 
all.  The  older  commentators,  such  as  Munstekds,  Mebceeus, 
TiaiNUS,  Pineda,  Aa.  Montanus,  GEisa,  and  even  Grotius 
(see  Pole's  Synopsis)  saw  in  it  an  allusion  to  the  narrative, 
Gen.  ii.  19,  of  Adam's  giving  names  to  things  {nonien  mdi- 
tum  conveniens  rei  cujusqtie  natwrx)  and  to  the  name  of 
Adam  itself,  as  derived  from  Gen.  ii.  7  aud  ver.  2.  They  fail 
however  to  bring  it  clearly  out.  Among  the  moderns, 
Wordsworth  distinctly  favors  this  view.  See  also  the  re- 
marks of  the  spiritually  minded  Matthew  Henry.  The  key 
of  the  passage  would  seem  to  be  given  in  the  words  "13^ 
)Diy  KIpJ  (comp.  Gen.  u.  19  IQty    KIH),  "its  name  was 

named  of  old."  There  is  no  need  of  departing  here  from 
the  most  close  and  literal  rendering,  or  for  seeking  any  for- 
eign idea  in  the  word  naming,  as  though  it  were  a  mere 
expression  for  existence  (Stuart  and  ZocKiER)  or  for  being 
well-known.  The  reference  is  to  the  supposed  fact,  or  idea, 
that  names  denote  (as  the  best  philology  shows  they  were 
originally  intended  to  denote)  the  nature  of  the  thing 
named, — an  idea  which  certainly  seems  to  be  implied  in  the 
account  Gen.  ii.  19.  Keeping  this  in  view,  we  get  a  clear 
maaoing  from  the  most  literal  rendering:  nTlty  HO  "wAa* 
athingis"  (HD  Itere  used  indefinitely  like  the  Greek  Tt,  Latin 
quidf  aliquid,  see  Job  xiii.  13 ;  Prov.  ix.  13 ;  2  Sam.  xviii.  27 ; 
Eccles.i.9;  iii.15,22;  vii.24;  viii.7;  x.l4;  or,  with"ltyN  or  \^, 

iUud  qiiod),  "  what  each  thing  is,"  or,  "  each  thing,  what  it  is, 
its  narm  was  named  of  old,'^—tha.t  is,  it  was  named  according 
to  u;/iai  li  is  (comp.  Aristotle's  peculiar  expression  for  the 
idea,  or  indlviduaiityj  of  a  thing,  its  to  tL  t]v  elvai,  its  being 
iohat  it  is,  or  its  being  something).  And  then  what  follows 
is  stated  by  way  of  example;  the  conjunction  1  being  used 
comparatively  as  it  often  is:  _J?"n31i  ^^and  sQ,knownwhab 

S«w  (Xin  ItyX),  is  TTian,"  or  rather  "Adam"  (keeping  the 
proper  name  in  translation  as  the  only  way  of  giving  force 
to  the  play  upon  the  name.  Thus  known  for  what  he  is 
(by  his  name),  or  thus  made  known  {denoted  what  he  is) 
is  Adam  (man  from  earth).  Then  there  is  seen  immediately 
the  connection  with  the  next  verse,  expressing  his  weakness 
as  well  aa  earthliness.  The  whole,  then,  may  be  thus 
paraphrased:  'Names  of  old  were  given  to  things,  to  each 
thing,  according  to  their  nature;  so  man  was  denoted,  made 
koown,  or  simply,  known,  from  what  he  is,  his  earthliness 
and  frailty.'  The  objection  of  Zookler  in  respect  to  the 
gender  of  PID  has  no  weight.  It  is  taken  indefinitely,  and 
so  \ohai  {that  which)  wus  used  instead  of  who.  Compare 
Ps.  viii.  5  tyijx  no,  Ps.  cxliv.  3  C31X    HD,  ''what  is 

V:  T  TT  T 

wwn/"  The  Metrical  Version  follows  a  close  literality  at 
the  expense  of  smoothness, — the  words  in  brackets  not  at 


eic.'\,  who  is  superior  to  man  just  because  He  is 
mightier  than  man  [13DD  ^'POD]  or  because 
He  has  ordained  the  whole  circle  of  human  ex- 
istence with  absolute  creative  power,  so  that 
man  may  neither  contend  with  Him  nor  break 
through  the  limit  to  which  he  is  assigned.  For 
the  word  [H,  "to  contend  with  any  one,"  com- 
pare ]nj  '2  Sam.  xix.  10,  which  there,  as  else- 
where, has  this  sense.  For  the  sentence  com- 
pare also  the  question  (originating  perhaps  in 
this  very  passage) :  ^r/  iaxvp6T£pot  dvrou  kafciv  ? 
1  Cor.  X.  22. — Ver.  11.  Seeing  there  be 
many  things  that  increase  vanity.  That 
is,  human  life  abounds  in  possessions,  chances, 
vicissitudes  of  fortune,  trials  and  dangers  which 
strengthen  in  us  the  feeling  of  the  vanity  and 
weakness  of  this  earthly  existence,  and  show  us 
that  we  are  absolutely  dependent  on  a  higher 
power  against  which  we  cannot  contend.  The 
context  decides  against  the  ordinary  rendering : 
*'for  there  are  many  words  which,"  etc,  [Sept., 
Vulg.,  and  also  Ewald,  Hitzig,  Elster  and 
Hahn],  for  the  reference  to  useless  talk,  etc,  is 
foreign  to  it.* — What  is  man  the  better  ? 
Namely,  that  he  possesses,  experiences,  or  en- 
joys  these   many  things   that   simply  increase 

all  adding  to  the  sense,  but  necessary  to  give  the  English 
reader  tlie  playupou  the  name.  It  is  as  though  there  had 
been  used  the  word  mortal,  whicli  is  taken  in  English  for  a 
name  or  epithet  of  man,  or  the  Greek  Pporb?,  which  is  so 
much  used  in  Homer  for  the  same  purpose.  There  is  proba- 
bly some  allusion  to  the  peculiar  language  of  this  passage  in 
tbe  Midrash  Rabba  (on  Numb,  xix.)  vi'here  we  have  the  fol- 
lowing account :  "When  the  Ho)y  One  had  created  Adam, 
He  brought  before  him  the  animals,  and  said  of  each,  see 
this  (nr  no  w/iat  is  this),  what  is  its  name  (IDt?  HD)? 
Adam  said,  this  is  *11U?,  shor,  (ox) — this  is  TiOHj  chamor, 

(ass)— this  is  D-IO)  sus  (horse),  and  so  on.  And  thou — what 
is  thy   name?     He   answered,  I  should  be   called   CIDIX, 

TT 

(Adam)  because  I  was  taken  from  adamah.    And  I, — what 

is  my  name?    Thou  shouldst  be  called  ""inX,  Adonai,  for 

Thou  art  Adon  (ynm:}    h^h    THX),  the  Lord  of  all  Thy 

creatures."  There  can  be  good  reasons  given  for  Koheleth's 
philology  here,  but  its  correctness  or  incorrectness  is  of  no 
account  in  reference  to  the  allusion,  or  tbe  idea  of  humanity 
which  it  conveys.  See  Genesis,  p.  2.0Z,  margi  aal  note. — T.  L. 
*[0n  the  contrary  the  contrast  seems  clearly  to  point  to 
the  rendering  words,  although  Zockler  agrees  here  with 
our  English  Version,  and  with  that  of  Lutber.  It  is  con- 
firmed by  what  follows:  "who  knows"— "who  can  tell." 
It  indicates  the  disputations  which  had  commenced  in  the 
speculative  or  philosophical  world,  and  which  Solomon  had 
doubtless  heard  of,  although  perhaps  not  familiar  with  them. 
His  intercourse  with  the  Egyptians,  Phcenicians,  Sabseans, 
and  Arabians  (perhaps  with  some  of  the  more  eastern  people 
to  whom  his  ships  had  gone),  was  sufficieDt  for  tbis  purpose. 
The  speculative  mind  began  very  early  to  inquire  concern- 
ing the  design  and  end  of  human  life,  dejlmbus  bonorum  et 
Tnalorum.  Philosophy  was  then  rising  in  Greece;  though, 
at  this  early  time,  its  schools  had  not  yet  assumed  shape. 
"Many  were  saying  (CD^IDfct    CD'^^*  Ps.  iv.  7)  who  will 

show  us  the  good."  We  have  seen  how  the  Psalmist  an- 
swers the  questions  there  (Marg.  note  p.  95)  by  directing  to 
the  real  good,  ?T^J£)    ^^^,  the  true  evSaiixovia,  the  favor  of 

God.  or  blessedness  in  distinction  from  mere  happiness, — "  the 
light  of  Thy  countenance."  Koheleth  here  regards  aa  vanity 
all  merely  human  disquisitions  of  this  kind.  They  only 
"  increase  vanity"  (see  1  Cor.  vii.  1,  ^  yvio<Tis  ^utnoi.  "  know- 
ledge puffeth  up,"  hloweth  up),  or  as  if  may  be  read,  taking 

S^n  adverbially,  they  multiply  in  vain."    AVhat  is  man 

the  'better  for  all  this  talk  ?  Who  knows  what  is  good  for 
him?  Who  can  tell  him  what  shall  be  after  him?  By  way  of 
contrast  compare  Ps.  cxix.  129, 130:  "Thy  testimonies  are 
wonderful;  the  entrance  of  THY  words  giyeth  light;  thti' 
give  understanding  to  the  simple." — T.  L.] 


102 


ECCLESIASTES. 


vanity.— Ver.  12.  For  who  knoweth  what 
is  good  for  man  in  this  life  ?— Namely,  what 
of  earthly  things,  whether  happiness  or  unhap- 
piness,  wealth  or  poverty,  the  fulfilment  .of  his 
desires  or  their  disappointment.  The  eonoealed 
nature  of  man's  own  future  ia  expressed  by  this 
question.— AH  the  days  of  his  vain  life. 
Literally:  "the  number  of  the  days,"  etc.  "ISpO 
(Com.  V.  18)  is  the  accusative  of  measure 
or  duration.— 'Which  he  spendeth  as  a 
shadow.  Literal :  "  and  he  passeth  them," 
etc.  Because  'D'  (days  of)  is  separated  from 
'7X3  Dty^'  by  a  compound  genitive,  the  copula 
is  placed  before  this  clause  which  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  relative  (Hitzig).  With  'D^  HKfj; 
□"n  compare  xp^'""'"  '"'oi-elv  Acts  xv.  83,  dies 
facere,  Cicero  ad  Attic,  v.  20.— For  who  can  tell 
a  man  ?  liJ/X,  here,  is  not  equivalent  to  "  so 
that,"  but  is  substantially  synonymous  with  '3 
"for,"  (comp.  Deut.  iii.  24;  Dan.  i.  10),  ex- 
pressing an  affirmative  and  intensified  sense. 
Comp.  Ps.  X.  6  ;  Job  v.  5  ;  ix.  15  ;  xix.  27.  In 
the  present  clause  the  effort  is  certainly  to  in- 
tensify the  truth  that  man  is  not  permitted  to 
look  into  the  future  of  his  earthly  existence. — 
What  shall  be  after  him  under  the  sun. 
"After  Mm,"  i.  e.,  after  his  present  condition, 
not  after  his  death ;  comp.  iii.  22  ;  vii.  14 ;  and 
see  the    exegetical   illustrations  to  the   former 


DOCTRINAL  AND   ETHICAL. 

( With  HonaUtioal  Hints. ) 
The  theme  of  this  section  is  too  narrowly 
drawn,  if,  with  Starke,  we  find  only  therein  de- 
picted "  the  extremely  unhappy  nature  of  the 
miser,"  or,  with  Henqstenbero,  "  the  vanity 
of  wealth,"  [and  indeed,  as  Henostenberg 
supposes,  illustrated  by  the  example  of  the  rich 
Persians*  and  the  poor  Israelites].  That  which 
in  the  present  chapter  is  discountenanced,  and 
presented  as  incompatible  with  true  wisdom,  is 
not  merely  the  striving  after  money  and  posses- 
sions, but  also  the  desire  for  honor,  long  life, 
many  children  (vers.  2,  3,  6),  and,  in  short,  the 
struggle  for  earthly  happiness  in  general.  And 
firstly,  in  vers.  1-6,  wealth  witliout  a  cheer- 
ful and  contented  feeling  in  the  heart,  then 
in  vers.  7-9  sensual  enjoyment  without  satisfac- 
tion of  soul,  and  finally  in  vers.  10-12,  a  happy 
present  with  an  obscure  and  uncertain  future, 
are  named  as  those  things  which  must  bring 
men  to  the  consciousness  of  the  vanity  of  all 
earthly  goods  and  pleasures,  and  forbid  them  to 
strive  after  them.  All  the  conditions  and  cir- 
cumstances named,  belong  to  those  "  many 
things  that  increase  vanity,"  as  found  in  ver.  11, 
and  which,  according  to  vers.  3-6,  permit  the 
longest  life,  and  the  one  most  richly  blessed 
with  posterity,  to  seem  scarcely  any  better  than 
the  lot  of  an  untimely  birth  that  has  not   even 


seen  the  light  of  this  world.  It  is  a  bitter  and 
cutting  thought,  which,  like  the  similar  one  in 
chap.  iv.  2,  f.,  is  only  softened  and,  as  it  were, 
excused  by  the  admonition  to  »  contented,  re- 
signed and  grateful  enjoyment  and  use  of  life, 
which  clearly  forms  its  background  [distinctly 
visible  in  ver.  9],  and  again  practically  takes 
away  the  one-sided  character  of  the  apparent 
accusation  of  the  Creator  and  Ruler  of  the 
world.  Only  the  insatiable,  ever-dissatisfied 
chasing  after  earthly  means  of  happiness  ia 
thereby  forbidden,  as  in  opposition  to  the  di- 
vinely-appointed task  of  human  life.  A  tem- 
perate and  modest  striving  after  a  cheerful  and 
useful  course  of  life,  (which  verse  8  expressly 
praises  as  the  characteristic  of  the  wise  man) 
is  emphatically  recommended,  not  only  in  the 
preceding  chap.  v.  18-20,  but  in  those  immedi- 
ately following  [especially  in  chap.  vii.  11  ff.] 
It  is  the  cheerful  and  noble  form  of  oaippociyi/ti, 
that  cardinal  virtue,  not  merely  of  the  ancient 
classical  but  also  of  biblical  ethics,  which  forma 
the  framework  of  this  mainly  gloomy  and  ad- 
monishing picture,  and  presents  a  corrective  to 
contents  so  apparently  dubious,  and  easily  misun- 
derstood. 

The  principal  thought  of  this  chapter  might 
be  well  represented  by  the  following  quota- 
tions :  "  Set  your  affections  on  things  above,  not  on 
things  on  the  earth;"  or,  '^  Lay  not  up  for  your- 
selves treasures  on  earth"  etc.;  or,  ^^And  the  world 
passeth  away,  and  the  lust  thereof:  but  he  that  doeth 
the  will  of  God  abideth  .forever."  (Col.  iii.  2 ; 
I  Matt.  vi.  19  ;   1  John  ii.  17). 


*'A  false  historical  hypothesis,  especially  if  it  be  in  the 
face  of  the  claim  made  by  tlie  writing  itself,  produces  great 
mischief  in  continually  warping  exegesis.  Nothing  shows 
this  more  than  Henostenberq's  continually  turning  the 
most  general  remarks  into  something  about  the  Persians 
and  the  Persian  times. — T.  L.] 


HOMILETICAL    HINTS    ON    SEPARATE    PASSAGES. 

Vers.  1,  2.  Brenz:  The  scheming  and  striv- 
ing of  our  old  Adam  is  of  such  a  nature,  that  it 
measures  the  happiness  of  this  life  solely  accord- 
ing to  the  abundance  of  treasures  and  riches. 
Let  this  old  Adam  go,  for  it  is  of  no  use !  Dost 
thou  think  that  nothing  would  be  wanting  to  a 
happy  life  if  ^thou  only  hadst  an  abundance  of 
riches  and  honors  ?  The  matter  is  very  differ- 
ent, as  daily  experience  teaches.  —  Weimar 
Bible  :  The  lamentations  of  the  miser  are  not 
removed  by  excess  of  riches,  by  the  number  of 
children,  or  by  long  life  ;  they  are  rather  in- 
creased by  these  things  (1  Tim.  vi.  10). — Langb: 
The  desire  for  temporal  things  clings  to  us  all, 
and  when  we  cease  to  watch  and  pray,  we  can 
soon  be  put  to  sleep,  and  charmed  to  our  ruin, 
by  such  earthly  love. 

Ver.  3-6.  Geier:  A  long  life  without  rest 
and  peace  in  God,  is  nothing  but  a  long  martyr- 
dom.— Starke  :  To  have  many  children  is  a 
special  blessing  of  God  (Ps.  cxxvii.  3;  cxxviii.  3, 
f.);  but  apart  from  the  enjoyment  of  divine 
favor,  this  also  is  vanity. — Lanqe  :  What  the 
untimely  birth  loses  of  natural  life  without  any 
fault  of  its   own,  that  the  miser  wantonly  robs 

himself  of  in  spiritual  life Because  his 

soul  has  no  firm  foundation  in  communion  with 
the  good  God,  it  goes  to  ruin,  (Gal.  vi.  8). 

Vers.  7  and  8.  Tubingen  Bible  :  Above  all 
things  let  us  strive  that  our-  immortal  spirit  be 
filled  with  heavenly  treasures,  which  alone  can 
truly  satisfy  it. — Lange  :  He  who  cares  not  to 
app«ase  and  satisfy  his  soul,  finds  his  proper 


CHAP.  VII.  1-22. 


103 


place  among  foola,  Luke  xii.  19  f. — Hbnosten- 
BEKG :  That  the  soul  of  man  is  never  satisfied, 
notwithstanding  his  narrow  capacity  for  enjoy- 
ment, is  very  strange,  and  a  mighty  proof  of 
the  degree  to  which  our  race,  since  Gen.  i.  3, 
has  yielded  to  sin  and  folly,  producing  "  many 
foolish  and  hurtful  lusts,"  (1  Tim.  vi.  9). 

Ver.  9.  Luther  :  It  is  better  that  we  use 
what  is  before  our  eyes,  than  that  the  soul 
should  thus  wander  to  and  fro.  Solomon  means 
that  we  use  the  present  and  thank  God  for  it, 
and  not  think  of  .other  things,  like  the  dog  in 
the  fable  that  seizes  the  shadow  and  drops  the 
meat.  And  he  therefore  says :  what  God  has 
placed  before  thine  eyes  (the  present)  that  use 
contentedly,  and  follow  not  thy  soul  which  does 
not  become  filled. — Therefore  let  every  Christian 
and  believer  rest  with  what  he  has,  and  be  sat- 
isfied with  what  God  has  given  him  in  the  pre- 
sent !  But  the.  ungodly  are  not  thus  ;  all  that 
they  see  is  a  torture  to  them  ;  for  they  use  not 
the  present,  their  soul  is  never  filled,  and  it 
wanders  hither  and  thither.  He  who  has  im- 
mense sums  of  money  has  not  enough ;  he  does 
not  use  it  but  desires  more  ;  if  he  has  one  wife 
he  is  not  satisfied  but  wants  another  ;  if  he  has 
a  whole  realm,  he  is  not  contented ;  as  Alexan- 
der the  Great  could  not  be  satisfied  with  one 
world. — Ckamer  :  Be  contented  with  what  thou 
hast;  this  is  better  than  in  greed  to  be  ever 
desiring  other  things. — -Beriee.  Bible:  This  is 
the  wandering  of  the  soul,  that  runs  about 
among  creatures,  and,  like  Esau,  on  the  field  of 
this  world,  chases  after  a  palatable  food,  which 
wisdom  finds  only  at  home,  and  in  the  repose  of 
contentment. — Henostenberq  :  It  is  better  to 
rejoice  in  that  which  is  before  our  eyes,  how- 
ever humble  it  may  be,  since  man  really  needs 
so  little,  than  to  yield  to  the  caprices  of  one's 
lusta,  and  to  torture  one's  self  with  plans  and 
hopes  that  so  easily  deceive  us,  or,  if  they  are 
fulfilled,  afford  so  little  happiness. 

Vers.  10  and  11.  Cramer:  That  man  should 
leave  a  pleasant  name  and  memory  behind  is  not 
unchristian ;  but  the  highest  good  does  not  con- 
sist therein.  For  as  time  discovereth  all  things, 
so  it  oovereth  all  things  up.  (Ps.  xxxi.  13  ; 
Ex.  i.  8).-HANSEif:  All  human  things  are  sub- 
jected to  God.    He  often  deposes  the  highest 


from  the  throne  of  their  glory  where  they  least 
expect  it,  Dan.  iv.  27-30. — Henostenbeeg  :  If 
man  is  in  a  state  of  unconditional  dependence 
on  God,  he  should  not  permit  to  himself  many 
vagaries,  and  should  not  torture  himself  witli 
schemes  and  stratagems ;  because  he  cannot 
protect  what  he  has  acquired,  and  is  not  for  a 
moment  certain  that  he  may  not  hear  the  cry  : 
"thou  fool,  this  night  thy  soul  will  be  demanded 
of  thee  ;  "  therefore  it  is  foolish  to  envy  the 
heathen  because  of  their  wealth,  which  can  so 
soon  wither  away,  like  the  flower  of  the  field, 
James  i.  10,  ll.^The  rich  man  has,  in  truth, 
no  more  than  the  poor  one;  what  the  former 
seems  to  have  over  the  latter,  proves,  on  closer 
inspection,  to  be  but  show  and  vanity.  It  dis- 
appears as  soon  as  the  judgments  of  God  pass 
over  the  world. 

Ver.  12.  Luther:  Men's  hearts  strive  after 
all  sorts  of  things :  one  seeks  power,  another 
wealth,  and  they  know  not  that  they  will 
acquire  them ;  thus  they  use  not  their  present 
blessings,  and  their  hearts  ever  aspire  to  that 
which  they  have  not  yet,  and  see  not  yet. — Why 
do  we  thus  annoy  and  torture  ourselves  with 
our  thoughts,  when  future  things  are  not  for  a 
moment  in  our  power?  Therefore  we  should  be 
contented  with  the  present  that  God  gives  us 
now,  and  should  commit  all  to  God,  who  alone 
knows  and  rules  both  the  present  and  the  future. 
— Rambach:  From  all  which  it  appears,  that 
there  is  nothing  better  than  to  proscribe  base 
avarice,  be  content  with  the  present,  and  enjoy 
it  with  a  pious  cheerfulness. — Zeyss  :  Although 
a  Christian  may  not  know  how  it  may  be  with 
the  things  of  this  world  after  his  death,  yet 
he  can  be  assured  by  faith  that  he,  after  death, 
will  be  with  Christ  in  heaven. — Hengstenberq: 
One  would  only  be  justified  in  esteeming  wealth 
in  case  he  knew  the  future,  apd  had  it  in  his 
power.  The  merest  chance  can  suddenly  rob 
one  of  all  that  has  been  gathered  with  pain  and 
toil.  A  great  catastrophe  may  come  and  sweep 
everything  away  as  a  flood.  The  practical  re- 
sult therefore  is  that  one  should  strive  after  the 
true  riches.  As  P.  Gerard  says:  "EaTthly 
treasures  dissolve  and  disappear,  but  the  treasures 
of  the  soul  never  vanish." 


B.  The  true  Wisdom  of  Life  consists  in  Contempt  of  tUe  World,    Patience,  and 

Fear  of  God. 


Chap.  VII.  1-22. 

1.  In  contempt  of  the  world  and  its  foolish  lusts. 

(Vers.  1-7.) 

1  A  good  name  is  better  than  precious  ointment ;  and  the  day  of  death  than  the 

2  day  of  one's  birth.     It  is  better  to  go  to  the  house  of  mourning,  than  to  go  to  the 
house  of  feasting  ;  for  that  is  the  end  of  all  men ;  and  the  living  will  lay  it  to  his 

3  heart.    Sorrow  is  better  than  laughter :  for  by  the  sadness  of  the  countenance  the 


104 


ECCLESIASTES. 


4  heart  is  made  better.     The  heart  of  the  wise  is  in  the  house  of  mourning  ;  but  the 

5  heart  of  fools  is  in  the  house  of  mirth.    It  is  better  to  hear  the  rebuke  of  the  wise, 

6  than  for  a  man  to  hear  the  song  of  fools :  For  as  the  crackling  of  thorns  under  a 

7  pot,  so  is  the  laughter  of  the  fool :  this  also  is  vanity.     Surely  oppression  maketh 
a  wise  man  mad  ;  and  a  gift  destroyeth  the  heart. 

2.  In  a  patient,  calm,  and  resigned  spirit. 
(Vers.  8-14.) 

8  Better  is  the  end  of  a  thing  than  the  beginning  thereof:  and  the  patient  in  spirit  m 

9  better  than  the  proud  in  spirit.     Be  not  hasty  in  thy  spirit  to  be  angry  :  for  anger 

10  resteth  in  the  bosom  of  fools.     Say  not  thou.  What  is  the  cause  that  the  former  days 

11  were  better  than  these  ?  for  thou  dost  not  inquire  wisely  concerning  this.     Wisdom 

12  is  good  with  an  inheritance  :  and  by  it  there  is  profit  to  them  that  see  the  sun.  For 
wisdom  is  a  defence,  and  money  is  a  defence  :  but  the  excellency  of  knowledge  is, 

13  that  wisdom  giveth  life  to  them  that  have  it.     Consider  the  work  of  _God :  for  who 

14  can  make  that  straight,  which  He  hath  made  crooked  ?  In  the  day  of  prosperity 
be  joyful,  but  in  the  day  of  adversity  consider :  God  also  hath  set  the  one  over 
against  the  other,  to  the  end  that  man  should  find  nothing  after  him. 

3.  In  earnest  fear  of  God,  and  penitential  acknowledgment  of  sin. 
(Vees.  15-22.) 

15  All  things  have  I  seen  in  the  days  of  my  vanity:  there  is  a  just  man  that  perisheti 
in  his  righteousness,  and  there  is  a  wicked  man  that  prolongeth  his  life  in  his 

16  wickedness.     Be  not  righteous  over  much  ;  neither  make  thyself  over  wise :  why 

17  shouldest  thou  destroy  thyself  ?     Be  not  over  much  wicked,  neither  be  thou  foolish: 

18  why  shouldest  thou  die  before  thy  time?  It  is  good  that  thou  shouldest  take  hold 
of  this ;  yea,  also  from  this  withdraw  not  thine  hand :  for  he  that  feareth  God 

19  shall  come  forth  of  them  all.     Wisdom  strengtheneth  the  wise  more  than  ten 

20  mighty  men  which  are  in  the  city.     For  there  is  not  a  just  man  upon  earth,  that 

21  doeth  good,  and  sinneth  not.     Also  take  no  heed  unto  all  words  that  are  spoken ; 

22  lest  thou  hear  thy  servant  curse  thee :  For  oftentimes  also  thine  own  heart  knoweth 
that  thou  thyself  likewise  hast  cursed  others. 

[Ver.  3.  0)J3'  The  primary  seneo  is  excitement  of  mind,  or  feeUrtffy  of  any  kind,  or  from  any  cause.  Fnerst,  commo- 
tum,  cancitatum  essf-.  It  is  lilte  the  Greelc  dvfio^,  or  opyr],  in  this  respect.  It  may  be  grief  (sorrow),  or  anger.  The  con- 
text determines.  Here,  in  ver.  3,  it  evidently  means  the  opposite  of  plHty  laughter,  mirth,  jay.  In  ver.  9th,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  must  have  the  sense  of  an^er,  though  both  ideas  are  probably  combined. — T.  L.l 

[Ver.  7.  pL^^  means  the  disposition  or  state  of  mind  from  which  oppression  comes  (v/3pis,  iruoknce,  pride)  rather  than 

the  act.  It  is  also  to  be  determined  from  the  context  whether  it  is  violence,  insolence,  etc.,  exercised  upon  the  wise  man, 
or  by  him,  that  is,  whether  it  is  objective,  or  subjective.  The  latter  sense,  here,  best  suits  the  context.  Such  a  spirit  in 
the  wise  man  may  malce  mad  even  him,  or  maice  him  decide  wrong,  if  we  regard  □311,  here,  as  meaning  a  judge.— T.L.] 

[Ter.  12.  7V3  is  regarded  by  some  of  the  beat  critics  as  a  case  of  beth  easentiae,  or  as  having  an  assertive  force,  as  in 

the  Arabic,  but  there  is  no  good  reason  for  this. — T.  L.] 


EXEGETICAL  AND    CRITICAL. 

1.  This  section,  which  describes  the  nature 
of  genuine,  practical  wisdom,  just  as  the  pre- 
ceding one  presents  the  contrary,  is  clearly 
divided  into  three  divisions  or  strophes.  The 
first  of  these  (vers.  1-7)  treats  of  the  contempt 
of  worldly  pleasure,  and  the  sacred  earnestness 
of  life, — the  second,  (vers.  8-14)  of  a  forbearing, 
patient,  and  resigned  disposition, —  the  third, 
(vers.  15-22)  of  godly  demeanor,  and  humble 
self-appreciation,  as  conditions  and  essential 
characteristics  of  that  wisdom.  A  division  of 
these  three  strophes  into  half  strophes  is  super- 


fluous (Vaihinoer)  ;  there  is  only  observable  a 
sharper  and  deeper  incision  in  the  train  of 
thought,  in  the  middle  of  the  last  strophe,  or  in 
the  transition  from  the  fear  of  God  to  self-ap- 
preciation, after  verse  18. 

2.  First  Strophe :  Vers.  1-7.  Of  the  advan- 
tage of  a  stern  contempt  of  the  world  over  fool- 
ish worldly  pleasure. — A  good  name  is  bet- 
ter than  precious  ointment.  Comp.  Prov. 
xxii.  1,  where  QUf  signifies,  just  as  in  this 
passage,  a  good  name,  a  good  reputation  or 
fame ;  see  also  Job  xxx.  8,  and  for  the  parono- 
masia in  Op  and  [DB^  see  Canticles  i.  3.  [In 
this  place  Zockleu  gives  us  specimens  of  play 


CHAP.  VII.  1-22. 


105 


upon  words  in  German,  such  as  arise  from 
(Jeriicht  and  Wohlgeruoh,  etc.,  which  are  not 
translatable,  except  by  a  general  reference  to  the 
metaphors  to  be  found  in  English  and  other 
languages,  wherein  character,  reputation,  etc.,  is 
said  to  have  its  good  or  evil  odor.  It  might  be 
compared  with  the  opposite  Hebrew  word  S^^N^H 
he  stank,  odiosus  fuit,  1  Sam.  xxvii.  12. — T.  L. 
—And  the  day  of  death  than    the   day 

of  one's  birth.  For  the  suffix  in  n/'P  comp. 
7.  18 ;  viii.  16 ;  Isa.  xyii.  5 ;  Jer.  xl.  5  and 
similar  cases  of  relation  of  a  definite  suffix  to 
an  indefinite  subject.  The  sentence  is  the  same 
as  chap.  iv.  3  ;  Ti.  3-5.  It  here  serves  as  a 
preparation  for  the  following  sentences,  whose 
aim  is  to  heighten  the  duty  of  a  sacred  earnest- 
ness of  life,  just  as  the  commendation,  in  the 
first  clause,  of  a  good  name  as  something  better 
than  precious  ointment,  is  to  pave  the  way  for 
this  recommendation  of  a  serious  disposition 
despising  the  pleasures  of  the  world.  In  this 
common  relation  of  the  two  clauses  to  the  fun- 
damental thought  of  the  necessity  of  a  serious 
purpose,  lies  the  inward  connection,  which  we 
may  no  more  deny  [with  Hmnqstenberq  and 
many  others]  than  erroneously  assert  on  the 
basis  of  the  false  assumption  that  the  second 
clause  refers  specially  to  the  fool,  or  through 
any  other  similar  subtilties.  Elster  is  correct 
in  saying:  "Because  a  good  and  reputable 
name,  which  secures  an  ideal  existence  with 
posterity,  is  more  valuable  than  all  sensual 
pleasure,  such  as  is  obtained  through  precious 
bintments,  therefore  the  day  of  death  must 
seem  to  bring  more  happiness  than  the  day  of 
birth ;  for  this  ideal  existence  of  posthumous 
fame  does  not  attain  its  full  power  and  purity 
until  after  death  :  but  external  pleasures  and 
enjoyments,  which  we  are  acoustoraed  to  desire 
for  a  man  on  the  day  of  his  birth,  pleasures 
Vhich  are  dependent  on  his  sensual  life,  prove 
to  be  more  empty  and  vain  than  the  joy  afforded 
ky  the  thought  of  a  spiritual  existence  in  the 
memory  of  posterity." — Ver.  2.  It  is  better 
to  go  to  a  house  of  mourning.  That  is, 
a  house  wherein  there  is  mourning  for  one  de- 
ceased, "a  house  of  lamentation"  (Lxjthek). 
The  connection  of  the   expression  favors   this 

sense  of  the  significant  73X  IV3,  taken  back- 
wards as  well  as  forwards  ;  and  also  with  ver. 
3f.  For  the  expression  for  Hiltt'p  IV2  "house 
of  carousal,"  of  drinking  (not  specially  a  drink- 
ing resort)  compare  the  similar  expression 
in  Esther  vii.  8.  For  the  entire  sentence  comp. 
the  Arabic  proverb  (Schulten's  Anthology, 
p.  48,  73) ;  "  If  thou  hearest  lamentation  for 
the  dead  enter  into  the  place ;  but  if  thou  art 
hidden  to  a  banquet  pass  not  the  threshold." 
For  that  is  the  end  of  all  men.  "  That," 
(wn)  i.  e.,  not  the  mourning,  but  the  fact  that 
a  house  becomes  a  house  of  mourning.  It  is 
therefore  ^?^^  for  NTI  on  account  of  the  attrac- 
tion of  tjlD  as  HiTZio  rightly  regards  it. — 
And  the  living  will  lay  it  to  his  heart. 
Ver.  3.  Sorrow  is  better  than  laughter. 
Dj>3  here,  does  not,  of  course,  mean  that  pas- 
sionate sorrow  or  anger  against  which  we  are 


warned  as  a  folly  in  ver.  9,  but  is  essentially 
the  same  as  /2K  in  ver.  2,  consequently  a 
grief  salutary,  and  nearest  allied  to  that  godly 
sorrow  spoken  of  2  Cor.  vii.  10.  For  plDK', 
"laughter,"  boisterous,  worldly  merriment, 
comp.  ii.  2,  and  also  ver.  6. — For  by  the  sad- 
ness  of   the  countenance    the    heart  is 

made  better.— Q'JS  ;[l,  like  CDy\  D':3, 
Gen.  xl.  7 ;  Neh.  ii.  2,  signifies  not  an  evil  coun- 
tenance, but  a  sad,  sorrowful  one,  and  21  30'" 
is  not  to  be  understood  of  the  moral  amendment, 
but  of  the  cheering  up  and  gladdening  of  the 
heart  ;*  comp.  the  Latin,  ccr  bene  se  habet,  as 
also  the  parallels  chap.  xi.  9  ;  Judges  xix.  6,  9 ; 
Ruth  iii.  7  ;  1  Kings  xxi.  7.  But  cheerfulness 
and  contentment  of  the  heart,  with  a  sad  coun- 
tenance, can  only  be  imagined  where  its  thoughts 
have  begun  to  take  the  normal  direction  in  a 
religious  and  moral  aspect;  moral  amendment 
is  therefore  in  any  case   the   presupposition  of 

37  I'tp'n,  and  there  is,  therefore,  no  contradic- 
tion but  the  clearest  harmony  with  Prov.  xiv.  13 ; 
XV.  13;  xvii.  22;  xviii.  14. — Ver.  4.  The 
heart  of  the  'wise  is  in  the  house  of 
.mourning.  Drawing  his  conclusion  from  vers. 
2  and  3,  the  author  returns  to  the  expression  of 
the  second  sentence.  Because  a  serious  disposi- 
tion is  everywhere  more  salutary  than  boister- 
ous worldly  merriment,  it  is  plain  that  the 
former  will  be  peculiar  to  the  wise  man,  as  the 
latter  to  the  fool.  Vaihinger  observes  very 
correctly,  "that  one  perceives  from  this  pas- 
sage that  the  preacher,  however  often  he  recom- 
mends enjoyment  of  life,  never  means  thereby 
boisterous  pleasures  and  blind  sensual  enjoy- 
ment, but  rather  worthy  and  grateful  enjoyment 
of  the  good  and  the  beautiful  offered  by  God. 
Such  an  enjoyment  is  not  only  possible  with  a 
serious  course  of  life,  but  is  indeed  only  thereby 
attainable." — Ver.  5.  It  is  better  to  hear 
the  rebuke  of  the  wise.    For  m;?J,  "  re- 

T  T  : 

buke,"  censure,  reproof  on  account  of  foolish 
or  criminal  behaviour,  comp.  Prov.  xiii.  1.  In- 
tercourse with  wise  men,  i.  e.,  strictly  moral  and 
religious  individuals,  who  can  easily  impart 
those  censures,  belongs  to  those  expressions  of 
a  serious,  world-contemning  spirit,  of  which  a 
few  other  examples  have  been  cited,  such  as  to 
"  go  into  the  house  of  mourning,"  to  "  be  of 
a  sad  countenance." — Than  for  a  man  to 
hear  the  song  of  fools.  Literal;  "Than  a 
man  hearing  the  song  of  fools."  Flattering 
speeches  are  not  specially  meant  here  (Vulg. 
adulatio),  but  the  extravagant,  boisterous  and 
immoral  songs  that  are  heard  in  the  riotous 
carousals  of  foolish  men,  in  the  T\IWT>  IT'S 
or  "house  of  feasting."  Comp.  Job  xxi.  12; 
Amos  vi.  6;  Isa.  v.  11,  12.— Ver.  6.  For  as  the 
crackling  of  thorns  under  a  pot.  The 
fire  of  dry  thorns,  quickly  blazing  up,  and 
burning  with  loud  crackling  and  snapping,  and 
also  quickly  consumed  (comp.  Ps.  Iviii.  9 ; 
cxx.  4  ;    and  especially  cxviii.  12)  is  here  chosen 

*[See  Metrical  Version,  and  the  remarkB  on  this  paaeage 
Introd.  to  Met.  Vers,  page  179.— T.  L.] 


106 


ECCLESIASTES. 


as  the  emblem  of  the  loud,  boisterous,  and 
vacant  laughter  of  foolish  men,  who  are  at  the 
same  time  destitute  of  all  deeper  moral  worth. 
This  also  is  vanity  ;  namely,  all  this  noisy, 
merry,  vacant  and  unfruitful  conduct  of  fools. — ■ 
Ver.  7.  Surely  oppression  maketh  a  -wise 
man  mad;  and  a  gift  destroyeth  the  heart. 
'3  in  the  beginning  of  this  verse  can  neither 
be  considered  as  containing  a  cause  or  a  motive 
[this  is  the  opinion  of  the  most  commentators, 
also  of  HiTzia,  VAiHiNaEE,  Hengstenbeko, 
Hahn,  etc.),  nor  as  an  adversative  equivalent  to 
"yet,"  or  "but"  [Ewald,  Elster].  Like  the 
"10X  in  chap.  vi.  12,  it  here  clearly  expresses 
an  intensifying  sense  (comp.  '3  in  Isa.  v.  7 ; 
Job  vi.  21,  etc.).  The  connection  with  the  pre- 
ceding is  as  follows :  So  great  is  the  vanity  of 
fools,  and  so  powerfully  and  rapidly  does  it 
spread,  like  the  blazing  fire  of  thorns,  that  even 
the  wise  man  is  in  danger  of  being  infected  by 
it;  and  deluded  from  the  path  of  probity  in 
consequence  of  brilliant  positions  of  power, 
striving  after  riches,  offers  of  presents  or  bribes, 
etc.  pt^i?  (for  which  Ewald  in  his  Biblical  An- 
nual 1856,  p.  156,  unnecessarily  proposed  to 
read  TC?y  —  a  conjecture  abandoned  by  him 
afterwards)  does  not  mean  in  a  passive  sense  the 
oppression  of  the  wise  man  by  others,  but  rather 
the  "pressure"  which  he  is  tempted  to  exercise, 
just  as  njnn  means  a  "present,"  or  bribe  which 
is  offered  to  him.  The  wise  man  is  regarded  as 
a  judge,  who,  in  the  exercise  of  his  functions, 
needs  true  wisdom,  so  much  the  more  because 
he  may  easily  be  deluded  by  bribery  and  be 
teinpted  to  misuse  his  official  power.     For  the 

expressions  77in   "to   delude,   to   make  a  fool 

•f,"  and  37  HSN  "  to  corrupt  the  heart,"  cor- 
Tumpere,  comp.  Isa.  xliv.  25 ;  Jer.  iv.  9.*  For 
the  sentence  see  Dent.  xvi.  19 ;  Sirach  xx.  27 ; 
[but  not  Prov.  xvii.  8;  xviii.  16;  xix.  6,  etc., 
where  allowable  giving  is  meant]. 

3.  Second  strophe.  Vers.  8-14.  Of  the  value 
of  patience,  tranquility,  and  resignation  to  the 
will  of  God.  Better  is  the  end  of  a  thing 
than  the  beginning  thereof.  The  sense  is 
not  the  same  as  in  ver.  1,  but  rather,  according 
to  the  second  verse,  as  follows :  it  is  better 
quietly  to  await  the  course  of  an  affair  until  its 


'[fThe  common  view  of  thig  passage  as  given  in  B.  V., 
whicli  makes  tlie  wise  man  the  object  of  oppression,  is  un- 
questionably wrong,  though  so  often  quoted  and  used  as 

historical  illustration.    It  does  not  agree  with   vSlH  which 

does  not  mean  the  madness  of  frenzy  caused  by  a  sense  of 
wrong,  but  vain  glory,  extravagance,  inflation,  coming  from 
inward  wrong-feoling.  Zooklee  is  doubtless  right  in  saying 
that  it  does  uot  denote  passively  to?  oppression  which  the 
wise  man  suffers  from  others  ;  but  his  rendering  "  pressure  " 
seeraa  forced  and  far  from  being  clear.  pK?J?  may  denote  a 
state  of  soul  leading  to  wrong  and  oppression,  as  well  as  the 
outward  act  itself;  as  in  Ps.  Ixxlii.  8,  pW}f  ItST'l  is  par- 
allel to  02T  Q'nSD,  "they  speak  lofty,"' arrogantly. 
Compare  also  Isaiah  lix.  13,  where  it  is  joined  with  mO 

"  perverseness,"  and  falsehood.  See  also  Ps.  liil.  11.  The 
connection,  then,  is  with  ver.  6 ;  "To  hear  the  reproving  of 


issue,  and  not  to  judge  and  act  until  then,  than 
to  proceed  rashly  and  with  passionate  haste,  and 
bring  upon  one's  self  its  bad  consequences. 
The  peculiar  sense  of  n-'n~'^|1K  corresponds 
to  the  calm  demeanor  expressed  by  the  term 
"long-suffering"  in  the  sense  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment panpoBvpla  (Col.  i.  11;  Heb.  vi.  12,  15; 
James  v.  7,  8)  ;  and  for  the  violent  temper 
described  in  the  second  place,  we  have  the 
state  of  mind  denoted  by  the  word  nn^n^J. " 
"haughty,"  or  "presumptuous."  Comp.  1 
Kings  XX.  11. — Ver.  9.  Be  not  hasty  in  thy 
spirit  to  be  angry.  The  word  D1JJ3  "to  be 
morose,"  sensitive  [see  remarks  on  ver.  3  above], 
is  a  peculiar  species  of  haughtiness  mentioned 
in  the  previous  verse,  and  one  very  frequently 
and  easily  occurring ;  it  is  not  fully  expressed  by 
nn  n^J,  as  Hengstenberg  supposes  [quite 
as  little  as  nil  ^^X  is  expressed  by  0]3N  ^^N 
ppaihc,  ei'f  opyfp),  James  i.  19]. — For  anger 
rests  in  the  bosom  of  fools  ;  that  is,  a  fret- 
ful, irritable  disposition  is  mainly  found  in  fools, 
is  deeply  rooted  in  their  nature  and  has  its  homo 
there.  For  nij,  in  this  sense  see  Prov.  xiv.  33; 
Isa.  xi.  2  ;  xxv.  11.  For  the  sentence  see  Job 
V.  2 ;  Prov.  xii.  16. — Ver.  10.  Say  not  what 
is  the  cause,  etc.  Finding  fault  with  the  pre- 
sent, and  a  one-sided  praise  of  past  times,  is  a 
well-known  characteristic  of  peevish  and  fret- 
ful dispositions,  and  of  those  surly  carpers  at 
fate  of  ver.  16,  and  those  difficiles,  queruli,  lauda- 
tores  temporis  acli  of  the  Horatian  epistola  adPisones, 
(line  173).  For  thou  dost  not  inquire 
vrisely  concerning  this.  That  is,  not  so 
that  thy  question  is  made  on  the  basis  of  wise 
reflection,  and  therefore  proceeds  from  thii 
source.  Comp.  the  similar  use  of  the  preposi- 
tion [p,  chap.  ii.  10 ;  Ps.  xxviii.  7. — Vers.  11 
and  12.  The  praise  of  wisdom,  in  so  far  as  it 
is  in  harmony  with  a  thoughtful,  patient,  and 
even  soul. — Wisdom  is  good  vrith  an  in- 
heritance.      [ZbCKLEB. :     as    an   inheritance]. 

n7nj  DJ?  does  not  mean  "with  an  inheritance 
or  fortune,"  as  if  the  sense  were  the  same  as 
that  in  chap.  v.  18  (Sept.,  Vulg.,  Luther). 
The  connection  decides  against  this,  as  well  as 
against  the  view  of  Ewald  :  "  in  comparison 
with  an  inheritance,"  and  against  the  still  more 
unfitting  view  of  Hahn:  "wisdom  is  good 
against  destiny."  (!)  CD}}  is  undoubtedly  used 
in  the  same  sense  as  in  chap.  ii.  16;  Gen.  xviii. 

the  wise  is  better  than  to  listen  to  the  song  of  fools."  Ver.  6 
is  simply  an  illustration  of  what  is  meant  by  the  song  of 
fools,  and  then  follows  the  brief  clause,  "  this  too  is  vanity," 
which,  although  connected  by  the  accents  with  ver.  6,  must 
refer  to  the  whole  context  that  precedes :  since  it  would 
seem  superfluous  thus  to  characterize  simply  the  empty 
talk  of  fools.  It  is  frequently  the  case  in  Koheleth  that  an 
admonition,  or  serious  maxim,  given  in  one  sentence,  is 
afterwards  qualified,  if  not  wholly  modified  or  retracted,  in 
another ;  as  though  there  were  some  vanity  even  in  the 

gravest  of  human  words  or  acts.    73n    rtT-1 — t-V  "this  too 

may  be  vanity."  that  is,  "the  reproof  of  the  wise,^^  or  of  the 
judge,  (as  Zockler,  from  the  context,  correctly  regards 
him);  for  his  own  arrogance,  or  perverseness  of  temper, 
may  lead  him  astray,  or  a  bribe  may  corrupt  his  heart,  And 
thus  there  is  brought  out,  what  seems  evidently  intended,  a 
contrast  between  the  inward  and  outward  deranging  power. 
— T.  L.1 


CHAP.  VII.  1-22. 


107 


23;  Pa.  Ixxiii.  5;  Job  ix.  26.*— And  by  it 
there  is  profit  to  them  that  see  the  sun  ; 

I.  c,  for  the  living  (oomp.  vi.  5  ;  and  the  Ho- 
meric 6pav  (pdog  rjeXiQio,  also  the  Latin,  diem 
videre).      Herzfeld,    Hitziq,    and    HENosiaiN- 

BEEG  unnecessarily  take  "MV  in  the  adrerbial 
sense  of  "  more,  better  still,"  in  order  to  let  the 
second  clause  appear  as  an  intensification  of  the 
first.  The  adjective  or  rather  the  substantive 
sense,  corresponds  better  to  the  poetical  charac- 
ter of  the  passage,  and  is  equivalent  to  [I'^n]' : 
in  support  of  which  chap.  vi.  8  may  be  quoted, 
and  in  which  the  second  clause  becomes  the  ex- 
act parallel  of  the  first.— Ver.  12.  For  ■wisdom 
is  a  defence,  and  money  is  a  defence. 
(Lit.  Ger.,  in  the  shadow  of  wisdom,  in  the 
shadow  of  money).  That  is,  he  who  dwells  in 
the  shadow  of  wisdom  is  just  as  much  protected 
as  he  who  passes  his  life  in  the  protection  of 
much  money ;  therefore  an  exact  parallel  in 
sense  with  ver.  11,  first  clause.  Stmmaohds  is 
correct :  an^irst  aotpia  ug  cke-ku  rh  dpyiipLov ;  but 
the  Vulgate  is  not  wholly  so:  " Sicut  enim  protegit 
sapkniia,  sic  protegit  pecunia.^^  Knobel  and 
HiTZiG  are  too  artificial  in  saying  that  3  here  is 
the  beth  essentiee,  which  would  be  therefore  trans- 
lated :   "Wisdom  is  a  shadow,  (that  is  a  defence) 

and  money  is  a  shadow."  7X3  is  rather  to  be 
taken  here  as  in  Ps.  xci.  1,  where  it  is  parallel 
with  ^^p3.  The  shadow  is  here  used  as  a  sym- 
bol of  protection,  with  the  subordinate  idea  of 
the  agreeable,  as  also  in  Ps.  exxi.  4 ;  Isa.  xxx. 
2,3;  xxxii.  2;  Lamentations  iv.  20,  etc. — But 
the  excellence  of  knovrledge  is  ;  i.  e.,  the 
advantage  that  knowledge  {Pi^n  comp.  i.  16) 
has  over  money,  that  which  makes  it  more  valu- 
able than  money.  nj?"1  here  alternates  with 
HDOn  simply  on  account  of  the  poetical  paral- 
lelism.—Wisdom  giveth  life  to  them  that 
have  it;  lit,,  "it  animates  him"  (irnri).  DTI 
is  not  "  to  keep  in  life "  (Hitzig),  but  "  to 
grant  life,"  i.  e.,  to  bestow  a  genuine  happy  life. 
Comp.  Job  xxxvi.  6;  Ps.  xvi.  11;  xxxviii.  9; 
Prov.  iii.  18 ;  especially  the  last  passage,  which 
maybe  quoted  as  most  decisive  for  our  meaning. 
Henostenberq  lays  too  much  stress  on  iT'njl, 
in  claiming  for  it  the  sense  of  reanimating,  of 
the  resurrection  of  that  which  was  spiritually 
dead  (according  to  Hosea  vi.  2  ;  Luke  xv.  32, 
etc.);  and  Knobel  too  little,  when  he  declares: 
"wisdom  affords  a  calm  and  contented  spirit."* 


*  [There  seerna  no  good  reason  for  departing  here  from  the 
usual  sense  of  L3V  vnt\  in  connection  with.    The  other 

I  referred  to  explain  themselves.    The  word  H /HJ, 


as  used  in  many  places,  does  not  mean  inheritance  generally, 
like  niy^\  but  a  rich  and  ample  possession,  in  a  most 

faTorahle  sense,  as  one  given  by  the  Lord,  or  inherited  from 
one's  father,  an  estate.,  or  property.  The  sense  is  obvious : 
Wisdom  is  a  good  alone,  but  when  joined  with  an  ample 
estate,  aa  a  means  of  doing  good,  then  is  it  especially  an  ad- 
vantage to  the  sons  of  men.  See  Metrical  Version. — T.  L.] 
TtVer.l2.  n"njT  riDjnri,  rendered  "wisdom  giveth  life." 

We  cannot  help  thinking  that  Koheleth  means  more  here 
than  ZocKLBR'8  interpretation  wouldgive,  or  any  of  the  others 
he  mentions.  There  is  a  contrast,  too,  giving  the  connection 
of  thought,  which  they  all  fail  to  bring  out.  "In  the  shade 
»  wisdom,  as  in  the  shada  of  wealth;"  that  is,  in  both  is 
24 


— Ver.  13.  Consider  the  ■work  of  God  ;  foi 
■who  can  make  that  straight  ■which  He 
hath  made  crooked  ?  A  return  to  the  ex- 
hortations to  a  calm,  patient  spirit  (vers.  9  and 
10),  with  reference  to  God's  wise  and  unchange- 
able counsel  and  will,  to  which  we  must  yield 
in  order  to  learn  true  patience  and  tranquility. 
The  connection  between  the  first  and  second 
clauses  is  as  follows  :  In  observing  the  works  of 
God  thou  will  find  that  His  influence  is  eternal 
and  immutable  ;  for  who  can  make  that  straight 
which  He  hath  made  crooked,  i.  e.,  harmonize  the 
defects  and  imperfections  of  human  life  decreed 
by  Him;  comp.  i.  16;  vi.  10;  Job  xii.  14;  Bom. 
ix.  9.  As  this  connection  of  thought  is  evident 
enough,  one  need  not,  with  Hitzig  and  others, 
take  '3  in  the  sense  of  "  that,"  to  which  in- 
deed the  interrogative  form  of  the  second  clause 
would  be  unfitting. — Ver.  14.  In  the  day  of 
prosperity  be  joyful. — 31D3  is  equivalent  to 
310-3^3.  Comp.  chap.  ix.  7;  1  Kings  viii.  66; 
Sir.  xiv.  14. — But  in  the  day  of  adversity 
consider.  "  Behold,  look  at,  observe  "  [namely 
the  following  truth] ;  comp.  DXI  in  ver.  13. 
EwALD  is  harsh  and  artificial  in  his  rendering: 
"and  bear  the  day  of  misfortune,"  taking  3  ilXT 
in  a  sense  that  he  claims  is  sustained  by 
Gen.  xxi.  16. — God  also  hath  set  the  one 
over  against  the  other.  This  is  the  substance 
of  that  which  one  must  consider  in  adversity, 
fully  corresponding  with  what  Job  says  in  ii.  10. 
— To  the  end  that  man  should  find  no- 
thing after  him ;  i.  «.,  in  order  that  he  may 
fathom  nothing  that  lies  beyond  his  present  con- 
dition (rinx  as  in  iii.  22  ;  vi.  12),  or  in  order 
that  the  future  that  lies  behind  him,  or,  according 
to  our  more  u.sual  expression,  that  lies  before  him, 
remain  hidden  and  concealed  from  him,  and 
that  he  may,  in  no  wise,  count  on  it,  but  rather 
remain  in  all  things  unconditionally  dependent 
on  God,  and  His  grace  (Elstee,  Vaihingee 
and  Hengstenbeeg  are  correct  on  this  point). 

K'bEf  n^3T  '7^,  lit, :  "  on  account  of  that,  that 
not "  (comp.  ni3T  7;^,  "  on  account  of,"  chap, 
iii.  18 ;  viii.  2)  is  not  equivalent  to  "so  that  not," 
[LuTHtjE  in  his  Commentary'\,  or,  "  therefore, 
because  not"  [Hitzig  and  Hahn],  but  clearly 
introduces  the  divine  dispensation  in  assigning 
sometimes  good  and  sometimes  evil  days;  there^ 
fore  it  should  be  rendered  "  to  the  end  that." 

there  a  defence.  Defence  of  what  ?  Of  life  evidently.  In 
this  they  both  agree;  but  knowledge,  wisdom  (variety  of 
exnression  for  the  same  thing),  does  more  than  this.  Its 
great  pre-eminence  is,  that  it  giveth  life  to  its  possessors 
(rrnn'makes  them  alive),  Thismeans  something  more  than 

mere  animating,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  cheering,  enliven- 
ing, or  making  happy,  e^c.  Knowledge  is  life.  Tivere  est  cogi- 
tare.  Itis,  inahighsense,  thesowrsfoein^.  It  is  true  of  mere 
human  knowledge,  science,  philosophy,  intuition.  Much 
more  may  it  be  said  of  divine  or  spiritual  knowledge. 
*'  Man  lives  not  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  that  pro- 
ceeds from  the  mouth  of  God,"  Deut,  viii,  3;  Matt,  iv.  4. 
"The  words  that  I  speak  unto  yoa,  they  are  spirit,  and 
they  are  life."  John  vi,  6,3,  It  is  not  merely  spiritual,  that 
is,  moral  reanimation,  as  Hengstenbero  would  have  it,  but 
the  very  life  of  the  soul.  It  is  a  sufficient  argument  against 
the  other  interpretations  given,  that  in  falling  short  of  this 
they  lose  the  contrast,  and  fail  to  exhibit  that  connection  to 
which  the  antithetical  nicety  of  the  proverbial  diction  evi- 
dently points. — T.  L.] 


108 


ECCLESIASTES. 


4.  Third  strophe.  Vers.  15-22.  Of  the  value 
of  the  fear  of  God  and  humble  aelf-apprecia- 
tlon.  All  things  have  I  seen,  elc.  '*  All," 
i.  €.,  not  all  kinds  [Luther,  Vaihinger,  Heng- 
stenberq],  but  everything  possible,  everything 
that  can  come  into  consideration,  everything  to 
whose  consideration  I  could  be  directed  (accord- 
ing to  vers.  13  and  14).  In  the  days  of  my 
vanity.  i.  e.,  since  I  belong  to  this  vain, 
empty  life  of  earth.  There  is  no  indication 
that  these  vain  days  passed  completely  by  during 
the  life  of  the  speaker,*  and  this  passage  can- 
not, therefore,  be  used  as  a  proof  that  Solomon, 
who  became  repentant  in  bis  old  age,  is  the 
speaker. — Theie  is  a  just  man  that  perish- 
eth  in  his  righteousness. — ty"*,  *Hhere  is," 

does  not  belong  to  IIIN,  but  to  P^^?,  therefore 
the  meaning  is  not  "the  just  man  perisheth.'' 
1piy3  is  not  ^^  through  his,  righteousness"  (Um- 
BKEiT,  Vaihinger,  Hitzig);  but  in  it;  comp. 
EwALD,  Lehrbuch,  ^  217,  3,  f.  The  intention 
here  is  to  announce  something  which  Kohe- 
leth  saw,  an  evident  fact ;  but  this  is  only  the 
external  connection,  the  association  of  right- 
eousness and  misfortune;  not,  on  the  contrary, 
the  misfortune  effected  through  righteousness. 
The  same  thing  occurs  in  the  following  clause, 
vphere    inV'^3    is    not    to    be     understood     as 

TT  : 

"  through,''  but  in,  that  is,  in  spite  of  his  wicked- 
ness. But  the  author  desires  by  no  means  to 
present  that  righteousness  in  which  one  perish- 
eth  as  blameless,  but  has  doubtless  here  in  view, 
as  in  the  subsequent  verse,  that  self-righteous- 
ness, that  apparent  outwai'd  righteousness  which 
our  Lord  so  often  had  to  censure  in  the  Pharisees 
(Matt.  V.  20;  Luke  v.  32  ;  xv.  7,  etc)  and  which 
appeared  quite  early  in  Old  Testament  history 
as  a  religiously  moral  tendency,  comp.  Int.  §  4, 
Obs.  3, — And  there  is  a  wricked  man  that 
prolongeth  his  life  in  his  vrickedness. 
^")X0  with  rC  understood,  comp.  viii.  12,  13; 

Deut.  xxii.  7  ;  Prov.  xxviii.  2,  16,  etc. — Ver.  16. 
Be  not  righteous  overmuch,  neither 
make  thyself  overwise.  Clearly  a  warning 
against  that  strictly  exact,  but  hypocritical  and 
external  righteousness  of  those  predecessors  of 
the  Pharisees  to  whom  the  preceding  verse  re- 
ferred. O^nnn  (Reflexive  of  CD^H  "  to  make 
wise")  can  scarcely  here  signify  anything  else 
than  as  in  Ex.  i,  10;  therefore  sapientem  se  gessit, 
not  sapientem  seputavit.  This  expression  "make 
thyself  not  over  wise,"  is  consequently  not  a 
warning  against  vainly  imagining  that  one  is 
tvise,  but  against  the  effort  to  appear  eminently 
wise,  and  against  a  pretentious  assumption  of 
.the  character  of  a  teacher  of  wisdom,  in  short, 
against   that   Pharisaical    errorf  which    Christ 


*[Tliero  is  no  indication  to  the  contrary,  it  Bhoulfl  rather 
■bo  saiil.  The  Hebrew  is  remarkably  plain,  and  there  is  no 
way  of  making  it  mean  "since  I  belong  to  this  vain  empty 
life,"  Thi8  is  too  much  practised  by  those  who  deny  the 
Solomonic  origin  of  the  book,  thus  to  take  away  the  force  of 
certain  passap'S  that  plHinly  speak  for  it,  and  then  to  reason 
on  ilieir  own  false  hypothesis.  Had  this  cxpresHion  not 
occurred  at  all,  the  whole  book  furnishes  evidence  that  it 
Was  written  by  one  who  had  an  unusual  experience  of  the 
vanities  and  vicissitudes  of  life.  A  mere  persouator  could 
iDover  have  expressed  it  so  feelingly. — T.  ItA 

t  [Ver.  16.  "  Be  not  over-righteous,"^  etc.    There  is  no  reason 


censures  in  Matt,  xxiii.  6,  7  :  (pO^ovGiv — KoKeiaOai 
vTrb  TcJv  avdpoTTuv  pafSpi,  pa(3i3L  "Why  shouldst 
thou  destroy  thyself?  Namely  by  the  curse 
which  God  has  put  upon  the  vices  of  arrogance 
and  hypocrisy;  Comp.  Christ's  expressions  of 
woe  unto  you  Pharisees  !  in  Matt,  xxiii.  Hit- 
ziQ  says :  "  Why  wilt  thou  isolate  thyself  ?" 
This  is  a  useless  enfeebling  of  the  sense ;  for 
ver.  15,  as  well  as  vers.  17  and  18  show  that 
the  warning  of  the  author  is  meant  in  all  seri- 
ousness, and  that  he  refers  to  divine  and  not 
merely  human  punishment.  Comp.  also  the 
sentence  of  Ezekiel  xxxiii.  11,  so  closely  allied 
with  this   present  one:   "Why  will   ye  die;  0 

for  regarding  p^'lV,  in  the  15th  verse,  as  having  any  other 

than  its  ordinary  sense,  or  the  truly  righleons  man.  It  is 
the  same  experience  that  Koheleth  presents  elsewhere,  the 
just  man  in  this  world  having  the  same  lot  as  the  wicked, 
and  sometimes  suffering  when  the  wicked  seems  to  escape 
with  impunity, — like  the  experience  of  the  Psalmist,  Ps. 
Ixxiii.  4,  5.  The  p^'Hlf,  in  the  16th  verse,  is,  doubtless,  sug- 
gested by  that  in  the  preceding,  but  such  a  fact  would  not 
necensitate  their  having  precisely  the  same  meaning;  since 
the  connection  may  be  poetical,  or  suggestive,  rather  than 
logical.  Zockler's  idea,  therefore,  of  its  meaning  here  the 
self  lighteous,  or  Pliarisaical,  might  be  sustaiued,  perhaps, 
without  carrying  the  idea  into  the  preceding  verse.  His  view 
of  the  riB'^n    p^1}f,  the  over -righteous,  is  very  similar  to 

that  of  Jerome,  who  interprets  the  passage  as  a  condemna- 
tion of  one  who  over-judges,  rigidum  et  trucem  ad  omnia 
fratrwm  peccata, — the  worthy  lather,  perhaps,  little  think- 
ing how  distinctly  he  was  giving  a  feature  of  bis  own 
character.  "Do  not,"  he  says,  "in  this  respect,  he  too  juBt 
(that  is,  ton  rpgid),  because  'an  nnjust  weight,'  be  it  too 
great  or  too  small,  'is  an  abomination  to  the  Lord.'"  And 
then  he  cites  our  Lord's  precept,  Matt,  vii.,  Judge  not,  etc. 
The  being  over-wise  he  refers  to  proud  or  curious  inquiring 
into  the  bidden  works  and  ways  of  God,  such  as  Paul  con- 
demns, Kom.  ix.  20,  nnd  the  confounding  to  the  effect  pro- 
duced by  God's  rebuke,  or  such  an  answer  as  the  Apostle 
gives:  "Nay,  who  art  thou,  Oman?"  Stuart  renders  it,  "do 
not  overdo."  Rabbi  Schelomo,  following  the  Targum  and 
Jewish  authorities  so  early  as  to  be  referred  to  by  Jerome, 
regards  p'^lV  a-s  meaning  Jcind  or  merciful,  and  alleges  the 

example  of  Saul,  who  through  mistaken  clemency,  spared 
the  life  of  AgaL^.  Others  refer  it  to  a  too  strict  judgiog  of 
the  ways  of  Providence,  or  the  arraigning  thf-m  for  what 
seisms  to  us  unjust;  as  when  we  see  the  righteous  perish 
and  the  wicked  man  living  on  in  his  wickedness.  An  argu- 
ment for  this  interpretation  is  the  support  it  seems  to  have 
from  ver.  15.  Another  interpretation  regards  it  as  a  caution 
against  asceticism  and  moroeeness,  in  denying  one's  self 
innocent  pleasures  for  fear  of  finding  sin  in  them.  This  is 
the  view  of  Maimonides  in  the  Tad  Hachazakah,  Varth, 
Lib.  IV.,  Sec.  III.,  3,  i.  Akin  to  this  is  the  view,  stated  by 
him,  which  regards  it  a''  rebuking  works  of  supererogation, 
— as  when  a  man  attempts  to  do  more  than  the  law  re- 
quires. 

If  we  keep  in  view,  however,  the  general  scope  of  tbia 
musing,  meditative,  book,  it  will  be  found,  we  think,  that 
the  two  members  here  mean  very  much  the  same  thing: 
Do  not  view  the  world,  or  the  ways  of  God,  too  narrowly,  as 
though  we,  from  our  exceedingly  limited  position,  could  de- 
termine wliat  it  would  be  just  or  unjust  for  God  to  do,  or 
permit.  This  is  in  harmony  with  the  preceding  verse.  It 
furnishes  us  with  a  key  to  the  transition  in  the  train  of 
thought :  When  you  Bee  the  righteous  suffer,  and  the  wicked 
prosper,  do  not  let  the  thought,  or  even  feeling,  arise  in 
your  mind  that  you  conld,  or  would,  be  more  equitable,  if 
you  had  the  management  of  the  world.  This  is  agreeable 
to  the  general  style  of  Koheleth, — one  thought  correcting 
what  seems  too  strongly  stated,  or  which  may  be  liable  to 
misunderstanding,  in  another.  It  is  also  in  perfect  harmony 
with  what  follows ;  "  Be  not  overwise ;"  that  is  do  not  specu- 
late too  much,  or  theorize  too  much,  □^nHH    7K.  do  not 

play  the  philosopher  too  much ;  you  know  too  little ;  your 
Baconianism  (as  he  might  have  said  had  he  lived  in  these 
our  boasting  times)  has  too  small  an  area  of  inductive  facts 
from  which  to  construct  systems  of  the  universe  (especially 
in  its  moral  and  spiritual  aspects)  out  of  nebular  hypotheses. 
This  corresponds  with  what  is  said  chap.  iii.  11,  about  "the 
world  so  given  to  the  minds  of  men  that  they  cannot  find 
out   the  work  that  God  worketh,  the  end  from  the  begini 


CHAP.  VII.  1-22. 


109 


house  of  Israel?"  and  also  Eccles.  iv.  5.  Ver. 
17.  Be  not  over  much  ^AT-icked,  neither  be 
thou  foolish.  Koheleth  does  not  recommend 
a  certain  moderation  in  wickedness  as  thougli 
he  considered  it  allowable,  but  simply  and  alone 
because  he  recognizes  the  fact  as  generally 
acknowledged  and  certain  that  in  some  respects 
at  least,  every  man  is  somewhat  wicked  by 
nature;  see  vers.  20-22.  He  who  is  "over 
much  wicked "  is  the  maliciously  wicked  or 
downright  ungodly  one  (JJE'IH),  who  sins  not 
merely  from  weakness,  but  with  consciousness 
of  evil  (comp.  Lev.  xlii.  27  ;  Numb.  xv.  27 ; 
Eccles.  V.  6).     Such  a,  one  is  eo  ipso  "foolish" 

(uD)  fiatvdfievoi  rfi  dSiKia,  that  is,  a  fool  in  the 
sense  of  Ps.  xiv.  1  ;  liii.  1. — 'Why  shouldst 
thou  die  before  thy  time  ?  That  is,  before 
the  time  assigned  thee  by  God.  For  this  thought 
of  the  shortening  of  the  days  of  the  wicked 
through  divine  justice,*  oomp.  Prov.  x.  27  ; 
P8.lv.  2-3;  Job  XV.  82;  xxii.  16.— Ver.  18.  It 
Is  good  that  thou  shouldst  take  hold 
of  this  ;  yea,  from  this  also  ■withdraw  not 
thine  hand.  A  recommendation  to  avoid  the 
two  extremes  of  false  righteousness  and  bold 
wickedness  (of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees) 
harmonizing  with  the  thought  of  Horace: 
^^Medium  tenuere  beati ;  medio  iutitsimiis  ibis  :*^ 
and  this  is  not  meant  in  the  superficial  sense  of 
the  ethical  eclecticism  of  the  later  Greeks  and 
Romans,  but  in  that  stern  religious  sense,  which 
the  Lord  expresses  when,  in  Matt,  xxiii.  23,  in 
words  most  nearly  allied  to  these,  [ravra  6s  idsi 
roiTjaai  Kaicelva  fi^  atpcevat)  He  demands  the  most 
conscientious  connection  between  the  outer  and  the 
inner  fulfilment  of  the  law. — For  he  -who  fear- 
eth  God  shall  come  forth  of  them  all. 
Namely  from  the  bad  consequences  of  false 
righteousness  and  those  of  indecent  contempt  of 

ning."  It  is  the  same  idea  that  we  have  chap.  viii.  17 :  "  Man 
cannot  find  out  the  work  that  ia  done  under  the  suu,  and 
even  if  a  wise  man  (a  philosopher)  say  that  he  jjnows  it,  he 
shall  not  be  able  to  discover  it."  The  Yutgate  renders  it, 
mqm  plus  sapias  quam  neaesse  est.  Jerome,  in  his  Latin 
TersioB,  «e  quxras  amphus,  LXX  /nij  tro^i^ov.  The  whole 
precept,  then,  may  be  taken  as  a  condemnation  of  that 
spirit  which  would  be  more  just  and  wise  than  God.  No 
man  professes  this,  or  would  even  admit  that  he  thus  feels, 
yet  it  is  realized  when  any  one,  in  any  way,  finds  fault  with, 
or  even  doubts,  or  has  difficulty  with,  the  ways  of  God  in 
the  world.  Such  a  temper  is  also  condemned  Eccles.  v.  8: 
"If  thou  seest  oppression  of  the  poor,  etc.,  be  not  astonished 
concerning  such  a  matter,  for  He  who  is  high  above  all  is 
Watching  them,"  Compare  also  Job  iy.  7,  where  the  Spirit- 
Wee  says  to  Eliphaz  priif'    ni'7Na    K''lJNn,  "Bhallaman 

^  It:--     •::■•  ■::  - 

iPpoTos  mortaUs)he  more  jnst  than  God?"  This  is  being 
nStn    pnX.     So  also  Ps.  xxxvii.  1:  "Fret  not  thyself 

against  the  evil  doers."    The  Hithpahel  form,  03nnn, 

Would  authorize  us  to  understand  it  of  a  seeming  or  affected 
wisdom,  but  it  more  properly  means  here  a  prying  into  the 
oivins  mysteries,  whether  of  revelation,  or  of  the  super- 
natural, or  an  nrrogaut  denial  of  both,  grounded  on  the 
comparaiive  infinitesimality  of  our  knowledge. 

DDits'n  nrsS  (for  the  fuller  Hithpahel  C3aijiiyn) 

TT  :     - 

ne  obsiupescas  (Jerome);  rather  "why  shouldst  thou  be 
Molate,"  or  "  make  thyself  desolate."  which  would  corres- 
pond to  Ihe  first  interpretation  of  azinnn,  "alone  in  thy 
wisdom ;"  or  "  why  shouldst  thou  be  confounded."  He  who 
presumes  to  settle  matters  too  high  for  him,  will  surely,  in 
some  way,  be  taught  his  ignorance  and  his  folly.— T.  h. 
The  Syr4ac  has  something  here  which  is  not  in  the  Ile- 

Irew,  nor  in  any  other  version,  NJflDn  X^T  "that  thou 
mayest  not  be  hated."— T.  L.l 


the  law,  and  bold  immorality.  Ny  with  the 
accusative,  signifies  here  as  in  Jer.  x.  20, 
OJXX'  'ja,  "my  children  desert  me").  Gen. 
xliv.  4  (T;rn-nN  ixr  "they  went  out  of  the 
city  "),  Amos  iv.  3,  etc.:  "to  go  from  something, 
to  escape  a  thing,"  (comp.  also  1  Sam.  xiv.  41). 
Hitzig's  view  gives  a  somewhat  different  sense : 
"  He  who  feareth  God  goes  with  both,"  i.  e., 
does  not  strive  to  exceed  the  just  medium  ;  this 
is  similar  to  the  Vulgate  {nihil  neffliffit)  and  to 
the  Syriac  {utrique  inhxret).  But  the  usus  lo~ 
quendi  is  rather  more  in  favor  of  the  former 
meaning.  Ver.  19.  Wisdom  strengtheneth 
the  V7ise.     Lit.,  "  proves  itself  strong  to  him 

(□Jn?  \ypi)  more  than,"  etc.,  i.  c,  it  protects 
him  better,  defends  him  more  effectually.  More 
than  ten  mighty  men  ■which  are  in  the 
city ;  than  ten  heroes  which  are  at  the  head  of 
the  troops,  than  ten  commanders  surrounded  by 
their  forces,  to  whom  the  defence  of  the  be- 
sieged city  is  entrusted.    For  the  sentence  comp. 

Prov.  X.  15,  (where  f]}  H^IP  reminds  of  7  ly) 
xxi.  22 ;  xxiv.  5.  The  wisdom  whose  mightily 
protecting  and  strengthening  influence  is  here 
lauded,  is  of  course,  that  genuine  wisdom  which 
is  in  harmony  with  the  fear  of  God;  it  is  that 
disposition  and  demeanor  which  hold  the  true 
evangelical  mean  between  the  extremes  of  false 
righteousness  and  lawlessness,  which  forms  the 
necessary  contrast  and  the  corrective  to  "  the 
being  over  wise"  censured  in  ver.  16. — Ver.  20. 
For  there  is  not  a  just  man  upon  earth 
■who  doeth  good  and  sinneth  not.  There- 
fore (this  is  the  unexpressed  conclusion),  every 
one  needs  this  true  wisdom  for  his  protection 
against  the  justice  of  God  ;  no  one  can  dispense 
with  this  only  reliable  guide  in  the  way  of  truth. 
This  sentence  confirms  the  19th  verse  in  the  first 
place,  and  then  the  whole  preceding  warning 
against  the  extremes  of  hypocrisy  and  impeni- 
tence. Comp.  the  similar  confessions  of  the 
universal  sinfulness  of  our  race  in  Ps.  cxxx.  3 ; 
cxliii.  2;  Job  ix.  2;  xiv.  3;  Prov.  xx.  9; 
1  Kings  viii.  46. — Vers.  21  and  22  are  not  simply 
connected  with  ver.  20,  as  Knobel  supposes, 
(who  brings  out  the  sequence  of  thought  by 
means  of  the  idea  that  as  sinners  we  fall  short 
of  our  duty,  and  cause  adverse  judgments 
against  ourselves)  but  is  also  connected  with  all 
the  preceding  verses  from  the  15th  on,  so  that 
the  connection  of  ideas  is  as  follows:*  You  will 
certainly  receive  the  manifold  censure  of  men 
for  living  according  to  the  doctrines  of  this 
wisdom  (you  will  be  considered  hypocritical, 
excessively  austere,  eccentric,  etc.,)  ;  but  do  not 

*  [This  seems  exceedingly  forced  and  far-fetched.  Knobel's 
view  is  more  so.  The  simple  order  of  thought  may  be 
stated  thus  :  Wise  men  are  scarce,  being  to  the  strong  men, 

the  Q''£3^7t!',  captains,  or  principal  men  in  a  city,  about 
as  one  to  ten;  but  on^,  a  truly  righteous,  or  perfectly  right- 
eous man,  is  not  found  on  earth,  etc.  The  wise  man  of  ver. 
in,  is  not  the  pious  man  necessarily,  or  the  one  wiio  fears 
God,  though  that  may  be  included,  but  wise,  simply,  in  dis- 
tinction from  men  of  power  or  political  eminence,  or  wise 
like  the  one  described  chap,  ix,  15,  "who  saved  the  city." 
Such  may  be  found,  but  the  perfectly  righteous  is  a  charac- 
ter that  does  not  exist  upon  earth.    The  particle  ^3  here  ia 

emphatic,  calling  attention  to  the  fact  regarded  as  strange^ 
and  yet  well  known.    See  iMetrical  "Version. — T.  L.] 


110 


ECCLESIASTES. 


be  led  astray  by  this,  and  do  not  listen  to  it; 
and  this  out  of  humility,  because  you  must  ever 
be  conscious  of  your  faults,  and  therefore  know 
sufficiently  well  what  is  true  in  the  evil  reports 
of  men,  and  what  is  not. — Also  take  no  heed 
unto  all  the  words  that  are  spoken.  That 
is,  do  not  cast  all  to  the  wind  that  thou  hearest, 
but  only,  do  not  be  over  anxious  about  their 
evil  reports  concerning  thee  ;  do  not  be  curious 
to  hear  how  they  judge  thee.  We  are  therefore 
warned  against  idle  curiosity  and  latent  desire 
of  praise,  and  reminded  of  the  very  significant 
circumstance  that  one's  own  servant  may  accord 
to  the  vain  listener  disgrace  and  imprecation, 
instead  of  the  desired  honor. — Ver.  22.  For 
ofttlmes  also  thine  own  heart  know^eth 
that  thou  thyself  likewise  hast  cursed 
others.  The  expression,  "  thine  own  heart," 
is  clearly  equivalent  to  the  guilty  conscience 
that  accuses  man  of  his  former  sins,  especially 
of  his  unkindness  to  his  neighbor,  and  his  viola- 
tions of  the  eighth  commandment,  and  thereby 
demands  of  him  a  more  humble  self-apprecia- 
tion, and  a  wiser  restraint  in  intercourse  with 
others.      m3T    O'p.173    may    be     considered 

either  as  the  accusative  of  time — "many  times  " 
— or  the  objective  accusative — "many  cases'' 
— but  belongs  in  either  case  closely  to  J^l',  not 

to  i^/ip-  Tlie  first  QJ  is,  in  strictness,  super- 
fluous. Tty^  at  the  beginning  of  the  second 
clause,  is  not  "so  that"  (Elster),  but  "there 
where  "  ("  where  it  happened  that,"  etc.) ;  comp. 
Gen.  XXXV.  13-15;  2  Sam.  xix.  25. 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

(  With  Homiletical  Hints.) 
This  section  has  three  divisions  describing  the 
nature  of  genuine  wisdom  in  three  principal 
phases; — as  an  earnestness  of  life,  despising 
the  world,  as  patience,  resigned  to  God,  and  as 
an  humble  penitent  fear  of  God.  Of  these,  the 
third  affords  a  rich  harvest  in  the  dogmatic  tield, 
and  mainly  by  emphasizing  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant anthropological  truths  of  the  entire  Old 
Testament  revelation,  namely,  the  universal  sin- 
fulness of  the  human  race  (see  especially  ver. 
20,  and  also  the  parallel  passages  there  quoted 
from  Psalms,  Job  and  the  Proverbs).  This  truth 
appears  here  in  a  connection  which  is  the  more 
significant  because  it  forms  the  background,  and 
the  deepest  motive,  to  all  the  preceding  admo- 
nitions. It  explains  not  only  the  preceding 
warning  against  the  two  extremes  of  hypocriti- 
cal and  false  righteousness  and  bold  lawlessness, 
(the  cardinal  vice  of  .Tew  and  Gentile  before 
Christ,  or  the  fundamental  error  of  Pharisees 
and  Sadducees  among  the  later  Jews) ;  but  it  also 
finally  serves  as  a  basis  and  impulse  (in  the  first 
two  strophes)  to  the  admonitions  to  holy  earnest- 
ness, and  to  a  calm  and  resigned  state  of  soul. 
In  the  admonition  to  a  stern  contempt  of  the 
world  and  its  pleasures,  this  is  especially  clear; 
for  this  admonition  closes  in  verse  7  with  the 
highly  impressive  reference  to  the  fact,  that 
even  wise  men  are  exposed  to  the  seduction  of 
vices  and  follies  of  divers  kinds,  whence  directly 
springs    the  ,duty   of    turning   from   the   busy 


tumult  of  the  world,  and  of  anxious  zeal  for 
one's  own  salvation  in  fear  and  trembling.  But 
the  second  division  (vers.  8-14)  also  presupposes 
the  fact  that  men,  without  exception,  lie  under 
the  burden  of  sin;  as  it  declares  wisdom  [which 
IS  unconditional  resignation  to  the  divine  will] 
to  be  the  only  dispenser  of  true  life  (ver.  12) 
and  describes,  as  the  salutary  fruit  of  such  wis- 
dom, the  patient  endurance  of  the  evil  as  well  as 
the  good  days  which  God  sends.  It  needs  no 
further  illustration  to  prove  that  this  significant 
attention  to  the  principal  anthropological  truth 
of  the  Old  Testament  gives  to  this  chapter  a 
peculiarly  evangelical  character,  —  especially 
with  the  quite  numerous  parallels  in  New  Testa- 
ment history.  (Comp.  Matt.  v.  4  ;  Luke  vi.  25; 
James  v.  9,  etc.,  with  vers.  3,  4,  6;  and  2, Cor. 
vii.  10  with  ver.  3;  James  v.  7,  8  with  ver.  8; 
James  i.  19  with  ver.  9 ;  Matt,  xxiii,  5  ff.  with 
ver.  16  ff.  ;  Matt,  xxiii.  23  with  ver.  18;  Horn, 
iii.  23  with  ver.  20). 

We  may  regard  the  following  as  the  leading 
proposition  of  the  entire  section:  The  universality 
of  human  sin  and  the  only  true  remedy  for  it.  Or, 
God  withstands  the  arrogant  and  grants  His 
favor  to  the  humble  ;  or,  "  Blessed  are  they  that 
mourn:  for  they  shall  be  comforted;  Blessed  are 
the  meek:  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth; 
Blessed  are  they  which  do  hunger  and  thirst 
after  righteousness:  for  they  shall  be  filled" 
(Matt.  V.  4-6,  three  beatitudes  of  the  sermon  on 
the  mount,  corresponding  to  the  three  divisions 
of  this  chapter). — Comp.  also  Staeke.  Two 
rules  for  Christian  conduct :  1.  Be  ever  mindful 
of  death  (1-7);  2.  Be  patient  and  contented 
(8-29). 

HDMILETIOAL    HINTS    ON    SEPARATE    PASSAGES. 

Ver.  I.  Cramer  : — Faith,  a  good  conscience, 
and  a  good  name,  are  three  precious  jewels;  we 
can  get  nothing  better  than  these  from  this 
world.— Starke  : — The  death  of  the  saints  is  the 
completion  of  their  struggle  against  sin,  the 
devil  and  the  world  ;  it  is  to  them  a  door  of  life, 
an  entrance  into  eternal  rest  and  perfect  secu- 
rity.— Hengstenbekg: — The  difference  between 
the  proposition  in  the  latter  clause  of  the  first 
verse,  and  similar  expressions  in  the  Gentile 
world,  is  that  the  Gentiles  did  not  possess  the 
key  to  explanation  of  human  sorrows  on  earth, 
and  did  not  understand  how  to  bring  them  into 
harmony  with  divine  justice  and  love. 

Ver.  2.  Melanohthon  : — In  prosperity,  men 
become  reckless  ;  they  think  less  of  God's  wrath, 
and  less  expect  His  aid.  Thus  they  become 
more  and  more  presumptuous ;  they  trust  to 
their  own  industry,  their  own  power,  and  are 
thus  easily  driven  on  by  the  devil.— Tubingen 
Bible:  Joy  in  the  world  is  the  mark  of  a  man 
drowned  in  vanity.  It  is  much  better  to  mourn 
over  sin,  and,  in  reflecting  on  this  vanity,  to 
seek  a  higher  joy  that  is  in  God.— Starke:— 
Although  not  all  cheerfulness  is  forbidden  to  the 
Christian  (Phil.  iv.'4),  it  is  always  safer  to  think 
with  sorrow  of  one'ssin,  guilt,  and  liability  to  pun- 
ishment, than  to  assume  a  false  gladsomeness.— 
Hbngstenbero:— Periods  of  sorrow  are  always 
periods  of  blessings  for  the  Church.— Dkichbkt: 
[Sermon  on  vers.  3-9,  in  the  collection  of  Old  Tea- 


CHAP.  VII.  1-22. 


Ill 


tament  sermons:  "The  Star  out  of  Jacob,  Stutt- 
gard,  1867,  p.  208:]"  The  house  of  lamentation  is 
a  school  of  humility.  1.  In  the  house  of  mourn- 
ing proud  thoughts  are  abased  ;  2.  There,  espe- 
cially, is  the  vain  pleasure  of  the  world  recognized 
in  ils  emptiness;  3.  There,  also,  we  learn  to  prize 
ih !  end  of  a  thing  more  highly  than  its  beginning. 

Vers.  6  and  7.  Luther: — The  joy  of  fools 
seems  as  if  it  would  last  forever,  and  does  indeed 
blaze  up,  but  it  is  nothing.  They  have  their 
consolation  for  a  moment,  then  comes  misfortune, 
that  casts  them  down:  then  all  their  joy  lies  in 

tlie  ashes Pleasure,  and  vain  consolation 

of  the  flesh,  do  not  last  long,  and  all  such  plea- 
sures turn  into  sorrow,  and  have  an  evil  end. — 
Starke: — (Ver.  7),  Even  a  wise  and  God-fearing 
man  is  in  danger  of  being  turned  from  the  good 
way  (1  Cor.  x.  12) ;  therefore  watchfulness  and 
prayer  are  necessary  that  we  may  not  be  carried 
back  again  to  our  evil  nature  (1  Pet.  v.  8). 

Ver.  8.  Melanchthon  : — In  this  saying  he 
demands  perseverance  in  good  counsels  (Matt. 
X.  12) ;  for  the  good  cause  appears  better  in  the 
event.  Though  much  that  is  adverse  is  to  be 
borne,  nevertheless  the  right  and  true  triumph 
in  the  end. — Lange  : — The  beginning  and  the 
continuance  of  Christianity  are  connected  with 
sorrows;  but  these  sorrows  are  followed  by  a 
glorious  and  blissful  end  (2  Cor.  iv.  17. — Ber- 
LEB.  Bible: — Blessed  is  he  who  under  all  cir- 
cumstances behaves  with  quiet  patience,  arms 
himself  with  humble  resignation  and  great  cheer- 
fulness, adapts  himself  to  good  and  evil  times, 
and  ever  finds  strength  and  pleasure  in  the 
words:  "Thy will  be  done!" — Hengstenbeeo: — 
It  is  folly  to  stop  at  what  lies  immediately  before 
our  eyes ;  it  is  wisdom,  on  the  contrary,  in  the 
face  of  the  fortune  of  the  wicked,  to  say :  "  For 
they  shall  soon  be  out  down  like  the  grass  and 
wither  as  the  green  herb."  Ps.  xxxvii.  2  ; 
xoii.  7;  cxxix.  6).  If  we  only  do  not  hasten  in 
anger,  God  in  His  own  time  will  remove  the  in- 
ducement to  anger  from  our  path. 

Cramer: — It  proceeds  from  men  alone  that  time 
is  better  at  one  period  than  at  another ;  on  their 
account  also  time  must  be  subjected  to  vanity. — 
Geier: — The  best  remedy  against  evil  times  is  to 
pray  zealously,  penitently  to  acknowledge  the 
deserved  punishment  of  sin,  patiently  to  bear  it 
and  heartily  to  trust  in  God. — Wohlfab,th  : — 
Let  us  hear  the  voice  of  truth !  In  its  light, 
impartially  comparing  the  present  and  the  past, 
we  shall  arrive  at  the  conviction  that  every 
period  has  its  peculiar  advantages  and  defects, 
and  that  with  all  the  unpleasant  features  that 
rest  upon  our  time  it  nevertheless  presents  a 
greater  measure  of  happiness  than  any  former 
one.  Instead,  therefore,  of  embittering  the 
advantages  of  our  epoch  by  foolish  complaints, 
making  its  burdens  heavier,  and  weakening  our 
own  courage,  we  should  seek  rather  to  become 
wisely  familiar  with  it,  and  to  remove  its  defects 
or  make  them  less  perceptible. 

Vers.  11-U.  Staeke:  (Vers.  11  and  12):— 
If  you  are  to  have  but  one  of  two  things,  you 
should  much  rather  dispense  with  all  riches  than 
with  heavenly  wisdom,  that  after  this  life  you 
may  have  eternal  blessedness  (Wisdom  vii.  8-10). 
— Cartwrioht  (ver.  13) :— When  a  bird  is  caught 
in  a  net,  the  more  he  struggles  the  more  tightly  is 


he  held.  So  if  a  man  is  taken  in  the  net  of  Pro- 
vidence, the  safest  course  for  him,  is  to  yield  him- 
self wholly  to  the  divine  will  as  that  which,  with 
the  highest  good,  does  nothing  unwise  or  unjust 
(Job  xxxiv.  12). — Hengstenbebg  : — We  must  be 
led  to  contentment  in  sorrow,  by  the  reflection 
that  it  comes  from  the  same  God  that  sends  us  hap- 
piness (Job  ii.  10).  If  the  sender  is  the  same,  there 
must  be  in  the  sending^  in  spite  of  all  external  inequal- 
ity, an  essential  equality.  God,  even  when  He  im- 
poses a  cross,  is  still  God,  our  heavenly  Father,  our 
Saviour,  who  has  thoughts  of  peace  regarding  us. 

Vers.  15-18.  Luther: — The  substance  is  this: 
Summum  jus  summa  injuria.  He  who  would  most 
rigidly  regulate  and  rectify  everything,  whether 
in  the  State  or  in  the  household,  will  have  much 
labor,  little  or  no  fruit.  On  the  other  hand,  there 
is  one  who  would  do  nothing,  and  who  contemns 
the  enforcement  of  justice.  Neither  is  right. 
As  you  would  not  be  over-righteous,  see  to  it 
that  you  be  not  over-wicked, — that  is,  that  you 
do  not  contemn  and  neglect  all  government  com- 
mitted to  you,  thus  letting  everything  fall  into  evil. 
It  may  be  well  to  overlook  some  things,  but  not  to 
neglect  everything.  If  wisdom  does  not  succeed, 
you  are  not,  therefore,  to  get  mad  with  rage  and 
vengeance.  Mind  that  you  be  just,  and  others 
with  you,  enforce  piety,  firmly  persevere,  how- 
ever it  may  turn  out.  You  must  fear  lest  He 
come  as  suddenly  and  call  you  to  judgment,  as  he 
took  away  the  soul  of  the  rich  man  in  the  night 
he  thought  not  of — Cramer,  (Ver.  16)  : — Those 
rulers  are  over-just  who  search  everything  too 
closely ;  and  the  theologians  are  over-wise  who, 
in  matters  of  faith,  wish  to  direct  everything  ac- 
cording to  their  own  reason. — Zeyss,  (ver.  17)  :— 
Wickedness  itself  is  already  a  road  to  ruin;  but 
where  foolish  arrogance  joins  it,  so  that  one 
boldly  sins,  divine  punishment  and  vengeance 
are  thereby  hastened  (Sirach  v.  iS.). — -Henq- 
STENBBKO : — Godly  fear  escapes  the  danger  of 
Phariseeism  by  awakening  in  the  heart  an  an- 
tipathy against  deceiving  God  by  the  tricks  of  a 
heartless  and  false  righteousness ;  but  it  also 
escapes  the  danger  of  a  life  of  sin,  because  the 
power  arising  from  the  confession  of  sin  is  in- 
separably connected  with  it  (Isa.  vi.  5) ;  for  with 
the  fear  of  God  is  connected  a  tender  aversion 
to  offending  God  by  sin  (Gen.  xxxix.  9)  as  also 
the  lively  desire  to  walk  in  the  way  of  His  com- 
mandments (Ps.  cxix.  16.) 

Vers.  19-22.  Zetss,  (vers.  19  and  20) :— The 
universal  ruin  produced  by  sin  must  lead  every 
one  to  heartfelt  penitence  and  humility  (Ezra 
ix.  6.)— Starke,  (vers.  21  and  22) :— The  wis- 
dom of  the  Creator  has  given  us  two  ears  and 
only  one  tongue,  in  order  to  teach  us  that  we 
must  hear  twice  before  we  speak  once  (James 
i.  19).  If  anything  grieves  thee,  examine  thy- 
self to  learn  whether  thou  hast  not  deserved  it 
by  evil  conduct ;  humble  thyself  concerning  it 
before  God,  suffer  patiently,  and  do  it  no  more ! 
— Hengstenbero: — In  times  of  severe  sorrow 
it  is  important  that,  in  the  suffering,  we  recog- 
nize the  deserved  punishment  for  our  sins.  That 
brings  light  into  the  otherwise  obscure  provi- 
dence of  God,  a  light  that  stills  the  rising  of  the 
soul,  that  animates  the  hope.  If  we  recognize 
the  footsteps  of  God  in  the  deserved  sorrow,  the 
confidence  in  His  mercy  soon  becomes  strong. 


112  ECCLESIASTEg. 


C. — True  'Wisdom  must  be  Energetically  Maintained  and  Preserved  in  Presence 
of  all  the  Attractions,  Oppressions,  and  other  Hostilities  on  the  part 

of  this  ■World. 

Chap.  VII.  23— VIII.  15. 

1.  Against  the  enticementa  of  this  world,  and  especially  unchastity. 

(Chap.  VII.  23-29). 

23      All  this  have  I  proved  by  wisdom :  I  said,  I  will  be  wise  ;  but  it  was  far  from 
24,  25  me.     That  which  is  far  off,  and  exceeding  deep,  who  can  find  it  out  ?    I  ap- 
plied mine  heart  to  know,  and  to  search,  and  to  seek  out  wisdom,  and  the  reason 
of  things,  and  to  know  the  wickedness  of  folly,  even  of  foolishness  and  madness : 

26  And  I  find  more  bitter  than  death  the  woman  whose  heart  is  snares  and  nets,  and 
her  hands  as  bands  :  whoso  pleases  God  shall  escape  from  her ;  but  the  sinner  shall 

27  be  taken  by  her.     Behold,  this  have  I  found,  saith  the  Preacher,  counting  one  by 

28  one,  to  find  out  the  account :  Which  yet  my  soul  seeketh,  but  I  find  not :  one  man 
among  a  thousand  have  I  found ;  but  a  woman  among  all  those  have  I  not  found. 

29  Lo,  this  only  have  I  found,  that  God  hath  made  man  upright;  but  they  have 
sought  out  many  inventions. 

2.  Against  the  temptations  to  disloyalty  and  rebellion  in  national  and  civil  relations. 

(Chap.  VIII.   1-8). 

1  Who  is  as  the  wise  man  f  and  who  knoweth  the  interpretation  of  a  thing  ?  a 
man's  wisdom  maketh  his  face  to  shine,  and  the  boldness  of  his   face  shall  be 

2  changed.     I  counsel  thee  to  keep  the   king's  commandment,  and   that  in  regard 

3  of  the  oath  of  God.     Be  not  hasty  to  go  out  of  his  sight :  stand  not  in  an  evil 

4  thing  ;  for  he  doeth  whatsoever  pleaseth  him.     Where  the  word  of  a  king  is  there 

5  is  power :  and  who  may  say  unto  him,  What  doest  thou?  Whoso  keepeth  the 
commandment  shall  feel  no  evil  thing :  and  a  wise  man's  heart  discerneth  both 

6  time  and  judgment.     Because  to  every  purpose  there  is  time  and  judgment,  there- 

7  fore  the  misery  of  man  is  great  upon  him.     For  he  knoweth  not  that  which  shall 

8  be  :  for  who  can  tell  him  when  it  shall  be  ?  There  is  no  man  that  hath  power  over 
the  spirit  to  retain  the  spirit :  neither  hath  he  power  in  the  day  of  death  :  and  there 
is  no  discharge  in  that  war  ;  neither  shall  wickedness  deliver  those  that  are  given 
to  it. 

8.  Against  the  oppressions  of  tyrants  and  other  injustices. 

(Vers.  9-15.) 

9  All  this  have  I  seen,  and  applied  my  heart  unto  every  work  that  is  done  under 
the  sun :  there  is  a  time  wherein  one  man  ruleth  over  another  to  his  own  hurt. 

10  And  so  I  saw  the  wicked  buried,  who  had  come  and  gone  from  the  place  of  the 
holy,  and  they  were  forgotten  in  the  city  where  they  had  so  done :  this   is  also 

11  vanity.     Because  sentence  against  an  evil  work  is  not  executed  speedily,  therefore 

12  the  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is  fully  set  in  them  to  do  evil.     Though  a  sinner  do 
evil  an  hundred  times,  and  his  days  be  prolonged,  yet  surely  I  know  that  it  shall 

13  be  well  with  them  that  fear  God,  which  fear  before  him  :  But  it  shall  not  be  well 
with  the  wicked,  neither  shall  he  prolong  his  days,  which  are  as  a  shadow  ;  because 

14  he  feareth  not  before  God.    There  is  a  vanity  which  is  done  upon  the  earth;  that 


CHAP.  VII.  23-29— VIII.  1-15. 


113 


there  be  just  men,  unto  whom  it  happeneth  according  to  the  work  of  the  wicked  : 
again,  there  be  wicked  men,  to  whom  it  happeneth  according  to  the  work  of  the 
15  righteous :  I  said  that  this  also  is  vanity.  Then  I  commended  mirth,  because  a 
man  hath  no  better  thing  under  the  sun,  than  to  eat,  and  to  drink,  and  to  be 
merry :  for  that  shall  abide  with  him  of  his  labour  the  days  of  his  life,  which  God 
giveth  him  under  the  sun. 

[Vn.  29.  137  is  not  rigMly  rendered  oreZy—"  this  only  have  I  found."  More  correctly,  this  by  ilself,  or  besides,  aa 
something  beyond  what  is  said  before  of  both  sexes. — T.  L.] 

[Chap.  viii.  1.  Xj'J/^;  there  is  no  need  of  saying  of  this  that  it  is  more  Chaldseo;  some  such  interchange  of  X  for  n  is 
quite  common  in  Hebrew — see  the  extensive  list  of  cases  given  by  the  Jewish  grammarian,  Jona  Ben  Gannach.  The 
Ixi.  read  Xjti'  to  hate.  So  did  the  Syriac.  VJO  Ij/  denotes  the  sternness,  or  austerity,  of  the  countenance.  Wisdom 
clears  it  up,  changes  it  to  a  bright  and  joyful  aspect.    See  M.  T. — T.  L.] 

[Ver.  2.  ■:]7n"''3    'JN ;  Zooklee  would  supply  'mox  here.    There  is  hardly  need  of  that— I  a  king's  mouth ;  supply 

simply  the  substantive  verb,  "  I  am  a  king's  mouth — take  heed."    It  is  an  assertion  by  the  writer  of  his  royal  right  to 
give  such  advice.     See  M  V. — T.  L.] 
[Ver.  10.  n:i.l.     See  Exeget.— I.  L.] 

[Ver.  11.  Ojn3.    See  remarks  on  the  appendix  to  Introduction,  p.33. — T.  L.] 

T  :  ; 
[Ver.  15.  TinStyi ;  the  conjunction  1  here,  has  more  than  the  mere  copulative  force.    It  denotes  time,  as  it  frequently 

does,  and  also  a  reason.    Its  mere  conjunctive  force  is  seldom  alone  when  it  connects  sentences;  '^'TwaS  fTien  I  praised 
joy" — that  is,  when  I  took  this  view  of  things.     1ti?X=       ■    •      - ■ 

this  ^ilT  will  remain,  adhere  to  him. — T.  L.] 


^not  simply  to  on,  but  to  ws  on,  how  that  there  is,  etc.;  and  that 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

The  subdivision  of  tliis  section  into  three 
equal  divisions  or  stroplies,  is  indicated  by  the 
introductory  remarks  on  the  general  contents, 
which  are  found  in  chap.  vii.  23-29  ;  chap.  viii. 
1 ;  and  chap.  viii.  9.  The  divisions  beginning 
with  these  passages  are  clearly  different  from 
each  other  in  contents;  chap.  vii.  25-29  warns 
us  against  voluptuousness ;  chap.  viii.  2-8  against 
rebellion  towards  civil  authority ;  chap.  viii. 
9-15  against  injustice.  Since  this  latter  theme 
does  not  close  until  the  14th  and  15th  verses,  it 
seems  quite  improper  to  extend  the  third  section 
simply  to  ver.  10,  aa  do  Hengstenberg,  Hitzig, 
et  at,  [the  general  introduction  of  the  first  part 
of  ver.  14  is,  in  comparison  with  vers.  1,  9,  and 
chap.  vii.  23-25  too  insignificant  to  be  able  to 
serve  aa  the  opening  of  a  new  division],  just  as 
we  must  declare  the  separation  of  ver.  15  from 
the  preceding,  as  the  beginning  of  an  entirely 
hew  section,  (Hahn)  decidedly  inexpedient  and 
destructive  of  the  sense. 

2.  Mrst  Strophe.  Introduction.  Chap.  vii.  23-25. 
Concerning  the  difficulty  of  finding  true  wisdom, 
and  Koheleth's  zealous  search  after  it. — All  this 
have  I  proved  with  ■wisdom. — This,  there- 
fore, formed  the  means  and  the  goal  of  his  search- 
ing. For  the  expression  nD3n|  HDJ  compare 
on  the  one  hand   nODn3   "llil  ch.  i.  13,  and,  on 

the  other,  nnatyS  "^liDJ,  ch.   ii.  1.     "All  this  " 

T  :  ■  :  T  • 
certainly  does  not  refer  to  all  the  preceding  from 
the  beginning  of  the  book,  as  Hengstenberg 
asserts,  but  mainly  to  the  rules  of  life  and  prac- 
tical counsels  contained  in  chap.  vii.  1-22. — 
But  it  was  far  from  me. — ■"  It,"  i.  e.,  wisdom 
in  the  absolute  sense,  perfected  wisdom.  A 
partial  possession  of  wisdom  is  by  no  means  ex- 
oluded  by  this  humble  confession  of  not  having 
found  any  ;  see  vers.  5,  11-16,  19,  etc.  Ver.  24. 
That  which  is  far  off — i.  e.,  the  real  innermost 
essence  of  wisdom  lies  far  from  human  compre- 


hension ;  comp.  Job  xxviii.  12ff.;  Siraoh  xxiv. 
38  S.;  Baruch  iii.  14  ff.  Eosenmueller,  Hebz- 
feld,  Hahn,  Elstek  [and,  at  an  earlier  period, 
also  EwaldI  correctly  consider  n'niy   HO  as  the 

-•  T  T  V  T 

subject  of  the  clause ;  but  cTTI   cannot  then  be 

taken  in  the  preterit  sense,  as  is  done  by  the 
three  first  named  commentators  [Herzfeld  : 
"that  remains  far  off  which  was  far  off;"  Eo- 
senmueller; procul  abest,  quod  ante  aderat ; 
Hahn:  "  that  is  far  off  which  has  been  "].  Kno- 
bel,  Hitzig,  Vaihingee,  and,  lately,  Bwald, 
affirm  that  there  is  an  emphatic  prefixing  of  the 
predicate  "far"  before  the  relative  pronoun 
no  :  "  That  which  is  far  ofi',  and  exceeding 
deep,  who  can  find  it  out."  But  the  examples 
quoted  from  chap.  i.  9 ;  Job  xxiii.  9  scarcely 
justify  so  harsh  a  construction.  The  interpre- 
tation of  Hengstenberg:  "that  is  far  off  which 
has  been,"  i.  e.,  the  comprehension  of  what 
has  been  or  is  {rihv  bvruv  yvdaiQ,  Wisd.  of  Sol., 
vii.  17)  is  opposed  by  the  circumstance  that 
practical  wisdom  alone  is  here  considered,  and 
not  theoretical,*  for  which  reason  also  there  can 

*  [The  confusion  arises  here  from  disregarding  the  medita- 
tive, soliloquizing,  exclamittory  style  of  this  booli, — in  a 
word,  its  poetical  character.  Therfe  divisions  into  the  ^rac- 
iical  and  theoretical  regard  it  too  much  as  an  abstract  ethical 
or  didactic  treatise,  with  its  logical  and  rhetorical  arrange- 
ment.  This  is  at  war  with  its  subjective,  emotional  aspect, 
and  hence  much  forced  and  false  interpretations.  See  the 
remarkap.l72intlie  Introduction  to  the  rhythmical  version. 
The  most  literal  rendering  is  the  best,  since  it  preserves  this 
broken,  interjectiouai,  ejaculatory  style, in  which  the  writer 
is  giving  vent  to  his  emotions  at  the  thought  of  the  great 
past,  and  how  small  huaian  knowledge  is  in  respect  to  it. 
He  expresses  it  as  he  feels  it,  in  fragmentary  siglis,  and  re- 
petitions, or  as  one  who  says  it  over  and  over  to  himself 
without  thinking  of  others,  or  of  any  didactic  use,  and  yet 
in  this  very  way,  miking  the  most  vivid  and  practical 
impression. 

0  that  I  might  be  wise,  I  said;  but  it  was  far  from  mo; 
farolT!    The  past,  what  is  it?    Ueep— a  deep— 0  who  can 
find? 
There  is  strong  emotion  in  the  paragogic  or  optative  form 
of  nODnX-     It  expresses   the  most  intense  unJ  longing 

desire,  but  with  little  hope  of  knowing  the  great  secret  of  the 


lU 


ECCLESIASTES. 


scarcely  be  a  reference  to  the  objective  cognition 
of  wisdom,  or  tlie  knowledge  of  its  objects.  The 
interpretations  of  most  of  the  ancients  are  de- 
cidedly ungrammatical,  as  of  tlie  Septuagint 
{/zaapdv  virep  b  yv),  Vulgate  (mulio  magis  quam 
erai),  Luther  ("  It  is  far  off,  what  will  it  be  T') ; 
thus  also  is  that  of  Kostee,  ("It  is  far  off,  what 
is  that  "),  and  so  many  others. ^And  exceed- 
ing  deep.— Lit,  "  f^ee/j,   deep.''     The   repetition 

of  ph)?  expresses  the  superlative  idea  (Ewald, 
Lekrbuch,  §  303  c).  Deep  signifies  difficult  to  be 
fathomed,  comp.  Prov.  xs.  5,  and  especially  Job 
xi.  8,  where  the  Divine  doing  and  the  Divine 
government  are  declared  to  be  the  absolute  limit 
of  all  wisdom,  or  as  "deeper  than  hell;"  see 
also  Pa.  cxxxix.  8;  Rom.  xi.  38.  Ver.  25. 
I  applied  mine  heart.— Lit., "I  turned,  I  and 
my  heart," — a  figure  similar  to  that  in  Acts  sv. 
28 :  ii^o^Ev  T(j  TTvEu/ian  dyiG)  kol  yftlv  ;  comp.  also 
the  Song  of  Solomon  v.  2.  That  the  heart  also 
participated  in  the  turning,  shows  it  to  be  no 
thoughtless  action,  but  one  resting  on  deep  reflec- 
tion. The  simple  TIISD  does  not  express  a  re- 
turn from  a  path  formerly  followed,  but  now 
perceived  to  be  an  erroneous  one  (Hitziq's 
view).  It  is  different  with  "T^l^DI,  "then  I 
turned,"  chap.  ii.  20,  which  clearly  marks  the 
entrance  into  a  path  entirely  new,  whilst  in  this 
passage  nothing  is  affirmed  but  the  transition 
from  a  superficial  to  a  deeper  and  more  solicitous 
aearching  after  wisdom.  Comp.  HENGSTENBERa 
and  Vaiuinger  on  this  passage,  which  latter 
correctly  gives  the  connection  thus  :    "Although 


long  past,  much  leas  of  the  far  stretching  future.  The  inter- 
jections used  in  rendering  really  inhere  in  the  style.  What 
shuuld  we  think  of  an  attempt  to  lay  off  Young's  Night 
Thoughts  in  '-strophea  ol  the  practical  and  the  trieoretical?  ' 
And  yet  it  is  fully  as  capable  of  such  divisiona  as  this  most 
emotional  poem  of  Koheleth.  In  the  Hebiew,  pin"!  ^ 
accentually  joined  with   HTtU'    TTDi  but  it  is  rhythmical 

T  T   '.■  ~ 

rather  than  logical,  and  would  not  prevent  HD  from  being 

an  interrogative  pronoun;    TTTI    ^^^    "HD,   "  what — iihat 

which  was?"  or,  "that  which  was,  what  is  it?"  As  though 
Uo  had  been  going  to  say  merely,  "fac  olf  tlie  past,"  but  ttie 
ciiotion  throwa  ic  into  the  m  .re  broken  ur  exclauatory  ut- 
terance, and  then  he  addd:  "and  deep — deep — loko  can  find 
iti"'     The  ■'D  as  peraonal  interrogative,  corresponds  to  the 

general  interrogative  HD- 

In  the  expression,  "  O  letme  be  wise,'"  we  have  at  once  sug- 
gested to  us  the  passage  1  Kings  iii.  5-12,  Solomon's  dream 
(it  (jribeon,  the  Lord's  appearing  unto  him,  and  his  earnest 

prayer  for  a  C33n  J  7  "s.  wise  and  understanding  heart." 

TT 

With  an  his  errors  the  love  of  wisdom  (0iA.otro<fria  and  fleotro- 
(I)ta)  had  been  a  passion  from  his  earliest  youth, — wisdom 
speculative  as  well  as  practical, — wisdom  not  only  '"to  gu- 
vern  so  great  a  people,"  and  to  "discern,"  ethically,  "be- 
tween good  and  evil,"  but  to  understand,  if  it  were  possible, 
the  ways  ot  God,  and  the  great  problem  of  humanity. 
Rightly  considered,  this  strong  desire,  thus  expressed,  is  a 
special  mark  of  the  Solomouic  authorship.  "0  let  me  be 
wise,  I  said."     He  said  it  in  his  dream  at  Gibeon. 

'^Deep — deep — 0  who  shall  find  itl"  Like  other  passages 
of  Scripture,  this  is  capable  of  an  ever  expanding  sense.  We 
may  think  of  the  earthly  past,  so  much  of  it  historically  un- 
known ;  but  the  style  of  thought  in  Koheleth  carries  the 
mind  still  farther  back  to  the  great  past  "  before  the  earth 

was"  (Prov.  viii.  23),— to  the  O^oS;?  ^dSi^  Trpb  rOiu 
aiuiftou,  1  Cor.  ii.  7,  "  before  the  ages  of  ages,"  or  worlds  of 
worlds.  There  are  two  views  here  that  may  be  prouounced 
exceeding  narrow.  The  one  is  that  of  the  Scriptural  inter- 
preter who  recognizes  no  higher  chronology  to  the  whole 
universe  than  a  few  thousand  of  our  sun-measured  years. 
To  this  he  adds  six  solar  days,  and  then  slides  off  into  a  blank 


wisdom  in  its  fullness  is  unsearchable  and  unat- 
tainable, I  did  not  refrain  from  searching  after 
an  insight  into  the  relations  of  things,  in  order 
to  learn  the  causes  of  the  want  of  moral  perfec- 
tion;  I  wished,  however,  in  learning  wisdom,  to 
learn  also  its  counterpart,  and  thus  to  see  that 
iniquity  is  every  where  folly." — To  know,  and 
to  search,  and  to  seek  out  wisdom,  etc. — 
The  two  accusatives,  wisdom  and  reason,  belong 
only  to  the  last  of  the  three  infinitives  (ti'Pp),  be- 
fore which  7  is  left  out,  in  order  to  separate  it 
externally  from  the  two  preceding  ones.  f^K/n 
is  here,  as  in  ver.  27,  "reason,  calculation,"  a 
result  of  the  activity  of  the  judgment  in  exam- 
ining and  judging  of  the  relations  of  practical 
life,  therefore  equivalent  to  insight,  practical  sa- 
gacity and  knowledge  of  life.  Yaihingek's  in- 
terpretation of  [13Er'ni  naDn  in  the  sense  of 
"  wisdom  as  calculation,"  is  unnecessary,  and 
indeed  in  direct  contradiction  to  the  construction 
in  the  following  clause.  The  copula  also  in  viii, 
J,  does  not  express  the  explanatory  sense  of  the 
expression,  "  and  indeed." — And  to  know  the 
wickedness  of  folly,  and  even  of  foolish- 
ness and  madness. — (Zockler:  "wickedness 
as  folly,  foolishness  as  madness  "J.  That  this  is, 
to  be  thus  translated  is  proved  by  the  absence  of' 
the  article  *  before  the  second  accusative.  Comp. 

antepast  eternity,  a  chronological  nothingness,  we  may  say, 
where  Deity  dwelt,  had  ever  dwelt,  axpovo';,  without  time, 
without  creative  manifestation — all  worlds,  whether  of  space 
or  time,  and  all  ranks  of  existence  below  the  Divine,  haviug 
had  their  origination  iu  this  single  week  {as  measured  by 
earthly  revolutions)  that  he  assigns  to  them.  The  other 
view,  still  more  narrow — for  it  is  an  infinite  narrowness — 
is  the  one  held  by  some  modern  thinkers  of  high  repute.  It 
is  that  of  an  eternal  physical  development,  or  evolution^ 
carried  on  through  an  infinite  past  of  duration,  ever  evolving 
progressively^  and  yet  with  nothing  more  or  higher  evolved, 
ever  evolved,  than  the  very  finite  and  imperfect  state  of 
things  we  now  behold, — man  the  highest  product  of  thifl 
eternal  evolution  that  has  ever  been  reached  in  any  part  of 
th^  universe, — man  as  yet  the  "eire  SMpreme," — man,  too, 
lately  evolved,  or  within  a  few  thousand  years,  from  some  of 
the  animal  classes  just  below  him. "  All  before  is  a  descend- 
ing inclined  plane,  with  an  uninterrupted  eienness,  and  an 
iutiaitesimal  angle,  falling  away  lower  and  still  lower  forever- 
more,  in  the  infinite  retrocessitm  from  the  present  advanced 
state  of  things! ! 

In  contradistinction  to  the  meagre  poverty  of  both  these 
views  stands  the  Scriptural  maikuth  kol  olamim.  (Ps.  cxlv. 
1'6)  ^aiziAeta  rdv  atuictoc  (1  Tim.  i.  17) — a  kingdom  of  all 
eternities,  with  its  ages  of  ages,  its  worlds  of  worlds,  its  as- 
cending orders  of  being,  its  mighty  dispensations  embracing 
all  grades  of  evolution  in  the  physical,  and  an  unimaginable 
variety  in  the  holy  administrations  ot  Him  who  styles  Him- 
self Jehovah  tsebaoth,  the  Lord  of  hosts.  This  alone  leaves 
the  mind  free  in  its  speculative  roamings,  allowing  it  to 
compete  with  any  philosophy  in  this  respect,  whilst  binding 
it  ever  to  an  adoriug  recognition  of  the  one  absolute  and  in- 
finite personality,  "  according  to  whose  will  all  things  are, 
and  were,  created." 

The  Targum  explains  n^riK'  DD  here  of  the  great  nn- 
known  past,  regarding  it  as  equally  mysterious  with  the  se- 
crets of  the  unknown  future:  'It  is  too  far  ott  for  the  sons 
of  men  to  know  that  which  was  from  the  days  of  eternity." 
Rabui  and  Aden  Ezra  give  substantially  the  same  interpre- 
tation, with  a  like  reference  to  the  creation  and  the  creative 
times  :  "  What  is  above,  what  is  below,  what  is  before,  what 
is  after, — it  is  deep,  deep,  too  deep  for  our  power  to  think." 
The  impassioned  impressiveness  of  Koheleth's  language  am- 
ply justifies  such  a  style  of  interpretation. — T.  L.] 

*[ZoGKLi;R'e  rendering,  "wickedness  as  folly,  foolishneas 
as  madness,"  weakens  the  sense.  It  is  more  impassioned 
without  the  conjunctions,  or  any  other  particles  to  break  its 
earnest  and  hurried  stylo  :  "  wickedness,  presumption  [stub- 
bornness, as  7D3  may  mean],  yea,  stupidity,  madness,"  all 
given  in  a  running  list : 

To  seek  out  wisdom,  reason, — sin  to  know — 
Presumption,  folly,  vain  impiety. — T.  L.] 


CHAP.  VII.  23-29— VIII.  1-15. 


115 


for  this  construction  Ewald,  ^  284  b,  and  for  the 
nentence,  i.  17 ;  ii.  12  f:;  x.  13. 

3.  First  Strophe.  Continuation  and  Conclusion. 
Vers.  26-29.  A  warning  concerning  an  unchaste 
woman  and  her  seductive  arts.  Hengstenbero, 
following  older  writers  [and  thus  See.  Schmiu, 
Michael.,  Lampe,  J.  Lanoe,  Starke,  etc.)  main- 
tains that  this  harlot  is  an  ideal  personage,  the 
false  wisdom  of  the  heathen;  but  that  she  is  a 
representative  of  the  female  sex  in  general  in  its 
worst  aspect,  appears  to  be  incontrovertible  from 
vers.  28  and  29,  where  women  in  general  are 
represented  as  the  more  corrupt  portion  of  hu- 
manity, corresponding  with  Sirach  xxv.  24  ;  1 
Tim.  ii.  12-15.  And  as  parallels  to  this  passage 
we  find  above  all  those  warnings  of  the  Proverbs 
of  Solomon  against  the  "harlot"  or  "strange 
woman,"  i.  e.,  against  unchaste  intercourse  with 
women  in  general ;  comp.  Prov.  ii.  10  if.;  v.  2if. ; 
vii,  5ff.;  xxii.  14;  xxiii.  27.  And  quite  as  ar- 
bitrary as  the  idealizing  of  this  lascivious  woman 
into  the  abstract  idea  of  "  false  wisdom,"  is  the 
view  of  HiTZio,  namely,  that  therein  allusion  is 
made  to  a  definite  historical  person,  Agathoclea, 
mistress  of  Ptolemy  Philopater. — And  I  find 
more  bitter  than  death. — For  this  figure 
comp.  1  Sam.  xv.  32 ;  Sirach  xxviii.  25 ;  xli.  1 ; 
also  Prov.  v.  4,  etc. — The  -wroman  -whose 
heart  is  snares  and  nets. — "lE^X  is  to  be  con- 
neoted  with  the  suffix  in  n37  and  NTI  is  to  be 

T   • 

regarded  as  copula  between  subject  and  predi- 
cate, which  here  emphatically  precedes.  In  the 
comparison  of  the  heart  of  the  harlot  to  "  snares 
and  nets,"  and  her  hands  to  "  bands,"  we  natu- 
rally think,  in  the  first  instance,  of  her  words 
and  looks  (as  expressions  of  the  thoughts  of  her 
heart),  and,  in  the  second,  of  voluptuous  em- 
braces.— Whoso  pleaseth  God  shall  escape 
from  her. — Lit.  "  He  who  is  good  in  the  sight 
of  God."  Comp.  ii.  26.  The  meaning  is  here 
as  there,  the  God-fearing  and  just  man,  the  con- 
trary of  NBin  or  sinner,  who  by  her  (HS)  i.  e., 
by  the  nets  and  snares  of  her  heart,  and  by  her 
loose  seductive  arts,  is  caught.  Ver.  27. 
Behold,  this  have  I  found,  saith  the 
Preacher. — ^Notwithstanding  chap.  i.  1  ;  ii.  12 ; 

xii.  9,  where  n7i1p  is  without  the  article,  we 
must  still  read  here  oSripn    "lOX   (comp.  xii.  8) 

and  not  rhT)p  mOX ;  for  the  word  n7np 
is  every  where  else  used  as  masculine,  and  the 
author  cannot  wish  to  express  a  significant  con- 
trast between  the  preaching  wisdom  and  the 
amorous  woman,  since  the  expression,  "  saith 
the  Preacher,"  is  here,  as  in  those  other  pas- 
sages, a  mere  introductory  formula  (though 
Hengstenbero  thinks  otherwise). — Counting 
one  by  one — namely,  considering,  reflecting. 
Lit., "one  to  the  other,"  i.  c,  adding,  arranging. 
The  words  are  adverbially  used,  as  in  the  phrase 

Q'J-3    Sn  a':3   Gen.  xxxii.  31.— To  find  out 

■  T  V  •  T 

the  account. — []13tyri  as  in  ver.  25],  giving 
the  result  of  this  action  of  arranging  one  after 
the  other.  This  did  not  consist  in  comparison 
between  woman  and  death,  but  in  a  summing  up 
of  those  unfavorable    observations   concerning 


her  which  necessitates  the  final  judgment, 
namely,  that  she  is  "more  bitter  than  death." 
The  whole  verse  clearly  refers  to  the  foregoing, 
and  does  not,  therefore,  serve  as  an  introduction 
to  the  contents  of  vers.  28,  29,  as  Hahn  and 
several  older  authors  contend,  who  begin  a  new 
section  with  this  verse.  There  is  rather  a  cer- 
tain break  immediately  before  ver.  28,  as  the 
words  Ul  r\ap2  "[}})  1K/N  at  the  beginning 
of  this  verse  show.  Ver.  28.  Which  yet  my 
soul  seeketh. — The  soul  is  represented  as 
seeking,  to  indicate  how  much  this  seeking  was  a 
matter  of  the  heart  to  the  preacher ;  comp.  the  ad- 
dress: "thou  whom  my  soulloveth,"  Song  of  Sol. 
i.  17  ;  iii.  1  ff.  The  "  finding  not "  is  then  again 
attributed  to  the  first  person  :  "  and  that  which 
I  found  not." — One  man  among  a  thous- 
and have  I  found — i.  e.,  among  a  thousand  of 
tlie  human  race,  1  found,  indeed,  one  righteous 
one,  one  worthy  of  the  name  of  man,  and  corre- 
sponding to  the  idea  of  humanity.  Q"!!*  here 
stands  for  ©'X  as,  in  the  Greek,  avSpuirof  for  avi/p. 
For  the  expression  "one  among  a  thousand" 
[lit., out  of  a  thousand]  comp.  Job  ix.  3;  xxxiii. 
'2S  ;  but  for  the  sentence,  ver.  20  above,  and  Job 
xiv.  5;  Micah  vii.  2,  etc.  The  hereditary  cor- 
ruption of  the  entire  human  race  is  here  as  much 
presupposed  as  in  the  parallel  passages ;  for 
Koheleth  will  hardly  recognize  the  one  righteous 
man  that  he  found  among  a  thousand  as  abso- 
lutely righteous,  and  therefore  as  QTX  in  the 
primeval,  pure  and  ideal  sense  of  the  first  man 
before  the  fall. — But  a  -woman  among  all 
these  have  I  not  found.  That  is,  one  worthy 
of  the   name  Htyx,  in  the  primeval  ideal  sense 

of  Gen.  ii.  22-25,  I  did  not  find  among  all  that 
thousand,  which  presented  me  at  least  one  proper 
man.  That  he  never  found  such  a  one.  conse- 
quently that  he  considered  the  whole  female  sex 
as  vicious  and  highly  corrupt,  cannot  possibly 
be  his  opinion,  as  appears  from  ver.  29,  as  also 
in  chap.  ix.  9.  (See  the  praise  of  noble  women 
in  other  documents  of  the  Chokmah  literature, 
as  Prov.  V.  19;  xviii.  22;  xxxi.  10  f . ;  Ps. 
cxxviii.  if. ).  But  that  moral  excellence  among 
women,  taken  as  a  whole,  is  much  more  rarely 
found  than  among  men,  that  sin  reigns  more  uncon- 
trolled among  the  former  than  the  latter,  and  in 
the  form  of  moral  weakness  and  proneness  to 
temptation,  as  well  as  in  the  inclination  to  se- 
duce, to  deceive  and  ensnare — such  is  clearly  the 
sense  of  this  passage,  a  sense  that  harmonizes 
with  Gen.  iii.  16  ;  Sirach  xxv.  24;  2  Cor.  xi.  3; 
1  Tim.  ii.  12  £f.,  as  also  with  numerous  other 
extra-biblical  passages.  Comp.  also  these  sen- 
tences from  the  Talmud  :  "  It  is  better  to  follow 
a  lion  than  a  woman;" — "Who  follows  the 
counsel  of  his  wife  arrives  at  hell;" — "The 
mind  of  women  is  frivolous;"  also  the  Greek 
maxims :  dakaaaa  Kal  jrvp  aal  yvvf/  /ca/ta  rpia ; — 
biTov  yvvalii£(;  elryt  Trdvr'  enel  aaicd.  Compare  also 
the  following  Proverb  from  the  Arabic  of  Mei- 
dani  ;  "Women  are  the  snares  of  Satan,"  e<c. 
(Comp.  Wohlfarth,  Knobel  and  Vaihinger  on 
this  passage). — Ver.  29.  Lo,  this  only  have 

I  found.  l^S,  "  alone,  only"  (an  adverb  as  in 
Isa.  xxvi.  13),  here  serving  to  introduce   a  re- 


110 


ECCLBSIASTES. 


mark  intended  as  a  restriction  of  what  precedes.* 
The  fact  of  the  universal  sinful  corruption  of 
man,  expressed  indirectly  in  ver.  ^8,  is  here  to 
be  so  far  restricted  that  this  corruption  is  not  to 
be  considered  as  innate  in  bumanity  through  a, 
divine  agency,  but  as  brought  into  the  world  by 
man's  own  guilt. — That  God  hath  made  man 
upright.  "ll^\  upright,  good,  integer;  comp. 
Gen.  i.  26  f.  ^v.  1  ;  ix.  6  ;  Wisdom  ii.  23.— But 
they  have  sought  out  many  inventions. 

nij^E'n  are  not  "useless  subtleties,"  (Ewald), 
but,  as  the  contrast  to  the  idea  of  IE/'  teaches  us: 

T  T 

malm  artes,  tricks,  evil  artifices,  conceits. 

4.  Second  strojphe.  Introduction^  chap.  viii.  1. — 
Of  the  rarity  and  preciousness  of  wisdom. — Vrho 
is  as  the  ■wise  man?  This  is  no  triumphant 
question,  induced,  or  occasioned  by  that  lucky 
fiinding  in  the  last  verse  of  the  preceding  chap- 
ter (tliTziG),  but  simply  an  introduction  to  what 
follows,  by  which  true  wisdom  is  to  be  declared 
a  rare  treasure  of  difficult  attainment,  just  as  in 
chap.  vii.  23  ;  viii.  16  f. — In  LJjnn3,  the  usu- 

^  T  T  v  : 

ally  contracted  form  □jns  is  again  expanded, 
in  accordance  with  a  custom  often  occurring  in 
later  authors  ;f  comp.  Ezek.  xl.  25;  xlvii.  22; 
2  Chron.  x.  7  ;  xxv.  10,  etc. — And  -who  kuo'w- 
eth  the  interpretation  of  a  thing ;  Zocic- 
LEE,  "of  the  word,"  pDTjJ  namely,  of  the  fol- 
lowing assertion,  which  emphasizes  the  great 
work  of  wisdom  according  to  its  influence  on 
the  physical  well-being  and  morally  just  de- 
meanor of  men.  "ip'i?,  a  Chaldaic  wordj  (comp. 
Dan.  ii.  4  ff. ,  24  ff.  ;  iv.  6,  15),  holding  the  same 
relation  to  the  synonymous  p^J^iJ  as  111''  to  tlTjT. 
— A  man's  vtrisdom  maketh  his  face  to 
shine.  That  is,  it  imparts  to  him  a  cheerful 
soul,  and  this  on  account  of  the  fortunate  and 
satisfactory  relations  into  which  it  places  him. 
The  same  figure  is  found  in  Numb.  vi.  25  ;  Ps. 
iv.  7 ;  Job  xxix.  24. — And  the  b61dness  of 

his  face  shall  be  changed.  VJi3  I^  is  to 
be  explained  without  doubt  according  to  expres- 
sions  □''JiJ   \yT\,    Prov.   vii.    13 ;  xxi.    39 ;    or 


*[See  text  note  on  l^*?.— T.  L.] 

t  [Tills  is  undoubtedly  meant  as  proof  of  tlie  late  author- 
ship of  Koheleth,  but  it  amouuts  to  no  more  than  this, 
namely,  that  the  old  manuscript  of  Jficclesiastes,  whoso 
copies  have  come  down  to  us,  was  made  by  a  scribe  writing 
from  the  ear  as  another  read  aloud,  in  consequence  of  which 
he  has  sometimes  given  in  full  a  letter  known  to  e.xist  ety- 
mologically,  thougU  lost  in  sound,  as  in  this  case ;  whilst,  on 
the  other  hand,  and  more  frequently,  he  has  given  it  aa  ab- 
breviated in  sound,  like  ^  for  TEyX,  or  I7X  for  O    Dfc<, 

though  generally  written  m  the  full  old  etymological  form ; 
and  again,  in  other  cases,  he  has  written  a  like  sound- 
ing   letter    in    place    of    the    true   one,  as    Jll^^ti^    for 

nwJDi  ftfld  other  similar  cases.  The  same  remark  is  appli- 
cable to  Dzekiel,  and  the  very  instances  that  Zockler  quotes. 
They  are  evidences  of  late  chirography  in  manuscripts,  but 
are  little  to  be  relied  on  as  proofs,  or  disproofs,  of  original 
authorship. — T.  L.j 

J[Thi8  would  require  the  article,  or  the  demonstrative  pro- 
noun, or  both  ;  ntH    imn.— T.  L.] 

g[No  more  Chaldaic  than  it  is  Hebrew.  It  is  merely  a 
variation  of  orthography  for  the  like  sounding  word  IJli), 
GeD.  xl.  8.  Who  knows  how  early  the  change  to  thesibilant 
took  place?  as  there  are  no  other  examples  of  either  form 
between  Moses  and  Solomon,  or  between  Solomon  and  Dan- 
ieU— T.L.1 


a'J3-rj?  Deut.  xxviii.  60;  Dan.  viii.  23,  and 
signifies,  therefore,  that  repulsive  harshness  and 
stiffness  of  the  features  which  are  a  necessary 
result  of  a  coarse,  uuamiable,  and  selfish  heart 
(not  exactly  "boldness,"  as  Dodeblein,  De- 
Wette,  and  Gesenius  translate,  or  "displea- 
sure," as  Knobel,  Geimm,  and  Vaihinoee).  It 
is  therefore  the  civilizing,  softening  and  morally 
refining  influence  of  true  wisdom  on  the  soul 
of  man,  that  the  author  has  in  view,  and  which, 
according  to  the  question  in  the  beginning  of  the 
verse,  he  describes  as  something  mysterious  and 
in  need  of  explanation,  and  which  he  explains, 
partly  at  least,  by  the  subsequent  precepts  re- 
garding wise  conduct  in  a  civil  sphere.  Ewald's 
comprehension  of  the  passage  is  in  sense  not 
materially  different  from  ours  :  "And  the  bright- 
ness of  his  countenance  is  doubled" — but  this 

is  in  opposition  to  the  usual  signification  of  iy 
as  well  as  that  of  7\W,  which  can  hardly  be 
rendered  "to  double."  The  explanations  of  the 
Sejjtuaymt,  resting  on  a  different  punctuation, 
KJt?'    instead   of  i<0]    give   a   widely  different 

sense  avaLdijg  irpoodiKco  abrov  fitGydriGsrai,  which 
gave  rise  to  that  of  Luthee:  "But  he  who  is 
bold,  is  malignant;"  and  HiTzio,  in  conjunction 
with  ZiEKEL  (and  the  Vulgate)  reads  WE''^  and 
thus  obtains  the  sense,  "  and  boldness  disfigureth 

the  countenance."  But  the  word  IJ>  alone 
hardly  means  "boldness,"  and  the  change 
adopted  in  the  punctuation  appears  the  more 
unnecessary  since  the  sense  resulting  from  it 
brings  the  assertion  in  the  last  clause  into  con- 
trast with  the  one  before  it,  which  is  in  decided 
opposition  to  the  connection. 

6.  Second  strophe.  Continuation.  Vers.  2-4. 
A  proper  demeanor  towards  kings  the  first  means 
of  realizing  true  wisdom. — I  counsel  thee  to 
keep   the  king's  commandment.     To  'JN 

supply  TTTIDX  or  "IDS,  a  somewhat  harsh  el- 
lipse,* for  which  however  we  may  quote  paralleli 
in  Isa.  V.  9  ;  Jer.  xx.  10,  and  elsewhere.  There- 
fore it  is  unnecessary,  with  HiTzio,  to  punctu- 
ate 1Dt£'  "I  keep  the  king's  commandment" 
(thus  the  Vulgate).  That  'IDltJ'  stands  in  ver.  5 
below  in  scriptio  plena  would  form  no  valid  ob- 
jection against  the  allowableness  of  this  change 
of  the  imperative  into  the  participle ;  for  IDi!' 
is  also  found  in  chap.  xi.  4.  But,  as  Elstee 
correctly  observes:  "it  would  be  surprising  if 
ICoheleth  did  not  appear  here  in  his  usual  man- 
ner as  a  teacher  who  admonishes  others,  but 
only  as  announcing  what  he  has  laid  down  as  a 
principle  to  himself."  "To  regard  the  mouth 
of  the  king  "  means  of  course,  to  render  obedi- 
ence to  his  commands;  comp.  Gen.  xlv.  21 ;  Ex. 
xvii.  1  ;  Job  xxxix.  27,  etc. — And  that  in  re- 
gard of  the  oath  of  God,  which  thou  hast 
vowed  to  him,  the  King.  The  duty  of  obedi- 
ence to  worldly  authority  is  here  insisted  on 
with  reference  to  loyalty  towards  God,  the 
heavenly  witness  to  the  vow  made  to  the  king; 
comp.   Matt.   xxii.    21 ;   Rom.    xiii.    1-7 ;   1    Pet. 

■•fSee  text  note.— T.  L.] 


CHAP.  VII.  23-29.— VIII.  1-15. 


in 


ii.  13-17.  These  New  Testament  parallels  should 
have  prevented  Hengstenbbrg  from  endeavor- 
ing to  cause  the  "king"  to  mean  the  heavenly 
King  Jehovah,  because  uomiually,  "  the  obedi- 
ence to  the  heathen  lords  of  the  0.  T.  in 
general  was  not  enjoined  as  a  religious  duty," — 
a  remark  that  is  in  direct  contradiction  whh  pas- 
sages like  Prov.  xvi.  10-15 ;  Isa.  xlv.  1  ff.  ;  Jer. 
xxvii.  12, 13;  xxix.  5-7;  Ezek.  xvii,  12  ff.     The 

oonjanction  1  in  /))]  is  not  "and  indeed,"  but 
"also,"  adding  the  remembrance  of  the  assumed 
oath  as  an  additional  motive  to  the  one  already 
contained  in  the  precept.  The  "  oath  of  God  " 
is  an  oath  made  with  an  appeal  to  God  as  witness 
(Ex.  xxii.  10;  2  Sam.  xxi.  7  ;  1  Kings  ii.  4.3), 
and  here  especially  such  an  oath  of  fidelity  to 
the  sovereign,  sworn  in  the  presence  of  God 
(comp.  2  Kings  xi.  17;  Ezek.  xvii.  12  ff.). — 
Ver.  3.  Be  not  hasty  to  go  out  of  his 
sight.  The  first  verb  only  serves  to  express  an 
adverbial  qualification  of  the  second.  The  hasty 
going  out  from  the  king  is  not  to  indicate  an 
apostacy  from  him,  or  a  share  in  rebellious 
movements  (Knobel,  Vaihinger),  but  simply 
the  timid  or  unsatisfactory  withdrawal  from 
his  presence,  in  case  he  is  unfavorably  inclined  ; 
it  is  directly  the  opposite  of  the  "standing "  for- 
bidden in  the  subsequent  clause.  Hitzig's 
opinion,  that  the  king  is  considered  as  an  un- 
clean heathen,  and  that  the  aim  of  the  entire 
admonition  is  to  counsel  against  the  too  strict 
observance  of  the  Levitical  laws  of  cleanliness  in 
presence  of  heathen  princes,  has  too  little  con- 
nection with  the  context,  and  is  in  every  respect 
too  artificial. — Stand  not  in  an  evil  thing, 
[Ger.,  "evil  word  ") ;  i.  e.,  when  the  king  speaks 
an  angry  word  (J?T  "13^)  do  not  excite  his  anger 
still  more  by  foolishly  standing  still,  as  if  thou 
couldst  by  obstinately  remaining  in  thy  place 
compel  his  favor.  Ewald  and  Elster  correctly 
give  the  general  sense  of  the  admonition  as  fol- 
lows :  In  presence  of  a  king,  it  is  proper  to 
appear  modest  and  yet  firm,  to  show  ourselves 
neither  over  timid  nor  obstinate  towards  him. 
The  Vulgate,  Luther,  Starke,  etc.,  are  less  con- 
sistent: "Stand  not  in  an  evil  thing,"  i.  e.,  re- 
main not  in  evil  designs  against  the  king,  if  you 
have  become  involved  in  such  ; — Hengstenbeeg 
gives  the  same.  Vaihinger:  "Do  not  appear 
in  an  evil  thing."  And  thus  finally  Hitzig  : 
"Stand  not  at  an  evil  command"  [t.  e.,  even 
though  the  king  should  command  an  evil  thing, 
thou  must  do  it,  as  Doeo,  1  Sam.  xxii.  18],  a 
translation  which  rests  on  the  erroneous  suppo- 
sition that  the  author  presents  as  speaking,  in 
vers.  2-4,  an  opponent  of  his  teachings,  a  de- 
fender of  a  base  worldly  expediency  and  a  false 
servility. — For  he  doeth  whatever  pleaseth 
him.  This  formula  serves  in  other  places  to 
show  the  uncontrolled  power  of  God  as  ruler  of 
the  world  (Jon.  i.  14;  Job  xxiii.  13)  but  must 
here  be  necessarily  accepted  in  a  relative  sense, 
as  an  emphatic  warning  against  the  fearful  wrath 
of  a  monarch  who  is  all-powerful,  at  least  in  his 
own  realm  ;  comp.  Prov.  xvi.  14  ;  xix.  12  ;  xx.  2. 
^Ver.  4  completes  the  last  clause  of  ver.  3. — 
Where   the  word   of  a  king  is  there  is 

power.    [1d4k?  here,  and  in  ver.  8,  need  not 


be  considered  as  an  adjective ;  it  can  quite  as 
easily  express  the  substantive  sense  of  "ruler, 
commander,"  as  in  Dan.  iii.  2,  3  (Chaldaic). — 
And  who  may  say  to  him,  What  doest 
thou?  That  is,  who  can  utter  an  objection  to 
his  ordinances  and  commands?  An  expression 
like  that  at  the  close  of  the  preceding  verse, 
which  is  elsewhere  only  used  in  glorification  of 
divine  power  (Job  ix.  12;  Isa.  xlv.  9;  Dan. 
iv.  32 ;  Wisdom  xii.  12),  but  which  therefore 
justifies  neither  Hengstenberg's  nor  Hahn's 
reference  of  the  passage  to  God  as  the  heavenly 
King,  according  to  Hitzig's  assertion:  "We 
have  here  the  servility  of  an  opponent  of  the 
king,  introduced  by  the  author  as  speaking  in  a 
style  which  usually  indicates  the  omnipotence 
of  God." 

6.  Second  Strophe.  Conclusion.  Vers.  5-8.  Ad- 
monition to  submit  to  the  existing  arrangements 
of  this  life,  all  of  which  have  God  as  their  final 
author.^ — Whoso  keepeth  the  command- 
ment shall  feel  no  evil  thing. — HIXD  "the 

commandment,"  is  undoubtedly  the  same  as 
l^p — 151,  ver.  4,  therefore  not  the  Divine  law 
(Vaihinger,  Hahn,  Hengstenbero,  etc.),  but 
the  law  of  earthly  authority  as  the  Divine  repre- 
sentative. The  feeling  no  evil  thing  (J?T  Vil 
y\  13T)  most  probably  signifies  the  remaining 
distant  from  evil  counsels,  taking  no  part  in  re- 
bellious enterprises  (Knobel,  Vaihinger,  etc.), 
so  that,  therefore,  j?"l  131  here  expresses  a 
sense  diiferent  from  that  in  verse  3  above.  Yet 
another  explanation  of  the  language,  and  one 
consistent  with  the  context,  is  as  follows:  "He 
experiences  no  misfortune,  remains  protected 
from  the  punishment  of  transgressing  the  laws" 
(Elster,  Hengstenbbrg).  But  Heiliqsteut, 
on  the  contrary,  is  wrong  (comp.  Ewald):  "he 
pays  no  attention  to  the  evil  that  is  done  to  him, 
and  does  not  grieve  about  the  injustice  that  he 
suffers,  but  bears  it  with  equanimity  ;"  and  also 
Hitzig:  "the  keeper  of  the  commandment  (the 
servile  slave  of  tyrants)  does  not  first  consider 
an  evil  command  of  his  superior,  in  so  far  as  it 
is  morally  evil,  but  executes  it  blmdly,  and  thus 
commits  a  sin  at  the  bidding  of  a  higher  power; 
the  wise  man,  on  the  contrary,  etc." — a  declara- 
tion which  stands  and  falls  with  the  previously 
quoted  artificial  understanding  of  ver.  2-4  as  an- 
tagonistic in  speech.* — And  a  wise  man's 
heart  dlscerneth  both  time  and  judgment, 
— That  is,  the  wise  man  knows  that  for  everj' 
evil  attempt  there  comes  a  time  of  judgment;  see 
ver,  6.  This  explanation  alone,  which  is  that 
of  the   Septuagiut    [/cai   mipov    Kpiacug   yiv&aiin 

*  [Among  all  these  conflicting  interpretations,  it  maybe 
suggested  that  the  best  way  is  to  take  ver.  5  as  a  qualitica- 
tion  of  the  pusitiveness  and  strictness  of  the  previous  pre- 
cepts: The  ordinary  man  who  simply  yields  literal  and  pas- 
sive obedience,  will  be  safe  in  so  doing;  but  the  wise  man 
will  use  his  wisdom  in  j  lldging  as  to  the  manner  of  doing  the 
command,  or  of  modifying,  avoiding,  or,  it  may  be,  of  resist- 
ing, as  Daniel  did.  This  mode  of  qualifying,  or  partially  re- 
tracting, a  precept  that  seems  general  and  exclusive,  is  not 
uncommon  with  Koheleth.  Comp.  ix.  11  and  al.  Such  ia 
in  general  the  idea  of  Stoart,  especially  as  to  the  last  clause, 

though  he  interprets  yy  s'?  in  the  flirst,  as  meaning, 
"  he  (who  obeys)  will  have  no  concern  about  the  evil  corn- 
mind  ;"  that  is,  will  not  trouble  himself  about  its  rectitude. 
— T.L.I 


118 


ECCLESIASTES. 


tcapSIa  (To0oii]  is  in  accordance  with  the  text ;  one 
needs  think  as  little  of  the  judgment  which 
awaits  all  men,  especially  wicked  princes  and 
tyrants,  as  of  the  appointed  time  of  existence  of 
all  civil  ordinances  [Elstee],  or  of  the  proper 
time  and  authority  to  do  any  thing,  or  not 
(Hahn).  Ver.  6.  For  the  first  clause  compare 
chap.  iii.  17. — Therefore  the  misery  of  man 
is  great  upon  him. — That  is,  on  him  who  un- 
wisely disregards  the  important  truth  that  there 
Is  a  time  and  judgment  for  every  purpose,  and 
therefore  takes  part  in  rebellious  undertakings 
against  the  king;  a  heavy  misfortune  visits  him 
as  a  well-deserved  punishment,  and  he  falls  u, 
victim  of  his  foolish  effort  to  struggle  against  the 
Divinely  sanctioned  ordinances  of  this  world.* 
Ver.  7.  For  he  knoweth  not  that  which 
shall  be. — He  knows  not  the  issue  of  the  under- 
takings in  which  he  has  thoughtlessly  allowed 
himself  to  be  involved ;  and  because  the  future 
is  veiled  to  us  men,  he  cannot  see  what  conse- 
quences they  may  have,  and  how  weighty  may 
be  the  destinies  that  it  entails  upon  him. — ■ 
For  -who  can  tell  him  when  it  shall  be  ? — 
(Ger.,  "how  it  shall  be"). — Therefore  he  is  not 
only  ignorant  of  future  destinies  in  themselves, 
but  does  not  even  know  their  "how,"  the  man- 
ner of  their  entrance.  Heiizfeld  and  HiTzio 
say :  "  When  it  shall  be,"  etc.  But  1tyX3  no 
where  else  in  this  book  signifies  "when,"  not 
even  in  iv.  17;  v.  4,  where  it  is  to  be  taken  as 
conditional ;  and  the  idea  of  time  is  by  no  means 
in  harmony  with  the  passage.  Ver.  8.  There 
is  no  man  that  hath  power  over  the  spirit 
to  retain  the  spirit. — nn  here  is  different 
from  that  in  chap.  xi.  4  and  5,f  where  it  clearly 
signifies  "  wind"  (comp.  Prov.  xxx.  4) ;  it  must 
here  be  taken  in  a  sense  very  usual  in  the  0.  T., 
that  of  "breath  of  life,"  "spirit;"  comp.  iii. 
19-21.  J  The  meaning  of  the  following  clause  is 
most  nearly  allied  to  this,  and  that  we  find 
n-llS  and  not  in-llS  proves  nothing  in  favor 
of  the  contrary  acceptation  of  Hitzig,  Hahn, 
etc.;  for  the  author  denies  the  ability  of  men  to 
control  the  breath  of  life,  and  purposely  in  the 
most   general  way,    in  order    to    show,   in   the 

*  [We  cannot  help  regarding  this  as  a  forcing  the  text  into 
the  supijort  of  the  ext[eiiie  monarchical  doctrine  of  passive 
obedience,  notwithstanding  the  qualification  adverted  to  in 
the  previous  note.  There  is,  too,  an  omission,  unusual  for 
ZocKLER,  of  all  comment  on  the  first  part  of  ver.  6,  which 
contains  not  only  tho  connection  with  what  precedes,  but 
furnishes  tlie  key  to  what  follows.  "The  heart  of  the  wiso 
man  will  acknowledge  timeand  reason"  (ver.5):  "for  there 
is  time  and  reason  to  every  tiling,  although  the  misery  of 
man  (the  oppression,  tho  evil  rule,  under  which  he  suffers) 

be  so  great  upon  him"  [V  7_^  implying  something  laid  upon 

T   T 

him  like  a  heavy  burden).  It  is  all  made  clear  by  rendering 
the  second  ""^  although,  as  adversative  to  the  first — a  frequent 
sense  of  the  particle  in  this  book,  as  is  generally  shown  by 
the  context.  It  is  a  strong  and  passionate  assertion  :  The 
world  is  not  all  confusion;  there  is  time  and  reason;  they 
will  appear  at  last,  though  misery  so  abounds;  therefore  be 
patient;  watch  and  wait.  Obedience  is  indeed  inculcated  to 
lawful  (not  merely  monarchical)  authority,  but  it  is  also  in- 
timated that  it  is  not  to  be  wholly  passive,  unreasoning,  and 
blind.— T.  L.l 

f  [There  is  precisely  the  same  argument  for  rendering  it 
spirit  in  chap.  xi.  5  (the  way  of  the  spirit),  as  exists  for  it 
here.     See  excursus  on  that  passage,  p.    1-17. — T.  L.] 

J  [Perhaps  there  is  nothing  that  shows  the  unspirituaUty 
of  some  commentators  more  than  their  obstinate  determina- 
tion to  render  nl"!  wind,  and  often  in  utter  defiance  of  the 
context,  aa  in. Gen.  i.  2,  and  in  such  places  as  these. — T.  L.] 


strongest  manner,  his  unconditional  dependence 
on  God  [just  as  in  the  following  clause  he  has 
the  very  general  rilsn  Dr3  and  not  QV3 
iniD]. — And  there  is  no  discharge  in  that 
war. — That  is,  as  little  as  the  law  of  war,  with 
its  inexorable  severity,  grants  a  furlough  to 
the  soldier  before  the  battle,  just  so  little  can  a 
man  escape  the  law  of  death  which  weighs  on 
all,  and  just  so  unconditionally  must  he  follow 
when  God  calls  him  hence  by  death. — Neither 
shall  wickedness  deliver  those  that  are 
given  to  it. — Lit.,  "its  possessors;"  comp.  vii. 
12;  and  for  the  sentence,  Prov.  x.  2;  xi.  4,  etc. 
This  clause  clearly  contains  the  principal  thought 
of  the  verse,  as  prepared  by  the  three  preceding 
clauses,  and  which  here  makes  an  impressive 
conclusion  of  the  whole  admonition  begun  in 
verse  2  concerning  disobedience  and  disloyalty 
towards  authorily. 

Ver.  7.  Third  Strophe.  First  half.  Vers.  9-13.  The 
many  iniquities,  oppressions  and  injustices  that 
occur  among  men,  often  remain  a  long  time  un- 
punished, but  find,  at  last,  their  proper  reward, 
as  a  proof  that  God  rules  and  judges  justly. — 
All  this  have  I  seen. — A  transition  formula, 
serving  as  an  introduction  to  what  follows,  as  in 
chap.  vii.  23.  "To  see"  is  here  equivalent  to 
observing  through  experience,  and  "all  this" 
refers,  in  the  first  place,  to  ver.  5-8,  and  then  to 
every  thing  from  chap.  vii.  23  onward. — And 
applied  my  heart  unto  every  work.— For 

^^"'"'?<  \^\  comp.  i.  13.— The  infinitive  absolute 
with  copula  prefixed  indicates  an  action  contem- 
poraneous with  the  main  verb.  For  what  follows 
comp.  i.  14  ;  ii.  17  ;  iv.  3,  etc. — There  is  a  time 
w^hen  one  man  rules  over  another  to  his 
own  hurt. — These  words  clearly  form  an  ex- 
planation to  what  precedes:  "  every  work  that 
is  done  under  the  sun;"  and  they  therefore 
more  closely  designate  the  object  of  the  author's 
observation  to  be  a  whole  epoch  or  series  of  op- 
pressions of  men  by  tyrants. — The  words  are  usu- 
ally regarded  as  an  independent  sentence : 
"There  is  a  time  wherein,"  e(c.;  or,  "some- 
times," or,  "at  times,"  "a  man  rules,"  etc. 
(Vulgate,  LuTHEK,  Vaihinger,  Hengstenbeeg, 
etc.).  But  the  word  nj^  alone  is  not  equivalent 
to  "there  is  a  time,"  or  "sometimes;"  and  to 
refer  the  pronoun  in  17  to  the  first  QHS  (to  his 

TT        ^ 

own  hurt,  i.  e.,  to  the  hurt  of  the  tyrant)  is  not 
in  harmony  with  what  follows.  Also  Knobel's 
explanation:  "truly  I  have  also  seen  tyrants 
who  practiced  evil  unpunished  through  whole 
eras,"  seems  quite  unfitting,  because  it  antici- 
pates ver.  10,  and  introduces  Into  the  text  the 
word  "truly"  that  is  in  no  wise  indicated. — 
Ver.  10.  And  so  I  saw^  the  wicked  buried, 
who  had  come  and  gone  (to  rest). — p31 
lit.;  and  under  such  circumstances,*  comp.  Esth. 
iv.  16.  The  wicked,  of  whom  it  is  here  affirmed 
that  they  were  buried  and  went  to  rest,  i.  e.,  they 
received  a  distinguished  and  honorable  burial 
[comp.  Isa.  xiv.  19;   Jer.  xxii.  19;   and  also  Eo- 

*[p3fl  is  the  particle  of  illustration :  "audin  suchacase," 

or,  taken  in  the  connection :  "  aild  so  it  was."  See  the  Me^ 
rical  Version — 

'Twas  when  I  saw  the  wicked  dead  interred T.  \t,\ 


CHAP.  VII.  23-29.— VIII.  1-15. 


H9 


cleB.  chap.  vi.  3]  are  the  same  as  those  named  in 
Tcr.  9,  who  rule  over  others  to  their  hurt,  and 
are  therefore  tyrannical  oppressors  and  violent 
rulers.  'X3  lit.:  "they  entered  in,"  namely,  to 
rest,  an  ahbreviation  of  the  full  form  which  is 
found  in  Isa.  Ivii.  2. — Gone  from  the  place  of 
the  holy. — [Zooklek  :  But  went  far  frjm  the 
place  of  the  holy.] — The  wicked  are  clearly  here 
no  longer  the  subject,  but  as  in  the  following 
clause,  "those  who  did  righteously,"  whose  un- 
deservedly sad  fate  the  author  well  depicts  in 
contrast  with  that  of  the  former.  Therefore  the 
"  place  of  the  holy  "  from  which  they  wandered 
afar  [tn,  as  in  Isa.  xxvi.  14;  Zeph.  iii.  18;  Job 
xxviii.  4]  is  the  grave,  the  honorable  burial 
place  which  these  just  ones  must  fail  to  obtain ; 
to  refer  this  expression  to  Jerusalem  (Hitzig), 
or  to  the  sacred  courts  of  the  leaders  of  the  peo- 
ple (Knobel),  or  to  the  community  of  the  saints 
(Hbnqstenbekg),  is  all  arbitrary,  and  opposed  to 

the  context.  'J^n',  "they  wandered,  they 
went,"  does  not,  of  course,  mean  a  wandering 
of  the  souls  of  the  unburied  after  death,  but  sim- 
ply [in  contrast  to  that  word  1N3]  the  wandering 
or  being  carried  to  another  resting  place  than 
that  holy  place,"  the  burial  in  a  grave  neither 
sacred  nor   honorable.       HiTzia's    emendation, 

Ovn',  "they  pass  away,"  is  as  unnecessary  as 
the  view  of  Ewald,  Elsteb,  Vaihingeb,  etc., 
that  the  Piel  Y!^}  is  here  synonymous  with  the 
Hiphil  '^■'7'''^  "-^  though  the  sense  were  "  I  saw 
them  driven  away,  east  out  from  the  holy  place."* 
—And  they  ^vere  forgotten  in  the  city 
where  they  had  so  done  (Zockler:  "who 
there  justly  acted). — For  ]3  TWV  "  to  do 
right,"  to  act  uprightly,  comp.  2  Kings  vii.  9 : 
for  "being  forgotten  in  the  city,"  i.  e.,  in  their 
own  place   Of  residence   [not  in  Jerusalem,  as 


*[ZocKLER's  version  here,  which  is  substantially  that  of 
HiTZlG,  and  even  of  Geier,  seems  very  forced.  How  is  he  to 
get  the  sense  of  "  wandering  far,"  or  of  "  being  driven  away," 

from  >dlJV  1    Then,  again,  the  rendering  iiiny    |3    ItSX 

"they  who  had  done  rightly,"  and  making  it  the  subject  of 

07n\  are  both  unwarranted.    Stuart  well  says  that  the 

makkepb  in  W^~\2  shows  that  the  Masorites  regarded  |J) 

as  the  usual  adverb  so,  and  therefore  joined  it  closely  to  the 
verb  as  simply  qualifying.  The  references  of  Zookler  and 
HiTZio  do  not  bear  them  out,  and  there  cannot  be  found  a 
clear  case  in  the  Bible  where  |3  is  used  absolutely  for  jus- 
tice. There  are  two  objections  to  the  finding  in  this  phrase 
the  subject  of  0771' ;  one  is  the  separation  it  makes  be- 
tween it  and  ^X^l :  the  second  is  its  coming  so  late  after  its 

TT 

verb,  making  a  very  unusual  Hebrew  construction  in  keep- 
ing the  sense  so  long  suspended.     It  seems  quite  clear  that 

OvIT'  and  11X31  have  the  same  subject — not  that  a  sudden 

chrtDge  is  unexampled  in  Hebrew,  but  because  these  two 
verbs  so  uniformly  go  together  in  similar  expressions ;  as  in 

ch.  i.  4  J53  "Ti'T],  l^j^  ^ir)  *'  generation  goes,  and  genera- 
tion comes;"  also  vi.  4,  N3   S^DS,  ^'7'  lltynB  "comes  in 

vanity,  goes  away  in  darkness."  So  here  there  must  be  for 
both  the  same  subject;  but  is  it  the  wicked,  mentioned 
above,  or  men  generally,  not  personally  or  pronominally  ex- 
pressed, because  it  so  readily  suggests  itself  from  the  men- 
tion of  burial,-^(ftey,  the  mourners,  real  or  pretended, — they 


HiTziG  declares],  Comp.  vi.  4;  Prov.  x.  7  ;  Ps. 
Ixxiii.  19,  20.  Instead  of  ?n3nK;^l_  the  Septua- 
gint,  Vulgate,  and  twenty-three  manuscripts  had 
■inSE/'l  "  and  they  were  praised  ;"  but  this  read- 
ing appears  clearly  to  be  an  emendation,  and 
would  render  necessary  this  grammatically 
inadmissible  translation:  "and  they  were 
praised  in  the  city,  as  if  they  had  acted 
justly." — This  is  also  vanity. — That  is,  also 
this  unequal  distribution  of  destiny  in  hu- 
man life,  is  an  example  of  the  vanity  pervading 
and  controlling  all  earthly  relations ;  comp.  ii.  26 ; 
iv.  14,  16 ;  vii.  6,  etc. — Ver.  11.  Because  sen- 
tence against  an  evil  iwork  is  not  exe- 
cuted speedily. — Because  speedy  justice  is  not 
executed— a  very  common  reason  for  the  increase 
of  crime  and  wickedness.     CDjrip  *  originally  a 

Persian  word  [ancient  Persia,n,^o%a7»a,  modern 
Per.  paigam,  Armenian^a<i:aOT]  ;  lit.,  "something 
that  has  happened  or  taken  place,"  and,  there- 
fore, command,  edict,  sentence ;  comp.  Esther  i. 
20.  Since  in  this  passage,  as  in  the  Chaldaic 
sections  of  Ezra  and  Daniel  {e.g.,  Ez.  iv.  17; 
Dan.  iii.  16  ;  iv.  14),  the  word  is  always  treated 
as  masculine,  we  should  have  expected  ntVJ^J  in- 
stead of  niJ'^J.  But  comp.  the  examples  of  the 
masculine  quoted  by  Ewald,  §  74,  gr.,  which, 
in  later  authors,  are  used  as  feminine. — There- 
fore the  heart  of  the  sous  of  men  is  fully 
set  in  him  to  do  evil. — Therefore  they  ven- 
ture on  evil  without  any  hesitation;  comp.  ix.  3; 
Esther  vii.  5;  Matt.  xv.  19.— Vers.  12  and  13. 
In  spite  of  the  universal  and  ever-increasing 
prevalence  of  evil  over  justice  and  righteousness, 
hitherto  depicted,  the  wicked  at  last  find  their 
deserved  reward,  and  oppressed  innocence  does 
not  perish. — Though  a  sinner  do  evil  a  hun. 
dred  times. — "^P,^,  does  not  here  signify  "be- 
cause "  (Hitziq),  but  "although,"  "considering 
that,"  as  '3  does  sometimes  (Lat.  quod  si). 
Comp.  Lev.  iv.  22 ;  Deut.  xi.  27 ;  xvii'i.  22 ;  Ew- 
ald, §  362,  b.  Before  mo  supply  l:j'0;r3.— 
And  his  days  be  prolonged — namely,  in 
sinning.     l7  with  '^'"]t<'5  shows  that  this  verb  is 


who  form  the  procession  (O  vH^  >  s^e  remarks  on  this  word 

in  piel,  p.  85),  who  go  about  the  streets,  xii.  5,  where 
030  includes  both  going  to  and  coming  from.    According 

:  T 
to  this,  there  is,  indeed,  a  change  of  subject  from  that  of  the 
previous  clause,  but  this  is  far  from  being  unexampled  in 
Hebrew,  even  without  notice;  as  in  Ps.  xlix.  19:  "i!'or  he 
blesses  himself  in  life,  and  they  will  praise  [n*in]  thee," — 

that  is,  men  will  praise  thee,  when  thou  doest  well  to  thy- 
self. Here,  however,  the  personal  subject  is  so  familiar  that 
it  is  easily  understood,  and  its  omissiou  is  ou  that  very  ac- 
count all  the  more  impressive :  I  saw  the  wicked  buried,  and 
from  (or  to  and  from)  the  holy  place  [the  place  of  burial], — 
they  CAjiiQ  and  went  [men  came  and  went];  then  straight 
were  they  forgotten,  that  is,  the  wicked  rulers  were  forgot- 
ten. The  coming  back  to  these  as  the  old  subject,  aiter  tlie 
mention  of  the  funeral  procession,  seems  very  natui-al.  The 
crowd  disperses,  the  hired  mourners  "  go  about  the  streets ;" 
it  is  all  over ;  and  soon  are  they  "  ibrgolteu  in  the  city  where 
they  thus  bad  done  " — where  they  had  ruled  to  their  own 
dishonor,  only  to  be  hated,  and  at  last,  after  an  empty  fuiie* 
ral  pomp,  to  be  consigned  to  oblivion.  In  the  description  of 
a  scene  so  well  understood,  the  formal  insertion  of  the  logi- 
cal subject  would  have  made  it  much  less  graphic.  See 
Metrical  Version. — T.  L.] 

*  [On  this  word  see  remarks  in  the  note  appended  to  ZoCKi 
LEB'8  Introduction,  p.  33. — T.  L.] 


120 


ECCLESIASTES. 


not  to  be  supplemented  by  □'fp\  as  In  the 
following  verse. ^Yet  surely  I  know  that  it 
shall  be  well  with  them  that  fear  God. — 
OJ  '3,  "yet,"  makes  here  a  strong  contrast. 
Koheleth  represents  the  idea  of  just  retribution 
as  something  certain  and  lasting,  although  expe- 
rience seems  so  strongly  to  teach  the  contrary, 
and  consequently  as  a  conviction  that  does  not 
rest  on  empirical  observation,  but  on  direct  reli- 
gious faith.  "There  is  not  expressed  in  this 
verse,  as  some  commentators  suppose,  the 
thought  of  a  retribution  in  after  life,  but  it  must 
be  confessed  that,  the  standpoint  of  observation 
on  which  Koheleth  here  places  himself  could 
easily  lead  to  this  conclusion,  although  it  is  not 
here  drawn  (Elstee). — Which  fear  before 
him. — Not,  "because  they  fear  before  him;" 
liyN  ia  here  really  »■  relative  pronoun,  pointing 
out  the  conformity  of  the  conduct  of  the  God- 
fearing to  their  designation  as  such.  Comp.  1 
Tim.  V.  3:  x'W^^  Ti/j,a  ra^  ^^^(^  X^P^^- — But  it 
shall  not  be  well  with  the  w^ioked,  nei- 
ther shall  he  prolong  his  days. — This  denial 
of  long  life  to  the  wiclsed  does  not  contradict 
what  is  said  in  ver.  12;  for  there  the  question 
was  not  of  long  life,  but  of  prolonged  sinning. — 
Which  are  as  a  shadow  ;  because  he  fear- 
eth  not  before  God. — [ZocKi,Btt:  He  is  as  a 
shadow  who  feareth  not  before  God.]  We  have 
had  the  same  figure  in  chap.  vi.  12.  The  Vul- 
gate, as  well  as  most  modern  commentators,  are 

correct  in  not  joining  7X3,  with  the  Masoretio 
accentuation,  to  what  precedes  [thus  also  Lu- 
ther, Vaiiiinger,  Henostenbeeq;  "and  as  a 
shadow  will  not  live  long"],  but  to  what  follows 
[Vulg.   ^' transcunC"]. 

8.  Third  Strophe.  Oonclusion.  Vera.  14  and  15. 
Since  the  unequal  distribution  of  human  destiny 
points  to  the  futile  character  of  all  earthly  oc- 
currences and  conditions,  we  must  so  much  the 
more  enjoy  present  happiness,  and  profit  by  it 
with  a  contented  mind. — There  is  a  vanity 
w^hich  is  done  upon  the  earth. — See  ver. 
10  and  chap.  iii.  16.  That  the  lots  of  the  just 
and  the  wicked  are  frequently  commingled  and 
interchanged  in  this  world,  seems  to  the  Preacher 
as  vanity,  i.  e.,  as  belonging  to  the  evil  conse- 
quences of  the  human  fall ;  but  it  does  not,  there- 
fore, make  on  him  an  especially  "  bitter  and 
gloomy"  impression,  as  Elster  supposes. 
Comp.  Henostenberq:  "  If  there  were  righteous 
men  such  as  there  should  be,  wholly  righteous, 
then  the  experience  here  given  would  certainly 
be  in  a  high  degree  alarming.  But  since  sin  is 
also  indwelling  in  the  just,  since  they  deserve 
punishment  and  need  watchful  care,  since  they 
can  so  easily  slide  into  by-paths  and  fall  into  a 
mercenary  worldliness,  the  shock  must  disappear 
for  those  who  really  dwell  in  righteousness. 
These  latter  are  often  severely  disturbed  by  the 
fact  here  presented  to  view,  but  it  is  for  them 
only  a  disturbance.  The  definitive  complaint 
regarding  this  comes  only  from  those  who  wifh- 
eut  claim  or  right  count  themselves  among  the 
just.  And  it  is  clear  that  the  equality  of  result 
for  the  evil  and  just  is  only  an  external  and  joar- 
tial  one.  To  those  whom  God  loves,  every  thing 
must  be  for  the  best,  and  the  final  issue  separates 


the  evil  from  the  good." — Ver.  15.  Then  I 
commended  mirth,  etc.* — Comp.  the  exegeti- 
cal  remarks  on  ii.  24;  iii.  22  ;  v.  19. — For  that 
shall  abide  w^ith  him  of  his  labour  the  days 
of  his  life. — Lit,,  "  That  clings  to  him,"  etc.,  i.  e., 
that  and  that  only   becomes  truly  his;    comp. 

IpSn  Nin  chap.  iii.  22 ;  v.  19,  which  is  syno- 
nymous in  sense.  The  optative  meaning  of 
131T(HiTzio:  "that  may  cling  to  hira;"  Hekz- 
FELD  :  "that  may  accompany  him,"  c<c.),  is  un- 
necessary and  runs  counter  to  the  analogy  of 
those  earlier  parallels. 

DOCTRINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

( With  Homiletical  Mints. ) 
The  warnings  against  seduction  through  the 
snares  and  amorous  arts  of  women,  concerning 
rebellion  against  authority,  and  wicked  oppres- 
sion and  violence,  are  quite  dissimilar  in  their 
nature,  and  hang  but  loosely  together.  For  in 
the  first  of  these  warnings  the  attention  of  the 
author  is  principally  directed  to  the  depraved 
nature  of  woman  as  the  originator  and  principal 
representative  of  the  ruin  of  man  through  sin ;  in 
the  second,  it  is  less  the  Divine  necessity  that  is 
made  especially  emphatic,  than  the  human  utility 
and  profitableness  in  the  obedience  to  be  ren- 
dered to  kings  ;  and  in  the  third,  the  principal 
object  of  attention  is  not  the  wicked  conduct  of 
sinners  in  itself,  but  the  fixed,  certain,  and  just 
retribution  of  God  for  this  conduct,  together 
with  the  useful  lesson  which  the  good  man  is  to 
draw  therefrom.  The  questions  concerning  the 
origin,  goal,  and  remedy  of  human  depravity, 
[the  most  important  problems  in  anthropology], 
are  in  this  way  touched,  but  by  no  means  ex- 
haustively treated ;  and  the  indicated  solutions 
reveal  a  certain  one-sidedness  on  account  of  the 
brevity  of  the  illustration.  It  appears,  at  least, 
in  chap.  vii.  28,  as  if  the  female  sex  were  tho- 
roughly and  without  exception  evil,  and  the  first 
woman  was  represented  as  the  sole  originator 
of  the  sin  of  humanity  ;  and  j  ust  so  it  seems  as  if 

*["/J!  was  the.n  I  commended  mirtfi,^'  etc.;  that  ia,  under  such 
a  view  of  maukind  aad  their  destiny.  See  the  text  note. 
The  coujuQction  1  in  *pn3tyi  connects  by  showing  the  time 

and  reason.  It  is  very  important  as  showing  that  the  Epi- 
curean aspect  Koheleth  sometinaes  exhibits  was  in  connec- 
tion with,  and  conditioned  upon,  such  discouraging  and 
gloomy  views  of  human  destiny  as  those  just  mentioned. 
And  this  explains  the  "1[^,X,  in  what  follows,  as  the  matter 

or  language  of  the  false  commendation  {qund,  on),  '^that 
there  was  no  other  good  to  man," — or  then  ''I  praised 
mirth,"  etc.  (saying),  "  that  there  was  no  good  to  man,"  ete.; 
and  80  of  what  iollows:  '-and  that  this  only  remains  to 
him,"  etc.    It  is  all  dependent  on  ''nn3ty,  as  the  subject 

matter  of  the  Epicurean  commendation.  ZiicKLEii  omits  all 
remarks  on  TK'X  here,  and  the  connection  of  'nnStSl,  al- 
though it  is  80  important. 

'Twas  tfien  that  pleasure  I  extolled : 

ffow  that  there  was  no  good  to  man  beneath  the  enn, 

Except  to  eat  and  drink,  and  [here]  his  joy  to  find. 

And  this  alone  attends  him  in  his  toil, 

During  all  tlie  days,  etc. 


Compare  the  Arabic 


re«  rtsidwi,  aa  used  in  the 


Koran  to  denote  the  portioo  either  of  the  pious  in  the  life 
to  come,  or  of  the  wiclsed  piedsure-seekera  in  this  world.— 
T.  L.j 


CHAP.  VII.  23-29.— VIII.  1-15. 


121 


the  remedy  against  sin  and  its  bad  effects  were 
mainly  (ciiap.  viii.  2  ff.)  unconditional  obedience 
to  earllily  autiiority ;  and  tlien,  again,  it  would 
ippear  (ehap.  viii.  15)  that  a  frivolous  and 
thoughtless  joyousness  were  recommended.  But 
that  this  is  mere  appearance,  is  proved  by  the 
eonnection  of  each  of  the  respective  passages. 
Aa  in  chap.  vii.  i!9,  not  women  alone,  but  sinning 
humanity  as  a  whole,  are  presented  as  the  de- 
stroyers of  the  originally  upright,  pure,  and 
God-like  nature  [corresponding  to  the  words  of 
Paul,  i<j)'  i/i  Tr&vTs;  rj/iaprov,  Rom.  v.  12]  ;  not  less 
in  chap.  viii.  2  S.  is  the  duty  of  obedience  to  au- 
thorily  to  be,  from  the  beginning.  Divinely  influ- 
enced, and  therefore  subordinated  to  the  higher 
duty  of  obedience  towards  God  [corresponding 
with  Acts  iv.  19].  And  finally,  the  joy  recom- 
mended in  ver.  15  appears  clearly  as  the  joy  of 
one  fearing  God  [comp.  vers.  12  and  13],  and 
consequently  it  no  more  forms  an  exclusive  con- 
trast to  the  rejoicing  with  trembling  of  Ps.  ii.  11 
than  it  contradicts  the  Apostolic  admonition  : 
"Kejoice  in  the  Lord  always  "  (Phil.  iv.  4).  In 
short,  it  is  every  where  the  conduct  of  the  truly 
wise  man,  who,  as  such,  is  also  the  God-fearing 
man,  to  which  the  Preacher  dire&ts  us,  and  in 
which  he  gets  a  view  of  the  true  ideal  in  the 
sphere  of  ethical  anthropology  (comp.  vii.  23-25 ; 
viii.  1,  5). 

Thence  is  drawn  for  a  collective  homiletical 
treatment  of  this  section  the  following  theme  : 
the  truly  wise  man  fears  God,  and  guards  him- 
self as  well  against  unchastity  as  against  the  dis- 
loyalty and  injustice  of  this  world.  Or,  the  truly 
wise  man  in  conflict  with  the  enticements  of  this 
world,  as  he  meets  them  first  in  the  cunning  of 
women,  secondly,  in  the  desire  of  rebellion,  and 
thirdly,  in  the  wickedness  and  arrogant  violence 
of  tyrants. 

HOMILETICAL  HINTS  ON  SEPAEATE  PASSAGES. 

Chap.  vii.  28-25.  Geiee: — Our  knowledge  is 
fragmentary:  the  more  we  learn,  the  more  we 
perceive  how  far  we  are  removed  from  true  wis- 
dom, Sirach  li.  21  f.;  1  Cor.  xiii.  9. — Hansen: — 
No  one  on  earth  has  the  ability  and  skill  to  ac- 
quire a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  works  of  God. 
They  remain  unfathomably  deep  and  hidden 
from  our  eyes. — We  must  exert  all  the  powers 
of  our  soul  to  discover  the  difference  between 
Wisdom  and  folly. — Stabkk  : — Depend  not  on 
your  own  strength  in  Christianity.  You  imagine 
that  you  make  progress,  but  in  reality  you  retro- 
grade, and  lose,  in  your  spiritual  arrogance,  that 
Which  you  had  already  acquired  (2  John  8.). — 
The  best  teachers  are  those  who  teach  to 
others  what  they  themselves  have  learned  by  ex- 
perience. 

Tubingen  Bible  : — Man  was  created  in  inno- 
cence, justice  and  holiness,  and  this  is  the  image 
of  God,  that  he  lost  after  the  fall,  but  after  which 
he  should  again  strive  with  all  earnestness. — 
Hengstenbeeg:— After  the  fall,  man  forgot  to 
remain  in  a  receptive  relation,  which,  in  respect 
to  the  avudev  cofia^  is  the  only  proper  position  ; 
he  chases  after  schemes  of  his  presumptuous 
thoughts.  The  only  means  of  becoming  free  from 
BO  dire  a  disease,  and  of  being  delivered  from  the 
bonds  of  his  own   thoughts   and  phantoms,  is 


again  to  return  to  Divine  subjection,  and  re- 
nouncing all  his  own  knowledge,  to  permit  him- 
self to  be  taught  of  God. 

Chap.  viii.  1.  Zeyss  :— Impenetrable  as  is  the 
human  heart  in  itself,  it  is  nevertheless  often 
betrayed  by  the  countenance. — Starke: — The 
innocent  man  looks  happy  and  secure.  He  who 
cherishes  injustice  in  the  heart  looks  at  no  one 
cheerfully  nor  rightly. — Hengstenberg: — When, 
by  the  transforming  power  of  wisdom,  the  heart 
of  flesh  has  taken  the  place  of  the  heart  of  stone, 
and  inward  flexibility  and  obedience  that  of 
terror  in  presence  of  God  and  His  command- 
ments, it  becomes  also  evident  in  the  counte- 
nance. 

Vers.  2,  6.  Luther: — It  is  enough  for  you  to 
do  so  in  the  state,  that  you  should  obey  the  king's 
commands,  and  listen  to  him  who  is  ordained  of 
God.  Here  you  see  how  civil  obedience  is  com- 
prehended in  obedience  to  God.  So  Paul  would 
have  servants  obey  their  masters,  not  as  submit- 
ting to  men,  but  as  to  God. — Melanchthon  : — 
Thus  is  obedience  ordained.  Obey  the  Divine 
voice  first ;  then  the  king  commanding  things 
not  repugnant  to  the  Divine  law. — This  will  be 
in  conformity  with  the  rule  given  Acts  iv.  19. — 
Starke  (ver.  3) : — The  powerful  ones  of  this 
world  have  among  men  no  higher  one  over  them, 
to  whom  they  must  give  an  account,  but  in  hea- 
ven there  is  One  higher  than  the  highest.  Wisdom 
of  Solomon  vi.  2-4. — (Ver.  5) :  He  who  keeps  the 
commandments  of  God  will,  for  the  sake  of  God 
and  his  conscience,  also  obey  the  salutary  com- 
mands of  authority,  Col.  iii.  23. — Hengsten- 
berg (Ver.  5) : — The  wise  heart  knows  well  that 
as  certainly  as  God  will  judge  justly  in  His  own 
time,  so  certainly  also  can  he  not  be  really  and 
lastingly  unhappy  who  keeps  the  commandments, 
and  therefore  has  God  on  his  side. — (Ver.  6) : 
With  all  his  power,  man  is  nevertheless  not  inde- 
pendent, but  is  subjected  to  the  heavy  blows 
of  human  destiny.  Thus  all  men  will  be  unable 
to  place  any  impediment  to  the  execution  of  the 
justice  of  God  for  the  good  of  His  children. 

Ver.  7,  8.  Hierontmus  (Ver.  8) :  We  are  not 
to  mourn,  though  often  oppressed  by  the  unjust 
and  powerful;  since  all  these  things  come  to  an 
end  in  death,  and  the  proud  potentate  himself, 
after  all  his  tyrannical  cruelties,  cannot  retain 
the  soul  when  taken  away  by  death. — Cramer 
(Ver.  7) : — It  is  vain  that  we  anxiously  trouble 
ourselves  about  the  progress  and  issue  of  things 
to  come ;  therefore  we  should  abandon  our  pry- 
ing desire.  Ps.  xxxvii.  5. — Geiee: — The  last 
conflict  and  struggle  is  the  hardest  and  most 
dangerous  ;  but  a  pious  Christian  should  not  be 
terrified  at  it ;  for  the  conquest  of  Jesus  over 
death  will  become  his  own  through  faith  ;  tem- 
poral death  is  for  him  only  a  dissolution,  a  pass- 
ing away  in  peace. 

Melanchthon  : — This  question  tortures  all 
minds ;  so  that  many  who  see  the  prosperity  of 
the  wicked,  and  the  misfortunes  of  the  just,  be- 
gin to  think  there  is  no  Providence.  It  is  the 
excelling  strength  of  faith,  that  it  is  not  broken 
by  such  spectacles,  but  retains  the  tru»  cognition 
of  God,  and  waits  patiently  for  ihe  judgment. — 
OsiANDER: — It  does  not  become  us  to  dictate  to 
God  how  He  shall  rule  the  world.  Let  it  satisfy 
us  that  God  rules,  and  will  finally  bring  to  light 


122 


ECCLESIASTES. 


the  justice  of  His  judgment. — Because  God  delays 
a  while  in  the  punishment  of  sin,  men  falsely 
convince  themselves  that  their  wickedness  will 
go  n^hoUy  unpunished,  Sirach  ¥.  4,  5. — J.  Langb  : 
— The  children  of  God  consider  the  patience  of 
the  Lord  their  salvation  [2  Pet.  iii.  15]  ;  whilst 
the  wicked  consider  this  patience  as  a  privilege 
to  sin  the  more  boldly  (Eom.  vi.  1).  But  how- 
ever happy  they  may  esteem  themselves,  they 
nevertheless  die  unblessed,  and  their  happiness 
is  changed  into  eternal  shame. 


Vers.  14  and  15.  Bekieb.  Bible: — Joy  is  a, 
godly  cheerfulness  and  serenity  of  soul;  since 
the  just  man,  though  he  may  suffer  from  the 
vanities  of  this  world,  which  are  common  to  all, 
keeps  his  soul  free  from  vain  cares,  calm  through 
faith  in  God,  and  hence  cheerful  and  ready  in  the 
performance  of  its  duties ;  so  that  he  eats,  drinks 
and  rejoices,  i.  e.,  enjoys  what  God  gives  him,  in 
a  calm,  cheerful,  and  fitting  manner. — Henq. 
STENBERO: — [See  previous  exegetlcal  illustra- 
tions  to  ver.  14]. 


FOUETH  DISCOURSE. 


Of  the  relation  of  true  'wisdom  in  the  internal  and  external  life  of  man. 

(Chap.  VIII.  16— XII.  7.) 

A.  The  unfathomable  character  of  the  universal  rule  of  God  should  not  frighten  the  wise  man  from 
an  active  part  in  life,  but  should  cheer  and  encourage  him  thereto. 

(Chapter  VIII.  16— IX.  16.) 

1    It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  providence  of  God  in  the  distribution  of  human  destiny  is  unfa- 
thomable and  incomprehensible. 


(Chap.  VIII.  16— IX.  6.) 


16 


17 


When  I  applied  mine  heart  to  know  wisdom,  and  to  see  the  business  that  is  done 
upon  the  earth :  (for  also  there  is  that  neither  day  nor  night  seeth  sleep  with  his 
eyes :)  Then  I  beheld  all  the  work  of  God,  that  a  man  cannot  find  out  the  work 
that  is  done  under  the  sun :  because  though  a  man  labour  to  seek  it  out,  yet  he 
shall  not  find  it;  yea,  further;  though  a  wise  man  think  to  know  it,  yet  shall  he 
not  be  able  to  find  it. 
IX.  1  For  all  this  I  considered  in  my  heart  even  to  declare  all  this,  that  the  righteous 
and  the  wise,  and  their  works,  are  in  the  hand  of  God  :  no  man  knoweth  either  love 

2  or  hatred  by  all  that  is  before  them.  All  things  come  alike  to  all :  there  is  one  event 
to  the  righteous  and  to  the  wicked ;  to  the  good,  and  to  the  clean,  and  to  the 
unclean ;  to  him  that  sacrificeth,  and  to  him  that  sacrificeth  not ;  as  is  the  good,  so 

3  is  the  sinner ;  and  he  that  sweareth,  as  he  that  feareth  an  oath.  This  is  an  evil 
among  all  things  that  are  done  under  the  sun,  that  there  is  one  event  unto  all :  yea, 
also  the  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is  full  of  evil,  and  madness  is  in  their  heart  while 

4  they  live,  and  after  that  they  go  to  the  dead.     For  to  him  that  is  joined  to  all  the 
•5  living  there  is  hope :  for  a  living  dog  is  better  than  a  dead  lion.     For  the  living 

know  that  they  shall  die :  but  the  dead  know  not  any  thing,  neither  have  they  any 
t)  more  a  reward  ;_  for  the  memory  of  them  is  forgotten.     Also  their  love,  and  their 
hatred,  and  their  envy,  is  now  perished ;   neither  have  they  any  more  a  portion  for 
ever  in  any  thing  that  is  done  under  the  sun. 

2.  Therefore  it  behooves  ub  to  enjoy  this  life  cheerfully,  and  to  use  it  in  profitable  avocations. 

(Vers.  7-10). 

7  Go  thy  way,  eat  thy  bread  with  joy,  and  drink  thy  wine  with  a  merry  heart ;  for 

8  God  now  accepteth  thy  works.     Let  thy  garments  be  always  white ;  and  let  thy 

9  head  lack  no  ointment.     Live  joyfully  with  the  wife  whom  thou  lovest  all  the  days 


CHAP.  VIII.  16-17.— IX.  1-16. 


123 


of  the  life  of  thy  vanity,  which  he  hath  given  thee  under  the  sun,  all  the  days  of 
thy  vanity :  for  that  is  thy  portion  in  this  life,  and  in  thy  labour  which  thou  takest 

10  under  the  sun.  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  mio-ht,  for  there 
is  no  work,  nor  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor  wisdom,  in  the  grave,  whither  thou 
goest. 

3.  The  uncertain  result  of  human  effort  in  this  world  should  not  deter  us  from  zealously  striving 

after  wisdom. 

Vers.  11-16. 

11  I  returned,  and  saw  under  the  sun,  that  the  race  is  not  to  the  swift  nor  the  battle 
to  the  strong,  neither  yet  bread  to  the  wise,  nor  yet  riches  to  men  of  understanding, 

12  nor  yet  favour  to  men  of  skill ;  but  time  and  chance  happeneth  to  them  all.  For 
man  also  knoweth  not  his  time :  as  the  fishes  that  are  taken  in  an  evil  net  and  as 
the  birds  that  are  caught  in  the  snare ;  so  are  the  sons  of  men  snared  in  an  evil 

13  time,  when  it  falleth  suddenly  upon  them.   This  wisdom  have  I  seen  also  under  the 

14  sun,  and  it  seemed  great  unto  me :  There  was  a  little  city,  and  few  men  within  it  • 
and  there  came  a  great  king  against  it,  and  besieged  it,  and  built  great  bulwarks 

15  against  it :  Now  there  was  found  in  it  a  poor  wise  man,  and  he  by  his  wisdom  de- 

16  livered  the  city ;  yet  no  man  remembered  that  same  poor  man  ;  Then  said  I  Wis- 
dom is  better  than  strength :  nevertheless  the  poor  man's  wisdom  is  despised,  and 
his  words  are  not  heard. 

[Ch.  Tiii.  17.— btya  equivalent  to  7   1tyS3,  "  in  that  which  to  "—"  in  proportion  to ;"  Vulgate  well  renders  it  ^Mcinto 

phiS.    LXX.  oo-a  ettv;  "in  proportioa  to  that  which  one  shall  labor  " — or  '*  the  more  he  labors."    It  is  found  elsewhere 

only  in  Jonah  i.  7,  or,  in  composition,  ''D7K/3  and  ^^U/2.     It  is  certainly  not  a  Chaldaism,  but  it  is  said  "to  belon<'  to 

the  later  Hebrew,"  and  the  argument  runs  in  this  way :  Koheleth  must  belong  to  the  later  Hebrew,  because  this  word  is 
elsewhere  found  only  in  Jonah  ;  aud  Jonali  must  belong  to  the  later  Hebrew,  because  this  word  is  elsewhere  found  only  in 
Koheleth.  It  is  also  called  a  Rabbinism  in  Koheleth;  but  it  is  rather  a  Kohelethism  much  employed,  with  other  Kohe- 
lethisms,  by  the  earliest  Eabbins,  because  that  book  was  a  great  favorite  with  them,  and  regarded  by  them  as  a  specimen 

of  the  more  elegant  and  courtly,  as  well  as  the  more  philosophical  Hebrew. — Ch.  ix.  1,  1.1271;  it  has  the  same  meaning 

here  with  Tn3,  Ecclesiastes  iii.  18,  to  explore— prove  by  exploring — primary  sense,  separate^  purify.  It  is  an  example  of 
the  affinity,  or  of  the  interchange, of  meanings,  in  verbs  ain  wau  and  double  ain. — T.  L.] 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CRITICAL. 

1.  Vaihinger  deviates  from  the  ahove  analysis 
of  this  section  into  three  divisions,  but  only  so 
far  as  to  extend  the  first  division  simply  to  chap. 
ix.  3,  which  does  not  well  coincide  with  the  con- 
tents of  ver.  4-6,  that  clearly  refer  to  what  im- 
mediately precedes.  Several  commentators  be- 
gin a  new  section  with  chap.  ix.  11  [Hahn, 
indeed  a  new  discourse],  and  deny  in  this  way 
that  the  principal  theme  of  the  whole  piece — the 
contrast  between  the  inscrutability  of  human 
destinies,  and  the  wisdom  which  still  retains 
its  worth,  and  is  to  be  sought  after  as  the  high- 
est good — is  also  treated  in  this  last  division, 
and  that  it  is  more  closely  allied  with  the  fore- 
going than  with  that  which  follows  ver.  17. — 
Hengstenbero  also  very  improperly  separates 
vers.  11, 12  from  the  four  subsequent  ones,  with 
which  they  are  most  closely  connected ;  see  be- 
low at  ver.  13. 

First  Strophe,  first  division.  Chap.  viii.  16,  17. 
The  universal  rule  of  God  is  unfathomable. — 
When  I  applied  mine  heart. — Lit.,  "gave;" 
comp.  chap.  viii.  9,  ^tyX3  introduces  the  longer 
primary  clause,  to  which  then,  in  ver.  17,  a  still 
longer  secondary  clause  corresponds,  introduced 
by  ]  or  'H'SIl  There  is  no  closer  connection 
with  the  preceding,  such  as  is  affirmed  by  Eo- 
25 


SENMUELLER,  HiTziQ,  Henqstenberg  and  Hahn, 
according  to  the  example  of  most  old  authors. 
The  commendation  of  pleasure  in  ver.  15,  like 
the  earlier  praise  of  cheerfulness  [chap.  ii.  24 ; 
iii.  22  ;  v.  18,  20],  fittingly  closes  the  preceding, 
whilst  this  clause,  as  is  shown  by  ^3  chap.  ix.  1, 
serves  as  a  basis  and  preparation  for  the  subse- 
quent reflections. — To  knoTW  ■wisdom,  and 
see  the  business. — Comp.  i.  13,  17.  The 
word  yiy  is  here  as  there  the  travail  caused  by 
a  zealous  searching  after  the  grounds  and  aims 
of  human  action,  fate,  and  life.  —  For  also 
there  is  that  neither  day  nor  night.  '3 
here  gives  the  nature  and  operation  of  the  tra- 
vail;  or  is  inferential,  "so that,"  as  Gen.  xl.  15; 
Ex.  iii.  11,  etc.  [comp.  Vaihinger].  The  paren- 
thetical interpretation  of  this  third  clause  [Ew- 
ALD,  Elster,  Hahn,  etc.]  is  also  unnecessary. — 
"To  see  sleep"  is  equivalent  to  enjoying  sleep  ; 
comp.  Gen.  xxxi.  40;  Prov.  vi.  4;  Ps.  cxxxii.  4 
(Lat.  sommim  videre). — Ver.  17.  Then  I  be- 
held all  the  work  of  God.  niy^D-'73-nN 
□Ti/X  is  the  accusative  of  relation  :  "  1  saw  in 
relation  to  all  the  work  of  God."  The  work  that 
is  done  under  the  sun,  that  we  find  in  the  subse- 
quent clause,  is  the  same  as  the  "  work  of  God," 
the  universal  rule  of  the  Most  High  ;  and  the  in- 
ability to  find  this  work,  its  incomprehensibility 
and  inscrutability  [comp.  Ps.  cilvii.  6  ;  Rom.  xi. 


124 


ECCLESIASTES. 


83]  form  from  the  beginning  the  principal  theme 
of  the  assertion.  To  "find  "  is  used  in  the  sense 
of  "to  comprehend,  to  fathom;"  comp.  iii.  11;  fii. 
24. — Because  though  a  man  labour  to  seek 
it  out. — That  is,  however  much  he  may  try,  in 

spite  of  all  his  toil,  etc.  IK/X  Sm*  is  equivalent  to 
ItyxS— 10X3  [comp.  the  similar  crowding  of  re- 
lations in  Jonah  i.  7,  8,  12,  and  also  the  Aramaic 
T    Tl^],  and  signifies,  when  taken  together  with 

the  following  verb  Vdj?^,  "with  that  which  is  in 
it,"  etc.;  that  is,  "with  that  which  there  is  in 
his  labor,"  or  "with  that  zeal  and  talent  percep- 
tible in  it."  Compare  HiTzia  on  this  passage,  who 
correctly  rejects  as  unnecessary  Ewald's  emeu- 

dation  li^X    ^7^3  in  place  of  It^X    '7©3,  although 

the  LXX.,  Vulgate,  and  Syriac  seem  to  have  so 
read  it. — Yea  further,  though  a  -wise  man 
think  to  know  it. — IDN'  CDX  "should  he 
presume,"  "should  he  attempt;"  comp.  Exod. 
ii.  14;   2  Sam.  xxi.  16. 

3.  First  strophe,  second  division.  Chap.  ix.  1-3. 
All  men,  the  just,  as  well  as  the  unjust,  are  sub- 
ject to  the  same  fate,  especially  to  the  law  of  mor- 
tality.— For  all  this  I  considered  in  my 
heart.  Namely,  when  I  applied  my  heart  to 
know  wisdom,  cLiap.  viii.  16.  "All  this"  refers 
to  what  immediately  follows. — Even  to  declare 

all  this.     The  infinitive  construct  with  7  ;  1137 

:  T 

continues  the  finite  verb,  as  elsewhere  the  infi- 
nitive absolute  ;  comp.  Isa.  xxxviii.  20;  x.  32, 
1i3  equivalent  to  113  (chap.  iii.  18)  is  found 
only  in  tliig  passage  in  the  0.  T. — That  the 
righteous  and  the  wise,  and  their  ■works, 
are  in  the  hand  of  God.  That  is,  wholly 
dependent  on  Him,  not  capable,  in  any  man- 
ner, independently  to  shape  their  life  ;  so  that 
their  best  actions  may  be  followed  by  the  sad- 
dest fate.  Oomp.  Henqstenbeeo  on  this  pas- 
sage, who  correctly  shows  that  there  is  affirmed 
an  unconditional  dependence,  not  of  human  ac- 
tion in  itself,  but  of  its  results  on  God. — No  man 
knoTveth  either  love  or  hatred.  That  is, 
no  man  knoweth  in  advance  whether  God  will 
grant  him  love  or  hatred  (('.  e.,  happiness  or  un- 
happiness)  ;  (Miciiaelis,  Knobbl,  Vaihinger, 
and  Hengstenberg  are  correct).  Others  read; 
"No  man  knoweth  whether  he  will  love  or  hate;" 
[HiTziG,  Elster],  But  this  interpretation  is 
not  in  harmony  with  the  text,  and  would  give  a 
sense  which  is  foreign  alike  to  the  passage  and 
the  book,  and  for  which  chap.  ii.  5  cannot  be 
quoted  as  proof,  as  is  done  by  Hitziq. — By  all 
that  is  before  them.  That  is,  not  as  af- 
firmed by  HiERONYMUs,  Geier,  and  Rosenmuel- 
LER, — all  their  destinies  are  clear,  and  as  it  were 
visible  before  their  eyes,  but  the  reverse :  all 
their  destinies  lie  in  the  dark  uncertain  future 
before  them;  they  have  yet  everything  to  expe- 
rience, happiness  as  well  as  uuhappiness,  good  as 
well  as  evil.  Comp.  vii.  14,  where  I'lnx  "be- 
hind   him "    signifies   just    the    same    as    here 


♦[See  tlie  text  note  on  this  word,  and  the  simple  transla- 
tion ot  the  Vulsato  and  LXX.,  which  came  from  the  text  aa 
it  is.— T.  L.J 


Qn\JtJ7  "before  them."  Knobel unnecessarily 
insists  that  73  here  means  :  Everything  is  be- 
fore them,  everything  can  occur  to  them — even 
great  misfortune — a  sense  that  would  need  to  be 
more  clearly  indicated  by  the  context  than  is  hers 
the  case. — Ver.  2. — All  things  come  alike 
to  all.  That  is,  every  thing  happens  to  the 
wise  and  just  as  to  all  others  ;  the  just  have  no 
special  fortune,  they  share  the  common  fate  of 
all  (in  this  world  of  course).  Knobel,  Ewald, 
Heiliqstedt,  Umbreit,  and  Hengstenberg  cor- 
rectly take  this  position,  whilst  Hitziq  and  Els- 
ter include  the  following  words  inS  nipDi 
and  so  bring  out  this  somewhat  obscure  and  dis- 
torted thought:     "All  are  as   all,  they  meet  one 

fate;"  but  Vaihinoer  takes  7311  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  verse  as  an  elliptical  repetition  from 
ver.  1 ;  "  Yes  all !  Just  as  all  have  the  same-des- 
tiny," etc. — There  is  one  event  to  the  right- 
eous and  to  the  ■wicked.  Not  that  they 
are  the  offspring  and  the  victims  of  one  and  the 
same  blind  power  of  chance  [Hitzio],  but  they 
are  subjected  to  one  and  the  same  divine  provi- 
dence as  regards  the  issue  of  their  life.  Heng- 
stenberg justly  says:  "Chance  (nipO)  just 
as  in  iii.  19  (comp.  ii.  14,  15),  does  not  form  the 
counterpart  to  divine  providence,  but  to  the  spon- 
taneous activity  on  the  part  of  the  just." — To  the 
good  and  to  the  clean  and  to  the  unclean. 
In  order  that  one  may  nott,^ke  clean  and  unclean 
in  the  levitical  or  externally  legal  sense,  but  in 
the  moral  sense,  the  kindred  thought  of  310 
(good)  precedes  that  of  linO  (pure)  as  expla- 
natory. —  He  that  S'weareth  as  he  that 
feareth  an  oath.  That  is,  the  frivolous 
swearer,  and  he  that  considers  an  oath  sacred. 
That  this  is  the  sense  is  plainly  seen  in  chap.  viii. 
2,  from  which  passage  it  appears  that  it  does  not 
enter  the  author's  mind  to  condemn  the  oath  in 
general  as  something  immoral.  Vaihingeb  is  of 
opinion  that  by  him  that  feareth  an  oath,  as  by 
him  that  does  not  sacrifice,  is  meant  an  Essene, 
or  at  least  a  representative  of  growing  Esseni- 
anism.  But  the  designation  is  by  no  means  clear 
enough  for  this  ;  and  the  one  not  sacrificing  seems 
clearly  to  be  a  wicked  contemner  of  the  levitical 
laws  concerning  the  temple  and  sacrifices,  and 
not  an  unreasonably  conscientious  ascetic  in  the 
sense  of  Essenianism. —  Ver.  3. — This  is  an 
evil  among  all  things  that  are  done  under 

the  sun.  Ul  733  J?1  cannot  mean  the  worst 
of  all,  etc.  (RosENMUELLEB,  Vaiiiinoer)  but  in 
the  absence  of  the  article  before  i'l  (comp.  the 
Song  of  Solomon  i.  8;  Jos.  xiv.  15,  efc),  simply 
bad,  evil  among  all  things,  or  in  all  things ; 
therefore  an  evil  accompanying  and  dwelling  in 
every  earthly  occurrence. — That  there  is  one 
event  unto  all.  Namely,  that  befalls  all. 
i  llpO  must  be  taken  as  in  verse  2,  and  points 
out,  therefore,  not  what  one  meets  with  in  life, 
but  its  issue,  its  end.  The  equal  liability  of 
all  to  death,  even  the  good  and  the  just,  is  de- 
signated by  Koheleth  as  that  evil,  that  evil  thing 
that  is  mixed  with  every  earthly  occurrence; 
(comp.  Rom.  v.  14,  21 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  55  f.  ;  Heb. 
ii.  15).     Yea,  also  the  heart  of  the  sons  of 


CHAP.  VIII.  16-17.— IX.  1-16. 


125 


men  is  full  of  evil ;  namely,  In  consequence 
of  this  their  liability  to  the  power  of  death,  which, 
'therefore,  also  in  addition  exerts  a  demoralizing 
effect  on  them;  comp.  chap.  viii.  11. — And  af- 
ter that  they  go  to  the  dead.  The  suifix  to 
I'lnS  is  to  be  considered  as  neuter,  ("  and  after 
this  condition,''  oomp.  Jer.  li.  46),  not  masculine 
as  if  the  sense  were  "and  after  it"  (i.  e.,  after 
this  life)  as  in  vi.  12;  x.  14.  The  preposition  of 
motion  (Ss  in  Q'n^ri  Sx)  "indicates  that  the 
sense  of  'it  goes,'  is  to  complete  the  sentence," 
HiTzio. 

4.  First  strnphe,  conclusion.  Vers.  4-6.  In  spite 
of  the  presentation  just  given,  the  condition  of  the 
living  is  ever  to  be  preferred  to  that  of  the  dead.  — 
For  to  him  that  is  joined  (Zookleb,  taking 
I  je  reading  inp'  translates  it,  "who  is  it  that  is 
preferred?" — T.  L.).  Thus  according  to  the  k'tib 
inp],  pual  of  inJ  "to  choose,  prefer,"  does 
Vaihingee  more  correctly  give  the  sense :  "There 
is  no  one  who  would  be  here  preferred  and  accept- 
ed, or  who  would  have  a  choice,  who  would  be  ex- 
empted from  death  ;  since  dying  isacommoufate; 
each  one  must  go  to  the  dead ;  but  in  death  there 
is  nothing  more  to  hope."  In  the  same  way,  sub- 
stfintially,  does  Elsteb  translate,  except  that  he 
punctuates  "IHS')  and  therefore  gives  it  actively; 
"  For  who  has  any  choice  ?"  Many  later  com- 
mentators adhere  to  the  k'ri  ^^^^  which  the 
Ixx.  read  (rif  &c  noivuve'i  irpog  irdvra;  roiig  (uvrac) 
together  with  Symmachus  and  the  Targum. 
They  translate,  therefore,  with  Ewald,  "who  is 
joined  to  the  living  has  hope,"  or,  with  Hitzig, 
interrogatively,  "who  is  it  who  would  be  joined 
to  all  the  living  ?"  But  the  sense  thus  arising 
makes  a  very  forced  *  connection  ;  and  the  trans- 
lation of  Hahn,  who  takes  the  word  "13n  in  the 
sense  of  "charming,"  is  open  to  very  weighty 
linguistic  objections. — -To  all  the  living  there 
is  hope.  Literally,  "  for  all  living,"  for  all  as 
long  as  they  live.  The  grammatical  expression 
does  not  accord  with  Hbnqstenberg's  interpre- 
tation: "One  may  trust  to  all  living;"  for  7X 
is  used  with  the  verb  n£3P  (Ps.  iv.  6;  xxxi.  7), 
but  not  with  the  substantive  ]int33  for  the  in- 
troduction of  the  one  in  whom  the  confidence  is 
placed.  Comp.  Job  xi.  18. — For  a  living  dog 
is  better  than  a  dead  lion.  For  the  most 
contemptible  and  hateful  thing  that  lives  (comp. 
for  the  proverbial  use  of  the  dog  in  this  relation, 
1  Sam.  xvii.  43 ;  2  Sam.  ix.  8 ;  Isa.  Ixvi.  3  ; 
Matt.  XV.  26;  Kev.  xxii.  15,  etc.)  is  more  valua- 
ble than  the  most  majestic  of  all  beasts  if  it  ia 
dead;  (for  the  majesty  and  glory  of  the  lion  as 
the  king  of  beasts,  consult  Isa.  xxxviii.  13  ;  Ho- 
sea  xiii.  7;  Lamentations  iii.  10;  Job  x.  16). 
This  proverb  is  also  known  to  the  Arabs.  See 
GoLius,  Adas/.  Cent.  2,  n.  3. 

Ver.  5. — For  the  living  know  that  they 
shall  die.  The  consciousness  of  the  neces- 
sity of  death,  is  here  presented  not  as  the  only, 
but  yet  as  the  characteristic  superiority  of  the 
living  over  the  dead,  just  as  if  only  the  necessity 


*[It  may  well  be  said,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  exceed- 
ingly forced  rendering  ot  ZiiOKLER  and  Vaihinger  show  that 
the  common  translation  "joi'wed,  associated"  and  the  read- 
ing "13n^  on  which  it  is  grounded,  are  correct — T.  L.] 


of  death  were  the  object  of  human  knowledge — 
an  individualizing  statement  of  an  ironical  and 
yet  most  serious  nature. — Neither  have  they 
any  more  re-ward.  Not  that  they  have  had 
their  share  (Hitzig)  but  that  God  no  longer  ex- 
ercises retributive  justice  towards  them,  because 
they  are  wanting  in  conscious,  personal  life. 
The  fact  of  a  retribution  in  a  world  beyond,  is 
only  apparently  denied  here,  for  the  author  now 
sees  only  the  conditions  of  this  world;  on  the 
subsequent  fate  of  a  spirit  returned  to  God  he  is 
for  the  present  entirely  silent  (chap.  xii.  7;  comp. 
xi.  9)  — For  the  memory  of  them  is  for- 
gotten. So  entirely  do  the  dead  remain  with- 
out reward;  not  even  the  smallest  thing  that 
could  profit  them  here  below,  not  even  the  pre- 
servation of  their  memory  with  their  posterity, 
is  granted  to  them.  Comp.  Ps.  xxxi.  12  ;  Job 
xiv.  21.  It  is  doubtful  whether  "ipi  "memory" 
is  intended  to  rhyme  with  the  preceding  I^E/ 
"  reward  "  (as  Hitzig  supposes).  It  is  more 
probable  that  such  a  rhyming  is  made  in  the  fol- 
lowing verse  between    □HNJiJ'   and   HDnXJp. — 

T  T  :   ■  TT  :  r 

Ver.  6.  A  continued  description  of  the  sad  fate 
of  the  dead  ;  "  from  the  very  beginning  with 
touching  depth  of  tone,  a  strain  of  lamentation 
overpowering  the  author"  (Hitzig).  Also 
their  love  and  their  hatred  and  their  envy 
is  novr  perished.  That  is,  not  that  they  are 
deprived  of  the  objects  of  their  love,  hatred,  or 
envy  (Knobel),  but  these  sentiments  and  activi- 
ties themselves  have  ceased  for  them ;  as  CD'SST 
they  are  destitute  of  all  affections,  interests,  and 
exertions,  and  lead  rather  a  merely  seeming  life. 
(BosENMUELLEE,  Hitzig).  The  Sad  existence  of 
departed  souls  in  School,  as  described  in  Job 
xiv.  11  ff.,  seems  here  to  hover  before  the  author, 
just  as  in  ver.  10  below,  he  expressly  speaks  of 
it.  It  is  significant  that  he  denies  them  love  as 
well  as  hatred,  and  would  seem  thereby  to  mark 
their  condition  as  one  extremely  low. 

5.  Second  strophe,  vers.  7-10.  On  account  of 
this  superiority  of  life,  compared  with  the  condi- 
tion of  the  dead,  and  the  uncertainty  of  human 
fate  in  general,  it  behooves  us  to  enjoy  life  cheer- 
fully (vers.  7-9),  and  to  use  it  zealously  in  the 
activity  of  our  vocations  (ver.  10). — Go  thy 
■wray,  eat  thy  bread  with  joy,  and  drink 
thy  wine  w^ith  a  merry  heart.  (Comp. 
ii.  24;  v.  19).  This  collective  triad,  "eat, 
drink,  and  be  merry,"  is  here,  as  it  were,  in- 
creased to  a  quartette;  joy  being  doubly  desig- 
nated, first  as  it  finds  its  expression  in  cheerful 
adornments  of  the  body  and  appropriate  orna- 
ment, and  then  in  loving  unison  with  a  wife. — 
Wine*  is  used  as  a  symbol  and  producer  of  joy, 
and   also   in   chap.   x.   19;  Gen.   xxvii.  25;  Ps. 

civ.  15,  etc.  For  PiQ-pSs,  "  of  joyful  heart, 
gay,"  comp.  1  Sam.  xxv.  38;  also  chap.  vii.  3 
of  the  foregoing. — For  God  now  accepteth 
thy  -works.  That  is,  not  that  God  finds  plea- 
sure in  just  this  eating,  drinking,  etc.  (Hitzig), 

*["And  merrily  drink  thy  wine."  Nowhere  do  we  find 
more  of  the  Bacctjanalian  expression,  and  yet  ZuCKLEE  would 
regard  it  here  as  the  "innocent  and  normal  use  of  wine.'* 
(See  liis  comment  on  x.  19);  whilst  elsewhere,  with  no  dif- 
Icrence  of  language,  it  denotes,  he  says,  the  "corrupting 
and  licentious  use  "  The  irony  of  the  passage  ia  shown  si 
once  liy  comparing  it  with  vii.  2  and  ii.  2. — T.  L.I 


126 


ECCLESIASTES. 


but,  thy  moral  conduct  and  efforts  have  long 
pleased  Him,*  wherefore  thou  mayst  hope  in  the 
future  surely  to  receive  thy  reward  from  Him. 
(Hengstenbeug  correctly  takes  this  position). — 
Ver.  8.  Let  thy  garments  be  always  white. 
White  garments  are  the  expression  of  festive 
joy  and  pure;  calm  feelings  in  the  soul,  comp. 
Rev.  iii.  4  f.  ;  vii.  9  ff.  Koheleth  could  hardly 
have  meant  a  literal  observance  of  this  precept, 
so  that  the  conduct  of  Sisinnius,  Novatian 
bishop  of  Constantinople,  who,  with  reference 
to  this  passage,  always  went  in  white  garments, 
was  very  properly  censured  by  Chrysostom  as 
Pharisaical  and  proud.  Hengstenberg's  view 
is  arbitrary,  and  in  other  respects  scarcely  cor- 
responds to  the  sense  of  the  author:  "While 
garments  are  here  to  be  put  on  as  an  expression 
of  the  confident  hope  of  the  future  glory  of  the 
people  of  God,  as  SPENERhad  himself  buried  in 
a  white  coffin  as  a  sign  of  his  hope  in  a  better 
future  of  the  Church." — And  let  thy  head 
lack  no  ointment.  As  in  2  Sam.  xii.  20; 
xiv.  2 ;  Isa.  Ixi.  3  ;  Amos  vi.  6  ;  Prov.  xxvii.  9  ; 
Ps.  xlv.  8,  so  here  appears  the  anointing  oil, 
which  keeps  the  hair  smooth  and  makes  the  face 
to  shine,  as  a  symbol  of  festive  joy,  and  a.  con- 
trast to  a  sorrowing  disposition.  There  is  no 
reason  here  for  supposing  fragrant  spikenard 
{Mark  xiv.  2),  because  the  question  is  mainly 
about  producing  a  good  appearance  by  means  of 
the  ointment,  comp.  Ps.  cxxxiii.  2. — Ver.  9. 
— Live  joyfully  w^ith  the  w^ife  w^hom 
thou  lovest.  That  is,  enjoy  life  with  her, 
comp.  iii.  1;  Ps.  xxxiv.  12;  and  also  ch:\p. 
vii.  28,  above,  to  which  expression,  apparently 
directed  against  all  intercourse  with  women, 
tlie  present  one  serves  as  a  corrective. — All 
the  days  of  the  life  of  thy  vanity.  This 
short  repetition  of  the  preceding  ("all  the 
days  of  thy  vain  life,  which  he  has  given  thee 
under  the  sun")  is  left  out  of  the  Septuagint  and 
Chaldaic,  but  is  produced  in  the  Vulgate,  and 
should  be  by  no  means  wanting,  because  it 
points  with  emphasisf  to  the  vanity  of  life  as  fi 


*[A8  there  is  nothing  said  about  moral  conduct  in  the 
text,  or  any  othec  conduct  except  unrestrained  eaiing  and 
drinking,  tliis  remark  of  Zookler's  is  perfectly  gratuitous. 
If  it  ia  to  be  taken  as  serious  advice  of  Koheleth,  then  ITit- 
ziq's  view  is  far  more  logical:  "  It  is  just  this  eating,  drink- 
ing, ete.,  that  God  approves  beforeband,  so  that  you  can 
indulge,  without  any  scruple  to  disturb  your  sensual  joy." 
Huvv  contrary  this  is  to  other  declaratioua  of  Koheleth  we 
have  elsewhere  shown.  How  utterly  opposed  it  is  to  other 
numerous  passages  of  Scripture  need  not  be  pointed  out. 
It  is  equivalent  to  saying  G-od  will  never  "bring  the'i  into 
judgment"  for  it,  or  that  He  is  utterly  indifferent.  See  the 
Appendix  to  this  Division,  p.  134. — T.  L.] 

f  [Ver.  9.  "  The  days  of  thy  vain  Ufe,^^  or,  more  literally, 
^*  all  the  days  of  the  life  of  thy  vanity  "  The  Ixx.  left  out 
this  second  mention  because  they  regarded  it  as  a  mere  re- 
petition. Martin  GiiiER  would  connect  it,  not  with  the 
former,  which  ho  says  would  be  odiosa  repp.iitio,  but  specially 
with  what  is  said  about  the  wife,  as  indicating  that  the  con- 
jugal relation  continues  through  life,  as  also  the  idea,  Luke 
xxvi.  36,  that  there  is  no  marriage  in  the  other  world. 
Other  commentators  have,  in  like  manner,  been  disturbed 
by  it,  but  it  only  shows  that  no  amount  of  piety,  or  of 
learning,  will  fit  a  man  to  be  a  true  interpreter  of  this 
book  without  something  of  the  poetic  spirit  by  which 
it  is  pervaded.  It  is  not  emphasis  merely,  much  less  an 
enforced  motive  to  joy,  that  this  repetition  gives  us,  as 
HiTZio  and  Zockler  maintain,  butamostexfiuisito  pathos  in 
view  of  the  transitoriness  and  poverty  of  life.  The  style 
of  diction  revnals  the  style  of  thought,  showing  how  far  it 
in  from  the  Epicurean  senliment  of  any  kind,  whether  gross 
or  modi-rate.  It  is  the  language  of  one  musing,  soliloqui- 
zing, full  of  some  touching  thought  that  causes  him  to 
linger  over  his  words,  and  keep  their  Bad  music  in  his  ear. 


principal  motive  to  joy. — For  that  is  thy 
portion    in    this   life   and   in    thy   labor, 

etc.  That  is,  for  this  cheerful  and  moderate 
enjoyment  of  life  shall,  according  to  the  will  of 
God,  compensate  thee  for  the  toil  and  labor 
which  this  life  brings  with  it;  comp.  ii.  10; 
iii  22;  v.  18. — Ver.  10.— "Whatsoever  thy 
hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  v^ith  thy  might, 

The  word  ^n33  is  by  the  Vulgate  and  most 
modern  authors  joined  to  H^^,  whilst  accord- 
ing to  the  accents  and  the  collocation,  it  belongs 
to  what  precedes.  But  it  is  a,  vigorous  doing, 
nevertheless,  that  is  here  recommended  ;  for  the 
sense  is  clear:  whatsoever  presents  itself,  is  to  be 
performed  with  thy  strength,  whatsoever  offers 
itself  to  thee  as  an  object  for  thy  exertion,  that 
do!  For  the  expression,  "whatsoever  thy  hand 
findeth  to  do,"  comp.  1  Sam.  x.  7;  xxiii.  8; 
Judges  ix.  33;  also  Isa.  x.  13,  14. — For  there 
is  no  work  nor  device,  etc.,  in  the  grave 
whither  thou  goest.  comp.  ver.  6.  As  Ko- 
heleth gives  a  motive  here  in  his  admonition  to 
an  active  life,  by  pointing  to  the  lifeless  and  in- 
active condition  of  departed  souls  in  the  realm 
of  death,  so  speaks  Christ  in  John  ix.  4:  kfie 
(hi  Epyd^eaBat  iug  ?}/j,Epa  koriv  Ipx^rai  vv^  ore  ovdel^ 
dhvarai.  epyd^soOai.  Since  the  vb^  (night)  men- 
tioned in  John  ix.  4  and  elsewhere,  is  clearly 

something  else  than  the  IM^p  of  this  passage, 
there  is  no  definite  reference  to  the  latter,  as 
Hengstenbbrg  athrms,  but  between  the  two  as- 
sertions there  is  a  certain  analogy. 


There  are  examples  of  it  in  the  Greek  poets,  especially  in 
Homer,  which  have  led  the  ancient  writers  ou  rhetoric  to 
give  it  a  technical  name.    Thus  Plutarch  calls  it  etrava^opi, 
aod  so   also   the  later   writer  Macrobios,   Saturnal.     Lib. 
iv.  6,  more  pai'ticularly  describes  it :  Nascitur  pathos  et  dt 
repetitione  quam.  Grmci  i-na.va^opav  vacant,  cum.  sententite  a& 
risdem.  nominibus  indpiunt :  "  Pathos  also  comes  from  repe- 
tition, which  the  Greeks   call  epanaphf/ra,  when  eentenceH 
begin  from  tho  same  words."     It  receives  some  of  its  best 
illustrations   from  passages   in   tho  Iliad,  such  as  xx.  371, 
xxiii.  641,  and  especially  xxii.  126,  which,  though  very  dil- 
ferent  from  this,  in  other  recipects,  has  this   same  kind  of 
pathetic  repetition.     It  is  Hector  soliloquizing  in  the  time 
of  his  awful  danger  from  the  near  approach  of  Achilles — 
otr  fxev  7TWS  vvv  iariv  iirb  Spvbs  ov6'  a7r6  TreTpijs, 
Tu>  oapiffjLtevcii,  are  napBevos  i}t6eo^  re, 
7rap0ei'os — ijifleos  t'  bapiC^erov  aAATJAowrii'. 
No  time  for  such  a  friendly  parley  now, 
As  when  from  oiik  and  rock,  tlie  youth  and  maid, 
The  youth  and  maid,  hold  parlance  sweet  together. 
Very  different  is  the  pentcnce  of  Solomon  in  its  subject  mat- 
ter, but  like  it  in  pathos,  in  the  peculiar  repetitive  diction 
touhich  it  gives  rise,  and  the  musing  state  of  soul  from 
which  it  flows: 
Go  then,  with  gladness  eat  thy  bread,  aod  merrily  drink  thy 

wine. 
Thy   garments    ever   white,   thy   bead    with    fragrant   oil 

adorned ; 
Knjoy  with  her  ■whom  thou  dost  love,  the  days  of  thy  vain 

life  — 
The  days  of  thy  vain  life,  the  all,  that  God  has  given  to  thee 

Beneath  the  sun. 
It  is  indeed  irony,  but  not  that  of  Bcorning  sarcasm,  nor  of 
heartless  satire.  It  is  the  irnny  of  Scripture,  full  of  ft 
mournlul  tendern(-BS,  taking  ibis  as  its  most  impressive 
lorm  of  serious  admonition.  Interpreted  in  its  spirit,  and 
even  by  what  is  rhetorically  revealed  upon  its  face,  there  is 
no  contradiction  between  it  and  vii.  2,  3;  ii.  2;  and  other 
passages  in  this  book  that  represent  sobriety,  and  even  sad- 
ness, as  morally  and  spiritually  better  for  man  than  mirth. 
We  have  dwelt  more  fully  on  these  topics,  and  at  the  hazard 
of  some  repetition,  in  the  extended  excursus  on  the  alleped 
Epicureanism  of  Koheleth,  p.  131.  It  has  been  done,  because 
no  ideas  suggested  by  the  book  seemed  niort*  important  in 
their  bearing  upon  its  thorough  interpretation.— T.  h.} 


CHAP.  VIII.  16-17.— IX.  1-16. 


127 


6.  Third  strophe,  Introduction.  Vers,  11  and 
12.  Human  actions  in  this  world  depend  en- 
tirely on  divine  fate,  and  their  success,  therefore, 
is  too  often  in  no  comparison  with  the  real  ability 
and  strength  of  the  actor.  — I  returned. — ■ 
Comp.  chap.  iv.  1.  For  the  infinitive  absolute 
riXIl  comp.  chap.  viii.   9. — That  the  race  is 

not  to  the  swift,  nor  the   battle   to   the 

strong.  These  remarks  serve  only  to  illustrate 
what  follows  :  "  Neither  yet  bread  to  the 
wise,  nor  yet  riches  to  men  of  under- 
standing, nor  yet  favor  to  men  of  skill." 

in  favor,  as  in  Ex.  iii.  22 ;  xi.  3  ;  xii.  36,  etc. 
But    time   and    chance    happeneth    to 

them  all — That  is,  the  success  of  human 
actions  depends  wholly  on  that  higher  power 
which  controls  the  change  of  seasons,  and  per- 
mits men  to  be  met  sometimes  by  this,  some- 
times by  that  (i?J|J)  which  "happens,  meets;" 
(comp.  1  Kings  v.  18).  A  New  Testament  paral- 
lel is  found  in  Rom.  ix.  16,  where,  instead  of 
time  and  chance,  divine  mercy  is  called  the 
highest  power  in  all  human  affairs. — Ver.  12. 
For  man  also  knoweth  not  his  time. 
A  conclusion,  a  majori  ad  minus.  "  Even  over 
bis  time  itself,  over  his  person  and  his  life,  to 
say  nothing  of  his  actions  (ver.  11),  there  is  a 
controlling  power  outside  of  him"  (HiTzia). 
The  "  time  "  of  a  man  is  here  clearly  equivalent 
to  the  time  of  his  destruction;  as  elsewhere  the 
"day,"  of  Job  xviii.  20;  or  the  "hour,"  Job 
xii.  27  ;  Mark  xiv.  41.  Comp.  also  chap.  vii.  17 
preceding. — As  the  fishes  that  are  taken. 
For  net,  and  noose,  and  trap,  as  symbols  of  the 
judgments  overtaking  men,  comp.  Hosea  vii.  12 ; 
Ezek.  xii.  13;  xxxii.  3;  Prov.  vii.  23;  Luke 
txi.  35. — So  are  the  sons  of  men  snared. 
a'ltipv  Part.  Pual  see  Ew.  ?  169.  d.     The  word 

■  It  * 

strikingly  represents  the  helpless  condition  of 
men  in  the  presence  of  divine  destiny,  that  can 
put  an  end  to  their  life  at  any  moment,  as  the 
fowler  who  suddenly  robs  of  its  life  the  bird 
caught  in  the  snare.  An  allusion  to  the  catas- 
trophe threatened  to  the  Persian  kingdom  by  a 
new  universal  monarchy,  the  Macedonian,  is  not 
found  in  the  passage,  as  Hengstenbero  sup- 


7.  Third  strophe.  Conclusion.  Vers,  13-16. 
In  spite  of  that  dependence  of  human  destiny 
and  success  on  a  higher  power,  which  often  vio- 
lently interferes  with  them,  wisdom  remains, 
nevertheless,  a  valuable  possession,  still  able  to 
effect  great  results  with  inconsiderable  means 
of  an  external  character,  as  is  seen  in  the  ex- 
ample of  a  poor  and  despised  man,  who,  by 
hia  wisdom,  became  the  deliverer  of  his  native 
city  from  threatening  danger  of  destruction. 
Whether  this  example  is  a  purely  feigned  didac- 
tic story  (thus  think  Hengstenbero,  Luther, 
Meecercs,  Starke,  et  al),  or  whether  it  re- 
fers to  an  historical  fact  within  the  experience 
of  the  author,  must  remain  uncertain,  on  account 
of. the  general  character  of  the  description;  and 
this  so  much  the  more  so,  because  the  only  pas- 
sage that  could  seem  to  refer  to  a  definite  fact 
from  Persian  history  (ver.  15)  is  of  doubtful 
exposition.  —  This  vrisdom  have  I  seen 
also  under  the  sun.     (Zocklek,  this  have  I 


seen  as  wisdom).  The  words  TCK"!  il!  QJ 
riDjn  must  clearly  be  thus  translated  (comp. 
the  similar  construction  in  chap.  vii.  25),  not, 
"thus  also  saw  I  wisdom,"  etc.  (thus  usually), 
or,  "this  also  have  I  seen:  wisdom,"*  e(c.  (as 
HiTziQ  renders  it,) changing  Til  into  Ht. — And 
it  seemed  great  unto  me,  i.  e.,  it  appeared 
large,  comp.  Jonah  iii.  3. — Ver.  14. — There 
Tvas  a  little  city,  and  few  men  within  it. 
That  is,  not  few  inhabitants  in  general,  but 
few  fighting  men  available  for  defence — a  cir- 
cumstance which  shows  the  danger  of  the  city 
to  be  so  much  greater,  and  the  merits  of  its  de- 
liverer to  be  so  much  more  brilliant. — And 
there  came  a  great  king  against  it.  We 
cannot  deduce  from  the  expression  that  the 
great  king  was  the  Persian ;  because  the  predi- 
cate 7nj   attributed  to  the  hostile  king  serves 

mainly  to  show  the  contrast  to  the  smallness 
of  the  city,  and  the  great  size  of  the  army 
led  against  it. — And  built  great  bulwarks 
against  it.  CD'llIfp  (from  Hli'D  "  an  instru- 
ment for  seizure,"  hence  sometimes  a  "net;" 
e.  g.  vii.  26)  is  here  used  only  in  the  significa- 
tion of  bulwarks,  and  must  therefore  not  here 
be  confounded  with  the  more  customary  □''Tllfp 
(Deut.  XX.  20;  Micah  iv.  14),  as  two  manuscripts 
here  read. — Ver.  15.  No^v  there  was  found 
in  it  a  poor  wise  man.  Literal,  "one  found 
in  it,"  impersonal — not,  "he,  the  king  found." 
— Yet  no  man  remembered  that  same 
poor  man.  [Zockler  renders  in  the  pluper- 
fect "had  remembered,"  etc.,  and  then  makes 
it  the  ground  of  the  remarks  that  follow. 
— T.  L.]  We  can  neither  urge  against  this  plu- 
perfect rendering  of  IDT  N  /  DlNl  the  circum- 
stance that  the  one  in  question  is  here  designated 
as  I3pD  E'\*<  and  not  as  O^n  (for  the  predi- 
cate poor  is  clearly  to  point  out  why  they  did 
not  remember  him — ),  nor  also  the  contents  of 
the  following  verse.  For  in  it  the  emphasis  lies 
upon  the  commendation  of  wisdom  contained  in 
the  first  clause,  not  on  the  subsequent  restrictive 
remark  concerning  the  contempt  and  disregard 
that  it  often  meets  with.  Vaihingee  is  correct 
in  his  deviation  from  Hitzig,  Ewald,  Elster, 
and  most  modern  authors,  who,  like  the  Vulgate 
and  LuTHEK,  translate  :  "no  man  remembered." 
As  certain  as  this  sense,  according  to  which  the 
discussion  would  be  concerning  a  deliverer  of 
his  country,  rewarded  with  the  ingratitude  of 
his  fellow-citizens,  is  approached  neither  through 
language  nor  connection,  just  so  certainly  may 
we  not  (with  Ewald  and  some  ancient  authors) 
here  find  an  allusion  to  Themistocles  as  deliverer 

*  [A  much  clearer  sense,  and  better  adapted  to  ttie  whole 
spirit  of  the  passage,  is  obtained  by  tailing  n03n  in  tliu 

T  :  T 
concrete,  like  the  Greek  to  ao-ioc,  for  a  Tiiisc  thinq,  a  pro- 
blem, a  mystery,  sometliirjg  tl  at  jequires  wisdom  to  explain 
it.  Sucti  use  of  it,  thougli  not  luund  elsewhere  in  the  He- 
brew, is  justified  by  the  pertectly  parallel  Greek  idiom,  and 
by  what  is  demanded  to  represeut  the  peculiar  thinking  of 
this  book.  The  mystery,  puzzle,  to  <to<^6v^  (fnAoo-d«()j7/ia, 
^i)T7]/j.a,  iiiquiry,  is  the  curious  case  which  he  is  going  to 
state.  The  use  of  riDDn,  chap.  vii.  25,^  is  quite  dissimilar. 
T  ;   T 

This  view  is  confirmed  by  what  follows:  "and  it  seemed 
great  to  me." — T.  L.J 


128 


ECCLESIASTES. 


of  Athens  from  the  hand  of  Xerxes  ;  and  this  lat- 
ter so  much  the  less  because  Athens  could  scarce- 
ly have  been  designated  by  the  author  as  T;? 
n3Bp.  HiTzio  is  of  opinion  that  the  besieged 
city  is' the  little  seaport  Dora,  vainly  besieged  by 
Antiochus  the  Great  in  the  year  218  (Polyb.  v. 
66) ;  but  nothing  is  known  of  the  deliverance  of 
this  city  by  a  "  poor  vpise  man,"  and  for  many 
reasons  the  epoch  of  this  book  cannot  be  brought 
down  to  so  late  an  era  as  that  of  Antiochus  Mag- 
nus. Comp.  the  Introduction,  §  4,  Obs.  3. — Ver. 
16.  The  moral  of  the  story,  is  given  in  the  words 
of  Koheleth  uttered  immediately  after  he  had 
heard- it.— Then  said  I,  wisdom  is  better 
than  strength.  Comp.  similar  sentences  in 
chap.  vii.  19;  Prov.  xiv.  29;  xvi.  32;  xxi.  22; 
xxiv.  5. — Nevertheless  the  poor  man's  wis- 
dom is  despised.  These  words,  which  again 
limit  the  praise  of  wisdom  expressed  above, 
depend  also  on  the  expression,  "Then  said  I." 
They  refer,  according  to  ver.  15,  to  the  fact  that 
in  the  beginning  no  one  had  thought  of  the  wis- 
dom of  that  deliverer  of  the  city — and  not  even 
of  the  ingratitude  afterwards  shown  to  him,  or 
of  not  having  followed  his  wise  counsels  (which 
latter  view  however  would  be  in  antagonism  with 
ver.  15,  according  to  which  the  sorely  pressed 
city  was  really  delivered). 

DOCTRINAL    AND    ETHICAL. 

( With  Homiletical  Hints.) 

As  the  previous  section  contained  a  series  of 
ethical  precepts  with  an  anthropological  founda- 
tion (similar  to  the  one  preceding  it)  so  is  this 
one  a  combination  of  theological  and  ethical  truths, 
which  the  author  lays  to  the  heart  of  his  readers. 
And  it  is  especially  the  doctrine  of  the  incompre- 
hensibility of  the  decrees  and  judgments  of  God, 
and  of  the  hidden  character  of  His  universal  rule 
that  the  author  treats,  and  from  which  he  de- 
rives the  duties  of  a  cheerful  enjoyment  and  use 
of  the  blessings  of  life  (ix.  7-9)  of  an  untiring 
activity  (ix.  10)  and  of  continued  striving  after 
practical  wisdom  as  a  possession  that  is  valuable 
under  all  circumstances.  The  contents  are  there- 
fore similar  to  those  of  chap,  iii.,  only  that  there 
the  principal  thought  is  of  the  conditioning  and 
restrictive  character  of  the  divine  counsels  and 
acts  of  universal  rule  ;  here,  on  the  contrary,  the 
prominent  idea  is  their  hidden  and  unsearchable 
nature  (Rom.  ix.  33  ;  1  Cor.  xiii.  12).  This  sec- 
tion is  also  in  close  relation  with  chap,  vi.,  espe- 
cially in  regard  to  its  ethical  and  practical  pre- 
cepts (comp.  ix.  9,  with  vi.  12;  ix.  14,  Vifith  vi. 
8  ;  ix.  1-6,  with  vi.  2-6,  etc.),  only  that  from  the 
former,  the  conclusions  drawn  are  mainly  seri- 
ous and  gloomy,  while  from  the  latter  they  are 
predominantly  cheerful. 

Homily  on  the  whole  section.  The  thought  of 
the  brevity  of  human  life,  and  the  obscurity  of 
that  which  awaits  us  in  it,  should  not  discourage 
but  impel  us  to  a  ready  and  cheerful  use  of  the 
blessings  granted  us  here  below,  as  well  as  of  the 
powers  for  atruly  wise  exertion  ;  or  more  briefly : 
Of  the  blessing  and  value  of  reflections  concern- 
ing death,  as  an  impulse  to  the  zealous  fulfilment 
of  the  avocations  of  life. 


HOMILETICAL  HINTS  TO  SEPARATE  PASSAGES. 

Chap.  viii.  16,  17.  Hierontmus  : — He  shows 
that  there  are  causes  for  all  things,  why  each 
thing  should  thus  be,  and  that  there  is  righteous- 
ness in  all,  though  they  may  be  latent  and  be- 
yond the  comprehension. — Zeyss  :  a  Christian 
should  neither  show  himself  negligent  in  inves- 
tigating the  works  of  God,  nor  too  curious. — 
Hansen:  God's  works  that  He  performs  among 
the  children  of  men  have  eternity  in  view,  and 
nothing  short  of  eternity  will  open  up  to  us  their 
inner  perfection.  Rev.  xv.  3. — Beelenb.  Bible  : 
— 0  ye  poor  blind  men,  who  think  to  fathom  by 
your  wisdom  the  cause  of  divine  providences; 
ye  are  indeed  greatly  deceived!  You  condemn 
everything  that  surpasses  our  understanding, 
when  you  should  rather  confess  that  these  things 
are  so  much  the  more  divine,  the  more  they  sur- 
pass your  comprehension.  The  more  trouble  you 
take  to  fathom  the  secrets  of  wisdom  by  your 
own  study,  so  much  the  less  do  you  attain  your 
goal.  The  true  test  that  a  man  possesses  genuine 
wisdom,  is  when  he  is  assured  that  he  cannot 
comprehend  the  mysteries  of  God  as  He  deals 
with  souls. — Hengstenberg: — Blessed  is  the 
man  who  accepts  without  examination  all  that 
God  sends  him,  in  the  firm  trust  that  it  is  right, 
however  wrong  it  may  appear,  and  that  to  those 
who  love  God  all  things  must  be  for  the  best. 

Chap.  ix.  1-3.  Beenz  (ver.  1): — There  are 
those  whom  God  loves  and  whom  He  hates.  For 
He  does  not  cast  oiT  the  whole  human  race, 
though  He  might  justly  do  so  ;  neither  does  He 
embrace  all  men  in  His  favor ;  but  to  some  He 
deigns  to  grant  His  mercy,  whilst  others  He  leaves 
to  their  own  destruction.  There  is,  however,  no 
one  who  can  know  by  any  external  sign,  whom 
God  receives  or  rejects. — (Ver.  2,  3).  Whoever  in 
faith  looks  into  the  word  of  God  may  easily  know 
that,  though  the  wicked  may  now  seem  to  have 
the  same  fortune  with  the  pious,  there  shall  come, 
at  last,  a  clear  discrimination  between  the  good 
and  the  bad,  adjudging  the  one  class  to  eternal 
punishment,  the  others  to  the  happiness  of  ever- 
lasting life. — Geier  (ver.  2,  3).  We  cannot  judge 
of  the  condition  of  the  dead  after  this  life,  by  our 
reason,  but  only  by  its  accordance  with  the  re- 
vealed word  of  God. — Hansen  : — We  are  to  as- 
cribe it  to  the  peculiarities  of  this  present  life, 
if  the  just  suffer  with  the  wicked ;  Sirach 
xl.  1  fif. 

Zeyss  : — A  child  of  God  should  love  this  life 
not  on  account  of  temporal  prosperity,  but  for 
the  honor  of  God,  and  the  welfare  of  his  neigh- 
bor. Cramer: — So  long  as  the  wicked  lives,  it 
is  better  for  him  than  if  he  is  dead,  since  he  has 
yet  time  to  repent.  But  when  ho  is  dead  then 
all  hope  for  him  is  lost.  Starke  : — Atheists  live 
in  the  foolish  delusion  that  after  death  all  is  over 
and  that  the  soul  ceases  with  the  death  of  the 
body ;  but  they  will  receive  the  most  emphatic 
contradiction  on  the  great  day  of  judgment. 

Vers.  7-10.  Luther  (ver.  7): — You  live  in.  a 
world  where  there  is  nothing  but  sorrow,  misery, 
grief,  and  death,  with  much  vanity :  therefore 
use  life  with  love,  and  do  not  make  your  own  life 
sour  and  heavy  with  vain  and  anxious  cares.^ 
Solomon  does  not  say  this  to  the  secure  and  wick- 


CHAP.  VIII.  16-17.— IX.  1-16. 


12a 


ed  children  of  the  world,  but  to  those  truly  fear- 
ing and  believing  God.  These  latter  he  consoles, 
and  desires  that  they  may  cheerfully  take  com- 
fort in  God.  To  the  former  He  says  rejoice,  but 
does  not  bid  those  to  drink  wine,  eat,  etc.,  who 
are  but  too  much  inclined  to  do  so,  and  pass  their 
lives  in  idleness  and  voluptuousness  as  wicked 
and  depraved  men. 

Zeyss  (ver.  7)  : — The  believers  have  more 
claim  to  the  gifts  of  God  than  the  unbelievers 
(1  Cor.  iii.  21,  22),  although  they  may  enjoy 
them  the  least. — (ver.  9).  Marriage  is  a  sacred 
and  wise  ordinance  of  God ;  therefore  the  Chris- 
tian may  use  it  with  a  good  conscience ;  but  it 
must  be  enjoyed  in  the  fear  of  God,  Eph.  v.  31. 
Stauke  (ver.  8)  ; — Arrogance,  pride,  and  display 
in  dress  are  very  common  vices  in  these  latter 
times:  the  children  of  God  find  it  very  difficult 
to  suppress  these  in  themselves. — (ver.  10).  The 
obligations  that  you  owe  to  the  body,  you  owe 
doubly  to  the  soul.  0  man  neglect  not  the  labor 
due  to  thy  soul ;  the  night  of  death  is  coming 
when  no  one  can  work. — Ckameb,  (ver.  10) : — ■ 
We  should  perform  the  work  of  our  calling  with 
a  resolute  and  confident  spirit,  and  never  hesi- 
tate in  our  charge. — Hengstenberq  (ver.  10) : 
-^That  we  should  do  all  that  lies  in  our  power  is 
required  by  the  facts  that  what  we  leave  undone 
here  below  is  never  done,  that  the  tasks  placed 
upon  us  by  God  for  this  life,  and  which  here  re- 
main unperformed,  never  find  their  performance, 
»nd  that  the  gifts  and  powers  conferred  on  ua  for 
this  life  must  be  used  in  this  life. 

Vers.  11  and  12.  Tubinoen  Bible: — Even  in 
temporal  things  it  does  not  depend  upon  any 
one's  will  or  movements,  but  only  on  God's 
mercy.  Everything  is  derived  from  God's  bless- 
ing.— Starke  (ver.  12)  : — By  his  skill  man  can 
calculate  the  rising  and  setting  of  tlie  sun ;  but 
human  wisdom  does  not  extend  so  far  that  one 
can  tell  when  the  sun  of  his  life  will  rise  or  set. 
— Henostenbebo: — If  it  seems  sad  with  the  peo- 
ple of  God  when  the  world  triumphs,  let  us  re- 
flect that  such  result  does  not  depend  on  the 
might,  or  the  weakness  of  men  ;  and  that  a  sud- 
den catastrophe  may  overwhelm  the  highest,  and 
cast  him  to  the  ground.  Have  we  God  for  our 
friend  ?  it  all  comes  to  that  as  the  only  thing  that 
can  decide. 

Ver.  13-16.  Melanohthon  : —  Such  a  poor 
man,  in  m  city,  was  Jeremiah,  as  he  himself 
writes,  a  man  who  saved  the  church  in  the  midst 
of  disorder  and  confusion.  At  the  same  time  the 
precept  admonishes  us  that  good  counsels  are 
listened  to  by  the  few,  whilst  the  worst  please 
the  many.  And  thus  he  says ;  The  poor  man's 
wisdom  is  despised. — ■  Caetweioht  : — Wisdom, 
however  splendid,  if  in  lowly  state,  is  so  ob- 
scured by  the  cloud  of  poverty  that  in  a  brief 
time  it  has  aU  eyes  averted,  and  utterly  falls 
from  the  memory. 

Ceamek  : — Thou  shouldst  laud  no  one  on  ac- 
count of  his  high  estate,  and  despise  no  one  on 
account  of  his  low  estate.  For  the  bee  is  a  very 
little  creature,  and  yet  gives  the  sweetest  fruit. 
— Stabke: — ^"The  heart  of  man  is  by  nature  so 
corrupt  that  to  its  own  injury  it.  is  inclined  to 
run  after  folly,  and  be  disobedient  to  wisdom. — 
But  true  wisdom  always  finds  those  who  know 
and  love  her.     Though  a  wise  man  may  for  a 


time  dwell  in  obscurity,  he  will  nevertheless  be 
drawn  forth  from  it  before  he  is  aware.  Wisdom 
of  Solomon  x.  13,  14. 

APPENDIX. 

[I.  Koheleth's   Idea  of  the   Dead. — Chap, 
ix.  5: — 

The  living  Icnow  that  they  must  die,  the  dead  they  nothing 

Icuow; 
For   them   there  is   no    more    reward — forgotten    is    their 

name; 
Their  love,  their  hate,  their  zeal,  all  perished  now; 
Whilst  the  world  lasts,  no  portion  more  have  they 
In  all  the  works  performed  beneath  the  sun. 

Stuart  thinks  that  the  Preacher  "claims  small 
merit  for  the  living,  merely  the  knowledge  that 
they  must  die."  "Is  this,"  he  asks,  "better 
than  not  knowing  any  thing?"  He  argues,  be- 
sides, that  there  is  an  inconsistency  in  such  a 
view,  made  greater  by  the  fact  that  this  praise 
of  life  is  one  of  the  cheering  passages,  wliereas 
such  declarations  as  vii.  1;  iv.  2-3  are  from  the 
desponding  mood.  Is  not  this,  however,  a  mis- 
take ?  The  language  here  is  gloomy,  if  not 
wholly  desponding.  Koheleth  is  perplexed  and 
bewildered  as  he  contemplates  the  apparent  state 
of  the  dead,  especially  as  it  presents  itself  to  the 
sense,  inactive,  motionless,  silent,  unheeding.  He 
turns  to  the  living,  and  surveys  their  condition, 
so  full  of  vanity,  with  only  the  superiority  of  a 
little  knowledge,  one  important  element  of  which 
is  a  knowledge  that  this  vanity  must  come  to  au 
end.  It  is  just  the  survey  that  would  give  rise 
to  that  touching  irony  already  spoken  of,  that 
mournful  smile  at  human  folly,  in  which  a  just 
contempt  is  blended  with  deepest  sympathy, — an 
irony,  not  sneering,  but  tenderly  compassionate, 
such  as  we  find  in  some  other  Scriptures.  As, 
for  example,  in  Gen.  iii.  22,  where  God  is  repre- 
sented as  ironically  repeating  the  words  of  Sa- 
tan, but  in  a  spirit  how  different  from  that  of  the 
fiend!  Ah,  poor  wretch!  he  knows  it  now,  the 
diiference  between  good  and  evil!  See  Gen.,  p. 
240.  So  here,  as  though  he  had  said,  "Alas, 
their  boasted  knowledge  !  They  know  that  they 
must  die, — this  is  the  substance  of  it,  the  re- 
motest bound  to  which  their  science  reaches." 
There  is  something  of  the  same  feeling  in  what  is 
here  afiirmed  of  the  state  of  the  dead.  It  gloomily 
contemplates  only  the  physical  aspect,  or  the 
physical  side  of  death,  such  as  presents  itself, 
sometimes,  to  the  Christian,  without  any  feeling 
of  inconsistency,  and  without  impairing  that 
hope  of  future  life  which  he  possesses  in  a  higher 
degree  than  Koheleth.  We  may  even  say  that  it 
is  good  for  us,  occasionally,  to  fix  our  minds  on 
this  mere  physical  aspect  of  our  frail  hu- 
manity. 

0  when  shall  spring  visit  the  monldoring  urn? 

0  when  shall  day  dawn  on  the  night  of  the  grave? 

It  was  not  an  infidel,  but  a  devout  believer,  that 
wrote  this.  And  so,  too,  there  may  be,  at  times, 
a  sort  of  melancholy  pleasure  in  thinking  of 
death  mainly  in  its  aspect  of  repose  from  the 
toils  and  anxieties  of  the  present  stormy  life;  as 
in  that  mournful  dirge  so  often  sung  at  fune- 
rals— 

Unveil  thy  bosom,  faithfal  tomb ; 

Take  this  new  treasure  to  thy  trust ; 
And  give  these  sacred  relics  room 

To  slumber  in  the  silent  dust. 


180 


ECCLESIASTES. 


Nor  pain,  nor  grief,  nor  anxious  fear, 
Invade  thy  bounds  ;  no  mortal  woes 
Can  reach  the  peaceful  sleeper  here. 

We  feel  no  inconsistency  between  such  strains, 
even  when  they  assume  a  more  sombre  aspect, 
and  that  brighter  view  which  the  Christian  talses 
in  contemplating  the  spiritual  side  of  our  strange 
human  destiny,  or  even  as  it  sometimes  presented 
itself  to  the  Old  Testament  believer  (Ps.  xvi.  11 ; 
xvii.  15 ;  Ixxiii.  24).  They  no  more  jar  upon 
our  speculative  theology  than  the  language  of 
our  Saviour,  John  ix.  4:  "The  night  cometh, 
when  no  man  can  work"  [comp.  Ecclesiastes  ix. 
10;  xi.  8],  or  that  touching  language  of  the  New 
Testament  which  represents  death  under  the 
soothing  conception  of  a  sleep — icoifiT/ai; — a  lying 
down  to  rest.  This  term  is  not  confined  to  the 
body,  as  the  best  exegesis  would  show,  but  would 
seem  to  denote  also  a  most  blessed  state  of  quies- 
cence for  the  spirit, — a  state  rudimental,  im- 
perfect, unfinished,  anomalous,  preparatory,  yet 
most  secure, — tranquil,  yet  not  torpid — inactive, 
yet  not  inert — a  holy  conscious  rest,  a  lying 
"  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty," — separate 
from  the  present  world,  away  from  all  its  bu«y 
doings,  if  not  from  all  its  memories,  and  thus 
cradled  again,  nursed  and  educated,  we  may  say, 
for  that  higher  finished  life,  when  death  shall  be 
fully  conquered.  He  is  the  last  and  greatest 
enemy  [1  Cor.  xv.  26]  who,  until  that  lime,  re- 
tains some  dominion  over  all  humanity, — even 
over  those  "who  sleep  in  Jesus,"  or  ^Hhrough 
Jesus,"  as  it  should  be  rendered, — the  saved,  or 
rather,  the  being  saved  [present  participle,  oi 
au^uuevoil  the  being  healed,  or  made  alive,  as  the 
Syriac  has  it,  those  in  whom  the  redemptive  life 
of  Christ  is  overcoming  death,  and  growing  to  the 
matured  and  perfect  life  of  eternity.  For  it  is 
clear,  even  from  the  New  Testament,  that  this 
"state  of  death,"  or  reign  of  death,  still  conti- 
nues, in  a  certain  sense,  and  in  a  certain  degree, 
until  the  resurrection.  Its  power  is  over  all  men, 
and  over  the  whole  man,  soul  and  body,  although 
for  the  Christian,  whose  "life  is  hid  with  Christ 
in  God"  [Col.  ill.  3],  its  sting  is  taken  quite 
away.  There  is  no  mistaking  the  language,  1 
Cor.  XV.  54;  orav  di  t6  (pBaprov  tovto  EvSbaTjrac 
aipBapaiav  k.  t.  A.  It  is  only  when  this  corruption 
puts  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  puts  on 
immortality,  that  there  is  brought  to  pass  the 
saying,  ''Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory."  Till 
then,  Death  and  Hades  go  together.  One  is  but 
the  continuation  of  the  other.  Being  in  Hades  is 
being  in  the  kingdom  of  the  dead.  Till  then,  the 
Old  Testament  idea  still  holds  of  death,  not  as  ex- 
tinction, non-existence,  or  not  being  [see  Genesis, 
Notes,  pp.  273,  586],  but  as  a  state,  a  state  of  po- 
sitive being,  though  strange  and  inexplicable, — 
a  state  of  continued  personality,  real  though  un- 
defined, utterly  unknown  as  to  its  condition,  or 
only  conceived  of  negatively  as  something  that 
differs,  in  almost  every  respect,  from  the  present 
active,  planning,  toiling,  pleasure-grasping, 
knowledge-seeking  life  "beneath  the  sun."  That 
there  is  something  strange  about  it,  something 
difficult  to  be  thought,  is  intimated  in  our 
Saviour's  language  respecting  the  Old  Testament 
saints,  Luke  xx.  38.  Trdwref  ydp  aiirtj  ^(i)OLv,  "  for 
they  all  live  unto  Him"  [unto  God], — as  though 
what  was  called  their  life  was  something  out  of 


them,  and  could  only  be  made  dimly  conceivable 
to  us  by  this  remarkable  language.  Compare  the 
Jewish  expression  as  we  find  it,  1  Sam.  xxv.  29, 
and  as  it  is  interpreted  and  often  quoted  by  Rab- 
binical writers,  a"nn  ii'ixa  rrins   "bound 

up  in  the  bundle  of  life  with  Jehovah  thy  God," 
or  as  the  Vulgate  renders  it — anima  custodita 
quasi  in  fasciculo  viventium  apud  Dominum  Deum 
tuum. 

There  is  yet  a  reserve  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
immediate  after  life,  still  a  veil  cast  over  it,  we 
may  reverently  say,  even  in  the  New  Testament. 
The  most  modern  notions  of  a  sudden  transition  to 
the  highest  Heavens,  and  to  the  perfect  life, 
are,  perhaps,  as  far  to  the  one  extreme,  as  the 
descriptions  of  mortality  which  Koheleth  gives 
us,  in  his  gloomy  mood,  may  be  in  the  other. 
This  idea  of  the  dead  passing  straightway  into 
a  busy  active  state  of  existence,  in  these  respects 
resembling  the  present  life,  with  its  proud  talk 
of  progress,  was  unknown  to  the  early  Church, 
as  its  liturgies  and  funeral  hymns  most  evidently 
show.  See  especially  the  earliest  Syriac  hymns, 
much  of  whose  language  the  modern  notions 
would  render  almost  unintelligible.  Christ  has 
indeed  "brought  immortality  to  light,"  but  it  is 
chiefly  by  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  that 
great  article  so  clear  in  the  New  Testament, 
though  having  its  shadow  in  the  Old.  But  there 
is  another  doctrine  there,  however  little  it  is  stu- 
died. We  are  taught  that  there  was  a  work  of 
Christ  in  Hades.  He  descended  into  Hades;  he 
makes  proclamation  [fn^piifEv]  in  Hades  (1  Pet. 
iii.  19)  to  those  who  are  there  "in  ward."  He 
is  our  Christian  Hermes,  belonging  to  both 
worlds.  He  is  the  i/wjayuyof,  the  conductor  and 
guide  of  redeemed  spirits  in  Hades,  the  "Shep- 
herd and  Bishop  of  souls"  (1  Pet.  ii.  15),  the 
"Good  Shepherd"  (Ps.  xxiii.),  who  leads  his 
spiritual  flock  beside  the  still  waters,  in  the  Ge- 
tzalmaveth,  the  "valley  of  the  death  shade,"  or 
terra  umbrarum,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  great 
High  Priest  above,  to  whom  is  "given  all  power 

in  Heaven  and  in  earth."  He  is  the  7XUn  1N7D 
the  Redeeming  Angel  of  the  Old  Testament,  to 
whom  the  righteous  committed  their  spirits  [Ps. 
xxxi.  6]  and  the  Mediator  more  clearly  revealed 
in  the  New. 

The  doctrine  of  the  immediate  after  life,  as  we 
have  said,  has  still  a  shadow  oast  upon  it.  We 
should  not,  therefore,  wonder  to  find  Koheleth 
still  more  under  the  veil.  His  very  language 
implies  continuance  of  being,  in  some  way,  al- 
though presenting  a  state  of  inactivity,  and,  in  a 
word,  a  want  of  all  participation  in  the  doings 
and  even  memories  of  the  present  "  life  beneath 
the  sun."  It  did  not  fall  in  the  way  of  his 
musing  to  speak  of  diiferences,  in  this  state,  be- 
tween the  "righteous  and  the  wicked;"  but,  in 
other  passages  of  the  Old  Testament,  it  appears 
more  clear,  though  still  barely  hinted,  as  in 
Prov.  xiv.  32;  Ps.  Ixxiii.  20;  xlix.  15.  It  is  a 
state  in  which  the  one  is  "driven  away,"  whilst 
the  other  "has  hope."  Elsewhere,  however  [iii. 
17;  xii.  13,  14],  Koheleth  affirms  his  strong  be- 
lief that  at  some  time,  and  in  some  way,  the  two 
classes  will  be  judged,  aad  the  difference  between 
them  most  clearly  manifested. 

In   the   rhythmical  version  of  ix.  10,    nDDFI 


CHAP.  VIII.  16-17.— IX.  1-16. 


131 


is  Tendered  philosophy ,  because  the  writer  seems, 
in  this  place,  to  take  it  in  its  more  pretentious 
sense,  or  for  human  wisdom  in  distinction  from 
the  Divine, — speculative  inquiry, — very  much  as 
Paul  uses  ao<l)ia,  sometimes,  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. And  so,  perhaps,  we  would  come  nearer 
to  the  intended  force  of  the  other  word  D}}!  by 
rendering  science,  although  not  exactly  corre- 
sponding to  it  in  the  most  modern  acceptation  of 
the  term.  It  is  Paul's  yvuatc,  "curious  know- 
ledge,"— not  mere  knowing,  as  consciousness, 
whether  Koheleth  held  to  any  such  consciousness 
or  not.  Comp.  it  with  pSK/n  [plan,  reckoning)  in 
immediate  connection.  So,  too,  even  when 
speaking  of  the  perfect  psychological  state  (1  Cor. 
xiii.  8)  Paul  says  of  knowledge  (yvaac^),  Karapyri- 
S^usrai — not,  "it  shall  cease,"  aa  rendered,  but 
"it  shall  be  deposed  " — put  one  side — no  longer 
made  the  highest  thing,  as  in  this  fallen  life, 
where  the  intellectual  is  placed  above  the  moral 
nature.  In  the  blessed  and  perfect  life  to'eame, 
moral  or  spiritual  contemplation,  pervaded  by 
ajdirj),  shall  be  the  highest  exercise  of  the  soul. 
Even  the  intermediate  state  is  to  be  regarded  as  su- 
perior to  the  present  existence  in  ontologioal  rank, 
and  the  terms  embryotic  or  rudimental,  if  applied 
to  it,  must  be  taken  simply  as  denoting  a  forma- 
tive state  of  repose,  preparatory  to  the  more 
glorious  life  that  follows.— T.  L.] 

[II.  The  alleged  Epiowkeanism  of  Kohe- 
leth. KoTE  on  chap.  ix.  7-10,  in  connection 
with  chap.  xi.  9,  10.  These  passages  have  given 
rise  to  much  comment.  Stuart,  with  many 
others,  regards  the  first  of  them  as  expressing 
the  real  advice  which  Koheleth  would  give  in 
regard  to  the  conduct  of  life,  and  then  says : 
"  In  all  this  there  is  nothing  Epicurean."  What 
then  is  Epicureanism  ?  Or  how  shall  we  distin- 
guish? It  would  seem  to  be  almost  too  sober  a 
word.  The  language  here  used  may  almost  be 
characterized  as  Anacreontic:  "Eat  with  joy  thy 
bread,  and  drink  with  mirth  thy  wine, — thy  gar- 
ments always  white,  and  oil  ne'er  lacking  to  thy 
head:" 

Ji.lvbiiJ.ev,  Si  TriviafJ-ev — 
To  pohov  TO  KaWi<itvWov 
KpoTa^oitTLC  a(iiJ.6(Ta.vrsi. 

How,  then,  shall  we  avoid  what  seems  to  be 
on  the  very  face  of  the  passage  ?  It  will  not  do 
to  resort  to  any  special  interpretation  on  account 
of  a  mere  exigentia  loci ;  although  it  might,  with 
perfect  truth,  be  said,  that  such  Anacreontic  ad- 
vice is  not  only  contrary  to  all  the  more  serious 
portions  of  the  Scriptures,  Old  and  New,  but  also 
to  the  deeply  solemn  views  in  regard  to  human 
vanities,  and  the  great  awaiting  judgment,  that 
Koheleth  himself  has,  in  other  places,  so  clearly 
expressed.  All  this  outward  argument,  however, 
would  not  justify  us  in  calling  it  irony,  unless 
there  were  some  internal  evidence,  something  in 
the  very  style  of  the  passage  which  called  for 
such  a  conclusion.  A  careful  examination,  made 
in  the  spirit  of  the  whole  book,  shows  that  there 
are  such  internal  grounds  of  criticism.  It  was 
a  feeling  of  this  that  led  Jerome,  the  most  judi- 
cious of  the  Patristic  commentators,  to  call  it  a, 
''rpoacmonoda,  a  personification,  or  dramatizing, 
"lore  rhetorum  et  poetarum,  or  what  the  Jewish 


critics  (seep.  71)  called  "  the  case  speaking," 
the  language  of  human  life  and  human  actions, 
in  view  of  the  pure  earthliness  of  its  condition. 
It^  is  the  language  of  the  author  so  far  as  he  puts 
himself  forth  as  the  representative  of  such  a  des- 
pairing slate :  quasi  dixerit,  0  homo  quia  ergo, post 
mortem  nihil  es,  dum.  vivis  in  hac  brevi  vita  fruere  vo- 
luptate,  etc. ;  "  0  man  since,  after  death,  thou  art 
nothing,  then,  whilst  thou  livest  thy  short  life, 
eujoy  pleasure,  indulge  in  feasts,  drown  thy 
cares  in  wine,  go  forth  adorned  in  raiment  ever 
white  (asign  of  perpetual  joy),  let  fragrant  odors 
be  ever  breathing  from  thy  head;  take  thy  joy 
in  female  loveliness  [qumcunque  tibi placerent  femi- 
narum,  ejus  gaude  complezu,  et  vanam  hanc  et  bre- 
vem  vitam  vana  et  brevi  voluptate  percurre)  and  in 
brief  pleasure  pass  this  thy  brief  life  of  vanity," 
etc.  He  then  represents  Koheleth  as  retracting 
all  this  in  the  passage  immediately  following, 
where  he  says,  "  I  turned  again,  and  saw  that  the 
race  was  not  to  the  swift,  nor  the  battle  to  the 
strong,  nor  wealth  to  the  prudent,  etc.,"  in  other 
words,  that  thus  to  live  in  joy  was  not  in  man's 
power,  but  that  all  things  happened  as  they  were 
disposed  by  God:  Hmc,  aliquis  inquit,  loguatur 
Epicurus  et  Aristippus,  et  ceteri  pecudes  philosopho- 
rum,  ego  autem  [inquit  Koheleth)  mecum  diligenier 
reiractans,  invenio  non  est  velocium  cursus,  necfor~ 
tium priBlium,  etc.,  etc. 

There  are  two  things  in  the  passage  itself  that 
lead  the  serious  reader  to  such  a  feeling,  and 
such  a  view  of  its  ironical,  or,  rather,  its  drama- 
tic character.  The  first  is  the  exuberance  ol 
the  language,  its  extravagance,  its  Bacchanalian 
style,  we  might  almost  call  it,  inconsistent  with, 
or  certainly  not  demanded  by,  such  a  moderate, 
rational,  sober  view,  or  such  a  sober  advice  to 
live  a  contented  life,  as  Stuart  contends  for,  or, 
in  other  words,  a  judicious,  virtuous  Epicurean- 
ism. The  joy  so  oft  repeated,  the  mirth,  the 
wine,  the  white  raiment,  the  aromatic  oils — what 
has  such  superlativeness  of  style  to  do  with  such 
a  moderate,  sober  purpose  ?  It  was  no  more 
needed  than  the  language  which  Euripides  (Al- 
cestis  800)  puts  into  the  mouth  of  Hercules  wneu 
playing  the  Bacchanalian,  and  which  this  Solo- 
monic irony  so  closely  resembles  : — 

Eu<ipaii'6  aaVTOV,  TTtfe"  TOv  Ka0'  -i}fL^pav 
3lov  \oyi^ov  aov  ja  5'  aWa  TJjs  Ti/Xf]^. 
Tifi.a  Se  Kai  TTji^  irKelarov  ijStaTtjv  deiov. 
OijKOVf,  fj.ed^  rifj-tnif,  TT)i/  \vm]i^  a.tf}el^,  Tip, 
^TetfidvoLS  iTUKacrflets  «.  T.  A. 

Make  glad  thy  heart,  drink  wine,  the  liFe  to-day 
Regard  thine  own;  all  else  belongs  to  chance. 
In  hi[rh  esteem  hold  Love's  delightful  power. 
In  social  joy  indulge — with  chapleta  crowned; 
And  drive  dull  care  away. 

Hear  Koheleth  : 

Go  then  and  eat  with  joy  thy  bread,  and  drink  with  mirtb 

thy  wine, 
In  every  season  be  thy  garments  white, 
And  fragrant  oil  be  never  lacking  to  thy  head;     -- 
Live  joyful  with  the  wife  whom  thou  hast  loved. 

The  one  kind  of  language  seems  but  the  echo  of 
the  other.  If  we  disregard  the  spirit  and  the 
design  of  Koheleth,  there  is  an  Epicurean  zest 
in  his  description,  not  surpassed,  to  say  the  least, 
by  that  of  Euripides.  We  may  say,  too,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  it  is  not  easy  to  distinguish  his 
language,  and  the  spirit  of  it,  from  that  of  Paul 
in  his  quotation,  1  Cor.  xv.  32 :   "  Let  us  eat  and 


132 


ECCLESIASTES. 


drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die."  If  it  be  said  tiiat 
tiie  context  there  makes  it  impossible  for  us  to 
mistake  the  Apostle's  ironical  meaning,  the  same 
may  be  said  in  respect  to  the  writer  who  tells  us, 
only  a  short  distance  back, 

Better  to  visit  sorrow's  liouse,  than  seek  the  banquet  hall; 

Better  ia  grief  thaT)  mirth ; 

For  in  the  sadnes^i  ut  the  face  the  heart  becometh  fair. 

It  is  the  very  nature  of  rhetorical  irony,  .espe- 
cially if  it  be  the  irony  of  sorrowful  warning,  to 
paint  the  thing  in  higher  colors,  we  may  say, 
than  would  suit  its  description  in  a  more  direct 
and  didactic  admonition.  Had  it  been  a  piece 
of  Isocratean  moralizing  in  commendation  of  a 
moderate,  contented,  frugal,  and  thankful  en- 
joyment of  life,  it  would  naturally  have  been  in 
a  lower  and  calmer  strain.  The  wine,  the  odors, 
the  splendid  raiment,  would  have  been  all  want- 
ing. They  are  just  the  points  in  the  picture, 
however,  to  make  an  impression  on  the  serious 
mind  when  it  is  felt  to  be  a  description  of  the 
vanity  of  life.  We  may  even  say  that  they  are 
just  the  things  that  lead  to  such  a  feeling. 

The  second  internal  evidence  showing  the  true 
character  of  this  passage,  is  the  feeling  of  sor- 
row, which,  amidst  all  its  apparent  joyousness, 
the  writer  cannot  suppress.  We  have  called  it 
irony,  but  the  irony  of  the  Bible  is  not  only  seri- 
ous, but  sometimes  most  tender.  AVhilst,  then, 
the  language  here  criticised  is  not  the  mere 
worldly  advice  that  Stuart  and  others  would  re- 
present, neither  is  it,  on  the  other  hand,  the  hard 
irony  of  sarcasm,  or  of  unpifying  satire.  Kohe- 
leth's  thoughts  of  death,  and  its  awful  unknown, 
have  depressed  his  faith,  and  there  seems  to  have 
come  over  him  a  feeling  akin  to  despair.  His 
Idea  of  God's  justice,  and  of  some  great  destiny, 
or  world,  over  and  encompassing  the  present,  is 
not  lost — for  it  reappears  strongly  afterwards — 
but,  for  the  moment,  the  thought  of  man,  as  he 
is  seen  in  the  earthly  state,  becomes  predomi- 
nant, and  he  breaks  out  in  this  strain,  in  which 
pity  is  a  very  manifest  element.  "  Go  then  and 
enjoy  thy  poor  life."  There  is  strong  feeling  in 
it,  a  most  tender  compassion,  and  this  shows  it- 
self in  that  touching  mention  of  the  transient 
human  state,  and,  especially,  in  the  pathetic  re- 
petition of  the  words 

The  days  of  thy  vain  life, — that  life 
Which  God  liath  given  to  thee  beneath  the  sun; 
Yea,  all  thy  days  of  vanity. 

This  plaintive  tone  is  utterly  inconsistent  with 
the  Epicurean  interpretation,  however  moral  and 
decent  we  may  strive  to  make  it. 

Again,  there  are  two  arguments  against  such 
a  view  that  may  be  said  to  be  outside  of  the  pas- 
sage itself,  though  one  of  them  is  derived  from 
another  place  in  the  book.  First — in  chap.  xi. 
9,  10,  we  have  a  strain  so  precisely  similar,  in 
style  and  diction,  that  we  cannot  help  regarding 
it  as  possessing  the  same  rhetorical  character. 
It  may  be  thus  given  metrically,  yet  most  liter- 
ally, and  with  the  full  force  of  every  Hebrew 
word: 

Rejoice  0  youth  in  childhood;  let  thy  heart 
Still  cheer  thee  in  the  day  when  thou  art  strong ; 
Go  ou  in  every  way  thy  will  shall  choose. 
And  after  every  form  thine  tyes  behold. 

It  is  not  easy  to  mistake  the  character  of  this, 


even  if  it  were  not  followed  by  that  most  im- 
pressive warning: 

But  know  that  for  all  this,  thy  God  will  thee  to  judgmen 

bring ; 
0  then  turn  sorrow  from  thy  soul,  keep  evil  from  thy  flesh; 
For  childhood  and  the  morn  of  lile,  they,  too,  are  vanity. 

Here  the  caution  is  clearly  expressed,  although 
we  feel  that  such  expression  is  just  what  the 
previous  words,  rightly  comprehended  in  their 
spirit,  would  have  led  us  to  expect.  Khetori- 
cally  regarded,  such  an  addition  would  have 
been  exactly  adapted  to  this  place  (ix.  7-10).  It 
would  have  been  in  harmony  with  the  tone  of 
what  had  gone  before.  It  is,  however,  so  sug- 
gested by  the  whole  spirit  of  the  passage,  and 
especially  by  that  irrepressible  tone  of  commis- 
eration that  appears  in  the  words  before  cited 
(the  pathetic  allusion  to  our  poor  vain  life),  that 
it  may  well  be  a  question  whether  any  such  dis- 
tinct warning,  or  any  mere  moralizing  utterance, 
could  have  had  more  power  than  the  '*  expressive 
silence  "  which  leaves  it  wholly  to  the  feeling 
and  conscience  of  the  reader. 

The  passage  xi.  9,  10,  is  so  important  in  itself, 
and  has  such  a  bearing  on  the  one  before  us,  aa 
to  justify  its  fuller  interpretation  in  this  place. 
Many  modern  commentators  regard  these  verses 
also  aa  a  serious  advice  to  the  young  man,  if  the 
term  serious  could,  with  any  propriety,  be  ap- 
plied to  such  an  admonition.  The  older  com- 
mentators, however,  are  mostly  the  other  way. 
They  regarded  the  passage  as  indeed  most  seri- 
ous, but  as  having  this  character  from  its  sharp 
yet  mournful  irony.  So  Geiee.  says  :  "magnam 
intcrpretum  partem  hxc  verba  imperaliva  ironice  ac- 
cipere."  Among  these  were  Kimchi,  Munsterus, 
Mercerus,  Drusius,  Junius,  Piscator,  Cartwright, 
Cajetan,  Vatablus,  Ar.  Montanus,  Osoriua,  Mari- 
ana, Henoch,  Pineda,  Jac.  Mathise,  and  others, 
among  whom  may  be  reckoned  Tremellius,  if  we_ 
may  judge  from  the  tone  and  style  of  his  Latin 
translation.  Luther  was  the  other  way,  and  it 
may  be  said  that  he  has  given  the  tone  to  many 
that  have  come  after  him,  evangelical  as  well  aa 
rationalist.  "  This  ia  said  seriously  by  Solomon," 
he  tells  us,  "  de  licita  Juventutis  hilariiaie,  concern- 
ing the  permitted  j  oyfulness  of  youth,  which  ought 
not  to  be  unbridled,  or  lascivious,  but  restrained 
within  certain  limits."  But  what  right  has  he 
to  say,  this?  What  limits  are  assigned?  The 
language  seems  wholly  without  limitations,  or 
reserve :  "  Walk  in  the  ways  of  thine  heart,  and 
in  the  sight  of  thine  eyes,"  terms  which  every 
where  else  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  are  used,  in 
malam  partem,  to  denote  sensual  and  ungodly 
conduct;  as  in  Numb.  xv.  3U :     "  Ye  shall  not  go 

(roam)  rjyV}} .  '^nxi  aD35S  ^"^m  after 
your  own  heart,  and  after  your  eyes."  Compare 
also  the  frequent  phrase  37  JllT'liy,  commonly 
rendered  "theimaginationof  theheart,"  but  real- 
ly meaning  the  turnings  (choices)  of  the  heart, — 
doing  as  one  pleases.  SeeDeut.xxix.  18;  Ps.lxxxi. 
13  where  itis  synonymous  with  □n''niXi'1D3  oV 
"  walking  in  their  own  counsels,"  also  Jerem. 
ix.  13,  and  other  places.  Compare  especially 
Job  xxxi.  7,  where,  for  "  the  heart  to  follow  the 
eye  "  is  placed  among  the  grievous  sins,  being 
regarded,  in  fact,  as  the  very  fountaia-head  of 


CHAP.  VIII.  16-17.— IX.  1-16. 


133 


Bin:  '3*7  f]r]  'J';;,  inx  CDS,  "if  my  heart 
hath  gone  after  mine  eyes,"  the  will  (the  con- 
science) after  the  choice,  the  velle  after  the  oplare, 
the  voluntas  after  the  voluptas.  "  Walk  in  the 
way  of  thine  heart ;"  what  an  admonition  this  to 
a  young  man,  even  if  such  a  one  ever  needed  an 
exhortation  to  hilarity,  or  to  the  following  of  his 
own  pleasure  !  How  strange,  too,  as  coming  from 
one  who,  in  other  parts  of  this  book,  talks  so  dif- 
ferently: "Better  the  house  of  mourning  than 
the  house  of  feasting ;"  "  I  said  of  laughter  it  is 
mad,  of  mirth,  0  what  availeth  it !"  Compare  it 
with  the  repeated  charge  of  Solomon,  in  the  Pro- 
verbs, to  restrain  the  young  man — not  to  let  him 
go  after  the  imaginations  of  his  heart,  to  put  a 
bridle  on  him  (pn  Prov.  xxii.  6),  and  "  bow 
down  his  neck  in  his  youth."  The  language  here 
is  peculiar,  and  each  word  must  be  sharply  looked 

to:  "Go  on"  (it  is  ^vH,  the  piel intensive) 
"keep  going,  in  the  ways  (all  the  ways,  in  the 
plural,  every  way)  of  thine  heart,"  'I'J'jb  ''??"'DJ' 
(the  k'tib  is  undoubtedly  right)  and  in  (or  after) 
the  forma  of  thine  eyes."  The  word  PINID  is 
so  frequently  used  of  female  beauty  (see  the 
phrase  nN")n  nS]  Gen.  xii.  11,  and  other 
places)  that  the  idea  is  at  once  suggested  here  ; 
and  what  a  contrast  then  to  our  Saviour's  teach- 
ing, that  even  to  look  is  sin.  What  a  contrast, 
we  may  say,  is  the  whole  of  it  thus  considered, 
to  what  Christ  says  about  the  broad  way,  and  to 
St.  John's  most  emphatic  language  (1  Epist.  ii. 
16)  respecting  "the  lust  of  the  eye,"  the  desire 
of  the  eye,  r^v  enidvfuav  Ttjv  b(f)6a?Lfi(Ju !  If  we 
give  the  phrase  the  more  general  rendering, 
"the  sight  of  the  eyes  (sight  objectively)  it  would 
come  to  the  same  thing  It  would  be  a  license  to 
follow  every  form  of  beauty.  There  might  be 
urged,  too,  the  contrast  between  it  (thus  regarded 
as  serious  advice  even  in  the  most  decent  sense 
that  could  be  given  to  it)  and  Paul's  counsel  for 
young  men,  Titus  ii.  6,  roijf  vcurcpovc  TrapaacOiei 
aoKfpovelv,  "exhort  them  to  be  sober,"  temperate, 
sound-minded,  having  reason  and  conscience  ru- 
ling over  appetite  and  desire.  How  unlike,  too, 
the  Psalmist's  direction  cxix.  9,  "Wherewith 
shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way, — by  taking 

heed  thereto  (inty/),  by  watching  it,  according 
to  Thy  word."  How  utterly  opposed  to  this  is 
the  unlimited  advice  to  the  young  man  "to  walk 
in  the  way  of  his  heart,"  that  is,  to  do  as  he 
pleases.  Luther  feels  the  force  of  this  contrast, 
for  he  says  in  the  same  comment,  when  he  comes 

to  speak  of  the  words  ']J'>  •'3'in3  "jSni  "walk 
in  the  ways  of  thine  heart,"  fecit  hie  locus  ut  to- 
tum  hunc  textum  ironiam  esse  putarem,  quia  ferme  in 
malam partem  sonat,  siquis  incedat  in  via  cordis  sui : 
"This  place  would  make  me  think  that  the  whole 
text  was  irony,  because  the  phrase  '  to  walk  in 
the  way  of  one's  heart,'  is  so  generally  taken  in  a 
bad  sense."  But,  after  all,  he  goes  on  to  say  that 
wa  must  abide  by  the  general  idea  of  the  passage 
(as  he  had  taken  it)  and  suppose  the  necessary 
limitations.  Very  few  commentators  have  had 
&  clearer  perception  than  Luther  of  the  general 
sense  of  the  Scripture,  but  in  regard  to  such  pas- 
sages as  these  he  is  not  to  be  implicitly  trusted. 


He  was  of  a  very  jovial  disposition;  but  what 
chieily  led  him  to  such  interpretations,  here  and 
elsewhere  in  this  book,  was  his  aversion  to  some 
of  the  more  austere  dogmas,  as  well  as  practices  of 
Romanism,  and  especially  his  dislikeof  asceticism, 
as  exhibited  by  the  Monks.  Hence  he  allowed 
himself  too  much  to  be  driven  towards  the  oppo- 
site extreme.  Thus  in  his  commenting  on  the 
words  yj^j;  n!<133,  "in  the  sight  of  thine 
eyes,"  he  boldly  says,  quod  offertur  oculis  tuis  hoc 
fruere,  ne  jias  simiiis  Monachorum,  etc.:  "  what- 
ever is  oifered  to  your  eyes,  that  freely  CDJoy, 
lest  you  become  like  the  monks  who  would  not 
have  one  even  look  at  the  sun."  And  so  in  the 
beginning  of  the  passage,  ver.  9 :  non  prohibet 
jucunditatcs  sive  voluptates,  quemadmodum  stulii 
monachi  fecerunt,  etc.:  "It  does  not  prohibit  de- 
lights nor  pleasures,  as  the  foolish  monks  have 
done,  which  is  nothing  else  than  making  stocks 
of  young  men  (even  as  Anselm  says,  ille  mona- 
chissimus  monachus,  that  most  monkish  monk),  or 
than  attempting  to  plant  a  tree  in  a  narrow  pot." 
Others  of  the  Reformers  and  early  Protestant 
commentators  were  influenced  in  the  same  way 
in  following  Luther,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  this  has  much  affected  their  interpretations 
of  Koheleth,  making  him  talk  like  an  Epicurean, 
and  then  denying  that  it  was  Epicureanism,  or 
trying  to  throw  over  it  a  decent  ethical  mantle  by 
their  unwarranted  hypotheses  and  limitations. 
After  they  have  done  their  best,  however,  in  this 
way,  they  make  this  writer  of  Holy  Scripture  to 
be  a  moralist  inferior  to  Sockates  and  Seneca, 
who  certainly  never  thought  that  a  young  man 
needed  any  such  advice  as  that.  The  pious 
Geier  seems  to  be  aware  of  the  suggestions  that 
might  arise  from  other  parts  of  Scripture,  and 
would  zealously  guard  this  virtuous  Solomonic 
young  man,  who  needs  such  a  caution  against 
excessive  sobriety,  from  any  comparison  with  the 
Prodigal  Son,  Luke  xv.  But  what  did  he  do, 
that  filius  perditus,  that  spendthrift,  ille  heluo,  as 
Geier  calls  him,  except  "  to  walk  in  the  ways  of 
his  heart,  and  in  the  sight  of  his  eyes?"  What 
is  all  pleasure-seeking  selfishness  \(jiiXavTla, 
ipiXridovia,  2  Tim.  iii.  2-4]  but  saying  "give  unto 
me  my  portion  of  yoods  that  falleth  to  me,"  in  this 
world  ? 

It  might  have  been  thought,  however,  that  the 
latter  part  of  ver.  10,  following  the  warning  of 
judgment,  would  have  been  treated  in  a  differ- 
ent manner ;  but  the  general  consistency  of 
which  Luther  speaks  has  led  some  to  an  Epicu- 
rean interpretation  even  of  this.  We  regret  to 
find  our  author  Zockler  following  such  a  course 

in  his  interpretation  of  the  words  "j^ra  DJ^^  IDH 
"turn  away  sorrow  from  thy  heart."  "  Here," 
he  says,  "the  positive  exhortation  to  hilarity 
[Frolichsein)  is  followed  by  a  dissuasion  from  its 
opposite,"— that  is,  the  young  man  is  told  to 
avoid  seriousness  as  painful  and  troublesome 
{Kummer,  Unmuth,)  which  he  gives  as  the  inter- 
pretation of  D^'J].  It  is  a  recommendation  of 
hilarity,  of  mirth,  in  opposition  to  asceticism  or 
undue  sobriety,  as  though  the  young  man's  dan- 
ger in  Solomon's  time,  or  in  the  days  of  Mala- 
chi,  or  at  any  other  period  in  the  human  history, 
had  been  in  that  direction  of  gloom  and 
monkery. 


131 


ECCLESIASTES. 


There  are  few  interpreters  more  honest,  or 
more  learned,  than  Stcakt,  and  yet  his  comment 
here  is  certainly  a  very  strange  one.  "In  verse 
9th,"  he  tells  us,  "the  command  is  to  do  some- 
thing positive  in  the  way  of  enjoyment;  here  it 
is  to  shun  evil  and  suifering.  Taking  both  toge- 
ther, the  amount  is,  enjoy  all  that  a  rational 
man  can  enjoy  in  view  of  retribution,  and  avoid 
all  the  evil  and  suifering  that  can  be  avoided." 
Retribution  here  is  a  mere  make  weight.  Why 
retribution  for  simply  acting  according  to  the 
advice  ?  If  pleasure  be  the  good,  then,  as  that 
acute  moralist  Sockates  says,  "  he  who  gets  the 
most  of  it  is  the  ayaOdg  avijp,  the  good  man,  the 
best  man."  "But  why,"  asks  Stuart,  "is  this 
so  strongly  urged  upon  the  young  ?"  The  ques- 
tion is  certainly  one  that  ia  very  naturally  sug- 
gested in  view  of  such  an  interpretation,  but  the 
answer  he  gives  is  remarkable:  "Plainly  be- 
cause that  even  they,  although  in  the  best  estate 
of  man,  hold  life  by  a  very  frail  tenure.  There- 
fore, as  even  youth  is  so  frail  and  evanescent, 
make  the  best  of  it.  It  is  almost  as  if  he  had 
said — Then  or  never."  In  other  words,  a  short 
life  and  a  merry  one.  Anacreon  could  not  have 
said  it  better.  No  exhortation  to  obedience  to 
parents,  to  temperance,  to  sober-mindedness,  in 
the  style  of  Paul,  no  advice  to  "watch  over  the 
heart,"  such  as  Solomon  gives  in  the  Proverbs, 
but  a  direction  "to  walk  in  the  sight  of  the 
eyes,"  and  a  caution  against  seriousness  as  in- 
consistent with  youthful  hilarity.  Strange  ad- 
vice this  under  any  circumstances ;  and  still  more 
strange  from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  only  place  in 
the  book  in  which  young  men  are  addressed, — 
the  first  verse  of  chap.  xii.  being  but  a  continua- 
tion of  the  admonilion  here  given.  Look  at  the 
argument  as  it  thus  presents  itself:  God  will 
bring  thee  unto  judgment,  young  man;  therefore 
put  away  all  serious  concern  from  thy  heart. 
And  why?  Because  youth  is  brief  and  evanes- 
cent. How  does  it  compare  Scripturally  with 
the  other  view  as  presenting  the  other  reasoning  : 
Know  that  God  will  bring  thee  into  judgment  for 
"following  the  ways  of  thine  heart,  and  walking 
in  the  sight  of  thine  eyes;"  therefore  "turn  sor- 
row from  thy  heart "  [thy  soul],  that  is  the 
feeling  of  remorse,  the  sense  of  the  Divine  dis- 
pleasure, or  of  thine  own  self-accusing  indigna- 
tion [DJ73]  for  such  an  unrestrained  living  to 
thyself,  and  "keep  off  ["'^J^H,  avert]  evil  from 
thy  flesh  " — that  is,  the  bodily  ills  that  must  come 
from  a  life  of  sensuality,  or  following  "  the  desire 
of  thy  heart,"  and  "the  voluptuous  sight  of  thine 
eyes."  And  why?  Because  "childhood  and  youth 
[nnnc^,  literally,  the  morn  of  life]  are  vanity;" 
that  is,  all  their  joys,  take  them  at  the  highest, 
are  vain  and  worthless  in  comparison  with  the 
serious  evils,  whether  for  this  life  or  another,  that 
such  a  course  of  free  indulgence  may  bring  upon 
thee. 

The  ironical  nature  of  this  passage  is  accepted 
by  that  great  critic,  Glassius,  in  the  Philologia 
Sacra,  p.  1518.  It  is  an  "apostrophe,"  he  says, 
"  a  concessio  ironica  cufus  correcHo,  a  consueludine 
animi  el  sensuum  prava  revocans,  statim  suhjungi- 
lur :"  Go  on, — but  know.  He  compares  it  with 
Isaiah  ii.  10,  "  enter  into  the  rock,  and  hide  thy- 
self in  the  dust,"  but  know  that  God  will  find 


thee.  So  Isaiah  viii.  9,  "Join  yourselves  toge- 
ther, enter  into  council,  but  know  that  it  will  be 
all  in  vain."  It  is  equivalent  to  saying,  "though 
ye  do  this,"— -the  imperative  being  really  the 
statement  of  an  hypothesis.  Another  passage  he 
cites  is  Isaiah  xxi.  5:  "Spread  the  table,  set  the 
watch,  eat,  drink,"  etc.;  though  that  may  be  taken 
in  a  different  way. 

A  second  outside  proof  of  the  true  character  of 
the  language,  Eccles.  ix.  7-10,  is  derived  from  a 
passage  in  the  Apocryphal  book  entitled  Wisdom 
of  Solomon.  It  is  evidently  an  imitation  of  these 
very  verses,  and,  whether  written  by  a  Jew  or  a 
Christian,  is  evidence  of  the  earliest  mode  of  in- 
terpreting all  such  modes  of  speaking  in  Kohe- 
leth.  It  is  the  language  of  the  worldly  pleasure- 
seeker,  chap.  ii.  vers,  ti-8  :  "  Come  then,  and  let 
us  enjoy  the  good  that  is  before  us;  let  us  be 
filled  with  costly  wine  and  aromatic  odors ;  let  no 
flower  of  the  spring  pass  by  us ;  let  us  crown 
ourselves  with  roses  before  they  be  withered,"  etc. 
The  imitation  is  evident  throughout  the  passage. 
It  appears  not  only  from  the  language  used,  but 
also  from  the  fact  that  the  writer,  both  by  his 
general  style  and  by  the  title  he  has  given  to  Ms 
book,  intended  it  as  a  more  full  and  florid  setting 
forth  of  what  he  deemed  the  pervading  thought 
and  feeling  of  Koheleth.  Now,  by  placing  this 
same  style  of  language  in  th.e  mouth  of  the  sensu- 
alist, he  makes  clear  that  he  was  of  like  opinion 
with  Jerome  (whose  views  may  have  been  de- 
rived from  his  Hebrew  teacher  representing  the 
same  view  afterwards  advanced  by  Kimchi),  that 
as  uttered  by  Koheleth,  it  was  a  irpouoirroiroita,  a 
.dramatic  representing  of  what  is  expressed  in 
human  action, — the  sensualist's  own  conduct 
speaking  forth  the  view  of  life  that  would  be  in 
accordance  with  the  idea  that  this  is  all  of  man, 
and  that  there  is  no  such  judgment  as  that  on 
which  Koheleth  elsewhere  so  strongly  insists. 
This  is  rendered  still  more  clear  from  the  sudden 
cTiange  that  immediately  follows  in  ver.  11,  and 
which  Jerome  justly  characterizes  as  Koheleth 
retractans.  He  cannot  let  the  language  go  with- 
out showing  how  full  of  vanity  it  is,  viewed  only 
in  regard  to  the  present  world,  and  according  to 
the  known  condition  of  human  life  : 

I  turned  again  to  look  beneath  the  enn. 
Not  to  the  swift  tbe  race,  I  saw,  nor  victory  to  the  strong. 
Nor  to  the  wise  aecure  their  bread,  nor  to  the  prudent 
wealth. 

The  very  uncertainty  of  all  human  efforts  renders 
such  advice  utterly  vain.  Why  say  to  men,  be 
happy,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry,  "let  thy  gar- 
ments be  ever  white,  and  let  aromatic  oils  be  ne- 
ver lacking  to  thy  head,"  wheil  no  strength,  no 
wisdom,  can  give  any  security  for  the  avoidance 
of  sorrow,  much  less  for  the  attainment  of  such 
Epicurean  joys.  In  such  a  connection  the 
thought  of  there  being,  necessarily  for  man,  a 
judgment  and  a  destiny,  making  all  such  plea- 
sures, even  if  innocent,  mere  vanity  and  worth- 
lessness  in  the  comparison,  is  more  powerfully 
suggested  than  it  would  have  been  by  the  most 
express  utterance. 

There  are  some  other  things  of  less  exegetical 
importance,  but  deserving  of  attention  in  their 
bearing  on  the  real  character  of  these  import- 
ant  passages.      Thus  the  words    ilSI    ^3^   '3 


CHAP.  VIII.  16-17.— IX.  1-16. 


135 


,-|'ty;ra~nN  □'n7!<n  [Ix.  7]  are  rendered  InE.  v.: 
"God  now  aceepteth  thy  works,"  indicating  that 
He  has,  in  some  way,  become  gracious.  The  true 
rendering  is,  "God  hath  already,"  or  rather, 
"long  ago,  accepted  thy  works."  It  is  a  thing 
of  the  past,  settled  as  the  Divine  way  in  regard 
lo  man;  He  has  never  been  offended  at  all.  It  is 
the  doctrine  of  Plato's  second  class  of  atheists 
las  he  calls  them,  though  they  claim  to  be  the- 
ists),  who  believe  in  a  Divine  power,  but  regard 
Him  as  taking  no  account  of  men,  or  rather,  as 
accepting  all  human  works,  as  He  accepts  the 
operations  of  nature.  Or  it  is  a  Hebraistic  form 
of  the  liucretian  doctrine  of  the  Divine  nature: 

Senwta  ab  nostris  rebuSy  sejunctaqua  longe. 
That  this  general  acceptance  by  Deity  of  human 
works  is  not  the  serious  language  of  Koheleth,  is 
evident  from  his  so  frequent  insisting  on  judg- 
ment, either  in  this  world  or  in  another,  as  though 
it  were  his  favorite  doctrine,  his  "  one  idea,"  we 
might  say,  in  all  this  discourse.  So  Wordsworth 
regards  the  whole  passage  as  the  language  of  the 
sensualist  (which  is  the  same  as  Jerome's  ironi- 
cal TrpociOTTOTToua,  or  Koheleth  speaking  in  their 
person),  and  thus  comments  on  the  words  in 
question:  "  Evil  men  misconstrue  their  prospe- 
rity into  a  sign  that  God  accepts  their  works." 
There  is,  however,  too  much  inferential  moral- 
izing in  such  a  statement.  In  their  language, 
God's  "  accepting  their  works  "  is  rather  another 
mode  of  saying  that  He  is  utterly  indifferent 
about  them,  or,  as  they  would  represent  in  their 
Lucretian  hyperpiety,  too  great,  too  exalted,  to 
mind  the  affairs  of  men. 

The  10th  verse  of  ch.  ix.  is  rendered  in  E.  V.: 
"  Whatever  thy  hand  flndeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy 
might."     The  Vulgate  favors  this,  but  the  accents 

forbid  it.  They  connect  in33  with  nity;?S,  re- 
quiring us,  if  we  follow  them,  to  render :  ' '  what- 
ever thy  hand  findeth  to  do  in  thy  strength,  do 
it."  This  puts  a  different  aspect  upon  the  sen- 
tence, and  the  accents,  with  their  usual  nice  dis- 
crimination, bring  it  out.  The  other  rendering 
would  indeed  suggest  a  similar  meaning,  but  the 
accents  make  it  clear.  It  becomes  the  maxim, 
TO  Kpdnarov  to  dinatov,  might  makes  right,  or  let 
might  be  thy  law  of  right,  or  as  it  is  rendered  in 
the  Metrical  Version, — 

D-),  then,  whatever  thy  hand  shall  find  in  thy  own  might 
to  do. 

Wordsworth  takes  the  same  view:  "  Do  all  that 
thy  hand  findeth  to  do  by  thy  power  "  [see  Heno- 
STBNBERQ,  Ewald]  ;  that  is,  "let  might  be  right 
with  thee ;  care  nothing  for  God  or  man,  but  use 
thy  strength  according  to  thy  will."  Surely 
this  is  not  the  serious  language  of  the  serious 
Koheleth,  the  earnest  teacher  of  judgment,  who 
speaks  so  solemnly  of  "  the  fear  of  God,  and  who 
says,  only  two  verses  from  this  :  "  Then  I  turned 
again  to  look  beneath  the  sun,  and  saw  that  the 
race  was  not  to  the  swift  nor  the  victory  to  the 
Btrong." 

The  language  following:  "For  there  is  no 
knowledge,"  etc.,  even  Stuart  regards  as  that  of 
the  objector,  though  replying  to  the  serious  ad- 
vice given  above,  as  though  he  had  said  in  addi- 
tion: enjoy  thyself,  etc.,  for   there   is   no   after 


state  to  give  thee  uneasiness.  "  But  we  hav« 
seen,"  says  Stuart,  "that  the  settled  opinion  of 
Koheleth  himself  [viii.  12,  13]  was  something 
quite  different  from  this."  It  is  not  easy  to  un- 
derstand the  remark.  It  would  have  furnished 
Stuart  a  much  more  consistent  ground  of  rea- 
soning, had  he  regarded  the  whole  passage  as 
irony  or  personification.  He  says,  at  the  close 
of  his  comment  on  the  verses  :  "  The  positive 
passages  which  show  Koheleth's  view  of  judg- 
ment, and  of  retribution,  are  too  strong  to  justify 
us  in  yielding  to  suggestions  of  this  nature  " — . 
that  is,  the  supposition  of  his  denial  of  all  fu- 
ture accountability.  This  rule  of  criticism,  had 
they  consistently  followed  it,  would  have  made 
Koheleth  all  clear  in  many  places  where  the  op- 
posite method  produces  inextricable  confusion 
and  contradiction. 

Such  remarks  as  Zookler  and  Stuart  some- 
times make  in  deprecation  of  Epicureanism 
[Hitzig,  in  general,  gives  himself  no  concern 
about  it]  show  the  pressure  upon  evangelical 
commentators  (and  even  upon  all  who  may  in  a 
true  sense  be  styled  rational),  when  they  adopt 
what  may  be  termed  the  half-way  Lutheran 
mode.  The  doctrine  of  Epicurus,  even  in  its 
most  decent  form,  is  so  inconsistent  with  any 
devout  fear  of  God,  and  this  again  is  so  utterly 
alien  to  any  philosophic  or  scientific  theism  that 
maintains  a  Deity  indifferent  to  human  conduct, 
one  who  cannot  be  prayed  to,  avev!iralo(;,  and 
without  any  judgment  either  in  this  world  or 
another ;  for  in  respect  to  the  true  nature  of  Ko- 
heleth's exhortation,  either  idea  presents  a  con- 
clusive argument.  His  doctrine  must  be  somehow 
connected  with  all  that  system  of  truth,  with  all 
that  "wisdom,  of  which  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is 
the  beginning."  To  a  mind  deeply  meditative 
like  that  of  Koheleth,  the  thought  of  there  being 
no  judgment,  no  hereafter  (should  such  a  belief 
be  ever  forced  upon  it),  would  not  be  ground  of 
joy,  much  less  of  an  exhortation  to  joy,  as  ad- 
dressed to  others.  He  would  not,  even  in  that 
case,  adopt  the  Epicurean  maxim :  Let  us  eat  and 
drink, — rather  let  us  fast,  let  us  mourn,  in  view 
of  an  existence  so  brief,  so  full  of  vanity,  so  soon 
to  go  out  in  darkness  all  the  more  dense,  a, de- 
spair all  the  more  painful,  in  consequence  of  the 
transient  light  of  reason  with  which  we  are  so 
strangely  and  irrationally  endowed — e  tenebris  in 
tenebras — like  the  bubble  on  the  wave  in  a  stormy 
night,  reflecting  for  a  moment  all  the  starry  hosts 
above,  and  then  going  out  forever.  There  is  no 
religion,  no  superstition,  no  creed  so  awfully  se- 
rious, as  that  of  human  extinction,  and  of  a  god- 
leas  world.  Place  the  two  exhortations  side  by 
side  :  Live  in  the  fear  of  God,  for  thou  must  come 
to  judgment:  Live  joyful,  for  soon  thou  wilt  be 
no  more  ;  in  either  alternative,  the  present  value 
of  the  present  being,  considered  for  its  own  sake, 
dwindles  in  a  rational  estimate.  As  connected 
with  a  greater  life  to  come,  though  made  import- 
ant by  such  connection,  yet  how  comparatively 
poor  !  regarded  as  the  whole  of  our  existence,  how 
absolutely  vain  !  In  the  first  aspect,  it  is  vanitas ; 
in  the  second,  it  is  vanitas  vanitatum,  utterly  vain, 
a  "vanity  of  vanities."  The  Epicurean  idea  and 
the  Epicurean  call  to  mirth  are  as  inconsistent 
with  the  one  as  with  the  other. — T.  L.] 


136  ECCLESIASTES. 


B. In  Presence  of  the  Insolence,  Bold  Assumption  and  Violence  of  Fortnnate 

and  Influential  Pools,  the  Wise  Man  can  only  Preserve  his  Peace  of  Soul 
by  Patience,  Silence  and  Tranquility. 

Chap.  IX.  17— X.  20. 

1.  Of  the  advantage  of  a  wise  tranquility  over  the  presumptuous  insolence  of  fools. 

(IX.  17— X.  4.) 

17  The  words  of  wise  men  are  heard  in  quiet  more  than  the  cry  of  him  that  ruleth 

18  among  fools.     Wisdom  is  better  than  weapons  of  war :  but  one  sinner  destroyeth 
1  much  good.     Dead  flies  cause  the  ointment  of  the  apothecary  to  send  forth  a  stink- 
ing savour :  so  doth  a  little  folly  him  that  is  in  reputation  for  wisdom  and  honour. 

2,  3  A  wise  man's  heart  is  at  his  right  hand ;  but  a  fool's  heart  is  at  his  left.     Yea 
also,  when  he  that  is  a  fool  walketh  by  the  way,  his  wisdom  faileth  him,  and  he 

4  saith  to  every  one  that  he  is  a  fool.     If  the  spirit  of  the  ruler  rise  up  against  thee, 
leave  not  thy  place;  for  yielding  pacifieth  great  ofiences. 

2.  Of  the  advantage  of  quiet,  modest  wisdom  over  the  externally  brilliant  but  inconstant  fortune 

of  fools. 

(Vers.  5-10.) 

5  There  is  an  evil  which  I  have  seen  under  the  sun,  as  an  error  which  proceedeth 
6,  7  from  the  ruler :     Folly  is  set  in  great  dignity,  and  the  rich  sit  in  low  place.     I 

have  seen  servants  upon  horses,  and  princes  walking  as  servants  upon  the  earth. 

8  He  that  diggeth  a  pit  shall  fall  into  it ;  and  whoso  breaketh  an  hedge,  a  serpent 

9  shall  bite  him.     Whoso  removeth  stones  shall  be  hurt  therewith ;  and  he  that 

10  cleaveth  wood  shall  be  endangered  thereby.  If  the  iron  be  blunt,  and  he  do  not 
whet  the  edge,  then  must  he  put  to  more  strength :  but  wisdom  is  profitable  to 
direct. 

3.  Of  the  advantage  of  the  silence  and  persevering  industry  of  the  wise  man  over  the  loquacity 

and  indolence  of  fools. 

(Vers.  11-20.) 

11  Surely  the  serpent  will  bite  without  enchantment;  and  a  babbler  is  no  better. 

12  The  words  of  a  wise  man's  mouth  are  gracious ;  but  the  lips  of  a  fool  will  swallow 

13  up  himself     The  beginning  of  the  words  of  his  mouth  is  foolishness  :  and  the  end 

14  of  his  talk  is  mischievous  madness.     A  fool  also  is  full  of  words :  a  man  cannot 

15  tell  what  shall  be;  and  what  shall  be  after  him,  who  can  tell  him?  The  labour 
of  the  foolish  wearieth  every  one  of  them,  because  he  knoweth  not  how  to  go  to 

16  the  city.     Wo  to  thee,  0  land,  when  thy  king  is  a  child,  and  thy  princes  eat  in  the 

17  morning  !     Blessed  art  thou,  O  land,  when  thy  king  is  the  son  of  nobles,  and  thy 

18  princes  eat  in  due  season,  for  strength,  and  not  for  drunkenness  !  By  much  sloth- 
fulness  the  building  decayeth  ;  and  through  idleness  of  the  hands  the  house  drop- 

19  peth  through.     A  feast  is  made  for  laughter,  and  wine  raaketh  merry  :  but  money 

20  answereth  all  things.  Curse  not  the  king,  no,  not  in  thy  thought ;  and  curse  not 
the  rich  in  thy  bed-chamber:  for  a  bird  of  the  air  shall  carry  the  voice,  and  that 
which  hath  wings  shall  tell  the  matter. 

*[V.  8.   yaU.    Aditch,  or  pit,  Vulg.,fomia,'LX'S..^6ei)ov.    The  Syriac  Version  has  the  same  word.    It  is,  however,  no 

more  Aramaic  than  Hebrtjw,  being  rare  in  botli  langnagea,  though  the  verb,  signifying  to  dig,  is  found  in  the  latter.    Itfl 
form  is  unusual  in  having  dagesh  after  shurelt,  as  is  noted  in  the  margin. — T.  L.] 


CHAP.  IX.  17-18.— X.  1-20. 


137 


EXEGETIOAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

Of  the  three  sections  of  this  division,  as  we 
lay  them  down  in  essential  conformity  with 
Vaihingee,  the  first  compares  the  entire  nature 
of  the  wise  man  with  that  of  the  fool,  whilst  the 
eecond  draws  a  parallel  between  the  two  regard- 
ing the  conditions  of  their  happiness  ;  but  the 
third  points  out  the  more  profound*  causes  of 
their  opposite  destinies  in  two  special  qualities 
-of  both  (the  loquacity  and  indolence  of  fools, 
and  the  opposite  of  these  faults  in  the  wise  man). 
This  train  of  thought  is  less  clear  on  account  of 
the  peculiar  form  of  the  sentences, —  nearly  all 
being  proverbs  of  two  lines,  concise  in  extent, 
and  significant  and  aphoristic  in  character ;  — 
but  it  must  not  therefore  be  disregarded,  nor 
displaced  by  the  acceptance  of  an  incongruity 
of  plan  or  connection,  as  if  it  were  a  conglomer- 
ate of  many  groups  of  maxims  or  of  separate 
proverbs  with  no  internal  connection.  By  an 
atomistic  and  disintegrating  process,  this  section 
has  been  divided  by  Hengstenberg  into  five 
divisions,  by  Hahn  into  eight,  and  by  Elster 
even  into  nine;  (1)  ix.  17™x.  1;  (2)  x.  2,  3  ; 
(3)  ver,  4;  (4)  vers.  5-7;  (5)  vers.  8-10;  (6) 
vers.  11-14;  (7)  ver.  15;  (8)  vers.  16-19;  (9) 
ver,  20;  we  shall  present  the  special  refutation 
of  this  system  in  our  illustrations  of  the  words 
and  sense  of  the  individual  verses. 


[Ver.  9.  pp] ;  for  pt^N  a  denominative  from  V^^,  "a  knife,"  and,  therefore,  having  no  relation  to  the  verb  pQ  as 

fonnd,  with  quite  a  different  meaning.  Job  xxii.  2 ;  xxxiii.  3 ;  xv.  3 ;  Isaiah  xxii.  15,  etc.  Lit.,  "  shall  be  cut,"  or  "  may  bo 
cut  thereby."    It  is  another  example  of  variant  orthography,  showing  that  the  first  manuscripta  of  this  work  were 

written  from  the  ear.    See  remarks  on  HI /jtV  and  similar  words,  page  116.— T.  L,j 

[Ver.  10.  htypp ;  tliG  sense  of  swingirig,  which  ZBcklbr,  Hitzig,  and  Elster  give  to  thia  word,  is  not  confirmed  by 

Bzek.  xxi.  26,  to  which  they  refer.  Gesenius  gives  the  sense  to  sharpen,  palish,  but  derives  it  from  the  primary  idea  of 
lighl  moving,  as  In  the  rapid  motions  of  a  whet-stone,  which  Is  very  probable.  The  accents  connect  it  with  □'' J3  faces 
^ges,  though  the  Vulgate  and  LXX  have  disregarded  it. — T.  L.]  ' 

2.  First  strophe.  Chap.  ix.  17— x.  4.  Of  the 
patient  and  tranquil  nature  of  the  wise  man  in 
contrast  with  the  arrogant  insolence  and  irasci- 
bility of  the  fool. — The  words  of  wise  men 
are  heard  in  quiet  more  than  the  cry  of 
him  that  ruleth  among  fools.  Observe  the 
connection  with  the  section  immediately  preced- 
ing, vers.  13-16,  which  shows  the  superiority  of 
wisdom  by  a,  single  example.  But  this  verse 
opens  a  new  section  in  so  far  as  it  begins  to  treat 
specifically  of  tranquility  as  a  characteristic  and 
cardinal  virtue  of  the  wise  man.  He  who  hears 
in  quiet,  proves  himself  thereby  a  lover  of  quiet 
and  tranquility,  and  therefore  a  wise  man.  A 
quiet  attention  to  wise  words  is  a  condition  ne- 
cessary to  their  practical  obedience,  and  conse- 
quently to  becoming  wise  and  acting  wisely. 
The  counterpart  of  this  is  shown  by  the  boister- 
ous and  passionate  cry  of  the  '^  ruler  among 
fools,^^  i.  e.,  not  absolutely  of  the  "foolish 
ruler"  (Yaihinger,  etc.,  referring  to  Ps.  liv.  6; 
Job  xxiv.  13,  ff.),  but  of  a  ruler  who,  as  he  rules 
over  fools,  is  foolish  himself;  comp.  chap.  x.  16. 
Elster  correctly  observes  :  "Two  pictures  are 
here  compared,  the  wise  man  among  his  scholars, 
who  receive  his  teachings  with  collected  atten- 
tion, and  thoughtful  quiet,  and  u.  ruler  wanting 
in  wisdom  to  control,  and  who,  in  undignified 
and  boisterous  ostentation,  issues  injudicious 
commands   to  those  who  execute  them  quite  as 


*  [These  ethical  and  logical  divisions  are  not  easy  to  trace. 
The  different  methods  adopted  by  different  commentators, 
warrant  a  strong  suspicion  of  their  reality.  There  is, 
doubtless,  a  connection  in  the  thought,  but  it  is  poetical 
rather  thian  logical,  suggestive  rather  than  formally  didac- 
tic. In  the  Metrical  Version  there  is  an  attempt  to  group 
into  separate  cantos  the  thoughts  that  seemed  to  have  the 
nearest  relation  to  each  other;  but  these  might,  perhaps,  be 
differently  arranged,  and  with  equal  effect.  The  mind  of 
the  author  may  be  regarded  under  different  aBpects.  And 
BO,  too,  of  the  reader,  it  may  be  said,  that  the  division  for 
him  may  depend  very  much  on  his  own  spiritual  state;  for 
it  is  the  very  nature  of  all  such  musing,  emotional  writing, 
to  suggest  more  to  une  mind  than  to  another.  It  may  even 
Rive  a  wider  and  a  higher  train  of  thought  to  the  reader 
than  the  writer  himself  possessed:  and  that  too  legiti- 
mately, or  without  any  violence  to  the  text;  for  there  is  a 
spirit  in  words  witnessing  with  our  spirits,  and,  under  favora- 
ble spiritual  circumstances,  there  may  be  seen  a  light  in  our 
author's  language  which  he  did  not  soe,  or  but  dimly  saw, 
himself.  And  this  we  may  suppose  to  have  been  the  very 
design  of  the  higher  or  divine  author,  in  giving  such  a  dra- 
matic or  representative  work  a  place  in  His  holy  written 
revelation.  The  whole  book  is  a  meditation,  or  a  series  of 
meditations.  The  thoughts  do  not,  indeed,  follow  each 
other  arbitrarily ;  but,  like  our  best  thinking,  are  connected 
more  by  emotional  than  by  logical  bands.  Place  ourselves 
iu  the  same  subjective  state — read  it  as  poetry,  not  as  a 
formal  didactic  ethical  treatise — and  we  shall  readily  see 
what  there  is  in  each  part,  in  each  verse,  in  a  single  word 
sometimes,  that  makes  the  writer  think  of  what  follows, 
though  all  logical,  or  even  rhetorical  criticism  might  fail  to 
find  it.  (See  remarks  p.  176).  Take,  for  example,  these 
verses  of  the  ix.  and  x.  chapters,  a-;  apparently  the  most 
dlBConnected  of  any  in  the  whole  poem.  The  ever-recurring, 
or  underlying  thought  is  wisdom  in  its  two  apparently  con- 
tradictory aspects  of  preciousness  and  vanity — wisdom,  of 
Buch  inestimable  value  in  itself  aa  compared  with  folly,  and 
yet,  thMngh  folly,  rendered  so  unavailing.    The  episodal 


mention  of  "  the  poor  wise  man"  leads  on  the  general  train 
of  thought,  but  it  immediately  suggests  (ver.  7)  how  one 
sinner  (one  fool)  may  destroy  its  effect  upon  a  community. 
This  prompts  the  parallel  thought,  how,  in  the  individual, 
too,  a  little  folly  taints  all  his  better  acquisitions,— the  mode 
of  expressing  this  being,  doubtless,  a  favorite  proverbial 
form  commending  itself  less  for  its  nicety  than  for  its  ex- 
quisite appositeness.  This  again  makes  him  think  how  read- 
ily the  fool  exposes  his  folly ;  as  the  most  striking  exampU 
of  which  there  occurs  to  the  mind  the  rashness  with  which 
such  bring  upon  themselves  the  displeasure  of  the  ruler. 
Then  comes  readily  up  the  folly  of  rulers  themselves, — then 
examples  of  it  in  subverting  the  proper  relations  of  life.  A 
pause,  perhaps,  occurs ;  some  links  pass  silently  through  the 
mind,  but  the  chain  of  thought  still  shows  itself.  It  is  trans- 
ferred from  the  higher  to  the  more  ordinary  avocations  of  life. 
It  is  still  the  unavailingness  of  human  wisdom.  With  all  our 
care,  and  all  our  skill,  there  is  danger  everywhere,  liability 
to  mistakes  and  mishaps  in  every  business,  and  in  every  act. 
Another  pause;  it  is  the  same  thought  but  it  takes  a  differ- 
ent form — the  unavailingness  of  eloquence,  or  the  gift  of 
speech  [that  splendid  evil,  6  koct^o?  t^s  aSt/ct'as,  Jas.  iil.  6,  or 
"ornament  of  unrighteousness"].  Here,  too,  there  is  to  be 
traced  the  influence  of  the  proverbial  association :  "  the 
serpent  bites  without  enchantment;"  so  is  the  gift  of  speech 
to  its  possessor  when  misemployed  in  vain  babbling  or  in 
slander.  In  such  a  tracking  of  ideas  and  emotions,  the 
transitions  may  seem  slight  and  even  fanciful ;  but  they  are 
more  natural,  more  sober,  more  impressive,  we  may  say,  in 
their  moral  and  didactic  effect,  than  those  formal,  logical 
divisions  which  commentators  so  confidently  propose,  and 
in  which  they  so  greatly  differ.  Other  readers  may  be  dif- 
ferently affected,  so  that  they  discover  in  it  other  associa- 
tions of  thought  [for  there  are  various  ways,  lying  below 
the  soul's  direct  consciousness,  in  which  our  spiritual  move- 
ments link  themselves  together]  but  such  diversity  of  view, 
it  may  be  said,  arises  from  the  very  nature  of  this  kind  of  sut>- 
j  ective  writing,  and  is  evidence  of  excellency  in  it  rather  than 
of  a  defect.  It  comes  from  its  very  suggestiveness,  and  shows 
the  rich  fertility  inherwit  in  its  germs  of  thought. — T.  L.] 


138 


ECCLESIASTES. 


injudiciously.  Comp.  tlie  mild  and  tranquil 
nature  of  the  servant  of  God,  with  the  criers  in 
the  streets:  Isa.  xlii.  2;  Matt.  xii.  19.— Ver.  18. 
Wisdom  is  better  than  -weapons  of  w^ar; 
i.  c,  it  is  stronger,  more  efifective,  and  indomita- 
ble than  the  greatest  physical  strength  and  war- 
like preparation,     3Tp  poetical,  and  equivalent 

to  nnn'7n  comp.   Ps.  Iv.  19;   Dan.  vii.  21;  and 

therefore,  31p"'73    as    elsewhere  we  have    '73 

tI:       ■".  •■: 

iTOnSn,  not  merely  weapons  of  war  (  Vulgate:  ar- 
ma  lielUca;  Elster,  etal.),  but  implements  of  war, 
warlike  instruments,  and  apparatus,  war  mate- 
rial in  general  (LXX  anevy  TvoXe/aov). — But  one 
sinner  destroyeth  much  good.  "One  sin- 
ner," i.  e.,  a  single  one  of  those  coarse  miscreants 
or  fools,  who  can  command  physical  strength, 
but  are  destitute  of  wisdom.  There  certainly 
can  be  no  intention  to  make  a  special  allusion  lo 
the  "heathen  world-monarch,"  i.  e.,  the  Persian 
king  (Hengstenbekg),  nor  in  the  expression, 
"much  good"  is  there  any  reference  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  Persian  realm.  This  expres- 
sion ^^^^  nSlQ  can  rather  be  only  intended  to 
show  what  is  homogeneous  with  wisdom  and  be- 
longing to  it,  consequently  the  salutary  creations 
and  measures  of  ^visdom,  its  blessings  in  the 
various  spheres  of  the  civil,  and,  especially,  of 
the  moral  life  of  men. — Nine  manuscripts  read 
NDni  instead  of  NOini  "and  one  sin  destroyeth 
much  good;"  but  the  connection  imperatively 
demands  the  retention  of  the  Masoretic  reading. 
— Chap.  X.  1.  Dead  flies  cause  the  oint- 
ment of  the  apothecary  to  send  forth  a 
stinking  savour.  Literal,  "flies  of  death," 
etc.  The  singular  E^'X^;,  with  the  plural  '3137, 
is  to  be  taken  distributively :  each  individual 
dead  fly  can  make  the  ointment  stink,  as  soon  as 
it  falls  into  it.  For  this  construction  comp. 
Hosea  iv.  8 ;  Prov.  xvi.  2 ;  Song  of  Solomon  ii.  9 ; 
Gesenius,  Lehrgebdude,  pp.  665,  713.  ^'3^ 
means  literally  "  turns  into  liquid,  causes  to 
bubble  up,"  i.  «.,  seta  into  fermentation,  and  in 
that  way  produces  the  decomposition  and  rotten- 
ness of  the  ointment.  nplT,  dealer  in  spices. 
This  addition  gives  us  to  understand  that  the 
valuable  ointment  of  commerce  is  meant,  and  by 
no  means  a  worthless  article. — So  doth  a  little 
foUy  him  that  is  in  reputation  for  ■wisdom 
and  honor.  [Zookler's  comment  is  based 
upon  his  translation  :  "Weightier  than  wisdom, 
than  honor,  is  a  little  folly,"*  which  is   essen- 


*[The  objections  to  the  rendering  of  ZiicKLER,  HlTzia, 
Stuart,  and  others,  are  1st :  the  unusual  meaning  "  heavia-,'" 
which  it  gives  to  1p\  a  sense  existing  primarily  in  the 

root,  and  appearing  in  the  Syriac  and  the  Arabic,  but  having 
no  other  example  in  the  Hebrew;  2d,  the  tilling  up,  or  sup- 
posed ellipsis  (-'in  the  eyes  of  the  ignorant  and  foolish"), 
which  is  required  if  we  give  it  the  more  common  Hebrew 
significance  of  "precious,  honoralile;"  3d,  and  chiefly,  the 
singular  incongruity  that,  by  either  of  these  authors,  is 
introduced  into  the  comparison:  "as  the  dead  fly  taints  the 
precious  ointment,  so  a  little  folly  outweighs  wisdom,"  etc., 
or,  is  more  precious  in  the  vulgar  opinion.  It  is  evidently 
a  comparison  in  either  rendering,  though  the  particle  of 
comparison  is  omitted,  as  in  many  other  cases,  especially  of 
the  concise  sententious  kind  [see  the  long  list  in  ttle  Gram- 
mar of  JoNA  Ben  Gannacu].  The  objection  to  the  common 
English  rendering  (which  is  also  that  of  Geier,  Tremellids, 
and  the  great  critic  Gl,as31US}  is  that  it  requires  a  repetition 


tially   different   from    our    English   Version 

T.  L.].  IP''  is  here  used  in  its  original  signifi- 
cation "heavy,  weighty,"  namely,  in  the  eyes 
of  the  dazzled  multitude,  that  is,  accustomed  to 
esteem  folly,  and  indeed  a  very  small  amount 
of  folly,  of  more  value  than  all  real  wisdom  and 
honor.  "Wisdom  and  honor"  correspond  in 
this  second  clause  to  the  costly  ointment  of  the 
first,  and  the  "little  folly"  (OJt^n)  corresponds 
to  the  fly,  the  little  dead  animal,  that  nevertheless 
corrupts  the  whole  pot  of  ointment ;  comp.  1  Cor. 
V.  6. — Ver.  2.  After  ver.  1  has  explained  and  de- 
veloped the  second  clause  of  ix.  18,  the  author 
turns  back  to  the  illustration  of  the  great  advan- 
tages of  wisdom  over  folly,  that  is,  to  the  first 
clause  of  ix.  18.  A  -wise  man's  heart  is  at  his 
right  hand.  That  is,  it  is  in  theright  place,  whilst 
the  fool's  is  really  at  the  left,  i.  e.,  has  sinister  and 
perverse  purposes.  "  Heart "  is  here  equivalent 
to  judgment,  as  in  the  subsequent  verse,  and 
in  Prov.  ii.  2;  xiv.  33;  xv.  28— Ver.  3.  Tea 
also,  -when  he  that  is  a  fool  vralketh  by 
the  -way,  his  ■wisdom  faileth  him.  That  is, 
when  he  goes  out  he  lets  people  perceive  his  want 
of  judgment  in  various  ways — for  which  reason 
he  would  do  much  better  to  remain  at  home  with 
his  stupidity. — And  he  saith  to  every  one 
that  he  is  a  fool.  Namely,  because  he  con- 
siders himself  alone  wise,  and  as  a  fool  he  can 
do  no  otherwise;  for  as  soon  as  he  should  con- 
sider himself  a  fool,  he  would  have  made  the 
beginning  of  his  return  to  the  path  of  wisdom. 
Knobel,  Etmald,  and  Vaihinger  render  ;  "it  is 

foolish."  But  73D  stands  elsewhere  only  for 
persons ;  for  the  adjective  sense  it  would  be 
necessary  lo  assume  the  reading  73p. — ^Ver.  4 
is  not  a  specific  maxim  incidentally  dropped, 
(Elstee)  but  an  admonition  holding  the  closest 
connection  with  what  precedes,  and  which  fortni 
the  practical  conclusion  of  the  whole  discussion 
(beginning  with  ix.  17)  concerning  the  relation 
between  wise  gentleness  .and  foolish  passionate- 
ness.     For  the  ruler  among  fools  (ix.  17)  here 

of  K'''N3'  in  the  second  member;  but  for  such  ellipsis, 
especially  in  proverbial  expressions,  and  when  the  context 
evidently  favors  it,  there  is  good  and  clear  authority. 
Comp.  Prov.  xiii.  2:  "From  the  fruit  of  his  mouth  a  man 
shall  eat  good,  but  the  soul  of  the  wicked — folly ;"  that  is 

shall  eat  folly  [with  ellipsis  of  73i^rt].    Comp.  Prov.  xxvl. 

9;  Jerem.  xvii.  11.  A  still  stronger  case  is  found.  Job 
xxiv.  19,  where  there  is,  in  fact,  a  double  ellipsis,  and  yet 
the  comparison  and  ttie  meaning  are  both  quite  clear; 
"  Heat  carries  off  the  snow  waters,  Sheol — have  sinned;" 
that  is,  so  "  sheol  (carries  off  those  that)  have  sinned " — 

INDn  7lNl^.  There  is  an  ellipsis  both  of  the  governing 
verlj,  and  of  the  relative  pronoun.  "  The  dead  tiy  taints  the 
fragrant  ointment,  so  a  little  folly  [taints]  one  honorable 
for  wisdom,"  etc.  Nothing  could  be  more  apt,  or  true.  This 
rendering  preserves  also  the  analogy  between  a  good  name 
and  precious  odors,  a  metaphor  common  in  all  languages, 
and  80  strikingly  introduced  vii.  1,  and  Cant.  1.  3:  Dead 
flies  spoil  the  fragrant  ointment,  a  little  fotly  the  good 
name.  This  is  in  accordance,  too,  with  a  common  usage  in 
Hebrew,  by  which  the  sense  of  K/'N3n  is  transferred  from 
the  literal  ill  savor  to  odiousness  of  character.  The  prepo- 
sition 0  with  the  sense  of  propter,  on  account  of,  is  also 
well  established:  nu^D    riDDnO    Tp\  "  precious,"  that 

T   ■  T   :     T   ■■  I  TT 

is,  held  in  esteem  "for  wisdom  and  honor."  The  two  verbs 
^O''  and  Ey^X3'  are  to  be  taken  together,  or  the  one  as 
qualifying  the  other :  "  make  corrupt,  make  ferment,"  or 
froth,  that  is,  corrupt  by  fermentation — "  with  frothy  taint.** 
See  Ikletrical  Version. — T.  L.l 


CHAP.  IX.  17-18.— X.  1-20. 


139 


clearly  appears  again  as  "ruler;"  the  "great 
offences"  point  back  to  the  "sinner"  of  ix.  18; 
and  thus  also  is  there  made  a  close  connection 
with  vers.  2  and  3  of  this  chapter.  Hence 
LniHEK  is  correct  in  his  rendering  :  "  Therefore, 
when  the  insolence  of  a  mighty  one,"  etc.  If 
the  spirit  of  the  ruler  rise  up  against  thee. 

For  the  expression  1V_  n^^jT  PO  in  which  HIT 
does  not  mean  spirit  {Sept.,  Vulg.,  Hengsten- 
BERs),  but  anger,  comp.  2  Sam.  xi.  12;  Ps. 
Ixxviii.  21 ;  Ezek.  xxxviii.  18. — Leave  not  thy 
place;  i.  e.,  do  not  be  disconcerted,  do  not  be- 
come dissatisfied,  as  this  would  develop  itself  in 
a  changed  position  of  thy  body  in  a  manner  that 
would  entail  danger  on  thee.  In  this  obvious 
illustration  it  is  not  necessary,  with  Hitzig,  to 
explain  TOlpO  by  "  thy  condition  of  soul,  thy 
usual  state  of  mind," — an  interpretation  for 
wliich  the  appeal  to  the  soul — "maintain  thy 
place" — ^in  the  Arabian  story  of  the  "Golden 
Necklace,"  scarcely  aifords  a  sufficient  reason. — 
For  yielding  pacifieth  great  offences, 
i.e.,  prevents  them,  smothers  them  in  the  birth, 
and  does  not  let  them  come  to  light.  We  iind 
similar  sentences  in  Prov.  x.  12  ;  xv.  1 ;  xxv.  15. 
3.  Second  strophe.  Vers.  5-10.  Of  the  appa- 
rent but  inconstant  fortune  of  fools,  and  of  the 
superiority  of  the  modest,  but  effective  and 
sterling  influence  of  wisdom. — For  ver.  6,  first 
clause,  comp.  chap.  vi.  1. — As  an  error  "which 
proceedeth  from  the  ruler.  By  the  compa- 
rative 2  in  njJM,  the  evil  in  the  first  clause  is 
marked  as  one  that  is  not  simply  an  error  of  a 
ruler,  but  which  only  appears  as  such,  manifests 
itself  as  such,  so  as  to  draw  after  it  much  worse 
evils,  (EwALD  is  correct  in  translating,  "appa- 
rently in  error  ").  We  can  also  understand  this 
3  as  3  veritatis,  and  either  leave  it  untranslated 
(as  Elster,  according  to  Luther  and  many 
older  authors)  or  give  it  through  our  turn: 
"there  is  an  evil  in  respect  to  an  error"  (Hit- 
zig); it  is  then  indicated  that  the  particular 
action  in  question  corresponds  to  the  general 
idea  of  an  evil  (H^l) ;  compare  2  Sam.  ix.  8. — 
The  explanations  of  Knobel,  Vaihingeb,  and 
Hahn  are  censurable  in  making  3  equivalent  to 
the  expressions  "according  to,  or  in  conse- 
quence of  which ;"  as  are  also  those  of  Heng- 
STENBERO,  who,  following  the  example  of  Hier- 
ONTMns  and  a  Jewish  adept  in  Scripture  learning 
whom   he    questioned,   understands    the    term 

"ruler"  (D'^ri)  to  be  God,  and  thence  thinks 
of  an  act  of  divine  power  that  seems  like  a  fault, 
but  is  none, — an  interpretation  which  is  untena- 
ble on  account  of  the  manifest  identity  of  D'W 
with  /tfflD  in  ver.  4. — Vers.  6  and  7  give  two 
examples  of  errors  of  rulers. — Folly  is  set  in 
great  dignity ;  namely,  by  the  caprice  of  a 
ruler  who  elevates  an  unworthy  person  to  the 
highest  honors  of  his  realm.  tPlJ  lit.,  "is  given, 
is  set,"  comp.  Esther  vi.  8;  Deut.  xvii.  15.  The 
abstract  '?3Dn  stands   for   the  concrete    '73Dn 

,.'.'.■-  T  T  — 

Which  (he  Septuagint,  Vulgate,  etc.,  seem  to  have 
read  directly,  but  which  is  not  therefore  to  be 
26 


put  in  the  place  of  the  Masoretic  text,  because 
the  latter  gives  a  much  stronger  thought;  it 
is  not  simply  a  fool,  it  is  personified  folly. — 
And  the  rich  sit  in  low  place,  i.  c,  by 
virtue  of  those  very  despotic  acts  of  a  despotic 
ruler,  the  rich  (i.  e.,  the  noble  and  distinguished, 
whose  wealth  is  patrimonial  and  just,)/io77tme» 
ingenuos  nobiles  (comp.  ver.  20,  as  also  the  syn- 
onym □'■1in~[3  ver.  17)  are  robbed  of  their 
possessions  and  driven  from  their  high  places. 
HiTzio  says:  "  Sudden  and  immense  changes  of 
fortune  proceeding  from  the  person  of  the  ruler 
are  peculiar  to  the  East,  the  world  of  despotism, 
where  barbers  become  ministers,  and  confisca- 
tions of  large  fortunes  and  oppression  of  posses- 
sors are  the  order  of  the  day." — Ver.  7.  I  have 
seen  servants  upon  horses,  and  princes 
■walking  as  servants  upon  the  earth.  A 
contrast  to  sitting  on  horseback,  which,  among 
the  Hebrews  was  considered  a  distinction  for  the 
upper  classes.  Comp.  2  Chron.  xxv.  28 ;  Esther 
vi.  8,  9 ;  Jer.  xvii.  25 ;  and  to  this  add  Justinian 
xli.  3:  '•^  Hoc  denigue  discrimcn  inter  servos  liber- 
osque  est,  quod  servi  pedibus,  liberi  non  nisi  equis 
incedunt.'^  Here  also,  as  in  the  preceding  verse, 
the  persons  compared  are  to  be  considered  as 
contrasted  not  merely  in  their  external  condition 
but  also  in  their  character ;  the  princes  are 
really  princely,  and  princely-minded  persons, but 
the  servants  are  men  with  base  servile  feeling, 
which  qualifies  and  makes  it  right  for  them  to 
serve. — Vers.  8-10  show  that  in  spite  of  this 
sudden  elevation,  so  easily  gained  by  unworthy 
and  foolish  persons,  their  lot  is  by  no  means  to 
be  envied ;  because  their  fortune  is  rife  with 
dangers,  because  the  intrigues  by  means  of 
which  they  excluded  their  predecessors  from 
their  possessions,  can  easily  overthrow  them, 
and  because  the  difficult  tasks  that  devolve  on 
them  in  their  high  offices  can  easily  bring  upon 
them  injury  and  disgrace.  Wherefore  genuine 
wisdom,  of  internal  worth  and  business-like 
capacity,  is  far  preferable  to  such  externally 
brilliant  but  unreliable  and  inconstant  fortune 
of  fools.  The  close  connection  between  these 
verses  and  vers.  5-7  is  correctly  perceived  by 
HiTZiG,  Hengstenbero  and  Hahn,  whilst  El- 
ster and  Vaihingeb  isolate  their  contents  too 
much  in  wishing  to  find  nothing  farther  in  them 
than  a  warning  against  rebellion,  or  resistance 
to  divine  command. — He  that  diggeth  a  pit 
shaU  fall  into  it.  This  is  different  from  Ps. 
vii.  15 ;  Prov.  xxvi.  27  ;  Sirach  xxvii.  26 ;  it  is 
not  a  pit  for  others,  but  simply  a  pit,  the  result 
of  severe  exertion  of  a  dangerous  character,  with 
the  implements  for  digging.  Falling  into  the  pit 
is  not  presented  as  a  necessary,  but  only  as  a 
very  possible  case. — And  Twhoso  breaketh  a 
hedge,  a  serpent  shall  bite  him ;  namely, 
in  accordance  with  the  well-known  and  fre- 
quently confirmed  fact,  that  serpents  and  other 
reptiles  nest  in  old  walls;  comp.  Isa.  xxxiv.  15; 
Amos  V.  19.  The  breaking  of  this  hedge  appears 
clearly  as  an  action  by  which  one  seeks  to  injure 
his  neighbor.  —Ver.  9.  Whoso  removeth 
stones  shall  be  hurt  therewith  ;  and  he 
that  cleaveth  wood  shall  be  endangered 
thereby.  Hitzig,  taking  the  futures  3^^'  and 
pD'  too  much  in  the  mere  potential  sense,  says: 


140 


ECCLESIASTES. 


"can  injure  himself."  See  ver.  8,  second  clause. 
For  ^"0^1,  "to  break  loose,  to  tear  out,"  that  is 
stones  from  the  earth  (not  "  to  roll  away,"  as 
Knobel  says),  comp,  1  Kings  v.  31. — DD'  is  not 
equivalent  to  "  endangereth  himself"  (Sept., 
EwALD,  Knobel  and  Vaihinoee),  but  is  to  be 
derived  from  t'SKf  a  knife  (from  DDD  "to  cut;"* 
comp.  Prov.  xxiii.  2)  and  is  to  be  translated  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  vulnerabitur  of  the  Vulgate  by, 
"he  will  injure  or  wound  himself,"  (Hitzig,  Els- 
TEK,  Hengstbnberg)  ;  see  Luther  also. — Ver. 
10.  If  the  iron  be  blunt.  (Zocklee  trans- 
lates: "If  one  has  blunted  the  iron").  Since 
nnp  as  piel  of  Hnp  "  to  be  blunt,"  can  scarcely 
mean  anything  else  than  to  make  blunt,  we  must 
either  consider  the  indefinite  "  one,"  as  the  sub- 
ject, or  the  wood-chopper  of  the  previous  verse. 
EwALD  ("Authors  of  the  0.  T."),  Hengstenbeko 
and  most  ancient  authors  (also  the  Vulgate  and 
Luther)  say,  that  nnp  is  to  be  taken  intransi- 
tively, and  as  equivalent  to  hebescit,  reiusum  fuit, 
but  this  is  opposed  by  the- following    Kin    before 

CD''J3"X7,  which  clearly  shows  a  change  of 
subject,  forbidding  the  thought  that  iron  can  be 
the  subject  of  this  clause.  The  view  formerly 
entertained  by  Ewald,  "  on©  leaves  the  iron 
blunt"  (Poetical  Books,  1  Ed.),  he  afterwards 
discarded  as  incorrect. — And  he  do  not  "whet 
the  edge.  Zockler  translates:  "And  it  is 
without  edge."     Hitzig  is  correct  in  saying  that 

0'J3-n'7     is  formed  as   CD'jn   n'?    "childless," 

■   T 

1  Chron.  ii.  30,  32,  and  is  equivalent  to  saying, 
"  without  an  edge,  oredgeless."  The  subsequent 

7pJ7p  is  not  to  be  connected  with  these  words, 
but  with  the  following  ones,  especially  as,  accord- 
ing to  the  only  passage  in  which  it  occurs  (Ezek. 
xxi.  20,)  it  does  not  signify  to  "polish,  to  sharp- 
en," but  "to  shake,  to  swing."  (Hitzig  and 
Ei.sTER  are  correct,  though  in  opposition  to  most 
modern  writers,  who  translate  :  "And  he  has  not 
whet  the  edge").  Then  must  he  put  to  more 
strength;  i.  e.,  in  splitting  the  wood  he  must 
swing  f  the  ax  with  all  his  strength. — But  ^yis- 
dom  is  profitable  to  direct.  Zockler  trans- 
lates :  "  But  it  is  a  proiit  wisely  to  handle  wis- 
dom." Read  (with  PIitzig  and  Elstee)  Tt^pn 
instead  of  TtbDn  thus  making  the  infinitive 
construct,  which,  with  its  object  noiin  (as  pre- 
dicate to  jl"")'')  forms  the  subject  (i.  e.,  it  is  a 
profit,  an  advantage,  or,  it  is  the  best;  comp.  the 
•opposite  [iiri]  rxi  in  ver.  11th.  For  the  phrase 
.nnjn   I'^/On   occurring  only  here  (lit.,  to  make 

*[Tho  meaning  given  to  TpC  ia  probably  the  correct  one 
(Bee  text  note),  aa  derived  from  tbe  noun  |Oty  "  a  knife  " 


(Arabic    ,  "•■; 


iWSvM^    I  ; 


but  njD  =  nSty,  meauB  to  see,  and 


is  only  rendered  to  cui  from  its  supposed  aflBnity  to  tbe  Latin 
S£co,  and  to  accommodttte  it  to  this  word.  The  sense  of 
?3D  "  to  become  poor,"  aa  in  Isa.  xli.  20  (pual),  and  in  the 

Arabic,  might  perhaps  answer  here,  but  it  would  mar  the 
parallelism. —  t.  L] 
t  [See  Text  Note  and  Metrical  Version,— T,  L.] 


wisdom  straight,  i.  e.,  to  direct  it  successfully,  to 
handle  it  skillfully)  comp.  a  similar  turn  ^'D'H 
ion  in  Ruth  iii.  10.  It  is  usual  to  retain  the 
infinitive  absolute  I'lypn  as  a  genitive  depen- 
dent on  JTin\  "And  wisdom  is  the  profit  of 
prosperity"  (Knobel);  or,  "wisdom  has  the 
advantage  of  amendment"  (Hengsteneeeg);  or, 
"and  wisdom  is  the  profit  of  exertion"  (?)  Ew- 
ald) ;  or,  "  wisdom  gives  the  advantage  of  suc- 
cess" (Vaihinger).  But  all  these  renderings 
give  a  thought  less  clear  and  conformable  tothe 
text  than  ours.  Luther  is  not  exact:  "There- 
fore wisdom  follows  diligence,"  (in  harmony  with 
the  Vulgate,  et  post  industriam  sequetur  sapientia). 
The  rendering  of  Hahn  is  nearest  to  ours:  "And 
the  favor  of  wisdom  is  an  advantage,"  wherein 
the  sense  of  "  favor  "  for  "VSIJU  doesnotseem 
quite  appropriate.  The  entire  sense  of  the  verse 
is  essentially  correct  in  the  following  rendering 
of  Hitzig  :  Whosoever  would  proceed  securely, 
and  not  expose  himself  to  the  dangers  that  are 
inseparable,  even  from  the  application  of  proper 
means  to  ends,  toils  in  vain  if  he  undertakes  the 
task  in  the  wrong  way  (like  those  fools  in  vers. 
6-9) ;  the  direct,  sensible  way  to  the  end  is  the 
best" — namely,  that  very  humble,  modest,  but 
effective  way  of  wisdom,  which  the  author  had 
recommended  already  in  ix.  17,  18  ;  x.  2,  3,  and 
now  in  vers.  12  ff.,  farther  recommends. 

4.  Third  Strophe.  Vers.  11-20.— Of  the  advan- 
tage of  the  silent,  sober,  and  industrious  de- 
meanor of  the  wise  man,  over  the  indolent  and 
loquacious  nature  of  the  fool. — Surely  the  ser- 
pent   will  bite    vrithout    enchantment. 

This  sentence  in  close  connection  with  verse 
10  advises  to  a  zealous  and  dexterous  application 
of  the  remedies  at  the  command  of  the  wise  man; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  shows  the  necessity  of 
such  application  by  an  example  chosen  perhaps 
with  reference  to  verse  8 ;  thus  forming  the  tran- 
sition to  the  warning  against  empty  loquacity 
and  its  evil  consequences  contained  in  vers.  12- 
14.  Koheleth  does  not  here  allude  to  the  charm- 
ing of  spiritual  serpents,  i.  e.,  of  vicious  men,  by 
importunate  requests  (Hengsteneerg)  but  un- 
doubtedly means  the  actual  art  of  charming  ser- 
pents ;  the  possibility  of  which,  or  rather  the 
actual  existence  of  which  he  clearly  presup- 
poses in  possession  of  wise  and  skillful  persons, 
just  as  the  author  of  the  58th  Psalm  (vers.  4  and 
5),  indeed,  as  Christ  himself  affirms  in  Markxvi. 
18;  Luke  X.  19.  (Comp.  also  Ex.  vii.  11,  and 
the  learned  observations  of  Knobel  on  the  art  of 

charming  serpents  among  the  ancients).  KvS 
WVh  literally,  "without  enchantment,"  i.  e., 
without  that  softly  murmured  magic  formula, 
which,  it  was  pretended,  formed  the  principal 
agent  in  expelling  poisonous  reptiles,  if  spoken 
at  the  proper  period,  and  thus   guarded  against 

the  danger  of  being  bitten.  I'ltySn  7;?3  literally, 
the  "  master  of  the  tongue,  '  i  e.,  who  has  the 
poisonous  tongue  of  the  reptile  in  his  power,  and 
knows  how  to  extract  the  poison,  or  to  prevent 
its  biting  ;  or  it  may  also  mean  the  "  one  with  a 
gifted  tongue,"  who  by  means  of  his  tongue  can 
produce  extraordinary  results  (HiTzio,  Hahn). 


CHAP.  IX.  17-18.— X.  1-20. 


141 


The  latter  interpretation  is  preferable  as  much 
on  account  of  the  analogy  of  ^^2  iv:^  Prov.  i. 
17  and  similar  expressions,  as  on  account  of  the 
context,  which  clearly  shows  that  the  author  has 
in  his  eye  one  of  ready  tongue  not  making  timely 
use  of  his  gift,  a  hero  with  his  tongue,  but  with- 
out energy  and  promptness  in  action. — Ver.  12. 
The  words  of  a  wise  man's  mouth  are  gra- 
cious. Such  a  one  therefore  should  not  be  si- 
lent, as  the  slack  serpent-charmer  in  ver.  11, 
but  should  speak  often  and  much,  because  he 
does  nothing  but  good,  and  acquires  favor  every- 
where with  his  "gracious"  words  (Luther). 
in  here  means  id  quod  gratiam  seu  favorem  parity 
or  graciousness  ;  comp.  Prov.  xxxi.  30  ;  and  for 
the  sentence  in  general  Prov.  xv.  2,  26. — But 
the  lips  of  a  fool  will  swallow  up  himself. 
Comp.  Prov.  xv.  2;  x.  8,  21;  xiii.  16,  etc.     Any 

other  reference  of  the  suffix  in  the  verb  lij^/^n 
than  to  the  logical  subject  rD2  is  inadmis- 
sible. For  the  plural  form  Jl^JlSty  comp.  Isa. 
lix.  3;  Ps.  lix.  7.— Ver.  13.  The  beginning  of 
the  words  of  his  mouth  are  foolishness; 
and  the  end  of  his  talk  is  mischievous 
madness.  That  is,  there  is  nothing  discreet 
eitlier  in  the  beginning  or  the  end  of  his 
foolish  twaddle  (Hitzig)  ;  he  remains  a  fool  in 
everything  that  he  says;  comp.  Prov.  xxvii.  22. 
"The  end  of  his  talk"  is  the  end  which  his 
mouth  makes  of  speaking,  the  last  and  most  ex- 
travagant of  his  foolish  speeches.  Of  this  it  is 
here  affirmed  that  it  is  mischievous  madness, 
namely,  even  for  himself  injurious  and  mischie- 
vous madness;  comp.  Prov.  xviii.  7;  Ps.  Ixiv. 
8,  etc. — Ver.  14.  A  fool  is  also  full  of  words. 
To  the  error  of  his  silly  speech,  he  adds  that  of 
endless  loquacity.*     And  he  is  most  apt  to  prat- 

♦[□'•'IJT   n3^\    It  is  not  mere  "loquacity"  that  ia 

here  intended.  The  best  explanation  is  that  of  Aben  Ezra, 
who  refers  it  to  vain  predictions,  [see  note  on  C^^T^H,  v. 
5,  Eng.  V.  7,  p.  91],  or  rather,  boasting  assertions  iu  rexpect 
to  the  future:  '"I  will  eat  and  drink,  says  the  fuol,  but  he 
knows  not  what  shall  be  in  his  life  or  in  his  death;  as  U 
Baid  in  another  place  [v.  7,  vi.  12],  there  are  many  words 
that  increase  vanity,  yet  who  knoweth  what  is  good  for  man 
fiic."  SoalaoRASHi:  ''In  his  simpleness,  the  fuol  is  full  of 
words,  dei'idiag  confidently  and  saying,  '  to-morrow  I  will 
do  80  aod  BO,  when  he  knoweth  not  what  shall  be  on  the 
morrow,— or  when  he  would  undertake  a  journey  for  jiain,' 
and  knoweth  nut  that  he  may  fall  by  the  sword."  Comp. 
Luke  xii.  20,  James  iv.  13.  This  is  also  the  iuterpretation 
of  Martin  Geier,  at  least  in  relation  to  the  14th  verse.  It  is 
etrougly  coufirmed  by  the  immediately  following  context. 

In  such  a  rendering  1  in  /  JD1.  has  an  adversative  force: 
'"  Though  the  fool  multiply  words,  yet  man  knows  not,  etc.''' 
"For  who  shall  tell  him  what  shall  be  after  himt '  This  does 
not  menu  the  remote  future,  nor  even  the  future  generally, 
HS  would  be  expressed  by  VinX,  bnt  the  near,  the  imme- 
diate, which  is  i  he  sense  given  by  the  preposition  in  the 
compound    VinXD,     ''from  after"— th.B.t    which    comes 

fiom,  out  of  or  directly  after  the  present, — or,  "  on  the  mor- 
row," according  to  the  language  of  these  Jewish  interpre- 
ters, and  that  of  St  James.  Comp.  Fuerst's  derivation  of 
inO  (to-morrow),  which  he  regards,  not  as  an  independent 

ruot,  but  as  a  tontraclion  of  TPMO)    as  he  makes  it,  or 

"irjNO   or   inX-HD    (see  Marg.'Note  to  ver.  7,  p.  91). 

This  shows,  too,  the  direct  connection  with  the  verse  that 
•oUows,  and  furnishes  a  key  to  that  obscure  expression  on 
which  there  is  bo  much  comment  to  so  little  purpose.  Our 
Englibh  Version :  ■'  The  labour  of  the  foolish  wearieth  every 
one  of  them,  because  he  knoweth  not  how  to  go  to  the  city," 
IB  hardly  intelligible  in  any  sense  that  can  be  put  upon  it. 


tie  gladly  and  much  about  things  of  which,  from 
their  nature,  he  can  know  the  least,  namely, 
about  future  events.  And  to  this  fact  there  ia 
again  reference  in  what  is  said  in  the  second  and 
third  clauses. — A  man  cannot  tell  vvhat 
shall  be.  n;n'*j2^-no  must  not  be  changed  into 
n''nE2^~np,  according  to  the  Septuagint,  Symma- 
chus,  Vulgate,  and  Syriac,  Vaihinger,  etc. ;  iot 
the  subsequent  clause  does  not  form  a  tautology 
with  the  present  one,  even  when  retaining  the 
JMasoretic  reading,  because  there  is  here  denied 
in  the  first  place  only  the  knowledge  concerning 
the  future  in  itself,  and  then  the  actual  existence  of 
a  foreteller  of  future  events  (as  a  reason  for  the 
ignorance  of  the  future). — Anfl  what  shall  be 
after  him  -who  can  tell  him?  As  in  T'"int< 
of  chap.  vi.  12,  (but  different  from  that  in  V^X}^} 
of  chap.  ix.  8),  the  suffix  in  V^HND  refers  to 
the  subiect  CDli^n,  not  to  n'n'*^~nD  as  though 

"  T  T  r  •.:■■.•- 

there  were  a  distinction  here  drawn  between 
the  near  and  the  remote  consequences  of  the  talk 
of  the  fool  (Hitzig).  A  restriction  of  the  here 
mentioned  res  futurse  to  the  evil  consequences  of 
the  thoughtless  twaddle  of  the  fool,   is  quite  as 

The  same  may  be  said  of  Hitzig's  and  Zockler's  attempts  to 

explain  it.  The  expression,  O^V^D^H  /DJ/  is  a  col- 
lective one,  "  the  toil  uf  fools,"  equivalent  to  ''  a  foolish  toil," 
to  be  taken  as  a  nominative  iadepindcnt,  or  what  De  Sact 
styles,  in  hia  Arabic  Grammar,  Vinchoatif,  or  detached  sub- 
ject. Its  separation  from  the  verb  following  is  shown  by 
the  change  of  gender, — the  feminine  prefix  in  lil^J"'n  be- 
ing used  to  show  that  the  immediate  grammatical  subject  is 
the  neuter,  or  indefinite,  fact :  "  Vain  toil  of  fools  !  it  only 
wearieth  him;"  the  singular  objective  pronoun  in  -1i)J^J''n 

referring,  not  to  Q^ 7^D3  taken  diatributively,  but  to  the 
vain  predictor  in  ver.  14,  and  who  is  kept  in  view  throughout. 
"  It  wearieth  him,"~is  too  much  for  him — surpasses  hia 
knowledge.      Then    "ItVX    gives   the  reason:     "One  who 

knoweth  not  T"^  7K  JID/A  the  going  to  the  city  "—so 
plain  .1  fact  as  thtC — or  "  that  he  shall  go  to  the  city;"  even 
this  comes  not  within  hi3  knowledge  of  the  future.  '■'■How 
to  go,"  says  our  E.  V.,  and  tiiat  is  the  idea  conveyed  by  most 
others;  but  there  is  a  great  difficulty  in  making  any  sense 
out  of  it,  and  the  grammatical  construction  does  not  require 
it.     In  the  small  number  of  cases  in  Hebrew  where  we  find 

'V'V  followed  by  the  infinitive  (whether  with  or  without  7) 
it  is  to  be  determined  by  the  context  whether  it  means  4 
knowing  how  to  do  a  thing,  or  a  knowledge  of  ihe  doiug,  as 
a/ac£  or  event.  Thus  in  Ecclesiastes  iv.  Vi,  it  cannot  mean, 
'knows  not  how  to  be  admonished,"  which  makes  a  very 
pour  sense,  but,  "  no  longer  knows  (that  is,  heeds  or  recog- 
nizes) admonition,"  or  the  being  admonished.  In  Exod. 
xxxvi.  1,  2  Chron.  ii.  \Z;  1  Kings  iii.  7  ;  Isai.  vii.  16;  Amos 
iii.  10;  tbe  context  favors  th«  sense  of  *'■  knowing  how.''''    In 

Isai.  xlvii.  it  is  decidedly  tbe  o^her  way:  n^W  J?^^  does 
not  mean  -'■Icnnw  how  lo  be  bereaved,"'  but,  "  know  bereave- 
ment." Still  more  cK'ar,  a.nd preciseli/ paraltel  to  thiscase^ia 
Eoclesiastes  iv.  17  (Eng.  Hib.  v.  1)  where    CD'^Hr    O J''X 

)?'^  r\W}?h  can  only  mean  the  fact:  "Tbeyknow  not 
that  they  are  doing  evil  "  in  tlieir  sacrifices.  So  Ewald  ren- 
ders if.  Hitzig  and  Stuart  find  there  too  tlie  sense  ot  know- 
ing how :  "  They  know  not  how  to  do  evil,"  or,  according  to 
Ihe  turn  they  give  it,  "how  to  be  sad  f^  a  meaning  which  we 
do  not  hesitate  to  pronouoce  absurd  in  itself,  and  also  alto- 
gether unsupported  by  2  Sam.  xii.  18,  to  which  they  refer. 
According  to  the  view  we  have  taken,  the  whole  passage 
(vers.  14,  15)  may  be  thus  rendered; — 
Predicting  words  he  multiplies,  yet  man  can  never  know 
The  thing  that  shall  he  ;  yea,  what  cometh  after  who  shall 

tell? 
Vain  toil  of  fools!  it  wearieth  him,— this  man  who  knoweth 

not 
What  may  befill  hia  going  to  the  city. 

It  is  no  paraphrase,  but  only  so  expressed  as  to  give  the 
spirit  of  the  Hebrew  as  shown  by  tlie  general  connection, 
and  by  the  evident  reference  of  the  J?T    in  ver.  15,  to  the 


142 


ECCLESIASTES. 


inadmissible  as  defining  it  to  consist  of  his  lofty 
plans  and  bold  projects  (Hexgstenberg).  There 
is  simply  a  general  mention  of  coming  events, 
precisely  as  in  the  similar  passage  in  chap.  vi. 
12. — Ver.  15.  The  labor  of  the  foolish  -wea- 
rieth  every  one.  Literal,  "  the  labor  of  fools;" 
the  plural  is  used  distributively  just  as  in  verse 
1;  comp.  Hosea  iv.  8.  The  auLhor  here  passes 
from  the  empty  and  annoying  loquacity  of  the 
fool  to  his  indolence,  his  downright  inertne^ss, 
and  feeble  slothfulness,  as  to  qualities  forming  a 
close  connection  with,  and  mainly  the  foundation 
of,  this  loquacity. — Because  he  knov^eth  not 
how  to  go  to  the  city.  Hitzig  less  correctly 
says :  "him  who  knoweth  not,"  and  Ewald 
■"the  one  who,"  etc.  But  this  second  clause 
is  rather  intended  to  give  the  reason  of  the 
premature  fatigue  of  the  fool,  as  also  of  the  fee- 
bleness and  unprofitableness  of  his  exertions. 
"  Not  to  know  how  to  go  to  the  city,"  is  doubt- 
less a  proverbial  expression  allied  to  that  in 
chap.  vi.  8:  "to  wajk  before  the  living,"  deno- 
ting ignorance  in  respect  to  behaviour  and  gene- 
ral incompetency.  The  way  to  the  city  is  here 
mentioned  as  that  which  is  the  best  known,  most 
traveled,  and  easiest  to  find  (Vaihingeb,  Heng- 
stesberg),  not  because  it  leads  to  those  great 
lords  described  in  ver.  16-19,  whom  it  avails  to 
bribe  [Ew.ald],  but  simply  in  so  far  as  the  city  is 
the  seat  of  the  rulers,  of  the  officers,  whence  op- 
pression proceeds,  and  whence  also  may  come  re- 
lief for  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  (Hitzig,  El- 

CDlNn  ^T*  N7  i»  Vfir.  14.  The  difference  betweeo 
no"?  ;^T,  and  flO^b  j.n%  ia  very  slig^ht,  but  the  "7 
makea  it  correspond  more  nearly  to  our  English  genitive 
phrase, -to  know  of  a  thiug," — that  id,  ab  an  event  or  fact. 
The  relative  *1I^X  here,  has  an  infurentialsense,  just  as  6s, 
eometimeH,  in  Grei.'k  and  the  Latin  qui  when  equivalent  (o 
quia :  "  who  knoweth  not  "=to  *'  Beeing  he  knoweth  not,"  or 
(quod)  "because  he  knoweth  not."  Such  a  mention  of 
'■going  to  the  city,"  as  one  of  the  most  commoQ  and  familiar 
illustrations  of  human  ignorance  of  the  future,  suggests  im- 
mediately Jamea  iv.  13:  "Go  to  ye  who  say  to-day,  or  to- 
morrow, we  will  go  to  a  certain  city,  etc.,  ye  who  kuow  not 
(otTii'es  used  exactly  as  ~1U/K  is  here)  what  shall  be  ou  the 
morrow,  etc."  It  may  have  been  this  very  passage,  thus 
uuderstood,  that  suggested  the  illustration  to  the  Apo&tle; 
since  bis  language  ]B  almost  identical  with  the  very  words 
ofRashi'siDterpretatiou.  The  great  difficulties  uuder  which 
Hitzig  and  Zocklek  labor,  and  their  far-fetched  reasous, 
V  arrant  the  offering  ot  the  above  explaoatioQ,  as  on«  that 
deserves  attention,  to  bay  the  least,  in  clearing  up  this  ob- 
scure passage. 

We  msiy  arrive  at  the  same  general  idea,  even  if  we  ren- 
der n^7  7  y^^  N7  "kuows  not  how  to  go,  etc.;"  and 
such  id  substiintially  the  conclusion  of  Aben  Ezra  in  an- 
other comment  on  the  15th  verse:  "The  fool  is  like  one 
■who  would  pry  into  things  loo  high  or  too  wonderful  for 
him,  when  he  knows  not  the  thiugs  that  are  visible  and  fa- 
miliar, or  like  a  man  who  purposes  to  go  to  a  city  when  he 
knoweth  not  the  way,  and  so  be  gets  weary,  and  "fails  in  hi3 
design."  It  is  the  same  general  lesson,  the  folly  of  confi- 
dent assertions  or  confideut  plans  respecting  the  future. 
Taken  in  either  of  these  ways,  it  avoids  the  exceedingly 
forced  explanations  which  Zockler  here,  and  Hitzig  in  his 
commentary,  give  of  the  passage. 

The  expression  ^ShS  JHV,  vi.  8,  may,  perhaps,  be 
cited  as  a  parallel  case  to    HD"?*?    ^'^^.     An  answer  might 

be  found  in  the  different  form  of  the  infinitive  JIOS,  which 
is  used  more  like  a  substantive  denoliug  t?ie  event,  or  fact,  as 
the  object  of  knowledge.  This  refrrcnce,  however,  is  at 
once  disposed  of  by  a  consideration  of  the  accents,  which, 
ill  vi.  8,  separate  the  two  words,  and  require  the  reniiering: 
■'  What  to  the  poor  man  wlio  knows,"— or  "  what  to  the  m- 
teUigent  poor  man,  to  walk,'— or  "that  he  should  walk  be- 
fore tiio  living."  la  other  words:  What  profit  is  his  intel- 
ligence in  his  walking  before  the  living?  Thus  it  becomes, 
4iccording  to  tho  usual  law  of  parallelism,  an  amplification 


ster).  Hahn  is  peculiar,  but  hardly  in  accord- 
ance with  the  true  sense  of  the  word  "IK'K:  "  The 
travail  which  foolish  rulers  (?)  prepare  for  their 
subjects  makes  these  latter  tired  and  faint,  brings 
tbem  to  despair,  so  that  they  do  not  kuow  regard- 
ing their  going  to  the  city,  whether,  or  when,  or 
how  it  must  take  place,  in  order  not  to  violate  a 
law." — Vers.  16-19  have  so  loose  a  connection 
with  ver.  15,  that  Hitzig  seems  to  be  rjght  when 
he  perceives  in  them  the  words  of  the  prattling 
fool  previously  described  (vers.  12-15),  instead  of 
the  actual  speech  of  the  author.  The  lament 
about  the  idle  lavishing  of  time,  and  luxurious 
debauchery  of  a  king  and  his  counsellors  in  these 
verses,  would  be  then  given  as  an  example  of  the 
extreme  injudiciousness  of  a  foolish  man  in  his 
talk,  and  the  following  warning  against  such 
want  of  foresight  (ver.  20)  would  then  be  very  fit- 
tingly annexed.  The  whole  tendency  of  the  sec- 
tion would  then  seem  directed  only  against 
thoughtless  and  idle  loquacity,  together  with  its 
evil  consequences  ;  whilst  the  indolence  and  lux- 
ury of  extravagant  nobles  (vers.  16,  18,  19)  form 
no  object  of  the  attack  of  the  author,  although  he 
may  consider  the  complaints  of  the  foolish  talker 
as  well  grounded,  and  may  himself  have  lived 
under  an  authority  attended  with  these  vices.* 
For  him  who  will  not  accept  this  view,  for  which 
the  relation  between  vers.  5  and  6  of  the  fourth 
chapter  may  be  quoted  as  analogous,  there  Is  no 
other  course  than,  with  the  great  majority  of  com- 
mentators, to  see  in  these  verses  a  farther  exten- 


of  the  thought  just  above  it;  "  What  profit  to  the 
wise?  '  It  is  another  example  of  the  spiritual  and  critical 
acuteness  that  dictated  the  Masoretic  accentuation  (see  2d 
Marginal  Note,  p.  9i).  Zockler  thinks  the  accents  here  of 
uo  authority ;  but  that  greac  critic  Ewald  holds  himself  go- 
verned by  them.    The  assertion,  moreover,  that  Vir  never 

has  the  adjective  sense  intelligens,  is  refuted  by  simply  look- 
ing into  a  concordance,  and  noting  the  places  whtre  it  is 
joined  with  the  participle    V^D    having  a  like  adjective 

force.  With  this  view  agrees  also  Aben  Ezra,  the  prince  of 
Jewish  critics.  It  is  fortified,  too,  by  the  difiiculty  which  all 
commentators  have  felt  in  making  any  clear  sense  out  of  the 
language:  "Who  knows  how  to  walk  before  the  living?" 
The  references  given  by  Hitzig,  Gen.  xvii.  1,  and  2  Kings 
iv.  13,  are  not  parallel;  since  the  preposition,  on  which  the 
meaning  of  the  phrase  so  much  depends,  is  entirely  diffe- 
rent.— T.  L.] 

*[ThiB  most  absurd  and  far-fetched  view  of  Hitziq  only 
shows  how  a  false  critical  theory  of  division  may  turn  one 
of  the  most  impressive  passages  of  the  book  into  a  fool's 
gabble.  It  all  comes  from  looking  for  logical  connections 
where  they  do  not  exist,  and  from  overlooking  the  poetical 
subjective  character  of  the  work  as  a  series  of  meditations, 
eacu  one  prompting  the  other,  but  by  atsociations  discerned 
by  ihe  feeling  rather  than  the  ethiL-al  reason.  It  is  the  free 
discursive  view  of  human  folly,  and  of  the  inefficiency  of 
man's  best  wisdom,  that  bringK  out  the  exclamation :  0  ill- 
governed  land  "wiih  its  weak  king  and  drunken  nobles, 
where  folly  so  abounds;  and  then  this  calls  up  the  picture 
of  the  higher  and  purer  ideal.  He  may  have  thought  of  the 
weak  sou  to  whom  his  kingdom  was  soon  to  be  committed; 
it  may  have  been  a  humbling  thought  of  himself  and  of  hid 
own  misgovern  men  t,  although  there  is  in  the  way  of  this 
that  Solomon's  youth  was  the  best  part  of  his  life ;  or  it  may 
have  been  prompted  by  his  general  historical  experience. 
View  it  any  way,  it  is  far  mcire  expressive  in  this  exclama- 
tory and  discursive  asi'ect,  than  though  it  were  bound  to- 
gether by  the  closest  syllogistic  ties.  And  this  appears  in 
what  follows,  in  perfect  poetical  harmony  does  1  his  free, 
contemplative  stylo  of  thought  turn  again  from  the  political 
to  the  cum mon  life — from  the  revelry  and  misgovernmeut 
of  kings  Hud  nobles  to  the  slothfulness,  luxury,  and  merce- 
nary spirit  that  are  found  in  the  lower  plane.  Yet  "  revile  not 
the  ruler," — that  is  the  next  thought  that  arises.  Obedience 
and  reverence  are  still  due  to  authority,  since  evils  abound 
in  all  ranks  Things  are  described  as  they  are,  and  to  find 
here  an  authority  lor  wine  drinking  is  about  as  rational  as 
to  seek  an  excuse  for  sloth  and  shiftlessness. — T.  h.] 


CHAP.  IX.  17-18.— X.  1-20. 


143 


sion  of  tlie  theme  oftndolence,  business  incapacity 
and  slothfulness  of  fools,  the  treatment  of  which 
was  begun  in  ver.  15.  Ver.  16  would  then  pass 
from  indolent  fools  in  general  to  indolent,  supine 
and  inefficient  rulers  and  nobles  in  particular. 
But  there  would  then  exist  a  very  imperfect,  if, 
indeed,  any,  connection  with  the  final  warning  in 
ver.  20;  indeed  the  open  manner  in  which  com- 
plaints are  made,  in  what  immediately  precedes, 
regarding  the  bad  conduct  of  rulers,  would  seem 
to  be  in  direct  contradiction  to  this  warning  about 
uttering  these  complaints  loudly. — Woe  to 
thee,  O  land,  -when  thy  king  is  a  child ! — 
That  is,  an  inexperienced,  thoughtless  fool,  inca- 
pable of  governing ;  comp.  1  Kings  iii.  7:  Isa.  iii. 
4, 12, — which  passages  also  describe  it  as  a  great 
misfortune  to  be  governed  by  a  child  [v^irtof]. 
Therefore  1J?J  is  not  to  be  rendered  by  "ser- 
vant, slave,"  which  latter  would  rather  be  ex- 
pressed by  13]^  [contrary  to  Doderlein,  Heez- 
PELD,  et  al.}. — And  thy  princes  eat  in  the 
morning. — A  sign  of  especially  excessive  intem- 
perance and  gluttony  ;  see  Isa.  v.  11  ff.;  Acts  ii.  15, 
andcompare  also  the  classical  parallels  in  CiOEtio, 
Phil.  ii.  40;  Catullus,  Carm.  xlvii.  5,  6  ;  Juve- 
nal, Sat.  II.  49,  50. — Ver.  17.  Blessed  art 
thou,  O  land,  when  thy  king  is  the  son 
of  nobles.  —  [a'"1in~]3  compare  l^li'i^^ 
Song  of  Solomon  vii.  2 ;  Isa.  xxxii.  8) ;  a  noble  not 
merely  by  birth,  but  also  in  disposition,  vere  nobi- 
lu,  gmeroms. — And  thy  princes  eat  in  due 
season,  for  strength  and  not  for  drunk- 
enness.— Therefore  make  that  proper  use  of 
wine  treated  of  in  Ps.  civ.  15 ;  1  Tim.  v.  23  ;  not 
that  perverted  use  against  which  we  are  warned  * 
in  Prov.  xxxi.  4.  n"113J3  is  not  "in  strength  " 
(Habn),  or  "in  virtue"  (Ewald),  but  "for 
strength,"  for  obtaining  strength.  The  prep.  3 
relates  to  the  object  on  whose  account  the  action 
-Oocur8,justasin  □1S3  ii.  24  (comp.  t32  iii.  12). 
—Ver.  18.  By  much  slothfulness  the  build- 
ing decayeth. — That  is,  the  edifice  of  state,  that 
is  here  compared  to  a  house  that  is  tottering  and 
threatening  to  fall  (comp.  Isa.  iii.  6 ;  Amos  ix.  11). 
The  intent  here  is  to  point  out  the  bad  effects  of 
the  rioting  idleness  of  the  great  ones  who  are 

called  to  govern  a  state.  Q'riSs^  literally :  "the 
two  idle"  [hands]  ;  comp.  Ewalu,  I  180  a,  187  c. 
The  expression  is  stronger  than  the  simple  form 

nSxj?  or  nh'iH  (Prov.  xix.  15 ;  xxxi.  27)  ; 
"double  idleness,"  i.  e.,  "great idleness." — And 
through  idleness  of  the  hands  the  house 
dioppeth  through. — That  is,  the  rain  pene- 
trating   through    the    leaky    roof.     The    words 

*[Ah  drunkenness  is  condemned  here,  or,  rather,  excess  of 
o.ny  kind,  revelling,  or  high  banqueting,  which  is  the  predo- 
minant meaning  of  TIK'  [comp.  TMr\^D    convivium],  whilst 

not  a  word  is  said  about  any  moderate  drinking^  this  remark 
must  be  regarded  as  rather  gratuitous.  What  makes  it  more 
than  gratuituus  is  the  fact  that  in  Prov.  xxxi.  4,  instead  of  a 
mere  warning  against  perverted  use,"  there  is  enjoined  upon 
"kings  and  princes"  total  abstinence  from  "all  wine  and 
itvong  drink,"  as  something  only  fit  to  be  given  to  persons 
in  extremii,  in  great  pain  or  debil'ty  [the  perishing,  the 
U'3J  'lO    or  "6afer  ire  som!"],  and  Wiere/ore  unfit  for  those 

VV       "T 

In  health,  and  especially  for  all  who  have  responsible  duties 
"o  perform— T.L.J 


Q'T    r\l'73ty  are  used  as  elsewhere  Q'T-tl'DT 

-T  :  TT    I      ;  • 

"idleness  of  the  hands,"  Isa.  xlvii.  3;  comp. 
Prov.  X.  4  — Ver.  19.  A  feast  is  made  fot 
laughter. — A  return  to  the  description  of  riot- 
ous  and  ruinous  conduct  as  given  in  verse  16. 

pinto?  "for  laughter,"  as  elsewhere  pint^B  with 

laughter  ;    comp.  for  this  use  of  S  2  Chron.  xx. 

21;  Ps.  cii.  5.— OnS  D'tvi?  literally,  "they 
make  bread  ;"  i.  e.,  they  give  banquets,  have  ri- 
otous feasts.  CDH?  ncv^  is  therefore  used 
here  in  a  sense  different  from  that  in  Ezek.  iv. 
15,  where  it  signifies  "to  prepare  bread,  to  bake 
bread;"  comp.  r~\Wif  in  chap.  iii.  12;  vi.  12.— 
And  ■wine  maketh  merry. — The  suflix  is 
wanting  just  as  in  Q'tyj?  the  HDH  was  left  out. 
Comp.  moreover,  Ps.  civ.  15,  where  an  innocent 
and  reasonable  enjoyment  of  wine  is  meant*  whilst 
here  the  allusion  is  to  a  perverted  and  debauch- 
ing use  of  it,  as  in  chap.  vii.  2  ff But  money 

ausTwereth  all  things. — That  is,  to  these  luxu- 
rious rioters,  who,  counting  on  their  wealth,  de- 
clare in  drunken  arrogance  that  "money  rules 
the  world,"  "for  money  one  can  have  every 
thing  that  the  heart  desires,  wine,  delicacies," 
etc.,  etc.  For  this  Epicurean  rule  of  life  see  Ho- 
race, £;pis.  I.,  6,  36-38.  r\:p  literally,  "to  an- 
swer, to  listen  to"  (v.  10),  but  is  here  equivalent 
to  "to  afford,  to  grant;"  comp.  Rosea  ii.  23. 
HiTZio  unnecessarily  considers  riJl?^  as  lliphil 
("makes  to  hear"). — Ver.  20.  Concerning  the 
probable  connection  with  the  preceding,  consult 
vers.  16-19  above. — Curse  not  the  king,  no, 
not  in  thy  thought. — i'lD  elsewhere  "know- 
ledge," here  "thought,"  Sept.  awEif^ijOL^.  The 
signification,  "study  chamber,"  given  by  Heng- 
STENBERQ,  lacks  philological  authority.  For  the 
sentence  comp.  2  Kings  vi.  12.  Hengstenbeeq 
is  correct  in  saying;  "  We  have  here  a  pure  rule 
of  prudence  (not  a  formal  precept  of  duty),  a 
tenet  that  may  be  simply  summed  up  in  the  ex- 
pression of  the  Lord :  ylveade  tppdvLfioc  wf  ol  o(p£if." 
^And  curse  not  the  rich  in  thy  bed  cham- 
ber.— The  rich  here  represents  the  noble,  the 
prince,  or  the  counsellor  of  the  king  (comp.  v. 
16). — For  a  bird  of  the  air  shall  carry  tho 
voice. — That  is,  in  an  inconceivable  manner, 
which  no  one  would  consider  possible,  will  that 
he  betrayed  which  thou  hast  said.  See  the  pro- 
verb :  "  The  walls  have  ears;"  also  Hab.  ii.  11 ; 
Luke  xix.  14. — And  that  which  hath  wings 

shall  tell  the  matter.— □'3J3n  hy_3  equiva- 
lent to  f]J3-'7^3  Prov.  i.  17.  The  K'ri  would 
unnecessarily  here  strike   out  the  article  befora 

•  T ; 

DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

( With  Homiletical  Hints  ) 
Although  the  conclusion  of  the  chapter — th« 
warning  against  injudicious    speeches  assailing 


*[Id  Ps.  civ.  15  a  certain  effect  of  wine  is  mentioned;  no- 
thing is  said  about  either  its  innocent  or  its  immoral  use.  All 
such  remarks  are  gratuitous. — T,  L.] 


y44 


ECCLESIASTES. 


the  respect  due  to  kings  in  ver.  20 — may  have 
been  written  with  conscious  reference  to  the  re- 
lation of  Israel  to  ita  Persian  rulers,  the  section, 
taken  as  a  whole,  is  simply  an  unambiguous  il- 
lustration of  the  relation  between  wise  men  and 
fools.  The  allegorical  conception  of  Hengsten- 
BERG,  by  virtue  of  which  he  sees  in  chap.  i.  1-3 
the  idea  that  the  people  of  God,  groaning  under 
the  tyranny  of  the  world,  will  be  sustained  by 
reference  to  the  fact  that  the  hostile  world,  i.  e., 
the  Persian  world,  is  given  over  to  folly,  and 
that  thus  its  destruction  cannot  be  far  off,— this 
conception,  we  say,  finds  no  sufficient  support  in 
the  text ;  it  is,  rather,  very  decidedly  opposed  by 
the  exceeding  general  character  of  the  morally 
descriptive  as  well  as  of  the  admonitory  parts. 
The  contents  and  the  tendency  of  the  section  form 
an  eloquent,  figurative,  vivid  and  popular  illustra- 
tion of  the  superiority  of  wisdom  over  folly.  The 
theme  here  treated  is  that  favorite  one  of  the 
Proverbs — the  parallels  between  wisdom  and 
folly  [Prov.  i.  20fif.;  ix.  1  ff.;  x.  Iff.;  xiv.  1  ff.; 
xxiv.  1  ff.]  ;  and  simply  with  the  difference  that 
here  are  more  emphatically  and  accurately  de- 
scribed the  insolence  and  haughtiness  of  fools,  as 
well  as  their  loquacity  and  indolent  levity,  in 
contrast  to  the  corresponding  virtues  of  the  wise. 
See  exegetical  illustrations  above.  No.  1.  A 
Homily  on  the  entire  Chapter:  Of  a  few  dominant 
qualities  and  principal  characteristics  of  wisdom 
and  folly. — Or,  of  genuine  wisdom  as  the  only 
remedy  against  the  vices  of  pride,  levity  and  ar- 
rogance, together  with  their  evil  consequences. — 
Comp.  Starke:  Three  moral  precepts:  1.  Esteem 
genuine  wisdom  (vers.  1-15).  2.  Avoid  indolence 
and  debauchery  (vers.  16-19).  3.  Curse  not  the 
king  (ver.  20). 

HOMILETIOAL  HINTS  ON  SEPARATE  PASSAGES. 

Ch.  ix.  17;  X,  4.  Melanchthon  (ix.  17):  The 
words  of  the  wise  are  heard  by  the  silent — that 
is,  by  those  who  are  not  carried  away  by  raging 
lusts,  but  who  seek  for  things  true  and  salutary. 
(Ver.  10).  Good  counsels,  sound  teaching,  well 
ordered  methods,  are  constantly  marred  and 
rendered  unavailing  by  triiiing  meddlers,  who 
are  more  readily  heard,  both  in  courts  and  by  the 
people,  than  the  more  modest  and  poor,  who  give 
riglit  instruction  and  salutary  advice.  Lange 
(ix.  18).  He  who  has  learned  any  thing  tho- 
roughly can  effect  much  good  thereby,  but  also 
much  evil,  if  he  wickedly  uses  what  he  has 
learned  against  the  great  purposes  of  God.  Cart- 
weight  : — Such  patient  submission  calms  the 
most  violent  tempests  of  the  soul;  it  makes  tran- 
quil the  most  swollen  waves  of  passion  ;  it  turns 
the  lion  into  a  lamb.  Let  us  strive  then  to  be 
imbued  with  this  virtue  by  which  we  may  please 
God  as  well  as  men,  even  those  who  are  the  farthest 
removed  from  piety  and  humanity.  Starke 
(ver.  3)  : — It  is  difScult  to  expel  folly  and  instil 
wisdom;  but  it  becomes  still  more  difficult  when 
man  in  his  folly  considers  himself  wise  (Rom.  i. 
22). — (Ver.  4).  To  suffer  and  patiently  commend 
one's  innocence  to  God  is  the  best  remedy  against 
misused  power  and  the  wrong  that  we  have  en- 
dured, Jer.  xi.  20. 

Geier  (ver.  6)  : — Lofty  positions  and  great 
power  have  not  the  privilege  of  infallibility. 
Therefore,  the  higher  one  stands,  the  more  care- 


ful let  him  be,  entreating  God  that  he  may  not 
fall  into  error  and  vice. — Hansen  (vers.  6  and  7) : 
— The  want  of  foresight  in  rulers  ever  exerts 
evil  influences  in  the  world.  The  unworthy  are 
thereby  preferred  to  the  worthy,  and  every  thing 
takes  a  wrong  course. — (Ver.  10) : — It  depends 
more  on  wisdom  and  foresight  than  on  physical 
strength,  to  carry  on  the  occupations  of  men  with 
success. — Hengstenbero  (ver.  9) :  He  who  pro- 
ceeds with  violence  in  the  moral  sphere,  and  thus 
performs  actions  that,  in  respect  to  this  quality, 
are  similar  to  (he  breaking  of  stone  or  the  split- 
ting of  wood,  will  suffer  inevitable  injury. — 
(Ver.  10).  He  who  in  wisdom  possesses  the 
corrective  whereby  he  can  sharpen  the  blunt  iron 
of  his  understanding,  must  rise,  however  deep  he 
may  be  sunken.  He  who  does  not  possess  it 
must  go  to  ruin,  however  high  he  may  have 
risen. 

Vers.  11-15.  Brenz: — There  is  nothing  in 
man  which  contributes  more  to  bring  him  into  sin 
than  his  tongue.  Truth  is  satisfied  with  the 
fewest  and  simplest  words,  and  the  wiser  the 
man,  or  the  more  attached  to  truth,  the  more 
sparing  is  he  in  his  speech.  (Ver.  15).  This 
teaches  that  no  labor,  no  diligence,  will  produce 
fruit,  if  one  knows  not  the  legitimate  use  of  la- 
bor. As  the  unskilled  steward  has  much  toil, 
with  little  or  no  result,  if  he  knows  not  how  to 
put  to  use  the  goods  acquired  in  the  proper  man- 
ner, or  does  not  carry  them  to  market  in  the 
city. — Cramer  : — The  unprofitable  babblers  prat- 
tle about  things  of  no  import ;  but  the  wise  weigh 
their  words  with  a  golden  balance,  Sirach  xxi. 
27. — Starke  : — Ver.  15.  That  men  must  pain- 
fully toil  is  a  thing  of  universal  necessity  since 
the  fall ;  but  to  toil  in  profitless  and  sinful  things 
is  double  folly  and  sin,  Isaiah  Ivii.  10. — Zeyss 
[ver.  15]  : — Remember  the  city  of  the  living  God 
(Heb.  xii.  22)  and  learn  the  right  way  thither, 
which  is  indeed  narrow  and  not  easy  to  find 
(Luke  xiii.  24). — Geier  (ver.  16): — In  judging  a 
wise  man  we  are  not  to  regard  his  years,  but  the 
power  of  his  mind,  and  what  they  manifest,  1 
Sam.  xvi.  17  ;  1  Tim.  iv.  12.— [Ver.  17].  A  pious 
and  virtuous  magistracy  we  should  gratefully 
recognize  as  an  inestimable  gift  of  God,  and 
heartily  pray  to  him  for  their  preservation. — 
Zeyss  (vers.  18,  19): — Beware,  above  all  things, 
that  the  house  of  thy  soul  be  not  ruined  by  ne- 
glect, whilst  thou  art  yielding  to  the  flesh  and 
its  sinful  desires. — Tub.  Bib.: — Observe  this  rule 
of  wisdom  ;  speak  no  evil  of  thy  ruler,  nor  of  any 
■ana  else,  James  iv.  11. — [Matthew  Henry]  (ver. 
14): — A  fool  also  is  fond  of  words,  a  passionate 
fool  especially,  that  runs  on  endlessly,  and  never 
knows  when  to  take  up  ;  it  is  all  the  same,  over 
and  over  ;  he  will  have  the  last  word,  though  it 
be  but  the  same  with  that  which  was  the  first. 
What  is  wanting  in  the  strength  of  his  words  he 
endeavors  in  vain  to  make  up  in  their  number. 
The  words  that  follow  may  be  taken  either  (1)  as 
checking  him  for  his  vain-glorious  boasting  in 
the  multitude  of  his  words  (in  respect  to  the  fu- 
ture), namely,  what  he  will  do,  and  what  he  will 
have,  not  considering  what  every  body  knows, 
that  a  man  cannot  tell  what  shall  be  in  his  own 
time  while  he  lives  (Prov.  xxvii.  1),  much  less  can 
one  tell  what  shall  be  after  Mm,  when  he  is  dead 
and  gone.     Or  (2)  as  mocking  him  for  Ms  tauto- 


CHAP.  XI.  1-10.— XII.  1-7. 


143 


logics  ;  he  is  full  of  words,  for  if  he  do  but  speak 
the  most  trite  and  common  thing,  such  as  a  man 
cannot  tell  what  shall  be,  then,  because  he  loves  to 
hear  himself  talk,  he  will  say  it  over  again,  what 
shall  be  after  him,  who  can  tell  him?  like  Batths 
in  Ovid: 

Sub  illis 
Monlibus  (inquit)  erant,  et  erant  sub  montibus  illis. 
Whence  vain  repetitions  are  called  Battologies 


(Matth.  vi.  7).— [Ver.  15.  The  foolish  tire  them- 
selves in  endless  pursuits,  because  they  know  not 
how  to  go  to  the  city,  because  they  have  not  capa- 
city to  apprehend  the  plainest  thing,  such  as  the 
entrance  to  a  great  city.  But  it  is  the  excellency 
or  the  way  to  the  heavenly  city,  that  it  is  "  a 
highway"  in  which  "the  wayfaring  men,  though 
fools,  shall  not  err"  (Isaiah  xxxv.  8) ;  yet  sinful 
folly  makes  men  miss  that  way. — T.  L.] 


C.  The  only  true  way  to  happiness  in  this  world  and  the  world  beyond  consists  in 

benevolence,  fidelity  to  calling,  a  calm  and  contented  enjoyment  of  life,  a-nd 

unfeigned  fear  of  God  from  early  youth  to  advanced  age. 

Chap.  XL  1— XII.  7. 

1.   Of  Benevolence  and  Fidelity  to  Calling. 

(Chap,  XI.  1-6.) 

1  Cast  thy  bread  upon   the   waters,   for   thou   shalt  fiud   it   after  many   days. 

2  Give  a  portion  to  seven,  and  also  to  eight,  for  thou  knowest  not  what  evil  shall  be 

3  upon  the  earth.  If  the  clouds  be  full  of  rain,  they  empty  themselves  upon  the  earth, 
and  if  the  tree  fall  toward  the  south,  or  toward  the  north,  in  the  place  where  the 

4  tree  falleth,  there  it  shall  be.     He  that  observeth  the  wind  shall  not  sow,  and  he 

5  that  regardeth  the  clouds  shall  not  reap.  As  thou  knowest  not  what  is  the  way  of 
the  spirit,  nor  how  the  bones  do  grow  in  the  womb  of  her  that  is  with  child  :  even 

6  so  thou  knowest  not  the  works  of  God  who  maketh  all.  In  the  morning  sow  thy 
seed,  and  in  the  evening  withhold  not  thine  hand ;  for  thou  knowest  not  whether 
shall  prosper,  either  this  or  that,  or  whether  they  both  shall  be  alike  good. 

2.  Of  a  Calm  and  Contented  Enjoyment  of  Life. 

(Vers.  7-10.) 

7  Truly  the  light  is  sweet,  and  a  pleasant  thing  it  is  for  the  eyes  to  behold  the  sun : 

8  But  if  a  man  live  many  years,  and  rejoice  in  them  all ;  yet  let  him  remember  the  days 

9  of  darkness,  for  they  shall  be  many.  All  that  cometh  is  vanity.  Kejoice,  «  joung 
man,  in  thy  youth ;  and  let  thy  heart  cheer  thee  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,  and  walk 
iu  the  ways  of  thine  heart,  and  in  the  sight  of  thine  eyes ;  but  know  thou,  that  tor 

10  all  these  things  God  will  bring  thee  into  judgment.  Therefore  remove  sorrow  trom 
thy  heart,  and  put  away  evil  from  thy  flesh:  for  childhood  and  youth  are 
vanity. 

3.  Of  the  Duty  of  the  Fear  of  God  for  Young  and  Old. 
(Chap.  XII.  1-7.) 

1  Remember  now  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,  while  the  evil  days 
come  not,  nor  the  years  draw  nigh,  when  thou  shalt  say,  I  have  no  pleasure  m 

2  them;  While  the  sun,  or  the  light,  or  the  moon,  or  the  stars,  be  not  darkened,  nor 

3  the  clouds  return  after  the  rain :  In  the  day  when  the  keepers  of  the  house  shall 
tremble,  and  the  strong  men  shall  bow  themselves,  and  the  grmders  cease  because 

4  they  are  few,  and  those  that  look  out  of  the  windows  be  darkened.  And  the  doors 
shall  be  shut  in  the  streets,  when  the  sound  of  the  grindmg  is  low,  and  he  shall  rise 
up  at  the  voice  of  the  bird,  and  all  the  daughters  of  music  shall  be  brought  low ; 

5  Also  when  they  shall  be  afraid  of  that  which  is  high,  and  fears  shall  be  in  the 


146 


ECCLESIASTE8. 


way,  and  the  almond-tree  shall  flourish,  and  the  grasshopper  shall  be  a  burden,  and 
desire  shall  fail :  because  man  goeth  to  his  long  home,  and  the  mourners  go  about 

6  the  streets  :   Or  ever  the  silver  cord  be  loosed,  or  the  golden  bowl  be  broken,  or  the 

7  pitcher  be  broken  at  the  fountain,  or  the  wheel  broken  at  the  cistern.  Then  shall 
the  dust  return  to  the  earth  as  it  was :  and  the  spirit  shall  return  unto  God  who 
gave  it. 

rch.  xi.  Ver.  3. — X-IH*' .    If  it 's  allowable  at  all  to  vary  from  the  text  that  has  come  down  to  ub,  this  may  be  regarded  as 

equivalent  to  X^H  ^ZDW  (comp.  i.  5)  ^^there  is  he,'*  there  it  is.    It  might  easily  arise  in  writing  from  the  ear,  the  Fhewa 

Bound  being  hardly  perceptible.     If  we  regard  it  as  the  future  of  the  substantive  verb   n^H.  or   nin.  with  K  for  Hi 
it  is  not  a  Syriasm,  since  the  future  of  the  Syriac  verb  would  be  6<in'  or  rather  XTHJ— T-  L.] 

[Ver.  S.— ; — l'nVJ>'1  with  ellipsis  of  Ij-^l,  equivalent  to  C^^tjlij)    ■]^^^■— T.L.] 

[Xii.  3  — -lyTV  This  is  called  Aramaic,  but  it  is  as  much  Hebrew  as  it  is  Aramaic  or  Arabic.  The  intensive  form, 
yil?[,  occurs  H'ab.  ii.  7.  It  is  one  of  those  rarer  forms  that  are  to  be  expected  only  in  impassioned  writing,  like  this 
of  Solomon,  or  in  any  vivid  description.  Its  frequency  or  rarity  would  be  like  that  of  the  word  quake,in  English,  as 
compared  with  tremble.  The  rarer  word  [as  is  the  case  in  our  language]  may  be  the  older  one,  only  becoming  more 
frequent  in  later  dialects  according  as  it  becomes  common  by  losing  its  rarer  or  more  impassioned  significance. — T.L.J 

[On  the  difference  between  nnV  and  rinm3  xi.  9  the  words  finnt!'  xi.  10,  >ha2  xii.  3,  VNy  xii.  6,  pm' 
xii.  6,  and    VOH  and  vnj  xii.  6,  see  the  exegetical  and  marginal  notes. — T.  L.J 


EXEGETICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

The  close  connection  of  Terses  1-7  of  the  12th 
chapter  with  chap.  11  is  correctly  recognized  by 
most  modern  commentators;  a  few,  as  HiTZia 
and  Elsteb,  unnecessarily  add  to  it  also  chap, 
xii.  8.  A  section  thus  extended  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  11th  chapter  concentrates  within  itself,  as 
the  closing  division  of  the  fourth  and  last  dis- 
course, all  the  fundamental  thoughts  of  the  book, 
and  in  such  a  manner  that  it  almost  entirely  ex- 
cludes the  negative  and  skeptical  elements  of  ear- 
lier discubsions  and  observations  [only  that  the 

words  73n~73  return  again  in  chap.  xi.  8;  comp. 
xi.  10],  and  therefore  lets  its  recapitulation  very 
clearly  appear  as  a  victory  of  the  positive  side  of 
its  religious  view  over  the  gloomy  spectre  of 
doubt,  and  the  struggles  of  unbelief  (comp.  Int. 
§  ],  Obs.  2).  The  entire  section  may  be  clearly 
divided  into  three  subdivisions  or  strophes,  the 
first  of  which  teaches  the  correct  use  of  life  as 
regards  actions  and  labor,  the  second  concerns 
enjoyment,  and  the  third  the  reverence  and  fear 
of  God,  with  an  admonition  to  these  respective 
virtues. 

2.  First  Strophe,  first  half.  Chap.  xi.  1-3.  An 
admonition  to  benevolence,  with  reference  to  its 
influence  on  the  happiness  of  him  who  practices 
it.  HiTziQ,  instead  of  finding  here  an  admonition 
to  beneficence,  sees  a  warning  against  it,  an  in- 
timation that  we  hope  too  much  for  the  good,  and 
arm  ourselves  too  little  against  future  evil ;  but 
every  thing  is  opposed  to  this,  especially  the 
words  and  sense  of  ver.  3,  which  see. — Cast  thy 
bread  upon  the  ■waters. — That  is,  not  abso- 
lutely cast  it  away  (HiTZia),  nor  send  it  away  in 
ships  (as  merchandise)  over  the  water  (Henq- 
iTENBEKG),  but  "  give  it  away  in  uncertainty, 
without  hope  of  profit  or  immediate  return."  The 
admonition  is  in  the  same  spirit  as  that  in  Luke 
xvi.  9;  ProT.  xi.  24  f.  The  Greek  aphoristic 
poets  have  the  expression  "  to  sow  on  the  wa- 
ter ;"  as  Theoo.,  Sent.  105.     Phocyllides,*  142  c. 

*  [The  heathen  sentiment  of  Phoctllides  is  as  nearly  the  di- 
rect opposite  of  Solomon's  as  language  could  express,  al- 


The  entire  sentence  (most  probably  as  derived 
from  this  source)  is  found  in  Ben  Sika  (Bux- 
TORF,  Florileg.  Heh.,  page  171),  and  among  the 
Arabians  as  a  proverb :  Benefac,  projice  panem 
iuum  in  aquam ;  aliquando  tibi  reiribueiur  (DlEZ, 
Souvenirs  of  Asia,  II.,  106). — For  thou  shalt 
find  it  after  many  days. — 1JX":fpj'l  is  here 
clearly  used  in  the  sense  of  finding  again. — 
□'D'n  2^2  literally,  "in  the  fullness  of  days, 
within  many  days."  Comp.  Ps.  v.  6;  Ixxii.  7, 
etc.  The  sense  is  without  doubt  this:  Amongthe 
many  days  of  thy  life  there  will  certainly  come 
a  time  when  the  seeds  of  thy  good  deeds  scattered 
broadcast  will  ripen  into  a  blessed  harvest. 
Comp.  Gal.  vi.  9;  2  Cor.  ix.  6-9;  1  Tim.  vi.  18, 
19;  also  Prov.  xix.  17:  "He  that  hath  pity  upon 
the  poor  lendeth  unto  the  Lord." — Ver.  2.  Give 
a  portion  to  seven  and  also  to  eight. — 
That  is,  divide  thy  bread  with  many;  for  "seven 
and  eight"  are  often  used  in  this  sense  of  unde- 
termined plurality,  as  in  Micah  v.  4 ;  comp.  also 
"three  and  four,"  Prov.  xxx.  15  ff. ;  Amos  1.  3; 
ii.  1  ff. — HiTZiG  runs  entirely  counter  to  the  text, 
and  does  violence  to   the  usual   signification  of 

p7n  in  saying:  "make  seven  pieces  of  one  piece, 
divide  it  so  that  seven  or  eight  pieces  may  spring 
from  it,"  which  admonition  would  simply  be  a 
rule  of  prudence  (like  the  maxim  followed  by 
Jacob,  Gen.  xxxii.  8)  not  to  load  all  his  treasures 
on  one  ship,  that  he  might  not  be  robbed  of  every 
thing  at  one  blow.  This  thought  comports  nei- 
ther with  the  context  nor  with  ver.  6,  where  the 
sense  is  entirely  ditferent. — For  thOu  knowest 
not  -what  evil  shall  be  upon  the  earth. — 
That  is,  what  periods  of  misfortune  may  occur 
when  thou  wilt  pressingly  need  strength  by  com- 
munity with  others ;  comp.  Luke  xvi.  9. — Ver.  3. 
If  the  clouds  be  full  of  rain,  they  empty 
themselves  upon  the  earth.  —  Not  that 
evil  or  misfortune  "  occurs  from  stern  necessity, 
or  in  immutable  course"  [Hitzig,  and  also 
Hengstenbebq,  who   here    sees    announced  the 

though  it  contains  the  same  phrase  here;  /xtj  Kaxhy  ev  epfns* 
o-irj^peiv  eo-Tii-  wt  iv'i  iroiTu.  "  Do  no  favor  to  a  bad  man ;  yo« 
might  as  well  sow  In  the  sea." — T.  L.] 


CHAP.  XI.  1-io.— XII.  1-7 


147 


near  and  irrevocable  doom  of  the  Persian  mon- 
archy], but  exactly  the  reverse:  let  the  good  that 
thou  doest  proceed  from  the  strongest  impulse  of 
sympathy,  so  that  it  occurs,  as  from  a  natural  ne- 
cessity, that  rich  streams  of  blessings  flow  forth 
from  thee ;  comp.  John  vii.  38 ;  also  Prov.  xxv. 
14;  Sirach  xxxv.  24;  also  the  Arabian  proverbs 
in  the  grammar  of  Eupenxus,  ed.  SchuUens,  p.  424 . 
Pluvia  nubis  co-operiens,  dum  donafunderet,  etc. — 
And  if  the  tree  fall  to^ward  the  south 
or  toward  the  north,  in  the  place  where 
the  tree  falleth  there  it  shall  be. — This 
is  apparently  «■  parallel  in  sense  to  the  second 
clause  of  ver.  2,  and  therefore  refers  to  the 
irrevocable  character  of  the  doom,  or  the  Di- 
vine decree  that  overtakes  man  [Hitziq,  Heng- 
STKNBERG,  etc.;  also  Hahn,  who,  however,  trans- 
lates the  last  clause  thus:  "One  may  be  at  the 
place  where  the  tree  falls,"  and  consequently  be 
killed  by  it].  But  it  seems  more  in  accordance 
with  the  text,  and  with  the  introduction  [not 
with  '3  but  with  the  simple  copula  1]  to  find  the 
same  sense  expressed  in  this  second  clause  as  in 
the  first,  and  consequently  thus :  "  the  utility  of 
the  tree  remains  the  same,  whether  it  falls  on 
the  ground  of  a  possessor  bordering  it  to  the 
north  or  the  south  ;  if  it  does  not  profit  the  one, 
it  does  the  other.  And  it  is  just  so  with  the  gifts 
of  love;  their  fruit  is  not  lost,  although  they  do 
not  always  come  to  light  in  the  manner  intended  " 
(Elster;  comp.  also  Vaihinqbr  and  Wohl- 
FAETH,  etc.).  Geiee.  and  Rosenmceller  are 
quite  peculiar  in  the  thought  that  the  falling  tree 
is  the  rich  man,  who  is  here  warned  of  his  death, 
after  which  he  can  do  no  more  good  deeds  (simi- 
lar to  this  are  the  views  of  See.  Schmidt, 
Starke,  Michaelis,  etc.).  NIH]  a  secondary 
Aramaic*  form  of  n'ri'  and  therefore  literally 
equivalent  to:  "it  will  be,  it  will  lie  there;"  for 
which  consult  Ewald,  |  192  c,  as  well  as  HiTzio 
on  this  passage.  There  is  no  grammatical  foun- 
dation for  the  assertion  that  it  is  a  substantive 
to  be  derived  from  an  obsolete  verb  Kn'  and  ex- 
plained by  the  word  "break"  [i^'H]  Diy 
"  there  occurs  the  break  or  fracture  of  the  tree," 
as  says  Starke]. 

3.  First  strophe,  second  half.  Vers.  4-6.  An 
admonition  to  zealous,  careful,  and  untiring  per- 
formance in  one's  calling  [//^  eKfcaxelv,  "not  to 
faint,"  as  before  he  was  warned  noeZv  to  kuTmv, 
to  be  earnest  in  well  doing.  Gal.  vi.  9].  He 
that  observeth  the  wind  shall  not  sov7. 
— A  warning  against  timid  hesitancy  and  its 
laming  influence  on  efli'ective  and  fruitful  exer- 
tion. He  whom  the  weather  does  not  suit,  and 
who  is  ever  waiting  for  a  more  favorable  season, 
misses  finally  the  proper  period  for  action.  The 
second  clause  expresses  the  same  admonitory 
thought  regarding  excessive  conaiderateness. — 
Ver.  5.  As  thou  knowest  not  ■what  is  the 
way  of  the  spirit,  nor  hovr  the  bones  do 
grow  in  the  womb  of  her  who  is  w^ith 
child. — [ZocKLER  renders  "way  of  the  wind." 
See  the  excursus  appended,  p.  150. — T.  L.] — 
That  is,  as  thou  canst  not  comprehend  nor  see 
through  the  mysteries  of  nature.  That  the 
origin  and  pathway  of  the  winds  is  in  this  re- 

*  See  the  text  note. 


gard  proverbial,  is  shown  by  John  iii.  8  [comp. 
above,  chap.  i.  6].  For  the  formation  of  the 
bones  in  the  womb  of  the  mother  as  a  process 
peculiarly  mysterious  and  unexplainable,  comp, 
Ps.  cxxxix.  13-18. — Even  so  thou  know^est 
not  the  Tworks  of  God  Tvho  maketh  all 
— The  "works"  or  action  of  God  are,  of 
course,  His  future  dealing,*  which  is  a  mystery 
absolutely  unknown  and  unfathomable  by  men ; 
wherefore  all  success  of  human  effort  can  neither 
be  known  nor  calculated  in  advance.  "Who 
maketh  all;"  for  this  comp.  Amos  iii.  6;  Matth. 
X.  28,  29,  Eph.  iii.  20,  etc. 

[The  Unknown  Way  op  the  Spirit  and  of 
Life. — Ecclesiastes  xi.  6.' — "As  thou  knowest 
not  the  way  of  the  Spirit,  nor  how  the  bones  do 
grow,"  etc.  The  words  nilH  ^IT  are  rendered 
here  by  Zockler,  Stuart,  and  Hitzig,  "the  way 
of  the  wind."  There  would  be  good  reason  for 
this  from  the  verse  preceding ;  but  what  follows 
points  to  the  sense  of  spirit,  although  the  word  was 
undoubtedly  suggested  by  what  was  said  in  ver. 
4  of  the  wind.  The  best  way,  however,  is  to  re- 
gard the  double  idea  of  wind  and  spirit  as  being 
intended  here,  as  in  our  Saviour's  language, 
.John  iii.  8.  About  the  words  following  there  can 
be  no  mistake.  The  process  described  is  set  forth 
as  the  peculiar  work  of  God,  a  Divine  secret 
which  human  knowledge  is  challenged  ever  to 
discover.  "  Thou  knowest  not  the  way  of  the 
spirit"  [Tin  Gen.  vi.  3,  "m?/ 5^inY,"  that  1  have 
given  to  man],  "nor  how  the  bones  do  grow," 
that  is,  how  that  spirit,  or  life,  reorganizes  itself 
each  time,  clothes  itself  anew  in  the  human  sys- 
tem, making  the  bones  to  grow  according  to  their 
law,  and  building  up  for  itself  a  new  earthly 
house  in  every  generic  transmission.  This  is 
the  grand  secret,  the  knowledge  and  process  of 
which  God  challenges  to  Himself.  Science  can 
do  much,  but  it  can  never  discover  this.  We 
may  say  it  boldly,  even  as  Koheleth  makes  hig 
affirmation,  science  never  will  discover  this ;  for 
it  lies  above  the  plane  of  the  natural ;  and  in 
every  case,  though  connected  with  nature,  de- 
mands a  plus  power,  or  some  intervention,  how- 
ever regulated  by  its  own  laws,  of  the  supernatu- 
ral. The  Bible  thus  presents  it  as  God's  chal- 
lenged work  [comp.  Gen.  ii.  7  ;  vi.  3  ;  Job  xxxiii. 
14  ;  Ps.  cxxxix.  13  ;  Jerem.  i.  5],  the  same  now 
as  in  the  beginning  when  the  Word  of  life  first 
went  forth,  and  nature  received  a  new  life 
power,  or,  rather,  a  rising  in  the  old.  The  pas- 
sage of  life  from  an  old  organism  to  a  new  is 
as  much  a  mystery  as  ever.  We  mean  the 
transition  from  the  last  enclosing  matter  of  the 
former,  through  the  moment  of  disembodiment, 
or  material  unclothing  (see  note.  Gen.,  p.  170), 
when  it  takes  that  last  matter  of  the  previous  or- 
ganization, or  of  the  seed  vessel,  or  seed  fluid, 
and  immediately  makes  it  the  commencing  food, 
the  first  material  it  uses  in  building  up  the  new 
house  in  which  it  is  to  dwell.  In  respect,  too, 
to  the  mystery  of  supernatural  origin,  it  is  aa 
much  a  new  creation  as  though  that  unclothed 
and  immaterial  power  of  life  [whether  in  the  ve- 


•[Tliis  is  an  unwsirranted  limitiition.  It  refers  evidently 
to  God's  dealing  in  nature,  present  andpast,a8  well  as  future; 
and  especiallj  to  tlie  mystery  of  generation.— T.  L.] 


148 


ECCLESIASTES. 


getable  or  in  the  animal  sphere]  had  for  the  first 
time  begun  its  manifestation  in  the  universe.  It 
is  the  same  Word,  sounding  on  in  nature,  or,  as 
the  Psalmist  says,  "running  very  swiftly," — 
nvevfia  voepbi\  h'KivyTov,  tvepyeTCKOv,  Travrodhvafiov, 
7rdu7/c  luvijoeo}^  mvriTiii^Tepov,  nal  6ta  Trdvroiv  dcr/Kov^ 
6ta  TJjv  K.adapuT?iTa ;  Wisd.  of  Sol.vii.  23, 24.  It  is  the 
transmission,  not  merely  of  an  immaterial  power 
(though  even  as  a  power  science  can  only  talk 
about  it  or  find  names  for  its  phenomena),  but 
also  of  a  law  and  an  idea  {yoepov  as  well  as 
hepycTiKuv,  an  intelligent  working  we  may  say) 
representing,  in  this  dimensionless  monad  force 
the  new  life  exactly  as  it  represented  the  old  in 
all  its  variety,  whether  of  form  or  of  dynamical 
existence, — in  other  words,  transmitting  the  spe- 
cies, or  the  specific  life,  as  that  which  lives  on, 
and  lives  through,  and  lives  beyond,  all  the  ma- 
terial changes  that  chemistry  has  discovered  or 
can  ever  hope  to  discover.  Science  may  show  how 
this  life  is  aifecled  in  its  manifestations  by  the  out- 
ward influences  with  which  it  comes  in  contact, 
the  changes  that  may  seem  to  enter  even  the 
generic  sphere,  and  it  may  thus  rightly  require 
us  to  modify  our  outward  views  in  respect  to  the 
number  and  variety  of  strictly  fundamental  forms ; 
but  the  transmission  itself  of  the  species  (however 
it  may  have  arisen  or  been  modified)  into  the 
same  form  again  of  specific  life,  or  the  carrying 
a  power,  a  law,  and  an  ide^,  in  a  way  that  nei- 
ther chemical  nor  mechanical  science  can  ever 
trace, — this  is  the  Divine  secret  towards  which 
the  Darwinian  philosophy  has  not  made  even  an 
approach.  Its  advocates  know  no  more  about  it 
than  did  the  old  philosophers  who  held  a  theory 
precisely  the  same  in  substance,  though  different 
in  its  technology.  They  talked  of  atoms  as  men 
now  talk  of  fluids,  forces,  and  nebular  matter ; 
but  give  them  time  enough,  or  rather  give  them 
the  three  infinities  of  time,  space,  and  numerical 
quantity  of  conceivable  forms,  and  they  would 
show  us  how  from  infinite  incongruities  falling 
at  last  into  congruity  and  seeming  order,  worlds 
and  systems  would  arise,  though  their  form,  their 
order,  and  the  seeming  permanence  arising  from 
such  seeming  order,  would  be  only  names  of  the 
states  that  were ;  any  other  states  that  might 
have  arisen  being,  in  such  case,  equally  entitled 
to  the  same  appellations.  Like  the  modern  sys- 
tems, it  was  all  idealess,  without  any  interven- 
tion of  intelligence  either  in  the  beginning  or  at 
any  stages  in  the  process.  It  is  astonishing  how 
much,  in  the  talk  about  the  Darwinian  hypothe- 
sis, these  two  things  have  been  confounded, — the 
possible  outward  changes  in  generic  forms,  and 
the  inscrutable  transmission  of  the  generic  life  in 
the  present  species,  or  in  the  present  individual. 
The  theory  referred  to  is  adapted  only  to  an  infi- 
nity of  individual  things,  ever  changing  out- 
wardly, and  which,  at  last,  fall  into  variety  of 
species  through  an  infinite  number  of  trials  and 
selections,  or  of  fortunate  hits  after  infinite 
failures.  It  makes  no  provision,  however,  for 
one  single  case  of  the  transmission  of  the  same 
specific  life,  either  in  the  vegetable  or  the  animal 
world.  There  it  has  to  confess  its  ignorance, 
though  it  treats  it  sometimes  as  a  very  slight  ig- 
norance, soon  to  be  removed.  How  pigeons, 
taken  as  an  immense  number  of  individual  things, 
undergo  an  eternal  series  of  outward  changes, — 


how  existing  pigeons  spread  into  varieties,  by 
some  being  more  lucky  in  their  selections  than 
others — all  this  it  assumes  to  tell  us.  But  in  the 
presence  of  the  great  every  day  mystery,  the 
wonderful  process  that  is  going  on  in  the  indivi- 
dual pigeon's  egg,  invisibly,  yet  most  exactly, 
typing  the  pigeon  life  that  now  is,  it  stands  ut- 
terly speechless.  One  of  its  advocates  seems  to 
regard  this  as  a  very  small  matter,  at  present, 
indeed,  not  fully  understood  as  it  will  be,  but  of 
little  consequence  in  its  bearing  on  the  great 
scheme.  It  has  its  laws  undoubtedly,  but  the 
principle  of  life,  he  maintains,  is  chemical, — that 
is,  it  is  a  certain  arrangement  of  matter.  Now 
this  we  cannot  conceive,  much  less  know.  We  are 
equally  bafiied  whether  we  take  into  view  the 
grosser  (as  they  appear  to  the  sense)  or  the  more 
ethereal  kinds  of  matter,  whether  as  arranged  in 
greater  magnitudes,  or  in  the  most  microscopic 
disposition  of  atoms,  molecules,  or  elementary 
gases  constituted  by  them.  We  may  attempt 
still  farther  to  etherealize  by  talking  of  forces, 
motions  [motions  of  what  ?J  heat,  magnetism, 
electricity,  etc.  They  are  still  but  quantities, 
matters  of  more  or  less.  And  so  the  modern 
chief  of  the  positive  school  has  boldly  said  :  all 
is  quantity,  all  is  number ;  life  is  quantity, 
thought  is  quantity  (so  much  motion) ;  what  we 
call  virtue  is  quantity  ;  it  can  be  measured.  And 
so  all  knowledge  is  ultimately  mathematics,  or 
the  science  of  quantity.  There  is  nothing  that 
cannot  be  reduced,  in  its  last  stages,  to  a  nume- 
rical estimate.  There  is,  moreover,  just  so  much 
matter,  force,  and  motion  in  the  universe, — ever 
has  been,  ever  will  be.  And  there  is  nothing 
else.  But  how  life,  a  thing  in  itself  dimension- 
less,  to  say  nothing  of  feeling,  thought,  and  con- 
sciousness, can  come  out  of  such  estimates  is  no 
more  conceivable  of  one  kind  of  matter,  however 
moving,  than  it  is  of  another.  Still  more  do  we 
fail  to  imagine  how  it  can,  in  any  way,  be  the 
result  of  figure,  arrangement,  position,  quantity, 
or  of  axvpa,  ri^ig,  6eaig,  as  Leuoippus  and  Demo- 
CEITUS  called  their  three  prime  originating  caus- 
alities [see  Aeistot.,  Met.  II.  4].  But  so  it  is, 
they  still  continue  to  insist,  though  chemistry  has 
searched  long  and  could  never  find  it,  or  even 
"  the  way  to  its  house,"  as  is  said.  Job  xxxvii. 
20,  of  the  light.  Prof.  Haeokel,  of  Jena,  in  hie 
Natilrliche  Schopfungsgeschichte,  maintains  "that 
all  organized  beings  are  potentially  present  in  the 
first  matter  of  the  nebular  system."  He  looks 
upon  "all  the  phenomena  of  life  as  a  natural  se- 
quence of  their  chen>ical  combination,  as  much  as 
if  they  were  conditions  of  existence,  though  the 
ultimate  causes  are  hidden  from  us."  There  may 
be  some  truth  in  what  is  said  about  conditions 
[for  conditions  are  not  causes],  but  it  is  the  other 
remark  that  demands  attention:  "though  the  ul- 
timate causes  may  be  hidden  from  us."  He 
seems  to  regardthis  as  avery  slight  circumstance, 
which  ought  to  have  little  effect  on  the  great  ar- 
gument of  what  calls  itself  the  exact  and  "posi- 
tive philosophy."  There  is  yet  indeed  an  unim- 
portant break  in  the  chain  ;  a  link  or  two  is  to 
be  supplied  ;  that  is  all,  they  would  say.  But 
what  data  have  we  for  determining  what  is  lack- 
ing before  the  full  circuit  of  knowledge  is  com- 
pleted ?  A  most  important  inquiry  this :  how 
great  is  the  separation  made  by  the  unknown  ? 


CHAP.  XI.  1-10.— XII.  1-7. 


149 


Is  it  a  few  inches,  or  a  space  greater  than  the 
stellar  distances  ?  Is  it  a  thin  partition  through 
which  the  light  is  already  gleaming,  or  is  it  a  vast 
chasm,  compared  with  which  any  difference  be- 
tween the  most  ancient  and  the  most  modern 
knowledge  is  as  nothing  ?  Is  it  something  that 
may  be  passed  over  in  time,  or  is  it  the  measure- 
less abyss  of  infinity  which  the  Eternal  and  Infi- 
nite Mind  alone  can  span  ?  "They  are  yet  hid- 
den from  us,"  he  says.  Is  there  the  least  ray  of 
liirht  in  the  most  advanced  science  that  shows  us 
that  we  are  even  approaching  this  mysterious  re- 
gion of  causality  ?  Is  there  any  reason  to  think 
that  we  Isnow  a  particle  more  about  it  than  Aris- 
TOILE  did,  or  those  ancient  positivists  who  tallsed 
aioxvy^t  ™f'f,  and  Bhig,  or  any  of  those  profound 
thinkers  of  old  whose  better  reasoned  atheism 
CnDWORTH  has  so  fully  refuted  in  his  great 
work?  And  yet  this  professor  of  "exact  sci- 
ence "  talks  of  his  monera,  the  prototypes  of  the 
protista,  and  how  from  these  came  neutral  mon- 
era, and  from  these,  again,  vegetable  and  animal 
monera,  just  as  freely  as  though  he  knew  all 
about  it  from  his  inch  of  space  and  moment  of 
time,  or  had  not  just  admitted  an  ignorance 
which  puts  him  at  an  inconceivable  distance  from 
that  which  he  so  confidently  claims  to  explain. 
For  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  science  has 
not  merely  failed  to  discover  the  principle  of  life, 
as  "positive  knowledge  ;"  she  cannot  even  con- 
cede it ;  she  cannot  form  a  theory  of  it  which  does 
not  run  immediately  into  the  old  mechanical  and 
chemical  language  of  number  and  quantity,  out  of 
which  she  cannot  think,  nor  talk,  without  bring- 
ing in  the  supernatural,  and  that,  too,  as  some- 
thing above  her  province.  After  what  is  told  us 
about  the  monera,  etc.,  the  writer  proceeds  to  say: 
"  this  once  established,  from  each  of  the  archetypes, 
we  have  a  genealogy  developed  which  gives  us 
the  history  of  the  protozoan  and  animal  king- 
doms," etc.,  as  though  any  thing  had  been  estab- 
lished, and  he  had  not  admitted  his  ignorance  of 
a  prime  truth  without  which  he  cannot  take  a 
step  in  the  direction  in  which  he  so  blindly 
hastes.  There  is  nothing  new  in  this,  in  sub- 
stance, though  there  may  be  much  that  is  novel 
in  form  and  technology.  It  is  the  old  philosophy 
of  darkness.  It  is  as  true  of  this  modern  school 
as  it  was  of  the  old  cosmologists  of  whom  Aris- 
totle first  said  it,  e/c  vmrbt:  xdvra  ysvvdv,  "  that 
they  generate  all  things  out  of  Night."  This 
bringing  every  thing  out  of  the  nebular  chaos 
through  mechanical  action  and  chemical  aiiiui- 
ties,  and  these  grounded  on  nothing  else  than 
<r;);7^a,  rafjf,  and  deaic,  is  nothing  more  than  the 
Hesiodean  generations,  or  the  Love  and  Discord, 
the  attractions  and  repulsions,  of  Empedocles. 
It  is  the  pantogony  of  these  old  world  builders, 
but  without  their  splendid  poetry. 

"All  organized  beings  in  the  first  nebular  mat- 
ter," and  that  from  eternity !  Then,  of  course, 
there  has  been  no  addition  in  time,  no  plus  quan- 
tity, or  plus  power,  or  any  plus  idea  combined 
with  power;  for  that  would  be  something  which 
previously  was  not.  Newton  was  in  the  toad- 
stool; for  what  is  not  in  cannot  come  out,  or  be 
developed;  and  so  every  toad-stool  now  contains 
a  Newton  ;  every  fungus  contains  an  academy  of 
science,  or  a  school  of  "positive  philosophy." 
Ihe  carbon,  hydrogen,  nitrogen,  oxygen,  or  still 


earlier  and  more  formless  matter  out  of  which 
this  thinking  arises,  is  there,  only  in  a  different 
rdfif  and  Beaic,  perhaps.  There  has  been  no 
more  addition  to  nature  in  the  physical  develop- 
ment of  the  rationalist  commentator  than  in  that 
of  the  □■il3  (Exod.  viii.  17;  Ps.  cv.  31)  or 
Egyptian  lice,  whose  immediate  production  he  re- 
gards as  beneath  the  dignity  of  any  supposed  Di- 
vine or  supernatural  action.  And  so  there  can 
be  no  real  or  essential  difference  in  rank.  The 
kinnim  were  as  much  in  the  first  matter  as  the 
phosphorus  that  thinks  in  the  brain  of  the  theo- 
logian ;  they  had  as  high  and  as  old  a  place.  The 
idea,  too,  of  the  kinnim  was  there,  and  all  the 
machinery  of  their  development ;  so  that  there 
was  no  saving  of  means  or  labor ;  their  immediate 
genesis  would  cost  no  more,  or  be  any  more  of  a 
belittling  work,  than  their  mediate,  or  developed 
production.  These  insignificant  creatures  were 
provided  for  from  all  eternity.  But  providing 
Ta&a,as  foreseeing,  foreknowing ;  and  language  re- 
volts. We  cannot  consistently  talk  atheism  or 
materialism  in  any  human  dialect ;  God  be 
thanked  for  such  a  provision  in  the  origin  and 
growth  of  speech.  We  can,  indeed,  say  in 
words,  as  one  of  the  boldest  of  this  godless  school 
hsi.9.  &b\6l,  ohne  Phosphor  kein  Gedanke,  "without 
phosphorus  no  tliought;"  but  then  we  must  give 
up  the  word  idea  as,  in  any  sense  a  cause  origi- 
nating ;  for  there  could  be  no  idea  antecedent  to 
the  phosphoric  matter,  or  that  order  &nd  position 
of  it,  out  of  which  idea,  or  the  development  of 
thought,  was  to  arise ;  that  is,  any  idea  of  phos- 
phorus before  phosphorus.  There  is,  then,  nothing 
eternal,  immutable,  undeveloped,  or  having  its 
being  in  itself,  and  to  which,  as  an,  ideal  stand- 
ard, the  terms  higher  and  lower  can  be  referred  to 
give  them  any  meaning.  For  all  risings  of  mat- 
ter, or  form,  to  higher  forms  regarded  as  any 
thing  else  than  simply  unfoldings  of  previous 
matter,  or  previous  arrangements  of  forces,  are 
creations  as  much  as  any  thing  that  is  supposed 
first  to  commence  its  being  as  a  whole;  since 
more  from  less  involves  the  maxim  de  nihilo,  as 
well  as  something  from  nothing  in  its  totality.  If 
they  were  in  that  previous  matter  without  a  new 
commandment,  a  new  word,  and  a  plus  activity 
accompanying  it,  then  they  are  not  truly  a  rising. 
They  are  no  more,  in  quantity,  than  what  they 
were  ;  and  quantity  is  all.  Quality,  according 
to  CoMTE,  is  but  a  seeming;  it  is  not  a  positive 
entity,  but  only  axviJ-a,  Td^i;,  and  diai;,  an  ar- 
rangement of  matter.  The  potentiality,  then,  has 
all  that  there  is,  or  can  be,  in  any  actuality. 
Even  that  inconceivable  power  which  causes  any 
potentiality  to  be  thus  potential,  is,  itself,  only  a 
potentiality  included  in  the  infinite  sum  of  po- 
tentiality, which,  as  a  whole,  is  also,  in  some  way, 
caused  to  be  what  it  is,  and  as  it  is.  We  say,  in 
some  way ;  for  to  say  for  some  reason,  would,  at 
once,  be  bringing  in  a  new  word,  and  a  new  idea, 
utterly  foreign  to  this  whole  inconceivable 
scheme.  According  to  the  other  philosophy. 
Reason  is  "m  the  beginning,''^  kv  dpxil  V^  o  Adyoi; 
(John  i.;  Prov.  viii.  22j.  But  here  reason  is  ju- 
nior to  matter,  something  developed,  and  which 
could,  therefore,  neither  as  intelligens  nor  as  in- 
tellectum,  be  made  a  ground  of  that  from  which 
itself  proceeds.  We  can  never  get  out  of  this 
labyrinth ;  for  the  moment  we  bring  in  a  plus 


150 


ECCLESIASTES. 


quantity,  or  a  plus  activity,  or  a  plus  idea,  or  any 
thing  seeming  to  be  sucii,  we  only  have  a  new 
causative  potentiality,  and  that  demanding  ano- 
ther which  is  potential  of  it,  and  so  on  ad  infini- 
tum ■  the  infinity,  too,  not  proceeding  from  the 
liighest  downward,  but  from  the  lowest  state  [or 
that  which  is  next  to  nothing],  as  being  iha  first 
possible  manifestation  of  being  in  the  universe  of 
conceivable  things.  Again,  it  may  be  asked,  why 
has  not  this  infinite  potentiality,  in  this  infinite 
time,  developed  all  things  potential,  so  that  pig- 
eons should  long  since  have  become  arch-angels, 
and  our  poor,  earthly,  dying  race  long  since 
risen  "to  be  as  gods."  Or  how,  if  we  shrinlc 
from  that,  are  we  to  avoid  the  converse  conclu- 
sion, that  the  whole  state  of  things  now  actual, 
now  developed,  is  still  infinitely  low,  and  that  the 
highest  and  best  in  the  sphere  of  soul,  and  thought, 
and  reason,  is  not  only  as  yet  undeveloped,  but 
infinitely  far  in  condition,  and  eternally  far  in 
time,  from  its  true  actuality, — if,  in  such  a 
scheme,  highest  and  best  have  any  real  meaning. 
It  malies  the  lowest  and  most  imperfect  first,  the 
best  and  perfect  last,  or  at  such  an  infinite  dis- 
tance that  it  may  be  said  they  never  come.  Re- 
ligion and  the  Scriptures  just  reverse  this.  They 
put  soul  first,  mind  first,  the  Personal  first,  the 
all  Holy,  the  all  Wise,  the  all  Righteous,  the  all 
Perfect,  first,  whilst  every  seeming  imperfection 
contributes  to  the  manifestation  of  the  infinite 
excellency  and  infinite  glory  of  the  one  separate 
personal  God  who  is  first  of  all  and  over  all. 

How  poor  the  science  of  Koheleth,  it  may  be 
said,  and  yet  he  has  propounded  here  a  problem 
having  regard  to  one  of  the  most  common  events 
of  life,  but  whioli  the  ages  are  challenged  to 
solve  :  "As  thou  knowest  not  the  way  of  the  spi- 
rit, or  even  how  the  bones  do  grow  in  the  womb 
of  her  that  is  with  child,  even  so  thou  knowest 

not  the  work  of  God  who  worketh  all," — /JlP'riN 

the  all,  the  great  paradigm  which  He  is  bringing 
out  in  space  and  time  [ch.  iii.  14],  and  for  those 
moral  and  spiritual  ends  to  which  the  natural, 
with  all  its  changes,  and  all  its  developments,  is 
at  every  moment  subservient  In  one  sense,  in- 
deed, it  has  no  plus  quantities.  All  is  provided 
for  in  Him  "who  is  the  A  and  the  Q,  the  First  and 
the  Last,  the  apx'i  xal  rehtc,  the  Beginning  and 
the  End."  "All  that  God  doeth  is  for  the  olam, 
the  Great  Eternity"  [iii.  14],  "Nothing  can  be 
added  to  it  or  taken  from  it;"  but  this,  instead 
of  excluding  the  supernatural,  or  shutting  all 
things  up  in  nature,  necessitates  the  idea  that 
there  is  a  world  above  nature,  a  power,  or  rather 
an  Eternal  "Word  [fi?  tj  rd  Ttdvra  avvicrrTfKe  (Col. 
i.  17)]  in  whom  all  things  consist,'^  or  stand  toge- 
ther.    This  Word  still  spes^k3  in  nature.     There, 

still  abides  its  constant  voice,  HST  iTODI  Vlp 
[1  Kings  xix.  12],  susurrus  aurm  tenuis,  its  "thin 
still  voice,"  that  is  heard  "after  the  fire  and  the 
wind,"  its  "I^T  ]'DB,  its  "whisper  word,"  as 
Job  calls  it,  xxvi.  14 ;  and  then  again  there  is  the 
"going  forth"  of  its  "mighty  thunder  voice," 
VnhliJ  CDJ^T  which  "  none  but  God  can  under- 
stand," speaking  in  its  great  periodic  or  creative 
utterances,  as  it  did  of  old,  and  as  it  shall  speak 
again,  when  it  calls  for  the   "  new  heavens  and 


the  new  earth,"  giving  to  nature  its  new  move- 
ment and  its  still  holier  Sabbath.  It  is  this 
greater  utterance  that  brings  into  the  natural  de- 
velopment its  plus  powers  and  plus  ideas,  not 
from  any  undeveloped  physical  necessity,  but 
from  a  Divine  fullness,  not  arbitrarily,  but  from 
its  own  everlasting  higher  law. 

Throughout  all  the  seeming  nature  there  re- 
mains this  mysterious,  generative,  life-giving 
process  in  the  vegetable,  the  animal,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  human  birth,  as  a  constant  symbol 
of  the  supernatural  presence,  or  of  the  old  un- 
spent creative  force,  still  having  its  witness  in 
continually  recurring  acts,  ever  testifying  to  the 
great  Divine  secret  that  baifles  science,  and  to  the 
explanation  of  which  she  cannot  even  make  an 
approach. 

There  is  an  allusion  to  this  mystery  of  genera- 
tion, Ps.  oxxxix.  13 :  "  Thou  didst  possess  my 
reins  [claim  them  as  thine  own  curious  work], 
thou  didst  overshadow  me  in  my  mother's  womb." 
So  also  in  ver.  1-5:  "My  substance  was  not  hid 
from  Mee,"— 'oy^  my  bone,  the  same  symbolic 
word  that  is  here  employed  by  Koheleth.  In 
fact,  it  was  ever  so  regarded  by  the  earliest  mind, 
as  it  must  be  by  the  latest  and  most  scientific. 
Koheleth  simply  expressed  the  proverbial  mys- 
tery of  his  day.  It  existed  in  the  thinking  and 
language  of  the  most  ancient  Arabians ;  as  is 
evident  from  the  use  Mohammed  makes  of  it  in 
the  Koran.  His  mode  of  speaking  of  it  shows 
that  it  was  a  very  old  query  that  had  long  occu- 
pied the  thoughts  of  men.  Hence  his  adversa- 
ries are  represented  as  proposing  it  to  him  as  a 
test  of  his  being  a  true  prophet  (see  Koran  Sur. 
XVII.  78)  :   "They  will  ask  thee  about  the  spirit 

\  ya  tj\    ij^  I  i  ^^y  '■  ^^^  spirit  is  according 

to  the  command  of  my  Lord,  and  ye  have  been 
gifted  with  knowledge  but  a  very  little  way." 
When  he  says  "  the  spirit  is  by  the  command  of 
my  Lord,"  he  has  reference  to  a  distinction  that 
was  made  (and  very  anciently  it  would  seem)  be- 
tween the  creation  of  spirit,  and  that  of  matter, 
or  nature  strictly.  The  latter  was  through 
media,  steps,  or  growth,  whilst  spirit  was  imme- 
diate, by  the  comma/nd  of  God,  according  to  the 
language  of  Ps.  xxxiii.  9,  or  the  frequent  expres- 
sion in  the  Koran  which  so  closely  resembles  it, 


'be,  and  it  was."     Al.  Za- 


MAKHSUARi,  in  his  Commentary,  p.  783,  2,  tells  us 
that  the  Jews  bid  the  Koreish  ask  Mohammed 
three  questions — ^one  about  the  mystery  of  "  the 
cave  and  the  sleepers,"  one  about  Dhu  1'  Karnein, 
and  the  third,  this  question  about  the  spirit.  If  he 
pretended  to  answer  them  all,  or  if  he  answered 
neither  of  them,  then  he  was  no  true  prophet. 
He  answered  the  first  two,  but  confessed  his  ig- 
norance of  the  human  soul,  as  being  something 
"the  knowledge  of  which  God  had  reserved  to 
Himself."  Then  he  told  them  that  there  was  the 
same  reserve  in  their  law  (the  Old  Testament) 
which  revealed  to  them  nothing  about  the  way  of 
the  spirit,  min  "^n.  If  Mohammed  knew  any 
thing  about  the  Bible  (and  there  is  but  little  rea- 
son in  the  contrary  supposition),  then  it  may  be 


CHAP.  XI.  1-10.— XII.  1-7. 


151 


reasonably  thought  that  in  what  is  thus  said  of 
him  by  the  Koranic  commentator,  he  had  refer- 
ence to  such  passages  as  this  of  Ecolesiastes 
(compare  also  Eccles.  iii.  21,  nil  J^T  'D,  "  who 
knoweth  the  spirit,"  etc.),  or  to  the  general  re- 
serve of  the  Old  Testament  respecting  the  soul, 
or  in  a  more  special  manner  to  Gen.  ii.  7 ;  vi.  3, 
where  there  are  ascribed  to  God  the  more  direct 
creation  of,  and  a  continued  property  in,  the 
human  spirit.  This  would  seem,  too,  from  Ps. 
civ.  29,  to  be  asserted,  in  some  sense,  even  of  the 
animal  creation. — T.  L.] 

Ver.  6.  In  the  morning  sow  thy  seed. — 
The  sowing  of  seed  is  here  a  figurative  designa- 
tion of  every  regular  vocation  or  occupation,  not 
specially  of  benevolence ;  comp.  Job  iv.  & ;  Ps. 
cxxvi.  5;  1  Cor.  ix.  10,  11. — And  in  the  eve- 
ning withhold  not  thine    hand. — Literal, 

"towards  evening"  (3[1^'7),  i.  e.,  be  diligent  in 
thy  business  from  the  early  morning  till  the  late 
evening,  be  incessantly  active. — For  thou 
knowest  not  whether  shall  prosper,  either 
this  or  that. — Ht  'N,  not  "what,"  but  "whe- 
ther ;"  the  expression  refers,  as  it  seems,  to  the 
doable  labor,  that  of  the  morning  and  that  of  the 
evening.  "We  are  to  arrange  labor  with  labor, 
because  the  chances  are  equal,  and  we  may  there- 
fore hope  that  if  one  fails,  the  other  may  suc- 
ceed. God  may  possibly  destroy  one  work — and 
who  knows  which  ?  (comp.  chap.  v.  6) ;  it  is  well 
if  thou  then  hast  a  support,  a  second  arrow  to 
send"  (HiTzia).— Or  whether  they  shall 
both  be  alike  good — i.  e.,  whether  both  kinds 
of  labor  produce  what  is  really  good,  substantial 
and  enduring,  or  whether  the  fruit  of  the  one 
does  not  soon  decay,  so  that  only  the  result  of 
the  other  remains.  T^X3  "together,"  as  in 
Ezravi.  20;  2  Chron.  v. ^13';   Isa.  Ixv.  25. 

4.  Second  strophe.  Vers.  7-10.  Admonition  to 
calmness  and  content,  ever  mindful  of  divine 
judgment,  and  consequently  to  the  cheerful  en- 
joyment of  the  blessings  of  this  life. — Truly 
the  light  is  sweet,  and  a  pleasant  thing 
it  is  for  the  eyes  to  behold  the  sun.  Hit- 
ziQ  correctly  gives  the  connection  with  the  pre- 
ceding :  The  tendency  of  the  advice  in  vers.  1-6 
(mainly  in  ver.  6)  to  secure  guaranties  in  life,  is 
justified  in  ver.  7.  "Life  is  beautiful  and 
worthy  of  receiving  care."  Elster  is  less  clear 
and  concise:  "Such  an  energy  of  mental  ac- 
tivity (as  that  demanded  in  vers.  1-6)  will  only 
be  found  where  there  is  no  anxious  calculation 
about  the  result ;  but  where  man  finds  alone  in 
the  increased  activity  of  his  mental  powers,  (?) 
and  in  the  intense  striving  after  an  eternal  goal, 
hissatisfactiou  and  reward,"  etc.  The  "light" 
here  stands  for  life,  of  which  it  is  the  symbol. 
(Comp.  Ps.  xxxvi.  9;  xlix.  19;  Ivi.  13;  Job 
iii.  20).  And  so  the  expression :  "to  behold  the 
sun,"  for  which  see  not  only  Ps.  Iviii.  9 ;  John 
xi.  9,  but  also  passages  in  classic  authors,  e.  g., 
Euripides,  Iphio.  in  Aul.  1218:  fj&v  yap  to  <paQ 
fiUfreiv;  also  Hippol.  4:  ^wf  dpavrt^  ipiim; 
Phoeniss  :  tl  levaaet  <pdo^. — Ver.  8.  But  if  a 
man  live  many  years.  '3  here  greatly  in- 
creases the  intensity  of  thought  (comp.  Job 
vi.  21;  Hosea  x.  6);  it  is  consequently  to  have 
no  closer  connection  with  the  following  DN; 


comp.  Prov.  ii.  3;  Isa.  x.  22,  etc. — And  rejoice 
in  them  all;  [Zookler  renders:  Let  him  re- 
joice in  them  all]  ;*  therefore  daily  and  con- 
stantly rejoice,  in  harmony  with  the  apostolic 
injunction,  ;\;a/pcr£  irdvrore.  See  the  "  Doctrinal 
and  Ethical"  to  know  how  this  sentence  is  to  be 
reconciled,  in  Koheleth's  sense,  with  the  truth 
that  all  is  vanity,  and  at  the  same  time  to  be 
defended  against  the  charge  of  Epicurean  levity. 
— Yet  let  him  remember  the  days  of 
darkness,  for  they  shall  be  many.  '3  is 
here  the  relative,  not  the  causal  on ;  comp. 
the  Septuagint :  KOi  fivrjudriceraL  rag  T/fiepag  rov 
ckStovc,  oTi  ttoVmi  iuovTai.  "  The  days  of  dark- 
ness are  those  to  be  passed  after  this  life  in 
School,  the  dark  prison  beneath  the  earth  (chap. 
ix.  10),  the  days  when  we  shall  no  longer  see 
the  pleasant  light  of  the  sun,  or  the  period  of 
death ;"  comp.  Job  x.  21,  f. ;  xiv.  22 ;  Ps. 
Ixxxviii.  12,  etc. — All  that  cometh  is  vanity ; 
that  is,  that  cometh  in  this  world ;  everything 
that  exists  in  this  life,  consequently  all  men 
especially;  comp.  chap.  vi.  4;  John  i.  9.  Never- 
theless the  translation  should  not  be  in  the  mas- 
culine; the  Septuagint  is  correct:  -jrav  rb  epx^fie- 
vov,  /xaraidTTic.  The  sense  given  by  Vaihingek 
and  Elster  is  too  broad  :  "  All  future  things  are 
vanity."  But  even  this  is  more  correct  than  the 
Vulgate  and  Luther,  who  refer  ii2W  to  the  past. 
Moreover  the  clause  is  a  confirmation  of  what 
precedes,  though  used  without  a  connective,  and 
therefore  making  a  still  greater  impression. — 
Ver.  9.  Rejoice,  O  young  man  in  thy 
youth. — Here  we  again  have  a  vividly  emphatic 
omission  of  the  connective.  That  which  the 
previous  verse  recommended  in  general,  is  now 
specially  addressed  to  youth  as  that  period  of 
life  especially  favorable  to  cheerful  enjoyment, 
and  therefore,  in  accordance  with  God's  will, 
especially  appointed  thereto.  But  the  necessary 
check  is  indeed  immediately  placed  upon  this 
rejoicing,  by  the  reminder  of  the  duty  to  forget 
not   that   God    will   bring    to    judgment.     3  in 

^nnV3  does  not  give  the  cause  or  object  of  re- 
joicing, but,  as  also  in  'n'3  in  the  following 
clause  (comp.  Isa.  ix.  2),  the  period  and  circum- 
stances in  which  it  is  to  occur.  —  And  let 
thy  heart  cheer  thee  in  the  days  of  thy 
youth.f      For   this    expression    comp.    i.    17 ; 

*[Xi.  8.  nOty    0^33,    To  take  this  aa  an  exhortation: 

"Let  him  rejoice,"  etc.,  wouW  not  seem  very  congruous  to  what 
follows ;  "  let  him  remember  the  days  of  darkness,"  which  is 
certainly  not  a  joyful  thought.  Our  English  translators  have 
inserted  the  conjunction  ;  "and  in  them  all  rejoice,"  which 
gives  the  spirit  of  the  passage,  although  there  is  no  1  in  the 
Hebrew.    The  better  way  is  to  regard  the  particles  '3  and 

QK  as  affecting  both  the  futures,  the  second  as  well  as  the 

first,  whilst  the  third,  introduced  by  the  conjunction,  is  the 
one  exhortation  of  the  sentence,  to  which  the  others  are 
preparatory:  "For  if  a.  man  shall  live  many  years,  if  be 
shall  rejoice  in  them  all,"  or  as  it  is  elliptically,  yet  most 
literally,  expressed  in  the  Metrical  Version — 

Yet  if  a  man  live  many  years,  in  all  of  them  rejoice. 

The  days  of  darkness  let  him  not  forget. 
Or  it  may  he  the  imperative  style  with  the  conditional 
aspect:  let  him  live,  let  him  rejoice,  (that  is,  though  he  hve, 
though  he  rejoice)  yet  let  him  remember,  etc.    In  such  a 
rendering  there  is  no  discord  in  the  thought.— T.  t.J 

t[Ver.  9.    n^nmnSi  »  rising    upon    the  word    Dn^^ 
childhood,  as  is  seen  by  the  parallelism.    It  ia  the  period  of 


152 


ECCLESIASTES. 


iii.  18;  vii.  25,  etc.  The  heart  delights  the 
whole  man  in  proportion  as  it  itself  is  D1£3,  that 
is,  of  good  cheer.— And  walk  in  the  ways 
of  thine  heart,  i.  e.,  in  the  ways  in  which  it 
will  go;  follow  it.  Comp.  Isa.  Ivii.  17  and  for 
the  thought  above  chap.  ii.  10. — And  in  the 
sight  of  thine  eyes,  i.  t.,  so  that  thy  ob- 
servation of  things  shall  form  the  rule  for  thy 
conduct,  (comp.  iii.  2-8).  This  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  k'ri  nX"lD3,  which  is  attested  by 
all  versions  and  manuscripts  ;  the  ketib  'NI^S 
which  is  preferred  by  Hengstenbebq  and  others, 
would  designate  the  multitude  of  the  objects  of 
sight  as  the  rule  for  walking,  which,  as  Hitziq 
correctly  observes,  would  be  an  intolerable 
zeugma.     We  moreover  decidedly  condemn  the 

addition  of  sS  before  HSIDJl :  "  and  not  accord- 
ing to  the  sight  of  thine  eyes,"  as  is  found  in  the 
Codex  Vaticanus  of  the  Sepluagint,  and  in  the 
Jewish  Haggada;  for  the  passage  in  Numb. 
XV.  39,  that  probably  furnished  the  inducement 
to  this  interpolation,  is  not,  when  rightly  com- 
prehended, in  antagonism  with  the  present  ad- 
monition; for  quite  as  certain*  as  the  allusion  is 
there  to  amorous  looks  of  lust,  is  it  here,  on  the 
contrary,  to  an  entirely  innocent  use  of  sight,  and 
one  well-pleasing  to  God. — But  know  thou, 
that  for  all  these  things  God  will  bring 
thee  to  judgment.  Comp.  Job  xi.  6.  The 
judgment  (OiJi^n)  is  very  certainly  not  merely 
to  be  considered  as  one  of  this  world,  con- 
sisting of  the  pains  of  advanced  age  (Hitzig), 
described  in  chap.  xii.  1,  ff.,  or  of  human  desti- 
nies as  periods  of  the  revelation  of  divine  re- 
tributive justice  in  general  (Clekicus,  Winzer, 
Knobel,  Elster,  etc.).  The  author  rather  has 
in  view  the  "judgment"  in  the  absolute  sense, 
the  great  reckoning  after  death,  the  last  judg- 
ment, as  the  parallels  Ps.  cxliii.  2 ;  Job  xiv.  B ; 
xix.  29,  etc.,^  incontestably  show  (comp.  also  Heb. 


commenciog  manbood.  Its  etymological  sense  would  be  the 
choice  period  of  life,  from  1(13  primary  sense,  that  of  ex- 
ploring, proving  (the  keen  eye),  hence  choosing,  selecting 
that  which  is  most  precious.  From  this  the  iiica  of  excel- 
lence, superiority.    In  the  noun  Hn^,  it  is  taken  coUec- 

T 

lively  for  the  youth,  the  choice  young  men,  as  in  Isaiah  xl. 
29,  where,  in  the  parallelism  it  isa  rising  on  lI3^"1^J,  "the 

youths  shall  be  weary,  even  the  young  men  shall  utterly 
fall."  Ilere  it  is  an  alistract  noun  in  the  fem.  plural,  to  de- 
note intensity.  We  have  the  masculine  plural  in  the  same 
way.  Numb.  xi.  28.  It  is  of  the  same  form,  in  the  masculine, 
with  □'3pl  an  intensive  form  to  denote  extreme  feebleness 

of  age.    This  is  the  direct  opposite. — T.  L.l 

*[How  is  it "  certain,"  unless  it  be  that  the  hard  necessities 
of  this  exegesis  demand  such  an  assertion?  The  two  ex- 
pressions are  precisely  alike,  both  in  their  letter  and  their 
spirit.    There  is  nothing  said,  Numb.  xv.  39,  about  ''amorous 

looks,"  since  the  word  □"'jl  applies  to  any  evil  desire,  any 

going  away  after  the  eye  (see  Ps.  Ixxiii.  27),  and  is  often 
used  of  idolatry.    The  term  HXIO.  which  is  so  much  used 

of  female  beauty,  suggests  the  idea  here,  more  than  any 
thing  in  the  other  passage.  Everywhere  else  this  kind  of 
language,  "  following  the  heart,"  the  "  desires  of  the  heart," 
'■going  after  the  eye,"  tlie  serise  (compare  Job  xxxi.7),  is  used 
in  malam  partem,  iinA  to  give  it  just  the  contrary  sense  here, 
as  bomething  "  well  pleasing  to  God,"  is  to  abandon  every 
safe  guide  in  interpretation.  See  the  remarks  on  the  solemn 
and  sorrowful  irony  of  this  passage,  in  connection  with 
ix.  7-9;  Note  on  the  Alleged  Epicureanism  of  Koheleth; 
p.  132.— T.  L.] 
f  [Still  more  striking  allusions  to  such  a  judgment  may 


ix.  27;  X.  27);  the  preludes  of  the  iinal  judg- 
ment belonging  to  this  life  come  into  view  only 
as  subordinate.  Neither  ver.  8  of  this  chapter, 
nor  chap.  ix.  10  are  opposed  to  this ;  for  Kohe- 
leth in  these  teaches  not  an  eternal,  but  only  a 
long  sojourn  in  Scheol.  Our  interpretation  re- 
ceives also  the  fullest  coniirmation  in  chap.  iii. 
17  as  in  chap.  xii.  7,  14. — Ver.  10.  Therefore 
remove  sorrow^  from  thy  heart.  The  posi- 
tive command  to  rejoice,  is  here  followed  by  the 
warning  against  the  opposite  of  rejoicing  0J73 
"sorrow,  dissatisfaction;"  the  Septuagint,  Vul- 
gate, Geier,  etc.,  most  unfittingly  render  it 
"anger,"  just  as  ihe  following,  HJ^I  which  means 
"evil,  misfortune,"  they  render,  "wickedness," 
(TTovT/pla,  malitia).  The  recommendation  to 
cheerfulness  instead  of  sadness  and  melancholy 
(comp.  Mai.  iii.  14;  Isa.  Iviii.  3)  is  here  clearly 
continued ;  comp.  chap.  ix.  7,  tf.  For  ^E'^  in 
the  second  clause,  comp.  chap.  v.  6. — For 
childhood  and  youth  are  vanity.  The 
figure  (jTinnn  a  later  expression  for  inty; 
comp.  the  Talmudic  ri'inK?),  and  the  thing  com- 
pared (nnTH  also  a  later  word)  are  here,  as  in 
chap.  V.  2  ;  vii.  1,  connected  by  a  simple  copula. 
Koheleth  would  have  written  more  clearly,  but 
less  poetically  and  effectively  if  he  had  said 
"for  as  the  dawn  of  the  morning  so  is  the  period 
of  youth  all  vanity"  (z.  e.,  transitory,  fleeting, 
comp.  vii.  6 ;  ix.  9). 

[Koheeeth's  Description  of  Old  Age,  chap, 
xii. — The  imagery  and  diction  of  this  remarkable 
passage  show  it  to  be  poetry  of  the  highest  order; 
but  it  presents  a  very  gloomy  picture.  Even  as 
a  description  of  the  ordinary  state  of  advanced 
life,  it  is  too  dark.  It  has  no  relief,  none  of 
those  cheering  features,  few  though  they  may 
be,  which  Cicero  presents  in  his  charming  trea- 
tise De  Senectute.  As  a  representation  of  the  old 
age  of  the  godly  man,  it  is  altogether  unfitting. 
Compare  it  with  the  HSID  HD'tV,  the  "good  old 
age"  of  Abraham  and  David,  Gen.  xv.  15, 1  Chron. 
xxix.  28,  the  serene  old  age  of  Isaac,  the  hon- 
ored old  age  of  Jacob,  the  hale  old  age  of  Moses 
and  Joshua.  See  how  Isaiah  (xl.  30,  31)  de- 
scribes the  aged  who  wait  upon  the  Lord:  "  The 
youths  may  faint  and  be  weary,  even  the  young 
men  may  utterly  fail,  but  they  who  wait  on  Je- 
hovah shall  renew  their  strength,  they  shall 
mount  up  on  wings  as  eagles,  they  shall  run  and 
not  be  weary,  they  shall  walk  and  not  faint." 
A  more  direct  contrast  is  furnished  by  the  stri- 
king picture  of  aged  saints,  Ps.  xcii.  15  :  They 
are  like  the  grandaeval  cedars  of  Lebanon; 
"planted  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  they  shall 
still  bring  forth  fruit  in  old  age  ;  they  shall  be 
fat  and  flourishing"  (more  correctly,  "still  re- 
sinous and  green"),  be  evergreens;  or,  as  Watts 
has  most  beautifully  paraphrased  it, 

The  plants  of  grace  shall  ever  live; 
Nature  decays,  but  grace  must  thrive; 

be  found  Ps.-i.  6;  Job  xxi.  30,  the  TN  OV,  the  dV 
ri)'^^^,  the  dies  irse  {irarum)  "  to  which  the  wicked  are  re- 
served;" as  also  to  Psalm  xlix.  16,  "the  morning  C^pS/l 
in  which  the  just  shall  triumph." — T.  L.] 


C3AP.  XI.  1-10.— XII.  1-7. 


153 


Time  that  doth  all  things  else  impair, 
Still  makes  them  flourish,  strong  and  fair. 
Laden  with  fruits  of  age  they  show, 
The  Lord  is  holy,  just  and  true ; 
None  that  attend  ilis  gates  shall  And, 
A  Ood  unfaithful  or  unkind. 

Another  very  striking  contrast  to  this  is  that  pic- 
ture which  Solomon  twice  gives  us  in  the  Pro- 
verbs xvi.  31,  and  xx.  29,  "the  hoary  head  a 
crown  of  glory  when  found  in  the  way  of  righ- 
teousness." But  one  supposition  remains ;  the 
picture  here  given  is  the  old  age  of  the  sensual- 
ist. This  appears,  too,  from  the  connection.  It 
is  the  "  evil  time,"  the  "  day  of  darliness  "  that 
has  come  upon  the  youth  who  was  warned  in  the 
language  above,  made  so  much  more  impressive  by 
its  tone  of  forecasting  irony.  It  is  the  dreary 
old  age  of  the  young  man  who  would  "  go  on  in 
every  way  of  his  heart,  and  after  every  sight  of 
his  eyes," — who  did  not  "  lieep  remorse  from  his 
soul,  nor  evils  from  his  flesh  " — and  now  all  these 
things  are  come  upon  him,  with  no  such  allevia- 
tions as  often  accompany  the  decline  of  life.  Such 
also  might  be  the  inference  from  the  words  with 
which  the  verse  begins  :  "  Remember  thy  Crea- 
tor while  the  evil  days  come  not  "  [vh  liyx  1^). 
It  expresses  this  and  more.  There  is  a  negative 
prohibitory  force  in  the  "ItyX  IJ?:  So  remember 
Him  that  the  evil  days  come  not, — "  before  they 
come"  implying  a  warning  that  such  coming  will 
be  a  consequence  of  the  neglect.  Piety  in  youth 
will  prevent  such  a  realizing  of  this  sad  picture  ; 
it  will  not  keep  off  old  age,  but  it  will  make  it 
cheerful  and  tolerable,  instead  of  the  utter  ruin 
that  is  here  depicted. 

Another  argument  is  drawn  from  the  charac- 
ter of  the  imagery.  The  general  representation 
is  that  of  the  decay  of  a  house,  or  rather  of  a 
household  establishment,  as  a  picture  of  man  go- 
ing to  his  eternal  house,  his  O  7lJ7  H'^,  atSiov 
dKijOiv.  This  earthly  house  {kniysio^  olKia,  2  Cor. 
V.  1)  is  going  to  ruin,  but  the  style  of  the  habi- 
tation is  so  pictured  as  to  give  us  some  idea  of 
the  character  of  the  inhabitant.  It  is  not  the 
cottage  of  the  poor,  nor  the  plain  mansion  of  the 
virtuous  contented.  It  is  the  house  of  the  rich 
man  (Luke  xvi.  19)  who  has  "  fared  sumptuously 
(/la/i7rpuf,  splendidly)  every  day."  The  outward 
figure  is  that  of  a  lordly  mansion, — a  palace  or 
castle  with  its  "keepers,"  its  soldiers,  or  "men 
of  might,"  its  purveyors  of  meal  and  provisions, 
its  watchers  on  the  turrets.  It  is  a  luxurious 
mansion  with  its  gates  once  standing  wide  open 
to  admit  the  revellers,  now  closing  to  the  street. 
The  images  that  denote  these  different  parts  of 
the  body,  the  different  senses  or  gates  of  entrance 
to  the  soul,  are  all  so  chosen  as  to  indicate  the 
kind  of  man  represented.  It  is  the  eye  that 
looked  out  for  every  form  of  beauty,  the  mouth 
(the  teeth)  that  demanded  supplies  of  the  most 
abundant  and  delicious  food.     It  is  the  ear  that 

sought  for   "singing  women,"    ^^'Vj'i^   T\M2   ^3, 

the  loudest  and  most  famed  of  the  "daughters 
of  song."  And  so,  too,  the  appurtenances  at  the 
close  of  the  description,  the  hanging  lamps,  the 
golden  bowl,  the  costly  fountain  machinery  all 
falling  into  ruin,  present  the  same  indications  of 
•haracter,  and  of  the  person  represented. 


Another  very  special  mark  of  this  may  be 
traced  in  the  expression  nj'l'^Nn  "ISni  ver.  5, 
rendered,  "desire  shall  fail,^"  rather,  "'shall  be 
frustrated,"  still  raging  but  impotent.  How 
characteristic  of  the  old  sensualist,  and  yet  how 
different  from  the  reality  in  the  virtuous  old  age 
that  has  followed  a  temperat  e  and  virtuous  youth ! 
See  how  Cicero  speaks  of  such  failure  of  desire 
as  a  release,  a  relief,  instead  of  a  torment :  Uben- 
ter  vera  istinc,  tanquam,  a  domino  furioso,  profugi  ; 
De  Senectute,  47.  This  view  is  rendered  still 
stronger,  if  we  follow  those  commentators  who 
would  regard  njr3«  as  denoting  an  herb  used 
for  the  excitement  of  failing  desire :  It  shall  fail 
to  have  its  effect.  The  meaning  seems  plain, 
however,  as  commonly  taken,  and  there  is,  per- 
haps, no  good  reason  for  departing  from  the  ety- 
mological sense.  Everything  goes  to  show  that 
Watts  has  rightly  paraphrased  the  passage — 
Behold  the  aged  sinner  goes, 
Laden  with  guilt  and  heavy  woes, 
Down  to  the  regions  of  the  dead. 

The  soul  returns  murmuringly  to  God,  as  though 
with  its  complaint  of  the  cruel  and  degrading 
treatment  it  had  received  from  "the  fleshly  na- 
ture" "in  the  earthly  house,"  or  as  a  wailing 
ghost  "driven  away"  (see  Prov.  xiv.  32),  naked 
and  shivering  into  the  uncongenial  spiritual 
sphere. 

It  is  in  view  of  such  a  life,  and  such  a  death, 
that  we  see  the  force  of  the  closing  exclamation — 
"  0  vanity  of  vanities — all  vanity  !"  As  a  finale 
to  the  life  and  death  of  the  righteous,  even  if  the 
writer,  like  Solon,  had  had  reference  only  to  this 
world,  it  would  have  seemed  inharmonious  and 
out  of  place.  If  we  regard  it,  however,  as  Solo- 
mon's picture  of  himself  repenting  in  extremis, 
then  may  we  indulge  a  more  cheerful  hope  in 
regard  to  its  close,  though  still  with  the  wail  of 
vanity  as  its  mournful  accompaniment.  One 
thing  seems  almost  certain.  Such  a  description 
as  this,  so  sad,  so  full  of  feeling,  must  have  been 
written  by  one  who  had  had  some  experience  of 
the  situation  described.  There  is  a  pathos  about 
it  that  indicates  personality,  and  a  personal  re- 
pentance. If  so,  no  one  is  so  readily  suggested 
as  the  king  of  Israel,  whose  fall  into  sensuality 
and  idolatry  is  so  vividly  described,  1  Kings  xi., 
where  the  divine  judgments  upon  him  are  also 
fully  set  forth.  His  repentance  is  not  there  men- 
tioned, but  it  may  be  because  this  book  of  Kohe- 
leth,  which  he  left  behind  him  as  his  brief  spiri- 
tual autobiography,  contained  such  ample  evi- 
dence of  the  fact. — T.  L.]. 

5  Third  strophe.  Chap.  xii.  1-7.  An  admo- 
nition to  fear  God  during  youth,  and  not  to  leave 
this  till  old  age,  the  period  when  approaching 
death  announces  itself  through  many  terrors 
— here  depicted  in  a  series  of  poetical  figures 
drawn  from  the  various  realms  of  nature  and 
human  life. — Remember  no-w  thy  Creatoi 
in  the  days  of  thy  youth.  For  the  plural 
□'KliS   see  chap.   v.   8   preceding.     The  word 

"  remember  "  ("^2')  is,  of  course,  a  remembering 
with  becoming  reverence,  as  well  as  with  a  feel- 
ing of  gratitude  for  the  miiny  blessings  received. 
It  is  therefore  substantially  the  same  with  the 
fear  expressly  recommended  in  chap.  xii.  13, 
and  in  substance,  at  least,  in  chap.  xi.  9,  second 


154 


ECCLESIASTES. 


clause. — While  the   evil   days   come    not. 

Literally,  "until  not,"  i.  c,  "before;"  just  as  In 
ver.  2  and  in  the  later  recapitulation  ver.  6. 
The  "evil  days,"  and  the  "years"  following  are 
naturally  the  years  of  old  age,  of  the  period 
immediately  preceding  death,  in  contradistinc- 
tion to  the  joyous  period  of  youth. — Ver.  2. 
While  the  sun,  or  the  light,*  or  the  moon 
or  the  stars  be  not  darkened.  The  darken- 
ing of  the  sun  and  the  light  must  here  be  syn- 
onymous with  the  diminishing  and  the  saddening 
of  the  joys  of  life,  as  is  experienced  in  advanced 
age.  A  more  special  interpretation  of  the  sun 
and  the  light,  as  well  as  of  the  moon  and  the 
stars  (only  added  to  finish  the  description),  is 
inadmissible,  and  leads  to  platitudes,  as  is  the 
case  with  Glassius,  Oetinq,  and  F.  W.  Meter, 
who  thinlc  of  the  darkening  powers  of  the  mind, 
or  with  Wedel,  who  would  interpret  the  sun  by 
the  heart,  the  moon  by  the  brain,  the  stars  by 
the  bowels  (!),  and  the  clouds  and  rain,  even, 
by  the  catarrhal  rheums  of  old  age  (!).  More- 
over the  darkening  of  sun,  moon  and  stars  is  a 
favorite  figure  for  seasons  of  misfortune,  punish- 
ment and  judgment;  comp.  Joshua  iii.  4;  ii.  10; 
Amos  viii.  9;  Isa.  xiii.  10;  Ezek.  xxxii.  7; 
Acts  ii.  20;  Bev.  vi.  12.  The  same  is  also  found 
in  classic  authors,  e.  g.,  Catullus  viii.  3;  Fulsere 
quondam  eandidi  libi  soles;  Martial  Epigr.  v. 
20,  11 :  Bonosque  soles  effugere  atque  abire  sentit. — 
Nor  the  clouds  return  after  the  rain. 
That  is,  one  calamity  follows  another,  one  season 
of  misfortune  begins  where  the  other  ceases. 
The  rainy  season,  or  winter,  is  therewith  de- 
scribed, in  contrast  to  the  mere  showers  or  pass- 
ing thunder  storms  of  summer.  Old  age  is 
symbolized  as  the  winter-]-  (or  autumn  of  life,  as 
it  has  previously  been  termed  the  approaching 
night;  comp.  Job  xxix.  3;  where  the  mature 
ageofman  is  designated  as  "the  days  of  autumn" 
(^lln  '5').  So  we  too  sometimes  speak  of  the 
evening,  the  autumn,  and  the  winter  of  life. — 
Vers.  3-5.  A  more  intimate  figurative  descrip- 
tion of  old  age's  infirmity  and  proximity  to 
death.  This  is  here  represented  under  the 
figure  of  a  house  whose  inhabitants,  formerly 
cheerful  and  animated,  now  become  weak,  inac- 
tive and  sad.  Umbreit  and  Elster  condemn 
this  view  as  harsh  and  devoid  of  taste,  and  con- 
sider the  passage  rather  as  a  poetic  description 
of  the  day  of  death,  which  is  represented  under 
the  figure  of  a  fearful  tempest,  see  especially 
GuRLiTT,  Studien  und  Eritiken,  1865,  II.,  p.  331, 
ff.   (comp.  p.   27,    preceding).     Comp.   also   the 

■*  [Ver.  2.  "  Whilst  the.  sun  w  the  light."  This  is  not  a  tau- 
tology; nor  does  it  mean  the  liglit  as  an  element.  That 
■would  bo  too  abstract  for  such  a  writing  as  this.  Aben 
Ezra  gives  a  good  interpretation  in  referring  it  to  the  morn- 
ing ligfd  that  precedes  the  sun  rising.  This  ia  essentially 
the  same  with  the  light  of  the  Btui,  but  is  phenomenally  and 
poetically  different. — T.  L, 

t  Ver.  2.  ^'And  the  clouds  return  after  the  rain."  There  is 
no  need  of  regarding  this  as  denoting  the  winter  season.  It 
represents  the  subjective  state  of  the  old  man.  In  youth 
the  sunshine  is  predominant.  The  cloudy  days  are  little 
remembered.  The  sun  is  ever  coining  out,  or  as  it  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  beautiful  language  of  2  Siim.  xxiii.  4,  it  ia  ever 

TQiSD  nij,  "clear  shining  after  rain."  In  old  age,  espe- 
cially the  old  age  of  the  sensualist,  who  has  no  spiritual  sua 
to  cheer  him,  it  is  just  the  reverse.  The  clouds  seem  ever 
coming  back.  It  is  all  dark,  or  the  intervals  of  sunshine 
seem  brief  and  evanescent. — T.  1*. 


subsequent  remarks  under  the  head  of  Doctrinal 
and  Ethical. — In  the  day^vhen  the  keepers 
of  the  house  shall  tremble.  The  human 
body  ia  often  compared  to  a  house*  or  a  tent, 
e.  g.,  Isa.  xxxviii.  12  ;  Wisdom  ix.  15 ;  Job  iv.  19; 
2  Cor.  V.  1,  ff. ;  2  Peter  i.  13,  f.  So  also  in  pro- 
fane writings,  e.  g.,  in  the  Arabian  poet  Hariri, 
(Riteokert's  Ed.,  p.  293) ;  in  Virgil,  EneidVI., 
784.  The  "keepers  of  the  house"  are  the  arms 
with  the  hands,  that  are  intended  to  protect 
the  body,  but  which  become  tremulous  in  aged 
persons.  These  are  considered  as  outside  of  the 
house,  but  as  closely  belonging  to  it.  For  the 
use  of  the  hands  as  protection  and  armor  for  the 
body,  comp.  Galen,  de  usu  partium  I.,  (4  0pp.  ed. 
KuEHN  T.,  III.,  p.  8). — And  the  strong  men 
shall  bow  themselves.  That  is,  evidently 
the  legs,  which  in  old  age  lose  their  muscular 
power;  whilst  in  the  young,  strong  man  they 
may  be  compared  to  marble  columns,  (comp. 
Song  of  Solomon  v.  10),  they  now  shrink  and 
become  feeble,  and  crooked.  Comp.  the  "  crooked 
knees"  of  Job  iv.  4;  the  "weak  knees"  of  Ps. 
cix.  24;  "the  feeble  knees,"  Isa.  xxxv.  3;  Heb. 
xii.  12;  also  3  Mac.  iv.  5.  "Men  of  strength," 
is,  on  the  contrary,  a  designation  for  valiant 
warriors:  Judges  xx.  44;  2  Sam.  xi.  16;  2  Kings 
xxiv.  16  ;  and  to  these  especially  strong  legs  are 
very  necessary:  see  Ps.  cxlvii.  10;  2  Sam.  i.  23, 
etc. — And    the    grinders    ceasef    because 

they  are  fe-wr.  flUnan  "the  grinding  maids" 
are  to  be  construed  as  referring  to  the  teeth,  as 
is  also  shown  by  't3j/'0  '3,  "for  they  have  become 
few,"  and  by  the  subsequent  mention  of  the 
"sound  of  the  mill,"  i.  e.,  of  the  human  speech 
proceeding  from  the  wall  of  the  teeth  (ver.  4). 
The  closeness  of  the  comparison  between  human 
teeth  and  a  mill  is  proved  by  the  designation 
"  grinders,"  for  the  molar  teeth  in  many  lan- 
guages, e.  g.,  in  the  Syriac  (mjnt3)j  in  the  Greek 
{fj.i:?i.aKpQL  f/o?iodovTE^),  in  the  Latin  (^molares). 
The  feminine  form  is  in  allusion  to  the  custom 

»[Ver.  3.  n]2T\   'lOii',  "  ^e  keepers  of  tlie  house."    HlT- 

zia  recognizes  the  comparison,  throughout,  of  the  human 
body  to  a  house,  but  he  trifles  when  be  suys,  that  this  is 
suggested  by  the  mention  of  thy  rain  in  ver.  2,  and  that  the 
figure  is  used  because  a  house  is  made  of  loam  and  white 
bricks  that  are  dissolved  and  worn  away  by  the  showers. 
Every  thing  goes  to  show  that  there  is  had  in  view,  rather, 
the  decay  of  some  lordly  mansion,  the  richly  furnished  house 
of  some  Dives,  "  who  had  fared  sumptuously  every  day,''  or 
of  a  castle  with  its  apparatus  of  war  and  luxury,  as  we  have 
said  p.l63.— T.  L.j 

*[Ver.  3.  .1705.  "  TJie  grinders  fail."  It  is  rendered  cease 
;  T 
in  our  E.  V.  Zockler,  feiem,  to  rest,  keep  holiday.  Ge- 
8ENIDS,  the  same,  feriad  sunt.  It  is  one  of  the  words  of  this 
book  reckoned  to  the  later  Hebrew.  It  is  common,  how- 
ever, to  all  Sbemitic  tongues,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  it 
should  be  regarded  as  either  unhebraic,  or  as  late  in  the 
Hebrew.  Those  who  argue  from  its  rare,  or  single,  occur- 
rence, should  show  that  there  is  any  other  place  in  the 
scanty  Hebrew  writings  we  have,  where  it  would  have  been 
more  suited  to  the  idea  than  the  word  or  words  used.  The 
rendering  of  ZoOKLER  and  Gesenius  would  make  it  synony- 
mous with  nOty,  but  this  is  not  its  sense  in  the  Arabic, 

-  T 

and  Syriac,  and  an  examination  of  passages  would  show 
how  unsuitable  it  would  have  been  as  a  substitute  for  n3W, 
to  cease,  rest,  keep  holiday,  in  any  of  the  many  places  where 
the  latter  occurs.  Its  true  sense  is  to  fail,  or  rather,  to  be 
worn  out,  to  become  useless.  It  may,  therefore,  be  regarded 
as  an  old  Hebrew  word,  but  as  used  in  this  place  only,  be- 
cause it  is  the  onlv  one  in  which  its  peculiar  aense  was  re- 
quired  T.L.I 


CHAP.  XI.  1-10.— XII.  1-7. 


155 


of  all  antiquity,  according  to  which  female  slaves 
performed  the  grinding  with  hand-mills  (Ex. 
xi.  5 ;  Job  xxxi.  10 ;  Isa.  xlvii.  2 ;  Matt.  xxiv. 
41),  and  is  also  in  harmony  with  the  use  of  W 
(tooth)  as  feminine,  occurring  in  Prov.  xxv.  19. 
—And  those  that  look  out  of  the  u^indovys 
be  darkened.  These  are  the  eyes,*  that  are 
here  the  more  fittingly  designated  as  niNin 
ri31X3,  because  ]'J^  the  "  eye"  is  feminine,  and 
lince  the  eyelids,  in  other  passages  compared  to 
the  threads  of  a  net  (Prov.  vi.  25),  are  here 
clearly  compared  to  the  bars  of  a  grate  or  to  the 
grating  (ni3^S),  and  since  also  it  was  very  natu- 
ral to  present  the  eyes,  the  most  noble  of  all  our 
organs,  as  the  mistresses  of  the  house,  who  look 
quietly  out  into  the  exterior  world,  but  the  teeth 
on  the  contrary  as  the  servants  or  slaves.  Comp. 
ClOEKO  Tusc.  I.,  20:  Oculi  quasi  fenestrse  sunt 
animi ;  foramina  ilia,  quse  patent  ad  animum  a  cor- 
pore,  callidissimo  artijicio  natura  fabricata  est;  also 
LiOTANTins,  de  opif.  Dei,  c.  8 ;  Clemens,  Slro- 
mata,  TIL,  p.  685,  §  .  See  also  the  Cabalistic 
theory  of  the  seven  openings  or  doors  of  the 
head,  of  which  the  two  sockets  of  the  eyes  are 
the  most  elevated  and  distinguished  (Jeziea,  c. 
4;  comp.  Talmud  tract,  Schabb.  p.  152,  col.  1; 
BuxTOKF,  Florileg.  p.  320).  Those  looking  out 
of  the  windows  are  said  to  be  darkened  with 
reference  to  the  feebleness  of  sight  in  old  per- 
sons, e.  g.,  Isaac  (Gen.   xxvii.   1),  Jacob  (Gen. 


*[Vor.  3.  "And  they  who  look  out  of  the  windows  be 

darkened"  (nl5"^X3    mN'in).    Al? agree  that  this  means 

*■, ";  T  T 

the  eyes  in  respect  to  the  body ;  but  what  does  it  stand  for 
in  the  figure,  or  parallel  representation  of  the  mansion  1  To 
this  ZiiCKLBR  does  not  advert  except  in  what  he  says  about  the 
"mistreases,"  which  is  very  inadequate  and  unpicturesque. 
His  remarks,  too,  about  the  eyelids,  and  "the  threads  of  a 
net,"  with  his  reference  to  Prov.  vi.  25,  are  fanciful  pretti- 
nesaea,  which  seem  out  of  place  in  so  serious  yet  so  animated 
a  description.  The  question  is,  what  places  and  persons  are 
meant?  There  is  something  here  instructive  of  the  charac- 
ter of  the  house  that  is  pictured.    As  it  had  "  its  strong 

men,"  its  /Tin  ^t^JX,  so  these  are  the  castle-watchers 
who  look  out  from  the  turrets,  or  rather,  at  or  by  the  turrets 
(3  instead  of  T3).  If  we  are  to  be  governed  by  the  gender 
of  niXI,  we  should  think  of  women  employed  for  that  pur- 
pose, which  would  suit  well  enough, — the  strong  men  being 
otherwise  employed — but  the  gender  may  have  been  con- 
trolled by  the  thought  of  the  thing  represented,  the  eyes, 
which  in  Hebrew,  are  feminine.    The  word,  r\131N,  does 

not  mean  the  ordinary  windows  of  a  house  (O"*  J  wH),  ttut 

some  opening  high  up,  in  the  roof,  or  in  a  turret.  This  is 
shown  from  all  its  uses,  as  in  Gen.  vii.  11,  viii.  12,  2  Kings 
yii.  19,  laa.  xxiv.  15,  Malachi  iii.  10,  in  all  of  which  places  it 
is  rendered  the  windows  of  heaven  (supposed  openings  in 
the  sky)  Hosea  xiii.  3,  where  it  means  chimneys,  and  Isa. 
Ix.  8,  where  it  is  used  diminntirely  for  the  openings  in  the 
dove  houses.  Here,  therefore,  it  must  mean  turret  windows 
or  openings,  where  the  watchers  are  stationed,  and  this  is  in 
harmony  with  the  usual  sense  of  the  verb  31X,  to  lie  in 
viati,  to  watch.  There  is  a  striking  pictorial  propriety  in  this 
which  has  led  to  similar  representations  by  other  ancient 
writers.  "  Thus "  the  eight  (says  Plato  in  the  Timteus, 
90  A),  *|a8  the  noblest  of  the  senses,  is  placed  in  the  highest 
part"  ejr'  afcpmrw  crw^art.  So  CiCERO  De  Nat.  Deorum,  II., 
140,  Sensus  autem,  interpretes  ac  nuntii  rerum,  in  capite, 
i<imua7n  in  arce,  collocati  sunt :  "The  senses,  as  interpreters 
and  messengers  of  things  without,  are  placed  in  the  head  as 
i^  &  viatch  tower."  "And  this,"  he  says,  "is  especially  true 
of  the  eyes  as  watchers:"  nam  oauli,  tanquam  speculatores, 
aUisiimwn  haum  obtinenf,  ex  quoplurima  conspidenies  fun- 
gantw  sua  munere.  Compare  also  .Zerwphon  Memorabilia 
Idb.  I.,  ch.  iv.  11,  where  we  have  the  same  idea  as  in  the 
well-known  passage  from  Omd  Met.  I.,  86 : 

Os  homini  sublime  dedit,  ccelumque  tueri, 
Jussit,  et  credos  ad  sidera  tollere  vuUus.—T.  L] 
27 


xlviii.  10),  Eli  (1  Sara.  iii.  2),  AhJa  (1  Kings 
xiv.  4),  etc.  ;  comp.  also  Ps.  Ixix.  23;  Lam.  v.  17; 
Deut.  xxxiv.  7.— Ver.  4.  And  the  doors  shalf 
be  shut  in  the  streets.  Namely,  the  mouth* 
whose  upper  and  lower  lips  are  compared  to  the 

two  sides  or  folds  of  a  door  (□]n'7'n) ;  comp. 
Ps.  cxli.  3 ;  Micah  vii.  5 ;  Job  xli^  '6.  pItJ'J 
literally,  "  on  the  street,"  points  to  the  function 
of  the  mouth  as  a  means  of  communication  with 
the  outer  world,  whether  by  the  reception  of 
food  or  the  sending  out  of  words  or  other  sounds 
As  the  latter  reference  is  not  so  close,  and  would 
anticipate  the  subsequent  clause,  we  are  doubt- 
less to  think  of  the  mouth  as  the  organ  of  eating, 
and  the  shutting  of  the  doors  as  an  allusion  to 
the  feeble  appetite  of  old  men,  [in  this  Ewald  is 
correct,  in  opposition  to  Knobel,  Vaihinger, 
etc.].  Herzpeld  and  Hitzig  are  entirely  too 
artificial :  "  the  lips  of  the  toothless  mouth  cling 
together ;"  but  Hengstbnbebo  also  says:  "the 
shutting  of  the  doors  refers  to  the  difBculty  of 
hearing  in  old  men,  a  common  infirmity  with  them 
that  would  not  be  wanting  here"  (? !). — When 
the  sound  of  the  grinding  is  low.  ZoOk- 
ler  translates:  "the  voice  of  the  mill."  The 
mill  is  the  teeth, -j-  according  to  ver.  3  ;  its  voice 

*[Ver.  4.  ^^  ATid  the  doors  shall  he  shut  in  the  streets;"  ot 
rather,  "  the  doors  to  the  street  "  (the  street  doors)  are  shut 
{besoming  shut,  closing  ;  see  Metrical  Version).  The  reference 
of  this  to  the  mouth,  which  began  with  Jerome,  has  been 
the  occasion  of  much  false  interpretation,  both  here  and  in 
what  follows.  The  dual  number  is  just  as  applicable  to  the 
eyes  and  ears  as  to  the  lips.  It  agrees,  therefore,  far  better 
with  the  whole  context,  to  take  it  as  Hengsteneeeg  does,  of 
the  ears  closing  to  sounds,  or  rather,  of  all  the  senses,  as 
the  avenues  to  the  outer  world.  To  say  that  this  is  too  re- 
mote or  abstract  a  sense  for  Koheleth,  is  to  overlook  the 
whole  scope  of  this  most  thoughtful  representation,  and  to 
fail  in  appreciating  the  spirit  of  its  grand  poetry.  The  old 
sensualist,  he  who  had  lived  so  much  abroad,  and  so  little  at 
home,  is  shut  in  at  last.  Again,  the  language  is  inconsistent 
with  the  other  and  more  limited  view.  With  no  propriety 
could  the  mouth  be  called  the  street  door,  through  which  the 
master  of  the  house  goes  abroad :  especially  when  regarded, 
as  this  interpretation  mainly  regards  the  mouth,  in  its  eating 
or  masticating  function.  It  is  rather  the  door  to  the  inte- 
rior, the  cellar  door,  that  leads  down  to  the  stored  or  con- 
sumed provision,  the  stomach,  or  belly.    The  word  plty3 

whether  we  render  it  in  the  street,  or  to  the  street,  would  he 
altogether  out  of  place  in  such  a  narrow  view,  and  more 
especially  since  T>W  has  such  a  wide  meaning  {platea,  wide 

place,  faras,  abroad),  comp.  v.  6,  Prov.  vii.  6,  Oantic.  iii.  2. 
— T.  L.] 
-f  [Ver.  4.  "  When  the  sound  of  tJt£  grinding  is  low.^^    In  ver. 

3  the  nijnD,  or  female  servants  who  grind  the  meal  in  the 

rich  mansion,  undoubtedly  represent  the  teeth  ;  that  is,  the 
term  is  directly  metaphorical.  Here,  on  the  other  hand, 
njnt3n,  the  grinding,  or  the  mill,  is  not  so  much  meta- 
phorical as  illustrative.  It  is  to  be  taken,  therefore,  in  its 
primary  sense  as  a  fact  showing  the  old  man's  dullness  of 
hearing.  The  most  familiar  and  household  sounds,  such  as 
that  of  the  grinding  mill,  are  faintly  distinguished.  The 
making  it  represent  the  mouth  masticating,  as  a  mill  grind- 
ing, has  given  rise  to  a  great  many  disagreeable  and  very 
unpoetical  images,  marring,  as  Stuart  admits,  the  otherwise 
admirable  propriety,  or  keeping,  of  the  picture.  The  mill, 
it  is  said,  is  the  old  man's  collapsed  mouth;  the  low  sound 
of  the  grinding  is  the  mumbling  noise  made  by  his  feeble 
chewing,  the  "sinking  daughters  of  song"  are  his  feeble 
piping.  Commentators  seem  to  have  vied  with  each  other 
here  in  the  exercise  of  their  ingenuity.  Some  of  these  most 
unpoetical  critics  have  referred  the  low  grinding  sound  to 
the  rumbling  noises  in  the  belly  and  stomach  arising  from 
poor  digestion  (see  their  names  in  Oeier,  also  tha  commen- 
tators cited  in  Pole's  Synopsis).  Stuart  says  trulj  :  "  none  of 
these  interpretations  (whether  referring  to  the  chewing  or  the 
piping,  or  the  digestion)  are  very  inviting,"  and  yet  he  is  not 
prepared  to  give  any  other.  He  says  well  that  "  eating  seems 
to  be  dispatched  in  the  3d  verae,  and  there  is  an  incongruity 


165 


ECCLESIASTES. 


is  not,  however,  the  noise  caused  by  the  chewing 
of  food — which  would  be  very  harsh  and  un- 
natural (contrary  to  Ewald,  et  al.),  but  human 
speech  breathed  out,  as  it  were,  from  the  wall 
of  the  teeth  [epnog  6d6vTuv~\,  that  voice  which  in 
old  age  usually  becomes  weaker  and  lower. — 
And  lie  shall  rise  up  at  the  voice  of  the 
bird.  ZocKLER  translates:  "and  it  seems  like 
the  voice  of  the  sparrow."  Ewald  and  Hitzig 
are  correct  [in  regard  to  the  impersonal  render- 
ing   of  D^p'J    with   reference   to   Isa.  xxix.  24, 

where  also  a  weak  voice  is  compared  to  the  low 
chirping,  if  not  of  the  sparrow,  at  least  of  some 
other  ^mall  birds.  It  is  usually  rendered  [Sept., 
Vulg.,  Luther,  Knobel,  Vaihingee,  etc.:  "and 
he  rises  up  at  the  voice  of  the  birds,"  i.  e.,  in  the 
early  morning — which  might  also  afford  an  allu- 
sion to  the  sleeplessness  of  old  men.     But  it  is 

more  than  doubtful  whether  niaU^H  blp*?  D^p 
should  express  this  sense  of  early  rising.  In- 
stead of  Q-lp"  we  should  in  that  case  have  ex- 
pected '^IJ^]'..  And  early  rising  is  by  no  means 
a  general  custom  of  old  men,  and— what  seems 
more  weighty  than  all  the  rest — the  context  re- 
quires a  reference  to  the  low,  whispering  speech 
of   old   men ;    see   the   following   clause.       For 

7  D^p  in  the  sense  here  given  to  it,  comp.  Zeph. 
iii.  8 ;  1  Sam.  xxii.  13. — And  all  the  daughters 
of  music  shall  be  brought  lov7,  that  is,  all 
the  songs  in  which  the  old  man  endeavors  to 
join,  but  which  he  utters  only  with  a  trembling, 
and  scarcely  audible  voice.  The  "daughters" 
of  a  thing  means  in  Hebrew  style  its  special  or 

Jn  Bupposing  it  to  be  again  introduced  here.'"  The  incon- 
gruity IS  all  the  greater  from  bringing  tliia  lowest  part  of 
the  human  economy  (even  if  it  had  not  already  had  phice 
enough)  between  the  two  noblest  senses;  for  what  follows 
(TK^n  niJ3))  undoubtedly  refers  to  the  hearing;  or  else 
(which  would  indeed  be  most  strange)  there  is  no  notice 
taken  at  all  of  this  most  important  function.  We  would  not 
hesitate,  therefore,  to  refer  this  clause  also  to  that  sense. 
There  is,  too,  a  wonderful  pictorial  propriety  ia  it,  when  we 
consider  the  important  part  which  this  grinding,  and  its 
conataiit  sound,  must  have  borne  in  an  ancient  wealthy  man- 
eion.  From  the  want  of  outside  mills,  this  domestic  occu- 
pation was  in  continual  demand  for  the  daily  provisioning; 
and,  in  a  large  house,  or  castle,  it  must  have  employed  a 
great  many  servants.  It  was  generally  done  by  women,  and 
to  this  our  Saviour  refers.  Matt.  xxiv.  41,  Luke  xvii.  35: 
"Two  women  shall  be  grinding  together,"  They  must  have 
been  constantly ,at  work  to  supply  Ihe  demand  for  bread  at 
every  meal.  Day  and  night  "the  sound  of  the  grinding" 
was  heard,  like  that  which  proceeded  from  the  tired  and 
drowsy  ft^male  slaves  in  the  house  of  Ulysses;  as  described 
in  the  Odyssey  XX.,  1U9: 

Ai  ju.ei'  ap   akXai  eCSov,  eTrec.  Kara  Trvftov  aAetrtrai', 
H'  6e  jxC  OVTTU)  TTaiJer',  a^avpOTaTTj  6'  ereruKTO, 
'H  pa  fi.vKr\v  (rrjjo'affa.,  cttos  <^ci.TO,  arjiia.  a.va.KTt., 

l?he  rest  had  lain  them  down  to  sleep,  their  weary  task  was 

done ; 
One  HtiH  kept  on  the  ceaseless  toil,  the  weakest  of  them  all; 
W  hen  suddenly  she  stopped  the  mill,  and  spake  aloud  too 

sign. 

The  account  is  verj-  touching.  It  is  very  late  at  night,  and 
near  the  dawn.  These  poor  wearied  creatures,  who  liad 
been  grinding  all  day  for  the  rapacious  suitors,  finish  their 
long  tasks,  one  afior  another,  and  lie  down,  overcome  by 
fatigue  and  drowsiness,  until  one  alone  is  left  in  her  late 
hour  of  toil.  In  answer  to  the  prayer  of  Ulysses,  Zeus  harl 
given  the  signal  thunder  in  the  early  cloudless  sky.  Startled 
ar  the  sound  she  stops  the  mill,  and  haiU  it  as  a  signal  of 
deliverance,  whilst  Ulysses  recognizes  her  words  as  an 
auspicious  omen. 

There  was  hardly  any  part  of  the  dny  or  night  when  this 
work  W!is  not  troing  ou  with  its  ceaseless  noise.  It  was, 
iudjaed,  a  sign,  then,  that  the  senses  were  failing  in  their 


specific  announcement  or  utterance ;  comp.  the 
Rabbinic  vlp  J13  as  well  as  the  expression 
"Son  of  fruitfulness,"  Isa.  v.  1,  etc.  Hitzig  is 
correct,  and  Hengstenberg  substantially  so,  who 
understands  by  the  *' daughters  of  song  "the 
qualities  required  in  singing.  But  Knobel  is 
arbitrary,  who,  with  Herzfeld,  sees  in  the 
dingers  only  singing  birds  (according  to  which 
the  failing  here  described  would  be  the  deafness 
of  the  old  man) ;  Vaihinger  sees  an  allusion  to 
the  organs  of  singing ;  and,  finally,  Umbreit 
and  Elster  understand  the  passage  to  be  about 
the  low  flight  of  birds,  and  their  uneasy  flutter- 
ing at  an  approaching  thunder  storm. — Ver.  5. 
The  discourse  continues  to  depend  on  ^  DT^^  at 
the  beginning  of  the  third  verse,  if  not  gram- 
matically, at  least  logically. — Also  when  they 
shall  be  afraid  of  that  Tvhich  is  high  ;  i.  e., 
of  ascending  an  eminence  which  would  be  diffi- 
cult on  account  of  their  sunken  chests,  and  short 
breath  ;  a  remark  in  sympathy  with  what  pre- 
cedes concerning  the  feeble  voice  of  old  men. 
Nearly  all  modern  commentators  are  correct  on 
this  point,  as  is  now  Ewald,  who  formerly  trans- 
lated :  "  when  they  shall  be  afraid  of  the  Lofty 
One,"  that  is  of  God,  the  one  supremely  lofty. — 
And  fears  shall  be  in  the  way;  namely, 
"threaten"  them,  "meet"  them,  who  are  too 
lame  and  weak  easily  too  avoid  such  frights. 
For  the  abstract  form  of  the  plural  D^'^nrin, 
see  Ewald,  ^  179,  a. — And  the  almond  tree 
shall  flourish.  Thus  we  must,  without  doubt, 
translate  the  words  ^P;f[^  V^P^,  for  f.-?^  (Hiphil 
of  ]*VJ).     For   this    compare   Ewald,    J  15,  a. ; 

office  (^  7C33).  when   thia  familiar,  yet  very  peculiar,  sound 

:  T 
of  the  grinding  had  ceaaed  to  arrest  the  attention,  or  had 
become  low  and  obscure. 

When  the  hum  of  thei  mill  is  faintly  heard. 
And  the  daughters  of  song  are  still. 

It  is  from  this,  too,  that  the  words  "liayn   SlpS    CD-lp'l, 

which  have  been  ao  much  raisunderetood,  get  their  clearest 
exposition.    CJIp^  has  for  its  subject,  not  the  old  man,  but 

"the sound  of  the  grinding,"  the  last  grammatical  antece- 
dent, and  it  presents  a  contrast,  as  HiTzia  says,  with  f^W 
preceding,  as  well  as  with  ^HE^^  following.  "Though  it 
rise  to  the  sparrow's  note'*— '* a(iatn  unto"  bm  Dip,  with 
"7  following,  is  used  Zeph  iii.  8, 1  Sara.  xxii.  13,  Mic.  ii.  8, — 

referring  not  so  much  to  loudness,  or  volume  of  sound,  as  to 
that  sharp,  shrill  noiee  which  was  ever  ringing  in  the  eara 
of  others.  Its  real  sound,  shrill  as  the  eparrow'e  voice,  is 
put  in  contrast  with  the  dull  droning  sound  that  reaches  the 
old  man's  ears.  What  follows  would  Beein  to  put  this  inter- 
pretiitioQ  beyond  doubt.  The  term  daughter  (H^)  is  ^^ed 
in  Hebrew,  not  as  Zockler  takes  it,  but  to  intensify,  to  give 
the  very  best  of  a  thing.    T*E*?n    niJ3,  "daughters  Of 

song,"  then,  does  not  necessarily  mean  singers,  though  it 
may  have  that  sense,  but  may  be  understood  of  *'  the  loudest 
songs,"  or  the  loudest  voices  in  the  song.  They  are  faintly 
heard;  XTW''  they  sink  down.  The  sound  thi-y  make  to  the 
old  man  is  exactly  represented  by  the  same  word,  Isaiah 
xxix.  4,  where  we  have  also  7£3ty  used  as  it  is  here:  "And 
thou  shalt  speak  low  out  of  the  ground  (^"I^IH  n73K')i 
and  thy  speech  shall  sound  low  (Hi^n  shall  sink  down)  out 

of  the  dust,  and  thy  voice  shall  be  as  of  one  that  hath  a 
familiar  spi  it.  out  of  tlie  ground,  and  shall  whisper  out  of 
the  dust."    Seo  Metrical  Version. — T,  L.] 


/ 


CHAP.  XI.  1-10.— XII.  1-7. 


157 


i  141,  b.  The  almond  tree  bears  its  blossoms  in 
the  midst  of  winter,*  and  on  a  naked,  leafless 
stem,  and  these  blossoms  (reddish  or  flesh- 
oolored  in  the  beginning)  seem  at  the  time 
of  their  fall  exactly  like  white  snow-flakes; 
(BoDENSTEDT,  1001  JDays  in  the  Orient,  II.,  p.  237). 
In  this  way  the  almond  blossom  is  a  very  fitting 
symbol  of  old  age  with  its  silvery  hair,  and  its 
wintry,  dry,  barren  and  unfruitful  condition. 
EwALD,  Heiliqstbdt,  Vaihinger,  and  Guklitt, 
are  correct ;  the  first-named  makes  an  appropri- 
ate reference  to  Philo,  de  vita  Mosis  iii.  22. — 
Hengstenbekq's  view  is  too  far-fetched  in  find- 
ing in  the  words  (according  to  Jerem.  i.  11)  the 
wakefulness,  or  sleepless  nights  of  hoary  old  age ; 
whilst  SOHKODER,  GeSENIUS,  DlETB-ICH,  et  al., 
consider  VSy  as  intrans.  JFut.  Hiph.  from  fXJ, 
and  render  ;  "And  the  almond  is  despised"  (by 
the  toothless  old  man  who  cannot  bite  it) ;  others 
nndertake  emendations,  e.  g.,  Gaab,  who  reads 
yX3'  "is  despised,"  Hitzig,  who  points  it  |'Ny 
and  thus  obtains  the  scarcely  intelligible  sense  : 
"And  the  Almond  tree  refuses,"  i.  c,  does  not 
permit  the  weak  old  man  to  obtain  its  fruit 
(which  is  to  be  understood  according  to  thean;i- 
logy  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  vii.  9).  Still  others, 
finally,  force  an  unusual  sense  on  the  word  Ipty 
as  Hahn,  who  understands  and  translates  it 
"the  waking,"  referring  it  to  the  human  mind; 
"  the  waking  one  acquires  pinions,"  which  is 
about  equivalent  to  saying:  "The  previously 
half-wakened  spirit  is,  in  the  moment  of  death, 
released  unto  clear  life  and  full  liberty"  (against 
which  explanation  is  the  absence  elsewhere  of 
any  Hiphil  denominative  yjil  from  DXIJ  "  pi- 
nion."—And  the  Grasshopper  shall  be  a 
burden  (Zookler  renders  "burdensome  "),  on 
account  of  its  singing  and  chirping,  or  also  on 
account  of  its  hopping  flight  and  creeping.  3Jin 
literally,  "locust,"  but  here  more  flttingly  trans- 
lated by  grasshopper,  because,  in  rendering  lo- 
cust, it  is  most  probably  the  comparative  small- 
ness,  as  in  Isa.  xl.  22;  Numb.  xiii.  34,  which  is 
mainly  considered  (as  though  we  should  say : 
"And  the  gnat  becomes  a  burden,  or  the  fly  "). 

For  Sanp;  (fut.  Hlthpa  of  ^730)  "to  become 
a  burden,"  comp.  Gesbnius  in  the  Thesaurus. 
KiMCHi  is  correct  regarding  this,  and  he  is  fol- 
lowed by  GuRLiTT,  especially  among  modern  au- 

*[Ver.  6.  Ipt5?n    rNJ'!,  Zockieb  well  defends  here  the 

old  interpretal ion.  The  other  mode  of  exegesis  gives  a  poor 
»Dd  mean  image,  marring  the  poetry,  and  exceedingly  tar- 
fetched  as  a  supposed  trait  of  old  age  ;  whereas  the  compari- 
fion  of  the  hoary  head  to  a  flowering  tree  is  very  striking,  as 
well  as  natural.  The  old  man's  mouth,  and  eating  powers 
had  been  treated  of  before  {ad  nauseam,  we  might  say,  if, 
with  some  critics,  we  allowa  second  reference  to  it  in  vcr.  4, 
as  well  as  in  ver.  3),  whilst  it  would  indeed  be  a  wonder  if 
flu  marked  a  characteristic  as  the  gray  head  had  been  wholly 
omitted.     By  changing  the  punctuation  to    VXy,   these 

ctftica  would  render  it  "  the  almond  disgusts ;"  it  is  too  hard 
a  nut  for  the  the  old  man's  teeth  to  crack ;  or  "  the  almond 
disgustg,"  because  it  is  "sour  grapes"  to  the  old  man;  it 
grows  80  high  he  cannot  get  at  it.  For  other  incongruous 
imagary,  see  HiTzia  and  Stuart.  In  regard  to  the  orthogra- 
pli.v,  whilst  axi  for  ujl  (see  Numb,  xxiii.  22,  Ps.  xxix.  8, 

Ps.  xxii.  22)  presents  a  parallel  to  VKJ  or  VXJ  for  ^'i;  th" 

other  view  of  yxj'  for  yXJ'  is  wholly  unexampled.    The 

objection  from  the  color  of  the  almond  blossoms  is  well 
answered  by  Zooklkb.    These  difficulties  settled,  what  can  be 


thors,  and  approximately  also  by  Gesentub  and 
Hengstenberg,  of  whom,  however,  the  former 
thinks  of  the  burdensomeness  of  the  locust  as  an 
article  of  food,  whilst  the  latter  prefers  to  have 
locust  understood  figuratively 'in  the  sense  of  in- 
fluences hostile  to  life.  The  numerous  remaining 
hypotheses  are  to  be  decidedly  rejected ;  they  are 
divided  into  two  groups,  according  as  they  in- 
terpret the  locust  as  a  symbol  of  the  old  man 
himself,  that  is  as  to  the  form  of  his  body,  or  seek 
to  alter  the  sense  of  3jn  by  peculiar  explana- 
tions. To  the  former  group  belong  the  Septua- 
gint,  Vulgate,  Syriac,  etc.,  which  agree  in  the 
signification  that  "  the  locust  becomes  fat" 
(swells  up),  and  understand  the   whole,  though 

in  opposition  to  the  true  signification  of  uTOn 
as  a  biblical  representation  of  the  corpulency  of 
old  men  ;  and  2.  those  of  Luther,  Geiek,  Vai' 
hinger,  etc.,  who  explain  locust  to  mean  the 
crooked  or  bent  skeleton  and  spinal  column  of 
man  in  old  age,  and  therefore  translate:  "The 
locust  is  burdened;"  and  3.  that  of  Hitzig: 
"And  the  jumper  permits  himself  to  be  carried," 
i.  e.,  the  one  formerly  hopping  merrily  about  can 
no  longer  walk :  4.  that  ofOEiiNGER:  "the  lo- 
cust becomes  a  burden  to  itself,"  i.  e.,  "drags its 
body  a'bout  with  difficulty  ;  5.  those  of  Ewald, 
Heiligstedt,  and  Hahn,  who  agree  in  making 
locust  point  to  the  inner  body,  or  to  the  mind  of 
man  (Ewald)  :  and  "  the  locust  rises,"  namely  to 
fly;  Heiligstedt:  "  et  toLlit  se  ad  volandum  lo- 
custa;"  Hahn:  "And  the  locust  unburdens 
itself,"  which  is  equivalent  to  our  expression: 
"And  the  butterfly  bursts  its  cocoon."  Among 
the  second  class  we  may  count  such  illustrations 
as  the  Chaldaic,  and  that  of  Aben  Ezra :  "  when 
the  ankle-bones  become  thick;"  that  of  Bochaet, 
"  when  the  bones  of  the  legs  become  heavy  ;" 
and  of  Knobel;  "and  the  breathing  is  a  bur- 
den "  (the  last  two  on  the  basis  of  a  peculiar  sig- 
nification of  3jn  derived  from  the  Arabic).* 
— And  desire  shall  fail,  that  is,  when  neither 
the  appetite  nor  sexual  desire  can  be  excited  by 
so  strong  a  stimulant   as   the   caper-berry.     As 

more  striking  than  the  metaphor  1    A  good  parallel  to  it  is 
found  in  Sophocles'  Electra  42,  where  it  is  said  of  the  Tutor, 
Oil  yap  <re  ixrj  yijpa  re  Ka't  fiaKpto  xP^vta 
Tviia',  oirS' v7roirTeu<rou(jiv,  Sii'  H'NQISMENON  : 
They'll  know  thee  not. 
Through  age  and  time  thus  blossomed; 
Nor  even  have  suspicion  who  thou  art. 
Some  would  explain  this  of  the  flowers  and  garlands  he  is 
supposed  to  wear  as  a  messenger:  but  the  critical  reader 
must  see  that  this  would  be  altogether  out  of  keeping  with 
the  circumstances,  as  there  detailed,  and  especially  with  the 
sad  message  he  was  supposed  to  bear.    The  other  objection, 
made  by  Bothe,  that  it  would  be  a  tautology  with  yripa 
(agR),  is  very  Irifling.     It  is  the  very  nature  of  poetry  thus 
to  intensify,  and  often  by  what  would  be  tautology  in  prose. 
Wonder  gives  an  explanation  from  Fr.  Jacobsics,  which  re- 
futes completely  his  own  criticism,  and  that  of  Bothe.    He 
cites  examples  that  put  the  meaning  of  Sophocles  beyond 
a  doubt ;  as  from  Cyril  c.  Julian  VI.,  p.  157,  ore  KevKrj  n-oAta 
KaT7]ydti7p.ivoi;  and  another,  where  the  same  figure  is  ap- 
plied to  the  beard,  1*6  Gkryse  sent  Ghristodor.  Ecphr.  90: 

Modern  poetry  has  the  same  metaphor. — T.  L.] 

*[Mo8t  of  these  hypotheses  seem  absurd,  and  all  of  them 
inconsistent  with  the  simplicity  and  directness  of  the  whole 
picture.  After  all,  none  of  them  seem  so  obvious  as  that 
which  is  given  by  some  Jewish  commentators,  and  suggests 
itself  directly,  from  our  common  English  Version:  namel.y, 
that  It  is  a  hyperbolical  expression  of  feebleness.  "  He  can- 
not bear  the  least  weight." — T.  L.l 


158 


ECCLESIASTES. 


T]iV2H  has  the  meaning  of  "Caper"  {KairTrapi;) 
by  the'  testimony  of  the  oldest  translators  as  well 
as  of  the  Rabbins  (comp.  Buxtobf,  Lex  Rabb.  et 
Talm.,  p.  12,  2098),  and  as  the  use  of  the  berries 
or  buds  of  the  caper-bush  undoubtedly  stimulate 
the  appetite,  and,  according  to  the  ancient  ori- 
ental representation  a  voluptuous  desire  (comp. 
also  Plutarch,  Sympos.,  6;  Winer,  Real  Lexicon, 
Art.  Caper),  the  correctness  of  this  interpreta- 
tion is  not  to  be  doubted,  and  Luther's  transla- 
tion: "and  all  desire  fails,"  appears  at  least 
consonant  with  the  sense.  Varying  interpreta- 
tions :   1)  Septuagint,   Vulgate,   Syriac,  Arabic ; 

ROSENMUELLER,    HeILIGSTEDT,    EWALD,    VaIHIN- 

geb:  "and  the  caper  bursts,"  i.  e.,  the  spirit 
presses  forth  as  a  kernel  from  the  husk ;  2.  Vers. 
Veneta  {Travar/  !]  opeiis)  Abulwalid,  Luther, 
Hengstenbero,  e((-. :  "Since  desire  fails;"  3. 
Schmidt,  Doderlein,  elc. ;  "  since  the  turtle- 
dove, the  messenger  of  spring  is  despised;"  4. 
Hahn:  "Since  the  poor  one  (fem.  of  jV^S) 
bursts  forth,"  i.  e.,  since  the  imprisoned  soul 
bursts  its  prison,  its  mortal  coil,  etc.  Knobel, 
HiTziG,  and  Gublitt  are  correct  among  the  mo- 
dern writers. — Because  man  goeth  to  his 
long  home,  and  the  mourners  go  about 
the  streets.  Clearly  a  parenthesis  by  which 
the  previous  description  of  the  infirmities  of  age, 
especially  that  contained  in  the  last  three  clauses, 
is  strengthened  by  pointing  to  the  imminent  ap- 
proach of  death  for  the  old  man.     Man   passeth 

away,  (J\?J^)  '■  «-,  he  is  on  the  point  of  going ; 
comp.  Gen.  xix.  13,  14,  etc.  "His  long  home" 
is  the  grave,  from  which  there  is  no  more  return 
to  earthly  life  (comp.  Job  vii.  10;  Ps.  xlix.  12; 
Isa.  xiv.  18,  etc.).  The  same  appellation  is  also 
ft).und  in  Tob.  iii.  6  ;  Targ.  Jonath.  in  Jes.  xlii. 
11 ;  among  the  Egyptians  (Diodorus  Sic,  i.  51). 
among  the  Arabians  (Koran,  Sur.  xli.  28)  and 
the  P»,omans  [domus  sterna;  marmorea  domus, 
Tibull.  Carm.,  III.,  2,  22). 

[The  Eternal   House.  —  Ver.  5.      Sut)}    n'3. 

Zockler's  interpretation  of  this  striking  expres- 
sion is  scanty  and  misleading.  It  cannot,  any 
more  than  Sheol,  mean  the  grave  simply.  With- 
out insisting  upon  the  fact  that  the  Hebrews  had 
for  that  a  distinct  term  ("13p),  when  nothing 
more  was  intended  (see  Bibclwerk  Gen.  536), 
it  may  be  said  that  the  context  almost  im- 
mediately following  is  at  war  with  such  an 
idea.  The  expression  here,  had  it  stood  alone, 
might  have  been  regarded;  perhaps,  as  a  figura- 
tive one  for  extinction  of  all  being.  The  "  long 
home"  might  have  been  thought  to  denote  the 
dark  house  of  bodily  dissolution  and  spiritual  no- 
thingness ;  though  still  it  would  be  a  question 
whether  language,  thus  implying  residence,  per- 
manence, and  something  like  continuance  of  self- 
hood, could  ever,  even  in  figure,  have  arisen  from 
such  a  nihility  of  conception.  What  is  said,  how- 
ever, in  ver.  7,  forbids  it  altogether.  The  being 
of  man,  though  one  and  inseparable  in  persona- 
lity, is  there  regarded  as  locally  divided  :  "  The 
dust  goes  down  to  the  earth,  the  spirit  returns 
unto  God  who  gave  it."  Now  to  predicate  this 
residence  of  th«  dissolving  dust  alone  does  not 


satisfy  the  conception.  The  passage,  Job  vii.  10, 
to  which  ZoCKLER  refers,  has  no  application, 
whatever;  Isaiah  xiv.  18  is  only  a  highly  figura- 
tive representation  of  the  remains  of  monarchs, 
lying  in  state,  or  in  their  splendid  mausoleums, 
and  the  "IJ^.ID  n'2  of  Job  xxx.  23,  "  the  house 
of  meeting,"  or  of  "  the  assembly,"  which  he 
might  more  properly  have  cited,  has  the  same 
meaning  as  in  this  place ;  and  every  argument 
against  regarding  it  as  the  mere  place  of  deposit 
for  the  decomposing  remains,  which  are  not  man 
in  any  sense,  is  as  applicable  to  the  one  place  as  ■ 
to  the  other.  There  is  equal  difficulty  in  regard- 
ing it  as  any  separate  mansion  of  the  spirit  by 
itself.  Neither  can  be  said  to  be  man,  the  per- 
sonality, the  self-hood,  when  separately  viewed; 
and  yet  it  is  man  himself  that  has  gone  to  the 
house  of  his  olam,  or  rather  to  his  olamic  house  ; 

since  the  pronoun  in  'Mj1]i  belongs  to  the  whole 
compound  taken  as  one  epithet.  God  is  spoken 
of  as  the  yyo,  "the  dwelling-place"  of  His 
people  (see  Ps.  xc.  1),  but  that  cannot  be  the 
sense  intended  here  ;  neither,  on  the  other  hand, 
can  the  "  spirit's  return  to  God"  be  regarded  as 
a  pantheistic  absorption,  as  Zocklek  well  shows. 
No  theism  was  ever  more  clear  of  such  an  idea, 
or  more  opposed  to  Buddhism,  whether  in  its 
ancient  eastern,  or  its  modern  transcendental 
form,  than  that  of  the  old  Hebrews.  Although 
in    the    Old   Testament   God   is   represented  as 

nmn    'nbx    (Numb.  xvi.  22)  "God  of  spirits," 

yet  it  would  seem  to  go  even  to  the  extremes  in 
setting  forth  His  distinct  and  incommunicable 
personality,  His  unapproachable  holiness,  that  is, 
His  separation  from  all  things,  and  all  beings, 
even  the  highest  whom  He  has  created,  or  to  whom 
He  has  given  being.  As  it  cannot,  therefore,  ap- 
ply separately,  either  to  the  soul  or  the  body, 
the  term  beth-olam  must  denote  something  con- 
sistent with  such  a  modified  being  of  both.  It  is 
clear,  then,  that  it  cannot  express  locality,  nor 
even  duration  as  such,  but  a  state  of  being,  un- 
known except  as  obscurely  defined  in  what  fol- 
lows (ver.  7),  though  positive  as  a  fact.  This 
state  of  being  is  so  called  in  distinction  from  the 
present  being  upon  earth.  Although  the  idea 
of  place  is  thus  excluded,  yet  the  word  JT'i  is 
used  as  suggested  by  the  previous  figure  of  the 
decaying  mansion.  The  "  earthly  house,"  ^  oti- 
ytioi;  ijfiav  omia,  is  dissolved,  and  now  man  goes 
to  the  oiKia  ah'jvio^,  the  olamic  house,  not  under 
the  law  of  space  and  time,  "  the  house  not  made 
with  hands," — whatever  it  may  mean,  whether 
the  same  as,  or  less  than,  Paul  intends  by  the  use 
of  similar  language.  The  term  beth-olam,  how- 
ever it  may  have  been  suggested  here,  is  in  stri- 
king accordance  with  the  corresponding  classical 
Greek  usage  of  okof  'Atdov  (Homeric,  Sa/j.'  'AlSao, 
'Airfof  (5o/iof)  representing  the  other  world,  or  the 
other  condition  of  being,  as  a  house,  a  home,  or 
abode,  though  unseen  and  unknown.  This  was 
its  pure  primary  sense  and  usage,  denoting  state 
alone,  though  afterwards  the  poetiry  and  mytho- 
logy gave  it  scenery  and  locality.  07li?  here 
corresponds  to  Hades  in  etymological  signifi- 
cance, as  well  as  in  its  manner  of  usage.  It  is 
the  hidden,  the  unmeasured,  as  that  is  the  unaeei^ 


CHAP.  XI.  1-10.— XII.  1-7. 


159 


The  idea  of  time,  though  in  general  inseparable, 

from  D 'V,  is  not  here  predominant.  It  cer- 
tainly does  not  denote  an  absolute,  endless  eter- 
nity. And  so  another  phrase,  atSu)(  o'lKTiaic,  as 
used  in  Greek  (Diodorus,Xenophon,  and  Plato; 
see  Gen.  p.  587)  is  etymologically  the  unseen, 
though  coming  to  be  used  for  eternal,  or  seonian, 
through  tlie  near  relation,  and  frequent  blending 
of  the  Hadean  and  the  seonian,  or  olamio  con- 
ceptions. , 

The  view,  then,  of  this  phrase  Qnp  n''3 
which  is  least  liable  to  objection,  or  on  which  we 
can  most  safely  rely,  is  that  which  is  content  with 
regarding  it  as  simply  the  antithesis  of  this 
present  worldly  state  of  being.  There  is  sug- 
gested the  same  rendering  (world)  which  we  have 
given  chap.  i.  11,  iii.  11,  and  ix.  7.  It  is  the 
other  world  in  distinction  from  this,  whether  re- 
garded as  lying  parallel  or  as  succeeding.  It  is 
the  house  in  which  the  dead  (who  yet  have  some 
unknown  being)  are  to  abide,  while  the  world 
lasts  (even  this  world)   as   we   have   rendered 

dl)yi    ix.  7,  in  the  Metrical  Version. 

Whilst  tJie  world  lasts,  no  portion  more  have  they. 
Id  all  the  works  performed  beneath  the  sun. 

In  the  same  manner  also,  in  our  modern  lan- 
guage, do  we  speak  of  thin  world,  and  the  other 
world.  We  use  the  latter  term  in  two  ways  ; 
1)  as  the  great  world,  or  olam,  which,  as  a 
whole,  is  historically  to  succeed  this  as  a  whole 
that  shall  have  passed  away ;  or  2)  as  the  world 
into  which  each  individual  goes  at  death, — as 
though  the  finishing  with  this  were  virtually  the 
entrance  into  that,  although  its  historical  mani- 
festation for  all  men  collectively  may  yet  be  far 
remote,  Our  mode  of  speech  has  not  come  from 
the  Bible,— certainly  not  from  the  English  Bi- 
ble,— for  its  general  mode  of  translating  ul^]} 
vaguely  by  forever  and  everlasting,  and  its  avoid- 
ing the  rendering  world,  are  unfavorable  to  it. 
It  is  a  thought  born  in  the  modern  as  in  the  an- 
cient mind,  and  existing  from  the  earliest  ages. 
It  was  accompanied  by  no  knowledge,  yet  none 
the  less  tenaciously  held.  It  was  the  goal  of  the 
Patriarch's  pilgrimage  idea.  They  were  "  going 
to  Sheol,"  to  the  other  world,  yet  all  unknowing 
as  Abraham  was,  when,  at  the  command  of  God, 
he  went  out  from  Mesopotamia  :  e^^We  jj-fj  kTTLC- 
^a/ino;  TTov  Ipxerai,  Heb.  xi.  8.  So  "went  they 
out"  (from  this  world),  coniiding  in  God,  hoping 
"for  a  better  country,"  yet  "not  knowing  whi- 
ther they  went,"  or  having  the  least  conception, 
perhaps,  of  the  mode  of  being  that  was  to  fol- 
low. 

We  are  simply  told  of  the  fact:  man  goes  to 
the  olam,  the  beth-olam,  to  the  other  world,  and 
there  the  Old  Testament  leaves  him ;  and  leaves 
the  interpreter  to  give  it  as  high  or  as  low  a  sense 
as  his  spiritual-mindedness  or  lack  of  spirit  ual- 
mindedness  may  lead  him  to  prefer.  It  speaks 
of  it  as  a  state,  but  throws  no  light  upon  it  as  a 
mode  of  being.  It  is  not  wholly  a  blank,  but  in 
almost  everything  we  deem  of  highest  worldly 
importance,  it  is  set  forth  as  the  opposite  of  the 
present  life.  .  These  images,  however,  of  stillness, 
unknowingness,  (not  to  say  unconsciousness), 
inactivity,  want  of  interest,  in  a  word,  lack  of 
vitality,  as  we  would  call  it,  and  which  would 


seem  to  reduce  it  almost  to  an  embryo  existence 
(see  ix.  5,  and  note  p.  129),  may  be  because  the 
impossibility  of  our  conceiving  it  aright,  and  the 
consequent  veil  of  reserve  which  the  old  Scrip- 
ture throws  over  the  whole  subject,  leaves  little 
else  to  the  picturing  imagination  than  a  descrip- 
tion of  negatives.  Any  premature  development 
in  the  other  direction  might  have  falsely  stimu- 
lated the  fancy,  and  led  the  divinely  guarded 
people  of  God  into  many  of  those  wild  concep- 
tions which  so  deform  the  Heathen  mythologies 
of  Hades,  or  the  world  of  the  dead. 

In  respect  to  other  great  ideas,  however,  as 
connected  with  such  a  state,  the  Old  Testament  is 
by  no  means  silent.  In  some  places  it  would 
seem  to  speak  of  death  as  though  it  were  the  end 
of  man,  as  indeed  it  is  of  life,  like  the  present. 
But  again,  it  sets  forth  duties  to  God  and  man 
that  cannot  be  measured  by  time,  a  law  for  the 
spirit,  so  searching,  so  high  and  holy  as  to  seem 
incompatible  with  a  mere  finite  earthly  animal 
being;  it  speaks  of  relations  to  Deity,  of  awful 
accountabilities,  that  have  no  meaning,  or  that 
greatly  collapse  in  their  significance,  if  there  be 
not  for  man  another  olam,  another  and  greater 
state  of  being,  either  in  itself,  or  to  which  it  is 
preparatory.  It  never  turns  aside  to  explain  any 
such  seeming  inconsistencies.  Sublime  in  its 
reserve,  in  its  types  and  shadows,  in  its  mere 
hints  of  a  post-mundane  human  destiny,  as  in 
its  clearest  announcements,  this  most  suggestive 
Old  Scripture  goes  on  its  majestic  way,  fearing 
no  charge  of  contradiction,  taking  no  pains  to 
make  any  explicit  provision  against  Sadducean 
cavils,  and  leaving  the  matter  wholly  to  that  spi- 
ritual discernment  which  the  Saviour  manifested 
(Matt.  xxii.  23-33)  against  those  who  sought  to 
entangle  him  with  verbal  and  casuistical  diffi- 
culties. One  great  truth  of  this  kind  stands  pro- 
minently out.  It  is  the  idea  of  a  judgment,  some- 
where, and  at  some  time  in  the  great  aeon  of 
seons,  the  kingdom  of  God.  This  is  especially 
the  case  in  Koheleth,  and  all  that  is  dark  in  the 
book  is  relieved  by  this  one  thought  so  firmly  ad- 
hered to,  so  positively  stated,  so  distinct  in  itself, 
or  as  a  fact,  yet  so  undefined  in  time,  locality, 
and  circumstance,  as  to  make  it  extremely  diifi- 
cult  for  one  who  should  demand  attention  to 
these  in  defending  its  consistency. — T.  L.] 

The  mourners  going  about  the  streets,  is  a  vi- 
vid description  of  the  preparations  for  a  great 
funeral,  which  are  often  made  by  his  heirs  for  a 
mortally  sick  old  man  even  before  his  decease. 
With  this  explanation,  (agreeing  substantially 
with  Hitzig)  it  is  not  necessary,  with  Hens- 
STEHBERG,  to  Consider  nSDl  as  relative  future, 
and  therefore  to  translate:  "  The  mourners  will 
soon  go  about."  For  the  mourning  customs  of 
the  ancient  Hebrews  consult  Amos  v.  16;  Isa. 
XV.  3  ;  Jer.  ix.  i6«.;  Matt.  ix.  23  ;  xi.  17,  etc. 
— Verses  6  and  7,  following  the  description  of 
hoary  age,  give  that  of  his  final  end  in  death,  and 
in  such  a  way  that  the  dissolution  of  the  spiritual- 
bodily  organism  is  first  described  in  ver.  6  in  a  va- 
riety of  figures,  and  then  literally  or  in  accordance 
with  its  inner  nature.  In  syntactical  relation 
the  two  verses  run  parallel  with  ver.  2,  the  con- 
struction there  begun  with  N'S  "IKfN  nj;  "be- 
fore," "being  taken  up  again." — Or  ever  the 


160 


ECCLESIASTES. 


silver  cord  be  loosed — i.  e.,  before  the  thread 
of  life  is  ruptured.  The  thread  of  life  is  here 
designated  as  it  silver  cord,  and  not  as  a  tent- 
cord  (which  keeps  the  tent  from  falling  together, 
Bee  Job  iY.  ^1 ;  Isa.  xxxviii.  12),  because  the 
author  imagines  the  living  one,  or  rather  his 
living  organism,  as  a  golden  lamp  hanging  by  a 
silver  cord,  as  the  sequel  shows.  Both  figures, 
however,  point,  through  the  noble  metals  of 
which  they  speak,  to  human  life  as  a  valuable 
and  noble  possession  ;  comp.  the  association  of 
gold  and  silver  in  Prov.  xxv.  11.— Kead  pn")]  * 
discessit  longe  recessit  ("gives  way"),  not 
priT   ("is  unbound".),  as  the  K'rihasit;  nor 

pni'  as  it  stands  in  the  text,  nor  pr\3'  ["  is  torn 
asunder](PFANNKncHE),norp^n'  as  Hitzio  has 
it.  These  emendations  are  rendered  unneoess-ary 
by  the  simplicity  and  perspicuity  of  the  text. — 

Or  the  golden  bowl  be  broken. — Plbj  is  li- 
terally equivalent  to  7j  "fountain"  (comp. 
Song  of  Solomon  iv.  12  with  Joshua  xv.  19  and 
Judges  i.  16) ;  in  Zach.  iv.  3  it  signifies  a  vessel 
for  oil,  or  an  oil  lamp,  and  is  so  to  be  considered 
here.  The  human  body  is  therefore  considered 
as  a  vessel  in  which  is  contained,  as  in  a  lamp, 
the  oil,  the  blood,  which  is  the  supporter  of  the 
soul  or  of  life  [comp.  Lev.  xvii.  14].  Like  the 
precious  oil  of  Zeuhariah,  iv.  3,  which  is  called 
"golden  oil,"  so  "is  the  blood  the  noble,  precious 
fluid  in  the  human  organism;"  and  with  reference 
to  it  as  the  condition  of  life  and  health,  the  or- 
ganism itself  is  called  DHtn  Ph}  "the  golden 
bowl."  Henostenbebo  and  HiTzia  both  main- 
tain that  this  expression  of  the  author  here  seems 
to  be  materially  affected  and  modified  by  this 
passage  in  Zechariah  iv.  2  fif. — And  the  pitcher 
broken  at  the  fountain. — The  pitcher  [~\3] 
is  not  identical  with  the  golden  bowl,  and  there- 
fore a  figurative  designation  of  the  whole  body, 
but  only  of  a  special  organ  of  it ;  of  that  one, 
namely,  with  which  we  draw  air  or  breath,  that 
is,  nourish  the  body  from  the  fountain  of  all  life 
that  surrounds  it.  The  previous  figure  is  now 
abandoned,  or  rather  insensibly  changed  into 
one  nearly  allied  to  it ;  the  burning  flame  of  the 
golden  lamp  becomes  the  invisible  inner  flame  of 
the  process  of  respiration,  whose  physical  organ 
is  the  lungs.  Its  destruction  in  death  ia  figura- 
tively described  as  the  breaking  (l^t^n)  of  the 
pitcher  at  the  fountain,  from  which  it  had  hi- 
therto daily  drawn  water, — wherein  there  clearly 
appears  an  amplification  of  the  expression  as 
compared  with  the  preceding  form ;  comp.  ^3ty 
in  Isa.  xlii.  3. — Or  the  Tvheel  broken  at  the 
cistern. — Not  a  new  figure,  but  only  a  more 
special  illustration  of  the  one  just  presented. 
The  "wheel  at  the  fountain  "  is  the  cistern  wheel 
by  which  the  bucket  is  raised  or  lowered,  and 
cannot  have  a  specific  reference  to  any  definite 
organ  of  the  body,  but  symbolizes  organic  life  it- 


*  [The  K'tib,  or  text  as  it  stands  in  Niplial,  pni"',  is  better, 

biui.i'  it  lias  something  of  a  passive  or  rattier  deponent  sense: 
•IS  larted" — ''parts,"  intransitively,  or  "parts  itself," — 
elonf/ahUur.  It  is  the  idea  ff  giving  way  from  stretching,  or 
attenuation.  The  other  various  readings  and  renderings,  as 
ZoOKLEK  says,  are  useless. — T.  L.] 


self  in  its  continuous  circle,  just  as  "  the  wheel 
of  birth  "  of  James  iii.  6  (Tpoxoc  ttjc  yeveasug) 
based  probably  on  this  passage.  The  cistorn 
ClUn)  IS  not  materially  different  from  the  foun- 
tain (jl^-30)  and  likewise  means  the  air  surround- 
ing mau  and  affording  the  most  indispensable  of 
all  conditions  of  life,  namely,  breath  ;  it  does  not 
mean  the  whole  world,  as  Hengstenberg  main- 
tains,  or    the    grave,    as   some    others    think. 

^13i^"7N  is  moreover  the  same  as  lUD  7J?  "at 
the  fountain,"  comp.  1  Sam.  xx.  25;  2  Sam.  ii. 
9  ff.  Observe  also  the  passive  V1J  instead  of 
the  earlier  active,  y^Pi ;  it  means  that  the  golden 
bowl  "breaks,"  as  it  were,  of  its  own  accord,  as 
soon  as  the  silver  cord  that  holds  it  is  loosed; 
but  the  wheel  "is  broken,"  is  destroyed  at  the 
same  time  with  the  whole  machinery  of  life,  by  an 
act  of  violence  operating  from  without.* — In  older 


*[ZoCKLEa's  general  comment  here  is  judicious  and  safe. 
Attempts  to  be  more  particular  are  apt  to  mislead  into  fan- 
ciful error.  And  yet  there  remains  the  impression  from  the 
whole,  and  especially  from  the  evident  particularity  in  the 
first  four  verses,  that  certain  parts  or  functions  of  the  body 
are  directly  intended  by  the  golden  bowl,  the  bucket  at  the 
spring,  and  the  wheel  at  the  cistern.  The  ancients  had  more 
knowledge  of  the  human  anatomy  than  we  give  them  ciedit 
for.  The  Jilgyptiana  must  have  learned  much  Irom  their 
continual  processes  of  embalniing.  It  would  appear  also 
Irum  Homer's  minute  and  varied  descriptions  of  wounds,  and 
especially  in  passages  from  Aristotle  and  Plato  that  show 
even  a  scientific  knowledge  of  the  human  system.  There  is, 
for  example,  a  passage  of  some  length  in  the  Timseus,  ex- 
tending Irom  70  B  to  76  B,  containing  quite  a  full  descrip- 
tion of  the  more  vital  internal  parts  and  their  uses,  with 
some  things  much  resembling  what  we  find  here.  In  the 
assigning,  too,  of  different  spiritual  powers  and  affections  to 
different  parts  of  the  body,  as  though  it  were  a  kind  of  civil 
corporation,  the  author  of  the  Timseus  reminds  us  of  JoHK 
HuNY  ^N  and  his  town  of  Mansoul.  Solomon  s  golden  bowl, 
too,  is  suggested,  when  we  read  in  the  Timaius  how  the 
fletof  CTTrep/Aa,  the  "  divine  seed  "  of  life  was  moulded  into  a 
round  shape,  and  made  the  ey«ei^aAo?,  or  brain ;  and  there 
are  other  things  about  the  fluids  and  their  ireptoSoi,  or  cir- 
culations, that  call  up  what  is  here  said  about  the  wheel  and 
the  tountain.  Neither  is  there  to  be  ridiculed  and  wholly 
rejected  the  idea  which  some  have  entertained  that  Solomon 
referred  to  the  circulation  of  the  blood.  We  need  not  sup- 
pose that  he  had  anticipated  Harvey's  great  discovery;  but 
the  general  idea  that  the  human  system  had  its  period  [or, 
to  use  Aristotle's  language  before  quoted,  p.  46,  that  every 
organism  was  in  the  nature  of  a  cycle,  something  going 
round  and  returning  into  itself]  was  a  very  early  one.  It 
came  not  so  much  from  scientific  or  inductive  observation,  as 
from  a  sort  of  a  priori  thinking :  so  it  must  be ;  to  constitute 
a  living,  or  even  an  organic  thing,  there  must  be  some  such 
going  round  and  round,  to  keep  it  from  running  out  or  per- 
ishing.   It  was  this  mode  of  thinking  that  showed  itself  in 

language,  as  in  the  Rabbinic  mi/ln  7j7j  and  the 
Tpo^b^  -yeveo-ctos,  the  "  wheel  of  generation  "  of  James  iii.  6, 
to  which  ZoCKLER  refers. 

As  a  lesson,  however,  to  those  who  are  inclined  to  be  ex- 
travagant hero,  nothing  can  be  more  judicious  than  the  re- 
marks of  Maimohides  in  the  Preface  to  his  Mt^rc  Atvuchm^ 
where  he  tells  those  who  would  demand  a  minute  explana- 
tion of  every  part  of  a  viashal  or  parable— such,  for  example, 
as  Prov.  vii.  6-23 — that  "they  will  either  miss  the  general 
thought,  or  get  wearied  in  seeking  particular  illustrations 
of  things  that  cannot  be  explained,  and  thus  utterly  (ail  in 
their  vain  attempt  to  get  Irom  the  writer  what  perhaps  ne- 
ver came  into  his  mind."  , 

On  the  whole,  therefore,  we  cannot  expect  to  get  a  much 
better  interpretation  of  this  passage  than  that  early  one 
given  by  Jerome  ;  Funiculus  autem.  argenti  candictum  banc 
vitam,  et  spiramim  quod  nobis  de  calo  tribuitur,  ostendit; 
Phiala  quoque  aurea  animam  signijicaty  qum  itluc  recurrit 
unde  descemierat,  etc.:  "The  silver  cord  denotes  the  pure  life 
and  respiration  [inspiration]  which  was  given  to  us  from 
heaven ;  the  golden  bowl  also  means  the  soul  which  returns 
whence  it  had  descended  ;  the  breaking  of  the  bucket  at  the 
fountain,  and  the  shattering  of  the  wheel  at  the  cistern,  are 
enigmatical  metaphors  of  death ;  for  as  when  the  bucket 
which  is  worn  out  ceases  to  draw,  and  the  wheel  by  which 
the  waters  are  raised  is  broken,  the  flow  of  the  water  is  in- 


CHAP.  XI.  1-10.— XII.  1-7. 


161 


OounsQtators  there  are  many  arbitrary  phyaio- 
lugioal  aud  aaatomical  iuterpretatioaa  of  the  re- 
ap jotivepoiats  of  the  description  :  Melanohthon 
3363  in  the  silver  cord  the  nerves  and  sinews,  in 
tlij  golden  fountain  the  heart,  and  in  the  pitcher 
lit  the  fountain,  the  great  vein  over  the  liver ; 
Pbadn  \_Physico-Anatomica  Analysis,  Cap.  XII., 
Eedesiastes}  thinks  the  silver  cord  the  lacteal 
vessel  of  the  breast,  and  Witsids  the  golden  bowl 
the  brain,  whilst  Wedel  makes  it  the  heart,  and 
HoTTiNQER  refers  it  to  the  gall.  Since  Hahvey's 
discovery  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  many 
have  seea  this  pictured  in  the  golden  bowl  as  in 
the  fountain  (Jablonski,  Hansen,  Miohaehs, 
Starke,  Scheuchzer,  etc.),  and  have  mingled 
many  strange  things  with  it,  e.  g.:  the  pitcher  is 
the  liver  (Witsius),  or  the  lymph  (Wedel),  or 
the  stomach  yioTTiNQER),  or  the  chyle  (Pradn, 
Soheuohzer)  ;  the  wheel  signifies  the  kidneys, 
urinary  passages,  and  bladder  (Wedel),  or  the 
peristaltic  motions  of  the  bowels  (Scheuchzer), 
or  the  motion  of  the  lungs  (Sibel,  Jablonski). 
Look  especially  at  Stabke  on  this  passage,  and 
also  at  the  Exegetioal  monographs  quoted  on  page 
27. — Then  shall  the  dust  return  to  the 
earth  as  it  was. — Namely,  as  dust ;  oomp.  Gen. 
iii.  19:  Ps.  civ.  29;  Job  xxxiv.  15,  to  which  pas- 
sages, especially  the  first  named,  Koheleth  con- 
forms in  expression.  For  the  form  3!£''l  eomp. 
EwALD,  §  343  b. — And  the  spirit  shall  return 
unto  God  who  gave  it.*^Namely,  as  the 
life-giving  principle  in  the  human  organism, 
oomp.  Gen.  ii.  7  ;  Ps.  civ.  30 ;  Isa.  xlii.  5 ;  Jer. 
xxxviii.  16  This  passage  does  not  expressly  af- 
firm a  personal  immortality  of  the  human  soul, 
but  it  also  does  not  deny  it ;  for  that  the  author 
is  thinking  of  a  pantheistic  floating  of  the  soul  in 
the  universal  spirit,  and  that,  "  separated  into 
individual  existence,  this  particle  of  the  Divine 
breath  poured  forth  into  the  world  by  God  will 
again  be  drawn  to  Him,  and  thus  again  unite  with 
His  breath,  the  soul  of  the  world  "  (Hitzio) — all 
this,  only  rationalistic  extravagance,  can  find  in 
this  passage.  Koheleth's  earlier  testimonies  ra- 
ther show  him  to  have  thought  of  the  return  of 
the  spirit  to  God  as  an  entrance  into  the  presence 
and  eternal  communion  of  God,  and  not  as  an 
absorption  by  God.  And  the  arrival  of  the  de- 
parted ones  into  the  dark  School  separating  them 


tercepted,^80  alao  when  the  silver  cord  (of  life)  has  parted, 
tlie  stream  of  vitality  returns  back  to  its  fountain,  and  the 
mao  dies." 

There  must,  however,  be  kept  in  mind  the  general  paral- 
lel with  the  rich  mansion  of  the  voluptuary ;  and  in  this  as- 
pect the  golden  bowl  is  undoubtedly  the  lamp  depending 
from  the  ceiling  by  the  silver  cord,  as  is  described  in  the 
MmH  1, 726. 

Dppendent  lychni  laquearibus  nureis 
Incensi,  et  n/jctem  Jiammis  fuwzlia  vincunt ; 
and  which  finally  wears  out  and  gives  way.  So  the  fountain 
and  the  cistern  are  the  costly  and  curious  water-machinery 
which  such  a  mansion  required  for  domestic  drinking,  and 
for  irrig*ion.  All  is  pictured  as  now  in  ruin,  or  going  to 
ruin,  like  the  curious  circulating  machinery  of  the  human 
body  with  which  it  is  compared.  In  regard  to  the  reading 
of  the  te.\t,  we  cannot  do  better  than  to  retain  the  K'tib 
pni\  and,  pointed  as  it  is,  in  the  Niphal.    From  the  sense 

I    "T- 

of  distaTice  comes  easily  that  of  elojtgation  (elongabitur),  a;id 
thence  ot giving  way,  ot parting.  The  words'_J?^3!0  and  113 

although  they  differ  etymologically,  are  probably  chosen 
only  for  the  sake  of  variety.— T.  L.] 

*[Conipare  iii.  21,  and  the  marginal  note,  page  71,  on  the 
expression,  "  who  knows  the  spirit  of  man  that  goeth  up," 


from  Divine  light  and  life,  so  depicted  in  chap, 
ix.,  evidently  appears  to  him  only  a  provisional 
and  intermediate  condition  which  will  finally  be 
followed  by  an  eternal  existence  with  God  after 
that  "judgment"  (chap.  xi.  9).  Compare  Vai- 
hinger:  "According  to  this  the  coming  to  God 
seems,  in  the  conception  of  the  Preacher,  to  be 
gradual,  and  the  view  in  Ps.  xlix.  16  tohave  been 
in  his  mind,  viz.:  that  the  good  will  be  liberated 
from  Scheol,  and,  after  being  acquitted  in  the 
judgment,  will  live  blessed  in  God,  Ps.  xvii.  15, 
whilst  the  wicked  will  be  cast  back  into  Scheol 
after  the  judgment,  and  there  eternally  remain, 
Ps.  xlix.  15;*  Luke  xvi.  22  £f."  Henqstenbero 
says:  "It  is  impossible  that  at  the  period  of 
death  the  hitherto  so  marked  difference  between 
the  just  and  the  wicked  will  be  suddenly  effaced. 
The  sharp  earnestness  with  which  the  judgment 
of  this  world  is  every  where  announced,  and 
especially  in  this  book,  decides  against  this.  Af- 
ter all  this,  after  the  impressive  emphasizing  of 
the  retributive  justice  of  God,  in  which  the  entire 
book  ends  in  ver.  14,  the  return  of  the  soul  to 
God  can  only  be  that  spoken  of  by  the  Apostle 
in  2  Cor,  v.  10  ;  Rom.  xiv.  10;  Heb.  ix.  27."  It 
is  noteworthy  also  that  the  Aveata,  of  all  the  re- 
ligious documents  of  the  ancient  heathen  the  one 
which  is  most  nearly  allied  to  the  Old  Testament 
revelation,  and  most  in  harmony  with  it,  contains 
an  assertion  quite  similar  to  the  one  before  us : 
"  When  the  body  dies  here  below,  it  mingles  with 
the  earth,  but  the  soul  returns  to  heaven." 
[Bundehesch,  p.  384.)  Something  allied  to  this  is 
found  in  some  of  the  Greeks,  e.  g.,  Phokyllides, 
lioiTiiia  vovderticdv,  and  in  JEuripides^  Fragments  [but 
more  distinctly  in  the  Drama  of  the  Suppliants, 
535 :  TTvev/ia  fihi  izpb^  AlOepa  {irpo^  Ala)  rd  aufia  d' 
elg  yrjv. — T.  L.J 

DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 
( With  Homiletical  Hints. ) 
This  section  properly  contains  the  net  result 
of  the  religious  speculation  of  the  Preacher  ;  and 
in  it  the  positive  ground  thoughts  of  the  entire 
book  arrive  at  their  fullest  development,  and 
most  striking  and  definite  expression.  This  is 
externally  seen  in  the  style,  hitherto  at  times, 
languid,  of  prosaio  latitude,  and  unharmonious, 
but  now  rising  to  the  loftiest  strains,  and  clothed 
with  the  richest  figurative  adornments.  Chap. 
X.  had  distinguished  itself  from  the  preceding  by 
its  greater  wealth  of  figures  and  ingenious  ex- 
pressions ;  but  now,  from  the  very  beginning  of 
chap,  xi.,  figure  crowds  on  figure  in  a  still  more 
remarkable  degree,  until,  in  the  introductory 
verses  of  the  12th  chapter,  or  the  third  strophe 
of  this  section,  the  figurative  ornament  of  speech 
rises  to  a  fullness  of  the  most  profound,  vivid, 
and  surprising  comparisons,  which  here  and 
there  almost  give  the  impression  of  excessive  and 
tumid  accumulation.  And  yet  the  single  figura- 
tive expressions  need  only  correct  illustration 
and  fitting  insertion  into  the  combination  of  the 
whole,  in  order  to  stand  justified  against  every 
suspicion  of  absence  of  taste  or  presence  of  ex- 

*[See  the  remarks  on  this  passage  Ps.  xlix.  16— and  the 
"1p3,  "the  morning,"  or  dies  retributi&nis,  in  the  Intrud.  to 

Gen.  i.,  Bibelwerk,  Genesis,  page  142,  and  marginal  note.— 
T.  L,] 


162 


ECCLESIASTES. 


cess,  and  to  bring  out  into  clearer  light  the  ob- 
ject of  the  picture,  viz.,  the  many  tribulations  of 
age,  the  premonitions  of  approaching  death,  and 
finally  the  very  process  of  life's  dissolution  it- 
self; all  this,  too,  more  vividly  than  is  elsewhere 
in  Holy  Writ  effected,  at  least  iu  so  restricted  a 
space.  It  shows  an  imperfect  comprehension  of 
this  most  interesting  and  original  of  all  the  de- 
scriptions in  the  book,  that  several  commentators, 
especially  Umbreit  and  Elster,  mistake  the  gra- 
dual progress  of  the  described  symptoms  of  disso- 
lution from  the  commencementof  senile  feebleness 
till  death,  and,  by  means  of  an  allegorical  perver- 
sion, force  on  the  details  concerning  old  age  as 
the  forerunner  of  death  (vers.  3-5),  a  direct  re- 
ference to  death  itself.  The  usual  conception  of 
these  verses,  according  to  which  they  describe 
the  body  of  man,  together  with  its  organs,  as 
they  grow  old  under  the  figure  of  a  household 
sinking  into  decay  and  dissolution,  is  precisely 
that  which  justifies  the  praise  ever  given  to  the 
author  as  the  representative  of  a  wisdom  en- 
dowed with  unusual  penetration  in  the  sphere  of 
theological  and  anthropological  research.  That 
characterizing  of  Koheleth  originating  with  Oai- 
GEN,  and  adopted  by  Hieronymus,  giving  to  it 
the  signification  of  a  compendium  of  the  physics 
of  Solomon,  (just  as  Proverbs  contains  the  quint- 
essence of  his  ethics,  and  the  Song,  the  logic  or 
dialectics  of  the  wise  king — comp.  the  General 
Introduction  to  the  Solomonic  writings)  appears 
very  especially  justified  by  this  passage  ;  but  this 
can  only  be  the  case  when  it  is  understood  on  the 
basis  of  the  above  developed,  and  only  just  com- 
prehension of  it  as  a  description  of  the  sad  au- 
tumn and  winter  of  the  corporeal  life  of  this 
world,  and  therewith  as  a  foundation  for  the 
conception  of  human  nature  as  a  manifoldly  sig- 
nificant image  of  the  universe  in  general. 

Benefieent,  prosperous,  industrious,  and  cheer- 
ful labors  in  life,  afford  the  strongest  security 
for  lasting  happiness,  and  to  this  fundamental 
thought  of  the  section,  the  description  in  ques- 
tion holds  the  double  relation  that,  on  the  one 
hand,  it  is  to  present  and  confirm  the  preceding 
admonition  to  a  cheerful  enjoyment  of  the  plea- 
sures of  life's  spring  and  summer,  by  reference 
to  the  contrast  between  these  and  the  terrors  of 
the  autumn  and  winter  of  life,  whilst,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  to  present  the  basis  for  the  far- 
ther admonition  to  that  continual  fear  of  God, 
which  was  necessarily  to  form  the  crowning  ter- 
mination and  final  goal  of  all  the  practical  pre- 
cepts of  the  author. — Comp,  Ewald,  p.  324  : 
"The  numerous  tribulations  of  old  age,  and  the 
mournful  signs  of  approaching  death,  are  de- 
scribed in  the  most  striking  figures,  in  order  the 
more  pressingly  to  admonish  to  a  cheerful  en- 
joyment of  life  at  the  proper  period  ;  but,  at  the 
same  time,  there  appears  most  significantly  the 
other  truth  by  which  the  former  receives  its  full 
light  and  correct  limits,  namely,  that  this  very 
joy  in  life  must  not  be  blind  and  thoughtless, 
but  thoughtful  and  conscious  in  remembrance  of 
the  eternal  judgment  over  all  things ; — a  truth 
which  is  indeed  to  be  understood  in  every  stern 
view  of  life,  and  which,  therefore,  has  been  only 
cursorily  touched  at  an  earlier  period,  (iii.  12, 
17  ;  viii.  12  if.),  but  which  is  purposely  alluded 
to  here,  in  order  to  avoid  any  possible  misunder- 


standing before  the  final  close." — In  view  of  the 
fearful  earnestness  of  this  concluding  reference 
to  death  and  eternity,  every  suspicion  of  Epicure- 
anism, or  of  a  frivolous,  skeptical,  and  material- 
istic disposition,  as  a  background  for  the  prece- 
ding counsels  to  enjoy  life,  must  disappear  ;  and 
this  the  more  so,  since  that  which  precedes  this 
admonition  to  enjoyment  of  life  testifies  clearly 
enough  of  the  deep  seriousness  and  purity  of 
the  author's  ethical  views.  For  the  admonition 
at  the  commencement  of  the  11th  chap.  (vers.  1-3) 
which  reminds  us  of  that  in  Ps.  cxii.  9,  counsel- 
ing a  profuse  benevolence,  mindful  of  no  loss  and 
of  no  gain,  appears  clearly  as  a  true  fruit  of 
faith  in  a  holy,  just,  and  paternally  loving  God, 
but  which  could  never  spring  from  an  Epicurean, 
skeptical,  or  fatalistic  view  of  the  world.  The 
subsequent  admonition  to  an  unwearied  fulfil- 
ment of  our  calling,  unmindful  of  the  future  yet 
cautious  and  conscientious  (vers.  4-6),  proceeds 
not  from  a  dull,  melancholy  resignation,  or  a 
loathing  despair  of  life,  but  simply  and  alone 
from  a  childlike  yielding  to  the  will  of  God,  and 
obedient  subjection  to  His  counsels  as  the  only 
wise.  Indeed,  even  in  the  reference  to  the  sweet- 
ness of  light,  and  the  loveliness  of  life  under  the 
sun,  with  which  (in  ver.  7)  he  paves  the  way  to 
that  injunction  to  cheerful  enjoyment,  there  is 
nothing  in  any  way  Epicurean,  or  that  shows  a 
one-sided,  earthly,  irreligious  disposition.  There 
is  rather  nothing  expressed  therein  but  the  deep 
religious  feeling  of  a  pure  joy  in  the  beauty  of 
the  works  of  God,  and  an  inwardly  thankful  appre- 
ciation of  the  proofs  therein  offered  of  His  bound- 
less goodness ;  a  feeling  that  forms  a  contrast  quite 
as  opposite  to  all  fatalism  and  gloomy  atheistical 
materialism,  as  to  every  kind  of  moral  levity,  or 
thoughtless  desire  for  enjoyment.  See  Elstek, 
p.  125:  "The  deep  feeling  for  the  beauty  and  love- 
liness of  life,  which  Koheleth  expresses  in  this 
verse,  shows  us  that  it  was  not  a  bitter  discon- 
tent based  on  a  dull  insensibility  of  the  inward 
spirit;  but  his  grief  lies  therein  that  with  this 
deep  feeling  for  beauty  which  human  existence 
bears  within  itself,  he  painfully  encounters,  on 
the  one  hand,  the  fact  that  men  are  mutually 
cheating  each  other  out  of  the  real  profit  of  life, 
whilst,  on  the  other,  he  perceives  that  this  exis- 
tence is  fleeting  and  transitory,  and  that  he  has 
foreclosed  the  hope  of  a  future  clearing  up  of  hu- 
man destiny  because  the  view  of  a  life  after  death 
seems  to  him  utterly  dark  and  uncertain  (?  ?). — 
The  period  which  man  is  permitted  to  seize  iu  the 
present,  must  now  appear  to  him  only  so  much 
the  more  important ;  and  the  only  sure  thing  re- 
maining to  man  must  seem  to  him  to  be  the  hold- 
ing fast  of  eternity  by  the  highest  activity  in  this 
particular  period.  Therefore  to  verse  8  there  is 
again  joined  the  admonition  to  pleasure,  whose 
nature  and  character  are  clearly  enough  depict- 
ed in  what  precedes,  as  free  from  everylMng  low 
and  common,  and  rather  as  depending  on  the  Moat 
High  and  Eternal  One." 

Add  to  all  this  the  fact,  that  the  author  marks 
the  youthful  vivacity  and  cheerfulness  of  life, 
which  he  recommends,  expressly  as  a  disposi- 
tion to  be  tempered  and  purified  by  the  thought 
of  the  retributive  justice  of  God  (ii.  9)  and  that 
there  is  ever  present  as  the  final  aim  of  every 
earthly-human  development  (according  to  chap 


CHAP.  XI.  1-10.— XII.  1-7. 


163 


xii.  7),  an  eternal  sojourn  of  the  immortal  soul 
with  a  holy  and  just  God — a  thought  which  El- 
STKR  in  the  passage  just  quoted  is  clearly  wrong 
in  denying  (see  the  exegetical  illustrations  to 
this  passage), — adding  this,  and  there  results 
from  it  mgst  conclusively  that  character  of  his 
ethical  wisdom  which  is  in  conformity  with  re- 
velation, and  indeed  directly  belonging  to  reve- 
lation. We  see  especially  the  divinely  inspired 
and  incomparable  nature  of  the  religious  truths 
of  this  section,  in  which  the  devout  meditation 
of  the  author  has  reached  its  highest  point,  and 
after  vanquishing  doubt  and  hostility,  combines 
its  positive  results  into  a,  chain  of  the  purest 
ethical  maxima,  and  the  most  profound  physico- 
theological  observations. 

Homily  on  the  Entire  Section :  The  fear  of  God  is 
the  foundation  of  all  true  virtue,  and  all  lasting 
joys. — Or:  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning 
and  end  of  all  wisdom. — Or :  Live  so  in  thy  youth 
that  old  age  brings  to  thee  not  terrors,  but  only 
the  desire  of  relief  from  the  yoke  of  this  earthly 
life,  and  the  joyful  hope  of  an  eternal  existence 
with  God. — Or:  Use  the  morning  of  thy  life  pro- 
fitably, that  its  evening  may  be  calm  and  blissful ; 
BOW  good  seed  in  the  spring-time  of  thy  life,  that 
thou  mayeat  have  a  good  harvest  in  the  autumn. 

HOMILBTICAL    HINTS    ON    SEPARATE    PASSAGES. 

Chap.  xi.  1-3.  Luther  (ver.  1) : — Be  liberal 
whilst  you  can;  use  wealth  in  doing  all  the  good 
in  your  power;  for  if  you  live  long  you  shall  re- 
ceive a  hundredfold. — Cartwright: — The  uni- 
versal instability  of  all  things  should  excite  you 
to  munificence,  whatever  may  happen  in  respect 
to  you  or  the  riches  you  may  possess.  Credit  it 
for  gain,  whatever  you  may  save  from  the  flames 
and  conflagration,  as  it  were,  by  bestowing  it 
upon'the  poor. — Starke  (ver.  2): — la  giving 
alms  we  are  not  to  look  too  closely  at  the  worthi- 
ness of  the  individuals.  God  permits  His  sun  to 
rise  on  the  just  and  the  unjust! — Von  Gerlaoh: 
— Collect  not  thy  treasures  by  gathering  in,  but 
rather  by  giving  out,  by  a  denial  of  self!  Ps.  cxii. 
9;  2  Cor.  ix.  9, 

Vers.  4-6.  Hierontmus  : — In  season,  out  of 
season,  the  word  of  God  is  to  be  preached  ;  and 
so  without  thought  of  clouds,  or  fear  of  winds, 
even  in  the  midst  of  tempests,  may  we  sow  (the 
word).  We  are  not  to  say  this  time  is  conveni- 
ent, another  unsuitable,  since  we  know  not  what 
is  the  way  of  the  Spirit  that  controls  all. 

Hansen: — In  the  distribution  of  his  good  deeds 
a  man  should  not  be  too  timorous  ;  the  left  hand 
should  not  know  what  the  right  hand  doeth. — 
Langb  (ver,  5) : — One  cannot  know  how  much 
good  God  may  effect  for  the  perfection  of  the 
faith,  even  among  the  dissolute  poor  I — Starke 
(ver.  6) : — Do  not  delay  thy  amendment  until  an 
advanced  age ;  begin  early  to  fear  God  ;  thou 
wilt  never  repent  of  it.  It  is,  however,  better 
to  repent  even  in  age  than  to  continue  in  one's 
sins.  But  he  who  fears  God  from  youth  up,  will 
find  his  reward  so  much  the  more  glorious.  Rev. 
ii.  10. — Hengstenberq  (ver.  6) : — Be  incessantly 
active.  In  seasons  of  destitution  be  so  much  the 
more  active,  because  just  then  many  things  may 
miscarry.  The  more  doubtful  the  result,  so  much 
the  less  should  we  lay  our  hands  in  our  lap. 


Vers.  7  and  8.  Melanohthon: — Whilst  God 
permits,  reverently  use  His  gifts ;  when  He  takes 
away,  patiently  submit;  as  Paul  says,  "  Let  the 
peace  of  God  dwell  in  your  hearts." — Cramer: — 
Because  man  has  a  desire  for  natural  light,  and 
shuns  darkness,  he  should,  therefore,  practice 
the  works  of  light,  and  shun  those  of  darkness. 
It  is  a  piece  of  ingratitude  that  we  think  more 
of  our  past  evil  days  than  of  the  good  ones.  We 
must  thank  God  for  both:  Job  ii.  10.— Heng- 
STENBERG  : — However  great  are  the  sorrows  of 
this  life,  however  manifold  its  vanities,  and  sad 
its  circumstances,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  life 
is  a  good,  and  it  is  the  office  of  the  word  of  God 
to  impress  this  truth  when  gloomy  despondeucey 
has  gained  the  ascendency.  Disgust  of  life  is 
also  sinful  under  the  New  Testament  law.  A 
pious  spirit  will  find  out  the  sunny  side  in  this 
earthly  existence,  and  rejoice  in  it  with  heart- 
felt gratitude. 

Vers.  9  and  10.  Luther: — When  the  heart  is 
in  a  right  state  no  joy  will  harm,  provided  only 
it  be  true  joy,  and  not  merely  a  corrupting  mirth. 
Enjoy  it,  then,  if  there  is  any  thing  pleasant  for 
the  sight  or  hearing ;  provided  you  sin  not 
against  God. — Zetss  : — If  thou  wilt  be  preserved 
against  the  sadness  of  the  world,  thou  must  care- 
fully guard  thyself  against  its  causes,  i.  ».,  the 
ruling  sins  and  vices,  and  accust^om  thy  heart  to 
the  genuine  fear  of  God,  Sirach  i.  17. — Wolle  : 
— He  who  would  rejoice  in  the  best  bloom  of  his 
youth,  must  become  acquainted  with  the  Lord 
Jesus  betimes,  the  fairest  among  the  children  of 
men,  and  make  his  heart  a  temple  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  Sirach  11.  18  ff. — Wohlfarth  : — That  your 
youth  may  gladly  enjoy  youth,  that  the  tempter 
may  not  destroy  its  roses  and  cast  it  into  endless 
woe,  have  God  before  your  eyes,  ye  young  men 
and  maidens,  and  remember  the  serious  words : 
Every  one  who  forgets  Him,  He  will  summon  to 
judgment. 

Chap.  xii.  1-5.  Luther: — Holy  Writ  calls  con- 
solation and  happiness  light,  and  tribulation  dark- 
ness, or  night.  For  boys,  for  youth,  for  manhood, 
there  is  joy.  After  rain  comes  the  beautiful  sun- 
shine, i.  e.,  although  at  times  there  may  be  tribu- 
lation, yet  joy  and  consolation  follow.  But  age 
has  no  joy;  the  clouds  return  after  the  rain; 
one  misfortune  follows  another. — Cramer  (ver. 
1) : — -Who  would  be  devout  must  begin  betimes  ; 
for  it  is  unseemly  to  ofl'er  the  dregs  of  life  to  God, 
after  having  given  his  blooming  youth  to  the 
devil. — [Matthew  Henry  (ver.  5) : — Man  goes  to 
"  his  long  home."  At  death  he  goes  from  this 
world  and  all  the  employments  and  enjoyments 
of  it.  He  has  gone  home;  for  here  he  was  a 
stranger  and  a  pilgrim.  He  has  gone  to  his  rest, 
to  the  place  where  he  is  to  fix.  He  has  gone  to 
the  house  of  his  world,  so  some  would  render  it ; 
for  this  world  is  not  his.  He  is  gone  to  his  house 
of  eternity  (Beth  olamo).  This  should  make  us 
willing  to  die,  that  at  death  we  go  home ;  and 
why  should  we  not  long  to  go  to  our  Father's 
house  ?  Ver.  6.  Death  will  dissolve  the  frame  of 
nature,  and  take  down  the  earthly  house  of  this 
tabernacle.  Then  shall  the  silver  cord  by  which 
the  soul  and  body  were  wonderfully  fastened  to- 
gether be  loosed,  that  sacred  knot  untied,  and 
those  old  friends  be  forced  to  part.  Then  shall 
the  golden  bowl  which  held  for  us  the  waters  of 


164 


ECCLESIASTES. 


life  be  broken  ;  then  shall  the  pitcher  with  which 
we  used  to  fetch  up  water,  for  the  constant  sup- 
port of  life,  and  the  repair  of  its  decays,  be 
broken,  even  at  the  fountain;  so  that  it  can  fetch 
up  no  more ;  and  the  wheel,  all  those  organs  that 
serve  for  the  collecting  and  distributing  of  nou- 
rishment, shall  be  shattered,  and  disabled  to  do 
their  ofhce  any  more.  The  body  has  become  like 
a  watch  when  the  spring  has  broken;  the  mo- 
tion of  all  the  wheels  is  stopped  ;  they  all  stand 
still;  the  machine  is  taken  to  pieces;  the  heart 
beats  no  more,  nor  does  the  blood  circulate. 

Ver.  7  : — So  death  resolves  us  into  our  first 
principles.  Man  is  a  ray  of  heaven  united  to  a 
clod  of  earth  ;  at  death  these  are  separated,  and 
each  goes  to  the  place  whence  it  came. — T.  L.] 

Vers.  6  and  7.  Luther: — It  is  not  defined 
where  the  spirit  goes,  but  only  that  it  returns  to 
God  from  whom  it  came,  for  as  we  are  igno- 
rant of  the  source  whence  God  made  the  spirit, 
so  also  we  know  not  whither  (or  to  what)  it  re- 
turns. Comp.  Hbnostenberq  :  The  view  that 
the  individual  soul  returns  to  God,  is  supported 
by  the  fact  that  it  had  its  origin  immediately 
from  God.  According  to  this  passage,  creation- 
ism  must  be  true,  although  it  is  a  truth  which, 
for  certain  significant  reasons  that  favor  tradu- 
cianism,  can  only  be  regarded  as  a  partial,  or 
one-sided  one.  It  is  important  that  the  two  ap- 
parently opposing  views  should  be  reconciled  by 
something  common  to  both. 

ZoOKLER  : — -Not  a  few  older  theologians  have 
endeavored  to  interpret  this  passage  (xii.  7)  in 
the  interest  of  a  one-sided  creationism  ;  e.g., 
HiERONYMUS,  who  says :  "  They  are  to  be  con- 
temned who  hold  that  souls  are  sown  with  bo- 
dies, and  are  born,  not  from  God,  but  from  the 
bodies  of  the  parents.  But  since  the  flesh  re- 
turnfi  to  earth,  and  the  spirit  to  God  who  gave 
it,  it  is  clear  that  Ood,  not  man,  is  the  parent  of 


*  [There  ia  a  sense  in  which  creationism  may  be  held  in  re- 
spect to  the  animal,  and  even  the  vegetable  life.  It  ia  not 
irrational,  it  ia  not  nnscriptural,  to  suppose  that  in  every 
true  genesis  there  is  a  going  on  of  the  old  unspent  creative 
power,  or  word,  acting  in  a  plane  above  the  ordinary  mecha- 
nical and  chemical  laws  which  God  has  given  tu  nature.  In 
a  still  higher  sense  may  this  be  held  of  the  human  genera- 
tion,— of  the  individual  as  well  as  of  the  first  generic  man 
(see  Ps.  cxxxix.  13-16;  Jer.  i.  4).  And  yet  such  a  view  ia 
consistent  with  a  doctrine  of  traduciauism  that  connects 
every  man  with  the  first  man,  not  by  an  arbitrary  forensic 
decree,  or  appointment  from  without,  but  by  a  vital  union, 
a  psychological  continuance  of  the  same  being,  however 
great  the  mystery  it  ntay  involve.  There  is  ascliool  of  theo- 
logians who  say  that  "m  some  loay,"  by  God's  appointment, 
we  are  ao  connected  with  Adam  that  we  sin  "in  conse- 
quence" of  his  sin,  and  sufl'er  "  in  consequence  "  of  his  sin, 
though  each  succeeding  human  eoul  is  born  separate  and 
pure.    There  is  another  school  that  brands  this  with  heresy. 


souls.  To  this  the  traduoianist  replies  :  Kohe- 
leth  treats,  in  this  verse,  solely  of  the  creation 
of  the  first  man  (or  the  first  humanity)  *  and  of 
his  relation  to  God  (and  so,  at  leist  by  intima- 
tion, Luther  on  this  passage,  and  Cartwrighi 
in  Henc/stenberg,  p.  258) ;  but  they  ar^  not  able 
thereby  to  remove  the  partial  oreationistic  sense 
of  the  passage.  Compare  Hengstenbebo  and 
Vaihinger. 

WoLLE  : — Unblessed  is  the  old  age  and  death 
of  those  who  grow  old  in  the  service  of  sin.  On 
the  contrary,  a  conscience  kept  pure  from  youth 
up,  lightens  and  sweetens  both  the  toils  of  age 
and  the  bitterness  of  death,  Job  xxvii.  6. — Beb- 
LEB.  Bible  :  —  Souls  come  from  eternity  into  the 
world  as  to  a  stage.  There  they  manifest  their 
persons  (their  masks)  their  affections,  and  their 
passions,  whatever  is  in  them  of  good  or  bad. 
When  they  have,  as  it  were,  sufficiently  per- 
formed their  parts,  they  again  disappear,  and 
lay  off  the  persons  that  they  have  represented, 
and  stand,  naked  as  they  are,  before  the  divine 
tribunal.  Universal  as  is  the  decree  that  all  men 
are  to  return  to  God,  there  is,  nevertheless,  a 
great  difi'erence  in  them.  The  most  return  to 
him  as  to  their  oflfended  Lord  ;  but  some  as  to  the 
AU-meroiful,  their  friend  and  father.  Because 
then  this*  coming  to  God  is  certain  and  unavoid- 
able, it  should  be  our  most  necessary  care  that 
we  are  every  moment  concerned  as  to  how  we 
may  come  to  Him  rightly. — Vaihinger: — The 
divine  judgment  of  the  life  and  conduct  of  men, 
as  mentioned  in  chap.  xi.  9,  is  only  rendered  pos- 
sible by  the  personal  return  of  the  spirit  to  God. 
Therefore  in  youth  must  we  think  of  our  Creator, 
and  live  in  His  fear  (iii.  14  ;  v.  7) ;  for  the  spirit 
does  not  become  dust  with  the  body;  it  returns 
not  to  the  universal  force  ot  nature,  but  because 
it  is  from  God  it  returns  to  God,  to  be  judged  by 
Him,  i.  c,  either  to  be  blessed  or  condemned. 

or  treats  it  aa  evaaive,  and  claims  for  itself  a  higher  ortho- 
doxy on  account  of  the  use  of  the  words  "  federal  headship," 
"imputation,"  etc.,  whilst  they  equally  affirm  that  Adam's 
posterity  are  not  morally  guilty  in  respect  to  the  first  sin. 
Jt  is  a  representative,  a  forensic  guilt,  though  involving  the 
most  tremendous  consequences.  Any  essential  d  fference 
between  these  is  not  easily  discerned.  Both  make  it  a  mat- 
ter of  outward  and  arbitrary  institution,  as  long  as  there  is 
denied  any  such  psychological  and  ontological  connection 
between  us  and  the  first  man  as  grounds  this  "federal  head- 
ehip "  and  "imputation,"  a.s  well  as  this  "certain  conse- 
quence as  a  fact,"  on  a  remoter  and  deeper  union.  The  first 
class  of  terms  are  very  precious  ones,  and  sustained  by  the 
figures  and  analogies  of  Scripture,  but  their  meaning  col- 
lapses, or  becomes  arbitrary,  when  we  put  nothing  beyond 
them  as  a  fact,  however  inexplicable  that  fact  may  be. 
Holding  to  such  deeper  union,  we  become,  indeed,  involved 
in  a  metaphysical  myatery,  but  we  get  ti-ee  from  the  moral 
mystery,  which  ie  a  much  more  important  thing. — T.  L.] 


CHAP.  XII.  8-14. 


165 


EPILOGUE. 


Review  of  the  whole,  and  Commendatory  Recapitulation  of  the  truths  therein 

contained. 

Chap.  XII.  8-14. 

1.  With  reference  to  the  personal  worth  of  the  author. 

(Vers.  8-11). 

8  9      Vanity  of  vanities,  saitli  the  Preacher ;  all  is  vanity.    And  moreover,  because 
the  Preacher  was  wise,  he  still  taught  the  people  knowledge :  yea,  he  gave  good  heed, 

10  and  sought  out,  and  set  in  order  many  proverbs.     The  Preacher  sought  to  find 
out  acceptable  words :  and  that  which  was  written,  was  upright,  even  words  of  truth. 

11  The  words  of  the  wise  are  as  goads,  and  as  nails  fastened  by  the  masters  of  assem- 
blies, whieh  are  given  from  one  shepherd. 

2.  With  reference  to  the  serious  and  weighty  character  of  his  teachings. 
(Vers.  12-14). 

12  And  further,  by  these,  my  son,  be  admonished  :  of  making  many  books  there  is 

13  no  end ;  and  much  study  is  a  weariness  of  the  flesh.     Let  us  hear  the   conclusion 
of  the  whole  matter :  Fear  God,  and  keep  his  commandments  :  for  this  is  the  whole 

14  duty  of  man.     For  God  shall  bring  every  work  into  judgment,  with  every  secret 
thing,  whether  it  be  good,  or  whether  it  be  evil. 

Ter.  9. — ITN.    The  primary  senae  of  this  root  must  be  the  ear,  or  fiearing;  since  it  ia  easier  to  understand  how  the 

Senas  of  weighing  (as  it  ia  in  the  Arabic  HI)  came  from  that,  than  vice  versa.    The  latter  sense  is  either  by  a  very  natural 

figure,  or  from  the  resemblance  of  a  balance  with  its  two  ears,  as  they  may  be  called.    Its  intensive  piel  sense  here  may 
denote  listening  attentively,  as  a  prelude  to  judging,  or  the  act  of  the  mind  itself. 

[Ter.  11. — ni3DK    ^7^3    would  be,  according  to  the  common  usage,  "masters  of  collectiona,"  or  of  gatherings. 

7J/3,  however,  sometimes  only  very  slightly  modifies  the  meaning  of  the  following  word,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  way 
of  its  having  the  objective  sense,  like  other  similar  auxiliary  words:  ■' objects  of  collections,"  rather  than  "  makers  of  col- 
lections,"— the  things  gathered  rather  than  the  gatherers.  So  Hitzig  views  it,  who  haa  rendered  it  simply  gesaminelten, 
that  ia,  collectmua  or  collectiona.  In  this  way  alone  does  it  make  a  true  parallel  with  the  "  words  of  the  wise  "  in  the  pre- 
vious number :  "  their  gathered  sentences,"  as  we  have  rendered  it  in  the  Metrical  Version. — T.  L.] 
[Ter.  12.— CDnilD-    See  remarks,  p.  30.— T.  L.] 


EXEGETICAL  AND  CRITICAL. 
This  concluding  discourse  opens  purposely  with 
that  sentence  which  opened  the  book  (1,  2), 
namely,  with  a  lamentation  over  the  vanity  of 
all  earthly  things.  This  exclamation  cannot  be 
considered  as  a  conclusion  to  what  precedes,  be- 
cause the  very  words  that  immediately  precede 
(ver.  7)  had  opened  the  view  to  something  that 

is  not  hyr\,  but  the  vanquishing  of  all  a''7an, 
aud  because,  especially  in  the  last  section  of  the 
fourth  discourse,  the  reference  to  the  vanity  of 
the  world,  or  the  negative  side  of  the  truths 
taught  by  the  author,  had  fallen  much  behind 
the  positive  ideas  of  zeal  in  vocation,  cheerful 
joy  of  life,  and  fear  of  God  (as  not  vanities,  but 
as  virtue  conquering  vanity).  Unlike  the  divi- 
sion followed  by  de  Wette,  Koster,  Rosen- 
McsLLEE,  Knobel,  Ewald,  Hitzio,  Elster,  etc., 


verse  8  is  to  be  connected  with  what  follows,  in 
accordance  with  most  of  the  older  commentatorfi 
(also  with  Dathe,  Umbreit,  Vaihinger,  Heng- 
stenbero,  Hahn,  etc.)  and  is  to  be  considered  as 
an  introductory  formula  *  of  the  Epilogue,  pur 
posely  conforming  to  the  beginning  of  the  whole. 
This  view  is  also  strengthened  by  the  circum- 
stance that  the    1     at  the  commencement  of  the 

*[The  correctness  of  this  would  depend  entirely  upon  the 
view  we  take  of  the  preceding  description.  If  it  is  the  old  age 
of  the  sensualist,  the  "  aged  sinner,"  as  Watts  calls  him,  aud 
as  we  have  maintained  in  the  note  preceding  the  excgetical 
remarks  on  the  section, — then  this  exclamation :  Oh,  vanity ! 
all  vanity  I  would  be  a  very  appropriate  cloee.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  this  scholium  it  would  seem  out  of  place  under 
any  circumstances,  except,  perhaps,  as  an  imitation  of  the 
beginning  of  the  book,  for  which  there  can  be  assigned  no 
reason  in  any  connection  it  has  with  what  follows,  whether 
regarded  as  all  appended  by  a  scholiast,  or,  which  is  the  most 
probable  view,  that  vers,  9,  10  are  an  inserted  prose  note  by 
some  other  hand,  intended  to  call  special  attention  to  the 
weighty  concluding  words  that  follow  from  the  original  au- 
thor.   These  are  clearly  poetry,  and  as  rhythmical  as  any 


166 


ECCLESIASTES. 


ninth  verse  presents  this,  not  as  an  introduc- 
tory verse,  but  as  the  continuation  of  something 
already  begun,  whilst  on  the  contrary  the  ex- 
pression CD'S^n  ^Dn,  ver.  8,  according  to  the 
analogy  of  chap.  i.  2,  is  clearly  used  as  an  intro- 
ducto«-y  formula.  The  object  of  this  formula  at 
the  opening  of  the  epilogue  is  again  to  present  to 
the  reader  the  negative  summation  of  the  obser- 
vations and  experience  of  the  author,  the  fact  of 
the  vanity  and  perishability  of  all  earthly  things 
in  order  subsequently  to  establish  the  correctness 
of  this  result  by  a  double  testimony : — 1.  By  vin- 
dication of  the  moral  weight  of  the  personality 
of  the  author  as  a  genuinely  wise  man  and 
teacher  of  wisdom  (vers.  9-11) ;  2.  by  referring 
to  the  very  serious  and  important  character  of 
the  precepts  laid  down  by  him  (vers.  12-14). 
These  two  divisions  are  characterized  by  equal 
length  and  analogous  construction*   (i.  e.,  that 

they  both  begin  with  IH'T  "and  moreover")  as 
skilfully  planned  strophes  or  executions  of  the 
theme  contained  in  ver.  8,  and  not  as  two  mere 
postscripts  of  the  author  added  as  by  chance 
(HiTziG) ;  whilst  in  the  latter  the  positive  result 
of  the  religious  and  moral  observations  of  the 
Preacher  appears  again  in  the  most  significant 
and  precise  form  possible  (ver.  13),  strengthened, 
too,  by  an  addition  (ver.  14)  which  presents 
most  clearly  the  correct  intermediation  of  the  po- 
sitive with  the  negative  result  in  ver.  8,  and  tlius 
affords  the  only  true  solution  of  the  great  enigma 
from  which  chap.  i.  2  had  proceeded.  This  so- 
lution consists  simply  in  pointing  him  who  is 
discontented  and  anxious  about  the  vanity  and 
unhappiness  of  this  life,  to  the  great  day  of  uni- 
versal reckoning,  and  in  the  inculcation  of  the 
duty  of  deferential  obedience  to  a  holy  and  just 
God, — a  duty  from  which  no  one  can  escape  with 
impunity.  As  this  epilogue  is  in  reality  the  first 
to  offer  the  key  to  the  correct  understanding  of 
the  whole,  (for  the  sum  of  the  previously  deve- 
loped precepts  of  wisdom,  is  given  neither  so 
clearly  nor  impressively  in  chap.  xi.  1-12,  7,  as 
is  the  case  here)  we  clearly  perceive  the  untena- 
bility  of  that  hypercritical  view  (v.  D.  Palm,  Do- 
DERLEiN,  Bertholu,  Knobel,  Umbbeit,  and,  to 
a  certain  extent,  also,  of  Hebzfeld)  which  de- 
nies the  authenticity  of  these  closing  verses  (from 
ver.  9).  For  a  special  refutation  of  their  argu- 
inents  comp.  the  Int.  |  3,  Obs. 

2.  First  strophe.  Vers.  8-11.  The  negative  re- 
sult of  the  book,  attested  in  its  truth  and  import- 
ance by  reference  to  the  personal  worth  of  the 

thiDg  in  the  book.  Snch  inserted  Bcholla  should  create  no 
more  dilHculty  tban  tlicir  evident  appearance  in  Genesis,  and 
elsewhere  in  the  Pentateuch.  Tlie  remark  that  follows, 
about  the  force  of  the  conjunction  1  has  no  weight  what- 
ever. It  is  so  often  used  as  a  mere  transition  particle;  and 
the  idea  of  any  logical,  or  even  rhetorical,  connection  be- 
tween the  exclamation  and  the  plain  prosaic  annotation  that 
follows  is  absurd. — T.  L.] 

*[It  should  be  said,  rather,  that  the  two  divisions  are 
made  by  the  9  and  10,  on  the  one  hand,  and  all  that  follows 

on  the  other.    The  fact  that  ver.  12  begins  with  "^H^l  is  of 

no  importance  in  this  respect.  But  that  which  has  a  decided 
bearing  on  the  division  is  overlooked,  namely,  that  the  first 
(9  and  10)  is  the  plainest  prose,  whilst  the  second  (beginning 
with  the  lltb)  most  clearly  returns  to  the  poetical  both  in 
thought  and  diction, — a  fact  which  shows  that  the  first 
belongs  to  a  scholiast,  the  second  to  the  main  and  original 
author  of  the  book.    See  the  Metrical  VersioQ. — T.  L.] 


author  as  a  genuine  teacher  of  wisdom.  For 
verse  8  see  partly  the  previous  paragraph  (No. 
1),    and   partly   the    exegetical   illustrations   to 

chaps.  1  and  2.  For  the  name  PnT\p  (here  with, 
out  the  article)  see  the  Intr.,  ^  1.  Ver.  9.  And 
moreover  because  the  Preacher  vras  Twise. 

iri'l  (used  substantively) :  "and  the  remainder" 
(comp.  1  Sam.  xv.  15),  is  here,  and  in  verse  12, 
clearly  equivalent  to:  "and  there  remains," 
namely,  "to  say,"  The  indirect  construction 
follows  here,  introduced  by  p  (comp.  the  Lat. 
restat,  ut,  etc.),  whilst  in  ver.  12  we  find  the  di- 
rect construction  (comp.  the  Lat.  Quod  restat,  or 
Ceterum).     Gesenius,  Winee,  Knobel,  Vaihin- 

gek,  etc.,  translate  iTTIE^  irci  "  and  moreover, 
because,"  and  therefore  accept  this  clause  as 
preliminary,  letting  the  subsequent  one  com- 
mence with  It})  (Luther  does  the  same:  "This 
same  Preacher  was  not  only  wise,"  etc.;  and  so, 
in  sense,  the  Vulgate:  "  Cumque  asset  sapientissi- 
mus  Ecclesiastes  ").  But  this  is  opposed  partly  by 
the  analogy  of  the  commencement,  v.  12,  and  part- 
ly by  the  circumstance  that  the  "wy  alone  could 
scarcely  introduce  the  secondary  clause.  Hengst. 
correctly  remarks  concerning  ODH :  "A  wise 
man,  not  in  the  sense  of  the  world,  but  of  the 
kingdom  of  God,  not  from  one's  self,  but  from 
God  (comp.  ver.  11),  so  that  this  passage  is  not 
in  contradiction  with  Prov.  xxvii.  2 :  '  Let 
another  man  praise  thee,  and  not  tliine  own 
mouth;  a  stranger,  and  not  thine  own  lips.' 
And  nevertheless,  Solomon  could  hardly  have 
spoken  thus  of  himself  without  incurring  the 
censure  of  self-praise.  And  even  another,  who 
had  written  this  with  reference  to  him,  would,  in 
reality,  have  expressed  something  insipid  and 
inappropriate,  in  case  he  really  had  the  historic 
Solomon  in  his  eye.  For  which  reason  the  ficti- 
tious character  of  Koheleth,  or  his  merely  ideal 
identity  with  Solomon  is'  quite  apparent. — He 
still  taught  the  people  knovrledge. — For 
11J7  at  the  beginning  of  a  sentence,  comp.  Gen.  xix. 
12 ;  Micah  vi.  10;  Job  xxiv.  20. — Yea,  he  gave 
good  heed,  and  sought  out,  and  set  in  or- 
der many  proverbs. — ]tX  "to  consider,  to 
weigh,"  the  root  of  Q]JtND  "balances."  This 
verb  in  conjunction  with  the  following  "Iplll  shows 
the  means  whereby  he  "set  in  order"  (\PJ}  comp. 
chap.  i.  15;  vii.  13),  many  proverbs.  This  pro- 
duct was  the  result  of  careful  investigation  and 
reflection — a  relation  of  the  three  verbs  to  one 
another,  which  is  clearly  indicated  by  the  ab- 
sence of  the  copula  before  the  third :  VDJ}  ;  comp. 
Gen.  xlviii.  14 ;  1  Kings  xiii.  18 ;  Ewald,  I  333  c. 
— By   the  "many  proverbs"   (n3'^n  as  in  v.  7; 

xi.  8),  the  author  evidently  does  not  mean  those 
mentioned  in  1  Kings  v.  12,  but  rather  those  say- 
ings of  Solomon  that  are  contained  in  the  Book 
of  Proverbs;  for  he  imitates  mainly  these  latter 
in  his  own  contained  in  this  book. — Ver.  10. 
The  Preacher  sought  to  find  out  accept- 
able v7ords. — ]'3ri~'''|13'l,  pleasant,  agreeable 
words  (Uyov  ;i;npirof,  Luke  iv.  23),  comp. 
|*3n    ■'jnx  Isa.  liv.  12.    Here  are  naturally  meant 


CHAP.  XII.  8-14. 


167 


words  acceptable  not  to  the  great  mass,  but  to 
serious  minds,  heavenly  inclined,  and  seeking 
wisdom ;  words  of  honeyed  sweetness  in  the 
sense  of  Ps.  xix.  11,  verba  qusd,  jure  meritoque  de- 
aiderari  et  placere  debent,  tamquam  divinie  virtuiis  et 
certitudinis  (S.  Schmidt).  The  expression  j'Sn 
can  scarcely  relate  to  mere  acceptability  and 
adornment  of  the  form  of  speech  (as  asserted  by 
HiTZiG  and  Elstee). — And  that  ■which  vras 
written  was  upright,  even  words  of  truth. 
The  passive  participle  3in31  expresses  that  which 

was  written  by  the  author  in  consequence  of 
seeking  after  acceptable  words;  hence  Herz- 
FELD,  and  after  him,  Henqstenbbrg  and  Elster, 
are  correct:  "and  thus  then  was  written  what 
was  correct ;"  Ewald  and  Vaihinger,  on  the  con- 
trary, render  erroneously :  "  but  honest  words 
were  written,"  which  adversative  rendering  of 
the  conjunction  is  decidedly  injurious  to  the  sense 
and  opposed  to  the  text.  Hitziq  reads  3in31 
the  infinitive  absolute :  "  to  find  (KSIp/)  ^^^ 
write;"  but  this  change  is  quite  as  unnecessary 
as  the  adverbial  rendering  of  IB'''  in  the  sense 
of  "correct,  honest,"  which  latter  rendering  is 
also  found  in  Luther,  Knobel,  Vaihinger,  El- 
8TES,  etc.  It  is  □''lE^'p'that  expresses  this  ad- 
verbial sense  every  where  else  (Song  of  Solomon 
i.  4;  vii.  10;  Prov.  xxiii.  31;  Ps.  Iviii.  1). 
IE''  is,  on  the  contrary,  here,  as  every  where,  a 
substantive,  meaning  straightforwardness,  up- 
rightness ;  and  that  in  which  this  uprightness 
consists  is  expressed  by  the  words  in  apposition, 
ilDN  '13T — "words  of  truth,"  i,  e.,  in  true 
teaching,  acceptable  to  God,  and  therefore  bring- 
ing blessings  ;  teachings  of  the  genuine  "  hea 
venly  wisdom."  Comp.  Prov.  viii.  6-10  ;  James 
iii.  17. — Ver.  11.  The  words  of  the  ■wise 
are  as  goads. — The  author,  by  bringing  "  the 
words  of  truth  "  under  the  general  category  of 
"words  of  the  wise"  (i.  c,  of  those  ethical  pre- 
cepts as  they  issue  from  the  circles  of  the  Cha- 
kamim,  to  which  he  himself  belongs  according  to 
ver.  9),  lends  to  them  so  much  the  more  weighty 
significance  and  authority ;  for  all  that  can  be 
said  in  praise  of  the  words  of  the  Chakamim  in 
general  must  now  especially  avail  also  of  his  pro- 
verbs and  discourses.  Hence  the  phrase 
D'Mn  ^'}T]  would  be  more  fittingly  rendered 
by;  "Such  words  of  wise  men"  (comp.  Hitzig). 
Hengstenberg  takes  too  narrow,  or,  if  we  will, 
too  broad  a  view  of  the  idea  of  "wise  men," 
when  he,  in  connection  with  older  authors,  as 
Luther,  Rambaoh,  Starke,  etc.,  sees  therein  only 
the  inspired  writers  of  the  0.  T.,  or  the  authors 
of  the  Canonical  Books  ;  according  to  which  this 
verse  would  contain  a  literal  and  direct  self-can- 
onization. But  this  is  opposed  by  the  fact  that 
D'D3n  elsewhere  always  means  the  authors  of 
the  characteristic  Proverbial  wisdom,  or  Chok- 
fflah,  the  teachings  of  the  Solomonic  and  post- 
Solomonic  era,  which  is  to  be  clearly  distin- 
guished from  the  prophetic  and  lyrico-poetical 
[Psalmistic]  literature  (see  1  Kings  iv.  30  f.; 
Prov.  i.  6;  xxii.  17;  Jer.  xviii.  18;  and  comp. 
J3  of  the  General  Intr.  to  the  Solomonic  litera- 
ture, Vol.  XII.,  p.  8  f.),  so  that  Moses,  Joshua, 


Samuel,  David,  etc.,  could  not  possibly  have  been 
reckoned  in  this  category.  This  is  quite  apart 
from  the  fact  that  such  a  self-canonization  ex- 
pressed in  the  manner  aforesaid,  would  have 
been  neither   especially  appropriate   nor   sufB- 

ciently  clear.  nijb")'n3,  "like  goads,"  i.  e.,  en- 
dowed with  stinging,  correctly  aiming,  and 
deeply  penetrating  effect,  "verba,  quse  aculeorum 
insiar  alte  descendunt  in  pectora  hominum,  Usque 
manentinfixa"  (Gesenius  ;  comp.  Ewald,  Hitzig, 
Hengstenberg  and  Elster).  It  is  usually  re- 
garded as  "ox-goads"  (Septuagint,  wf  to 
fiomEvTpa;  Targ.,  Talm.,  Rabb.,  and  most  of  the 
moderns).  But  [U'l'n  or  pni  (1  Sam.  xiii.  21), 
neither  means  specially,  according  to  its  etymo- 
logy, a  goad  to  drive  cattle,  nor  does  the  parallel 
"as  nails"  lead  exactly  to  this  special  meaning, 
to  which  the  plural  form  of  the  expression  would 
not  be  favorable.  Neither  is  it  the  case  that  all 
the  words  of  the  wise,  nor  especially  all  the  pro- 
verbs of  this  book,  are  of  a  goading,  that  is,  an 
exhortatory,  nature,  as  Hitzig  very  correctly 
observes.  Therefore  we  must  stop  at  the  simple 
meaning  of  "goads,"  and  interpret  this  to  sig- 
nify the  penetrating  brevity,  the  inciting  and 
searching  influence  of  these  precepts  of  wisdom 
of  Koheleth  and  other  wise  men. — And  as  nails 
fastened  by  the  masters  of  assemblies. — 
As  the  "  fastened  nails  "  doubtless  form  a  syno- 
nym to  the  "goads,"  so  the  masters  of  assem- 
blies, literally  "the  colleagues  of  the  assem- 
bly" [ni3ipN  ^S^^comp.  chap.  X.  11,  20;  Prov. 
i.  17  ;  Isa.  xli.  15]  can  only  be  another  expres- 
sion for  those  "words  of  the  wise."  We  are 
therein  to  understand  collected  maxims  of  wis- 
dom, united  into  one  assembly  or  collection,  and 
not  merely  well  connected  proverbs,  as  Ewald 
and  Elstee  would  have  it ;  for  the  verb  ^DN  does 
not  refer  to  the  excellence  and  perfection  of  the 
collection  ;  neither  does  the  figure  of  the  nails, 
which,  at  most,  leads  to  the  idea  of  juncture,  and 
not  to  that  of  a  specially  beautiful  and  harmo- 
nious order.  Highly  unfitting  also  is  the  inter- 
pretation of  n^apN  '7^73  as  "  masters  of  assem- 
blies "  (Luthee),!.  e.,  partakers  in  learned  as- 
semblies [Gesenius]  or  principals  of  learned 
schools,  teachers  of  wisdom  [Vaihingee,  etc.'\,  or 
even  authors  of  the  individual  books  of  the  sa- 
cred national  library,  or  authors  of  the  separate 
books  of  the  Old  Testament  Canon  [Hengsten- 
BEEG].  This  personal  signification  of  the  ex- 
pression is  forbidden  once  for  all  by  the  paral- 
lelism with  the  "  words  of  wisdom"  in  the  first 
clause. — Which  are  given  from  one  shep- 
herd.— That  is,  in  so  far  as  the  "words  of  the 
wise  "  in  the  preceding  book  are  united,  they 
proceed  from  one  author,  who  was  not  only  a 
wise  man,  but  a  "shepherd"  in  the  bargain, 
i.  e.,  a  wise  teacher,  the  leader  of  a  congregation, 
an  elder  of  the  synagogue.  For  this  sense  of 
"shepherd"  as  chief  of  a  school,  or  a  priestly- 
teacher,  comp.  Jer.  ii.  8;  iii.  15;  x.  21  ;  xxiii. 
4.  The  oneness  of  the  authorship  is  here  thus 
pointedly  expressed  by  way  of  contrast  to  the 
many  "  wise  men  "  in  the  first  clause.  To  refer 
the  expression  to  God  [Hieron.,  Geiee,  Michae- 
ns,  Starke,  Hengstenberg,  Herzpeld,  Knobel, 


168 


ECCLESIASTES. 


etc.],  is  quite  as  arbitrary  as  a  reference  to  Moses 
[Targ.],  to  the  historic  Solomon  [Jablonski, 
etc.],  to  Zerubbabel  [Grotius],  or  as  the  emen- 
dation T^y^p  for  njt^^n  by  virtue  of  which  HiT- 
iiG  translates  :  "  which  are  given  united  as  a 
pasture"  [reading  UHJ  instead  of  -Uni] 

3.  Second  strophe.  Ver.  12-14.  The  positive 
result  of  the  book  as  a  self-speaking  testimony 
for  the  truth,  worth,  and  weight  of  its  contents. — 
And  further,  by  these,  my  son,  be  admon- 
ished.— The  word  nsnp  is  closely  but  impro- 
perly connected  by  the  Masoretio  accentuation 
with  iri'l  (it  can  as  well  be  absolute  as  in  ver.  9 
above)  :  it  refers  to  the  "  words  of  the  wise 
given  by  one  shepherd,"  contained  in  ver.  11, 
and  thus,  in  short,  to  the  maxims  of  this  book 
[not  of  the  entire  Old  Testament  Canon,  as 
Hengstenberq  thinks].  "From  them"  [comp. 
Gen.  ix.  11 ;  Isa.  xxviii.  7],  the  reader,  the  "  son  " 
of  the  wise  teacher,  is  to  be  admonished.  For 
'J3  "  my  son,"  which  is  equivalent  to  my  scholar ; 
compare  Prov.  i.  8;  x.  15  ;  ii.  1,  etc.,  and  for 
inin  "  be  admonished,"  "accept  wisdom,"  chap, 
iv.  13,  preceding. — Of  making  many  books 
there  is  no  end. — That  is,  beware  of  the 
unfruitful,  even  dangerous,  wisdom  which  others 
[partly  in  Israel,  partly  among  the  heathen,  e.  g., 
Egyptians,  Persians,  Greeks,  etc. — Comp,  Intr., 
§3,  Obs.]  endeavor  to  spread  and  inculcate  in 
numberless  writings  *  It  is  not  worldly  litera- 
ture, in  general,  in  contrast  to  the  spiritual  lite- 
rature of  Divinely  inspired  writings,  against 
which  the  author  utters  a  warning  (Hengsten- 
eerg),  but  the  useless  and  deceitful  literature  of 
others  which  he  contrasts  with  that  genuine 
wisdom  taught  by  him.  The  countless  elabora- 
tions of  false  philosophers  [Col.  ii.  8],  as  they 
already  then  in  the  bloom  of  Hellenistic  sophistry 
were  beginning  to  fill  the  world,  are  presented 
to  his  readers  by  way  of  warning,  as  a  foul  and 
turbid  flood  of  perverted  and  ruinous  opinions, 
by  which  they  ought  not  to  permit  themselves  to 
be  carried  away.  Heezfelu  takes  the  infinitive 
mtyj*  as  a  genitive  dependent  on  Y'O  ['S,  and 
renders  ["X  in  a  conditional  sense,  "  to  making 
many  books  there  would  be  no  end."  HiTZio 
opposes  this  rendering,  but  improperly  takes 
Vp  ]'N  as  a  mere  adverbial  modifier  to  n3"in 
instead  of  the  "litD  elsewhere  customary  in  such 
connection,  and  hence  translates  "the  making  of 
very  many  books,"  requiring  much  exertion  of 

the  mind  (JH?)  "is  weariness  of  the  body." 
Thereby  Koheleth  would  give  his  readers  to  un- 
derstand that  he  might  have  written  for  them 
whole  books  filled  with  maxims  of  wisdom  (comp. 
John  xxi.  25),  but  would  rather  not  do  this,  as 
being  useless  and  fatiguing.  But  the  term  "  in- 
finitely many"  would  then  involve  a  very  strong 


*[See  the  remarks  in  Appendix  to  Introrluction.  p.  30,  on 
□"•"l^D  as  referring  here  to  tliia  very  liook  ol' Koiieletli  it- 
self.— tile  plural  either  denotius  chaptern,  or  %>arts  of  one 
treatiae,  as  the  term  is  u.sed  liy  Greek  and  Latin  writers,  or 
being  eqnivalent  to  Tto\kk  ypdufxara,  or  midt^  literm,  "  much 
writing."  It  may  be  rendered,  therefore,  collectively,  or  in 
the  singular :  "  in  making  a  great  book  there  is  no  end." 
It  is  an  endless,  a  useless,  labor.  What  is  already  written 
is  enough  ;  "  therefore  let  us  hear,"  etc. — T.  L.] 


hyperbole ;  and  the  equality  and  rhythmical  har- 
mony of  the  construction  would  be  too  much  de- 
stroyed by  such  an  affirmation  of  two  subjects  for 
the  predicate  1ty3  'IJ^J'- — And  much  study; 
Namely,  the  study  of  many  books,  much  reading 
(Abes  Ezra,  Ewald,Vaihinger,  Elster,  etc.)  not 
the  writing  of  books  (Hitzig),  nor  the  thirst  af- 
ter knowledge  (Hengstenberg),  nor  preaching 
(Luther,  Hahn,  etc.), — these  are  all  renderings 
at  variance  with  the  simple  and  clear  sense  of 

nain  jnS. — is  a  weariness  of  the  flesh. — 

Vaihinger  correctly  says,  "  the  passion  for  read- 
ing, which  weakens  mind  and  body,  whilst  fruit- 
ful reflection  strengthens  both.  Such  a  morbid 
desire  corresponds  entirely  with  the  later  Jewish 
eras.*  See  above,  chap.  i.  18. — Ver.  13.  Let  us 
hear  the  conclusion  of  the  -whole  matter: 
In  contrast,  that  is,  to  this  useless  making  of 
many  books  and  much  reading.  f]1D.  "  the  end" 
(comp.  iii.  11;  vii.  2)  does  not  literally  signify 
the  sum  of  all  that  has  been  previously  said,  but 
the  limit  which  the  author  wishes  just  now  to 
set  to  his  discourse,  the  practical  conclusion  by 
which  we  are  to  abide.  Therein  we  see  that  it 
is  not  the  total  and  all-comprehending  result  of 
his  observations  and  teachings,  but  only  the  po- 
sitive or  practical  side  of  this  result  (in  contrast 
to  the  negative  one  expressed  in  ver.  8)  that  he 
will  now  express  in  the  following  maxim;  see 
above  No.  1. — -13^    points,  even  without  an  ar- 

TT 

tide,  to  the  precise  discourse  of  this  book,  and 
therefore  to  the  entirety  of  ^vifip  '"^I^T  (comp. 
i.  1,  and  for    131    in  this  collective  sense,  see  1 

Sam.  iii.  17;  Joshua  xxi.  43,  etc.)  13T\  isreally 
in  apposition  with  131,  consequently,  when 
strictly  taken  is  to  be  translated,  "  the  end  of  the 
discourse, ^of  the  whole,"  and  not,  "  the  end  of 
the  whole  discourse."  And  therewith  it  is  in- 
deed intimated  that  in  the  end  of  the  discourse 
the  whole  is  included,  or  that  the  final  thought  is 
the  ground  thought  (or  at  least  one  principal 
thought);  comp.  Hengstenberg  and  Vaihinger. 
Observe  also  that  by  the  mutual  }}DWi  "let us 
hear,"  the  author  subjects  himself  to  the  abso- 
lute commandment  of  fearing  God  and  obeying 
Him. — Fear  God,  and  keep  His  command- 
ments. Literally,  "God  fear" — the  object  of 
fear  emphatically  placed  before,  as  in  Chap.  v.  7. 
— For  this  is  the  whole  duty  of  man. 
There  is  an  ellipsis  of  the  verb  in  the  original, 
for  which  comp.  chap.  ii.  12;  Jer.  xxiii.  5;  xxvi. 
9.  The  correctness  of  our  rendering,  which  is 
the  same  as  Luther's  ("for  that  belongs  to  all 
men")  is  confirmed  by  verse  14,  where  we  are 
informed  of  a  divine  judgment  of  all  men  regard- 

*  [There  is  no  maintaining  this  unless  the  date  of  Koheleth 
is  brought  down  to  a  period  nearly,  if  not  quite,  coterapora- 
neous  with  the  Christian  era.  Even  then,  there  was  no  such 
establishment  of  .lewish  schools,  or  spread  of  Jewish  books, 
as  would  render  credible  the  existence  among  them  of  such 
a  Lesewuth,  or  Lesesucht  ("passion  for  reading,"  "morbid 
desire  for  reading")  as  is  here  spoken  of  by  Zookler  and 
HiTzro.  Such  an  idea  is  not  hinted  at  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. All  this  shows  the  difficulty  of  finding  any  place  for 
this  book  of  Koheleth  between  the  time  of  Solomon  and  that 
of  Christ.  The  application  of  such  a  remark  to  the  times  of 
Malachi  would  be  utterly  absurd. — T.  L.] 


CHAP.  XII.  8-14. 


169 


ing  their  works.  The  Vulyate,  Ewald,  Hekz- 
TELD,  and  Elsier  say,  "for  that  is  the  whole 
man  "  which  is  as  much  as  saying,  ''thereon  rests 
his  entire  fate."     But  this  sense  would  be  very 

obscurely  expressed ;  and  01Nn~ 73,  more- 
over, never  means  "the  whole  man,"  but  "  every 
man,"  "all  men.*  Ver.  14.— For  God  shall 
bring  every  -work  into  judgment,  ivith 
every  secret  thing.  (Zooklek  renders: 
"Judgment  upon  every  hidden  thing").     This 

direct  connection  of  07j^J"73  7J?  with  the 
preceding  !33typ3  is  sustained  by  the  construc- 
tion of  the  verb  bS'CJ  -in  Niphal  with  1)},  Jer. 
ii.  85,  as  well  as  by  ihe  frecLuent  use  of  ^J^  in 
the  sense  of  "  on  account,"  "concerning."  The 
view  of  HiTZiQ  that  7^?  here  stands  for  7.  the 
particle  of  relation,  is  too  artificial,  as  is  that  of 
Vaihinoek  and  Hahn,  that  ly^C^}}  "together 
with  every  secret  thing."  The  natural  meaning 
is,  the  judgment  in  the  next  world,  as  also  in  ch. 
xi.  9,  not  simply  that  which  is  executed  in  the 
ordinary  development  of  this  world.  This  view 
is  supported  also  by  the  addition,  "  every  secret 
thing,"  compared  with  Rom.  ii.  16;  1  Cor.  iv. 
5,  as  well  as  by  the  subsequent,  "  whether  it  be 
good,  or  whether  it  be  evil,"  compared  with  2 
Cor.  V.  10;  John  v.  29,  etc.  Still  the  present 
judgment,  executed  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
may  come  into  consideration,  here  as  well  as  in 
chap.  xi.  9,  and  Psalm  xc.  8.  (Comp.  John  iii. 
17i.  ;  Eph.  ,.  13,  etc.). 

DOCTRINAL   AND    ETHICAL. 

( With  Homiletical  Hints). 

The  ground  thought  of  this  closing  section,  as 
already  developed  in  No.  1  of  the  exegetical  il- 
lustrations, is  about  as  follows  :  The  speech  of 
the  truly  wise  man  infallibly  proves  itself  to  be 
such  by  its  inner  strength  and  truth  ;  its  effect, 
penetrating,  like  goads  and  nails,  deeply  into 
the  heart,  sharpening  the  dull  conscience,  might- 
ily summoning  the  whole  man  to  the  fear  of 
God  and  obedience  to  His  sacred  commandments, 
testifies  in  the  most  direct  manner  to  its  harmony 
with  the  word  of  God, — yes,  even  to  its  divine 
origin  and  character.  It  is  the  voice  of  eternity 
in  time,  of  the  imperishable,  ever-living  truth, 
rescuing  us  from  sin  and  death  in  the  midst  of 
the  vanity  of  this  world.  Thus  is  it  to  be  un- 
derstood when  the  preacher  of  the  genuine  truth 
proclaims  to  his  hearers  these  two  great  truths 
of  revelation :  "All  is  vanity,"  and,  "  Fear  God 
and  keep  His  commandments,"  and  thus  it  guides 
them  to  a  correct  knowledge  of  sin  as  well  as  of 
the  way  of  salvation, — of  the  law  as  of  the 
gospel. 

In  accordance  with  this,  the  theme  for  a  suc- 
cinct homiletical  treatment  of  the  section,  would 
be  about  the  following :  Of  the  inward  power  and 
truth  of  the  divine  word,   as  is  shown  in  the 


*[73,  in  the  c(mstrw:t.  state,  rather  means,  "the  whole  of 

T 

man.*'    The  other  expression,  "  every  man,"  might  have  the 

construct,  form,  bnt  7.3,  the  absolute,  with  or  without  the 
irtiiile,  would  be  the  best  adapted  to  it.— T.  L.l 


preaching  of  the  law  and  gospel  (of  repentance 
and  faith)  as  the  immutably  connected,  and  fun- 
damental elements  of  divine  revelation. — Or,  the 
knowledge  of  the  vanity  of  all  earthly  things  as 
the  foundation  for  the  knowledge  and  inheritance 
of  heavenly  glory. — Or  ;  Of  the  wholesomeness 
of  the  wounds  inflicted  by  the  goads  of  the  di- 
vine word. 

HOMILETICAL  HINTS  TO  SEPARATE  PASSAGES. 

Vers.  9  and  10.  Crameb,: — It  is  not  enough 
that  a  teacher  be  simply  learned  unto  himself; 
it  is  his  duty  to  serve  others  with  the  talent  that 
God  has  given  him,  and  not  to  bury  it. — Starke: 
— He  alone  is  skilful  in  leading  others  into  the 
way  of  truth  who  himself  has  been  a  pupil  of 
truth,  who  has  been  instructed  in  the  school  of 
Jesus.  Geier  (ver.  10) : — Every  one  who  speaks 
or  writes  should  endeavor  with  all  zeal  to  pre- 
sent nothing  but  what  is  just,  true,  lovely,  and 
edifying,  Phil.  iv.  8;  1  Peter  iv.  11. 

Vera.  11  and  12.  Brenz: — Unless  you  lay  the 
foundation  of  faith  in  the  word  of  God,  you  will 
be  the  sport  of  every  wind  ;  much  reading,  fre- 
quent hearing  of  discourses,  will  bring  more  of 
error,  disquietude,  and  perturbation,  than  of 
genuine  fruit. — Luther: — He  exhorts  us  not  to 
be  led  away  by  various  and  strange  teachings.  It 
is  as  if  he  had  said  :  You  have  an  excellent 
teacher  ;  beware  of  new  teachers  ;  for  the  words 
of  this  teacher  are  goads  and  spears.  Such  also 
were  David's  and  the  prophets'.  But  the  bung- 
ler's words  are  like  foam  on  the  water. — Geier  : 
— In  sermons  and  other  edifying  discourses,  we 
must  not  speak  words  of  human  wisdom,  or  fa- 
bles and  idle  prattle,  but  the  words  of  the  holy 
men  of  God,  which  are,  themselves,  the  words  of 
the  living  God  ;  godly  preaching  is  proof  of  the 
spirit  and  .the  power,  1  Cor.  ii.  4. — Hengsten- 
berg: — We  have  here  a  rule  for  the  demeanor 
of  hearers  towards  the  sermon  ;  they  are  not  to 
be  annoyed  if  its  goad  penetrates  them. 

Vers.  13  and  14.  Melanohthon: — He  sets 
forth  a  final  rule  which  ought  to  be  the  guide  of 
all  counsels  and  actions :  Look  to  God  and  His 
teaching ;  depart  not  from  it,  and  be  assured  that 
he  who  thus  departs  rushes,  without  doubt,  into 
darkness,  into  the  snares  of  the  devil,  and  into 
the  direst  punishments.  Refer  all  counsels  and 
all  actions  to  this  end,  namely,  obedience  to  God. 
Starke  : — A  sure  sign  of  genuine  fear  of  God, 
is  to  be  zealous  in  keeping  the  commandments 
of  God  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost.— Sibel  : 
—Since  God  has  given  to  us  the  spirit,  let  us 
keep  pure  and  sound  this  noble  deposit,  that  we 
may  thus  return  it  to  the  Giver  and  the  Creator. 
So  good  and  faithful  men  are  wont  to  guard  a 
deposit  committed  to  their  care  (1  Tim.  vi.  20). 
On  the  health  of  the  soul  depends  the  health  of 
the  body,  and  of  the  whole  man.  The  soul  saved 
we  lose  nothing ;  when  that  is  lost  all  perishes. 
Zeyss  :— The' thought  of  the  day  of  judgment,  is 
a  salutary  medicine  against  false  security  (Si- 
rach  vii.  40),  and  a  sweet  promise  of  the  rewards 
of  mercy  in  eternal  life.  Wolle  :— Because  God 
is  infinitely  just.  He  will  neither  let  hidden  evil 
be  unpunished,  nor  hidden  good  be  unrewarded. 
To  Him  therefore  be  all  the  glory  forevermore. 
AMEN. 


METRICAL   VERSION   OF   KOHELETH. 

BT  THE  AMEEIOAK"  EDITOR 
INTRODUCTION. 


POETICAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE  BOOK. 


[Stoabt  asserts  that  Koheleth.  is  not  poetry.  HiTzia  treats  it  very  much  in  the  same  way,  as 
esaentially  a  formal  prose  ethical  treatise.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  this  overlooking  the 
true  poetical  character  and  spirit  of  the  composition,  is,  with  both  these  commentators,  the 
cause  of  much  frigid  exegesis,  and  false  rhetorical  division.  There  is,  however,  high  authority 
for  the  other  view  [see  Lowth's  Heh.  Foetry,  p.  205,  411,  Eichhorn  Einleitung,  Vol,  V.,  250, 
228,  and  Jahn's  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament].  Ewald  is  decided  for  its  poetical  charac- 
ter, and  ably  maintains  it.  "  A  genuine  poetic  inspiration,"  he  says,  "  breathes  through  it  all " 
[see  Zocklee's  Introduction,  I  2,  Remark  3,  p.  10].  He,  however,  regards  some  parts  as  prose 
(such  as  the  little  episode  ix.  13-16),  or  as  mere  historical  narrative,  which  seem  to  present  the 
poetic  aspect,  both  in  the  thought  and  in  the  measured  diction.  Thus  the  allusion  to  the  "poor 
wise  man  who  saved  the  city  "  is  as  rhythmical  in  its  parallelism  (when  closely  examined)  as  any 
other  parts,  whilst  it  is  not  only  illustrative  of  what  is  in  immediate  proximity,  but  is  also 
itself  of  the  poetic  cast  in  the  manner  of  its  conception.  Although  Zockleb  thus  refers  to 
Ewald,  his  own  interpretation  seems  affected  too  much  by  the  prosaic  idea  of  a  formal  didactic 
treatise,  with  its  regular  logical  divisions.  We  have  deemed  this  question  entitled  to  a  fuller 
argument  here,  because  it  seems  so  intimately  connected  with  a  right  view  of  the  book,  both  as 
a  whole  and  in  the  explanation  of  its  parts.  The  whole  matter,  however,  lies  open  to  every 
inteihgent  reader.  The  question  is  to  be  decided  by  the  outward  form  as  it  appears  in  the 
original,  and  by  the  peculiar  internal  arrangement  of  the  thought  in  its  parallelistic  relations. 
This  latter  is  the  special  outward  mark  of  Hebrew  poetry.  Though  there  may  not  be  anything 
like  iambics  or  dactyls  discoverable,  even  in  the  Hebrew,  yet  every  reader  of  the  common  Eng- 
lish Version  feels,  at  once,  that  he  is  coming  into  a  new  style  of  diction,  as  well  as  of  thought 
and  emotion,  when,  in  Gen.  iv.  23  he  finds  the  plain  flow  of  narrative  suddenly  changed  by  a 
new,  and  evidently  measured,  arrangement,  calling  attention  to  a  peculiar  subjective  state  in  ths 
writer  or  utterer,  and  putting  the  reader  immediately  en  rapport  with  it: 

Adah  and  Zillah,  hear  my  voice; 

Te  wives  of  Lamech,  listen  to  my  speech. 

So  is  it  also  when  he  finds  the  inartificial,  yet  highly  eloquent  prose  narrative  of  Exodus  xiv., 
and  chapters  preceding,  all  at  once  interrupted  by  a  strain  commencing  thus — 

I  will  sing  unto  Jahveh,  for  glory !  glorious ! 
Horse  and  his  rider  hath  He  thrown  into  the  sea ; 

28  171 


172  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  METRICAL  VERSION. 

or  when,  after  the  plainest  historical  style  in  Numbers  xxiv.,  and  previously,  he  is  startled  by 
euoh  music  of  thought  and  language  as  this — 

I  shall  see  Him,  but  not  now; 
I  shall  behold  Him,  but  not  sigh ; 
There  shall  cornea  star  out  of  Jacob; 
A  sceptre  shall  arise  out  of  Israel. 

This  is  not  so  striking  in  Koheleth ;  in  some  places  it  is  barely  discoverable ;  but  such  parallel- 
ism of  thought  and  diction  is  really  there,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  and,  in  many  parts,  as 
clearly  discernible  as  m  Job  or  the  Psalms ;  more  clearly  than  in  much  of  Isaiah.  Thus,  for 
example,  chap.  x.  20 — 

Not  even  in  thy  thought  revile  the  king; 
Nor  in  thy  chamber  dare  to  curse  the  rich ; 
The  birds  of  heaven  shall  carry  forth  the  sound: 
The  swift  of  wing,  the  secret  word  reveal. 

We  may  even  say  that  it  exists  throughout,  with  a  few  exceptions,  perbaps,  that  may  be  re- 
garded as  mtroductory  or  transition  sentences,  such  as  brief  descriptions  of  the  writer's  outward 
state  (i.  12,  13,  as  also  i.  16)  and  the  frequent  formulas :  "  I  said  in  my  heart," — "  then  I  turned 
again  to  behold,"  etc.  But  after  each  of  these,  the  strain  goes  on  as  before.  It  is  musing,  medi- 
tative, measured  thought,  m  a  peculiarly  arranged  diction,  sometimes  presenting  much  regularity 
in  its  rhythmical  movement,  as  m  chaps,  i.,  xi.  and  xii.,  and  sometimes  seeming  so  far  to  lose  it 
that  it  is  known  to  be  poetry  only  by  the  inward  marks, — that  is,  the  musing  cast  of  thought, 
and  that  soul-filling,  yet  sober  emotion  which  calls  up  the  remoter  and  more  hidden  associations, 
to  the  neglect  of  logical  or  even  rhetorical  transitions.  It  is  this  latter  feature  that  gives  to 
Koheleth  an  appearance  which  its  name,  according  to  its  true  etymology,  seems  to  imply — 
namely,  of  a  collection  of  thoughts  as  they  have  been  noted  down,  from  time  to  time,  in  the 
memory  or  common-place  book  of  a  thoughtful  man,  not  aiming  to  be  logical,  because  he  him- 
self knows  the  delicate  links  that  bind  together  his  ideas  and  emotions  without  express  gramma- 
tical formulas,  and  which  the  reader,  too,  will  feel  and  understand,  when  he  fe  brought  into  a 
similar  spiritual  state.  Such  a  spiritual  transition  is  aided  by  the  rhythmical  form,  however 
slight,  producing  the  feeling  that  it  is  truly  poetry  he  is  reading,  and  not  outwardly  logical  state- 
ments of  dogmatic  truth, — in  short,  that  these  gnomic  utterances  are  primarily  the  emotional 
relief  of  a  meditative  soul,  rather  than  abstract  ethical  precepts,  having  mainly  a  scientific  or 
intellectual  aspect. 

In  this  thought  there  seems  to  be  found  that  essential  distinction  between  poetry  and  prose, 
which  goes  below  all  outward  form,  whether  of  style  or  diction,  or  which,  instead  of  being 
arbitrarily  dependent  on  form,  makes  its  form,  that  is,  demands  a  peculiar  dress  as  its  most  appro- 
priate, we  may  even  say,  its  most  natural  expression.  In  other  words,  poetry  is  ever  subjective. 
It  is  the  soul  soliloquizing, — talking  to  itself,  putting  in  form,  for  itself,  its  own  thoughts  and 
emotions.  Or  we  might  rather  say  that  'primarily  this  is  so ;  because,  in  a  secondary  sense,  it 
may  still  be  said  to  be  objective  and  didactic  in  its  ultimate  aim,  whilst  taking  on  the  other,  or 
subjective,  form,  as  least  indicative  of  a  disturbing  outward  consciousness,  and,  therefore,  its 
most  truly  effective  mode  of  expression  even  for  outward  uses.  That  this,  however,  maybe  the 
more  strongly  felt  on  the  part  of  the  reader,  his  mind,  as  has  been  already  said,  must  be  en 
rapport  with  that  of  the  writer,  that  is,  it  must  get  into  the  same  spiritual  state,  by  whatever 
means,  outward  or  inward,  suggestive  or  even  artificial,  this  may  be  effected.  Poetry  is  the 
language  of  emotion  ;  and  it  is  true  of  all  poetry,  even  of  the  soberest  and  most  didactic  kind. 
This  emotion  may  be  aroused  by  the  contemplation  of  great  deeds,  as  in  the  Heroic  poetry, 
whether  of  the  epic  or  dramatic  kind,  or  of  striking  natural  objects,  as  in  the  descriptive,  or  of 
great  thoughts  contemplated  as  they  arise  in  the  mind,  with  more  of  the  wonderful  or  emotional 
than  of  the  logical  or  scientific  interest.  This  is  philosophical  poetry,— the  thinker  devoutly 
musing,  instead  of  putting  forth  theses,  or  aiming  primarily  to  instruct.  The  utterance  is  from 
the  fullness  of  the  spirit,  and,  in  this  way,  has  more  of  didactic  or  preceptive  power  than  though 
such  had  been  the  direct  objective  purpose.  We  have  a  picture  of  such  a  mind,  in  such  a  state, 
in  this  philosophical  poem  of  Koheleth,  with  just  enough  of  rhythmical  parallelism  to  awaken 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  METRICAL  VERSION.  173 

the  emotional  interest.  It  is  this  representation  of  a  bewildered,  questioning,  struggling  soul, 
peiplexed  with  doubt,  still  holding  fast  to  certain  great  fundamental  truths  regarded  rather  as 
intuitions  than  as  theorems  capable  of  demonstration,  which  makes  its  great  ethical  value. 
This  value,  however,  is  found  in  it  chiefly  as  a  whole.  It  consists  in  the  total  impression ; 
and  we  shall  be  disappointed,  often,  if  we  seek  it  in  the  separate  thoughts,  some  of  which  are 
exceedingly  skeptical,  whilst  others  we  may  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  erroneous.  It  is  this 
subjective  picture  which  the  higher,  or  the  divine,  author  has  caused  to  be  made,  preserved,  and 
transmitted  to  us,  for  our  instruction  (jrpof  AiSaanaViav — irpoq  v^'Seiav,  see  2  Tim.  iii.  16),  so  that 
along  with  some  things  fundamental,  immutable,  which  the  thoughtful  soul  can  never  part  with, 
we  may  also  learn  how  great  the  darkness  that  hangs  over  the  problem  of  the  human  and  the 
mundane  destiny  when  illuminated  by  nothing  higher  than  science  and  philosophy,  either 
ancient  or  modern.  We  need  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  so  far  as  these  are  concerned,  the  teach- 
ing of  the  book  is  as  important  for  the  19th  century  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Koheleth,  whoever 
he  may  have  been,  or  at  whatever  early  time  he  may  have  lived.  Stuakt  thinks  differently. 
Remarking  on  the  affirmations  respecting  the  vanity  of  what  is  called  "  wisdom  and  knowledge," 
he  says :  "  Put  such  a  man  as  Koheleth,  at  the  present  time,  in  the  position  of  a  Laplace, 
Liebig,  Cuvier,  Owen,  Linnaeus,  Day,  Hamilton,  Humboldt,  and  multitudes  of  other  men  in 
Europe  and  in  America,  and  he  would  find  enough  in  the  pursuit  of  wisdom  and  knowledge,  to 
fill  his  soul  with  the  deepest  interest,  and  to  afford  high  gratification.''  "  But  it  does  not  follow 
[he  adds]  that  Koheleth  felt  wrongly,  or  wrote  erroneously,  at  his  time,  in  respect  to  these 
matters.  Literary  and  scientific  pursuits,  such  as  are  now  common  among  us,  were  in  his  day, 
beyond  the  reach,  and  beyond  the  knowledge  of  all  then  living ;  and  how  could  he  reason  then 
in  reference  to  what  these  pursuits  now  are?"  (Sttjaet,  Com.  on  Ecclesiastes,  p.  141).  Now 
Kolieleth  admits  that  knowledge,  whatever  its  extent,  even  mere  human  knowledge,  is  better 
than  folly ;  it  is  better  than  sensual  Epicureanism  ;  even  the  sorrows  of  the  one  are  better  than 
the  joys  of  the  other,  more  to  be  desired  by  a  soul  in  a  right  state ;  and  yet,  not  in  view  of  any 
small  amount,  but  of  the  widest  possible  extent,  does  he  say  that  "  he  who  increases  knowledge" 
(knowledge  of  mere  earthly  things,  knowledge  of  links  instead  of  ends,  knowledge  of  man's 
doings,  merely,  instead  of  God's  ways)  only  "  increases  sorrow."  The  wonder  is,  that  there  is 
not  more  commonly  felt,  what  is  sometimes  admitted  by  the  most  thoughtful  men  of  science, 
that  the  more  there  is  discovered  in  this  field  the  more  mystery  there  is  seen  to  be,  the  more 
light  the  more  darkness  following  immediately  in  its  train  and  increasing  in  a  still  faster  ratio, — 
in  short,  the  more  knowledge  we  get  of  nature,  and  of  man  aa  a  purely  physical  being,  the 
greater  the  doubt,  perplexity,  and  despair,  in  respect  to  his  destiny,  unless  a  higher  light  than 
the  natural  and  the  historical  is  given  for  our  relief.  In  this  respect  the  modern  physical  know- 
ledge, or  claim  to  knowledge,  has  no  advantage  over  the  ancient,  which  it  so  much  despises,  but 
which,  in  its  day,  and  with  its  small  stock  of  physical  experience,  was  equally  pretentious. 
Read  how  Lucretius  exults  in  describing  the  atomic  causality,  and  the  wonderful  discoveries 
that  were  to  banish  darkness  from  the  earth,  and  put  an  end  to  that  dreaded  Eeligio — 

Qus£  caput  a  cali  regumibus  obtendebai, 
Hvrnbili  super  adspectu  mortalibus  ingtang. 

How  greatly  does  it  resemble  some  of  the  boasting  of  our  19th  century,  and  yet  how  does  our 
modem  science,  with  its  most  splendid  achievements  (which  there  is  no  disposition  to  underrate) 
stand  speechless  and  confounded  in  the  presence  of  the  real  questions  raised  by  the  perplexed  and 
wondering  Koheleth !  What  single  ray  of  light  has  it  shed  on  any  of  those  great  problems  of 
destiny  which  are  ever  present  to  the  anxious,  thoughtful  soul !  "  Our  science  and  our  literature !" 
How  is  their  babble  hushed  in  the  presence  of  the  grave !  How  wretchedly  do  they  stam- 
mer when  asked  to  explain  that  which  it  concerns  us  most  to  know,  and  without  which  all  other 
knowledge  presents  only  "  a  lurid  plain  of  desolation,"  a  "  darkness  visible,"  or  to  use  the 
language  of  one  much  older  than  Milton,  "  where  the  very  light  is  as  darkness  !  "  How  dumb 
are  these  boasting  oracles,  when,  with  a  yearning  anxiety  that  no  knowledge  of  "  the  seen  and 
temporal"  can  appease,  we  consult  them  in  respect  to  "  the  unseen  and  eternal  I"  They  claim  to 
tell  us,  or  boldly  assert  that  the  time  is  rapidly  coming  when  they  will  be  able  to  tell  us,  all 


174  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  METRICAL  VERSION. 

that  is  needed  for  the  perfectibility  of  human  life.  But  ask  them  now,  what  is  life,  and  why  we 
live,  and  why  we  die  ?  No  answer  comes  from  these  vaunting  shrines.  They  have  no  reply  to 
the  most  momentous  questions  :  Whence  came  we?  Whither  go  we?  Who  are  we?  What 
is  our  place  in  the  scale  of  being?  What  is  our  moral  state,  our  spiritual  character?  Is  there 
any  such  thing  as  an  immutable  morality  ?  la  there  a  true  ethical  rising  at  all  above  the  physi- 
cal, or  anything  more  than  the  knowledge  and  prudent  avoidance  of  physical  consequences?  Is 
there  any  hope  or  meaning  in  prayer?  Is  there  a,  holy  law  above  us  to  which  our  highest 
ideas  of  righteousness  and  purity  have  never  risen  ?  Is  there  an  awful  judgment  before  us  ? 
Are  we  probationers  of  a  moral  state  having  its  peril  proportioned  to  an  inconceivable  height 
of  blessedness  only  to  be  attained  through  such  a  risk  ?  Is  there,  indeed,  a  great  spiritual  evil 
within  us,  and  a  mighty  evil  One  without  us  against  whom  we  have  to  contend  ?  Is  there 
a  great  perdition,  a  great  Saviour,  a  great  salvation  ?  Is  man  truly  an  eternal  and  supernatural 
being,  with  eternal  responsibilities,  instead  of  a  mere  connecting  link,  a  passing  step,  in  a  never 
completed  cycle  of  random  "  natural  selections,"  or  idealess  developments,  having  in  them 
nothing  that  can  truly  be  called  higher  or  lower,  because  there  is  no  spiritual  standard  above 
the  physical,  by  which  their  rank  and  value  can  be  determined? 

Such  questions  are  suggested  by  the  reading  of  Koheleth,  although  not  thus  broadly  and  for- 
mally stated.  In  hia  oft-repeated  cry  that  "  all  beneath  the  sun  is  vanity,"  there  is,  throughout, 
a  pointing  to  something  above  the  sun,  above  nature,  above  the  flowing  world  of  time,  to  that 
"  work  of  God  "  which  he  says  (iii.  14)  is  Ol'\))l,  "for  the  eternal"  immovable,  without  flow, 
without  progress,  perfect,  finished, — "  to  which  nothing  can  be  added,  and  from  which  nothing 
can  be  taken," — tha,t  high  "ideal  world,"  that  unmoving  01am,  where  "all  things  stand," — 
that  spiritual  supernatural  paradigm  for  the  manifestation  of  which  in  time,  nature  with  all 
its  flowing  types  and  paradigms  was  originally  made,  and  to  which  it  is  subservient  during 
every  moment,  as  well  aa  every  age,  of  ita  long  continuance.  All  here,  when  viewed  in  itaelf, 
was  vanity,  but  K'ntyn  7^a,  supra  solemn,  above  the  sun,  there  stood  the  real.  He  was  sure 
of  the  fact,  though  he  felt  himself  utterly  unable  to  solve  the  questions  connected  with  it.  This 
makes  the  impressiveness  of  his  close,  when,  after  all  his  "turnings  to  see,''  and  his  "thinkings 
to  himself,"  or  "  taikings  to  his  heart,"  he  concludes,  as  Job  and  the  Psalmist  had  done,  that  the 
"  fear  of  God  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom,"  and  the  keeping  of  Hia  commandments  "  the 
whole  of  man"  (□^K^  ID),  his  great  "end,"  his  constant  duty,  his  only  hope  of  obtaining 
that  higher  spiritual  knowledge  which  alone  can  satisfy  the  soul  (John  vii.  17).  This  he  forti- 
fies by  the  assurance  that  all  shall  at  last  be  clear :  "  For  God  will  bring  every  work  into  judg- 
ment, with  every  secret  thing,  whether  it  be  good,  or  whether  it  be  evil." 

It  is  this  continual  pointing  to  the  "  unseen  and  eternal"  [□'71jr'7] ,  that  constitutes  the  pe- 
culiar poetical  character  of  the  book,  so  far  as  the  thought  is  concerned.  And  then  there  is  the 
subjective  style :  "  I  thought  to  myself" — "  I  said  to  my  heart " — "  I  turned. again  to  see  '' — 
"  I  went  about,  I  and  my  heart ;"  this,  together  with  the  measured  diction  into  which  it  natu- 
rally flows,  forma  the  more  outward  poetical  dress.  There  are  in  Koheleth  the  germs  of  ideas  that 
extend  beyond  the  utmost  range  of  any  outward  science,  or  even  of  any  merely  dogmatic  ethical 
teaching.  It  was  the  inner  spirit  of  the  reader,  through  his  own  inner  spirit,  that  he  sought  to 
touch.  These  "  thinkings  to  himself "  filled  his  soul  with  an  emotion  demanding  a  peculiar  style 
of  utterance,  having  some  kind  of  rhythmical  flow  as  its  easiest  and  most  fitting  vehicle.  Why  it 
is,  that  when  the  soul  muses,  or  when,  under  the  influence  of  devout  feeling,  or  inspiring  won- 
der, it  is  thus  moved  to  talk  to  itself,  it  should  immediately  seek  some  kind  of  measured  language, 
is  a  question  not  easily  answered.  It  presents  a  deep  problem  in  psychology  which  cannot  here 
be  considered.  The  fact  is  undoubted.  The  rhythmical  want  is  felt  in  ethical  and  philosophical 
musing,  as  well  as  in  that  which  comes  from  the  contemplation  of  the  grand  and  beautiful  in  na- 
ture, or  the  heroic  and  pathetic  in  human  deeds.  Some  have  denied  that  what  is  called  gnomic, 
or  philosophical  poetry  is  strictly  such,  being,  as  they  say,  essentially  prose,  artificially  arranged 
for  certain  purposes  of  memory  and  impression.  We  may  test  the  difi'erence,  however,  by  care- 
fully considering  what  is  peculiar,  outwardly  and  inwardly,  to  some  of  the  most  striking  exam- 
ples .qi  this  kind  of  writing,  and  noting  how  the  power,  character,  and  association  of  the 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  METRICAL  VERSION.  175 


thoughts  are  affected  by  the  rhythmical  dress,  even  when  of  the  simplest  kind.  Pope's  Essay 
on  Man,  for  example,  has  been  called  simply  measured  prose;  but  it  is  in  fact,  the  highest  style 
of  poetry,  better  entitled  to  be  so  characterized  than  the  greater  part  of  his  other  rhythmical  com- 
positions. Certain  great  ideas  belonging  to  the  philosophy  of  the  world  and  man,  are  there  con- 
templated in  their  emotional  aspect.  Wonder,  which  enters  into  the  very  essence  of  this  highest 
species  of  poetry,  is  called  by  Plato  "  the  parent  of  philosophy,"  and  this  is  the  reason  why  the 
dry  and  logical  Aristotle,  who  could  intellectually  analyze  what  he  could  not  emotionally  create, 
gives  us  that  remarkable  declaration  [De  Foetica,  chap,  ix.)  6io  ml  ipiloaoipuTepov  Koi  a-KovSad- 
repov  nOI'H2I2  laTopias  kcriv — "  Wherefore  it  is  that  poetry  is  a  more  philosophical  and  a  more 
serious  thing  than  history  itself."  In  perusing  the  composition  of  Pope  referred  to,  we  are  im- 
mediately, and  without  formal  notice,  made  to  feel  this  contemplative,  wondering,  emotive  power, 
through  the  sympathetic  influence  of  the  outward  dress.  The  measured  style  thus  disposes  us  as 
Boon  as  we  begin  to  read.  We  are  thereby  put  in  harmony  with  the  subjective  state  of  the 
writer.  We  begin  to  muse  as  he  muses,  whilst  the  rhythmical  flow  causes  our  emotions,  and  as- 
ecoiations  of  thought,  to  move  easily,  and  without  surprise,  in  the  same  smooth  channel,  how- 
ever irregular  it  might  seem  if  viewed  under  another  aspect.  We  are  not  reading  for  knowledge, 
or  ethical  instruction  even,  but  for  the  reception  of  that  same  emotion  which  prompted  the  seem- 
ingly irregular  utterance.  Under  the  binding  influence  of  the  melody,  we  no  longer  expect  lo- 
gical or  scientific  connections.  There  is  felt  to  be  a  uniting  under-current  of  thought  and  feel- 
ing, so  carrying  us  along  as  to  supply  the  want  of  these  by  the  merest  suggestions,  some  of  them, 
at  times,  very  far  off,  seemingly,  whilst  others  come  like  inspirations  to  the  meditative  spirit,  or 
seem  to  rise  up  spontaneously  from  the  bubbling  fountain  of  emotional  ideas.  Taking  away  the 
rhythm  from  such  a  work  immediately  does  it  great  injustice,  by  destroying  this  sympathy. 
Put  it  in  a  prose  dress,  and  we,  at  once,  expect  closer  connections,  more  logical,  more  scientific, 
more  formal,  more  directly  addressed  to  an  outward  mind.  The  one  soul  of  the  writer  and  the 
reader  is  severed,  the  inspiration  is  lost,  the  dogmatic  becomes  predominant,  whilst  the  intellect 
itself  is  offended  for  the  want  of  those  stricter  formulas  of  speech  and  argument  which  its  syste- 
matic instruction  demands.  Not  finding  these,  we  call  it  strange,  rhapsodical,  or  unmeaning. 
What  before  impressed  us  now  appears  as  trite  truisms,  and  the  fastidious  intellect,  or  fastidious 
taste,  contemns  what  a  deeper  department  of  the  soul  had  before  received  and  valued  without 
questioning.  The  cause  of  this  is  in  the  fact  that  there  are  some  thoughts,  called  common  (and 
it  may  be  that  they  are  indeed  very  common),  yet  so  truly  great,  that  to  a  mmd  in  a  right  state 
for  their  contemplation,  no  commonness  can  destroy  the  sense  of  their  deep  intrinsic  worth.  Tru- 
isms may  be  among  the  most  important  of  all  truihs,  and,  therefore,  all  the  more  needing  some 
impressive  style  of  utterance,  some  startling  form  of  diction,  to  arouse  the  soul  to  a  right  con- 
templation of  their  buried  excellence.  Undeterred  by  their  commonness,  the  musing  mind  sees 
this  higher  aspect ;  it  recognizes  them  in  their  connections  with  the  most  universal  of  human  re- 
lations, and  even  with  eternal  destinies.  The  emotion  with  which  this  is  contemplated  calls  out 
a  peculiar  phraseology,  placing  the  thought  in  the  foreground  of  the  mind's  attention,  and  divest- 
ing it  of  its  ordinary  homely  look.  This  startling  diction  appears  especially  in  the  original  lan- 
guage, if  understood.  We  turn  such  meditations  into  prose;  first  in  our  words,  as  happens  ne- 
cessarily in  a  process  of  rigid,  verbal  translation,— then  in  our  thoughts— and  having  thus 
stripped  them  of  that  rhythmical  charm  which  called  attention  to  their  hidden  worth,  their  real 
UDcommonness,  we  pronounce  them  trite  and  unmeaning.* 
Koheleth  m  his  homely  prose  version— especially  our  English  Version— suffers  more,  in  this 

•[Such  common-placeB  abound  in  the  best  poetry,  ancient  or  modern.  Often,  when  rightly  set,  they  furnish  its  most 
precJtins  gems.  Especially  is  this  the  case  with  the  more  sombre  and  meditative  poetry,  as  in  TocNa's  Night  ThougMs, 
and  the  more  serious  poems  of  Tenntson.  "  Many  of  the  ideas  of  his  Jn  Memoriam,"  says  a  certain  critic,  "  are  the  merest 
common-places;  strip  them  of  their  stilted  verbiage,  and  there  is  nothing  left  but  the  most  vapid  truisms."  Such  criti- 
cism is,  itself,  both  vapid  and  shallow.  Common  ideas  have  their  uncommon  or  wonderful  aspects,  which  the  common 
mind  fails  to  see,  or  loses  sight  of  because  of  their  supposed  commonness.  Thus,  time  presents  a  very  ordinary  conception, 
b,ut  think  of  it  in  connection  with  its  infinite  past,  its  infinite  future,  its  infinitesimal  present,  or  as  an  immeasurable  cycle 
repeating  itself,  and  "  demanding  the  ages  fled,"  as  Koheleth  represents  it  (chap.  i.  10 ;  iii.  15),  and  how  full  of  the  most 
"Olemn  awe,  as  well  as  the  deepest  personal  interest.  Take,  for  example,  one  of  the  most  ordinary  truisms  that  we  find 
In  ahoost  every  mouth  :  "  The  past  is  gone,  we  can  never  recall  it."    How  tame  and  prosaic  it  sounds  when  presented 


176  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  METRICAL  VERSION. 

way,  than  the  Psalms  or  Proverbs,  where  the  Hebrew  parallelism  is  so  clear  in  its  general  struc- 
ture, and  the  antithesis  of  emphatic  words  demanded  for,  each  particular  arrangement  is  so  stri- 
king, that  the  poetical  character  appears  in  almost  any  version ;  the  poorest  translation,  that  haa 
any  claim  to  be  faithful,  not  being  able  wholly  to  disguise  it. 

The  object,  therefore,  is  to  give  to  a  translation  of  Koheleth  such  a  rhythmical  dress,  be  it  ever 
so  slight  and  plain,  that  the  reader  may  thereby  make  some  approach  to  the  mental  position  of 
the  original  utterer,  or  assume,  instinctively,  as  it  were,  something  of  his  subjective  state.  It  is 
to  lead  him,  by  something  in  the  outward  style,  to  feel,  however  slightly,  the  meditative,  emo- 
tional, yet  sobered  spirit  of  the  writer — to  give  the  mind  that  turn — (and  a  mere  starting  im- 
pulse may  do  it)  which  shall  make  it  muse  as  he  muses,  and  soliloquize  as  he  soliloquizes,  with- 
out being  surprised  at  those  sudden  transitions,  or  those  remote  suggestions,  which  seem  natural 
to  such  a  state  of  mind  when  once  assumed.  They  are  natural,  because  the  writer,  understand- 
ing his  own  thoughts,  and  even  feeling  them,  we  may  say,  needs,  for  himself,  no  such  logical  for- 
mulas, and  the  reader  equally  dispenses  with  them  as  he  approaches  the  same  position.  They 
are  like  modulations  that  are  not  only  admissible  but  pleasing  in  a  musical  flow,  whilst  they 
would  appear  as  flattened  chords,  or  harsh  dissonances,  if  set  loose  from  their  rhythmical  band. 
Such  is  very  much  the  appearance  which  the  thoughts  of  this  book  often  present  when  read 
merely  as  didactic  prose,  and  this  is  doing  them  great  injustice.  For  one  example  out  of  many, 
of  these  seemingly  abrupt  transitions  in  Koheleth,  take  chap.  vi.  6  :  "  unto  one  place  go  not  all 
men  alike  ?"  There  seems,  at  first  view,  little  or  no  connection  here.  It  is,  however,  the  meet- 
ing of  an  objection  that  silently  starts  up,  making  itself  felt  rather  than  perceived  as  something 
formally  stated  :  "  Length  of  life  is  no  advantage,  rather  the  contrary,  if  one  has  lived  in  vain  : 
Do  not  they  both,  the  man  of  extreme  longevity,  and  the  still-born,  or  the  born  in  vain,  go  at 
last  to  the  same  mother  earth  whence  they  came  ?"  What  avails,  then,  "  his  thousand  years 
twice  told?"  If  the  reader's  mind  is  in  harmony  with  the  writer's,  and  with  his  style,  he  sees 
the  association,  and  is  more  affected  by  such  apparent  abruptness  than  he  would  have  been  by 
the  most  formal  logical  statement.  He  gets  into  the  current  of  feeling,  and  this  carries  him  over 
the  apparent  logical  break. 

It  may  be  said,  too,  that  such  a  rhythmical  Version  may  be  all  the  more  faithful  to  the  thought 
on  this  very  account  of  its  rhythmical  form.  It  may  be  more  literal,  too,  if  by  literal  we  mean 
that  which  most  truly  puts  us  in  the  mental  position  of  the  old  writer,  giving  not  only  the 
thought,  as  a  bare  intellectual  form,  but,  along  with  it,  the  emotion  which  is  so  important  a  part 
of  the  total  effect,  and  even  of  the  thought  itself  regarded  as  an  integral  state  of  soul.  To 
accomphsh  this,  Hebrew  intensives  must  be  represented,  in  some  way,  by  English  intensives, 
of  like  strength,  though  often  of  widely  different  expression.  There  is  often,  too,  an  emotional 
power  in  a  Hebrew  particle  which  may  be  all  lost  if  we  aim  to  give  only  its  illative  force.  This 
is  especially  the  case  with  a  DJ  or  a  'S.  The  former  always  expresses  more  or  less  of  surprise 
or  wonder,  along  with  its  additive  force  of  too,  or  moreover.     The  translation  is  to  be  helped,  in 

merely  as  a  truth  or  dogma.  But  give  it  a  subjective  interest  such  aa  comes  from  the  diction  and  association  in  whicb 
YODNa  presents  it,  and  how  full  of  emotion  I 

Harl^  I  'tis  the  knell  of  my  departed  hours ; 
Where  are  they  ?    With  the  years  beyond  the  flood ; 
or  afi  it  appears  in  the  Hebrew  parallelism  of  Koheleth  (chap.  vii.  24) ; 

Far  off  I  the  past — where  is  it  ? 
Deep  I  a  deep,  0  who  shall  find  It  f 
Or  as  the  kindred  thought  meets  us  in  the  musings  of  Tenntson  ; 

But  the  tender  grace  of  a  day  that  is  dead. 
Will  never  come  back  to  me. 
Of  course,  it  will  never  come  back.  As  a  mere  fiict,  or  preceptive  statement,  we  want  no  teacher,  inspired  or  nninspired, 
to  tell  us  that.  But  what,  then,  has  changed  the  dry  truism  into  a  thought  so  full  of  the  most  touching  interest  that  we 
read  the  simple  lines  over  and  over  again,  wondering  at  the  strange  power  that  is  in  them.  It  is  in  the  rhythm,  some 
would  say.  This  is  true,  but  not  in  the  mere  auricular  sense.  The  rhythm  has  an  eifect,  though  the  measure  is  of  the 
simplest  kind.  It  will  be  found,  however,  on  analysis,  to  consist  in  the  fact  of  its  disposing  the  reader  to  the  meditative  or 
subjective  state  of  soul.  It  seta  the  mind  soliloquizing,  unconsciously,  as  it  were.  It  makes  the  thought  and  language 
seem,  for  the  moment,  as  though  they  were  the  reader's  own.  It  brings  the  idea  to  him  in  its  emotional  rather  than  in 
its  intellectual,  or  dogmatic,  aspect.  In  other  words,  it  presents  the  uncmnrrum  side  of  the  seeming  truism.  It  is  not 
only  a  deep  view  of  being  in  general,  but  it  is  one  that  belongs  to  himself;  and  this  is  the  secret  of  his  emotion.— T.  L.] 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  METRICAL  VERSION.  177 


such  cases,  by  our  expressive  particle  yea,  or  some  interjeotional  form  such  as,  ah!  this  too  !  yea, 
verily,  this  too!  Again,  the  illative  power  in  the  Hebrew  particle  may  be  much  wider,  and 
more  varied,  than  that  of  any  single  one  which  we  may  select  as  corresponding  to  it  in  any 
single  case.  Thus  "3  connects  by  denoting  a  cause,  reason,  or  motive ;  but  it  may  be  a  reason 
against,  a  reason  notwithstanding,  as  well  as  a  reason  for ;  just  as  the  Greek  cveKa  may  mean 
f<yr  the  sake  of,  or  in  spite  of,— for  all  that — as  ivam  e/iov,  "  on  my  account,"  or  for  all  that  I  can 
do.  In  the  latter  case  '3  should  be  rendered  although,  a  meaning  rare  in  other  parts  of  the 
Bible,  but  quite  common,  we  think,  in  Ecclesiastes,  and  furnishing  the  right  key  to  some  other- 
wise obscure  passages.  Thus  in  chap.  vi.  4,  N3  12'n^-^3  is  rendered,  "for  he  cometh  in  with 
vanity,''  which  simply  inverts  the  illative  aim  of  the  particle  as  determined  by  the  context.  It 
reads  as  though  the  "  coming  in  with  vanity  and  departing  in  darkness,''  were  assigned  as  the 
cause,  or  reason  why,  the  abortion,  or  the  "  vainly  born,"  is  better  than  he  who  "vainly  lived," — 
thus  making  it  the  reason  why  instead  of  the  reason  notwithstanding,  as  it  truly  is.  When  we 
render  it  although,  and  supply  the  same  particle  in  all  the  connected  clauses,  the  meaning,  which 
is  so  confused  in  our  common  English  Version,  becomes  not  only  clear  but  most  impressive. 
Again,  this  very  frequent  little  word  may  be  a  transition,  or  starting  particle,  denoting  a  reason, 
and  an  emotion  connected  with  it,  but  this  emotion  arising  from  an  under-current  of  thought, 
or  from  something  that  starts  up  to  the  mind  during  a  pause  in  the  soliloquizing  discourse. 
The  speaker  sets  off  again  with  a  '3,  yet,  surely,  yea  verily  so  is  it;  as  though  what  he  had  been 
thinking  must  have  been  thought  by  others  near  him.  There  are  quite  numerous  examples  of 
this  kind  in  Koheleth,  but  the  best  illustration  may  be  taken  from  a  passage  in  Job  where  the 
ultimate  thought  is  very  similar  to  the  one  which  pervades  this  book.  To  explain  it  there  is 
required  the  very  admissible  supposition  of  a  brief  pause,  or  silence,  holding  still  the  flow  of  the 
discourse  after  some  impassioned  utterance.  This  is  in  accordance  with  the  nature  of  grave 
oriental  speaking,  whether  dialectical  or  continuous.  It  may  be  said,  too,  that  such  pauses  of 
emotional  silence,  though  occupying  much  shorter  intervals  in  the  middle  of  the  dialogue,  are 
of  the  same  kind,  and  of  the  same  spirit,  with  the  silence  described  Job  ii.  13:  "And  they  sat 
with  him  on  the  earth  seven  days,  and  seven  nights,  and  none  spake  a  word  unto  him,  for  they 
saw  that  his  grief  was  very  great."  Some  such  rest  of  silence  may  be  supposed  to  have  oc- 
curred after  the  impassioned  close  of  the  xxvii.  chapter.  We  are  almost  driven  to  this  view  from 
the  fact,  that  the  xxviii.  seems  to  have  so  little  of  direct,  or,  in  fact,  of  any  discoverable  connec- 
tion with  it.  When  Job  begins  again  "  to  take  up  his  parable,"  his  thoughts  seem  to  have 
drifted  to  a  great  distance ;  and  yet,  during  the  silence,  the  thread  has  been  preserved.  It  has 
been  carried  away  by  a  devious  current,  but  we  recover  it  again  before  the  new  strain  closes. 
So  great  has  seemed  the  difficulty  of  connecting  these  two  chapters,  that  Pabeau  (De  Jobi 
Notitiis,  etc.,  p.  247)  reasons  plausibly  to  show  that  there  has  been  a  misplacement,  and  that 
chap,  xxviii.  should  come  immediately  after  chap.  xxvi.  But  there  is  a  better  explanation,  and 
more  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  this  wonderful  book.  After  the  strong  appeal  of  the  xxvii., 
and  the  vivid  picture,  there  presented,  of  the  bad  man's  ruin,  we  find  Job,  instead  of  applying 
it  directly  to  his  own  defence,  or  his  defence  of  the  ways  of  God,  starting  off  in  a  strange  man- 
ner, and  with  this  particle  '3,  presenting  no  reason  for  what  was  said,  seemingly,  just  before, 
but  forming,  as  it  were,  the  transition  chord  to  a  new  modulation :  "  For  there  is  a  vein  for  the 
silver"  (K'.''.  '3)  or,  "  surely  there  is  an  outlet  for  the  silver,  and  a  place  for  the  gold,"  etc.  What 
is  the  illative  force  of  '3  in  this  place,  or  what  connective  office  does  it  perform  at  all  ?  Far  off, 
as  it  would  seem,  from  the  former  train  of  thought,  the  speaker  goes  on  to  describe  the  human 
zeal  and  energy  in  its  search  for  the  treasures  and  secrets  of  nature.  And  most  graphically  is 
this  done.  The  references  in  the  beginning  are  to  mining  operations,  in  which  men  had  made 
what  might  seem  a  wonderful  progress  in  the  earliest  times:  "  He  (man)  puts  a  limit  to  the 
darkness"  [he  pushes  farther  and  farther  back  the  horizon  of  the  unknown];  "he  searches  out 
to  the  very  end  (as  Conant  well  translates  it)  the  stone  (the  ore)  of  darkness,  and  of  the  shadow 
of  death."  Away  from  the  ordinary  human  haunts  "he  hangs  suspended"  (over  the  shaft  of 
the  mine).    In  wilds  which  even  "  the  vulture's  eye  had  not  seen,  nor  the  fierce  lion  ventured 


178  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  METRICAL  VERSION. 

to  tread,  he  sendeth  forth  his  band,  and  turneth  up  the  mountain  from  its  roots."  "  He  cutteth 
out  channels  in  the  rooks, — he  bmdeth  the  fountains  from  overflowing,  and  that  which  is  most 
hidden  bringeth  he  forth  to  light.''  Now  what  is  the  association  of  thought  that  led  to  this  ? 
We  soon  see  it.  It  reappears  in  that  yearning  interrogatory :  "But  where  shall  wisdom  be 
found  ?  0  where  is  the  place  of  understanding  ?"  All  these  discoveries,  however  great  they 
may  be  conceived  to  be^(and  the  searching  appeal  is  as  much  to  our  own  as  to  the  earliest  times) 
are  not  wisdom — noDnn — "  the  wisdom."  They  give  us  not  the  great  idea  or  reason  of  God  in 
the  creation  of  man  and  the  world:  "  The  deep  "  (the  great  Tehom)  still  "  saith,  it  is  not  in  me ; 
the  sea  saith,  it  is  not  with  me."  "  It  is  not  found  in  the  land  of  the  living,"  in  the  world  of 
active  life ;  and  yet,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  "  a  rumor  thereof"  has  reached  the  dark,  silent 
unboasting  under-world.  "  Death  and  Abaddon  (the  state  in  which  man  seems  to  be  lost,  or  to 
disappear)  say,  we  have  just  heard  the  fame  thereof  with  our  ears."  It  is  the  wisdom  which 
is  known  only  to  God,  or  to  those  to  whom  He  reveals  it, — His  moral  purpose  in  the  origination 
and  continuance  of  nature,  and  in  the  dark  dispensations  of  human  life.  It  is  the  spiritual  idea 
of  the  supernatural  world,  to  which  the  natural  is  wholly  subservient,  but  to  which  neither  its 
ascending  or  descending  links  do  ever  reach.  To  this,  all  unknown  as  it  is,  though  firmly  be- 
lieved, does  Job  appeal  in  repelling  the  shallow  condemnation  of  his  friends,  and  the  shallow 
grounds  on  which  they  place  it.  This  is  God's  wisdom,  which  was  with  Him  when  He  made 
nature  and  the  worlds.  Man's  wisdom  is  to  believe  in  it,  to  submit  himself  to  it,  to  stand  m  awe 
of  it,  and  to  depart  from  evil,  as  the  beginning  of  that  -course  through  which  alone  there  can 
come  any  clearing  of  the  mystery  to  the  human  soul.  This  connects  the  speaker  with  the  former 
train  of  thought,  or  the  vindication  of  God's  ways  as  righteous,  however  dark  they  may  seem 
in  the  human  history,  whether  of  the  race  or  of  the  individual.  The  pause,  the  apparent  break,  is 
that  which  leads  to  the  higher  strain.  So  it  is  in  the  musings  of  Koheleth,  less  sublime,  perhaps, 
less  impassioned,  but  with  no  less  of  grave  impressiveness.  It  is  only  when  we  thus  read  it  as 
meditating,  soul-interrogating,  poetry,  that  we  get  in  the  right  vein  for  understanding  its  subtle 
associations  of  thought. 

In  Koheleth,  too,  as  in  Job,  there  are  certain  underlying  ideas,  firmly  held,  and  that  never 
change.  Though  "clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about"  them,  they  form  the  N03  [UD  "the 
foundation  of  the  throne," — the  settled  basis  of  his  belief  in  the  eternal  Righteousness.  These 
no  scepticism  ever  invades,  They  have  not  the  appearance  of  inductions  from  experience,  or 
from  any  kind  of  logical  argumentation  ;  neither  are  they  so  put  forth.  They  are  rather  holy 
intuitions,  inspirations  we  might  style  them,  which  admit  of  no  uncertainty :  "I  know  that  what- 
soever God  doeth  is  for  the  olam,"  the  eternity,  the  world  idea;  "nothing  can  be  put  to  it  nor 
any  thing  taken  from  it "  (iii.  14).  Earth  may  be  full  of  wrong,  but  "  there  is  One  Most  High 
above  all  height,  that  keepeth  watch "  over  the  injustice  and  oppression  of  men  (v.  7) : 
"  Though  a  sinner  do  evil  a  hundred  times,  and  his  days  be  prolonged,  yet  surely  Ikncnv  that  it' 
shall  be  well  with  them  that  fear  God,  but  it  shall  not  be  well  with  the  wicked"  (viii.  12).  He 
knew  it;  his  faith  not  only  went  beyond  sight,  but  stood  strong  even  in  opposition  to  sense  and 
earthly  experience ;  "  I  said  in  my  heart,  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  God  shall  judge ;"  for 
"there,  too"  (CDEf,  even  there,  in  the  great  Olam,  or  world  plan,  mentioned  just  above),  "is 
there  an  appointment  for  every  purpose,  and  for  every  work  "  (iii.  17).  This_  judgment  will  not 
be  merely  through  blind  "physical  consequences,"  as  though  it  were  man's  highest  duty  to  obey 
nature  [according  to  a  favorite  modern  system  of  naturalizing  ethics],  instead  of  ofttimes  having 
to  fight  against  it,— but  by  a  glorious  and  unmistakable  manifestation  of  God  Himself,  some- 
where in  the  malkulh  kol  olamim,  or  cycle  of  the  Olams.  It  shall  be  "  when  God  demands 
again  the  ages  fled  "  [iii.  15],  l^nj  m  E/pT,  literally,  "  »iafes  ingMmiion,"  or  "  seeks  that  which 
is  pursued."  As  the  solemn  proclamation  is  sent  after  the  fleeing  homicide,  so  shall  He  demand 
again  the  ages  of  wrong  that  have  chased  away  each  other  in  the  revolutions  of  time.  They 
shall  be  summoned  to  stand  before  His  bar.  The  past  is  not  gone  ;  it  is  to  appear  again  in  the 
judgment,  as  real  as  in  the  events  for  which  it  is  to  be  judged.  Yea,  more  real  will  be  that  re- 
appearing than  any  thing  in  the  unheeded  movements  of  the  present.  Neither  will  it  be  the  ex- 
hibition of  a  general  or  abstract  justice :  "  For  God  will  bring  every  work  into  judgment  with 
every  secret  thing,  whether  it  be  good  or  whether  it  be  evil"  [xii.  14].     It  is  this  strong  Hebrew 


INTbODTTCTION  TO  THE  METRICAL  VERSION.  179 


faith  in  the  Holy  Justice  which  the  Rationalist  commentators  overlook  in  their  absurd  com- 
paring of  some  things  in  this  book  with  the  dogmas  of  the  later  *  Grecian  schools.  It  wholly 
severs  the  reverent,  God-fearing  Koheleth  from  the  sensual  Epicurean,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
fatalizing,  naturalizing  Stoic,  on  the  other.  His  darkness  is  better  than  their  light,  his  very 
doubts  are  more  suggestive  than  their  most  "  positive  philosophy."  It  is  this  God-fearing,  yet 
man-loving,  spirit,  that  makes  his  calm  utterances  so  much  more  impressive  than  all  their  bab- 
bling disputations  about  pleasure  and  pain,  the  summum  bonum,  and  the  reality  of  evil.  All 
good,  he  teaches,  is  from  God,  even  the  power  to  find  any  satisfaction  in  eating  and  drinking  (ii. 
24,  when  rightly  interpreted,  v.  18,  19),  and  yet  again,  "sorrow  is  better  than  mirth"  (viii.  3), 
not  on  account  of  any  ascetic  merit  in  the  endurance  of  pain  and  grief,  but  because  a  saddened 
state  of  soul  is  more  in  sympathy  with  a  sad  and  fallen  world,  such  as  the  writer  evidently  con- 
ceives it  to  be  [see  vii.  29 ;  ix.  3  ;  iii.  18].  "  Sorrow  is  better  than  mirth,"  because  it  has  more 
heart,  more  thought ;  it  is  more  becoming,  more  humane,  and,  therefore,  more  rational  in  view 
of  the  vanity  of  life,  and  its  abounding  woes.  It  is  better,  as  purifying  and  beautifying  the  soul, 
and  thus  producing,  in  the  end,  a  serener  happiness  (vii.  3). 

"Tor  in  the  sadness  of  the  fees  the  heart  beoometh /air;" 

as  37  30'!  should  be  rendered,  giving  a  clear  and  impressive  antithesis,  and  being  in  accordance 
with  the  more  common  usage  of  the  phrase,  as  denoting  comeliness,  or  even  cheerfulness  of  spi- 
rit, rather  than  moral  improvement  merely,  as  our  common  version  gives  it :  As  the  face  is  out- 
wardly marred  by  such  grief  for  the  woes  of  human  life,  the  heart  grows  inwardly  in  serene  api- 
(itual  beauty.  Never  was  this  more  impressively  illustrated  than  in  the  life  of  the  "  Man  of 
sorrows,''  whose  "  visage  was  so  marred  more  than  any  man,  and  his  form  more  than  the  sons  of 
men"  (Isaiah  Iii.  14;  liii.  3). 

These  great  underlying  ideas  of  Koheleth,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  appear,  form  its  most 
pecuhar  characteristic.  It  is  its  recognition  that  distinguishes  the  thoughtful  reader  from  the 
one  who  would  flippantly  characterize  the  style  of  the  book  as  homely,  and  its  thoughts  as  con- 
fused and  common-place.  These  immutable  truths  may  be  compared  to  a  strong  and  clear  un- 
der current  of  most  serious  thinking,  rising,  at  times,  above  the  fluctuating  experiences  that  ap- 
pear upon  the  surface  and  as  constantly  losing  themselves  in  the  deeper  flow.  It  is  the  feeling  of 
this  under  current  that  may  be  said  to  form  the  subjective  band  of  thought.  It  furnishes  the 
true  ground  of  that  rich  suggestiveness  which  pervades  the  whole  composition,  and  thus  consti- 
tutes an  important  element  of  its  poetical  character. 

In  giving  a  rhythmical  version,  however  plain,  to  such  a  book  as  Koheleth,  it  should  be 
borne  in  mind  that  some  degree  of  inversion  as  well  as  measured  or  parallelistic  movement, 
is'  among  the  demands  of  the  poetical  style  in  aU  languages.  Snoh  inversion,  however,  ex- 
ists to  a  much  less  degree  in  the  Hebrew,  than  in  the  Latin  and  Greek,  and  may,  therefore, 
be  more  easily  represented  in  English.  In  truth,  a  version  may  be  made  more  clear,  and 
more  literal,  as  well  as  more  musical,  in  this  very  way.  It  may  sometimes  be  accomplished 
by  a  feithful  following  of  the  original  in  its  scantiness  as  well  as  in  its  fulness.  Our  Eng- 
lish version  of  the  Bible  inserts  in  italics  the  substantive  verb  where  it  is  not  in  the  He- 
brew. It  does  this,  often,  to  the  marring  of  the  thought,  and  the  enfeebling  of  the  emotion; 
"From  everlasting  unto  everlasting  thou  art;"  how  much  more  forcible,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  more  rhythmical,  the  literal  following  of  the  Hebrew :  from  everlasting  thou.  This  may 
seem  a  very  slight  difference,  but  the  effect  on  a  wide  scale,  had  such  literal  following  been 

_*[TheearZter  Greek  ideas,  as  manifested  in  their  solemn  dramatic  poetry,  before  the  Epicurean  philosophy  had  been 
fully  introduced,  remind  us  strikingly,  sometimes,  of  the  language  and  ideas  of  the  Bible.  Nowhere  else,  out  of  the  Scrip- 
tares,  is  this  doctrine  of  retributive  justice,  and  its  awful  certainty,  more  sternly  set  forth.  The  manner  of  expression, 
"ometimes,  shocks  our  more  merciful  Christian  ideas ;  yet  still  we  recognize  in  them  the  primitive  dogma  of  the  divine 
ODlaiUiig  Justice,  as  inseparable  from  the  divine  Power  and  Wisdom : 

Al'KH  f t/feSpos  Ztivh^  apxaioti  vofioii  : 

Dike,  renowned  of  old. 
Who  shares,  by  ancient  laws,  the  throne  of  Jove. 

Soph.  (Ed.,  Ool.  1381.— T.  hj 


180  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  METRICAL  VERSION. 

constantly  practised,  would  have  been  very  strongly  felt.  "Vanity  of  vanities,"  says  our 
Enclish  version,  "  all  is  vanity."  Leave  out  the  useless  substantive  verb:  "Vanity  of  vani- 
ties, all — vanity."  A  very  slight  change  again,  but  it  has  more  effect  for  the  ear,  as  well  as 
for  the  feeling.  It  is  no  longer  an  abstract,  dogmatic  affirmation,  but  an  exclamation  of  won- 
der. Intensive  phrases,  however,  generally  refuse  a  strict  verbal  rendering,  unless  they  have 
become  naturalized,  as  it  were,  in  our  language,  through  a  long  used  literal  translation  of 
the  Scriptures,  or  in  any  other  way.  Thus  that  oft-repeated  "  vanity  of  vanities ''  (the  He- 
brew use  of  the  construct,  state  with  the  plural  for  something  superlative)  may  stand  as  it 
does,  instead  of  being  rendered  "  mont  vain,"  or  "  utterly  vain."     So   again   for  the   Hebrew 

32b  221D  (i.  6),  the  most  literal  is  the  best  sounding,  as  well  as  the  most  forcible  transla- 
tion :  "  Whirling,  whirling,"  or  "  round,  round," — "  round  about,  round  about" — instead  of  our 
tame  and  prosaic  rendering;  "it  whirleth  about  continually,"  or  the  still  poorer  Vulgate :  Lus- 
trans  universa  in  oircuitu.  In  other  cases,  a  verbal  rendering  will  not  do  at  all ;  and  yet  in 
some  way,  must  their  intensiveness  be  given,  or  it  is  no  true  translation, — that  is,  no  trans- 
lation, or  setting  over,  of  w-hat  is  most  essential,  which,  in  such  a  book  as  Koheleth,  is  the 
emotion,  the  state  of  soul,  rather  than  the  bare  description  or  ethical  thought.  Thus,  for  ex- 
ample, in  the  Hebrew,  the  plural  is  sometimes  used  to  express  what  is  superlative  or  very 
great ;  as  in  chap.  ii.  8,  the  expression  nnm  DTO,  which,  in  our  English  version  is  most 
strangely  rendered,  "  musical  instruments  and  thai  of  all  sorts."  The  best  Jewish  authority 
regarded  mty  as  the  feminine  of  1^,  the  common  word  for  the  breast,  used  here  (the  only 
case  of  its  occurrence)  as  more  feminine  and  voluptuous,  and  representative  of  Solomon's  nu- 
merous wives  and  concubines.  See  Kimchi,  and  Aben  Ezra  who  cites  as  a  parallel  phrase, 
□'nnnT  Onl  ("  a  damsel  or  two,"  expressed  euphemistically)  Judges  v.  30.  Now  render 
this  literally,  "  a  breast  and  breasts,"  and  how  tame  it  sounds ;  how  bare  is  it  of  all  emo- 
tion !  We  want  something  to  express  this  intensive  sense,  be  it  an  intensive  particle,  or 
any  other  intensive  word — "  the  breast,  yea,  many  breasts," — the  seven  hundred  fair  female 
bosoms  on  which  Solomon,  in  "  the  days  of  his  vanity,"  had  the  choice  of  reposing.  The 
manner  of  saying  it,  and  the  feeling  with  which  it  is  said,  would  furnish  no  slight  argument 
that  it  is  a  real,  and  not  merely  a  representative  Solomon,  who  is  speaking  here.  Sometimes 
this  emotion,  this  intensity,  is  expressed,  or  rather  suggested,  simply  by  the  rhythmical  form 
of  the  translation,  even  though  it  be  of  the  slightest  kind;— -the  inverted  or  measured  style 
immediately  indicating  such  an  emotional  state  of  soul,  as  other  language,  in  another  order, 
would  not  have  done.  For  all  these  reasons,  it  is  no  paradox  to  assert,  that  a  rhythmical 
version  of  the  book,  such  as  is  here  attempted,  may  be  the  most  true  and  literal,  placing  the 
reader's  soul  in  some  degree  of  harmony  with  that  of  the  writer,  not  only  as  regards  the  ge- 
neral subject,  but  also  in  respect  to  the  true  thought  and  feeling  of  particular  passages.  To 
answer  this  purpose,  there  is  need  only  of  such  a  degree  of  inversion  as  our  language  most 
easily  admits,  and  which  might  have  been  much  more  freely  used  than  it  has  been  in  our 
common  version.  Such  a  style,  freely  employed  in  rendering  all  the  poetical  books,  would 
have  become  naturalized  in  English  through  this  very  means.  It  might  have  been  called 
prose,  but  would  have  had  much  more  of  the  power  of  the  poetical,  and  would  have  enabled 
us,  whilst  rendering  most  literally,  to  have  entered  more  deeply  into  the  thought  of  the  sa- 
cred books  through  the  emotion  which  is  such  an  essential  accompaniment  of  the  thought,  and 
of  which  a  poor  prose  translation  almost  wholly  divests  it.  In  addition  to  this  more  inverted 
style,  there  is  required  only  the  simplest  iambic  movement,  made  as  smooth  as  possible,  but 
"without  much  regard  to  the  equality  of  the  lines.  The  Version  accompanying  may  be  open 
to  criticism  in  these  respects,  but  the  effect  would,  in  fact,  be  weakened  by  having  it  too 
labored,  even  if  that  could  be  consistent  with  literalness.  In  short,  there  is  wanted,  for  such 
a  purpose,  just  enough  of  rhythm  to  arrest  the  attention,  and  set  the  mind  in  the  direction  of 
the  inward  harmony,  without  occupying  it  with  an  excessive  artificialness.  On  these  accounts 
it  is  hoped  that  the  attempted  rhythmical  version  will  give  the  reader  a  better  view,  by  giving 
him  a  better  feeling  of  Koheleth  (both  as  a  whole,  and  in  its  parts)  than  can  come  from  the 
very  homely  and  defective  prose  translation  of  our  English  Bible,  or  even  from  the  German 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  METRICAL  VERSION.  181 

of  ZoOKLBE,  which  is  rhythmical  only  in  appearance ;  since  it  simply  follows  the  Hebrew  ac- 
cents in  the  divisions  of  the  parallelisms,  which  are  less  evident  in  this  book  than  in  other 
parts  of  the  Bible  styled  poetical.  In  the  version  offered,  there  is  very  little  of  what  can  be 
called  addition  or  paraphrase.  Some  few  places  there  are,  in  which  brief  explanatory  words 
have  been  placed  in  parenthetical  brackets,  but  they  are  not  used  to  any  greater  extent  than 
the  explanations  and  connections  that  are  found  in  the  marginal  readings  of  our  English  Version. 
These  additions,  though  marked  by  enclosing  lines,  are  included  in  the  measured  movement, 
and  may,  therefore,  be  read  without  interrupting  it.  They  show  the  connections  of  thought, 
which  are  virtually  in  the  Hebrew,  in  cases,  often,  where  a  verbal  translation  would  fail  to 
exhibit  the  full  power  of  its  conciseness.  In  such  instances  they  are  not  additions,  nor  ex- 
planatory paraphrases,  but  genuine  parts  of  a  true  translation.  In  other  cases,  the  mere 
inversion  discloses  the  association  of  thought,  which  we  fail  to  see  in  the  common  rendering, 
because  its  unhebraical  order  divests  certain  words  of  that  emphasis  through  which  the  con- 
iftection  is  plainly  marked  in  the  original — more  plainly,  sometimes,  than  by  any  logical  terms 
of  assertion. 

The  measure  employed  is  the  Iambic,  with  occasional  use  of  the  Choriambus.  The  most 
usual  lines  are  the  pentameter,  or  the  common  English  blank  verse  line,  the  Iambic  of  seven 
feet,  the  most  musical  of  our  English  measures,  with,  occasionally,  the  less  musical,  because 
less  used,  Senarius.  The  shorter  lines,  of  three  or  four  feet,  are  used  for  the  transitions  and 
cadences  which  mark  the  flow  of  thought.  One  who  carefully  compares  it  with  the  original 
will  see  that  the  translation  here  attempted  keeps  to  the  Hebrew  accentual  divisions,  with 
very  rare  exceptions,  and,  in  most  cases,  (although  a  somewhat  difficult  task)  to  the  measure  of 
their  verbal  conciseness.  Some  few  parts  are  regarded  as  bare  prose,  and  are  given  accordingly, 
such  as  the  first  verse  of  the  book,  the  passages  from  ver.  12  to  ver.  14,  and  verses  16  and  17,  of 
the  first  chapter,  as  also  verses  9  and  10  of  the  twelfth  chapter.  These  are  viewed  as  simply  in- 
troductory to  what  follows.  Without  at  all  affecting  our  view  of  the  authenticity  and  inspira- 
tion of  the  book,  they  may  be  regarded  as  scholiastic  prologues,  or  epilogues,  made  by  some  other 
hand,  as  explanatory  of  the  whole  poem,  or  of  some  particular  things  in  it ;  as,  for  example, 
verses  9  and  10  of  chap.  xii.  seem  to  be  an  added  note  (by  some  enthusiastic  admirer,  himself 
divinely  guided)  to  show  that  Solomon's  own  language  answers  the  description  given  in  verse 
11  that  follows,  beginning :  "  words  of  the  wise,  etc"  The  reader  will  find  remarks  on  these,  boti. 
by  ZooKLEE  and  the  editor,  in  their  respective  places.— T.  L.] 


METRICAL   VERSION. 


SAYINGS    OF    KOHELETH, 

SON"  OF  DAVID,  KINQ  IN  JERUSAIiEM. 


N.  B.— The  marginal  numbers  denote  the  chapters  and  verses  of  the  common  English  Tersion.  The  smaller  fignret 
jn  the  text  refer  to  the  brief  notes  in  the  margin,  explanatory  of  differences  between  this  and  the  common  Version,  or 
referring  to  pages  where  such  explanations  may  be  found. 


The  introductory  Thought  and  constant  Refrain.  Continual  cyclical  changes  in  Nature  and  in  Human  Life.    Nothing  new 
beneath  the  sun. 

Chapteb  I. 

2  O  vanity  of  vanities  !  Koheletli  saith ; 
0  vanity  of  vanities !  all — vanity. 

3  What  gain  to  man  in  all  his  toil,  he  toils  beneath  the  sun  ? 

4  One  generation  goes,  another  comes ; 

But  the  earth  for  the  world'  abides. 

5  Outbeama^  the  sun,  and  goes  beneath,  the  sun ; 

Then  to  his  place,  all  panting,'  glowing, — there  again  is  he. 

6  Goes  to  the  South,  the  wind,  then  round  to  North  again ; 

Still  round  and  round  it  goes  ; 
And  in  its  circuits  evermore  returns  the  wind. 

7  The  rivers  all  are  going  to  the  sea ; 
And  yet  the  sea  is  never  full ; 

Whence  came  the  rivers,  thither  they  return  to  go. 

8  All  words*  but  labor ;  man  can  never  utter  it. 
With  seeing,  eye  is  never  satisfied ; 

With  hearing,  ear  is  never  fiUed. 

9  What  WAS  is  what  again  shall  be  ; 

What  has  been  made,  is  that  which  shall  be  made ; 
There's  nothing  new  beneath  the  sun. 

10  Is  there  a  thing  of  which  'tis  said,  Lo  this  is  new  ? 
It  hath  already  been  in  worlds  that  were  before. 

11  Of  former  things  the  memory  is  gone  ; 

Of  things  to  come  shall  no  remembrance  be 
With  those  that  shall  come  after. 

I.  'See  p.  45.— «  P.  35,  Text  Note  to  t.  6.—'  P.  38,  note.—*  P.  39,  and  Text  Note,  pp.  36,  36. 

183 


184  ECCLESIASTES. 


II. 

Eoheleth  gives  an  account  of  himflelfi  his  kingly  estate,  hie  pre-eminence  in  Wisdom  and  experience,  with  meditations 
on  the  fruitlessneas  of  human  efforts,  and  the  sorrows  of  knowledge.    Prose  mingled  with  verse. 

Chapter  I. 

J2,  13  I  Koheleth  was  king  over  Israel  in  Jerusalem,  and  I  set  my  heart  to  seek  and  to  explore 

by  wisdom  all  that  is  done  beneath  the  sun, — That  painful  study  which  God  has  given 

to  weary  with. 

14  I  looked  on  all  the  works  performed  beneath  the  sun ; 
'  And  Lo  I  all  vanity,  a  chasing*  of  the  wind. 

15  That  which  is  crooked  cannot  be  made  straight ; 
The  lacking  can't  be  numbered. 

16  Then  said  I  in  my  heart,  Lo  !  I  have  become  great ;   I  have  increased  in  wisdom  beyond 

17  all  before  me  in  Jerusalem  ;  my  heart  hath  seen  much  wisdom,  and  knowledge.  Yea,  I 
set  my  heart  to  know  wisdom, — to  know  vain  glory,  too,  and  folly.  This  also  did  I  see 
to  be  a  caring  for  the  wind. 

18        For  in  much  of  wisdom  there  is  much  of  grief; 

And  who  inoreaseth  knowledge,  stiU  increaseth  sorrow. 

III. 

The  Attempt  to  unite  Pleasure  and  Wisdom — Figure  of  the  Unruly  Horse — The  reining  of  the  Flesh — The  Heart  guiding 
as  Charioteer — Koheleth's  ample  means  for  the  Experiment — Its  wretched  Failure — All  Vanity. 

Chapter  II. 


1  Then  said  I  in  my  heart  again — 

Go  to — I'll  try  thee  now  with  pleasure. 
Behold  the  good.     This,  too,  was  vanity. 

2  Of  laughter,  said  I,  it  is  mad ; 
Of  mirth— 0  what  availeth  it? 

3  Then  in  my  heart  I  made  deep  search, — 
To  rein^  my  flesh  in  wine ; 

My  heart  in  wisdom  guiding ; 
To  take  near  hold  of  folly,  till  I  saw 
What  kind  of  good  is  that  for  Adam's  sons 
Which  they  would  get,  the  numbered  days  they  lire, 
Beneath  the  heavens. 

4  Great  works  I  did. 

Houses  1  builded,  vineyards  did  I  plant, 

5  Gardens  and  parks ;  fruit  trees  of  every  kind 

6  I  planted  there.     I  made  me  water  pools, 

To  water  thence  the  wood  luxuriant'  of  trees. 

7  I  gat  me  serving  men,  and  serving  women  ; 
Thralls  of  my  house  were  born  to  my  estate; 
Whilst  store  of  cattle,  yea  of  flocks  were  mine, 
Surpassing  all  before  me  m  Jerusalem. 

8  I  gathered  to  me  also  silver — gold, — 
Treasures  of  kings,  the  wealth  of  provinces. 
I  gat  me  singing  men,  and  singing  women. 
That  choice  delight  of  Adam's  sons  was  mine, — 

The  breast* — yea  many  breasts. 

9  So  I  was  great,  and  grew  in  greatness  more  than  all 
Who  were  before  me  in  Jerusalem. 

My  wisdom  also  still  stood  firm  to  me. 


H.  6  p.  36,  Text  Note  to  T.  14.    UI.  «P.  64,  third  note.— 7  p.  66,  first  note.— 8  P.  66,  second  note. 


METRICAL  VERSION.  185 


10  Of  all  mine  eyes  did  ask  I  nouglit  refused. 
My  heart  I  held  not  back  from  any  joy. 
For  joyful  was  my  heart  in  all  my  toil ; 
And  this  my  portion  was  from  all  my  toil. 

11  Then  looked  I  to  the  work  my  hands  had  wrought, 
The  labor  I  had  labored  in  the  doing ; 

And  Lo !  all  vanity — a  chasing  of  the  wind  ; 
No  gain  beneath  the  sun. 

IV. 

Contemplation  of  Wiadom  and  Polly — Eoheleth  is  sure  that  Wisdom  for  excels  Folly — But  he  is  puzzled  to  see  how 
Blight  the  practical  Difference  In  Life— One  seeming  Chance  to  all— All  alike  forgotten— Eohrieth's  Grief— His  Hatred 
of  Life  and  Discontent. 

Chapter  II. 

12  Again  I  turned  to  think  of  wisdom,  madness,  folly ; 
For  what  shall  he  do  who  succeeds  the  king  ? 
[What  else  than]  that  which  they  have  done  already. 

13  As  light  excels  the  darkness,  so  I  thought' 
There  surely  must  be  gain  to  wiadom  over  folly. 

14  The  wise  man's  eyes  are  in  his  head  [they  say'"]. 
The  fool  in  darkness  walketh. 

And  yet  I  know  that  one  event  awaits  them  all. 

15  Then  said  I  in  my  heart 

Like  the  fool's  chance  so  hath  it  chanced  to  me; 
And  wherefore,  then,  am  I  the  wiser? 
I  told  my  heart,  this,  too,  was  vanity. 

16  As  of  the  fool,  so  also  of  the  wise ; 
There's  no  remembrance  that  abides  forever ; ' 

In  that  the  days  are  coming— have  already  come — 

When  all  is  clean  forgotten. 
Alas  F  how  is  it  that  the  wise  should  die  as  dies  the  fool ! 

17  And  then  I  hated  life. 

For  grievous  seemed  the  work  performed  beneath  the  sun, 
Since  all  is  vanity — a  chasing  of  the  wind. 

18  I  hated  also  all  the  labor  I  had  wrought. 

For  I  must  leave  it  to  a  man  who  shall  come  after  me. 

19  Will  he  be  wise  or  foolish?  who  can  know? 
Yet  he  will  rule  in  all  for  which  I've  toiled, 
In  all  I've  wisely  planned  beneath  the  sun. 

This,  too,  was  vanity. 


Eoheleth's  Desperation— All  vanity  again. 

Chapter  II. 

20  Thus  I  revolved'  until  it  made  my  heart  despair, 
Of  all  the  labor  I  had  wrought  beneath  the  sun. 

21  For  so  it  is ;  there's  one  whose  toil  is  evermore 

In  wisdom,  knowledge,  rectitude; 
And  then  to  one  who  never  toiled' he  yields  it  as  his  prize. 
0  this  is  vanity — an  evil  very  sore. 

IV.  »P.  63,  Text  Note  to  v.  13.— lop.  68,  proyerblal  saying.— 'P.  68,  second  note.— 8  P.  68,  third  note.    V.  »P.  69,  second 
note. 


186  ECCLESIA8TES. 


22  For  what  remains  to  man  in  all  his  labor? 

In  all  his  heart's  sore  travail,  as  he  toils  beneath  the  sun  ? 

23  Since  all  his  days  are  pain,  his  occupation  grief. 

This,  too,  is  vanity. 


VI. 

The  true  Good  not  in  the  power  of  man— Who  could  do  more  to  find  it  than  Koheletli  1    All  the  gilt  of  Go* 

Chapter  II. 

24  The  good  is  not  in*  man  that  he  should  eat  and  drink, 
And  find  his  soul's  enjoyment  in  his  toil. 

This,  too,  I  saw,  is  only  from  the  hands  of  God. 

25  For  who  could  more  indulge  ? 

Who  faster,  farther,  run*  (in  such  a  race)  than  I? 

26  To  him  who  hath  found  favor  in  His  sight 
Doth  God  give  wisdom,  knowledge,  joyfulness ; 
But  to  the  sinner  gives  He  travail  sore. 

To  hoard  and  gather  for  the  man  whom  he  approve*. 
This,  too,  was  vanity — a  caring  for  the  wind. 


VII. 

A  time  for  eyery  thing.    The  great  world  time,  or  world  problem,  which  men  can  never  find  oi^. 

Chapter  III. 

1  To  every  thing  there  is  a  time, 

A  season  fit,  to  every  purpose  under  heaven ; 

2  A  time  to  be  born — a  time  to  die, 

A  time  to  plant — a  time  to  dig  up  what  is  planted, 

3  A  time  to  kill — a  time  to  heal, 

A  time  to  break — a  time  to  build  again, 

4  A  time  to  weep — a  time  to  laugh, 
A  time  to  mourn — a  time  to  dance, 

5  A  time  to  scatter  stones — a  time  to  gather  them  again, 
A  time  to  embrace — a  time  to  refuse  embracing, 

6  A  time  to  seek — a  time  to  lose, 

A  time  to  keep — a  time  to  cast  away, 

7  A  time  to  rend — a  time  to  sew, 

A  time  to  hold  one's  peace — a  time  to  speak, 

8  A  time  to  love — a  time  to  hate, 
A  time  of  war — a  time  of  peace. 

9  What  gain  to  him  who  works,  in  that  for  which  he  lab»rs  ? 

10  I  saw  the  travail  God  hath  given  the  sons  of  men. 

That  they  should  toil  therein. 

11  Each  in  its  several  time,  hath  He  made  all  things  fair ; 
The  world-tim^  also  hath  He  given  to  human  thought ; 
Yet  so,  that  man,  of  God's  great  work,  can  never  find. 

The  end  from  the  beginning. 

VI.  *P.  60,  note.— 'P.  61,  third  note.    Tn.  "P.  67,  note,  also  Excursus  on  Olamic  Words. 


METRICAL  VERSION.  187 


VIII. 

In  worldly  things,  enjoyment  and  ancccBS  the  only  good  proposed.    Thia  Qod's  gift.    The  Inqtilaition  of  the  Past 
Chaptee  III. 

12  There  is  no  other  good  in  them,  I  know, 
But  to  enjoy,  and  to  do  well  in  life ; 

13  Yea,  more, — to  every  man, 

That  he  should  eat  and  drink,  and  find  enjoyment  in  his  toil — 
Even  this  is  God's  own  gift. 
14;        Tor  all  God's  work,  I  know,  is  for  eternity.' 
No  adding  to  it — from  it  no  diminishing. 
And  this  He  does  that  men  may  fear  before  Him. 
15  What  was  is  present  now  ; 

The  future  has  already  been ; 
And  God  demands  again  the  ages  fled.^ 


IX. 

The  Injustice  in  the  world — God*B  sure  Judgment — Qod's  trial  of  men  to  prove  them — Haman  Life  and  its  Destiny  ae  judged 
by  human  conduct — "Man  who  is  in  honor  and  abideth  not  ie  like  the  heasts  that  perish" — One  chance,  seemingly, 
to  all. 

CHiPIEE  III. 

16  Again  I  looked  beneath  the  sun — 

The  place  of  judgment — wickedness  was  there. 
The  place  of  righteousness — I  saw  injustice  there. 

17  Then  said  I  in  my  heart : 

The  righteous  and  the  wicked  God  will  judge. 

For  there?  too,  unto  every  purpose,  and  for  every  work, 

18  There  is  a  time  appointed. 

This  said  I  in  my  heart — because  of  Adam's  sons — 
When  God  shall  try  them — for  themselves  to  see 
That  they — ^in  their  own  estimation" — are  as  beasts. 

19  (So  seems  it) — one  event  for  man,  for  beast, — one  doom  for  all. 
As  dieth  this,  so  dieth  that — one  breath  is  for  them  all. 
There  is  no  pre-eminence  to  man  above  the  beast. 

Since  all  is  vanity. 

20  Unto  one  place  (the  earth)  go  all  alike. 

All  come  from  earth,  and  all  to  earth  return. 

21  For  who  (among  them)  is  it  that  discerns,' 
The  spirit  of  the  man  that  goeth  up  on  high, 

The  spirit  of  the  beast  that  downward  goes  to  earth? 

22  And  so  I  saw  there  was  (for  them)^  no  higher  good 
Than  that  a  man  should  joy  in  his  own  work, 

Since  this  his  portion  is. 
For  who  shall  take  him  there  to  see 
What  shall  be  after  him  ? 

Vm.  TBxcnrsusonOlamic  Words.p.  61.— SExcursuB,  p.  72.    IX.  »  P.  69,  note.— lo P.  70,71,  note.— i  P.  74.  note.— »rh» 

same. 

29 


188  ECCLESIASTES. 


X. 

Eoheleth  turns  again — The  sight  of  oppression  changes  the  view — The  Dead  seem  better  oflE  than  the  Living — Labor,  when 
it  prospers,  only  a  source  of  envy— The  envious  fool's  content  in  his  idleness, 

Chapteb  IV. 

1  And  then  I  turned  again — 

I  looked  on  all  the  oppressions  done  beneath  the  sun. 

For  Lo  I  the  tears  of  the  oppressed,  who  had  no  comforter  ; 

Whilst  on  the  oppressors'  side  was  power,  to  them  no  comforter. 

2  0  then  I  praised  the  dead  who  died  long  since, 
More  than  the  living  men  who  now  survive. 

3  Ah !  better  than  them  both  is  that  which  hath  not  been, 
Nor  ever  seen  the  evil  work  performed  beneath  the  sun. 

4  Again  I  thought  of  toil  as  prospering  in  its  work. 
That  this  is  cause  of  hate  to  one  man  from  his  neighbor. 

Yea,  this  is  vanity,  a  caring  for  the  wind. 

5  The  fool  (in  envy)  folds  his  hands  and  his  own  flesh  devours. 

6  For  better  (saith  he)^  is  the  one  hand  full  of  quietness, 
Than  both  hands  full  of  toil  and  windy  vain  desire. 

XI. 

Another  vanity — The  lone  Miser — The  good  of  Society. 

Chapter  IV. 

7  I  turned  to  look  again  beneath  the  sun — 

And  Lo  !  another  vanity  I 

8  There  is  one  alone ;  he  has  no  mate,  no  son  or  brother  near, 
And  yet  there  is  no  end  to  all  his  toil. 

With  wealth  his  eyes  are  never  satisfied. 
Ah  me  !*  for  whose  sake  do  I  labor  so  ? 
Or  why  do  I  keep  back  my  soul  from  joy  ? 
0  this  is  vanity  and  travail  sore. 

9  Better  are  two  than  one,  for  then  there  is  to  them 

A  good  reward  in  all  their  toil. 

10  For  if  they  fall,  the  one  shall  raise  his  friend. 

But  woe  to  him  who  falls  alone,  with  none  to  lift  him  up. 

11  If  two  together  lie,  they  both  have  heat; 

But  how  shall  one  be  warm  alone  ? 

12  If  one  be  stronger,  two  shall  stand  against  him. 

Nor  quickly  can  the  triple  cord  be  broken. 

XII. 

Changes  in  the  Individual  and  political  life — The  lowly  exalted,  the  high  abased — Ohangfts  in  the  world-life— The  passing 

generations. 

Chapter  IV. 

13  Better  the  child,  though  he  be  poor,  if  wise, 

Than  an  old  and  foolish  king,  who  heeds  no  longer  warning. 

14  For  out  of  bondage  comes  the  one  to  reign; 

The  other,  in  a  kingdom^  born,  yet  suffers  poverty. 

15  I  saw  the  living  all,  that  walked  inprid#  beneath  the  sun. 
I  saw  the  second  birth'  that  in  their  place  shall  stand. 

X.  3 P.  81.    XI.  *P.  61,  second  note.    XII.  6 Excursus,  p.  84.— 'The  same.— 'Excursus,  p.  8o. 


METRICAL  VERSION. 


16        No  end  to  all  the  people  that  have  gone  before ; 

And  they  who  still  succeed,  in  them*  shall  find  no  joy. 
This,  too,  is  vanity,  a  chasing  of  the  wind. 

XIII. 

Beverence  in  worship — ^In  speaking — Observance  of  tows.    Against  superstition,  dreams  and  fortune-telling — Fear  God 
alone. 

Chapteb  V. 

N.  B.— In  the  Hebrew  this  chapter  begins  with  ver.  2. 

1  0  keep  thy  foot  when  to  the  house  of  God  thou  goest. 
Draw  nigh  to  hear. 

'Tis  better  than  to  give  the  sacrifice  of  fools ; 
For  they  know  not  that  they  are  doing  evil. ' 

2  0  be  not  hasty  with  thy  mouth,  nor  let  thy  heart  be  rash 
To  utter  words  before  the  face  of  God. 

For  God  in  heaven  dwells,  thou  Jiere  on  earth. 
Be,  therefore,  few  thy  words. 

3  As  in  the  multitude  of  care  there  comes  the  dream, 
So,  with  its  many  words,  the  voice  of  fools. 

4  When  thou  hast  made  a  vow  to  God,  defer  not  to  fulfill. 
He  has  no  delight  in  fools — pay,  then,  as  thou  hast  vowed. 

5  'Tis  better  that  thou  shouldst  not  vow,  than  vow  and  not  perform. 

6  Give  not  thy  mouth  to  cause  thy  flesh  to  sin ; 
Nor  say  before  the  angel :'"  "  'twas  an  error." 
Wherefore  should  God  be  angry  at  thy  voice? 
And  why  the  labors  of  thy  hands  destroy  ? 

7  Though  dreams  abound  and  vanities,  presagings  numberless, 

Yet  fear  thou  God. 

XIV. 

Be  net  stumbled  at  sight  of  oppression  and  oppressors— There  are  Higher  Powers  than  they— And  God  is  oyer  all; 

Chapteb  v. 

8  When,  in  a  province,  thou  beholdest  the  oppression  of  the  poor,— 
Bold  robbery  of  judgment  and  of  right; 

At  such  allowance  marvel  not. 

Since  One  most  high,  above  all  height,  is  keeping  watch. 
Yes — there  be  higher'  far  than  they. 

9  For  every  (rank)  has  profit  from  the  soil, 
The  king  himself  owes^  homage  to  the  field. 

XV. 

TTealth  «eTer  satisfies— The  laborer's  contented  sleep. 

Chaptek  V. 

10  Who  silver  loves,  with  silver  ne'er  is  satisfied. 
Nor  he  who  loves  increase  of  wealth,  with  revenue. 

This  is  another  vanity  : 

11  When  wealth  increases,  they  increase  who  spend ; 

And  what  the  owner's  gain,  except  to  see  it  with  his  eyes  ? 

12  Sweet  is  the  laborer's  slumber,  be  it  less  he  eat  or  more ; 

Whilst  the  abundance  of  the  rich  permits  him  not  to  sleep. __^ 

Xn.  "The  same.    XIII.  »P.  89,  and  note  p.  141.— 10  P.  90,  second  note.    XIV.  »  P.  91,  second  note.— 3  P.  92,  note. 


190  ECCLESIASTES. 


XVI. 

Another  Bore  evil-The  hoarding  miser,  who  loses  his  wealth  and  dies  poor-Darkness,  Sickness,  and  Wratl,. 

Chaptee  v. 

13  There  is  another  grievous  woe  I've  seen  beneath  the  sun,— 
Wealth  hoarded  to  its  owner's  hurt. 

14  With  the  sore  travail  (it  had  oost)^  that  wealth  departs  ; 
The  son  whom  he  begets  is  left  with  nothing  in  his  hand. 

14        Then  bare,  as  from  his  mother's  womb  he  issued  forth. 
Doth  he  return  (to  earth)  poor  as  he  came. 
And  nothing  takes  he  of  his  toil  to  carry  with  him  there. 

16  0  a  sore  evil  this ! 

In  all  points  as  he  came,  so  shall  he  go. 

And  what  his  profit  that  he  thus  should  labor  for  the  wind  ? 

17  Yea,  all  his  days  doth  he  in  darkness  eat. 

Abundant  sorrow,  sickness  too  is  his,''  and  chafing  wrath. 

XVII. 

The  Bumming  np  of  Koheleth'a  experience— The  true  Good,  the  Oood  that  is  /air— The  ability  to  see  good  in  any  hing  is 
God's  own  gift—"  His  favor  is  more  than  life  "-Makes  the  more  enjoyment  of  life  little  remembereJ. 

Chapter  V. 

18  And  now  behold  what  I  have  seen ! 

GooD^  that  is  fair,  to  eat  and  drink,  and  see  the  good 
In  all  the  toil  that  one  may  toil  beneath  the  sun. 
The  number  of  the  days  that  God  has  given 

19  To  be  his  portion  here — yea,  every  man, 

As  God  has  given  him  wealth  and  great  estate, 
And  power  to  eat  thereof, 
To  bear  his  portion,  and  be  joyful  in  his  toil — 
This  good^  (I  say)  is  God's  own  gift. 

20  For  little  will  he  call  to  mind,  the  days  that  he  has  lived, 
When  God  doth  thus  respond  to  him  in  joyfulness  of  heart. 

XVIII. 

Koheleth  turns  again  to  the  dark  side — The  rich  man  to  whom  God  has  not  given  the  true  good'.compared  to  the  un- 
timely  birth — He  who  vainly  lives,  leas  blessed  than  the  vainly  bom 

Chapter  VI. 

1  Another  evil  have  I  seen  beneath  the  sun, 
And  great  it  is  to  man  ; 

2  There  is  one  whom  God  endows  with  wealth, 
And  store  of  goods,  and  glorious  estate ; 
Who  nothing  lacks  of  all  his  soul  desireth. 
Yet  God  gives  him  no  power  to  eat  thereof; 
For  one,  an  alien'  born,  devoureth  it ; 

This,  too,  is  vanity,  a  very  sore  disease. 

3  Though  one  beget  a  hundred  sons— though  he  live  many  years, — 
Yea,  though  to  countless  days  his  life  extends — 

His  soul  unsatisfied  with  good,  and  he  no  burial  have ; 
The  untimely  born,  I  said,  is  better  sure  than  he. 

XVI.  'P.  83,  second  note.— *  P.  94,  note.    XVII.  'P.  94,  second  note.— 'The  same.    XVIII.  '  P.  99,  first  note. 


METRICAL  VERSION.  191 


For  though'  in  vanity  it  comes,  and  into  darkness  goes, — 

And  darkness  cover  deep  its  name, — 
Though"  it  hath  never  seen  the  sun,  nor  aught  hath  ever  known, — 
Yet  better  rests  (the  vainly  born)  than  He  [who  vainly  lived] ; 
Yea,  though  he  lived  a  thousand  years  twice  told, 

Yet  never  .saw  the  good. 
Unto  one  pl^ce,  go  not  all  men  alike  ?' 


XIX. 

nnsatisfactorinesa  of  humaa  life  and  efforts — To  tho  Wise,  the  Pool,  the  Poor— Content  better  than  the  Wandering  of  the 
BOiil— The  frailty  and  earthliness  of  man  as  indicated  by  his  name  Adam— He  cannot  strive  with  his  Maker — Mnlti- 
plication  of  words — They  only  increase  vanity. 

Chapiee  VI. 

7  All  toil  of  man  is  ever  for  his  mouth ; 
And  yet  the  appetite  is  never  filled. 

8  What  profit  to  the  wise  ('tis  asked)'  beyond  the  fool? 

What  to  the  poor,  though  knowing  how  to  walk  before  the  living  ? 
9.       Better  the  eyes  beholding  (say)'"  than  wandering  of  the  soul. 
This,  too,  is  vanity. 

10  What  each  thing  is,  its  name  was  named  of  old  ; 
Known  thus  for  whai  he  is,'  is  Adam  (named  from  earth); 
And  that  he  cannot  strive  with  One  so  far  in  might  excelling. 

11  Though  many  words  there  are,  in  vain  they  multiply ; 

What  profit  then  to  man  ? 

12  For  who  knows  what  is  good  for  man  in  life, 
The  number  of  the  days  of  his  vain  life. 

He  spendeth  like  a  shadow  gone  ?  For  who  can  tell  to  man 
What  shall  be  after  him  beneath  the  sun  ? 


XX. 

Ibe  sorrowfnl  aspects  of  life  better  than  the  jovial— Better  than  the  song  of  fools  the  chidings  of  the  wise— Here,  too,  th«re 
is  vanity — Since  insolence  of  st&tion  and  bribery  may  cause  even  the  wise  to  err. 

Chapter  VII. 

1  Better  the  honored  name  than  precious  oil ; 
Better  the  day  of  death  than  that  of  being  bom. 

2  Better  to  visit  sorrow's  house  than  seek  the  banquet  hall ; 
Since  that  (reveals)  the  end  of  every  man. 

And  he  who  lives  should  lay  it  well  to  heart. 

3  Better  is  grief  than  mirth  ; 

For  in  the  sadness  of  the  face  the  heart  beoometh^  fair. 

4  The  wise  man's  heart  is  in  the  house  of  mourning ; 
The  fool's  heart  in  the  house  of  mirth. 

5  Better  to  heed  the  chiding  of  the  wise 

Than  hear  the  song  of  fools. 

6  For  like  the  sound  of  thorns  beneath  the  pot, 
So  is  the  railing  laughter  of  the  fool. 

This,  too,  is  vanity. 

7  For  even  the  wise  may  arrogance'  inflate, 
A  bribe  his  heart  corrupt. 


XTIII.  8p.  100,  note  also  p.  177,  Int.  to  Met.  Ver.    XIX.  »  M  Question  and  Answer.— >  P.  101,  note.    XX.  2  P.  179,  Int 
to  Met.  Vers.— 2  P.  106,  note,  and  Text  Note,  p.  104. 


192  ECCLESIASTES. 


XXI. 

Sundry  maxims— The  end  determines— Be  patient— Fret  not— No  mark  of  Wisdom  to  praise  the  past— In  Wealth  there  is 
defence  of  life,  in  knowledge  life  itself-In  prosperity  be  joyful-In  adversity  be  thoughtful-Ood  hath  set  one  over 
against  the  other. 

Chapter  VII. 

8  Better  the  issue  of  a  thing  than  the  beginning. 
Better  the  patient  than  the  proud  in  soul. 

9  0  be  not  hasty  in  thy  spirit  angrily  to  grieve ; 

For  in  the  bosom  of  the  fool  such  anger  ever  dwells. 

10  Say  not,  why  is  it,  days  of  old  were  better  days  than  these  ? 
'Tis  not  from  wisdom  comes  such  questioning. 

11  Wisdom  is  fair  with  fair  inheritance ;' 
And  gain  excelling  hath  it  then  for  men. 

12  In  Wisdom's  shade,  as  in  the  shade  of  Wealth, 

[Defence  of  life]^ ;  but  knowledge  hath  pre-eminence  (in  this), 
That  wisdom  giveth  life  to  its  possessor. 

13  Survey  the  works  of  God ; 

For  who  can  make  that  straight  which  He  hath  left  deformed? 

14  In  days  of  good,  be  thou  of  joyful  heart ; 

In  evil  days,  look  forth  (consider  thoughtfully) 

How  God  hath  set  the  one  against  the  other, 

That  aught  of  that  which  cometh  after  man  may  never  find. 


XXII. 

Koheleth'3  sad  experience— the  wicked  prospering— the  good  depressed.  Over-righteousneas — Be  not  too  knowing— The  fear 
of  God  the  only  safety- Wisdom  stronger  than  strength— None  righteous,  no,  not  one— Heed  not  slanders. 

Chapter  VII. 

15  Much  have  I  seen,  of  all  kinda,^  in  my  days  of  vanity. 
The  righteous  man  who  perished  in  his  righteousness ; 
The  wicked  man,  with  life  prolonged  in  wickedness. 

16  Nor  over-righteous  be,  nor  over-wise  ; 

For  why  thyself  confound  ? 

17  Nor  over-wicked  be,  nor  play  the  fool ; 

Why  die  before  thy  time  ? 

18  Better  hold  fast  the  one,  nor  from  the  other  draw  thy  hand; 
But  he  alone  who  feareth  God  comes  out  unscathed'  from  all. 

19  One  wise  man  there  may  be  whom  wisdom  stronger  makes, 
Than  ten  the  mightiest  captains  in  the  city ; 

20  But  one,^  a  righteous  man,  on  earth  is  never  found. 
Who  doeth  always  good  and  sinneth  not. 

21  [Learn  this]  too,  give  not  heed  to  every  word  that  flies  ; 
Lest  thine  own  servant  thou  shouldst  hear  reviling  thee ; 

22  For  many  the  time,  as  thine  own  soul  well  knows. 
That  thou  thyself  hast  other  men  reviled. 

XXI.  *P.  107,  first  note.— 'P.  107,  second  note.    XXII.  'P.  108,  first  note.— 'P.  109.— 8 P.  109,  third  note. 


METRICAL  VERSION.  193 


XXIII. 

Koheleth's  desire  to  learn  the  great  past.    He  then  tnrna  to  seek  wisdom  in  human  life.    The  evil  woman — A  good  one 
hard  to  find — One  man  in  a  thousand.    Man  made  upright ;  now  iallen. 

Chapter  VII. 

23  All  this  have  I  essayed  for  wisdom's  sake. 

0  that  I  might  be  wise,  I  said,  but  it  was  far  from  me ; 

24  Par  off — the  past,  what  is  it  ?'   deep — that  deep,  0,  who  can  sound  ? 

25  Then  turned  I,  and  my  heart,  to  learn,  explore, 
To  seek  out  wisdom,  reason — sin  to  know, — 
Presumption, — folly, — vain  impiety. 

26  Than  death  more  bitter  did  I  find  the  wife 

Whose  heart  is  nets  and  snares,  whose  hands  are  chains. 
The  blest  of  God  from  her  shall  be  delivered ; 
The  sinner  shall  be  taken. 

27  Behold,  this  have  I  found,  Koheleth  saith ; 
[As  reckoning]  one  by  one,  to  sum  the  account ; 

28  That  which  my  heart  was  ever  seeking  though  I  found  it  not : 
Out  of  a  thousand,  one  man  have  I  found ; 

Amidst  all  these,  one  woman  seek  I  still. 

29  This  only  have  I  found — behold  it, — God  made  man  upright ; 
But  they  have  sought  devices  numberless. 

XXIV. 

Wisdom  lighteth  up  the  face.    Koheleth's  kingly  admonition— Submission  to  right  authority.    The  rebellious  spirits 

Safety  of  obedience. 
Chaptee  VIII. 

1  Who  like  the  wise,  or  him  who  knows  the  reason  of  a  tJiing  ? 
Man's  wisdom  lighteth  up  his  face, — its  aspect  stern  is  changed. 

2  I,  a  king's  mouth  (do  speak  it),'"  heed  it  weU  ; 
By  reason,  also,  of  the  oath  of  God ; 

3  In  anger,  from  the  [ruler's]  presence  hasten  not ; 
Nor  boldly  stand  in  any  evil  thing ; 

Por  that  which  he  hath  purposed  will  he  do. 

4  Where'er  the  mandate  of  a  king,  there,  too,  is  power ; 
And  who  shall  say  to  him,  what  doest  thou  ? 

5  Who  simply  keeps  the  statute  knows' no  harm; 

Yet  stiU,  the  wise  in  heart  doth  time  and  judgment  heed. 

XXV. 

Mans  evil  g«at,  yet  reason  and  justice  in  it  all-No  resistance  in  the  warfare  with  death.    Impotency  of  wickedness. 

Chaptbb  YIII. 

6  For  surely  unto  every  purpose  is  there  time  and  judgment  fixed, 
Although  man's  evil  be  so  great  upon  him, 

7  Unknowing,  as  he  is,  of  all  that  is  to  come. 
Por  how  it  shall  be,  who  is  there  to  tell  him  ? 

8  Over  the  spirit,  none  has  power  to  hold  it  back  ; 
No  strength  avail eth  in  the  day  of  death; 
For  in  that  warfare  there  is  no  release ; 
And  wickedness  is  impotent  to  free  the  sinner  there. 


XXIII.  »Note  pp.  113,  lU.    XXIV.  "P.  113,  Text  Note  to  v.  2.-1P.  117,  note.    XXV.  »P.  118,  first  note. 


194  ECCLESIASTES. 


XXVI. 

A  close  Burvey-Power  hurtful  to  its  possessors— The  wicked  rulers  dead— Buried  in  Pomp— Forgotten. 

Chaptee  VIII. 

9  This  too  I  saw— 'twas  when  I  gave  my  heart 
To  every  work  that's  done  beneath  the  sun — 
That  there's  a  time  when  man  rules  over  man  to  his  own  hurt. 

10  'Twas  when  I  saw  the  wicked  dead  interred  ; 

And  to  and  from'  the  holy  place  (men)  came  and  went ; 
Then  straight  were  they  forgotten  in  the  city  of  their  deeds. 
Ah  I  this  was  vanity. 

XXVII. 

Human  presumption  arising  from  impunity-judgment  slow  bat  sure— No  good  to  the  sinner  notwithstanding  appearaneen- 
"  Woe  to  the  wicked,  it  shall  be  ill  with  him— Joy  to  the  righteous,  it  shall  be  well  with  him." 

Chaptek  VIII. 

11  Since  sentence  on  an  evil  work  is  not  done  speedily, 

Therefore  the  hearts  of  Adam's  sons  are  filled  with  thoughts  of  wrong. 

12  Yet  though  the  sinner  sin  a  hundred  times,  with  life  prolonged, 
Still  know  I  this— it  shall  be  well  with  those  who  worship  God,— 

Who  stand  in  awe  before  Him. 

13  But  for  the  sinner  there  is  nothing  good ;  ' 
Nor  shall  he  lengthen  out  his  days  that  like  a  shadow  (flee), 
This  man  who  hath  no  fear  (to  sin)  before  the  face  of  God. 

XXVIII. 

Koheleth's  faith  grows  weak  again— He  stumbles  at  the  sight  of  the  same  seeming  chance  to  all— It  is  then  that  he  •■x- 
tols  pleasure — No  good  except  to  eat,  etc. 

Chapter  VIII. 

14  'Tis  vanity,  what's  done  upon  the  earth,  for  so  it  is, 
That  there  are  righteous  unto  whom  it  haps  as  to  the  vile. 
And  sinners,  too,  whose  lot  is  like  the  doings  of  the  just. 

For  surely  this  is  vanity,  I  said. 

15  'Twas  then''  that  pleasure  I  extolled  : 

How  that  there  was  no  good  to  man  beneath  the  sun ; 

Except  to  eat,  and  drink,  and  here  his  joy  to  find ; 

And  this  alone  attends  him  in  his  toil. 

During  all  the  days  of  life  that  God  has  given  beneath  the  sun. 

XXIX. 

The  mystery  deepens — No  human  philosophy  can  solve  the  problem  of  life — We  can  only  say,  "  all  things  are  in  the  hands 
of  God:"  Human  Love  and  Hatred — The  unknown  All  as  it  bears  upon  all — The  seeming  outward  confusion  In  moral 
states — The  still  greater  invisible  evil  in  the  hearts  of  men — Then  to  the  unknown  after  state — Hope  in  the  living — 
The  highest  form  of  death  inferior  to  the  lowest  life. 

Chapter  VIII. 

16  According  as  I  gave  my  heart  to  know  what  wisdom  was, 
And  to  explore  the  travail  sore  that's  done  upon  the  earth, 
[So  sore  that  day  and  night  the  eyes  no  slumber  take] 

17  'Twas  then  I  saw  that  man  can  never  find  the  work  of  God ; 
That  work  which  now  is  going  on  beneath  the  sun. 

For  though  one  labor  in  the  search,  his  search  is  all  in  vain. 

Yea,  though  the  sage'  may  boast  his  knowledge,  still  he  finds  it  not. 

XXVI.  sp.  119,  note.    XXVUI.  *  P.  120,  note.    XXIX.  6  Pp.  67,  68,  note. 


METRICAL  VERSION.  1Q5 


Chaptee  IX. 


For  this  before  my  heart  I  set — all  this  to  understand — 

Even  this  (great  mystery)  how  that  the  righteous  and  the  wise, 

With  all  their  works,  are  in  the  hands  of  God. 

Their  love,  their  hatred  too  ;  man  knows  it  not,  the  all^  that  lies  before  him ; 

The  all  according  as  it  is  to  all — one  fate  to  all — 

The  just,  the  vile,  the  good,  the  pure,  the  one  with  sin  defiled ; 

To  him  who  offers  sacrifice — to  him  who  gives  it  not ; 

As  to  the  good,  so  unto  him  that  sins  ; 

As  to  the  perjured,  so  to  him  who  fears  to  break  his  oath. 

Yes,  this  the  evil  sore  in  all  that's  done  beneath  the  heavens : 

That  thus  one  doom  should  come  to  all  alike. 

And  then,  so  full  of  evil  are  the  hearts  of  Adam's  sons  I 

Yea,  madness  in  their  hearts,  whilst  they  do  live ; 

Then  to  the  dead  they  go. 
For  there  is  hope  in  one  whose  life  still  joins'  the  living  throng. 
To  a  living  dog  there's  greater  worth  than  to  a  lion  dead. 


XXX. 

Kobeleth'B  views  of  the  state  of  the  dead — Not  as  a  state  of  extinction,  but  as  opposed  to  the  present  active,  loving,  hating, 
scheming  life — ThennknowQ  state  of  being  to  vrhich  there  is  no  participation  in  the  works  of  this  world  "beneath 
the  sun." 


Chapter  IX. 


5  The  living  know  that  they  must  die,  the  dead  they  nothing  know. 
For  them  there  is  no  more  reward,  forgotten  is  their  name. 

6  Their  hate,  their  love,  their  zeal,  all  perished  now ; 
Whilst  the  world  lasts,  no  portion  more  have  they. 
In  all  the  works  performed  beneath  the  sun. 


XXXI. 

On  this  there  follows  a  strain  of  sorrowing  irony— [In  language  the  opposite  of  1  Cor.  vii.  29]— Alas  0  man!— If  it  be  all 
of  life  to  live— Then  go  thy  way,  eat,  drink  thy  wine— There  is  no  Judgment — God  accepts  thy  works — Get  all  the  good 
thou  canst  out  of  "  thy  day  of  vanity  "-There  is  no  work  or  scheme  in  Sheol,    Comp.  Wisdom  of  Solomon,  II.  6. 

Chapter  IX. 

7  Go  then,  with  gladness  eat  thy  bread,  and  merrily  drink  thy  wine, 
For  God  already  hath  accepted  all  thy  works. 

8  In  every  season  be  thy  garments  white. 
And  oil  be  never  wanting  to  thy  head. 

9  Live  joyful  with  the  wife  whom  thou  hast  loved. 
During  all  the  days  of  thy  vaio  life, — that  life' 
Which  God  hath  given  to  thee  beneath  the  sun — 

Yea,  all  thy  days  of  vanity. 
For  this  thy  only  portion  is  in  life. 

And  in  thy  weary  toil  which  thou  hast  toiled  beneath  the  sun. 
10        Po  then  whate'er  thy  hand  shall  find  in  thine  own  might^  to  do, 
For  there's  no  work,  noplan,  no  knowledge,  no  philosophy'", 

In  Sheol,  where  thou  goest. 


XXIX.  •  Vaihinger,  p.  124,  2d  col.— 'P.  125,  1st  note.    XXXI.  8 P.  128,  second  note.— »  Excursus  II.,  p.  135,  Ist  col.- 
'"  Excursus  I.,  p.  131, 1st  col. 


196  ECCLESIASTES. 


XZXII. 

Koheleth  turns  again — He  revisQS  and  retracts  what  had  been  said — All  such  adrice  to  live  merrily  is  vain,  because  there 
is  no  certainty  in  human  affairs,  and  human  efforts — All  Wisdom,  therefore,  and  all  resolving  to  be  happy  may  be  in 
Tain. 

Chaptee  IX. 

11  I  turned  again  to  look  beneath  the  sun. 

Not  to  the  swift  the  race  I  saw,  nor  victory  to  the  strong, 
Nor  to  the  wise  secure  their  bread,  nor  to  the  prudent  wealth, 
Nor  favor  to  the  knowing  ones,  but  time  and  doom  to  all. 

12  For  man  knows  not  his  time. 

Like  fishes  taken  in  the  net,  or  like  to  birds  ensnared, 

So  are  the  sons  of  Adam  snared  when  comes  the  evil  hour, 

And  falls  upon  them  suddenly,  unwarned. 

XXXIII. 

Koheleth  gives  an  historical  example  of  the  little  avail  that  wisdom  is  to  its  possessor,  yet  still  protesting  its  deBlnible< 
neBs,  and  its  intrinsic  superiority  to  strength  and  weapons  of  war — How  sin  and  folly,  too,  may  render  it  ineffectual, 
and  even  turn  it  to  evil. 

Chaptee  IX. 

13  This,  too,  I  saw,  a  mystery'  great  [to  me]  beneath  the  sun : 

14  A  little  city — few  its  men — a  monarch  great  invading, 

With  hosts  surrounds,  and  builds  against  it  mighty  mounds  of  siege. 

15  A  man  was  found  therein,  a  poor  man,  yet  most  "wise. 
This  man  the  city  by  his  wisdom  saved ; 

Yet  no  one  did  that  poor  wise  man  remember. 

16  Then  said  I,  true  it  is,  that  wisdom's  more  than  strength ; 

Yet  see — the  poor  man's  wisdom — how  despised,  his  words  unheard  I 

17  Words  of  the  wise  I  in  quiet  are  they  heard 
Beyond  the  shout  of  him  who  rules  o'er  fools. 

18  Sure,  wisdom  is  a  better  thing  than  instruments  of  war ; 
Though  all  its  good  so  great  one  sinner  may  destroy. 


Chapter  X. 

1  Like  as  dead  flies,  with  frothy  taint,  the  fragrant  oil  corrupt^ 
So  taints'*  a  little  folly,  one  for  worth  and  wisdom  famed. 

XXXIV. 

A  series  of  moral  meditations,  having  more  of  suggestive  than  of  logical  association— Their  main  drift,  that  men  shoild 
employ  their  faculties  in  the  best  way  they  can,  notwithstanding  the  little  efficiency  of  human  wisdom  in  securing 
good  and  avoiding  evil. 

Chaptee  X. 

2  The  wise  man's  heart  is  on  his  right,  the  fool's  heart  on  his  left. 

3  Even  by  the  way,  as  walks  the  fool,  his  understanding  fails. 
And  unto  every  one  he  meets,  his  folly  he  proclaims. 

4  If  e'er  against  thee  swell  the  ruler's  rage,  leave  not  thy  place  ; 
Though  great  the  offence,  the  yielding  spirit  calma. 

5  Another  evil  have  I  seen  beneath  the  sun  : 
An  error  such  as  comes  from  princes'  favor  ; 

6  Folly  is  set  on  high,  the  rich  sit  lowly  on  the  ground. 

7  Servants  on  horses  mounted  have  I  seen  ; — 
Princes,  like  servants,  walking  on  the  earth. 


XXXIII.  I  p.  127,  note.— 2  P.  138,  note. 


METRICAL  VERSIOJ^:.  19? 


XXXV.- 

Hbere  is  danger,  too,  ia  the  ordinary  avocations  of  life. 

Chaptee  X. 

8  Who  digs  a  ditch  himself  may  fall  therein. 

Who  breaks  a  hedge,  a  serpent  there  may  bite  him. 

9  He  who  removeth  stones,  gets  hurt  thereby. 
Who  cleaveth  trees,  by  them  is  put  in  peril. 

10  If  dull  the  iron,  and  its  edge  he  fails  to  sharpen  well, 
Then  greater  force  he  needs,^  and  help  of  wise  dexterity. 

XXXVI. 

The  babbler — Speech  of  the  wise — Of  the  foolish — Vain  predictions. 

Chapteb  X. 

11  A  serpent  that  without  enchantment  bites — 

So  is  the  slanderer's  tongue ;  no  gain  hath  it  to  its  possessor. 

12  Words  of  the  wise  man's  mouth, — they're  words  of  grace ; 
Lips  of  the  fool, — the  fool  himself  they  swallow  up  ; 

13  His  words  in  folly  that  began,  in  raving  madness  end. 

14  Predicting'  words  he  multiplies ;  yet  man  can  never  know. 
The  thing  that  shall  be,  yea,  what  cometh  after  who  shall  tell  ? 

15  Vain  toil  of  fools  !  it  wearieth  him, — this  man  that  knoweth  naught 
That  may  befall  his  going  to  the  city.* 

XXXVII. 

EyiU  of  bad  government — A  blessing  on  the  well-raled  State — Evils  of  slothfulneas— The  feast  for  joy— But  money  air 
awers  all — Revile  not  the  powerful,  or  the  rich. 

Chapter  X. 

16  Woe  unto  thee,  0  land, — thy  king  a  child, — 
Thy  nobles  rising  early  to  the  feast. 

17  Blessed  art  thou,  O  land, — thy  king  the  son  of  princely  sires, — 
Thy  nobles  timely  in  their  feasts,  for  strength, — not  revelry. 

18  Through  slothfulness  the  building  goes  to  ruin ; 
When  hands  hang  down,  the  house  lets^  in  the  rain. 

19  For  mirth  do  men  prepare  the  feast,  and  wine  to  gladden  life ; 
But  money  is  the  power  that  answers  all. 

20  Not  even  in  thy  thought  revile  the  king. 
Nor  in  thy  chamber,  dare  to  curse  the  rich ; 
The  bird  of  heaven  shall  carry  forth  the  sound ; 
The  swift  of  wing  tte  secret  word  reveal. 

XXXVIII. 

Be  boldly  liberal— Let  nature  have  its  course— But  do  thy  present  duty— The  Spirit's  mysterious  way— The  secret  of  life 
known  only  to  God— Be  diligent  and  leave  the  issue  to  Ood— Lite  is  sweet,  but  remember  the  day  of  dartness. 

Chaptee  XL 

1  Upon  the  waters  boldly  cast  thy  bread ; 
For  thou  shalt  find  it  after  many  days. 

2  To  seven  a  portion  give,  yea,  more,  to  eight ; 

Thou  kno  west  not  what  evil  may  be  coming  on  the  land. 

3  If  clouds  be  full  of  rain,  they  pour  it  on  the  earth. 
Whether  to  North,  or  South  the  tree  shall  fall, 

Where'er  it  falls,  there  shall  it  surely  lie.  

XXXV.  a  p.  140.    XXXVI.  »P.  141,  note.— 5  Pp.  141, 142,  note.    XXXVII.  'P.  143,  second  coL 


198  ECCLESIASTES. 


He  who  observes  the  wind  shall  never  sow. 

Who  gazes  on  the  clouds  shall  never  reap. 

'Tis  like  the  spirit's  way ;'  thou  knowest  it  not; 

Or  how  the  bones  do  grow  within  the  pregnant  womb ; 

Even  so  thou  knowest  not  the  way  of  God, 

Who  worketh  all. 

Then  in  the  morning  sow  thy  seed ; 
Nor  yet  at  evening  stay  thy  hand. 
For  which  shall  prosper,  this  or  that, 
Or  both  alike  shall  profit  bring, 
Lies  all  beyond  thy  ken. 

Sweet  is  the  light,  and  pleasant  to  the  eye  to  see  the  sun. 
Yet  if  a  man  live  many  years,  rejoicing  in  them  all,* 
The  days  of  darkness  let  him  not  forget, 
That  they  are  many  ;  all  that  cometh,  still  is  vanity. 


Youth  warned  of  Judgment — Declared  to  be  Vanity— Early  Remembrance  of  the  Creator — Old  age  and  its  gathering 
Darkness — The  dissolving  Earthly  House.  Figure  of  the  Castle  with  its  Keepers — Its  men  of  Might — Its  Purvey- 
ors, or  Grinders — Its  Watchmen — Its  closing  Gates — Fears  of  old  age — Its  Burdens — Its  Hoary  Hairs — Its  failing 
Desire — The  Beth  01am,  or  House  of  Eternity — Other  Figures — The  Broken  Lamp — The  Ruined  Fountain — The 
Flesh  to  Dust — The  Soul  to  God.  The  closing  cry  of  Vanity — Hebel  Hebalim — "A  vapor  that  appeareth  for  a 
little  while,"  Jas.  iv.  14. 


Chapter  XI. 


9        Rejoice  0  youth  in  childhood ;  let  thy  heart 

Still  cheer  thee  in  the  day  when  thou  art  strong.* 
Go  on  in  every  way  thy  will  shall  choose, 
And  after  every  form  thine  eyes  behold ; 

But  know  that  for  all  this  thy  God  will  thee  to  judgment  bring. 
10        O  then,  turn  sorrow  from  thy  soul,  keep  evil  from  thy  flesh ; 
For  childhood  and  the  mom'"  of  life,  they,  too,  are  vanity. 

Chapter  XII. 

1  Remember  thy  Creator,  then,  in  days  when  thou  art  young ; 
Before  the  evil  days  are  come,  before  the  years  draw  nigh  ; 
When  thou  shalt  say — delight  in  them  is  gone. 

2  Before  the  sun,  the  morning  light,'  the  moon,  the  stars,  grew  dark, 
And  after  rain  the  clouds  again  do  evermore  return; 

3  Before  the  keepers  of  the  house  do  shake, 

Its  men  of  might  [its  strong  supporters]  bend. 

And  they  who  grind,  in  strength  and  numbers,  fail ; 

When  darkness  falls  on  them  who  from  the  turret  windows  watch  ;* 

4  And  closing  are  the  doors  that  lead  abroad  ;^ 
When  the  hum''  of  the  mill  is  sounding  low, 
Though  it  rise^  to  the  sparrow's  note. 

And  voices^  loudest  in  the  song,  do  all  to  faintness  sink. 

XXXTIII.  '  Excursus,  p.  147.— »  P.  161,  note.    XXXIX.  »  Pp.  161, 162,  note.— lop.  152,  second  col.— i  P.  164,  first  note 
—2 P.  155,  first  note— 8P.  166,  second  note.— ■'P.  155,  third  note.- "The  same. 


METRICAL  VERSION. 


5  When  they  shall  be  afraid  of  what  is  high ; 
And  terrors  fill  the  way  ; 

And  the  almond'  tree  shall  bloom, 

The  insects'  weight  oppress,^ 

And  all  desire  shall  fail; 

For  thus  man  goes  to  his  eternal  house,' 

Whilst  round  about  the  streets  the  mourners  walk — 

6  Before  the  silver  cord  shall  part,'"  the  golden  bowl  be  dashed, 
The  bucket  broken  at  the  spring,  the  wheel  at  cistern  crushed, 

7  And  dust  goes  down  to  earth  from  whence  it  came. 
And  soul  returns  again  to  Him  who  gave  it  at  the  first. 

8  0  vanity  of  vanities,  the  preacher  saith, 
0  vanity  of  vanities  !  all — vanity. 

XL. 

A  proae  Scholium  by  the  general  author,  or  compiler,  praising  the  wisdom  of  Koheleth,  and  the  excellence  of  hit 
doctrine,  with  a  closing  poetic  extract  from  the  Solomonic  meditations,  as  suitable  to  it.  This  is  followed  by 
the  solemn  conclusion  to  the  whole  as  taken  from  the  same  ancient  source. 

Chapter  XII. 

9      And  moreover;  Because  the  Preacher  was  wise,'  he  continued  to  teach  the  people  know- 
10  ledge.     Yea,  he  gave  an  attentive  ear,  and  sought  out,  and  set  in  order,  many  parables.    I'he 
Preacher  sought  to  find  acceptable  words,  and  what  he  wrote  was  upright,  even  words  of 
truth. 

11  Words  of  the  wise !  like  piercing  goads  are  they ; 
Like  driven  nails  their  gathered^  sentences, 

All  from  One  Shepherd  given. 

THE   eRAND  CONCLUSION. 

12  Be  warned,  my  son, — 'tis  only  left  to  say — 
Of  making  many  chapters'  there's  no  end ; 
And  thinking  long  is  wearying  to  the  flesh. 

13  The  great  conclusion  hear : 

FEAR  GOD  AND  HIS  COMMANDMENTS  KEEP,  FOR  THIS  IB  ALL  OF  MAIT. 

14  For  every  work,  yea,  every  spcret  deed, 

Both  good  and  evil,  God  will  surely  into  judgment  bring. 

XXXIX.  'P.  157,  flrstnote.—8P.157,secondnote.— 'Excursus,  p.158.— 10 p.  160,  second  note.    XL.  '  Notes  166, 166.— 
'P.  166,  Text  Note  to  T.  11.— » P.  168,  first  note,  and  Appendix  to  Int.,  p.  SO. 


THE 


SONG   OF   SOLOMON. 


BY 

DE.  OTTO  ZOOKLER, 

rsOFESSOR  OF  THKOLOOT  IN  THE  DSTVEBSITT  OF  GRBIFSTTALD. 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE   GERMAN,    WITH  ADDITIONS, 


BT 


W.  HENET  GEEEE",  D.D., 

raonssoB  or  obuntai,  ihd  o.  t.  utEainms  in  tbe  iheolosical  seuinaut  at  fsracxioH,  n.  j. 


NEW  YORK: 
CHAELES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS, 


Ehteeed,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1870,  by 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District 

of  New  York. 


THE 


SOISTG    OF    SOLOMON. 


INTEODUCTION. 

I  1.    NAME   AND   AETISTIC    FOEM    OF   THE    SONG   OF   SOLOMON. 

The  title  D'TE^n  TW,  "  Song  of  songs,"  or,  as  it  is  more  fully  expressed  in  i.  1,  D'TB^H  TE* 
7lD7ty7  IKfN  "  The  Song  of  songs,  which  is  Solomon's,''  describes  this  book  neither  as  a  "  serier 
(chain)  or  collection  of  many  songs  "  (as  Kleukee,  Auqusti,  Velthusen,  Paulus  suppose), 
nor  as  one  prominent  among  the  many  songs  of  Solomon  (according  to  Ibn  Ezea's  and  D.  Kim- 
CHl's  translation  :  "A  song  of  the  songs  of  Solomon  ").  "  Song  of  songs  "  (Sept.,  fo/xa  ^afiaruv; 
Vulg.,  eanticum  caniicorum)  is  without  doubt  rather  designed  to  characterize  this  poem  as  the 
mo.it  excellent  of  its  kind,  as  the  finest,  the  most  precious  of  songs.  Of  the  many  songs,  which, 
according  to  1  Kmgs  v.  12,  Solomon  composed,  the  author  of  this  title, — whom  we  must  at  all 
events  distinguish  from  the  poet  himself,  as  is  shown  particularly  by  its  lEfK  instead  of  the  po- 
etical abbreviation  Kf,  which  is  always  used  in  the  song  itself* — would  exalt  the  one  before  us  as 
especially  commendable  and  elegant.  This  sense,  suggested  by  analogies  like  "heaven  of  hea- 
vens "  (1  Kings  viii.  27),  "  servant  of  servants  "  Gen.  ix.  25,  "  vanity  of  vanities  "  (Eccles.  i.  2), 
"ornament  of  ornaments  "  (Ezek.  xvi.  7),t  which  Luther  has  briefly  and  appositely  expressed  by 
" das  Hohelied,"  is  undoubtedly  involved  in  the  expression,  whether  riri7K'7  "iKfX,  "  which  ia 
Solomon's,"  be  referred  (as  is  usually  done)  to  the  principal  subject  in  the  singular  TK?,  "  song," 
or  to  the  immediately  preceding  plural  D'TK/n  ("Song  of  the  songs  of  Solomon^the  noblest  among 
the  songs  of  Solomon ;"  so,  e.  g.,  Hitzig,  Ewald,  Dichter  des  A.  Bds.,  2d  edit.,  I.,  236 ;  Blbbk, 
Einkit.  in's  A.  T.,  2d  edit.,  p.  636). J 

*  [There  is  no  reason  whatever  to  suspect,  much  less  believe,  that  this  title  is  of  a  later  date  than  the  book  itself,  of  whos* 
text  it  is  without  doubt  a  genuine  and  integral  part.  In  its  favor  may  be  urged  the  usage  of  ancient  writers,  both  sacred 
and  profane,  to  preface  their  productions  by  some  such  brief  statement  of  the  author,  theme  or  occasion.  It  stands  upon 
the  same  ground  with  the  titles  to  the  Psalms  and  prophecies,  whose  originality  has  likewise  been  disputed,  often  on  the 
most  frivolous  pretences,  but  never  disproved.  The  correctness  of  this  title  is  conceded,  or  is  capable  of  being  readily 
established.  It  was  neither  indecorous  nor  unnatural  for  the  author  to  designate  his  own  production  as  the  Song  of  songs, 
if  it  involved  the  sacred  mystery  which  all  but  the  lowest  class  of  erotic  interpreters  find  in  it.  In  the  elevated  diction  of 
this  Song  the  abbreviated  and  unusual  form  of  the  relative,  which  occurs  only  sporadically  elsewhere,  is  employed  exclu- 
sively throughout ;  but  it  surely  need  occasion  no  surprise  that  it  is  not  found  likewise  in  the  prosaic  title,  as  Zooklee 
himself  confesses,  g3,  Rem.  2.  The  occurrence  of  "^tyX  in  Judg.  v.  27  casts  no  suspicion  on  the  genuineness  of  that  verse 
thongh  ty  is  used  elsewhere  in  the  song  of  Deborah,  ver.  7.  Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  does  a  single  [?,  where  TtyX  is, 
the  prevailing  form,  discredit  8en.  vi.  3  or  Job  xix.  29.  Both  forms  of  the  relative  likewise  occur  interchangeably  in 
Ecclesiastes,  and  both  are  found  in  the  writings  of  Jeremiah. — Tr.] 

t  [Other  soperlatives  of  like  construction  are  the  Holy  of  holies,  Ex.  xxvi.  33;  King  of  kings,  Ezek.xxvi.7;  God  of  gods 
andl.ordof  lords, Dent.  X.  17  (but  not  Josh.  xxii.  22,  where  the  original  is  different);  see  also  Dan.  viii.  25,  Ps.  Ixxii.  6,  comp. 
Eov.  i.  6.  The  same  idiom  is  found  in  the  Greek  of  the  New  Testament,  e.g.,  an  Hebrew  oif  the  Hebrews,  Phil.  iii.  5,  and  has 
even  been  transferred  to  English  as  in  the  phrase  *'  heart  of  hearts." — Te.] 

t  [Rendered  by  Coterdale  :  Ballets.  In  Matthew's  Bible,  Cbanmbr's  and  Bishops'  ;  Ballet  of  ballets  of  Solomon.  WiCK- 
nPFE  and  the  common  English  version:  Songofsongs.  Dowat:  Solomon's  Canticle  of  canticles.  Geneva:  "  ant,eicellent  Song, 
which  was  Solomon's,"  to  which  Is  added  the  note  "  Heb.  a  Song  of  songs,  so  called  because  it  is  the  chiefest  of  those  thousand 
•nd  five  wbdch  Solomon  made,  1  Kings  iv.  32."    Patrioe  :  "  The  most  natural  meaning  seems  to  be  that  this  ia  the  most  ei. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


The  unity  of  its  contents  might  accordingly  be  inferred  from  this  most  ancient  denomination  of 
the  book,  traditionally  preserved  in  the  Bible.  The  Song  of  Solomon  is  one  poem,  a  poetical  unit 
artistically  arranged  and  consistently  wrought  out — not  a  collection  of  many  songs  put  together 
like  a  string  of  pearls  (Heedeb),  a  "  delightful  medley  "  (Goethe),  an  anthology  of  erotic  poems 
without  mutual  connection  (Magnus),  a  conglomerate  of  "fragments  thrown  together  in  wild 
confusion  "  (Lossnee),  etc.  All  these  hypotheses  which  issue  in  the  chopping  up  of  this  noble 
work  of  art  (with  which  is  to  be  classed  in  the  most  recent  times  the  view  taken  by  the  Eeformed 
Jews  Rebbkstejn  and  Sandees,  which  pares  away  portions  of  ch.  iii.  and  viii.  as  spurious,  and 
carves  the  whole  into  four  songs)  are  utterly  untenable.  This  appears  both  negatively  from  the 
meaningless  and  formless  character  of  the  fragments,  great  or  small,  which  they  create,  and 
positively  from  the  impression  of  unity  and  inner  connection  which  an  unprejudiced  and  thorough 
study  of  the  whole  produces.  That  in  several  passages  the  same  sentence  recurs  in  identical 
words  as  a  refrain  (see  particularly  ii.  7  ;  iii.  5  ;  viii.  4) ;  that  a  chorus  of  "daughters  of  Jerusa- 
lem "  is  addressed  no  less  than  six  times,  and  a  seventh  time  is  mentioned  in  the  third  person 
(iii.  10 ;  comp.  i.  5 ;  ii.  7  ;  iii.  5  ;  v.  8  ;  v.  16 ;  viii.  4) ;  that  the  relation  of  a  lover  to  his  beloved 
runs  through  the  whole  as  the  prominent  theme,  and  prevailingly  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue  or  res- 
ponsive song  (see  especially  ch.  i.;  ii.  1-7 ;  ch.  iv.;  ch,  vii.  and  viii.) ;  and  finally  that  references 
not  only  to  the  times  of  Solomon,  but  to  his  person  as  the  principal  subject  of  all  the  descriptions 
and  amatory  outpourings  of  the  heart  stand  out  every  where  over  and  over  again  (i.  4,  5  ;  iij. 
7-11 ;  vii.  6 ;  viii.  11,  12) ;  these  are  incontrovertible  criteria  of  the  strict  unity  of  the  whole  which 
is  not  to  be  doubted  even  where  particular  portions  seem  not  to  cohere  so  well  together,  or  where 
it  remains  uncertain  to  which  of  the  actors  a  sentence  or  series  of  sentences  is  to  be  assigned.  The 
whole  is  really  a  T^,  a  song  or  poem,  i,  e..  not  a  carmen  (a  lyric  poem,  hymn  or  ode),  to  be 
lung  with  instrumental  accompaniment — in  which  case  it  would  have  been  called  "IIDJP  rather 
than  T?' — but  a  poem  of  a  more  comprehensive  kind  and  of  lyrico-dramatic  character,  a  cycle  of 
erotic  songs,  possessing  unity  of  conception,  and  combined  in  the  unity  of  one  dramatic  action. 
Whether  now  it  be  likened  to  the  bucolic  compositions  of  the  later  Greeks,  and  so  be  esteemed  a 
Hebrew  idyl  or  carmen  amoebfeum  (so  Htjg,  Heebst  and  older  writers  before  them) ;  or  a  pro- 
per dramatic  character  be  claimed  for  it,  and  on  this  presumption  it  be  maintained  that  it  was 
actually  performed  in  public,  being  both  acted  and  sung  after  the  manner  of  an  opera  (Bottoheb, 
Eenan),  or  at  least  was  designed  for  such  performance  (Ewald)  ;  it  must  at  all  events  be 
maintained  as  scientifically  established  and  confirmed  by  all  the  details  of  its  poetic  execution, 
that  its  plan  and  composition  are  dramatic,  and  consequently  that  the  whole  belongs  to  the  dra- 
matic branch  of  the  Old  Testament  Chokmah-  (HD^pn)  literature,  and  is  the  representative  of  the 
lyrico-dramatic  (melo-dramatic)  poetry  of  the  0.  T.,  as  the  Book  of  Job  is  the  principal  specimen 
of  the  epico-dramatic  (didactic  dialogue).  Comp.  the  Introduction  to  the  Solomonic  Wisdom-Ut- 
erature  in  general  (in  commentary  on  Proverbs),  ^5  and  10. 

Remark  1. — Against  the  attempt  of  Ibn  Ezra,  Kimohi  and  other  Rabbins  to  explain 
D'TtJ/n  Tty  as  meaning  "  a  song  of  the  songs  "  may  be  urged  not  only  the  analogy  of  the  ex- 
pressions above  adduced  as  "  heaven  of  heavens,"  etc.,  but  also  the  fact  that  this  partitive  sense 
would  have  to  be  expressed  by  D'Tti^na  TE/.  The  expression  "  a  song  of  the  songs  of  Solomon  " 
would  also  have  been  strangely  pleonastic,  and  have  conflicted  unduly  with  the  analogy  of  the 
titles  to  the  Psalms,  which  never  contain  more  than  the  simple  "^'tt'  (or  "'IDJD,  or  IIDID  Tty). — 
On  the  other  hand,  it  makes  against  the  interpretation  :  "  a  song  of  songs,"  i.  e.,  "  a  collection  of 
several  songs,  a  chain  of  songs  "  (Kleukbe,  Saimrdung  der  Gedichte  Salomo's,  sonst  dai  Hoheli^d 
■genanni,  1780,  p.  6  f,;  Augusti,  Einleitung,  p.  213),  that  then  "Vf^  would  have  an  entirely  different 
.«ense  the  first  time  from  that  it  has  the  second,  as  though  it  were  synonymous  with  the  Chald. 
1'U',  "chain,"  and  with  the  corresponding  Arabic  word,  and  signified  "series"  (so  Velthusen  and 

loelleiit  of  all  BODgB  that  Solomon  mode ;  yet  the  Chaldee  paraphrase  and  ahundance  of  Christian  writers  think  it  called  ths 
roost  excellent  song,  with  respect  likewise  to  all  the  songs  that  had  been  formerly  made  by  any  prophetical  person,  as 
those,  E.X.  XT.;  Judg.  v.;  1  Sam.  ii.,  ete.,  because  tliey  celebrated  only  some  particular  benefits,  this  the  immense  loTe  of  God, 
not  only  towards  that  nation,  but  towards  all  mankind."  PooLE :  "  The  most  excellent  of  all  songs,  whether  composed  by 
,profane.or  sacred  authors,  by  Solomon  or  by  any  other."] 


I  1.  NAME  AND  ARTISTIC  FORM  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


Paulus,  in  EiCHHORN's  Repertorium  XVII.,  p.  109  f.).*  This  would  the  more  conflict  with  He- 
brew usage  because  this  language  has  a  special  fondness  for  the  combination  of  a  noun  in  the 
singular  with  a  dependent  plural  of  like  signification  to  denote  the  superlative.  Comp.  Ewald 
Lehrb.,  §  313,  e.  [Geeen's  Heb.  Gram.,  I  254,  2,  a].— On  Solomon's  authorship  indicated  by 
rtoV'?  ■'^*?  comp.  I  3  below. 

Remabk  2.— The  unity  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  has  been  repeatedly  contested  in  recent  times. 
Hbedbe  ("  Lieder  der  lAebe,  die  dltesten  und  schonsten  aus  dem  Morgenlande,"  1778)  was  fol- 
lowed in  this  direction  not  only  by  Goethe  (in  the  "  Wesiosilicher  Divan  "  at  least,  whilst  sub- 
sequently in  his  "Kunst  und  AUerthum  "  he  declared  for  Umbbeit's  view  that  the  whole  pos- 
sessed dramatic  unity),  but  also  by  most  of  the  theological  commentators  and  critics  down  to  the 
20th  year  of  the  present  century,  particularly  Eichhoen,  Beetholdt,  AtTansTi,  db  Wette,  in 
their  Introductions  to  the  Old  Test.;  Klbukee,  Gaab,  Dodeelein,  Gesenius,  Pattlus,  Dopke 
and  many  others.  And  at  a  still  later  period,  after  Ewald  (1826),  Koestee  (in.PELi's  "Theo- 
logische  Mitarbeiien,"  1839),  Umbebit  {" Erinnerung  an  das  hohe  Lied,"  1839)  and  others  had 
contended  for  the  unity  of  the  poem  with  considerable  energy  and  success,  Ed.  Isid.  Magnus 
(Kritische  Bearhdtung  und  Erkldrung  des  Hohenliedes  Salomo's,  Halle,  1842)  with  the  great- 
est expenditure  of  acuteness  and  learning  sought  to  prove  that  the  whole  originated  from  unjiting 
a  number  of  erotic  songs  and  sonnets  in  an  anthology.  This  "  floral  collection  "  contains  accord- 
ing to  him  fourteen  complete  odes  besides  a  number  of  fragments,  which  may  all  but  one  (ii.  15, 
fragment  of  a  drinking  song)  be  combined  into  three  longer  odes,  together  with  two  later  sup- 
plements to  two  of  these  17  or  18  pieces,  thus  making  in  all  twenty  distinguishable  constituent 
parts,  independent  from  one  another  in  origin,  and  produced  by  several  different  poets  at  various 
periods.  The  seeming  microscopic  exactness  of  this  investigation  of  Maontjs  made  an  impres- 
sion upon  several  of  the  later  critics,  notwithstanding  the  evidently  arbitrary  manner  in  which  the 
separate  portions  of  the  text  "  are  shaken  up  together  at  pleasure  like  the  bits  of  colored  stone  in 
a  kaleidoscope.''  Theod.  Mundt,  in  his  ■'Allgem.  Lileralurgeschichte,"  1849  (I,,  153)  considers 
it  settled  that  the  Song  of  Solomon  is  an  anthology  of  disconnected  popular  erotic  songs.  E.  W. 
IjOssnee  [SaloTno  und  Sulamith  1851)  in  his  exegesis  of  the  Song  chiefly  proposes  to  himself 
the  task  of  "  inventing  some  connection  between  the  fragments  thrown  together  in  wild  con- 
fusion.'' And  Bleek  in  his  "Einldtung  in's  A.  T."  (2d  edit.,  1865,  p.  641),  edited  by  Kamp- 
HAUSEif,  thinks  that  with  the  admission  that  the  whole,  as  it  now  exists,  proceeded  from  one  re- 
dactor, he  must  connect  the  assumption  "that  it  contains  sundry  erotic  songs,''  songs,  too,  only 
a  part  of  which  were  composed  with  reference  to  Solomon,  the  greater  portion  having  "  relation  to 
persons  of  the  condition  of  shepherds,!  and  in  the  country." — The  interpolation-hypothesis  of 
the  two  Jewish  interpreters,  A.  Rebbnstein  and  Dan.  Sandeks,  is  likewise  based  upon  at  least 
a  partial  dissection  of  the  poem,  the  former  of  whom,  in  his  "Lied  der  Lieder"  (1834),  the  latter 
in  Busch's  "Jahrbuch.  der  Israeliten,"  1845, and  in  his  little  treatise  lately  issued,  "das  Hohe- 
lied  Salomonis  "  (Leipzig,  0.  Wigand,  1866),  maintain  that  at  least  chap.  iii. — either  the  entire 
chapter,  as  Rebenstbin  imagines,  or  its  first  five  verses,  as  Sandees  makes  it — and  the  con- 
cluding verses  viii.  8-14  are  later  insertions,  and  that  the  book  "purged"  of  these  alleged  spu- 
rious additions  contains  four  songs  relating  to  Solomon's  love  for  Shulamith  and  so  far  connected, 
but  which  are  now  out  of  their  original  order  and  somewhat  divided.  These  four  songs  or  sec- 
tions of  the  "  ddyl"  are :  1)  ch.  i.  1-6 ;  viii,  12 ;  i.  7— li.  6  ;  2)  ch.  ii.  7-17 ;  iv.  1— v.  1 ;  3)  oh.  v. 
2-vi.  10 :  4)  oh.  iii.  6-11 ;  vi.  11— viii.  7. 

*  [So  Good  :  "  The  word  T^,  in  the  present  and  moat  other  instances  translated  scmg,  means  in  its  original  acceptation 
*a  string  or  chain;'  it  is  precisely  synonymous  with  the  Greek  (reipa.  The  different  idyls  presented  in  the  collection  be- 
fore us  were  therefore  probably  regarded  by  the  sacred  poet,  at  the  time  of  their  composition,  as  so  many  distinct  beads  or 
poarjs,  of  which  the  whole,  when  strung  together,  constituted  one  perfect  Tty,  string,  catenation  or  divan."] 

t  [Good  regards  the  Song  "  as  a  collection  of  [12]  distinct  idyla  upon  one  common  subject — and  that  the  loves  of  the  He- 
brew monarch  and  his  fair  bride.  *  »  *  The  author  of  these  exquisite  amorets  was  King  Solomon."  Eav  also  finds  in  the 
Song  "  a  number  of  distinct  pieces"  proceeding,  it  is  true,  from  a  common  author,  and  having  "some  unity  of  design  in  re- 
gard of  the  mystic  sense  which  they  are  intended  to  bear."  But  the  parties  described  are  not  the  same  throughout. 
''Though  King  Solomon  is  mentioned,  and  hia  marriage  processions  perhaps  gave  occasion  to  some  of  these  allegories,  yet 
the  scene  is  every  now  and  then  changed,  and  we  are  led  to  contemplate  the  intercourse  and  concerns  of  some  rural 
or  domestic  pair  In  humble  life."  Notes  agrees  substantially  with  Pkt,  but  without  admitting  the  existence  of  a  mystical 
sense.— Tk.] 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


The  internal  grounds  for  the  unity  and  integrity  of  the  whole,  as  they  have  been  recently  put 
together  by  Delitzsch  particularly  ("  das  Hohelied  untermcht  und  ausgelegt,"  Leipz.,  1851,  p, 
4ff.),  following  up  the  previous  presentation  of  them  by  Ewald,  Umbbeit,  etc.  (see  above)  are 
decisive  against  all  these  fragmentary  and  crumbling  hypotheses,  not  to  speak  of  the  uniformity 
throughout  of  the  style  of  the  language  (of  which  more  particularly  in  |  4).  The  first  five  and 
the  weightiest  of  these  grounds  are:  1)  The  name  of  Solomon  runs  through  the  whole,  i.  5;  iii. 
7  9  11  •  viii.  11  12;  those  passages  also  are  to  be  included,  in  which  he  and  no  other  is  called 
t'idh  "  the  king,"  i.  4, 12 ;  comp.  vii.  6.  2)  Throughout  the  whole  there  appears  in  addition  to 
the  lover  and  his  beloved  a  chorus  of  uhw^^'  niJD,  "  daughters  of  Jerusalem."  These  are  ad- 
dressed i.  5  ;  ii.  7  ;  iii.  5 ;  v.  8,  16 ;  viii.  4 ;  and  in  lii.  10  something  is  said  about  them.  This 
shows  the  sameness  in  the  dramatic  constitution  of  the  whole.  3)  Throughout  the  whole  men- 
tion is  only  made  of  the  mother  of  the  beloved,  i.  6  ;  iii  4 ;  viii.  2,  (5),  never  of  her  father.  4) 
Distinct  portions  of  the  whole  begin  and  end  with  the  same  or  similar  words  in  the  style  of  a  re- 
frain. A  new  paragraph  begins  three  times  with  the  question  of  surprise,  Ul  HNT  'D,  "  Who  is 
this  ''  etc.,  iii.  6  ;  vi.  10 ;  viii.  5 ;  the  adjuration  of  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  not  to  waken 
[her]  love  three  times  forms  the  conclusion,  ii,  6  f.;  iii.  5  ;  viii.  3  f.  So  the  summons  to  the  lover 
to  spring  over  the  mountains  like  a  gazelle  manifestly  stands  twice  at  the  end  of  a  section,  ii. 
17,  comp.  8;  and  viii.  14.  5)  The  whole  is  permeated  too  by  declarations  on  the  part  of  the 
maiden  concerning  her  relation  to  her  lover  which  are  couched  in  identical  terms.  Twice  she 
says  "  My  beloved  is  mine  and  I  am  his,  who  feeds  among  the  roses,"  ii.  16 ;  vi.  3;  twice  "I 
am  sick  of  love,"  ii.  5;  v.  8 ;  and  not  only  in  iii.  1,  2,  3,  4,  but  as  far  back  as  i.  7  she  calls  her 
lover  't^SJ  nanxty  "  he  whom  my  soul  loves."  Likewise  the  address  of  the  chorus  to  the  be- 
loved runs  in  a  uniform  strain,  i.  8  ;  v.  9  ;  vi.  1,  "  thou  fairest  among  women." — The  last  of  these 
arguments  contains  (as  does  also  No.  1)  a  special  refutation  of  Rebenstein's  and  Sanders'  ob- 
jections to  the  genuineness  or  integrity  of  Ch.  3.  What  are  regarded  as  well  by  these  critics  as 
by  the  rest  of  those  who  impugn  the  unity  of  this  book,  as  repetitions  or  imitations  by  a  later 
hand  are  shown  by  a  true  insight  into  the  dramatic  composition  of  the  whole  to  be  the  necessary 
repetition  of  certain  characteristic  formulas  purposely  made  by  the  poet  himself.  And  as  well 
in  this  as  in  all  other  respects  the  final  judgment  passed  by  Dblitzsoh,  p.  6,  upon  the  whole 
controversy  respecting  the  unity  and  integrity  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  seems  to  be  abundantly 
justified  :  "He  who  has  any  perception  whatever  of  the  unity  of  a  work  of  art  in  human  dis- 
course, will  receive  an  impression  of  external  unity  from  the  Song  of  Solomon,  which  excludes 
all  right  to  sunder  any  thing  from  it  as  of  a.  heterogeneous  character  or  belonging  to  different 
periods,  and  which  compels  to  the  conclusion  of  an  internal  unity,  that  may  still  remain  an  enigma 
to  the  Scripture  exposition  of  the  present,  but  must  nevertheless  exist."  Comp.  also  Vaihingbe, 
der  Prediger  und  das  Hohelied,  p.  258  f. 

Remark  3,  In  respect  to  the  poetic  and  artistic  form  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  provided  its 
unity  is  admitted,  and  due  regard  is  paid  to  the  dialogue  character  of  the  discourse,  there  are  on 
the  whole  but  two  views,  that  can  possibly  be  entertained,  that  it  is  an  idyl  or  bucolic  carmen 
amrehauin,  and  that  it  is  a  proper  drama  though  with  a  prevailing  lyric  and  erotic  character. 
The  former  supposition  was  adopted  by  some  of  the  older  interpreters  mentioned  by  Carpzov,  In- 
l.rod.  in.  libros  canonicos  V.  T.,  and  after  them  by  L.  Hua  {^'  das  Hohelied  in  einer  noch  unver- 
suchien  DeiUung,"  1813,  and  "  Schuizsohrifi"  1816),  who  urges  in  its  favor  the  rural  and 
pastoral  character  of  most  of  the  scenes  and  the  prevalence  of  the  same  form  of  alternate  discourse 
between  two  lovers,  He  has,  however,  remained  almost  alone  among  modern  students  of  the 
Old  Test,  in  this  opinion  as  well  as  in  the  allegorical  and  political  explanation  of  the  Song  con- 
nected with  it,  as  though  it  were  a  colloquy  between  the  ten  tribes  of  Isfael  and  the  King  of 
Judah.  Only  another  catholic,  Herbst  (Einleitung  in's  A.  T.,  edited  by  AVelte,  1842)  sub- 
stantially agrees  with  him ;  and  the  idyllic  form  of  the  whole  as  a  group  of  twelve  songs  or 
scenes  is  likewise  maintained  by  A.  Heiliqstedt  in  his  continuation  of  MAtrEEB's  Commeniar. 
Oramm.  Crit.in  V.  T.,  (IV.  2,  1848).     The  decisive  consideration  against  this  idyllic  hypothesis* 

*  [Sir  William  .Tones  (followed  by  Good,  Fry  and  Notes)  ;  Salom(mis  sancfissimum  carmen  inter  idyllia  Hebrsea  receniten- 
dum  puio.  Taylor  entitles  the  several  diviBions  of  the  Song  "  eclogues,"  but  like  BosauET  and  Percy  regards  the  whole  as  a 
pastoral  drama. — Te.] 


?  1.  NAME  AND  ARTISTIC  FORM  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  5 

is  the  constant  change  of  scene  in  the  Song,  the  frequent  transfer  of  the  locality  from  the 
country  to  the  city,  and  from  Solomon's  palace  to  Shulamith's  homestead,  also  the  repeated 
change  of  actors  and  the  unequal  length,  of  the  intervals  of  time  between  the  several  scenes. 
All  these  peculiarities  are  foreign  to  the  nature  of  the  idyl  or  pastoral  poem,  and  agree  better 
with  the  view  that  the  Song  is  a  proper  drama.  The  dialogue  scenes,  separated  in  time  and 
place,  are  closely  connected  together  by  their  common  reference  to  one  and  the  same  loving 
relation  ;  and  with  a  strict  maintenance  of  the  characters  introduced,  though  without  a  proper 
plot,  they  visibly  depict  the  historical  progress  of  the  relation  between  a  royal  lover  and  his 
beloved  raised  from  an  humble  position  to  princely  splendor  and  exaltation.  No  essential 
characteristic  of  dramatic  composition  is  wanting  in  this  poem ;  from  beginning  to  end  it  con- 
tains conversations  between  two  or  more  persons  alternating  with  monologues  or  with  narra- 
tions of  what  had  been  said  by  others ;  a  chorus  of  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  accompanies  the 
whole  progress  of  the  action  and  takes  part  in  it ;  the  several  scenes  are  more  or  less  plainly 
separated  from  one  another,  and  at  certain  principal  points,  at  least,  are  distinguished  by  the  re- 
currence of  final  or  initial  refrains.  Only  we  must  not  go  so  far  in  maintaining  the  dramatic 
character  of  the  piece  as  to  allege  with  Ewald  [d.poet.  Bucher  des  A.  Bds.  2  Aufl.  1866, 1.  73 
ff.)  that  it  was  actually  designed  for  public  representation,  or  even  with  Bottchek  ("  die  dl- 
teslen  Buhnendichiungen,''  Leipz.,  1850;  and  "  Neiie  exegetisch-krit.  Aehrenlese"  3.  Ahiheil. 
1865,  p.  76  ff.)  and  Renan  {Le  Cantique  des  Cantiques,  p.  83  ff.)  that  it  was  actually  exhibited 
in  the  form  of  a  play  to  be  sung  and  accompanied  by  mimic  acting,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  style 
of  the  Sicilian-Dorian  mimes,  the  Etruscan  fescennines,  the  Campanian  and  old  Roman  fabula 
Atellans,  etc.  In  opposition  to  such  an  exaggeration  of  the  dramatical  view  into  the  grossly 
realistic,  Hitzi&'s  remark  [das  Hokelied  erkldrt,  etc.,  p.  7,)  continues  in  force  almost  without 
limitation.  "  If  the  piece  actually  came  upon  the  stage  it  would  be  necessary  for  a  speaker, 
where  the  language  of  other  parties  was  introduced  into  the  midst  of  his  own,  to  change  his 
voice  so  as  actually  to  imitate  the  voices  of  others,  and  not  to  leave  this  distinction  to  the 
imagination  merely  :  but  the  cases  occur  too  frequently  (ii.  10-15;  v.  2,  3 ;  vi.  10  ;  vii.  1,)  and 
the  matter  appears  quite  too  complicated  for  this  to  be  credible.  The  author  would  also  as- 
sume the  place  of  the  chorus,  and  take  part  himself  in  the  play ;  v.  1  i,  (?? — see  against  this 
improbable  view  §2,  Remark  1,  p.  8);  but  then  the  piece  also  ceases  to  be  objective  to  him, 
i  e.,  to  be  a  drama  to  him.  The  poem  certainly  has  a  dramatic  structure ;  but  ii.  8  already 
proves  that  the  author  has  not  the  power  to  continue  in  so  objective  an  attitude,  and  he  slides 
into  the  more  convenient  path  of  description  and  narration.  The  action  is  often  hidden  behind  an 
imperfect  dialogue ;  and  this  is  easily  superseded  by  a  prolonged  discourse  requiring  no  an- 
swer; or  if  one  is  made,  it  is  slim  and  scanty  (vii.  11;  iv.  16).  Finally  one  may  well  ask,  if 
the  piece  were  actually  performed,  what  would  be  its  moral  effect,  which  must  have  been  fore- 
seen, and  therefore  intended  ?  Would  not  vii.  2-10  represented  on  the  stage  have  transferred 
the  ilUcit  desires  *  of  the  speaker  to  the  soul  of  the  spectators  ?  How  could  the  sensuality  of 
the  auditor  excited  by  iv.  9,  10,  12  ff.,  be  prevented  from  taking  fire  even  in  an  extra-nuptial 
direction  ?  The  Song  of  Solomon  is  a  drama  which  the  poet  saw  in  the  spirit,  as  the  apoca- 
lyptic (prophets)  Daniel  and  John  had  a  series  of  scenes  pass  before  their  spiritual  eye."— Db- 
LITZ80H,  too,  emphasizes  in  opposition  to  Bottchee's  view  of  the  mimic  performance  of  the  Song 
of  Solomon  in  the  form  of  a  rude  and  "  unenviable  "  stage  play  of  the  times  of  the  Israelitish 
kings,  the  ideal  character  of  its  artistic  and  dramatic  form,  and  the  morally  pure  and  elevated 
spirit  which  it  manifestly  breathes  from  beginning  to  end.  He  puts  it,  herein  following  the  lead 
of  LowTH  (de  sacra  poesi  Hebr.  prid.  30  ff.,  and  Ewald  {Poel.  B.,  1st.  edit.,  I.  40  ff.,  Comp. 
2d  edit.,  I.  73)  as  a  representative  of  the  sacred  comedy  of  the  Old  Test.,  beside  the  book  of 
lob  as  the  chief  product  of  the  tragic  art  of  the  0.  T.  people  of  God.  This  designation  may  be 
allowed  to  pass  as  appropriate  in  the  general,  and  not  liable  to  be  misunderstood.  Nevertheless 
the  essential  character  of  the  artistic  form  employed  in  this  composition  seems  to  be  more  ac- 
curately designated  by  the  expression  "  melodrama  "  (v.  Ammon)  or  lyrico-dramatic  poetry,  m- 
asmuch  as  the  relation  of  this  form  to  that  of  the  book  of  Job  (as  the  epico-dramatic,  or  didactic- 
dramatic)  is  thus  not  only  strikingly  brought  out,  but  also  those  defects  and  imperfections  pointed 

*[Tbe80  belong  to  his  own  sensual  interpretation,  not  to  the  Song  itself. — Tr.] 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


out  in  the  passage  cited  above  from  HiTZia  in  the  carrying  out  of  the  dramatic  form,  which  is 
often  exchanged  for  the  purely  lyric,  are  thus  accounted  for. 

§  2.      CONTENTS   AND   DIVISIONS  (CONSTITUTION)    OF   THE   SONG   OP  SOLOMON. 

The  Song  of  Solomon  begins  with  a  responsive  Song  between  the  chorus  of  the  daughters  of 
Jerusalem  and  Shulamith,  a  simple  country  maid  from  Shulem  or  Shunem*  in  the  north  of  Pal- 
estine (see  vii.  1)  who,  for  her  beauty,  was  chosen  by  Solomon  to  be  his  bride,  and  brought  to 
the  royal  palace  in  Jerusalem.  With  plain  and  lovely  discourse,  corresponding  to  the  artless 
disposition  of  an  unspoiled  child  of  nature,  she  avows  both  her  ardent  love  for  her  royal  bride- 
groom, and  her  longing  for  her  native  fields,  whose  spicy  freshness  and  simpler  style  of  life  she 
prefers  to  the  haughty  splendor  of  court  life,  and  especially  to  being  associated  with  the  great 
number  of  ladies  in  the  royal  palace  (these  are  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem),  i.  2-8.  These 
feelings  of  love  and  of  home-sickness  which  simultaneously  assail  her  heart,  she  hereupon  ex- 
presses likewise  to  Solomon  himself,  with  whom,  after  the  exit  of  the  chorus  of  those  ladies,  she 
is  left  alone  in  the  "  house  of  wine,"  one  of  the  inmost  rooms  of  the  palace,  i.  9 — ii.  7. — Re- 
turned to  her  country  home  (and  this,  it  would  appear,  with  the  approval  of  her  royal  lover), 
fihe  finds  herself  still  more  ardently  in  love  with  him,  and  reveals  her  longing  for  a  union  with 
him  ii.  8 — iii.  5,  by  relating  two  episodes  from  the  previous  history  of  their  love,  viz.,  their  first 
meeting  (ii.  9-14)  and  a  subsequent  search  far  him,  and  finding  him  again  (iii.  1-4). — Not  long 
after  the  king  really  comes  out  for  her,  and  has  her  brought  home  with  great  pomp  and  princely 
honors  as  his  royal  spouse.  Her  festive  entry  into  the  royal  palace  excites  the  admiring  curi- 
osity, astonishment,  and  enthusiasm  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  (iii.  6-11).  The  cordial 
love,  which  her  newly  married  husband  shows  her,  makes  her  forget  her  home-sickness,  and 
causes  her  to  enter  with  her  whole  heart  into  the  rapturous  rejoicings  of  the  wedding  feast  (iv. 
1 — v.  1).  But  the  heaven  of  her  happiness  is  soon  darkened  anew.  A  distressing  dream  (v. 
2-7)  mirrors  to  her  the  loss,  nay  the  desertion  of  her  husband ;  and  soon  after  the  way  in 
which  he  mentions  his  numerous  concubines,  with  whom  she  is  to  share  hia  love  (vi.  8),  in  the 
midst  of  his  caresses  and  flattering  speeches  (vi.  4-9)  shows  her  that  she  can  never  feel  happy 
in  the  voluptuous  whirl  of  his  court  life  already  degenerated  into  the  impure.  Hence  her  long- 
ing for  the  quiet  and  innocent  simplicity  of  her  rural  home  is  awakened  more  strongly  than 
ever  before,  and  drives  her  to  entreat  her  lover  to  remove  thither  with  her  altogether,  that 
as  at  once  a  husband  and  a  brother,  he  may  belong  exclusively  to  her  (v.  2— viii.  4).  Over- 
come by  her  charms  and  loveliness,  Solomon  yields  and  grants  her  her  humble  request  to 
become  a  plain  shepherdess  and  vinedresser  again,  instead  of  a  queen  surrounded  by  pomp  and 
splendor.  He  even  takes  part  in  the  merry  sport  and  innocent  raillery  with  which  she  pleases 
herself  in  her  old  accustomed  way  in  the  circle  of  her  brothers  and  sister  (one  little  sister  and 
several  grown  up  brothers),  and  joins  in  the  spirited  encomium  upon  the  all-conquering  and 
even  death-exceeding  power  of  wedded  love  and  fidelity  (viii-  6-8),  by  which,  with  a  thankful 
heart,  she  celebrates  her  return  home  (viii.  5-14). 

This  simple  action,  almost  entirely  free  from  exciting  complications  and  contrasts,  is  divided 
by  the  poet  into  five  acts,  of  which  the  next  to  the  last  (v.  2 — viii.  4)  is  in  striking  contrast  with 
the  rest  from  its  disproportionate  length,  but  yet  cannot  well  be  divided  into  two,  because  no 
proper  point  of  division  can  be  found  either  at  vi.  9,  10,  or  at  vii.  1.  Instead  of  the  number 
six,  maintained  by  Delitzsch,  we  shall,  therefore,  with  Ewald,  Bottcher  and  others  have  to  af- 
firm the  existence  of  five  principal  scenes  or  sections  of  the  piece.  And  in  substantial  adhe- 
rence to  the  only  correct  view  of  the  aim  and  constitution  of  the  whole  as  given  by  Delitzsch, 
we  shall  have  to  assign  the  following  characteristic  titles  or  statements  of  contents  to  these  five 
acts  : — 1)  Chap.  i.  2 — ii.  7.  The  first  time  the  lovers  were  together  at  the  royal  palace  in  (or 
near)  Jerusalem.  2)  Chap.  ii.  8— iii.  5.  The  first  meeting  of  the  lovers,  related  by  Shulamith, 
who  has  returned  to  her  home.  3)  Chap.  iii.  6— v.  1.  The  solemn  bringing  of  the  bride,  and 
the  marriage  at  Jerusalem.     4)  Chap.  v.  2— viii.  4.    Shulamith's  longing  reawakened  for  her 

*  The  identity  of  tliose  two  forma  of  the  name  is  already  Touched  for  by  EnsEBlos,  Onomast.  s.  v.  XovMjiJ.,  comp.  BlfiU), 
Zehrb.  g  156,  c,  [Gesen.  L&x.  under  the  letter  7]. 


g  2.  CONTENTS  AND  DIVISIONS  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


home.    5)  chap.  viii.  5-14.  The  return  home  and  the  triumph  of  the  chaste  love  of  the  wife  ovel 
the  unchaste  feelings  of  her  royal  husband.* 

Ebmabk  1.  According  to  the  ordinary  erotic  and  historical  interpretation  of  the  Song  of  Solo- 
mon,  as  it  has  been  developed  particularly  by  Umbeeit,  Ewald,  Hitzig,  Vaihinqee  and  Ee- 
NAN,  after  the  previous  suggestions  of  Jaoobi,  Ammon,  Staudlin,  etc.,  (comp.  1 6)  Shulamith 
is  in  love  not  with  Solomon,  but  with  a  young  shepherd  of  her  country  home,  from  whom  the 
wanton  king,  after  getting  her  in  his  harem  by  force  or  fraud  (i.  4 ;  comp.  vi.  11, 12)  seeks  to 
alienate  her  by  all  sorts  of  inducements  and  seductive  arts.  But  the  maid,  by  her  pure  love  to  her 
quondam  playmate,  resists  all  the  enticements  which  the  king  brings  to  bear  upon  her,  partly 
through  the  medium  of  the  ladies  of  his  court,  and  partly  in  person  by  his  own  flattering  speeches 
and  several  times  by  direct  and  violent  assaults  upon  her  virtue  [e.  g.,  iv.  9  ff. ;  vii.  2-10).  Con- 
vinced of  the  fidelity  of  her  devotion  to  her  distant  lover  Solomon  is  at  length  obliged  to  dismiss 
her  to  her  home,  whither  according  to  Staudlibt,  Renan  and  H  itziq  she  is  taken  by  her  afaanoed, 
who  has  meanwhile  hastened  to  her  on  the  wings  of  love  (vii.  12  ff.— ?),  whilst  Umbeeit,  Ewald 
aiid  others  prefer  to  leave  it  undecided  how  she  returned  from  Jerusalem  to  Shulem,  and  con- 
ceive of  her  in  viii.  5  ff.  as  suddenly  and  in  some  unexplained  way  transported  again  to  the  en- 
virons of  her  home  and  to  the  side  of  her  loVer. — This  view,  according  to  which  the  whole  is  to 
be  regarded  as  a  "  tribute  of  praise  to  an  innocence  which  Withstands  every  allurement,"  as  a 
"  song  of  praise  to  a  pure,  guileless,  faithful  love,  which  no  splendor  can  dazzle,  and  no  flattery 
ensnare"  (Ewald), seems  to  be  chiefly  favored  by  some  expressions  of  Shulamith  in  chap,  i.,  as 
Well  as  here  and  there  in  what  follows,  which  at  first  sight  have  the  look  of  passionate  exclama- 
tions td  her  distant  lover ;  so  particularly  i.  4,  "  Draw  me  after  thee,  then  we  will  run,"  and  i.  7, 
"0  tell  me,  thou  whom  my  soul  loveth,  where  feedest  thou?"  etc.  Comp.  also  iv.  16  ;  v.  10  ; 
vi.  2,  etc.  But  everything  is  much  simpler  both  in  these  passages  and  generally  in  the  whole 
poem,  if  Shulamith's  avowals  of  love  are  in  all  cases  referred  to  the  king  himself,  and  accord- 
ingly the  object  of  her  longing  as  expressed,  e.  g.,  in  i.  6f. ;  ii.  1,  Sfl'. ;  vi.  11,  12;  vii.  12  ff.,  is 
conceived  to  be  not  an  absent  lover,  but  only  the  peaceful  quiet  and  beauty  of  her  country  home. 
This  ardent  longing,  or  rather  the  childlike  simplicity  and  humility  which  are  at  the  bottom  of 
it,  lead  her  to  think  of  her  royal  lover  himself  as  though  he  were  a  shepherd  of  her  native  fields; 
and  to  describe  all  his  acts  and  movements,  his  plans  and  occupations,  by  expressions  drawn 

*  [We  cannot  bat  concede  to  this  scheme  the  praise  of  great  ingenuity,  particularly  in  the  form  originally  proposed  by 
DnilTzscH,  which  was  free  frgm  some  of  the  objections  that  lie  against  it  as  modified  by  Zockler.  And  yet  it  cannot  have 
escaped  attention  that  the  uniting  links  are  thronghottt  supplied  by  the  interpreter  and  not  found  in  the  Song  itself.  It 
is  at  best  but  a  plausible  hypothesis,  and  it  only  requires  the  application  of  like  ingenuity  to  devise  any  number  of  others 
tfiatertatly  differing  from  it,  yet  equally  entitled  to  regard.  The  story  suggested  above  is,  after  all,  only  a  romance  of  the 
modern  commentator  with  the  elements  of  the  Song  Woven  in  to  suit  his  convenience  or  his  taste. 

There  would  be  no  serious  objection,  perhaps,  to  this  or  any  other  fanciful  combination  of  the  statements  or  intimations 
of  the  poem,  if  it  were  not  for  the  bias  it  creates  in  the  mind  of  the  interpreter,  however  unconscious  he  may  be  of  it,  and 
the  teftiptation  to  which  it  subjects  him  to  explain  every  thing  in  harmony  with  his  preconceived  scheme.  The  return 
home  between  ii.  7  and  8,  the  marriage  ceremony  between  chap.  iii.  and  iv-,  the  desire  to  return  home  in  vii.  11,  etc.,  etc^ 
maslall  be  supplied.  That  the  temporary  interruption  of  the  loving  relation  between  the  bridegroom  and  his  bride  was 
due  to  the  inconstancy  of  the  former  (one  of  the  modifications  by  Zocklbb,  which  is  certainly  not  an  improvement)  is  not 
only  purely  imaginary,  but  at  variance  with  the  evident  suggestions  of  the  book,  e.  g.,  v.  3,  and  leads  to  a  distortion  of  its 
whole  idea.  What  is  figurative  in  the  Song,  and  what  is  literal  in  its  primary  application,  is  also  determined  mainly  by 
the  exigencies  of  the  scheme  with  which  the  interpreter  sets  out.  Thus  Zooeler,  who  views  the  bride  as  a  country 
maiden,  insists  on  the  strict  literality  of  all  that  is  said  of  her  rural  occupations  or  pleasures,  while  admitting  that  the 
pastoral  employments  of  the  king  i.  7  are  only  figurative,  and  explains  away  the  statement  vii.  1  that  she  is  a  prince's 
lianghter.  They,  who  identify  the  bride  with  the  daJighter  of  Pharaoh,  urge  the  literality  of  vii.  1,  and  convert  her  vine- 
yard, etc.,  into  figures.  Withinotos  in  favor  of  his  notion  that  she  is  a  Sheikh's  daughter  and  bred  in  rural  life,  claims 
tliat  there  is  no  figure  in  either  case,  since  both  may  be  adjusted  in  their  literal  sense  in  his  hypothesis. 

The  numerous  and  persistent  attempts  to  discover  a  regular  plot  or  a  consecutive  story  in  the  Song  of  Solomon,  have 
this  fa*  fejled  so  signally,  that  the  words  of  Thbupp  in  the  present  stateof  the  question  at  least,  seem  to  be  justified:  "It  is 
indeed  only  by  constraint  that  the  Song  can  be  viewed  as  a  drama  conforming  to  the  rules  of  outward  dramatic  unity."  It 
is  one  continuous  composition,  preserving  througliout  the  same  theme,  the  love  of  king  Solomon  and  his  bride,  the  image 
of »  divine  and  spiritual  love.  But  the  scenes  portrayed  and  the  display*  of  mutual  fondness  indulged  seem  to  be  grouped 
rather  than  linked.  They  stand  forth  in  their  distinctness  as  exquisitely  beautiful  and  reflecting  as  much  light  on  each 
"•herand  on  the  subject  which  they  illustrate  and  adorn,  as  though  they  had  been  gathered  up  into  the  artificial  unity  of 
a  Ootiseentive  narration  or  a  dramatic  plot.  And  this  looser  nlethod  of  arrangement  or  aggregation  with  its  abrupt  tran- 
•itlons  and  sadden  changes  of  scene,  is  no  less  graceful  and  impressive,  while  it  is  more  in  harmony  with  the  oriental  mind 
aiid  style  of  eompositiou  generally,  than  the  rigorous,  external  and  formal  concatenation  which  the  more  logical  but  lesi 
fiWd  Isdo.^li)aropeam  is  prone  to  demand..^TB.] 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


from  rural  and  pastoral  life  (see  i.  7,  13,  14,  17;  ii.  3ff.,  8  flf.,  16  f.;  v.  10  ff.;  vi.  2f.).  She 
continues  this  until  her  eager  desires  are  finally  granted,  and  her  royal  lover,  vanquished  by  the 
power  and  sincerity  of  her  love,  follows  her  to  her  quiet  home,  leaving  all  the  luxurious  splendof 
and  voluptuousness  of  his  court  in  order  to  live  as  a  shepherd  among  shepherds,  and  "  like  a  roe 
or  a  young  hart  on  the  mountains  of  spices  "  ( viii.  14)  to  participate  in  the  innocent  amusements 
of  Shulamith  and  her  brothers  and  sister.  This  happy  decision  is  brought  about  mainly  by  the 
glowing  earnestness  of  Shulamith's  language  in  vii.  10  if.,  in  which  her  love  for  Solomon  and  her 
homesickness  are  both  most  strongly  and  most  movingly  expressed.  Several  things  in  this  ad- 
dress of  hers  are  unaccountable  upon  any  other  view  of  the  whole  than  that  which  is  here  pre- 
sented, especially  the  wish  "  0  that  thou  wert  to  me  as  a  brother,"  etc.  (viii.  1),  and  likewise  the 
exhortation  "  Come  my  beloved,  let  us  go  into  the  country,"  etc.  (vii.  12).  And  many  previous 
expressions  of  Shulamith,  as  i.  12 ;  ii.  4  ;  iv.  16,  testify,  with  a  clearness  not  to  be  mistaken,  her 
loving  consent  to  Solomon's  suit,  and  therefore  cannot  without  forcing  be  reconciled  with  the  or- 
dinary profane-erotic  explanation.  It  must  in  particular  be  regarded  as  extremely  forced  when 
EwALD  regards  the  passage  iv.  8 — v.  1  as  a  monologue  of  Shulamith  in  which  she  describes  the 
plighted  love  other  distant  lover,  while  nothing  is  clearer  than  that  the  familiar  colloquy  of  the 
bridal  pair  on  their  weddmg  day,  which  begina  with  iv.  1,  is  continued  in  this  section,  (comp. 
Delitzsch,  p.  33  f.).  Several  of  the  assumptions,  by  which  HiTzia  tries  to  bolster  up  his  pecu- 
liar modifications  of  the  profane-erotic  interpretation  are  quite  as  arbitrary,  e.  g.  the  assertion 
that  ii.  7 ;  iii.  5 ;  viii.  4,  is  the  language  not  of  Shulamith  but  of  the  poet,  who  here  undertakes 
to  perform  the  part  of  the  chorus,  addressed  to  the  "  daughters  of  Jerusalem  "  just  as  in  v.  1  6 
also  the  poet  "puts  himself  forward "  (  !  ?  ) ;  the  intolerable  harshness  of  regarding  vi.  8  as  an 
expression  of  the  vexation  at  the  coy  beauty,  with  which  Solomon  turns  away  from  her  and  back 
again  to  the  ladies  of  his  court  who  are  ready  for  every  kind  of  indulgence;  the  opinion  that  in 
vii.  2-10  Solomon  makes  a  declaration  of  love  not  to  Shulamith,  but  to  some  one  of  his  concu- 
bines, and  that  in  a  vulgar  and  indecent  way;  the  assumption  that  Shulamith's  country  lover 
was  present  in  Jerusalem,  not  only  from  vii.  11,  but  from  iv.  6  onward,  and  was  engaged  in  the 
business  of  taking  his  affianced  home  from  the  royal  harem,  etc.  Renan,  who  follows  Hitzig  in 
the  main  has  endeavored  to  extend  some  of  these  assumptions  in  a  peculiar  way,  e.  g.,  by  the  as- 
sertion that  the  shepherd  beloved  by  Shulamith,  and  who  hastens  to  release  her  from  the  royal 
harem,  already  comes  upon  the  scene  in  ii.  2 ;  by  the  romantic  idea  that  the  same  languishing 
shepherd  utters  the  words  iv.  8-15  "  at  the  foot  of  the  tower  of  the  Seraglio,"  in  which  his  be- 
loved is  confined,  is  then  (iv.  16)  admitted  by  her  and  enraptured  exclaims  to  the  chorus  the 
words  V.  1  6. ;  by  the  fantastic  assumption  that  when  finally  released  she  is  carried  home  asleep 
by  her  lover,  and  laid  under  an  apple  tree,  where  she  then  viii.  5  f.,  awakes,  etc.  The  like,  only 
in  some  respects  more  whimsical  in  Bottohbp.,  die  dlteslen  Buhnendiehtungen,  etc.  The  wide 
divergence  between  these  leading  advocates  of  the  view  which  we  are  opposing,  and  that  in  so 
many  and  by  no  means  unimportant  particulars,  must  give  rise  to  misgivings  with  regard  to  the 
tenability  of  that  fundamental  conception  which  they  have  in  common.  Numerous  other  dis- 
crepancies between  them  as  well  as  between  the  critics  most  nearly  akin  to  them  will  meet  us 
in  the  course  of  the  detailed  exegesis,  and  will  confirm  from  the  most  diverse  quarters  the  impos- 
sibility of  carrying  consistently  through  the  hypothesis  of  two  rival  lovers  of  Shulamith  in  any 
of  its  phases.*    The  view  advocated  by  us  cannot,  it  is  true,  attain  to  absolute  certainty,  such  as 

*  [Tbeupp  thus  exposes  the  want  of  agreement  among  the  advocates  of  this  extraordinary  hypothesis :  "  We  find  that 
the  passage  1. 15  is  assigned  by  QiNSsma  to  the  shepherd,  by  HiTZiaand  Renan  to  Solomon;  ii.  2  is  assigned  by  Gixbbbro 
and  Renan  to  the  shepherd,  but  by  HiTzia  to  Solomon;  Ginsbdro  makes  the  shepherd  the  speaker  in  iv.  1-5,  and  ver.  7 
to  middle  of  10,  with  part  of  v.  1,  but  Renan  gives  iv.  1-7  to  Solomon,  the  remainder  of  the  above  to  the  shepherd,  while 
niTziQ  gives  iv.  1-5,  7,  9,  10, 12,  etc.,  to  Solomon,  6,  8, 11  to  the  shepherd ;  vi.  8  is  given  to  Solomon  by  Ginsboeo  and  HiTZia 
but  to  the  shepherd  by  Kenan;  vi.  9  is  given  to  Solomon  by  QlNSBTma,  bnt  to  the  shepherd  by  HiTzlci  and  Renan.  How 
little  value  is  attached  by  OiNSBDRa  himself  to  his  own  argument  may  be  gathered  from  the  circumstance  that  whereas  he 
assigns  iv.  1-5  to  the  shepherd,  he  yet,  when  this  passage  is  partially  repeated  in  vi.  5-7 ;  vii.  3,  puts  the  identical  words  into 
the  mouth  of  Solomon.  It  is  clear  that  he  sees  no  fundamental  difference  in  the  language  which  his  two  male  characters 
use.  And  it  is  not  pretended  that  they  ever  address  each  other  ;  nor  indeed  is  there  a  single  passage  in  which,  according 
to  any  probable  interpretation,  they  are  both  addressed  or  spoken  of  together.  The  distinction  between  them  is  in  fact 
purely  fictitious;  there  is  but  one  male  character  in  the  song,  the  true  beloved." 

In  regard  to  the  introduction  of  new  and  imaginary  speakers,  which  has  been  carried  to  such  extravagant  excess  by 
Hlizio,  the  same  able  writer  pertinently  remarks:    "  It  is  evident  that  sufficient  ingenuity  might  make  a  complicated 


I  2.  CONTENTS  AND  DIVISIONS  OF  THE  SONG  OP  SOLOMON.  9 

shall  be  perfectly  satisfactory  in  all  respects,  because  the  absence  of  titles  to  the  several  acts,  as 
well  as  to  the  parts  of  each  particular  person,  makes  a  reliable  distribution  of  the  action  amongst 
the  several  parties  impossible  in  many  cases ;  and  because,  unfortunately,  no  old  and  credible  ac- 
counts of  the  original  meaning  and  origin  of  the  poem,  that  is  to  say  no  correct  explanatory  scho- 
lia are  in  existence.  Thus  much,  however,  can  be  established  with  a  high  degree  of  probability 
that  among  the  various  historical  explanations  of  this  drama  that  which  is  here  attempted  by  us 
as  a  modification  of  that  of  Delitzsoh  harmonizes  particularly  well  at  once  with  the  contents  of 
the  piece  ascertained  in  an  unprejudiced  manner,  and  with  its  composition  by  Solomon,  which  is 
attested  by  tradition  and  by  internal  considerations ;  on  which  account  it  ia  to  be  preferred  to  the 
historical  explanation  of  v.  Hofmanh,  which  is  kindred  to  it  in  many  respects.  (He  identifies 
the  bride  of  the  song  with  Pharaoh's  daughter,*  celebrated  in  Ps.  xlv.,  and  takes  the  poem  to  be 
a  celebration  of  the  marriage  of  Solomon  and  this  Egyptian  princess,  moving  iu  figures  drawn 
from  the  life  of  shepherds  and  vintagers).  See  further  particulars  concerning  and  in  opposition 
to  this  exposition  of  Hofmann  in  Delitzsoh,  p.  37  ff. ;  and  comp.  |  4  below. 

Remark  2. — The  opinions  of  different  interpreters  also  diverge  considerably  in  respect  to  the 
limits  of  the  several  scenes  and  acts  or  songs,  whilst  the  piece  itself  does  not  furnish  certain  cri- 
teria enough  to  verify  either  one  view  or  another.  Most  of  the  recent  writers  agree  in  as- 
suming about  ten  or  twelve  scenes;  but  less  unanimity  prevails  in  regard  to  the  question  how 
these  shorter  scenes  are  to  be  apportioned  among  the  larger  acts,  and  how  many  such  acts  are  to 
be  assumed.  Hitzig-  altogether  despairs  of  reducing  the  nine  "  scenes  "  affirmed  by  him  to  a 
smaller  number  of  acts.  Delitzsoh,  Hahn,  and  Weissbaoh  number  six  acts  with  two  scenes 
each.  EwAiiD  (after  giving  up  the  assumption  of  four  acts  previously  maintained  in  his  com- 
mentary of  1826)  and  with  him  Bottchbe,  Ebnan,  Vaihingbb  and  many  others  make  five  acts 
among  which  they  variously  distribute  the  thirteen  to  fifteen  scenes  which  they  assume.  E.  P. 
Feibdeioh  reckons  four  acts  with  ten  scenes.  And  finally  ton  Hofmann  assumes  but  three 
principal  divisions  of  about  the  same  length  (i.  2 — iii.  5;  iii.  6 — v.  16  ;  vi.  1 — viii.  12)  to  which 
he  supposes  a  brief  conclusion  of  but  two  verses  (viii.  IS,  14)  to  be  appended.  The  assumption 
of  five  acts  might  be  recommended  in  the  general  by  the  consideration  that  the  action  of  any 
drama  by  a  sort  of  necessity  passes  through  five  main  steps  or  stages  in  its  progress  to  its  con- 
summation; whence  we  see  Greek  dramas  invariably,  and  the  old  Indian  at  least  prevailingly 
divided  into  that  number  of  acts,  and  the  dialogue  portion  of  the  book  of  Job,  the  other  chief 
product  of  the  dramatic  art  in  the  Old  Testament  besides  the  Song  of  Solomon,  is  most  clearly 
separated  into  five  divisions  (comp.  Ewald,  d.  Bichter  d.  A.  Bds,,  I.  69 ;  Delitzsoh,  d.  B., 
Job,  p.  12,  in  the  ••Bihl.  Commentar."  by  Keil  and  Del.).  To  this  may  be  added  that  judging  by 
the  quintuple  division  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  found  in  some  old  Ethiopic  versions,  the  Sept. 
which  is  at  the  basis  of  these  versions  would  seem  to  have  divided  the  book  into  that  number  of 
sections  (Ewald,  Bill.  Jahrb.,  1849,  p.  49),  and  that  exegetical  tradition,  in  so  far  as  itgives  ma- 
nifold testimony  even  in  the  patristic  period  [e.  g.,  Oeiobn,  Jbbome)  to  the  dramatic  character 
of  this  piece,  likewise  confirms,  though  indirectly,  its  separation  into  the  five  customary  divisions 
of  every  drama.  Against  the  assumption  made  by  Delitzsoh  and  Hahn  of  six  acts  may  be 
further  urged  in  particular  that  the  assertion  on  which  it  is  based  that  the  larger  act  v.  2— viii. 
4  is  plainly  divided  into  two  acts  by  the  recurrence  in  vi.  10  of  the  admiring  question  Ul  riNt  'D 
from  iii.  6  is  certainly  unfounded,  because  this  question  is  here  manifestly  only  a  statement  of 

cross-dialogQe  of  this  kind  outof  almost  anything;  each  difflculty  that  might  arise,  would  only  require  at  most  one  addi- 
tional complication,  or  one  additional  speaker."  Nevertheless  this  extreme  is  a  natural  sequence  of  the  method  adopted. 
Ifthe  lover  may  be  divided  iuto  two,  why  not  the  beloved,  and  why  may  not  each  resulting  character  be  subdivided  again, 
a  process  which  must  very  soon  furnish,  and  in  fact  in  HllziG's  and  Kenan's  hands  may  be  regarded  as  having  already 
garnished  its  own  reductio  ad  absurdum. — Tr.J. 

*  [This  Idea  has  been  a  favorite  one  with  English  Commentators.  The  book  bears  this  heading  in  Matthew's  Bible! 
"Solomon  made  this  ballad  or  «ong  by  himself  and  his  wife  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh,  under  the  shadow  of  himself  figuring 
Christ  and  under  the  person  of  his  wife  the  church."  And  among  the  more  recent  expositors,  Woedsw.  :  "  It  is  probable 
that  the  marriage  of  Solomon  with  Pharaoh's  daughter  may  have  given  occasion  to  the  composition  of  the  lorty-nfth 
Psalm  and  also  of  the  Canticles."  So  Harmeb  (Outliues,  p.  27  £f.),  Lightpoot  (Chronology  of  Old  Test,  in  his  Works,  I.  p. 
'6),  TiYloR  (Fragments  appended  to  Calmet,  No.  345  ff.)  and  with  more  or  less  confidence  many  others.  It  is  expressly 
controverted  by  Gill  (who  finds  a  chronological  difflculty  in  vii.  i,  comp.l  Kin.  vi.  38;  vii.  1,  2),  Percy  (who  argues  from 
Iii.  4, 10 ;  viii.  2,  8, 12),  Theupp,  Weiss,  (who  urges  the  incongruities  of  the  literal  hypothesis  generally,  and  especiaUy  i.  6, 
*i  ir.  8;  y.  2,  cfc.).  Moody  Siuakt  (who  adds  to  the  preceding  i.  7, 14;  vii.  4)  and  others.— Te.]. 


10 


INTEODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


what  was  thought  and  said  by  the  women  mentioned  in  the  preceding  verse,  and  is  therefore  most 
closely  connected  with  ver.  9,  as  this  with  ver.  8  of  the  same  chapter  {comp.  the  exeget.  explana- 
tions in  loc).  A  separation  of  what  is  certainly  a  disproportionately  long  section  v.  2 — viii.  4, 
into  two  or  more  of  similar  size  seems  on  the  whole  to  be  impracticable  on  account  of  the  unifor' 
mity  and  continuity  of  its  contents,  and  we  shall  for  this  reason  have  to  assume  that  the  five  acts 
enumerated  above  in  the  text  of  this  section  are  probably  the  original  ones;  especially  as  there  can 
be  no  doubt  of  the  correctness  of  the  points  of  division  assumed  by  Delitzsch  in  substantial  agree- 
ment with  Ewald  (ii.  7;  iii.  5;  viii.  4 — in  each  case  the  well  known  refrain:  "I  adjure  you,  ye 
daughters  of  Jerusalem,"  etc.).  We  differ  in  this  division  from  Ewald  and  Bottcheb  only  in  that 
we  make  the  third  act  end  with  v.  1,  because  Bwald's  assertion  that  this  characteristic  concluding 
verse  "  I  adjure  you,  ete.,"  has  been  dropped  after  v.  8,  cannot  be  proved,  and  the  attaching  of  v.  2- 
7  to  the  third  act  appears  on  the  whole  mappropriate  (as  was  also  seen  by  Rbnan).  Our  division 
is  distinguished  from  that  of  Rbhan  by  the  different  compass  which  it  assigns  to  the  last  two  acts, 
of  which  the  fourth  extends  according  to  him  from  v.  2  to  vi.  3,  the  fiftb  from  vi.  3  to  viii.  7,  and 
finally  viii.  8-14  is  a  small  appendix  or  epilogue — all  this  in  virtue  of  the  strangest  and  most  forced 
assumptions,  which  will  be  remarked  upon  as  far  as  is  necessary  in  the  detailed  interpretation.  On 
the  compass  and  limits  of  the  scenes,  into  which  the  five  acts  are  again  divided,  we  shall  have  to 
treat  in  connection  with  the  detailed  exegesis.* 


*  [Good,  Fey,  and  Notes,  who  adopt  the  idyllic  hypothesis  divide  the  book  as  follows,  vis : 

GOOD. 

i.  2-8  Royal  bride,  attendant  virgins. 
i.  9 — ii.  7  King  Soloman,  Royal  bride. 

3.  ii.  8-17  Royal  bride. 

4.  iii.  1-5  Royal  bride, 
iii.  6 — iv.  7  Royal  bride,  attendant  virgins,  king  Soloman. 
iv.  8 — V.  1  King  Soloman,  royal  bride. 

7.  V.  2 — vi.  10  Royal  bride,  atten  lant  virgins,  king  Soloman. 

8.  vi.  11-13  Royal  bride,  attendant  virgins, 
vii.  1 — 9  Koyal  bride,  attendant  virgins,  king  Soloman. 

10.  vii.  10 — viii.  4  Royal  bride. 

11.  viii.  6-7  Virgins,  royal  bride,  king  Soloman. 

12.  viii.  8-14  Royal  bride,  king  Soloman. 


FRY. 

Idtx  oe  PiBABLE    1.  1.  2-6  A  bride  from  a  low  station  conducted  to  the  fionsd  of  the  IdDg. 

2.  1.  7,  8  Shepherd  and  shepherdess. 

8.  i.  9— ii.  7  Royal  bride  and  bridegroom. 

4.  ii.  8-17  Lovers  in  the  country,  residing  at  a  distance. 

5.  iii.  1-5  Scene  from  humble  life  in  the  city. 

6.  iii.  6-11  Marriage  procession  of  the  king. 

7.  iv,  1— V.  1  A  lover  to  his  affianced. 

8.  V.  2 — vi.  1  A  domestic  occurrence  in  humble  life  (in  two  parts). 

9.  vi.  2-10  A  bride  rehearsing  the  language  of  her  husband. 

10.  vi.  11— Tii.  9  A  bride  in  a  garden  with  a  company  of  women. 

11.  vii.  10— viii.  4  A  bride  invites  her  husband  to  the  country. 

12.  viii.  6-14  A  married  pair  contemplated  and  overheard. 


ISTL 


NOTES. 

i.  2-8  An  innocent  country  maiden  accompanied  by  virgins  U  anxious  to  aee  hor  lover. 

i.  9 — ii.  7  Conversation  between  a  lover  and  maiden. 

ii.  8-17  The  maiden's  meeting  with  her  lover  iu  a  vineyard. 

iii.  1-5  The  maiden's  search  for  her  lover. 

iii.  6-11  The  conducting  of  a  spouse  of  Solomon  to  his  palace. 

iv.  1- — V.  1  Conversation  between  a  lover  and  maiden. 

V.  2 — vi.  3  The  maiden's  search  for  her  lover  by  night,  and  praide  of  his  beauty. 

vi.  4-9  The  lover's  praise  of  the  object  of  his  attachment. 

vi.  10 — viii.  4  Conversation  between  a  lover  and  maiden. 

viii,  5-7  Chorua  of  virgins,  maiden  and  lover. 

viii.  8-12  A  conversation  of  two  brothers  about  their  aister,  with  her  remarks. 

viii,  13, 14  The  lover  sent  away.    A  fragment. 


BossuKZ  flBgg«Bted  the  idea  that  saccess^e  portions  of  the  SoQg  of  Solpmon  were  desigaed  to  be  sung  on  each  of  the  sev^ 


2  8.  DATE  AND  AUTHOR  OP  THE  SONG  OP  SOLOMON.  11 

§  3. — DATE  AND  AUTHOE  OF  THE  SONG  OP  SOLOMON. 

That  Canticles  waa  composed  in  the  age  of  Solomon  as  the  flourishing  period  of  the  Old  Tea- 
tament  Chokmah-hterature  may  be  argued  not  only  from  manifold  indications  of  the  afhnity 
between  its  ethical  tendency  and  view  of  the  world  and  those  of  Solomon's  collection  of  pro- 
verbs, but  chiefly  from  the  certainty  with  which  its  author  deals  with  all  that  is  connected  with 
the  history  of  the  Solomonic  period  ;  the  exuberant  prosperity  and  the  abundance  of  native  and 
foreign  commodities  whose  existence  he  assumes  in  Israel  at  that  time,  and  the  remarkably  rich 
round  of  figures  and  comparisons  from  nature  which  is  everywhere  at  his  command  in  his  de- 
scriptions. And  that  this  author  is  no  other  than  Solomon  himself  is  shown  by  the  extensive 
knowledge  which  he  exhibits  throughout  the  entire  poem  of  remarkable  and  rare  objects  from  all 
of  the  three  kingdoms  of  nature,  and  by  which  he  may  be  most  unmistakably  recognized  as  that 
wise  and  well-informed  king,  who  was  able  to  speak  "  of  trees  from  the  cedar  tree  that  is  in 
Lebanon  even  unto  the  hyssop  that  springeth  out  of  the  wall ;  also  of  beasts  and  of  fowl  and 
of  creeping  things  and  of  fishes,"  1  Kin.  v.  13  (iv.  33).  Solomon's  authorship  is  likewise  con- 
firmed by  the  equal  acquaintance  which  the  poet  shows  with  all  parts  of  the  land  of  Israel;  the 
easy  and  familiar  way,  indicating  not  only  accurate  knowledge  but  royal  possession  and  owner- 
ship, in  which  he  speaks  of  horses  in  Pharaoh's  chariot  (i.  9),  of  wood  from  Lebanon  (iii.  9),  of 

eo  days,  during  which  the  marriage  festival  laated.    Perot,  Williams,  and  Taylor  (in  fragment8  to  Calmei's  DictionarJ 
of  the  Bible)  base  their  divisions  of  the  book  on  this  conception.    Thus : 

BOSSUBT.  PERCY. 

1st  Day  i.  2— ii.  6  1.  2— ii.  7. 

2d  Day  ii.  7-17  ii.  8— iii.  6. 

3d  Day  iii.  1— v.  1  iii.  6— iv.  7. 

4th  Day  t.  2— vi.  9  '  iv.  8— v.  1. 

ethDay  vi.  10— vii.  11  v.  2— yi.  10. 

6th  Day  vii.  12— viii.  3  vi.  11— viii.  4. 

7th  Day  viii.  4r-14  viii.  5-14. 

VTILLIAlVtS. 

lat  Day — niorriing  i.  2-8  evening  i.  9-14 

2d  Day  "  i.  15— ii.  7  "  ii.  8-17. 

3d  Day  "  iii.  1-5  "  iii.  6-11. 

4thDay  "  iv.  1-6  "  iv.  7— v.  1. 

SthDay  "  v.  2— vi.  3  "  vi.  4-13. 

ethDay  "  vii.  1-10  "  vii.  11  — viu.  4. 

7th  Day  "  viii.  5-7  "  viii.  8-14. 

TinOR  Supposes  the  several  "  eclogues  "  to  be  sung  on  six  days,  and  before  the  marriage  ceremony  instead  of  after  It, 
He  divided  the  book  thus : 

Ist  Day— morning  i.  2-8  evening  i.  9— ii.  7. 

2d  Day  "  ii.  8-17  "       iii.  1-5. 

3d  Day  "  iii.  6— iv.  6  "       iv.  7— v.  1. 

4th  Day  "  v.  2— vi.  3  "        vi.  4-13. 

6th  Day  "  vii.  1-6  "       vii.  6— viiL  4. 

6th  Day  "  (after  the  marriage  ceremony)  viii.  5-14. 

MOODT  Stuart  divides  the  book  as  is  done  by  ZiiCKLER,  but  entitles  the  sections  differently: 
Canticle  I.    i.  2 — ii.  7  The  bride  seeking  and  finding  the  king. 
II.    ii.  8 — iii.  6  The  sleeping  bride  awakened. 

III.  iii.  6 — V.  1  The  bridegroom  with  the  bride. 

IV.  V.  2 viii.  4  The  bridegroom's  withdrawal  and  reappearance,  and  the  bride's  glory. 

v.    viii.  6-14  The  little  sister. 

Datidsok  and  Gihsbubg,  adherents  of  the  shepherd-hypothesis,  follow  the  same  division. 

timvv  adopts  substantially  the  same,  only  subdividing  the  fourth  and  last  sections,  thia 

1.  i.  ^— ii.  7  The  anticipation. 

2.  ii.  8 — iii.  5  The  awaiting. 

3.  iii.  6— v.  1  The  espousal  and  its  results. 

4.  V.  2-8  The  absence. 

5.  V.  9 — viii.  4  The  presence. 
0.  viii.  5-12  Love's  triumph. 

viii.  13, 14  Gonclusion. 


12  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 

the  tower  in  Lebanon  looking  toward  Damascus  (vii.  5),  of  the  pools  of  Heshbon  and 
the  forests  of  Carmel  (vii.  5,  6),  the  tents  of  Kedar  and  the  mountains  of  Gilead  (i.  5; 
iv.  1),  of  the  beauty  of  Tirzah  and  thi  loveliness  of  Jerusalem  (vi.  4;  comp.  iv.  4),  e<o. 
The  peculiarities  in  the  language  of  the  poem,  rightly  estimated,  likewise  testify  rather  in 
favor  of  than  against  Solomon's  authorship.  For  the  Aramaeisms  and  apparent  traces  of 
later  usage,  which  it  presents,  are,  like  similar  phenomena  in  the  Song  of  Deborah,  in  the 
Book  of  Job,  in  the  prophet  Amos,  etc.,  to  be  attributed  entirely  to  its  highly  poetical  character. 
And  the  occurrence  in  individual  cases  of  foreigu  non-Semitic  words  (e.  g.  D'I'ia  iv.  13,  P'liJN 
iii.  9),  if  this  were  actually  proven,  would  be  least  surprising  in  a  writer  of  such  many-sided 
learning  and  of  so  universal  a  turn  of  mind  as  Solomon.  And  finally  the  contents  of  the  piece 
are  of  such  a  nature  as  not  only  to  admit  but  actually  to  favor  the  supposition  that  Solomon  is 
the  author,  provided  that  in  ascertaining  these  contents  we  discard  the  common  assumptioa  of 
the  profane-erotic  exegesis  that  this  king  is  introduced  as  the  seducer  of  the  innocence  of  a 
country  maid  who  adheres  with  steadfast  fidelity  to  her  betrothed.  For  the  fundamental 
thought  set  forth  above  [l  2,  p.  6)  in  opposition  thereto,  of  a  purifying  influence  proceeding  from 
Shulamith's  devoted  love  upon  the  heart  of  the  king,  already  partly  tainted  by  the  sensuality 
of  polygamy  and  the  voluptuous  manners  of  the  harem,  harmonizes  very  well  with  the  reference 
of  the  poem  to  Solomon  ;*  especially  as  the  mention  of  the  sixty  queens  and  the  eighty  concu- 
bines compared  with  the  numbers  stated  in  1  Kings  xi.  3  as  belonging  to  his  later  years,  seven 
hundred  queens  and  three  hundred  concubines,  points  to  an  earlier  period  in  the  life  of  this  king 
as  the  date  of  the  poem,  a  time  when  his  many  wives  had  not  yet  ensnared  his  heart  in  unhal- 
lowed passion,  nor  "  turned  him  away  after  strange  gods  "  to  the  extent  that  this  took  place 
shortly  before  his  death,  1  Kings  xi.  4.  It  is,  therefore,  Solomon,  when  he  had  not  yet  sunk  to 
the  lowest  stage  of  polygamous  and  idolatrous  degeneracy,  but  was  still  relatively  pure,  and  at 
any  rate  was  still  in  full  possession  of  his  rich  poetic  productivity  1  Kings  v.  12  (iv.  32)  whom  we 
must  suppose  to  have  been  the  author  of  this  incomparably  beautiful  and  graceful  lyrioo-dra- 
matic  work  of  art,  in  which  he  on  the  one  hand  extols  the  virtue  of  bis  charming  wife,  and  on  the 
other  humbly  confesses  his  own  resistance  at  first  to  the  purifying  influence  proceeding  from  her. 
On  this  view,  therefore,  the  statement  of  the  title  (i.  1),  which,  though  post-Solomonic  [?],  is 
yet  very  ancient  and  certainly  prior  to  the  closing  of  the  Canon,  is  justified  as  perfectly  true 
historically  ;  and  it  is  unnecessary,  for  the  sake  of  setting  aside  the  direct  Solomonic  origin  of 
the  poem,  to  give  to  rlbSt^'^,  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  the  language  and  of  the  constant  usage 
of  '?  in  the  superscriptions  to  the  Psalms,  the  explanation,  "  in  reference  to  Solomon,"  or  "  in  the 
style  of  Solomon,"  to  which  e.  g.  Umbbbit,  following  the  lead  of  some  older  commentators  like 
CoocEius,  shows  himself  inclined  (perhaps  also  the  Septuag.  with  its  translation  :  'Aio/io  'fsfiaTov, 
0  £GTiv  Ti3  2aAW/tf(jy).-]- 

Weiss,  according  to  Ms  historico-propbetic  scheme,  divides  the  hool£  into  three  parts,  aa  related  to  tlxree  successive  divine 
manifestations,  together  with  a  conclusion,  thus  : 

1.  i.  2 — ii.  7  The  dedication  of  the  tabernacle. 

2.  ii.  8 — iii.  5  The  dedication  of  Solomon's  temple. 

3.  iii.  6 — viii.  4  The  advent  of  Christ, 
viii.  5-14  Conclusion. 

BlTRltoWES  also  divides  into  three  parts,  viz. ; 

1.  i.  2— ii.  7  Successive  manifestations  of  divine  love  to  the  believing  soul. 

2.  ii.  8 — vii.  9  Motives  to  allure  the  soul  from  the  world  to  Christ. 

3.  vii.  10 — viii.  14  Effects  produced  by  these  manifestations  and  motives]. 

*  [The  discredit,  which  Zockler's  hypothesis  unwarrantably  casts  upon  Solomon  aa  exhibited  In  this  Song,  plainly 
tends  so  far  as  it  goes  to  encumber  unnecessarily  the  question  of  his  authorship. — Te.] 

f  [Weiss  (and  more  doubtfully  Patrick,  Ainsworth  and  Gill)  translates,  "  concerning  Solomon,"  conceiving  that  it 
is  a  heavenly  and  not  an  earthly  personage,  who  is  so  designated  in  this  verse  as  well  as  in  the  rest  of  the  Song.  Notes 
(on  the  ground  of  i.  4,  5;  iii.  6-11;  vii.  5;  viii.  11, 12)  and  Thrupp  deny  that  it  was  written  by  Solomon.  The  former 
supposes  "  Canticles  to  have  been  written  by  some  Jewish  poet  either  in  the  reign  of  Solomon  or  soon  after  it."  Thbupp 
objects  that  Solomon  was  not  fitted  by  his  training  to  appreciate  or  depict  a  pure  and  holy  love;  the  absence  of  any  allu- 
sion to  the  temple ;  the  typical  use  made  of  the  figure  of  Solomon  ;  the  mention  of  Tirzah,  vi.  4 ;  certain  passages  upon 
which  he  has  put  fanciful  interpretations,  e.  g.  i.  15,  from  which  he  infers  that  *'  .Terusalem  was  uo  longer  the  religious 
metropolis  of  the  whole  nation ;"  iv.  4,  "  the  shields  of  several  successive  generations  of  warriors ;"  ii.  15,  foxes  ravaging  the 


2  3.  DATE  AND  AUTHOR  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  13 


Remark  1.  The  position  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  in  the  literature  of  the  Old  Testament  is  thus 
defined  by  Delitzsch  (Section  II.,  p.  9  ff.)  as  the  result  of  a  careful  investigation  :  With  the 
exception  of  some  points  of  contact  with  Genesis  (comp.  e.  g.  vii.  11  with  Gen.  iii.  16 ;  iv.  11 
with  Gen.  xxvii.  27;  viii.  6  with  Gen.  xlix.  7),  it  contains  no  references  to  the  earlier  wntings 
of  the  Bible.     Quite  as  little  does  it  betray  any  close  relationship  in  ideas  or  language  with  the 
Psalms  of  David  or  the  Book  of  Job,  the  principal  productions  of  the  oldest  lyric  and  dramatic 
literature  of  the  Old  Testament.     But  on  the  contrary  it  presents  more  numerous  and  significant 
instances  of  resemblance  to  or  accordance  with  those  sections  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  which 
date  from  the  time  next  after  Solomon,  especially  with  Prov.  i.-ix  and  xxii.-xxiv  ;  and  these  are 
of  such  a  nature  as  to  assert  its  priority  and  the  imitation  of  many  of  its  ideas  and  expressions 
by  the  authors  of  those  sections.     The  correctness  of  these  observations,  from  which  it  follows 
at  least  that  Canticles  originated  in  the  Solomonic  period,  can  scarcely  be  impugned,  in  view 
especially  of  such  manifest  coincidences  as  that  between  Prov.  v.  15  ff.  and  Cant.  iv.  15,  between 
Prov.  vii.  17  and  Cant.  iv.  14,  between  Prov.  v.  3  and  Cant.  iv.  11,  between  Prov.  vi.  30,  31 
and  Cant.  viii.  6,  7,  between  Prov.  xxiii.  31  and  Cant.  vii.  10.     More  important,  however,  than 
these  and  like  internal  testimonies  to  the  existence  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  in  an  epoch  which 
at  any  rate  was  very  near  that  of  Solomon  (comp.  various  other  characteristic  coincidences  in 
individual  expressions  between  this  Song  and  the  Proverbs  collected  by  Hengstenbebo,  daB 
Hohelied  Salomo's,  etc.,  p.  234  f.,  and  Haeveenick,  Einleit.  I.,  1, 211)  are  the  indications  which 
point  directly  to  Solomon  himself  as  the  author,  such  as  the  Song  contains  in  no  small  number. 
First  of  all,  it  moves  among  the  historical  relations  of  the  time  of  David  and  Solomon  with  the  ut- 
most confidence.    It  knows  the  crown,  with  which  Solomon  was  crowned  by  his  mother  Bathsheba 
on  the  day  of  his  marriage  (iii.  11),  likewise  his  bed  of  state  made  of  cedar  wood  from  Lebanon 
(iii.  9,  10),  and  his  sedan  surrounded  by  sixty  of  the  heroes  of  Israel  (iii.  7) ;  further,  the  tower 
of  David  hung  with  a  thousand  shields  (iv.  4),  the  ivory  tower  of  Solomon,  as  well  as  the  watch- 
tower  built  on  Lebanon  toward  Damascus  (vii.  5).     All  these  things,  to  which  are  to  be  added 
the  "  horses  in  Pharaoh's  chariot,"  i.  e.   the  chariot  horses   of  the  king  imported  from  Egypt 
(i,  9 ;  comp.  1  Kings  x.  28,  29  ;  2  Chron.  ix.  28) ;  likewise  Solomon's  "  sixty  queens  and  eighty 
concubines"  (vi.  8;  comp.  1  Kings  xi.  3)  ;  the  royal  vineyards  at  Engedi  and  at  Baal-hamon 
(i.  14;  viii.  11) ;  the  pools  of  Heshbon  (vii.  5) ;  Shenir,  Hermon  and  Amana,  peaks  of  Lebanon 
(iv.  8) ;  the  plain  of  Sharon  and  Mount  Carmel  (ii.  1 ;  vii.  6),  etc. — all  this  is  taken  in  so  ready 
a  way  from  objects  immediately  at  hand,  and  described  upon  occasion  with  such  an  accurate 
and  thorough  knowledge  of  the  thmgs  themselves  that  we  cannot  deem  the  author  of  such  de- 
scriptions to  have  been  a  subject  or  citizen  of  Solomon's  kingdom  or  any  other  than  this  king 
himself,  the  possessor  and  ruler  of  the  whole.     And  this  especially  for  the  reason  that  in  the 
way  in  which  the  manifold  beauties  of  nature  and  of  art  in  the  kingdom  just  mentioned  are  by 
bold  comparisons  and  luxuriant  figures  employed  to  exalt  the  Shulamite,  there  is  a  manifest  endea- 
vor to  connect  whatever  in  it  is  grand  and  entrancing  with  the  king's  beloved  and  to  represent 
the  whole  as  personally  concentrated  as  it  were  in  her.     That  along  with  this  Solomon  is  often 
mentioned  in  the  third  person  and  by  name,  that  not  unfrequently  he  is  spoken  of  in  a  lauda- 
tory way,  and  once  particularly  (v.  10-16)  the  praise  of  his  beauty  is  dwelt  upon  at  length  and 
in  lavish  terms  from  the  mouth  of  his  beloved — this  can  no  more  be  regarded  as  disproving  the 
authorship  of  Solomon,  than  it  can  be  inferred  from  the  mention  of  Tirzah  along  with  Jerusa- 
lem in  vi.  4  that  the  poem  did  not  have  its  origin  until  after  Solomon's  death,  in  the  time  when 
the  kingdoms  were  divided.     For  Tirzah  was  doubtless  already  under  David  and  Solomon  a 
city  distinguished  for  its  greatness  and  beauty,  and  was  only  made  the  royal  residence  in  the 
northern  kingdom  by  Jeroboam  and  his  immediate  successors  (1  Kings  xiv.  17  ;  xv.  21 ;  xvi. 

vineyard  of  Israel  would  not  be  thought  of  in  Solomon's  prosperous  reign;  Ps.  xlv.,  which  is  imitated  in  this  Song 
"probably  dates  from  the  reign  of  Jehoshaphat."  From  these  data,  which  are  so  intangible  as  not  to  require  and  scarcely 
to  admit  of  refutation,  he  infers  that  the  "  Song  of  songs  was  probably  composed  about  a  century  or  more  after  the  death 
of  Solomon  by  a  member  of  one  of  the  prophetical  schools  in  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes."  Giksbouo  says  :  "  Ths 
title  of  this  poem  designates  Solomon  as  the  author,  but  internal  evidence  is  against  it,"  that  is  to  say,  the  explanation 
which  he,  in  common  with  other  advocates  of  the  shepherd-hypothesis,  puts  upon  it  is  inconsistent  with  its  haying  been 
written  by  Solomon.  But  whether  in  this  case  the  well  accredited  fact  of  Solomon's  authorship  must  bo  given  up  or  the 
untenable  hypothesis  must  fall  Is  another  matter. — Ta.] 


14  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OP  SOLOMON. 

8,  23),  for  the  reason  that  it  had  previously  attained  to  a  highly  flourishing  condition  and  to 
great  conseqaence,  oomp.  Josh.  xii.  24,  where  it  already  appears  as  an  ancient  .city  of  the  Ca- 
naanitish  kings.  The  laudation  of  Solomon,  however,  hke  the  frequent  mention  of  his  name  ig 
sufaciently  explained  by  the  dramatic  constitution  of  the  whole,  which  made  it  necessary  for  the 
royal  poet  to  speak  of  himself  as  objectively  as  possible  (comp.  much  that  is  similar  in  the 
Psalms  of  David,  e.  g.,  Ps.  xx.,  xxi.,  ex.,  likewise  in  Ps.  Ixxii.  by  Solomon)  and  which  in  parti- 
cular "  unavoidably  brought  with  it  the  mutual  praise  of  the  lover  and  his  beloved  "  (Del.  p.  17). 
But  a  more  emphatic  testimony  than  any  hitherto  adduced,  is  borne  in  favor  of  Solomon  him- 
self as  the  author  of  the  poem,  by  the  extraordinarily  developed  appreciation  of  the  beauties 
of  nature  which  the  singer  exhibits  at  every  point  of  his  performance,  and  his  fondness,  which, 
reminds  us  at  once  of  1  Kings  v.  13  (iv.  33),  for  figures,  tropes  and  similes  highly  imagina- 
tive in  conception  and  in  execution,  and  drawn  from  every  realm  of  nature,  particularly  from 
animal   and  plant   life.     There  are  mentioned  in  this  poem  nearly  twenty   names  of  plants 

(JUX  nui,   niVriN  Ugnaloea,   I"!*?   cedar,  fl/Van   wild  flower,  D'Bn   wheat,  "133    cyprv^s-flower, 

P313  crocus,  TM^h frankincense,  "in  myrrh,  ^'IJ  nard,  \m'\  pomegranate,  [K'ity  Siy,  njNP  fig,  m3P\ 
apple,  nn3  cypress,  ]3i  vine,  D'Xin  mandrakes,  n:f3  calamus,  tl^lp  cinnamon) ,  a.nd,  almost  as 
many  names  of  animals  (Q'"inj  panthers,  HDID  horse,  ^yif  raven,  D'-j;?  goats,  D'TKH  13;?  a 
young  hart,  Hltyn  nVx  hind,  D'S;?!!^  foxes,  ll-n  turtle-dove,  ril'^N  lions,  Jl'VlJ  kids,  CJl'  doves, 
'ax  gazelle,  D^'pn")  sheep ;  comp.  also  \P  ivory,  which  is  named  several  times).  And  not  a  few 
of  these  names  are  Hapaxlegomena  or  like  the  names  of  valuable  minerals  (as  i^Kf  marble,  E^'iyir} 
turquoise,  T3D  sapiphire)  which  are  also  found  here,  occur  but  rarely  in  other  books  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, If  we  duly  consider  the  small  compass  of  the  piece,  in  which  such  an  abundance  of  names 
of  remarkable  natural  objects  is  crowded  together,  and  estimate  besides  the  repeated  occurrence 
of  many  of  these  names  and  the  "  various  points  of  view  under  which  they  are  contemplated 
(e.  g.  in  the  pomegranate,  its  pulp  when  cut,  iv.  3;  vi.  7;  its  buds,  vi.  11;  vii.  13;  its  juice, 
viii.  2),"  we  can  scarcely  help,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  numerous  internal  and  external  indica- 
tions point  to  the  age  of  Solomon  as  the  date  of  the  Song,  finding  its  author  in  Solomon  himself, 
the  renowned  royal  sage,  whom  the  book  of  Kings  {loc.  eit.)  praises  aa  at  once  the  greatest  of 
natural  philosophers  and  the  most  fertile  composer  of  songs.  Moreover  the  criterion  afiforded  in 
vi.  8  for  the  more  exact  determination  of  the  period  of  his  life,  in  which  Solomon  composed  this 
poem,  must  in  no  wise  be  overlooked.  From  a  comparison  of  this  passage  with  1  Kings  xi.  3  f. 
we  can  conclude  with  entire  certainty  that  the  period  in  question  was  that  middle  age  of  the 
king  when  his  decline  from  his  former  sincere  obedience  to  the  commandments  of  the  Lord 
had  already  begun,  without  having  attained  that  depth  of  moral  degeneracy  which  it  sub- 
sequently reached.  This  was  already  substantially  the  opinion  of  Qrotius  in  his  Adnotat.  in 
V.  T.  respecting  the  date  and  origin  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  (after  those  Jewish  interpreters 
in  Bereshith  Rabba,  Jalkut  and  Pesikta,  who  supposed  that  Canticles  was  composed  by 
Solomon  in  his  younger  years*),  only  he  (as  also  v.  Hofmann,  see  J  2  Remark  1)  errone- 
ously explained  it  of  the  marriage  of  Solomon  with  an  Egyptian  princess  and  mingled  in 
many  notions  of  its  contents  as  referring  to  the  mysteries  of  married  life,  which  were  offen- 
sive to  the  Eesthetic  and  moral  feelings  of  Christian  readers.  (Comp,  Delitzsoh,  p.  14,  55). 

Remark  2,  The  most  considerable  objections  of  modern  critics  against  the  Solomonic 
authenticity  of  Canticles  are  those  which  are  drawn  from  its  language.  Yet  no  decisive  argument 
against  its  genuineness  can  be  constructed  out  of  them,  because  the  alleged  traces  of  a  later 
Aramaeizing  type  of  the  language,  which  it  presents,  may  all  without  exception  be  explained 
as  characteristic  of  the  poetic  character  of  its  diction.     So,  first  of  all,  the  abbreviated  relative 

*  [MooDT  Stuakt  anrl  othera  imagiae  that  this  Song  was  written  by  Solomon  before  he  ascended  the  throne,  conceiv- 
ing this  to  be  tho  reason  why  he  is  not  called  king,  i,  1 ;  comp.  Prov.  i.  1 ;  Eccles,  i.  1,  Gill  thinks  the  omission  of  his 
regal  title  is  an  intimation  of  the  allegorical  nature  of  the  Song,  and  argues  from  the  mention,  Tii,  4,  of  the  "  tower  of 
Lebanon,"'  which  he  identifia^  with  the  "house  of  the  forest  of  Lebanon,"  1  Kings  vii,  2,  that  Solomon  must  have  been 
king  for  at  least  twenty  years,  wheu  this  book  was  written,  PooL^:  "Composed  by  Solomon,  but  whether  before  his  fall 
or  aftf^r  his  r  'pantan^e,  is  not  easy  to  determine,  nor  necessary  to  be  known." — Tb,j 


?  3.  DATE  AND  AUTHOR  OP  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  15 

"t^  for  IB'^/  which,  though  foreign  to  proae  and  to  the  semi-prosaic  language  of  the  gnomic 
poets  of  the  earlier  period,  and  on  this  account  neither  used  by  the  author  of  the  prosaic  title 
to  this  book  (comp.  above,  p.  1 ),  nor  even  by  Solomon  in  bis  proverbs  (Prov.  x.  1 — xxii.  16,  where 
as  in  the  Proverbs  generally  the  formlt^S  is  invariably  found),  nevertheless  occurs  in  several 
poems,  of  acknowledged  antiquity,  especially  in  the  Song  of  Deborah,  which  is  certainly  pre- 
Solomonic  (Judg.  v.  7;  HIUT  'nopK?  "l;; ),  as  well  as  in  the  book  of  Job  (chap.  xix.  29),  which 
probably  dates  from  the  time  of  Solomon.  The  fact,  that  a  part  of  the  poetry  designated  as 
Solomon's  in  the  canon,  viz.,  the  Proverbs  and  the  72d  Psalm  (which  presents  however  some 
other  coincidences  in  diction  and  expression  with  Canticles),  uses  the  prosaic  "it^K,  and  this 
Song  a,lone  the  highly  poetic  "0  is  entirely  analogous  to  the  circumstance  that  the  prophet 
Jeremiah  only  makes  use  of  this  abbreviated  form  in  his  Lamentations  (e.  g,  ii.  15  f. ;  iv.  9; 
V.  J8),  whilst  his  prophetic  discourses,  which  often  pass  into  the  poetic,  always  have  ItyN  only. 
It  follows  hence  inevitably  that  ^  is  essentially  poetic,  while  yet  it  is  not  necessarily  adapted  to 
all  kinds  of  poetry ;  and  for  this  very  reason  it  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  sign  of  the  post-exilic 
origin  of  this  poem.  The  same  judgment  precisely  must  be  passed  upon  the  form  HDTK?  i .  7 
(a  combination  of  the  confirmatory  t?  and  the  interrogative  T\ul,  not  a  modification  of  the 
Aram,  ND^T  "perhaps").  Likewise  the  Aramseisms  10J  for  1S:  (i.  6;  viii.  11,  12),  0113  for 
iJ'ni  (i.  17),  inp  "winter"  (ii.  11)  are  sufiiciently  explained  from  that  preference  for  a 
rechercM  and  highly  poetical  style  of  expression,  which  also  led  the  poet  to  adopt  the  unusual 
forms  ningiff  for  'naK?  (iv.  3),  ISip  for  n3  {ibid.),  H'J'^  for  H^l  (i.  9,  15 ;  ji.  2.  Comp.  Ps. 
xlv.  15),  O'^J  for  ri'l3J  (iv.  15;  vi.  2;  viii.  13),  and  many  more  of  the  same  sort;  and  conse- 
quently there  is  the  less  need  for  regarding  them  (with  Ewald  and  some  others)  as  idioms  in 
the  dialect  of  Northern  Palestine,*  and  consequently  as  proofs  that  the  poem  originated  in  one 
of  the  northern  tribes,  whether  before  or  after  the  division  of  the  kingdom.  Many  peculiarities 
of  language  are  also  without  doubt  to  be  imputed  to  Solomon's  cosmopolitan  turn  of  mind  and 
views  of  the  world,  which  inclined  him  to  introduce  all  the  foreign  artists  and  works  of  art 
that  he  possibly  could  into  his  kingdom  (comp.  1  Kin.  vii.  13  ff. ;  x.  11  if.),  and  would  also 
impel  him  to  incorporate  words  from  foreign  lands  into  the  not  very  copious  language  of 
Hebrew  poetry.  There  may  thus  be  referred  to  a  foreign  origin,  if  not  exactly  the  names  of 
plants  '^IJ  (comp.  Sansc.  nalad&,  old  Pers.  narada],  0313  (Sanso.  hunhuma,  lat.  curcuma), 
niSriN  (Sansc.  aguru  or  aghil),  yet  perhaps  the  expressions  D^|i3  for  "  pleasure  garden"  (iv.  13) 
and  I'l'^SK  for  "royal  litter"  or  "palanquin"  (iii.  9),  the  former  to  the  Indian  prad^ja  "wall" 
(Hitziq),  or  to  the  Zend pamda&a  "mound  of  earth,  wall"  (according  to  Spiegel,  Haug, 
Ew.,  etc.),  and  the  latter  to  the  Sansc.  paryana  "  riding  saddle''  (not,  as  Jerome,  and  most 
recently  Masnus  and  Schlottmann  supposed,  to  the  Greek  fopcJov).  And  yet  even  in  the 
ease  of  these  two  words  a  foreign  origin  is  not  demonstrable  with  absolute  certainty,  for  0'^')& 
might  be  an  Aram,  quadrilateral  for  Dj13,  and  of  the  same  signification  with  [13  "plain,  field," 
and  t'VlSK  a  derivative  from  the  root  ni3  after  the  analogy  of  [Vii),  etc.,  synonymous  with 
the  Aram.  N"i13  "  bed  ;"  comp.  Delitzsch,  p.  22-26.  But  even  though  the  foreign  origin  of 
these  expressions,  and  of  many  others  besides,  were  to  be  regarded  as  made  out,  the  possibility 
of  Clantieles  having  been  composed  by  Solomon,  or  having  at  least  originated  in  the  time  of 
Solomon,  could  not  in  any  case  be  denied  on  this  ground,  or  on  that  of  its  other  linguistic 
peculiarities.  And  the  less  so,  because  so  many  other  indications  point  to  its  origin  in  a  much 
earlier  period  than  e.  g.  that  of  the  exile  assumed  by  Umbbeit  and  others,  or  even  that  of  the 
Oreek  domination  assumed  by  Haetmann  (on  the  ground  of  [ViaK  ,popuov,  iii.  9).  On  the 
whole,  the  judgment  expressed  by  Hengstenbekcj  [Oomm.  p.  237  f.)  in  regard  to  the  linguistic 
peculiarities  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  still  remains  correct:  "That  the  author  is  not 
dependent  on  the  Aram^izing  usage  of  later  times,  but  is  governed  throughout  by  design  and 
by  free  choice,  is  plain  l)"from  the  fact  that  with  the  exception  of  Jg  scarcely  anything  is  to  be 
*  [So  Thrupp,  who  also  claases  here  the  "  chariots  of  my  people,"  Ti.  12 ;  comp.  2  Kin.  ii.  12;  xiii.  14.— Tk.] 


16  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 

found,  which  recurs  again  in  the  later  usage  of  the  language ;  the  foreign  forms  are  exclusively 
peculiar  to  the  Song  of  Solomon " — (but  here  0)112>  which  is  also  found,  Ecoles.  ii.  5,  is  an 
exception)  [that  is,  on  the  assumption  in  which  Zockleh  and  Hengstenbeeg  concur,  that 
Ecolesiastes  was  not  written  by  Solomon,  but  belongs  to  a  later  age. — Te.]— 2)  "  that  the  language 
has  a  youthful  freshness,  as  in  none  of  the  products  belonging  to  the  times  of  a  degenerate 
Hebrew."  Comp.  also  Dopke,  Hohel,  p.  28  ff.,  Ewald,  p.  16  ff.,  Hitzig,  p.  8  ff,  (who, 
however,  like  Ewald,  gathers  up  the  Aramseisms  of  the  piece  in  a  one-sided  way  in  favor  of 
his  hypothesis  that  it  belongs  to  the  north  of  Palestine,  and  hence  was  not  written  by  Solomon) 
and  Delitzsch,  p.  19  ff. 

I  4.    THE   ETHICAL   IDEA   AND   THE   TYPICAL    IMPOET   OP   THE   SONG   OF   SOLOMON. 

The  conjugal  love  of  Solomon  and  Shulamith,  described  in  Canticles,  has  a  significance 
beyond  itself  and  its  own  times.  As  the  love  of  the  wise  and  glorious  king  of  Israel  to  a 
plain,  pure-minded  and  marvellously  beautiful  maiden  from  among  his  people,  it  mirrors  forth 
the  relation  of  Jehovah,  the  covenant  God  of  the  theocracy  to  the  Old  Testament  people  of 
God  as  His  bride,  and  the  chosen  object  of  His  love  (comp.  Hos.  ii.  18,  21 ;  Isa.  liv.  5 ;  Ixii.  4,  5  ; 
Jer.  ii.  2  ;  iii.  1  ff. ;  iv.  30;  xiii.  22,  26 ;  xxx.  14 ;  Ezek.  xvi.  8,  etc.),  and  is  a  prophecy  of  the 
far  stronger,  and  more  tender  manifestation  of  His  love,  which  God  has  condescended  to  bestow 
on  all  mankind  in  the  times  of  the  New  Testament  salvation.  The  love  of  Solomon  to 
Shulamith  is  a  type  of  the  loving  communion  between  Christ  and  His  Church  (John  iii.  29; 
Mat.  ix.  15,  etc.),  nay,  a  prophecy  of  that  glorious  culmination  and  final  act  in  His  loving  union 
with  it,  which  Paul,  Eph.  v.  31  f  designates  as  the  "  great  mystery,"  which  is  to  form  the  last 
and  highest  fulfilment  of  nature's  sacred  law  of  marriage  (Gen.  ii.  24 :  "  For  this  cause  shall 
a  man  leave  his  father  and  his  mother,  and  shall  be  joined  unto  his  wife,  and  they  two  shall  be 
one  flesh").  It  is  no  objection  to  this  assumption  of  a  typical  and  Messianic  character  of  the 
Song  of  Solomon,  that  the  idea  of  conjugal  or  wedded  love  is  not  exhibited  in  it  in  unsullied 
moral  purity,  but  impaired  in  various  ways  by  the  dark  back-ground  of  polygamy,  and  that  it 
is  Solomon  who  appears  as  the  guilty  party,  as  the  cause  of  this  partial  spoiling  of  the  ideal 
substance  of  the  action.  For  in  spite  of  Solomon's  sad  degeneracy,  which  had  already,  by  the 
time  of  the  action  described  in  this  poem,  seized  upon  his  heart,  once  devoted  beyond  others  to 
obedience  to  the  word  of  God  (see  1  Kin.  iii.  9  ff.),  and  in  spite  of  the  merely  temporary  nature 
of  his  conversion  wrought  by  Shulamith,  which  was  afterwards  followed  by  a  still  lower  fall, 
he  nevertheless  is  and  remains  one  of  the  most  distinguished  types  of  the  Messiah  in  the 
entire  series  of  Old  Testament  prefigurations,  as  Christ's  own  comparison  of  His  wisdom  and 
glory  with  that  of  Solomon  teaches  us  (Matt.  xii.  42;  comp.  vi.  28).  But  Shulamith,  the  en- 
chantingly  beautiful  daughter  of  the  land  of  Israel,  in  whose  fair  body  dwelt  a  still  fairer  soul, 
and  among  whose  noble  virtues  a  chaste  but  fondly  loving  heart,  and  an  humble  mind  of 
child-like  simplicity  shone  in  the  first  rank — Shulamith  appears  as  a  striking  type  of  the 
Church  of  Christ.  And  this  becomes  the  more  appropriate  in  proportion  as  the  Church  more 
and  more  plainly  presents  the  figure  of  a  maiden  raised  from  a  low  condition  to  glorious 
communion  with  her  royal  bridegroom,  and  as  her  cordial,  humble,  loving  attachment  and 
adherence  to  her  Lord,  faithful  unto  death,  such  as  she  should  manifest  according  to  her  true 
idea,  and  as  she  actually  does  manifest  in  growing  measure  in  her  true  members,  resembles  the 
love  of  that  plain  shepherd's  daughter  to  her  royal  lord  and  master.  There  is  certainly  this 
dissimilitude  in  the  parallel,  that  the  morally  purifying,  ennobling  and  delivering  influence  in 
the  typical  relation  between  Solomon  and  Shulamith,  proceeds  from  the  wife,  while  in  the 
grand  antitype,  the  formation  of  the  new  covenant  by  Christ,  the  redeeming  and  sanctifying 
agency  belongs  to  the  husband  (comp.  Eph.  v.  25  ff.).  But  a  partial  discrepancy  of  this  nature, 
or  even  contrast  between  the  type  and  its  prototype,  is  found  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  in  every 
prefiguration  of  the  history  of  redemption ;  comp.  the  Old  Testament  parallel  between  Adam 
and  Christ,  Rom.  v.  12  ff,,  between  the  termination  of  David's  earthly  life  and  that  of  Christ's, 
Acts  xiii.  86,  37,  between  Jonah  and  the  Lord,  as  a  greater  prophet  than  he,  Matt.  xii.  40.  And 
furthermore,  that  very  dissimilitude  involves  also  an  important  resemblance,  inasmuch  as 
Christ's  coming  down  to  His  people  was  one  with  the  riches  of  heaven  becoming  poor,  and  one- 


'i  4.  THE  ETHICAL  IDEA  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


divinely  glorious  becoming  a  servant  (2  Cor.  viii.  9;  Phil.  ii.  6  ff.),  induced  thereto  really  by 
their  mute  waiting  and  supplication ;  and  inasmuch  as  this  being  drawn  by  the  power  of  a 
child-like  confiding  love,  is  repeated  again  and  again  between  the  Lord  and  every  believing  soul 
among  His  people,  and  shall  be  repeated  to  the  end  of  time  (John  xiv.  23 ;  Matt,  sviii.  20  ; 
Rev.  iii.  20). 

It  will  constitute  the  task  of  the  sections  in  this  Commentary,  which  relate  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  doctrinal  and  ethical  ideas,  to  point  out  in  detail  the  peculiar  combination  of  the 
typical  by  analogy,  and  the  typical  by  contrast  in  the  relations  between  the  persons  of  this 
Song  on  the  one  hand,  and  Christ  and  His  Church  on  the  other.  Shulamith  will  prevailingly 
appear  to  be  an  ethical,  and  Solomon  a  metaphysical  type  of  Christ.  The  character  of  the 
former  will  offer  an  abundance  of  models  for  the  direct  imitation  of  Christians  in  their  religioua 
Ufa,  whilst  her  royal  lover,  by  his  position  in  the  theocracy  and  in  the  history  of  redemption, 
and  by  the  elevation  to  a  dignity  of  equal  distinction  which  he  accords  to  the  poor  maiden  will 
be  a  direct  type  of  the  Eedeemer.  The  allegorical  exegesis  which  fails  to  recognize  or  obliterates 
the  partial  contrast  between  him  and  the  Saviour,  or  the  attempt  to  make  out  the  unconditional 
and  thoroughly  Messianic  character  of  the  piece  at  the  expense  of  its  historical  truth,  will  find 
its  refutation  and  correction  step  by  step  along  with  this  Exposition. 

Eemaek  1. — That  the  fundamental  thought  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  lies  essentially  in  the 
praise  of  the  joyful  happiness  of  wedded  love,  that  its  mystery  therefore  is  no  other  than  the 
mystery  of  marriage  (Eph.  v.  31,  32),  and  that  this  its  mystical  idea  is  vividly  presented  in  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  events  ot  Solomon's  life,  which  is  of  such  great  significance  in  the 
history  of  redemption, — this  is  the  estimate  put  upon  it,  and  the  position  accorded  to  it  in 
Bibhcal  Theology  by  Delitzsch,  and  in  substantial  agreement  with  him  by  von  Hofmann, 
and  this  we  are  convinced  is  the  only  correct  one.  The  latter  says  (in  a  "  Supplement  "  to 
Delitzsoh's  ITohe  Lied,  p.  237  f.) :  "  Canticles  is  a  song  of  love,  which  is  here  exhibited  in  all 
the  fulness  of  its  beauty,  grace  and  power,  richly  adorned  besides  with  the  royal  splendor  of 
Solomon,  and  still  in  the  purity  and  chastity  of  the  marriage  bond.  As  opposed  to  any  heathen 
composition  that  can  be  compared  with  it,  it  ia  a  monument  of  the  unfolding  of  the  natural 
life  to  the  splendor  of  its  full  bloom  of  earthly  bliss  in  a  manner  pleasing  to  God,  such  an 
unfolding  as  was  possible  only  where  the  natural  life  was  under  the  protection  of  a  guidance 
which  was  shaping  its  way  to  the  ultimate  redemption.  And  if  we  look  at  the  place  which  it 
holds  in  the  sacred  history,  at  the  end  of  five  hundred  years'  direct  development  of  Israel,  when 
in  his  king  and  his  king's  son  (Ps.  Ixxii.  1)  the  complete  form  of  national  sovereignty  had  been 
reached,  it  has  its  significance  in  regard  to  the  spiritual  counterpart  of  this  glory,  that  in  his 
whole  estate  the  king  has  nothing  on  earth  to  which  his  heart  is  so  completely  given,  as 
Shulamith,  his  only  love :  in  this  personal,  human  relation  he  finds  the  full  satisfaction  of  his 
life.  When  the  King  of  glory,  in  whom  we  hope,  appears.  His  people  shall  also  be  His  bride. 
His  Church  is  to  Him  both  people  and  wife,  as  the  relation  between  man  and  woman  established 
at  the  creation  is  no  less  a  prophecy  of  Christ  and  His  Church,  than  the  relation  of  the  king 
of  Israel  to  His  people  in  the  history  of  redemption.  The  relation,  in  which  the  Lord  stands  to 
His  Church  is  entirely  a  personal  one,  like  that  between  Solomon  and  Shulamith.  Then  we 
shall  not  expound  this  or  that  particular  in  the  Song  of  gongs  of  him,  but  the  glad  antitype  of 
the  loving  communion  which  it  sings  shall  have  come  to  pass,  identical  with  the  antitype  of 
the  relation  between  the  anointed  of  the  Lord  and  Israel."  Comp.  Schrifibeweis  II.  2,  p.  370  f. : 
"The  poet  sets  before  our  eyes  the  depth  and  the  jplessedness  of  this  love  of  the  sexes  (of  which 
it  is  said  viii.  6  that  it  is  "strong  as  death")  and  the  glory  of  corporeal  beauty,  when  love  is 
awakened  and  nourished  by  it,  both  of  them  as  the  natural  products  of  creative  energy,  and 
therefore  abstracted  from  those  moral  qualities  which  impart  to  corporeal  beauty  a  value 
dependent  on  the  individual,  and  lend  to  the  love  of  the  sexes  a  basis  and  a  substance  dependent 

on  the  individual Only  in  the  same  sense,  therefore,  in  which  the  creation  of  woman 

was  the  institution  of  marriage,  can  Canticles  be  called  an  extolling  of  marriage.  The  divinely 
created  relation  of  the  sexes  as  difi'ering  and  yet  belonging  together,  upon  which  marriage  rests, 
18  praised,  and  that  in  the  richness  of  its  beauty,by  the  king  in  whom  the  people  of  God  attained 
its  highest  earthly  glory,  as  the  good  which  in  his  view  surpassed  all  the  good  things  in  his  royal 
31 


18  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 

magnificence,"  eta.  From  this  statement  of  the  fundamental  idea  of  the  poem  by  HoPMAmif, 
Delitzsch  differs  principally  in  doing  fuller  justice  to  the  noble  virtues,  which  in  addition  to 
her  physical  beauty  adorn  its  heroine,  and  consequently  making  not  merely  marriage  in  general, 
marriage  as  belonging  to  the  realm  of  nature  and  of  sense,  but  an  ideal  marriage,  or  at  least 
an  ideal  wedded  love  and  fidelity  the  object  extolled  by  the  poet.  He  hopes  (according  to 
p.  155  ff.)  that  he  has  by  his  exposition  led  to  the  recognition  of  a  side  of  the  Song  of  Solomon 
hitherto  ignored  or  neglected :  "  viz.,  the  ethical  character  of  Shnlamith,  the  fine  and  feeling  pic- 
ture of  her  soul,  fairer  even  than  the  fair  body  which  it  tenanted,  and  in  general  her  profound, 
persistent  and  calm  moral  earnestness,  the  golden  ground  on  which  the  smiling  colors  of  this  joy- 
ous song  are  everywhere  laid."  "  Shulamith's  beauty,''  he  continues,  "is  not  mere  physical 
beauty  of  the  corporeal  form,  nor  the  beauty  of  a  Grecian  statue  of  Aphrodite,  when  one  feels 
as  though  the  finely  shaped  marble  began  to  live  and  to  walk.  Her  beauty  is  not  merely  natu- 
ral, but  moral  and  living.  This  moral  life  is  not  indeed  the  New  Testament  spiritual  life  from 
God,  which  will  finally  transform  the  physical  life  into  its  own  likeness,  but  at  the  same  time  it 
has  not  the  mere  semblance  of  virtue,  in  which  what  are  only  splendidavitia  so  often  shine  not 
only  in  the  heathen  world,  but  in  the  world  at  large.  The  morality  of  Shnlamith  is  no  more  de- 
void of  substance  and  value  than  the  Old  Testament  morality  in  general.  Shulamith  is  still  na- 
ture and  not  spirit,  but  her  nature  has  been  well  trained  in  the  fear  of  Jehovah,  hallowed  by  the 
grace  of  Jehovah.  What  is  specifically  Israelitish  indeed  recedes  in  Shulamith  quite  into  the 
background  behind  the  universally  human.  This  is  the  fundamental  character  of  all  the  written 
productions  of  the  Chokmah  in  the  time  of  Solomon.  But  this  splendid  and  fragrant  grow'th  of 
a  hallowed  nature  and  a  noble  maidenhood  does  not  disown  the  soil  on  which  it  has  grown.  It 
is  the  soil  of  the  revelation  deposited  in  Israel."*  As  the  particular  moral  traits  or  virtues  in  Shu- 
lamith's character,  he  then  specifies — 1)  her  sincere,  really  personal  and  not  merely  sensual  love 
for  her  royal  lover;  2)  her  child-like  and  naive  simplicity  ;  3)  her  hearty  delight  in  nature;  4) 
her  chaste  and  pure  womanhood  ;  5)  her  sisterly  love  and  filial  affection  for  her  mother.  The  ef- 
iect  which  this  profoundly  moral  character  of  hers  has  upon  Solomon,  consists  in  his  "  becoming 
a  child  himself  in  the  noblest  sense  of  the  word  through  the  influence  of  Shulamith.''  "The 
love  with  which,  simple,  humble,  chaste  as  she  is,  she  inspires  the  king,  teaches  the  wise  man 
child-like  simplicity,  brings  the  king  down  into  the  vale  of  humility,  sets  respectful  bounds  to 
the  impetuous  lover.  He  is  compelled  to  acknowledge  that  this  lily  of  the  field  in  the  artless  at- 
tire of  her  beauty  and  her  virtue  is  more  richly  adorned  than  he  in  all  his  glory.  Nature  no 
longer  speaks  to  the  natural  philosopher  the  language  of  perplexing  enigmas,  but  the  gentle  lan- 
guage of  love.  The  possessor  of  a  full  harem  has  found  the  one  to  whom  henceforth  hisheart  be- 
longs, and  to  no  other  besides.  Following  her  he  willingly  exchanges  the  bustle  and  splendor  of 
court  life  for  the  retirement  and  simplicity  of  the  country.  Afar  from  his  palace,  if  he  but  has 
her  on  his  arm,  he  roves  over  mountain  and  meadow,  and  with  her  he  is  contented  in  her  cottage. 
Shulamith  has  become  queen  without  surrendering  the  virtues  of  the  plain,  poor  country  maid, 
and  Solomon  has  become  Shulamith's  husband  without  losing  his  royal  dignity.  Solomon's  cha- 
racter in  fact  appears  in  twice  as  fine  a  light  in  his  self-humiliation,  and  so  does  Shulamith  in  her 
exaltation."  Further  considerations  respecting  the  ethical  character  of  the  two  lovers  and  the  typi- 
cal significance  of  their  relation  to  each  other,  and  its  place  in  the  history  of  redemption,  will  be 
adduced  in  the  "doctrinal  and  ethical"  remarks  upon  each  section  of  the  Song. 

Remaek  2.— HiTZia  has  attempted  to  treat  the  action  of  the  poem  as  purely  ideal,  as  mere  fe- 
We  or  fiction  without  historical  truth,  "  It^  not  to  be  supposed,"  he  says  on  p.  3  of  his  Com- 
mentary, "that  a  real  history,  which  either  contained  this  moral  of  itself,  or  admitted  of  its  in- 
troduction, lies  at  the  basis  of  this  Song.  On  the  contrary,  some  occurrence  living  in  story  may 
have  suggested  just  this  drees.  If  it  concerned  merely  the  king  and  his  lady  love,  the  poet  might 
match  Solomon  and  Shulamith  about  as  well  as  Tryphon  and  Tryphsena.  The  partner  introduced 
for  Solomon  is   n'sSl^n,    "  the  Shulamite,"  so  like  the  name  of  the  king,  that  the  resemblance 

*  [The  implication  that  the  life  of  the  people  of  God  under  the  Old  Testament  was  not  only  upon  a  lower  loTel,  but  was 
specifically  different  from  that  under  the  New  Testament,  belongs  to  the  philosophical  speculations  which  Delitzsch  is 
fond  of  iriiiulging.  He  conceives  that  the  fact  of  the  incarnation  introdaced  an  entirely  new  element  into  human  naturt 
which  did  not  exist,  and  could  not  have  exl^jtod  prior  to  that  event. — Tr.] 


2  4.  THE  ETHICAL  IDEA  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  19 


cannot  be  mistaken.  Now  a  fair  damsel  from  Shunem  (Shulem)  really  was  at  one  time  brougkt 
to  court,  when  Solomon  was  young  (1  Kings  i.  3, 4),  on  wiiose  account  Solomon  had  his  half-bro- 
ther put  to  death  for  proposing  to  marry  her,  1  Kings  ii.  13-25.  This  deed,  which  might  seem 
to  have  sprung  from  jealousy  (comp.  the  thesis  viii.  6 ;  Prov.  vi.  34  f.)  together  with  the  similarity 
of  "Shulamith"  and  "Solomon,"  may  have  first  determined  the  direction  in  which  the  idea 
should  incorporate  itself." — Against  this  combination  of  Hitzig's  (substantially  adopted  by 
Wei.ssbach,  p.  66  f ),  which  is  designed  to  show  the  mythical  character  of  the  piece,  may  be 
urged  in  general  all  the  probable  grounds  for  its  composition  by  Solomon  himself,  or  even  for  its 
onginatingin  Solomon's  time,  which  were  presented  in  §3;  and  in  particular  still  further :  1) 
the  complete  unison — not  partial  merely — between  the  historical  situation  described  in  the  piece 
aud  the  state  of  culture  in  the  times  of  Solomon  as  depicted  in  the  books  of  Kings,  or,  in  other 
.words,  the  absence  of  any  contradiction  between  the  Solomon  of  history  and  the  Solomon  of  this 
book,  together  with  the  numerous  striking  and  wholly  undesigned  coincidences  in  the  situation 
and  character  of  both.  2)  The  improbability  of  an  intentional  parallel  between  the  names  "  So- 
lomon" and  "Shulamith,"  which  have  no  surprising  similarity  of  sound,  and  are  not  contrasted 
any  where  in  the  piece,  though  opportunities  for  doing  so  were  not  rare  (ii.  16  ;  iv.  1  S.;  vi.  3 ; 
vii.  11 ;  viii.  11  fF ).  3)  It  is  extremely  forced  and  far-fetched  to  identify  the  heroine  of  the  Song 
with  Abishag  of  Shunem,  David's  concubine,  and  especially  to  explain  viii.  6  of  a  supposed  jea- 
lousy about  this  Shulamitess,  which  might  have  moved  Solomon  to  put  his  brother  Adonijah  to 
death.  4)  It  is  a  very  probable  and  obvious  assumption  that  Shiuiem,  on  account  of  the  re- 
markable beauty  of  its  daughters,  may  have  been  the  home  of  one  of  the  concubines  of  the  king 
of  Israel  in  more  instances  than  just  this  one,  1  Kings  i.  3, 4,  and  that  this  furnishes  the  explana- 
tion of  the  gentile  denomination  of  the  heroine  of  this  piece  as  "  the  Shunamitess  "  ( Shulamitess). 
5.)  The  analogy  of  the  book  of  Job,  which  likewise  has  a  historical  fact  as  its  basis  underneath  ita 
dramatic  form  (comp.  Hiezel,  Job,  p.  7ff.),  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  its  pecuUarly  speculative 
character  seems  in  a  much  higher  degree  to  favor  the  assumption  that  its  contents  are  purely 
fictitious.* 

[Note  on  the  Intebpeetation  op  the  Song  of  Solomon — By  the  Translator. — The  substi- 
tution of  the  typical  method,  for  which  Zocklee  contends,  in  place  of  the  allegorical,  which  has 
hitherto  chiefly  prevailed  among  evangelical  interpreters  of  this  book,  marks  a  decided  and  most 
wholesome  advance  in  its  exposition.  It  is  bringing  into  the  study  of  the  Canticles  that  method 
which  has  been  applied  with  such  salutary  effect  to  the  investigation  of  the  Old  Testament  in 
general,  and  of  its  types  in  particular,  by  the  most  recent  and  able  biblical  scholars,  and  which 
is  represented,  for  example,  in  the  well-known  writings  of  Kuetz  and  Faiebaien. 

1.  The  allegorical  method,  which  it  is  proposed  to  discard,  regards  the  persons  and  objects  de- 
scribed in  this  song,  as  in  themselves  unreal,  as  mere  figures  or  names  for  spiritual  persons  and 
objects,  which  latter  were  the  actual  and  only  things  contemplated  and  intended  by  the  inspired 
penman.  In  what  he  here  writes  of  Solomon  and  Shulamith  he  had  before  his  mind  not  two  real 
or  even  imaginary  persons  possessing  definite  characteristics,  and  sustaining  a  known  relation  to 
each  other,  which  were  symbols  of  spiritual  characteristics  and  of  a  spiritual  relation,  the  con- 
templation of  the  former  being  a  medium  through  which  he  and  others  might  rise  to  a  fuller  and 
more  correct  comprehension  of  the  latter.  But  m  all  the  language  which  he  employs  he  is  di- 
rectly and  consciously  describing  Christ  and  His  Church.  He  imputes  certain  physical  attributes 
Qr  outward  acts  to  Solomon,  but  it  is  not  because  they  in  fact  belonged  to  him  personally,  or 
were  appropriate  to  him  as  a  man,  a  monarch,  or  a  husband,  but  because  there  are  certain  attri- 
butes or  works  of  Christ,  of  which  these  are  or  may  be  constituted  emblems.  And  so  in  every 
expression  used  respecting  the  bride  he  is  not  depicting  a  human  person  real  or  ideal,  but  is 
simply  employing  a  figure  of  speech  which  is  to  be  applied  directly  to  the  Church,  and  which  finds 
its  justification  in  its  fitness  to  set  forth  some  feature  or  characteristic  of  the  Church. 

Hence,  it  happens  that  the  great  body  of  the  allegorical  interpreters,  even  the  ablest  and  the 
best,  refrain  from  inquiring  into  the  meaning  of  the  language  used  in  its  literal  application,  as 

*[Th6  connection  of  Shnlamith  with  Shnnem  does  not  Becm  to  be  as  certain,  as  ZiicKLEE  conceives  it,  though  his 
echemo  of  Ihe  hook  is  largely  bnilt  upon  it.  The  derivation  of  the  name  from  Solomon  has  commended  itself  to  many  who 
have  no  By;npatby  with  Hitziq'b  ridiculous  conceit  about  Abishag. — Tn.J 


20  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 

though  this  were  no  part  of  its  true  and  proper  intent,  but  apply  it  immediately  to  Christ  and 
His  Church  as  the  parties  directly  described,  and  the  only  ones,  in  fact,  who  come  fairly  within 
its  scope.  So  far  from  possessing  themselves  first  of  the  literal  sense  of  the  Song  in  its  primary 
application  to  the  sphere  of  natural  life,  and  making  this  the  basis  from  which  to  rise  to  a  spirit- 
ual significance  which  should  carry  the  same  principles  into  a  higher  sphere,  viewing  in  the  out- 
ward and  the  human  a  reflection  of  the  inward  and  divine,  they  positively  assert  that  no  consist- 
ent literal  sense  is  discoverable.  And  they  triumph  in  the  assertion  as  an  unanswerable  argu- 
ment, precluding  the  possibility  of  any  other  than  a  spiritual  interpretation,  whereas  they  are 
destroying  the  foundation  underneath  themselves,  and  making  it  impossible  upon  their  princi- 
ples to  build  up  any  exposition  of  the  book  which  shall  not  rest  upon  the  sand.  It  is  certainly  a 
most  extraordinary  procedure  by  which  to  substantiate  the  claim  that  the  spiritual  and  the  di- 
vine are  in  this  Song  set  forth  under  the  image  of  the  earthly,  to  annihilate  the  latter  with  a  view 
to  exalting  the  former.  If  there  is  no  substance  nor  consistency  in  the  earthly  image,  what  be- 
comes of  the  heavenly  counterpart  ?  They  who  proclaim  that  they  can  make  no  consistent  sense 
of  the  Song  in  its  literal  acceptation,  should  remember  that  the  natural  presumption  will  be  not 
that  no  such  sense  exists,  but  that  they  have  failed  to  find  the  key  to  its  understanding.  And 
if  they  cannot  interpret  the  earthly  meaning  which  lies  upon  the  surface,  what  assurance  can 
they  give  that  they  are  safe  guides  to  its  heavenly  and  hidden  mysteries?  What  is  this  but  to 
play  into  the  hands  of  those  who  claim  that  they  can  give  a  consistent  sense  to  it  literally  under- 
derstood,  and  that  no  highefimeaning  is  necessary  or  possible  ? 

We  greatly  deprecate  such  language  as  the  following  from  so  devout  and  evangelical  a  com- 
mentator as  WoEDSWOETH  :  "  Upon  the  principles  of  the  literal  interpretation,  how  can  it  be  ex- 
plained that  in  the  Canticles,  the  bridegroom  is  called  by  such  various  names?  How  are  we  to 
account  for  the  fact  that  the  same  person,  who  is  called  the  beloved,  is  also  designated  as  a  king, 
as  King  Solomon,  as  a  shepherd,  as  feeding  among  lilies,  as  an  owner  of  a  garden  and  of  a  vine- 
yard, which  he  has  let  out  to  keepers,  and  of  which  he  will  require  the  fruit  ?"  This  is,  in  our 
judgment,  simply  a  concession  to  those  who  insist  that  there  is  more  than  one  lover  here  spoken 
of,  or  who  make  of  the  Song  itself  a  jumble  of  incoherent  fragments.  Again,  we  must  utter 
our  most  vehement  protest  against  such  statements  as  these  from  the  same  able  writer :  "  If  the 
objects  to  which  the  bride  is  compared  in  the  Canticles  are  understood  m  their  literal  sense,  such 
".  picture  will  be  produced  as  would  deserve  to  be  censured  and  condemned  in  the  strong  lan- 
guage of  the  Roman  critic  denouncing  a  tasteless  and  ill-assorted  rhapsody  of  incongruous  enor. 
mities."  "  How,  again,  are  we  to  interpret  the  description  of  the  bridegroom's  features  ?  Ex. 
pounded  literally,  some  of  the  details  in  the  portrait  are  absurd  and  ridiculous,  others  are  even 
repulsive  and  revolting."  It  becomes  a  question  whether  it  is  not  more  reverential  to  divine  in- 
spiration to  abandon  the  spiritual  sense  altogether,  if  it  can  only  be  maintained  by  thus  vilifying 
this  sacred  Song. 

2.  Besides  this  neglect  and  undue  depreciation  of  the  literal  sense,  we  object  to  the  allegorical 
method,  in  the  second  place,  that  it  inverts  the  true  relation  between  the  outward  form  and  the 
spiritual  substance  in  this  Song.  By  an  original  divine  constitution  there  are  thoughts  and 
ideas  embodied  in  the  sphere  of  natural  life,  which  reach  into  the  spiritual  sphere,  and  these  are 
made  use  of  as  helps  for  climbing  from  the  lower  to  the  higher.  We  must  not  lose  sight  of  the 
divine  economy  in  this  matter.  There  was  not,  first,  the  communication  of  a  complete  system  of 
doctrine  in  its  fulness  and  in  abstract  form,  which  the  sacred  writer,  being  in  entire  possession 
of,  seeks  to  impart  to  others — and  in  so  doing,  looks  about  for  some  analogy  which  he  strives  to 
adapt  to  it,  even  at  the  risk  of  utterly  distorting  the  inferior  object  which  he  so  employs.  But 
the  type  comes  before  the  doctrine,  and  is  preparatory  to  it.  God  places  before  the  eyes  of  His 
inspired  servants,  and  through  them  before  all  others,  these  outward  types,  with  their  correspond- 
ences to  the  heavenly  and  divine.  These  natural  objects  and  relations  furnish  the  lessons  which 
under  divine  guidance  they  are  to  study,  by  which  they  are  to  be  educated  to  the  comprehension 
of  the  spiritual,  which  is  wrapped  up  in  them,  and  which  they  are  adapted  to  convey. 

3.  The  allegorical  method  further  violates  the  analogy  of  Old  Testament  instruction.  This  was 
once  the  favorite  mode  of  dealing  with  types,  but  it  led  to  such  fanciful,  grotesque  and  far-fetched 
explanations  as  to  bring  the  whole  subject  of  typology  into  disrepute,  and  it  has  now  been  dis- 


2  4.  THE  ETHICAL  IDEA  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  21 


carded  by  sober  inquirers.  The  true  principles  are  thus  stated  by  Prof.  Faiebaien,  Typology, 
I.,  pp.  81  ff.:  "In  the  interpretation  of  types  our  first  care  must  be  to  make  ourselves  acquainted 
with  the  truths  or  ideas  involved  in  them  merely  as  providential  transactions  or  religious  ser- 
vices—to make  what  they  were  in  their  immediate  relation  to  the  patriarchal  or  religious  wor- 
shipper, the  ground  and  matter  of  what,  as  typical,  they  are  now  to  the  Christian."  "  Their  typi- 
cal import  is  not  something  apart  from  their  natural  and  "immediate  design,  but  consisting  of  that 
and  growing  out  of  it."  "The  essential  character  and  objects  of  the  transaction,  in  which  the 
type  consists,  become  thus  the  ground  and  matter  of  its  typical  relation  to  the  realities  of  the  gos- 
pel. But  if  we  should  proceed  in  an  opposite  direction  and  make  the  essential  qualities  of  the 
antitype  the  measure  of  what  we  are  to  expect  in  the  type,  then,  as  a  matter  of  course,  we  shall 
be  driven  to  seek  in  the  latter  many  trifling  and  fanciful  resemblances,  which  have  no  idea  or 
principle  in  them  whatever."  The  Messianic  teaching  of  the  Psalms,  which  belong  to  the  same 
stage  of  divme  revelation  with  the  Song  of  Solomon,  is  entirely  of  the  typical  character.  It  is 
wholly  drawn  from  the  personal  experience  or  the  ofhcial  position  of  David  or  of  Solomon,  more 
or  less  idealized,  with  or  without  a  removal  of  human  limitations.  It  is  not  until  we  reach  the 
period  of  the  prophets  that  the  typical  element  recedes  into  the  background,  and  is  partially, 
though  not  entirely,  superseded  by  a  more  didactic  style  of  instruction.  No  one  can  fail  to  re- 
cognize the  distinction  in  this  respect  between  Canticles  and  Ezekiel,  ch.  xvi.,  xxiii. 

4.  It  also  disregards  the  needs  of  the  people  of  God  under  the  Old  Testament.  It  must  be 
assumed  that  Canticles,  like  every  other  book  of  Scripture,  had  its  special  adaptation  to  the  wants 
of  those  for  whom  it  was  immediately  prepared.  It  was  part  of  the  divine  system  of  instruction 
under  which  they  were  placed,  and  had  its  determinate  function  to  fulfil  in  prep  aration  for  Him 
that  was  to  come.  Now  if  it  contained  the  mysteries  which  allegorical  interpreters  find  hidden 
under  its  language,  it  must  have  been  to  its  earliest  readers  a  sealed  book.  They  did  not  have 
before  them  the  detailed  history  and  doctrine  of  Christ  and  His  Church,  from  which  conjecturally 
to  fit  expressions  in  the  Song  by  a  mere  casual  and  superficial  similitude.  Nor  could  they  be  ex- 
pected to  have  any  inkling  whatever  of  the  meaning  of  passages,  whose  sense  is  elicited  by  pun- 
ning upon  words,  as  though  the  "chains,"  i.  10,  represent  the  "law,"  because  D'^lil  bears  some 
resemblance  in  sound  to  min,  and  the  "cyprua  flower,"  i.  14,  alludes  to  the  atonement  because 
of  an  ambiguity  in  the  word  133.  If  this  is  the  way  that  Canticles  is  to  be  expounded,  it  is  a 
mere  book  of  riddles,  whose  solution  is  sufiiciently  puzzling  and  doubtful  with  all  the  facts  and 
teachings  of  the  gospels  before  ua,  but  which  could  not  possibly  be  comprehended  while  the  ob- 
jects referred  to  were  still  veiled  by  the  future.  If,  however,  the  language  of  Canticles  describes 
not  future  or  unknown  objects  in  enigmatical  terms,  but  scenes  real  or  ideal  belonging  to  the  sphere 
of  earthly  love,  which  is  a  symbol  of  the  heavenly,  then  the  analogies  of  thought  must  lead  di- 
rectly from  one  to  the  other.  And  Solomon's  contemporaries,  as  well  as  later  generations,  .could 
rise  at  least  to  a  partial  comprehension  of  its  meaning ;  not,  it  is  true,  to  an  exhaustive  under- 
standing of  it,  for  the  deep  meaning  of  Scripture  grows  with  growing  light  and  fuller  knowledge 
and  further  revelation.  But  the  more  advanced  interpretation  must  lie  in  the  line  just  indicated, 
only  penetrating  further,  not  in  the  way  of  loading  the  text  with  far-fetched  and  fanciful  senses. 
Scripture  does  not  have  a  multiple  sense,  if  by  this  be  meant  that  it  is  to  bear  every  signification 
which  can  by  possibility  be  put  upon  its  disconnected  words ;  but  the  ideas  manifestly  underlying  it 
may  be  followed  out  into  further  developments  and  wider  applications. 

5.  Our  laat  objection  to  the  allegorical  method  is  that  it  cannot  achieve  a  well  grounded  and  satis- 
factory interpretation  of  this  book.  It  loses  itself  perpetually  in  details,  where  it  spends  its 
strength  in  random  guess-work.  The  ingenuity  with  which  this  may  be  done,  and  the  devout 
spirit  with  which  it  may  be  pervaded,  cannot  alter  the  essentially  vicious  character  of  the  pro- 
cess. As  Adam  Claekb  justly  says,  he  could  make  anything  whatever  out  of  this  Song  that  he 
was  disposed  to  make,  if  he  were  allowed  equal  liberty  :  he  could  find  Arminianism  in  it  or  any 
type  of  doctrine  he  chose.  The  pious  use  made  of  the  language  of  the  book  cannot  redeem  it 
from  the  charge  of  mal-interpretation.  It  is  not  exposition  but  substituting  human  fancies  for 
the  true  meaning  and  intent  of  the  divine  Word.  The  pious  senses  inserted,  the  edifying  re- 
flections and  the  devout  meditations  do  not  sanctify  a  mode  of  dealing  with  the  book  of  God  so 
Utterly  unwarrantable. 


22  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


This  mode  of  expounding  each  separate  particular,  not  with  a  view  to  its  place  in  the  des- 
cription in  which  it  stands,  but  as  a  distinct  reference  to  the  spiritual  object  typified  by  it,  neces- 
sarily leads  both  to  a  serious  distortion  of  the  lessons  to  be  conveyed,  and  to  a  marring  and 
mangling  of  the  symmetry  and  beauty  of  the  objects  depicted.  Thus  Dr.  Addison  Alexandee 
in  his  Commentary  on  Isaiah  v.  3,  "  The  parable,  as  a  whole,  corresponds  to  its  subject  as  a  whole, 
but  all  the  particulars  included  in  the  one,  are  not  separately  intended  to  denote  particulars  in- 
cluded in  the  other.  A  lion  may  be  a  striking  emblem  of  a  hero  ;  but  it  does  not  follow  that 
the  mane,  claws,  etc.,  of  the  beast  must  all  be  significant  of  something  in  the  man.  Nay,  they 
cannot  even  be  supposed  to  be  so,  without  sensibly  detracting  from  the  force  and  beauty  of  the 
image  as  a  whole."  See  also  similar  language  used  on  Isaiah  Ix.  7,  and  in  his  Commentary  on' 
Mark  iv.  13,  and  xii.  6.  Is  it  surprising  that  Wordsworth  could  see  no  beauty  in  the  figures 
of  this  book  literally  understood  after  mercilessly  carving  them  to  shapeless  fragments  by  his 
dissecting  knife? 

For  these  reasons  we  believe  the  typical  to  be  the  true  method  of  interpreting  this  Song,  and 
we  shall  conceive  it  to  be  a  most  important  service  rendered  by  this  commentary  if  it  shall  in 
any  measure  contribute  to  check  the  unbridled  extravagance  of  the  prevalent  devotion  to  alle- 
gory and  encourage  a  simpler  and  juster  style  of  interpretation.  According  to  the  typical  un- 
derstanding of  Canticles,  which  has  already  been  characterized  in  the  general,  but  may  here  be 
more  exactly  described,  its  primary  subject  and  that  which  is  denoted  by  its  language  in  its 
literal  acceptation  is  the  loving  intercourse  of  king  Solomon  and  his  bride.  Bxit  in  consequence 
of  Solomon's  representative  character  as  the  vicegerent  and  type  of  the  divine  king  of  Israel, 
his  individual  and  earthly  relations  become  the  mirror  of  the  spiritual  and  the  heavenly.  His 
human  love  to  the  woman  of  his  choice  is  the  symbol  of  the  love  of  God  to  His  elect  people,  of 
Jehovah  to  Israel,  of  Christ  to  His  church.  This  latter  isnot  directly  and  enigmatically  described 
by  the  terras  of  the  Song,  but  is  shadowed  forth  by  the  scenes  and  the  feelings  which  are  de- 
picted in  it.  The  Solomon  of  the  Song  is  not  the  heavenly,  but  the  earthly  Solomon :  he  is  pre- 
sented, however,  not  in  his  individual  personality  merely,  but  in  the  capacity  of  a  king  and  a 
lover  or  a  husband,  thus  suggesting  the  ideal  king  and  the  ideal  lover,  and  to  this  extent,  and  in 
this  manner,  shadowing  forth  the  greatest  and  most  glorious  of  monarchs,  the  most  tender  and 
affectionate,  the  most  loving  and  the  best  of  bridegrooms,  Jehovah-Jesus. 

The  very  first  step  toward  the  correct  understanding  of  this  book  as  of  any  type,  or  parable, 
or  similitude  whatsoever  is  the  inquiry  after  its  literal  sense, — what  is  the  object  itself  that  is  here 
presented?  It  is  impossible  to  develop  the  spiritual  meaning  of  a  symbol  until  it  is  first  ascer- 
tained what  the  symbol  is.  The  literal  sense  is  the  foundation  of  the  whole.  If  this  be  not  cor- 
rectly gathered  and  distinctly  apprehended,  every  ulterior  result  is  vitiated.  The  most  cursory 
inspection  shows  this  book  to  relate  to  the  loving  intercourse  of  a  bridegroom  and  his  bride. 
But  what  is  the  precise  nature  and  the  mutual  relations  of  the  several  scenes  depicted  ?  Do  the 
various  parts  cohere  in  one  connected  narrative,  which  traces  through  successive  steps  the  grow- 
ing intimacy  of  the  loving  pair  ?  if  so,  what  is  the  story,  or  the  plot  which  forms  the  ground  work 
of  the  book?  Or  does  it  contain  a  series  of  detached  scenes,  each  complete  in  itself?  if  so, 
what  are  the  limits  of  each,  and  what  the  precise  situation  and  action  depicted  in  it?  Is  the 
whole  prior  to  marriage,  or  subsequent  to  marriage,  or  does  the  marriage  occur  in  the  course  of 
the  Song,  and  if  so,  where?  A  true  conception  must  first  be  gained  of  the  book  in  the  exhibi- 
tion which  it  makes  of  the  human  love  described  in  it,  before  we  can  be  prepared  to  understand 
the  particular  aspect,  method,  or  measures  of  divine  love  which  it  is  adapted  to  set  forth. 

The  service  performed  by  the  erotic  commentators  on  this  Song  in  the  history  of  interpreta- 
tion, is  that  of  directing  attention  to  this  most  astonishing  oversight  on  the  part  of  the  allegorists, 
one  extreme  as  usual  generating  its  opposite,  and  thus  preparing  the  way  for  its  own  correction. 
The  egregious  perversions  of  the  literal  sense  by  those  who  have  bestowed  upon  it  their  exclu- 
sive attention  can  only  be  fairly  refuted  and  their  utter  baselessness  shown,  when  the  correct 
scheme  of  this  book  shall  be  fully  drawn  out  and  fortified  in  every  part. 

In  our  opinion  Zookleb  has  not  been  as  successful  in  his  results  as  he  is  correct  in  his  method. 
Neither  he  nor  Delitzsch,  whom  he  follows  with  some  modifications,  has  solved  the  problem  of 
the  book  so  far  as  to  make  a  fkithful  exhibit  of  its  literal  sense.     They  are  both  captivated  with 


2  4.  THE  ETHICAL  IDEA  OP  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  23 


the  idea,  which  we  are  persuaded  is  fallacious,  of  finding  a  regularly  unfolded  plot,  and  in  their 
eagerness  to  make  out  continuity  and  progress  they  have  obtruded  upon  this  sacred  poem  what 
finds  no  warrant  in  its  text,  and  marred  the  artless  sii:apli(;ity  of  its  structure  by  needless  com- 
plications. A  complete  and  satisfactory  presentation  of  the  literal  sense  of  Canticles  is  a  very 
great  desideratum;  and  this  is  the  direction  in  which  we  are  disposed  to  look  with  the  greatest 
hope  for  further  progress  in  unfolding  its  more  profound  mysteries. 

Upon  the  literal  is  built  the  ethical  sense.  Delitzsch  here  loses  himself  too  much  in  a  mere 
roBiantio  sentimeatalism.  The  erotic  interpreters,  as  Ginsbukg,  discover  an  example  of  virtue 
superior  to  the  greatest  temptations  :  they  make  it  a  story  of  faithful  love  shown  in  a  maiden 
whom  the  king  by  all  his  arts  and  by  the  most  dazzling  allurements  cannot  seduce  from  her 
shepherd  lover  to  whom  she  had  given  her  heart.  Zocklee  here  attempts  a  compromise  which 
ia  an  attitude  he  frequently  occupies  in  the  course  of  his  commentary.  He  drops  the  shepherd 
lover,  but  still  represents  Solomon  in  an  unfavorable  though  less  repulsive  light,  and  makes  all 
the  pure  and  elevating  influence  proceed  from  Shulamith,  who  is  the  true  heroine  of  the  Song, 
and  by  whom  her  royal  husband  is  completely  over-shadowed.  The  discontent  with  Solomon's 
court  and  with  the  style  of  life  prevailing  there,  which  Delitzsch  afhrms,  is  pushed  by  Zockleb 
to  what  is  perhaps  its  legitimate  result,  dissatisfaction  with  Solomon  himself  who  was  tainted 
by  the  corrupting  influences  around  him.  She  however  wins  the  proud  lord  of  a  harem  com- 
pletely to  herself  and  makes  him  all  her  own;  from  love  to  her  he  forsakes  his  voluptuous  court 
for  the  retirement  and  gentle  pleasures  of  her  country  home.  He  thus  finds  in  it  the  triumph  of 
chastity  over  sensuality,  of  a  pure  monogamy  over  the  voluptuousness  of  polygamy. 

We  cannot  deny  that  there  is  a  certain  attractiveness  at  the  first  view  in  the  thought  of  a  re- 
buke to  polygamy  in  the  person  of  one,  by  whom  it  was  carried  to  such  unheard  of  excess,  if  it 
were  not  that  the  whole  thing  is  imported  into  the  Song  by  the  mere  fancy  of  the  interpreter. 
Whatever  unfavorable  surmises  might  attach  to  Solomon's  life  as  recorded  in  Kings,  there  is 
nothing  whatever  in  this  book  to  justify  them.  He  says  and  does  nothing  to  warrant  the  sus- 
picion of  a  want  of  constancy  in  his  love  for  Shulamith  or  a  fickle  preference  for  others.  Shula- 
mith never  betrays  any  apprehension  that  she  has  not  her  full  share  of  his  love,  or  that  his  conduct 
belies  his  professions  of  fond  attachment.  The  temporary  separation — it  can  scarcely  be  called  es- 
trangement— which  gives  her  so  much  pain,  is  traced  by  herself  to  her  own  drowsy  inaction,  v. 
3.  The  only  allusion  to  the  existing  number  of  queens,  vi.  8,  is  for  the  sake  of  ranking  her  above 
them  all  as  the  idol  of  her  husband's  heart.  The  daughters  of  Jerusalem  never  appear  as  rivals, 
toward  whom  Shulamith  expresses  or  cherishes  any  jealousy.  But  apart  from  the  unfounded  pre- 
sumptions on  which  the  whole  is  based,  it  involves  a  preposterous  conflict  between  Solomon's 
regal  dignity  and  his  married  state,  that  in  order  to  possess  Shulamith  as  his  own,  and  be  com- 
pletely hers,  he  should  have  to  abandon  his  capital  and  his  court  and  the  occupations  of  royalty, 
and  go  to  live  with  her  in  her  mother's  house  at  Shunem.  And  further,  it  is  a  most  extraordi- 
nary mode  of  inculcating  monogamy  for  Shulamith  to  marry  a  king  already  the  possessor  of 
sixty  queens,  and  then  to  set  about  securing  him  entirely  to  herself,  and  leading  him  to  abandon 
all  the  rest.  Would  not  this  be  more  like  the  artful  intriguing  favorite  than  the  guileless,  sim- 
ple-hearted child  of  nature,  which  she  is  represented  as  being  ? 

AU  that  can  in  fairness  be  made  out  of  the  ethical  view  of  this  book,  as  it  appears  to  us,  is 
that  two  parties  are  here  described  who  live  in  and  for  each  other.  Proofs  and  instances  are 
given  of  their  devotion  and  fondness,  their  ardent  longing  for  each  other  when  separated,  their 
delight  in  each  other  when  united,  their  increased  enjoyment  in  every  source  of  pleasure,  of 
which  they  partake  together.  The  constancy,  the  tenderness,  the  purity,  the  fervor  of  wedded 
love,  finds  repeated  and  varied  exemplification.  Canticles  does  not  rise  to  the  inculcation  of 
monogamy  nor  assert  for  marriage  that  according  to  its  primeval  institution  and  its  true  idea 
it  must  he  between  one  man  and  one  woman.  It  alludes  to  polygamy,  vi.  8,  without  disallowing 
or  positively  prohibiting  it  as  an  offence  against  the  ordinance  of  God  and  the  welfare  of  man.  It 
belongs  to  a  dispensation  under  which  for  the  hardness  of  men's  hearts  this  institution  had  been 
snfeed  to  be  clouded,  and  its  original  brightness  dimmed.  It  issues  no  interdict  against  po- 
lygamy, but  it  undermines  it.  First,  by  drying  up  its  source.  It  exhibits  a  style  of  intercourse 
het^feenthe  sexes  which  ia  pure,  elevated  and  refined,  sensitive  to  the  charms  of  beauty  and  of  per- 


24  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 

Bonal  attractions,  but  without  a  trace  of  sensuality.  There  is  no  grossness,  no  impurity,  no  in- 
delicacy even.  Everything  of  that  nature  which  has  been  attached  to  this  gem  of  songs,  should 
be  laid  to  the  account  of  mistranslation  or  misinterpretation.  Secondly,  by  raising  up  an  ad- 
versary too  powerful  for  it.  This  Song  depicts  a  mutual  love  which  is  absolutely  exclusive, 
ii.  2,  16 ;  iv.  12 ;  vi.  3,  9 ;  vii.  10 ;  viii.  6,  7 ;  and  before  which  polygamy  must  fall,  not  be- 
cause it  is  forbidden,  but  because  it  cannot  be  endured. 

Greatly  as  we  approve  of  Zocklee's  typical  method  of  dealing  with  Canticles,  we  cannot 
accept  what  is  peculiar  in  the  typical  views  which  he  deduces  from  it.  This  follows,  of  course, 
from  the  exceptions  we  have  taken  to  his  literal  conception  of  it,  upon  which  it  is  based.  Some 
may  probably  be  shocked  by  the  fact  that  he  represents  Shulamith  as  Solomon's  superior  in  point 
of  virtue  and  purity,  and  the  instrument  of  worliing  at  least  a  temporary  change  for  the  better  in 
him,  while  at  the  same  time  he  says  that  Solomon  and  Shulamith  are  types  of  the  Lord  and  His 
church.  This,  however,  is  not  of  itself  sufficient  to  condemn  his  view.  All  types  have  their 
deficiencies.  Some  are  deplorably  defective,  without  after  all  ceasing  to  be  t5''pes.  There  is  a  ■ 
real  foundation  for  what  Zockler  calls  types  of  analogy  and  types  of  contrast,  or  as  we  have 
ourselves  been  in  the  habit  of  designating  them,  direct  and  inverse  types,  the  former  being  ob- 
jects which  directly  shadow  forth  the  future  good,  and  the  latter  such  as  stand  in  opposition  to 
it  or  represent  a  want  which  it  can  supply.  And  in  every  individual  type  there  are  at  the  same 
time  elements  of  correspondence  with  the  ultimate  ideal  and  of  divergence  from  it,  both  of  which 
must  be  taken  into  the  account  if  its  full  lessons  are  to  be  unfolded. 

If  the  question  respected  the  typical  character  of  Solomon  on  the  whole,  as  a  personage  in  the 
sacred  History,  it  could  not  be  objected  that  a  more  unfavorable  view  is  taken  of  him  than  the 
facts  recorded  warrant.  And  it  may  be  added  that  in  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes,  which  is  inversely 
or  negatively  Messianic,  the  kingdom  of  Solomon  is  shown  upon  its  unsatisfying  side,  in  which  it 
presents  a  marked  contrast  with  that  of  his  great  antitype.  We  are  now,  however,  solely  con- 
cerned with  Solomon  as  he  is  represented  in  the  Song  of  songs.  The  typical,  as  the  other  les- 
sons of  the  Song  must  be  drawn  from  itself,  without  any  such  supplement  at  least  from  other 
sources  as  would  distort  the  image  presented  here.  A  picture  is  presented  to  us  belonging  to 
the  sphere  of  natural  life ;  this  must  be  simply  transferred  to  the  spiritual  sphere  to  yield  itg 
typical  or  higher  meaning.  Features  of  Solomon's  character  which  would  have  marred  the 
significance  or  effect  of  the  whole,  may  be  neglected  or  lost  sight  of.  They  do  not  belong  to  the 
conception  of  this  Song,  which  must  be  interpreted  by  itself. 

Did  the  writer  of  this  book  intend  anything  more  than  the  literal  and  ethical  sense  ?  ZoCKLER 
thinks  not.  He  supposes  him  to  have  composed  this  poem,  setting  forth  this  incident  in  the 
life  of  Solomon,  He  had  no  more  in  his  mind  than  the  human  parties,  the  play  of  their  affec- 
tions, and  the  fond  relation  constituted  between  them.  But  the  nature  of  the  transaction  itself, 
and  the  position  of  the  principal  actor  in  the  sacred  history  impart  to  it  a  typical  import,  of 
which  Solomon  himself,  in  writing  it,  had  no  conception.  Its  connection  with  Solomon,  and  its 
ethical  bearings  in  his  view  justify  its  place  among  the  sacred  oracles,  even  apart  from  its  mys- 
tical meaning.  This  is  a  question  of  some  difficulty.  For,  1.  It  cannot  be  affirmed  that  the 
book  itself  contains  any  clear  indication  of  its  higher  meaning ;  what  has  been  adduced  as 
showing  that  the  writer  intended  something  more  profound  than  lies  upon  the  surface,  is  mostly 
of  doubtful  interpretation,  and  is  scarcely  sufficient  to  produce  conviction.  2.  Such  instances  as 
Ruth,  Esther,  and  many  of  the  Proverbs  may  make  us  cautious  in  undertaking  to  determine  in 
advance  what  amount  of  evident  religious  character  is  necessary  to  entitle  a  book  to  admission 
to  the  canon  of  the  Old  Testament.  3.  The  sacred  historians  in  all  probability  were  ignorant 
of  the  typical  nature  of  much  that  they  have  recorded. 

Nevertheless,  we  cannot  but  believe  that  the  writer  of  this  divine  Song  recognized  the  sym- 
bolical character  of  that  love,  which  he  has  here  embellished.  The  typical  character  of  the 
king  of  Israel  was  familiarly  known,  as  is  apparent  from  many  of  the  Psalms.  The  typical 
character  of  Solomon's  own  reign  was  well  understood  by  himself,  as  appears  from  Psalm  Ixxii. 
That  the  Lord's  relation  to  His  people  was  conceived  of  as  a  marriage  from  the  time  of  the 
covenant  at  Sinai,  is  shown  by  repeated  expressions  that  imply  it,  in  the  law  of  Moses.  That 
under  these  circumstances,  the  marriage  of  the  King  of  Israel  should  carry  the  thoughts  up  by 


I  6.  HISTORY  OP  THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  SONG  OP  SOLOMON.  25 

a  ready  and  spontaneous  association  to  the  covenant-relation  of  the  King  par  excellence  to  the 
people,  whom.  He  had  espoused  to  Himself,  is  surely  no  extravagant  supposition,  even  i£  the 
analogous  instance  of  Psalm  xlv.  did  not  remove  it  from  the  region  of  conjecture  to  that  of 
estabhshed  fact.  The  mystical  use  made  of  marriage  so  frequently  in  the  subsequent  scriptures, 
with  evident  and  even  verbal  allusion  to  this  Song,  and  the  constant  mterpretation  of  both  the 
Synagogue  and  the  Church,  show  the  naturalness  of  the  symbol,  and  enhance  the  probability 
that  the  writer  himself  saw  what  the  great  body  of  his  readers  have  found  in  his  production. 
And  whatever  may  be  said  apologetically  of  the  sacredness  of  this  book,  if  its  inspired  author 
intended  it  in  its  literal  sense  alone,  it  exalts  it  so  prodigiously,  and  frees  it  so  completely  from 
every  shadow  of  objection,  to  suppose  him  to  have  employed  this  symbol  with  some  conscious- 
ness of  its  sacred  meaning,  that  I  cannot  bring  myself  to  believe  that  the  wise  King  of  Israel  was 
so  blind  as  some  have  imagined  him  to  be.  And  I  am  not  sure  but  the  absence  of  the  name 
of  God,  and  of  any  distinctive  religious  expressions  throughout  the  Song  is  thus  to  be  accounted 
for  that  the  writer,  conscious  of  the  parabolic  character  of  what  he  is  describing,  felt  that  there 
would  be  an  incongruity  in  mingling  the  symbol  with  the  thing  symbolized.  See  Isaac 
Taylor's  Spirit  of  the  Hebrew  Poetry,  pp.  174,  5]. 

I  5.     HI3T0ET   AND   LITERATTJEE    (bIBLIOGEAPHY)    OF   THE     INIEEPEETATION   OP   THE   SONG   OP 

SOLOMON. 

a.  The  allegorioal  attempts  at  explanation  in  ancient  and  modern  times* 
It  is  as  impossible  to  deny  that  the  mystical  and  allegorical  view  of  the  Song  of  Solomon, 
which  entirely  disregards  the  literal  sense,  and  sees  nothing  in  it  but  an  exhibition  in  a  figura- 
tive dress,  of  the  covenant-relation  between  Jehovah  and  Israel,  or  of  the  loving  communion 
of  Messiah  with  His  Church,  may  have  had  advocates  among  the  Jewish  scribes  before  the  close 
of  the  Old  Testament  canon,  as  it  is  to  prove  that  this  view  was  the  only  one  in  the  period 
before  Christ,  or  that  it  was  the  conditio  sine  qua  non  of  the  reception  of  the  book  into  the 
canon.  For  neither  the  acquaintance  which  the  author  of  Prov.  i-ix,  xxii.-xxiv  betrays  with  it 
(see  J  3,  Rem.  1),  nor  the  firequent  use  made  of  it  by  the  prophet  Hosea  at  a  somewhat  later 
period  (comp.  Hos.  xiv.  6-9  with  Cant.  ii.  1,  v.  15,  iv.  11,  vi.  11,  etc.),  affords  any  certain  proof 
that  the  allegorical  explanation  was  already  cultivated  before  the  exile  at  the  expense  of  the 
historical.  That  according  to  the  tradition  of  the  Talmud  (see  E.  Azabias  in  Meor  Enaim, 
p.  175  b),  EzBA  only  admitted  such  books  to  the  canon  as  "  were  composed  by  the  prophets  in 
the  Holy  Spirit,"  can  no  more  be  esteemed  a  historical  testimony  for  the  exclusive  prevalence 
of  the  allegorical  interpretation  at  the  time  of  the  collection  of  the  canon,  than  the  statement 
of  the  Taesum  on  i.  1,  that  the  Song  of  Songs  was  sung  "  by  Solomon  the  prophet  and  king 
of  Israel  in  the  spirit  of  prophecy."  Nor  can  any  proof  be  brought  from  the  Old  Testament 
Apocrypha  of  the  existence  of  the  allegorioal  mode  of  interpretation  before  the  time  of  Christ. 
The  passages  adduced  for  this  purpose  by  Rosenmuellee,  Wisd.  viii.  2,  9, 16, 18 ;  Eccles.  xxiv. 
18, 19,  by  no  means  necessarily  imply  that  the  bride  of  the  Canticles  was  taken  to  be  the  divine 
wisdom ;  and  against  the  validity  of  the  passage  Eccles.  xlvii.  15-17  urged  by  Keil,  even 
Hengstenbbeg  has  shown  that  Solomon's  irapotfj-im,  vapajiolai  and  Ipfirrve'iat,  "  proverbs, 
parables  and  interpretations"  here  extolled,  simply  refer  to  the  proverbs  and  enigmatical  say- 
ings of  the  king  mentioned,  1  Kin.  v.  12  (iv.  32)  ff.,  x.  1  ff.,  not  to  any  mystical  sense  of  this 
"  Song  of  songs,"  Nor  can  the  Septuag.  be  adduced  as  representing  the  allegorical  interpre- 
tation of  this  Song ;  for  though  it  renders  nja«  t^N'-ip  iv.  8  by  and  apxm  wiurraf  and  nsin3  by 
JC  evdoKia,  these  are  errors  of  translation,  which  only  show  that  the  two  localities  in  question 
(Amana  and  Tirzah)  were  no  longer  known  to  the  authors  of  the  Alexandrian  version.  No 
certain  traces  of  a  use  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  in  an  allegorical  sense  can  be  pointed  out  even 
in  the  writings  of  Philo  ;  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  New  Testament,  where,  at  the  utmost 
Eev.  iii.  20  might  be  regarded  as  an  expression  taken  from  the  Song  of  Solomon,  explained  of 

*  Comp.  in  general  En.  Gcnitz,  Hietoire  Critique  de  I'interpretation  du  Cant,  des  Cantiquee.  Slrasburg,  1834,  [also  the 
Mcount  given  of  preceding  commentators  in  the  commentaries  of  "Williams,  pp.  108-126,  Ginsbueg,  pp.  20-102,  Moody  Stuart 
pp.  623-640,  and  THKtrpp  pp.  16-36,  of  which  the  translator  has  freely  availed  himself  in  such  additions  as  he  has  thought  it 
needful  to  maJ^e.] 


26  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 

the  Messiah,  but  is  more  probably  to  be  traced,  like  what  is  elsewhere  said  of  Christ  as  the 
bridegroom  of  His  Church  (e.  g.  Mat.  ix.  15,  John  iii.  29,  etc.),  to  the  corresponding  ideas  and 
expressions  in  the  figurative  language  of  the  prophets  in  general*  Comp.  I  4,  p.  16,  and  in 
opposition  to  the  different  judgment  expressed  by  HENasiENBBEQ  respecting  these  passages  of 
the  New  Testament,  comp.  especially  Umbreit  in  Herzog's  Real  Encyc,  vol.  vi.  p.  207  f. 

Accordingly,  it  is  not  until  the  period  after  Christ  and  His  apostles  that  really  unmistakable 
traces  are  found  of  the  allegorical  understanding  and  treatment  of  the  Song  of  Solomon ;  and  in 
the  first  instance  in  the  way  that  the  author  of  the  fourth  book  of  Esdras,  an  apocalyptic  pro- 
duction of  a  Jewish  Christian,  written  probably  in  the  time  of  Domitian,  uses  the  expressions 
"  lily  "  and  "  dove,"  v.  24,  26,  with  unmistakable  reference  to  Cant.  ii.  1,  vi.  9,  as  myatical 
designations  of  the  Church  of  God.  Then  in  an  allegorical  explanation  of  iii.  11,  given  by  E. 
Simon  ben  Gamaliel  about  the  year  120  of  the  Christian  era  (see  Taanith,  IV.  8) :  and 
finally  in  the  solemn  asseveration  of  E.  Akiba,  the  celebrated  contemporary  of  this  R.  Simon 
(in  Yadaim  III.  5),  that  Canticles  defiles  the  hands,  and  is  to  be  regarded  not  only  as  a  holy, 
but  in  comparison  with  the  rest  of  the  Hagiographa  as  a  most  holy  bookf  (D'iynp  lyip).  The 
Synagogue,  from  the  first  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  must  have  universally  proceeded  on 
the  assumption  attested  by  this  declaration  of  a  hidden  allegorical  sense  \o  this  book.  For 
Oeigen  and  Jerome  testify  that  it  was  a  universal  custom  among  the  Jews  in  their  time,  not 
to  allow  any  one  to  study  the  Canticles,  the  account  of  the  creation  in  Genesis  (the  TW^n 
ri'E'NI^)  or  the  1st  chap,  of  the  Prophet  Ezekiel  (the  n33nn  ni2';?D)  before  the  thirtieth  year  of 
his  life.  And  Ibn  Ezra  declares  that  it  was  an  undoubted  and  undisputed  fact  that  nothing 
in  the  Canticles  was  spoken  literally,  but  all  figuratively.! 

Great  numbers  of  both  Jewish  and  Christian  interpreters  have  since  treated  the  Song  of 
Solomon  in  this  one-sided  allegorical  method,  which  fritters  away  the  historical  sense  altogether, 
and  sets  it  aside  as  offensive.  Of  the  former,  the  most  ancient  whose  work  has  come  down  to 
us  is  the  author  of  the  Targum,  which  is  at  all  events  post-Talmudic.  The  model  thus  given 
was  followed  by  most  of  the  Rabbins  of  the  middle  ages,  particularly  Kashi,  Kimchi,  and 
Ibn  Ezra,  of  Toledo,  in  the  twelfth  century,  who  has  already  been  mentioned,  and  who  sees  in 
the  book  an  allegorical  and  prophetical  representation  of  the  history  of  Israel  from  the  time  of 
Abraham  (whilst  the  other  rabbinical  interpreters  almost  universally,  like  the  Taegtjmist, 
make  the  action  begin  with  the  exodus  from  Egypt  under  Moses) ;  likewise  Moses  Maimonides 
(11204),  who  in  his  More  Nebochim,  explains  some  passages  at  least  of  the  poem,  and  this  in 
such  a  way  that  "  its  historical  contents  vanish  entirely,  and  the  mystical  signification  of  ita 
poetical  and  figurative  expressions  is  alone  of  any  worth."  In  the  Church  Oeigeh  brought 
the  mystical  and  allegorical  mode  of  treatment  into  vogue,  and  by  far  the  greatest  number  of 
the  fathers  and  the  theologians  of  the  middle  ages,  and  even  of  more  recent  times,  have  followed 
him,  with  however  the  subordinate  variations  that  to  the  mystioo-spiritual  view  represented  by 
him,  by  Jeeome,  Maoaeius,  Theodoret,  Bernaed  of  Clairvaux,  etc.,  there  have  also  been 
added  in  the  course  of  time  a  mystico-doctrinal  (Cypeian,  Athanasius,  Joachim  Lange, 
Eambach,  Staeke,  etc.),  a  mystico-political  or  historical  (Augustin,  Luther),  a  mystico- 
prophetical  (Cooceius,  Gulioh,  Hednisch,  Reinhaedt,  etc.),  a mystico-Mariological  (Ambeosb, 
Etjpert  v.  Deutz,  DioNYsros  Carthusianus,  Mich.  Ghisleeius,  Salmeson,  CoENELins  a 

»  [Thbopp  remarks  on  the  contrary  ;  "  It  is  inSeccJ  there  never  directly  quoted  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  passages  in 
which  ita  language  and  its  imagery  are  in  various  ways  embodied,  are  numerous  ;  the  use  thus  made  of  it  is  uniformly  allegor- 
ical;  the  cumulative  cogency  of  these  repeated  dependences  uponit  in  favor  o£  the  allegorical  interpretation  becomes  very 
great;  and  throughout  the  New  Testament  no  hint  is  to  be  found  that  it  bore  or  could  bear  any  other  than  an  allegorical 
meaning."  The  passages,  which  he  cites  in  proof  of  this  conclusion  in  his  commentary  pp.  53-55,  are  not  all  equally  convinc- 
ing; some  are  wholly  fanciful.  But  enough  remain  to  satisfy  an  unprejudiced  mind  that  the  inspired  writers  of  the  New 
Testament  and  our  Lord  Himself  found  a  deeper  meaning  in  this  Song  than  appears  upon  its  surface.— Tr.] 

t  See  the  passage  in  J.  D.  Michielis'  Preface  :  "  Absit  omni  modo  ut  qui  Israelita  negaret,  quod  canticum  canticorum 
aon  poUnat  manus  sive  non  sit  sacrum  ;  quia  totus  mundus  tanti  non  est  ac  ille  dies  quo  canticum  canticorum  Israeli  est 
datum.  Omnia  .nim  Hagiographa  sacra  sunt,  sed  canticum  canticorum  est  sacratissimum.  Etsi  qua  de  Salomonis  scriptis 
dlssensio  fuit  {viz.,  whether  they  belong  in  the  oanon-comp.  Ahoth  de  Rabbi  Nathan,  u.  1  in  Delitzsch,  Hohd.,  p.  48),  ea 
tantum  de  Ecclesiaste  fuit." 

t  Trmt,  in  Cant.  Cantic:  "Absit,  absit,  ut  canticum  canticorum  de  voluptate  camali  agat;  omnia  potius  figurate  in  eo 
dicuntur.  Nisi  enim  maxima  ejus  dlgnitaa,  inter  Ubros  Scriptune  sacrse  relatum  non  esset ;  neque  uUa  de  eo  est  coo. 
troversia." 


2  5.  HISTORY  OF  THE  INTERPEETATION  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  27 


Lapidb,  etc.),  and  even  a  mystico-hieroglyphioal  (Ptjfendokf  and  Runqb,  1776).  They  are 
alt  agreed,  however,  that  the  whole  poem  waa  conceived  by  the  author  with  a  conscious  alle- 
gorical design.  The  most  recent  allegorical  expositors  also  occupy  substantially  the  same 
ground,  now  inclining  to  one  and  now  to  another  of  these  modifications ;  aa  Kosbnmxjbller 
Hua  and  Kaisbe  have  sought  each  in  his  own  way  to  reproduce  the  mysticohistorical  oi 
political  method  of  explanation  of  former  times  ;  Goltz,  the  mystico- prophetical;  H.  A.  Hahn, 
Kiia,  0.  V.  Gerlach,  Hengstbnbeeg,  the  myatico-doetrinal ;  Gust.  Jahn  and  others,  the 
mystieo-spiritual  mode  of  explanation. 

SPECIAL  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

I.    JEWISH    ALLBOOBIOAL    EXPOSITIONS. 

Tae&tjm  in  Cant.  Oanticorum  (contained  in  the  Tabgum  to  the  five  Megilloth,  vii.,  Song  of 
Solomon,  Kuth,  Lamentations,  Esther,  Ecolesiastes),  beat  printed  in  the  Paris  and  London 
polyglots.  It  betrays,  by  its  references  to  the  Talmod,  and  even  to  the  Mohammedans,  that 
it  was  not  composed  until  the  eighth  century  probably,  which,  however,  does  not  exclude  a 
Mgher  antiquity  for  many  of  its  remarlis  and  stories  strung  together  in  the  style  of  the 
Haggada..  It  forms  a  continuous  "  picture  of  Israel's  history  from  the  exodus  out  of  Egypt 
through  the  oppressions  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  until  his  final  redemption."  "Draw  me 
after  thee"  (i.  4),  is  explained  of  the  march  of  the  people  under  the  conduct  of  Jehovah  to 
Sinai;  "  Look  not  at  me,  because  I  am  black"  (i.  6)  of  the  penitent  confession  of  sin  by  those 
who  had  forsaken  Jehovah  for  the  golden  calf;  "Tell  me,  thou  whom  my  soul  loveth,  where 
thou  feedest,"  etc.  (i.  7),  of  Moses'  sapplioation  for  the  transgressing  people ;  the  festive  pro- 
cession described  in  iii.  6-H  of  the  taking  of  the  promised  land  by  Joshua,  and  the  building  of 
Solomon's  temple;  the  words  (vii.  13)  "let  us  go  to  the  vineyards,"  etc.,  of  Israel  praying  for 
deliverance  from  the  Babylonish  exile ;  the  "  odorous  mandrakes "  (vii,  14)  of  the  period  of 
dehverance  already  come ;  and  finally,  the  concluding  verse  (viii.  14)  is  explained  as  a  petition 
to  the  Lord,  that  He  would  speedily  bring  back  the  scattered  people  to  the  "  spice  mountains," 
i.  e.,  to  the  temple  mountain  in  Jerusalem,  with  its  fragrant  offerings  of  incense — all  this  is 
interwoven  with  gross  anachronisma,  atrange  leapa  of  thought,  and  extravagant  fancies  of  every 
description ;  comp.  Zunz,  GotlesdienstUche  Vorirdge  der  Juden,  etc.,  p.  65  f. ;  Delitzsch, 
Sohel,  p.  49 ;  Umbeeit,  he.  cit.,  p.  208  f.  [See  the  English  tranalation  of  this  Tabgitm  in 
Gill  on  Canticles,  1728,  and  in  Adam  Claekb's  Commentary.] 

Eashi  (i  e.,  E.  Solomon  ben  Isaac,  f  1106),  Oommentarius  in  Ubros  historicos  et  Salomonu 
V.  T.,  in  Lai.  vertit  J.  Pe.  Beeithaupt,  1714  (on  the  rabbinical  editions  of  this  Commentator, 
who  is  particularly  valuable  on  account  of  his  copious  communications  from  older  Jewish 
allegorical  interpreters,  comp.  de  Rossi,  Histor.  WorCertmch  der  Judischen  Schriftsieller,  from 
the  Italian,  by  Hambbeqee,  1839;  also  J.  Chb.  Wolf,  BibKotheca  Hehrcea,  1715-33,  4   vols.) 

David  Kihchi  (son  of  Joseph  Kimchi,  bom  at  Narbonne,  1190,  died  after  1250),  Oommen- 
tarius in  Cantic.  Canticor.  (in  the  rabbinical  Bibles  of  Bomberg  and  Buxtorf ;  inclining  to  the 
literal  interpretation  of  Scripture,  yet  setting  the  greatest  store  also  by  the  older  allegorizing 
tradition,  especially  in  the  exegesia  of  Messianic  passages ;  comp.  M.  Heidenheim  in  Hebzog's 
Eeal-EncyUop.  XIX.  693). 

Ibn  Ezea  (tll67)  Oommentar.  in  Gani.  Cant.,  also  in  Bomberg's  and  Buxtorf 's  Bibles; 
differs  from  the  Taegtjm  and  most  of  the  other  rabbins  in  finding  the  history  of  Israel  from  the 
time  of  Abraham  allegorically  and  prophetically  represented  in  the  Song  of  Solomon,  and  hence 
it  is  not  until  chap.  ii.  that  he  comea  down  to  the  times  of  Moses  and  the  giving  of  the  law ;  he 
sees,  for  example,  in  the  voice  of  the  bridegroom,  "  who  comes  leaping  over  mountains  and 
hills,"  ii.  8,  the  thunder  of  Jehovah,  by  which  Sinai  was  shaken  (comp.  Ps.  xxix.),  refers  the 
■'peeping  of  the  bridegroom  through  the  window  "  (ii.  9),  to  God's  looking  down  upon  His  people 
oppreaaed  in  Egypt  for  their  help,  etc.,  etc. 

Moses  Maimonides  (f  1204)  Moreh  Nehochim  seu  Doctor  perplexorum,  ed.  Jo.  Buxtoef, 
1629,  comp.  the  Arabic  and  French  edition  "  le  Guide  des  SgarSs,"  by  S.  Munk,  Par.  1856-61, 
2  vols.,  explains  in  the  first  part  of  this  work  in  addition  to  many  other  passages  of  the  Old 
Test.,  which  represent  the  divine  under  sensible  images,  various  sentences  from  the  Song  of 


28  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 

Solomon,  and  in  so  doing  returns  to  the  extremely  arbitrary  and  desultory  method  of  the  older 
Midrash  which  "  at  every  verse  or  clause  of  a  verse  pours  out  a  perfect  cornucopia  of  the  most 
heterogeneous  thoughts  and  fancies,"  without  aiming  at  any  continuous  historico-allegorioal 
explanation  of  the  whole.  A  characteristic  specimen  is  afforded  by  the  remark  upon  the  open- 
ing words  i.  2,  where  the  "  kiss  of  his  mouth  "  is  taken  to  be  a  mystical  designation  of  the 
union  of  the  Creator  with  the  creature  {apprehensio  Oi'eaioris  cum  summo  amore  Dei  conjuncta 
s.  Neshikah),  and  the  well-known  phrase  of  the  rabbins  that  Moses,  Aaron  and  Miriam  died 
"in  the  kiss  of  God"  is  traced  back  to  this  as  its  origin.  Comp.  Buxtoef's  Edit.  p.  523,  and 
generally  Jost,  Art.  "  Maimonides  "  in  Heezoq's  Encyd.  VIII.  691  ff. 

Moses  ben  Tibbon,  Immandbl  ben  Salomo  the  Roman,  and  other  rabbinical  adherents  of 
the  cabalistic  and  philosophical  exegesis  of  the  Jews  of  the  middle  ages  differ  from  the  common 
historico-allegorical  interpretation  in  that  Solomon  is  to  them  a  symbol  of  the  highest  spiritual 
will  (the  inleUectus  agens),  Shulamith  a  symbol  of  the  lower,  merely  sensuous  and  receptive 
understanding  (the  inleUectus  materialis) ,  and  the  whole  is  a  representation  of  the  union  of  both 
eflfeoting  the  purification  of  the  latter.  On  the  contrary  the  religious  poetry  of  the  Jews  of 
Spain  in  the  Pijut,  in  so  far  as  it  is  based  on  the  Song  of  Solomon,  rests  on  that  more  widely 
diffused  allegorical  view,  which  sees  in  Shulamith  the  "  congregation  of  Israel "  (/Klty  nD33). 
Comp.  Sachs,  Relig.  Poesie  der  Juden  in  Spanien,  p.  267 ;  Delitzsch,  Hohel.  p.  50.* 

II.    CHEISTIAN   ALLEGOBISTS. 

a.  The  mystico-spiritual  interpretation.  (Regarding  the  whole  as  a  figurative  representa- 
tion of  the  intercourse  of  Christ  with  the  believing  soul). 

Oeigen  m  Cant.  Canticorum  Homilice  duo  translated  into  Lat.  by  Jerome  (see  his  0pp.  ed. 
Vallaes.  Vol.  III.,  p.  500  flf. )  is  the  founder  of  that  method  of  interpretation  which  sees  in  the 
bride  of  the  Canticles  the  soul  pining  for  union  with  God,  and  in  the  bridegroom  the  divine  love 
which  sanctifies,  purifies  and  elevates  it  to  itself;  he  accordingly  explains  the  whole  in  a  moral- 
soteriological  or  mystico-psychological  manner.  Comp.  what  Jeeomb  says  in  his  translation  : 
"  Canticum  canticorum  amorem  caelestium  divinorumque  desiderium  incutit  animce  sub  specie 
iponsce  et  sponsi,  caritatis  et  amoris  viis  perveniendum  docens  ad  consortium  Dei." — In  his  more 
extended  commentary  in  XII.  rofioi^  of  which  only  four  books  are  still  extant  in  the  Latin 
translation  of  Etjpin  (see  Origenis  0pp.  ed.  Lommatzsch,  Vol.  14,  15)  he  had  explained  the 
bride  of  the  Canticles  by  turns  of  the  individual  souls  of  Christians  striving  after  union  with 
Christ,  and  of  the  Church  as  the  collective  body  of  believers,  thus  combining  the  mystico-doo- 
trinal  with  the  mystico-spiritual  interpretation;  and  yet  through  Jeeome,  who  translated  the 
former  work  only  into  Latin,  and  not  the  latter  also,  the  mystico-spiritual  interpretation  was 
rendered  almost  exclusively  influential  as  a  model  for  later  interpreters,  particularly  in  the  West.** 

Eusebius  of  Caesarea,  Oomment.  in  Cant.  Canticor.  (lost  except  a  few  questions). 

Macaeius  the  elder  or  the  Egyptian  (f  about  390)  Opera  ed.  Peitius,  Lips.  1699  (explains 
the  Song  of  Solomon  likewise  of  the  loving  intercourse  of  the  soul  with  God). 

[Geeqoey  of  Nyssa,  In  Cantica  Canticorum  Explanatio ;  fifteen  homilies  continuing  the  ex- 
position to  the  middle  of  the  sixth  chapter.  "  Of  the  two  alternative  interpretations  of  Obi- 
gen,  that  which  identified  the  bride  with  the  human  soul  is  peculiar,  as  an  exclusive  interpreta- 
tion, to  the  homilies  of  GEEaoET  of  Nyssa." — Thettpp.] 

Theoboeetus,  Interprelatio  in  Cantic.  Canticorum,  0pp.  Vol.  II.  ed.  Schttltze,  Hal.  1770. 
["  Of  all  the  patristic  comments  on  the  Song  those  of  Theodoeet  are  the  most  valuable.  They 
are  executed  with  judgment,  and  with  a  careful  but  discriminating  regard  to  the  labors  of 
earlier  writers ;  are  sufficiently  full  without  being  prolix ;  and  have  come  down  to  us  com- 
plete.    In  them  Christ  is  the    Bridegroom ;  the  Bride  is  the  Church,  more   especially  as  the 

*  On  the  bibliography  of  the  Jewish  expositions  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  in  general  comp.  Eleueer,  Sammhing  der 
Gedichie  Salomo's,  etc.,  pp.  58-67,  [also  Ginsuurg,  Tfte  SoTig  of  Songs,  pp.  21-60]. 

*^-  The  well-known  comparison  of  the  contents  of  the  three  booite  of  Solomon,  viz.,  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes  and  Canticles, 
to  the  philosophical  triad  ri$tKTJ,  </)vcrLK»/  and  \oyLKri  '(or  deiopiKrj),  which  Oriqen  first  suggested  and  Jerome  adopted  from  him, 
also  rests  upon  a  mystico-spiritual  sense  of  the  Canticles.    Comp.  the  Introduction  to  the  ProTorbs  of  Solomon,  p.  1. 


?  5.  HISTORY  OP  THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  29 


company  of  those  who  have  been  perfected  in  all  virtues ;  those  who  have  not   yet  reached 
the  full  degree  of  perfection  being  represented  as  the  Bride's  companions."— Thrdpp.] 

Maximus  Conpbssoe,  Paraphrasis  in  Cant.  Canticorum  (in  the  Greeli  Catena:  to  the  0.  Test 
in  Feonto  Ducaeus,  Auctar.  Bibl  Pair.  II.  681  ff.  and  in  the  Bibl.  Pair.  ed.  Moeell,  Vol 
XIII.;  comp.  also  the  Calenain  Cant.  Caniic.  by  Mbtjesius,  Lugd.  Batav.  1617  f). 

WlLLIEAM  (Abbot  at  Ebersberg  in  Bavaria  f  1085)  Paraphrasis  in  Cant.  Canticorum,  ed. 
Meeula,  Lugd.  Bat.  1598,  and  H.  Hoffmann,  Bresl.  1827,  gave  a  twofold  paraphrase  of  th« 
Song  of  Solomon,  in  which  he  followed  the  customary  allegorical  method,  one  in  Lat.  hexameters, 
the  other  in  old  high  German  prose,  in  both  regarding  the  whole  as  a  colloquy  between  Christ 
and  the  believing  soul.  The  old  high  German  treatise  like  Notker's  somewhat  older  para- 
phrase of  the  Psalms  is  of  great  interest  in  the  history  of  language.  Comp.  Hoffmann  in  the 
German  Edition  already  mentioned,  as  well  as  W.  Scheeee,  Lehen  Willirams,  etc.,  Vienna, 
1866. 

HoNOElus  of  Autun,  Exposiiio  in  Caniica  Canticorum  Salomonis,  in  Bibl  Pairum  Lugdun. 
Vol.  XX.  (the  Prasfatio  especially  important  on  account  of  its  laying  down  the  theory  of  the 
fourfold  sense  of  Scripture,  which  the  exposition  of  particular  passages  then  seeks  to  point  out 
everywhere,  according  especial  prominence  to  the  sensus  moralis). 

Bernaed  of  Clairvaux,  Sermones  86  Super  Cant.  Canticorum,  0pp.  Vol.  II.  ed.  Venet.  (a 
diffuse  mystico-practical  exposition,  which,  however,  only  treats  the  first  two  chapters  and  the 
opening  words  of  the  third,  and  explains  the  whole  of  the  soul  seeking  her  heavenly  bridegroom 
and  introduced  by  Him  first  into  the  garden,  then  into  the  banquet  hall,  and  finally  into  the 
sleeping  chamber,  sometimes,  moreover,  weaving  in  a  doctrinal  interpretation  as  on  i,  2,  where 
kissing  with  the  kiss  of  His  mouth  is  explained  of  the  incarnation  of  Christ,  this  "  condescend- 
ing miracle  of  a  kiss,  in  which  not  mouth  is  pressed  to  mouth  but  God  is  united  with  man," 
etc.*  The  continuation  of  this  gigantic  work  attempted  by  Bernard's  pupil,  Gilbert  t.  Hot- 
land,  only  carries  it  on  to  v.  10  in  58  discourses).  Comp.  also  Fernbacher:  die  Reden  des 
hdl.  Be^'sb.a^ii  icber  das  Sohehed,  deutsch  bearbeiiet  ["The  Discourses  of  St.  Bernard  on 
the  Canticles,"  rendered  into  German],  Leipz.  1866. 

Richard  A.  S.  Victore,  Thomas  Aquinas,  Bonaventura,  Gbeshon  and  others  represent 
in  their  Expositiones  in  Cantic,  Canticorum  the  same  mystico-psychological  explanation,  ac- 
cording to  which  the  Song  of  Solomon  forms  a  compendium  of  the  science  of  inward  Christian 
experience,  an  inexhaustible  mine  of  ideas  and  fancies  as  profound  as  they  are  arbitrary. 
["Aquinas  is  said  to  have  dictated  his  commentary  on  his  death-bed."] 

Teresa  de  Jesus,  Conceptos  del  amor  de  Bios  sobra  algunas palabras  de  los  cantares  de  SalomoTi 
("  Thoughts  on  the  love  of  God  suggested  by  some  verses  in  Canticles)" — explains  particularly 
the  passages  i.  2;  ii.  3;  ii.  4;  ii.  5,  etc.,  of  the  marriage  of  the  enraptured  soul  with  the  holy 
Trinity,  or  of  the  fourth  and  highest  stage  of  her  peculiar  mystical  theory  of  prayer ;  comp.  ray 
essay  "  Teebsia  v.  Avila,"  etc.,  in  the  Zeitschr.  f.  Luth.  Theol.  1865,  I.  and  II. 

Juan  de  la  Ceuz  (John  of  the  cross),  Cantico  espiritual  entre  el  alma  e  Christo  su  esposo 
{"  spiritual  song  between  the  soul  and  Christ  its  bridegroom  " — a  free  poetic  imitation  of  some 
of  the  principal  passages  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  especially  from  chap,  iii.-vi. ;  comp.  the  essay 
already  referred  to  in  the  Zdtschr.  f.  Luth.  Theol.  1866,  I.,  particularly  p.  59  ff.). 

[The  commentary  of  the  Spanish  Jesuit,  Gaspae  Sanctius  (or  Sanchez),  published  in  1616, 
forms  a  quarto  volume  of  nearly  400  pages,  which  is  highly  commended  by  Moody  Stuart  for 
its  learning  and  research  and  the  spirituality  of  its  views.] 

Dbleio,  Dblgado,  Sotomatob,  Pineda,  Oeoczo.  These  and  other  Spanish  mystics  adopt 
the  same  allegorical  method  in  their  commentaries  with  those  before  named,  explaining  the 
"  cheeks  of  the  bride,"  iv.  3,  of  outward  Christianity  in  good  works ;  her  slender  neck,  vii.  5, 
of  the  constancy  of  the  love  of  Christ ;  her  golden  chains,  i.  10,  of  faith ;  the  silver  points  on 
the  ornaments  of  gold,  i.   11,  of  the  holiness  of  the  walk;  the  spikenard,  i.  12,  of  redeemed 

*  His  representation  of  the  individual  soul  of  the  Christian  as  in  some  sort  the  bride  of  Christ  la  justified  by  Beknaeb 
by  a  reference  to  the  fact  that  individuals  as  members  of  the  Church,  which  is  the  proper  bride  of  the  Lord,  evidently 
have  part  in  this  common  title  of  honor  and  in  the  blessings  therewith  connected.  "  Quod  mim  aimul  rnmes  ptene  int&. 
grtque  potsidemus,  hoo  singuli  tine  cmtradicHonepartidpamus."   (Serm.  XII.). 


30  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


humanity;  the  bunch  of  myrrh,  i.  13,  of  the  passion  of  Christ;  the  "thorns  about  the  rose," 
ii.  2,  of  temi^tations  by  tribulations,  by  all  sorts  of  crimes  or  by  heretics ;  the  "  chariots  of  Am- 
minadab  "  of  the  devil,  etc.  Comp.  C.  A.  Wilkens,  Fray  Luis  de  Leon  :  erne  Biographic  aw 
der  GescMchte  der  Spanischen  Inquisition  und  Kirche  (Halle,  1866),  p.  206  ff. 

JoHH  Mich.  Dillheee,  ObtlUche  Liebesflamme  oder  Betrachtung  unierschiedlicher  Slellen 
des  Sohenliedi  [Divine  flame  of  love  or  a  Consideration  of  divers  passages  in  the  Canticles], 
Nuremberg,  1640 ;  also,  Annotationes  in  Oanticwm,  Wratislaw,  1680. 

J.  Mabie  Boueeierbs  de  la  Mothb  Guyon,  Be  Oantique  des  Cantiques,  interprU^  selon  le 
sens  mystique ;  Grenoble,  1685.  In  this  commentary,  composed,  according  to  her  own  confes- 
sion, in  one  day  and  a  half,  but  which  was  nevertheless  commended  by  Bossuet  above  her 
other  writings,  she  closely  resembles  the  preceding  adherents  of  the  mystioo-spiritual  interpre- 
tation, and  seems  particularly  to  have  drawn  from  Theeesa  and  St.  Beenaed. 

[J.  Hamon  (t  1687),  Explication  du  Cantique  des  Cantiques.  "  Physician  of  Port  Royal  and 
continuator  of  the  expositions  of  Bernard."] 

Joachim  Lange,  Eambach,  Staeke  and  others  in  the  last  century  seek  to  connect  as  far  as 
possible  the  mystico-doctrinal  view  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  with  the  mystico-spiritual ;  comp. 
the  following  rubric,  p.  81. 

The  BBELBBUEa  Bible  (Berleb.  1726  ff.)  pays  less  regard  to  the  doctrinal  view  of  the  Song 
of  Solomon  or  the  explanation  of  the  bride  as  the  Church,  than  to  the  spiritual,  according  to 
which  the  conditions  and  stages  of  progress  in  the  individual  Christian  life  are  represented  in  it. 

GusTAV  Jahn,  Bas  Hohelied  in  Biedern  [Solomon's  Song  in  Songs],  Halle,  1848,  divides  the 
whole  into  62  longer  or  shorter  sonnets  in  which  is  sung  1)  the  work  of  faith;  2)  the  labor  of 
love ;  3)  confirmation  in  grace  ;  and  4)  the  yea  and  amen  of  the  bride. 

h.  The  Mystieo  doctrinal  Interpretation.  (Understanding  the  whole  as  a  description  of  the 
relation  between  Christ  and  His  Church). 

Athanasius,  Expositio  in  Cant.  Canticorum  (now  lost,  but  still  known  to  Photius  Cod. 
139 ;  preferred  the  explanation  of  the  bride  as  the  Church  above  that  of  making  her  to 
be  the  individual  soul;  so  also  the  pseudo-Athanasian  Synopsis  div.  Scriptures,  1.  XVI).* 

Epiphanius,  Commeniarius  super  Cant.  Salomonis  ed.  P.  F.  Foggini,  Horn.  1750  (of  doubt- 
ful authenticity,  especially  because  the  eighty  concubines  of  Solomon,  vi.  8,  are  here  explained 
of  dumb,  i.  e.  non-prophesying  spirits  of  the  prophets,  whilst  Epiphanius  in  his  Panarion 
(1.  III.  p.  2)  finds  in  those  concubines  the  eighty  heresies  of  Christendom  prefigured.  It  is  at 
all  events  very  ancient,  e.  g.  already  attested  by  Cassiodoeus  de  Inst,  divin.  liter,  c.  5,  and  is 
extremely  rich  in  whimsical  interpretations,  as  e.  g.,  that  the  winter,  ii.  11,  denotes  the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ ;  the  voice  of  the  turtle-dove,  ii.  12,  the  preaching  of  Paul,  the  former  persecutor 
of  the  Christians,  etc.  Some  would  regard  it  as  a  work  of  Bishop  Philo  of  Carpasus ;  see  e.  g. 
M.  A.  GiACOMELLi  [Philonis  episc.  Carpasii,  enarratio  in  Cant.  Canticorum,  BomrE,  1772).  [It 
is  evidently  a  breviary,  or  short  expository  compendium,  mainly  derived  by  the  author  from  the 
writings  of  others ;  occasionally,  as  on  iii.  6-8,  containing  a  double  exposition  of  the  same  pas- 
sage.    In  it  Christ  is  the  Bridegroom,  the  Church  the  Bride." — Thrupp.] 

Cyril  ot  Jerusalem,  Caiechesis  XIV.,  0pp.  ed.  Touttee,  Par.,  1720  (explains  the  litter, 
iii.  9,  of  the  cross  of  Christ;  the  silver  of  its  feet  of  His  betrayer's  thirty  pieces  of  silver;  the 
purple  of  its  cushion  of  the  purple  robe  of  the  suffering  Redeemer ;  Solomon's  wedding  crown 
of  Christ's  crown  of  thorns,  etc.). 

["  Of  the  same  spiritual  kind  was  the  general  interpretation  of  the  Christian  Fathers ;  of 
Basil,  of  Geeqoey  of  Nazianzus,  of  even  (as  we  learn  from  his  scholar  Theodoeet)  the  literal 
interpreter  Diodoee  of  Tarsus,  of  Cheysostom,"  etc.,  etc. — Theupp.] 

[PoLYCHEONius  DiACONUS,  Enarratio  in  Canticum  Canticorum. 

Cassiodoeus,  Expositio  in  Cant.  Cant.  Though  passing  under  the  name  of  Cassiodoeus,  its 
authorship  is  doubtful  and  it  may  belong  to  a  later  date. 

*  In  like  manner  Cyprian,  who  particularly  refers  the  passage  Cant.  vi.  9  of  preference  to  the  Church  as  the  one  dove, 
i.  e.  the  one  chosen,  beloved  of  Christ,  e.  g.  Ep.  69  ad  Magnwm,  c.  2;  de  unit.  EccU3iee,  c.  4. 


g  5.  HISTORY  OF  THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  31 


Jtjsttjs  Oegelitanus  (Bishop  of  Urgel  in  Catalonia,  Spain,  cir.  A.D.  529),  In  Cant.  OanU 
txplicatio  mystica. 

IsiDOEUS  HisPALENSis,  Expodtio  m  Oaniica  Caniicorum.  For  the  titles  of  variona  commenta- 
ries of  little  note,  belonging  to  the  middle  ages,  see  Daelin&'s  Ct/chpcedia  Bibliographica 
(Holy  Scriptures),  pp.  578  ff.— Te.] 

["  Genebeand,  Bishop  of  Aix  (f  1597),  a  learned  Benedictine,  -wrote  two  comments,  a  larger 
and  smaller,  both  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century;  and  his  work  is  distinguished  by 
collections  from  the  Kabbins," — Williams.] 

HiEEON.  OsoEius  (canon  at  Evora  in  Portugal  about  1600) :  Paraphrasis  et  Chmmentaria  in 
Ecdesiaslen  et  in  Canticum  Caniicorum,  Lugduni,  1611  ("  muluum  Christi  et  EcclesicB  amorem 
Sdlomon  explicare  volens,  fcBminae  et  viri,  mutuo  se  amantium,  affeoliones  elegantissime  de- 
scripsit "). 

John  Piscatoe,  Oonimentarius  in  Froverbia  Salomonis  itemque  Canlicum  Caniicorum,  Her- 
bom.  1647. 

iJoEN  Gbehaed,  Prediglen  uher  das  JTohelied  [Sermons  on  the  Song  of  Solomon]  in  his  Pos- 
tilla  Salomonea,  Jena,  1666,  adopts  the  allegorical  interpretation  prevalent  in  the  Church ;  so 
also  A.  Calov  in  the  "  Biblia  illustraia,"  as  well  as  L.  Osiandee  in  his  Bihelwerk,  Cakpzov 
in  his  Introductio  in  lihh.  V.  T.,  J.  H.  Miohablis  in  his  Annotate,  in  Hagiogr.  Vol.  II.,  Joach. 
Lange  in  the  Salomonische  Licht  und  Rechl,  Buddeus,  Wilisch  and  many  others, 

Siaeke,  [Synopsis,  Part  IV.  )  closely  follows  those  last  mentioned  in  seeing  in  the  Song  of 
Solomon  ''  a  treatise,  in  which  the  union  of  Christ  with  believers  is  set  forth  under  the  emblem 
of  the  most  tender  love  of  a  bridegroom  and  bride,"  or  in  some  sense  also  a  "  prophetical  book," 
in  which  (without  chronological  order)  is  represented :  "  the  coming  of  Messiah  in  the  flesh,  the 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  gathering  of  the  N.  Test.  Church  from  Jews  and  Gentiles,  as 
well  as  the  special  trials  and  leadings  of  the  Church,"  etc.). 

Magn.  Pe.  Poos,  "  Fassstapfen  des  Qlauhens  Abrahams  "  [Footsteps  of  the  faith  of  Abra- 
ham], St.  5,  1773  (the  bridegroom  is  ChrLst,  the  bride  the  Church,  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem 
and  the  queens,  concubines  and  virgins  mentioned  in  vi.  8  represent  the  various  classes  of  be- 
lievers ;  the  whole  describes  the  loving  intercourse  of  Christ  with  His  people  in  this  world,  etc.; 
comp.  further  particulars  in  Delitzsch,  Hohel.  pp.  58-61). 

0.  V.  Gbelach,  das  Alte  Test.,  etc.,  Vol.  III.,  1849.  The  whole  "  portrays  the  various 
advances  and  estrangements  conducting  ever  to  a  more  perfect  union  in  the  love  of  Jehovah  or 
Christ  and  His  Church,  yet  not  in  the  form  of  a  regularly  unfolding  history  but  in  certain  signi- 
ficant transactions,  which  though  related  to  each  other  are  without  any  close  connection."  In 
the  explanation  of  the  details  much  uncertainty  and  capricious  vacillation. 

K.  P.  Keil,  Lehrbuah  der  historisch-kritischen  Einleitung  in's  A.  T.  [Historico-critical  In- 
troduction to  the  0.  Test.],  1853,  finds  as  already  in  Haevbekick's  Introduction,  Part  III., 
edited  by  him,  "  under  the  allegory  of  the  conjugal  love  of  Solomon  and  Shulamith  "  the  loving 
communion  between  the  Lord  and  His  Church,  depicted  according  to  its  ideal  nature,  which 
results  from  the  selection  of  Israel  to  be  the  people  of  the  Lord. 

Henqstenbeeg,  das  Hohelied  Salomonis  ausgelegt,  [the  Song  of  Solomon  Expounded],  BerL, 
1853,  makes  the  only  correct  "  spiritual  interpretation  "  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  to  lie  in  this 
that  the  "  heavenly  Solomon  "  must  be  distinguished  from  Solomon,  the  earthly  author  of  the 
Song,  as  the  object  of  its  descriptions;  and  the  beloved  of  this  heavenly  Solomon  must  be  con- 
fessed to  be  the  "  daughter  of  Zion,"  and  the  whole,  therefore,  like  the  45th  Psalm,  which  is  a 
sort  of  "  compendium  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,"  must  be  allegorioally  explained  of  the  Messiah 
and  His  Church  in  the  Old  and  the  New  Test.  In  the  details  there  is  much  that  is  trifling  and 
arbitrary ;  e.  g.  the  hair  of  Shulamith  compared  with  a  flock  of  goats,  iv.  1,  signifies  the  mass 
of  the  nations  converted  to  the  Church  of  the  Lord;  the  navel  of  Shulamith,  vii.  3,  denotes 
"  the  cup  from  which  the  Church  refreshes  the  thirsty  (i.  e.  those  longing  for  salvation)  with  a 
noble  and  refreshing  draught ;"  the  sixty  and  eighty  wives  of  Solomon  point  to  the  admission 
of  "  the  original  gentile  nations  into  the  Church,"  because  140  or  seven  multiplied  by  two  and 
by  teniorms  the  "  signature  of  the  Covenant,"  and  because  in  the  formation  of  his  household  from 


32  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 

"Women  of  the  most  diverse  nations  Solomon's  purpose  was  directed  "  to  a  symbolic  prefigunu 
tion  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,"  p,  169,  and  so  on. 

H.  A.  H AHN,  das  Hohelied  von  Salomo,  uhersetzt  und  erkldrt  [The  Song  of  Solomon,  translated 
and  explained],  Bresl.,  1852,  explains  the  Song  of  Solomon  as  setting  forth  under  a  dramatic 
dress  and  in  the  course  of  six  acts,  the  fundamental  thought  that  "  the  kingdom  of  Israel  is 
called  to  vanquish  heathendom  finally  with  the  weapons  of  righteousness  and  love,  and  to  con- 
duct it  back  again  to  the  peaceful  rest  of  a  loving  communion  with  God."  According  to  this, 
therefore,  Shulamith  is  a  representative  of  heathendom,  and  particularly  of  Japhetic  heathen- 
dom ;  and  her  younger  sister,  viii.  9  ff.,  corresponds  to  Hamitic  heathendom,  which  is  at  last 
also  to  be  converted  too. 

G.  HoELBMANN,  Die  Krone  des  Hohenlieds  [The  crown  of  the  Song  of  Solomon],  Leipz. 
1856,  approaches  most  nearly  to  the  view  of  Hengstenbeeg,  only  he  avoids  the  too  specific  ex- 
planation of  minute  details  and  declares  it  inadmissible — oomp.  below,  p.  43. 

c.  The  Mystico-poUtical  or  Mystico-historical  Interpretation.  (This  differs  from  the  pre- 
ceding mainly  in  that  it  understands  by  the  bride  not  the  Church  but  the  theocracy  of  the  Old 
Test.,  and  consequently  approximates  more  to  the  Jewish  allegorical  explanation). 

AuGUSTiH,  de  Civit.  Dei,  1.  XVII.  a.  8, 13,  20  (ed.  Benbd.  Tom.  VII.,  p.  714  ff.),  refers  the  re- 
lation of  the  two  lovers  to  the  theocracy  in  the  Old  Test,  and  its  fortunes. 

Luther,  Brevis  enarratio  in  Canlica  Canticorum,  0pp.  ed.  Erlang.  Vol.  XXI.,  explains — 
herein  differing  from  many  other  expressions,  in  which  he  adopts  the  common  mystico-doctrinal 
interpretation — the  bride  to  be  the  Old  Test,  theocracy  in  Israel  at  the  time  of  its  greatest 
splendor,  and  makes  the  whole  a  eulogy  by  Solomon  of  this  his  kingdom.  "Est  enim  encomium 
politice,  quce  temporihus  Sahmonis  in  pulcherrima  pace  floruit.  Quemadmodum  enim  in  S. 
Scriplura,  qui  scripserunt  Cantica,  de  rebus  a  se  gestis  ea  scripseruni*  sic  Salomon  per 
hoc  poema  nobis  suam  politiam  commendat,  el  quad  encomium,  pads  et  prcesenlis  status  m- 
publicce  instituit  in  quo  gralias  Deo  agit  pro  summo  illo  beneficio,  pro  externa  pace,  in  alio- 
rum  exemplum,  ui  ipsi  quoque  sic  discant  Deo  graiias  agere,  agnoscere  beneficia  summa,  et 
orare,  si  quid  minus  rede  in  imperio  acaiderit,  ut  corrigatur"  (p.  278).  "  Constituit  Deum 
sponsum  el  populum  suum  sponsam,  alque  ila  canit,  quantopere  Deus  populum  ilium  diligai, 
quol  el  quanlis  bcneficiis  eum  aificiat  el  cumulel,  denique  ea  benignitate  et  dementia  eundem 
compleclalur  ac  foveat,  qua  nullus  unquam  sponsus  sponsam  suam  complexus  est  ac  fovit " 
(p.276).t 

[John  Brentius,  the  Suabian  reformer,  adopted  the  same  theory.  GiNSBUEa  quotes  from 
his  32d  homily  the  following  language  respecting  the  Song  of  Songs  :  "  Carmen  encomiasticum, 
quod  de  laude  regni  et  politiam  suce  Solomon  eonscripsit."] 

Lech.  Hug,  "  Das  Hohelied  in  einer  noch  unversuchten  Deutung,"  [The  Song  of  Solomon 
in  a  hitherto  unattempted  explanation],  1813,  and  "  Schulzschrift  fur  seine  Deulung  des  Hohen- 
liedes  und  desselben  wdlere  Erlaulerung  "  [Defence  of  his  explanation  of  the  Song  of  Solomon 
and  its  further  elucidation]  ,1815,  sees  in  the  bride  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes,  in  the  bridegroom 
king  Hezekiah  of  Judah  designated  as  Solomon,  in  the  brothers  of  Shulamith,  viii.  8,  9,  a  party 
in  the  house  of  Judah,  in  the  whole  a  representation  clothed  in  idyllic  form  of  the  longing  felt 
by  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes  for  reunion  with  Judah  but  which  those  "  brothers  "  opposed. 
Comp.  m  opposition  to  this  allegorical  explanation  favored  only  by  Herbst  in  Weltb's  Einl. 
in's  A.  T.  [Introduction  to  the  Old  Test.],  Ewald,  p.  40. 

Kaiser,  "  Das  Hohelied,  ein  Oollectivgesang  auf  Serubahel,  Esra  und  Nehem.ia,  als  die  Wie- 
derhersteller  einer  jiidischen  Verfassung  in  der  Provinz  Juda  "  [Canticles,  a  collective  song  re- 
specting Zerubbabel,  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  as  the  restorers  of  a  Jewish  constitution  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Judah],  1825,  a  peculiar  politico-allegorical  explanation,  which   is  wrecked  by  the 

*  Ho  here  has  in  mind  Moses  as  the  author  of  Ex.  xv. ;  Deborah,  Jndg.  7. ;  Hannah,  1  Sam.  il.,  etc. 

t  By  his  own  confession  Luther  leaned  in  this  peculiar  explanation  upon  the  Emperor  Maximilian's  "  TIieuTdank," 
as  well  as  on  like  "  carmina  amatoria  prindpum,  quie  mdgus  accipit  d'.  sponsa  aut  arnica  caTitafa,  cum  tamen  politiee  et 
populi  sui  stainm  his  depingant."  He  engages  in  zealous  polemics  against  the  allegorical  explanation  common  in  the 
Church,  "de  conjunctiorm  Dn  et  ffynagogm"  and  says  at  the  close,  in  justiiicatlon  of  his  attempt  at  a  new  explauatlon : 
"quod  n  erro,  vmiam  meretur primus  laior.    Nam  aliorum  cogitationes  Unge  plus  abmrditatia  haheU!' 


5  5.   HISTORY  OF  THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  33 

untenable  character  of  its  historical  basis  alone,  altogether  apart  from  the  artificial  and  arbitrary- 
nature  of  much  beaide  that  it  contains. 

KosENMUBLLBB,  "  Ueber  des  Hohenliedea  Sinn  und  Auslegung  [On  the  meaning  and  interpre- 
tation of  the  Song  of  Solomon]  in  Keil's  und  Tzschiener's  Analekten,  Part  I.,  Art.  3,  1830, 
geeks  to  establish  anew  the  old  Jewish  allegorical  explanation  of  the  Song  of  the  relation  of 
Jehovah  to  His  people,  with  reference  to  the  analogy  brought  forward  by  Jones:  "On  the 
mystical  poetry  of  the  Persians  and  Hindoos"  (in  the  Asiatic  Researches,  Vol.  III.)  with  the 
Gitagovinda  and  the  religious  poetry  of  the  Soofees — which  analogy,  however,  is  more  apparent 
than  real,  and  proves  nothing  for  the  far  older  Song  of  Solomon ;  (comp.  Ewald,  p.  88  ff. ;  De- 
LITZSOH,  p.  66  ff.). 

d.  The  mystieo-prophetie  or  Chronological  Interpretation.  (Regarding  the  Song  of 
Solomon  as  a  prophecy  of  the  development  of  the  Church  in  its  several  periods,  as  a  sort  of 
Apocalypse,  therefore,  or  as  a  prophetic  compendium  of  the  history  of  the  Church  and  of 
heretics). 

Aponitis,  Expositio  Cant.  lib.  VI.,  of  the  seventh  century;  takes  the  Song  of  Solomon  to  be  a 
continuous  picture  of  the  history  of  revelation  from  the  creation  to  the  final  judgment.  ["  A 
sentence  near  the  opening  of  his  commentary  has  apparently  induced  the  assertion  that  he  fol- 
lows the  Chaldee  in  viewing  the  Song  as  of  a  historico-prophetical  character.  An  inspection  of 
the  commentary  will  show  that  it  contains  no  trace  of  the  influence  of  the  Chaldee,  and  that  it 
ia  not  more  historico-prophetical  than  the  commentaries  of  the  earlier  Christians.  Aponius 
finds  in  viii.  1,  13  an  indication  of  the  ultimate  conversion  of  the  Jews  after  much  suffering ; 
but  the  germ  of  a  corresponding  interpretation  of  other  passages  may  be  traced  also  in  Oassio- 
DOEUs."— Theupp.] 

NicoLAUs  DE  Lyea,  Postilla  in  universa  Biblia  finds  represented  in  chaps,  i.-vi.  the  history 
of  Israel  from  Moses  to  Christ,  in  chap.  vii.  and  viii.  that  of  Christianity  to  the  time  of  Coir- 
btantine. 

G.  Edeeus,  Jacobus  de  Valentia,  etc.  (see  on  these  and  other  advocates  of  the  chrono- 
logical explanation  of  Cocoeiits,  Delitzsch,  p.  56  f ).  [The  Spanish  prelate,  James  Peeez 
of  Valentia  (1507),  "  instead  of  dividing  the  Song  into  Old  Testament  and  New  Testament  por- 
tions, viewed  it  as  setting  forth  throughout,  primarily  the  different  phases  of  Old  Testament 
history,  and  then  also  under  the  figure  of  these  and  simultaneously  with  them  the  mysteries  of 
redemption.  He  divides  the  Song  into  ten  separate  canticles,  commencing  respectively  i.  2 ; 
i.  12 ;  ii.  8 ;  iii.  6  ;  iv.  1 ;  iv.  16 ;  v.  8  ;  vi.  1 ;  vii.  13.  "  Eetlirn,  return,  etc. ;  viii.  5.  These 
severally  delineate  the  promises  to  the  patriarchs ;  the  construction  of  the  tabernacle  ;  the  speak- 
ing of  God  from  the  tabernacle  ;  the  carrying  of  the  ark  through  the  wilderness  with  attendant 
miracles ;  Moses'  ascent  of  Pisgah ;  the  death  of  Moses ;  the  entrance  into  Canaan  ;  the  con- 
quest and  partition  of  Canaan  ;  the  conflicts  and  victories  under  the  Judges  ;  and  the  prosperity 
and  peace  under  Solomon.  The  corresponding  events  typified  by  them  are  the  general  expecta- 
tions of  the  Old  Testament  saints ;  the  incarnation  of  Christ ;  His  teaching ;  His  earthly  career 
and  miracles ;  His  going  up  to  Jerusalem ;  His  death ;  the  gathering  into  the  Church  of  the 
first  Jewish  converts ;  the  mission  of  the  apostles  to  the  Gentiles  ;  the  conflicts  and  victories  of 
the  martyr  church  ;  and  the  prosperity  and  peace  under  Constantine."  "  Edee,  rector  of  the 
University  of  Vienna  (1582),  divided  the  Song  into  ten  dramas,  on  the  same  principle  apparently 
as  Pebez." — Theupp.] 

John  Cocceitjs,  Oogitationes  de  Cantico  Oanticorum  Salomonis,  0pp.  ed.  Amsterd.,  1673, 
II.  vols,  finds,  vi.  9,  the  contest  of  the  Guelphs  and  Ghibellines ;  vii.  5  (m  the  comparison 
of  the  bride  with  the  pools  at  Heshbon  the  weeping  Church  of  the  15th  century  as  the 
period  of  laborious  struggle  for  the  reformation  of  the  Church  by  the  great  reformatory 
councils;  vii.  6  ff.  Luther  in  his  conflict  with  the  degenerate  courts  of  the  16th  century; 
vii.  11  the   capture  of  the  elector  John  Frederick  at  Miihlberg,  etc.,  etc.) 

Geoknewegen,  Gulioh,  Ebinhaed  and  other  followers  of  Cocobitjs  attach  themselves  closely 
to  the  preceding  ;  so  also  partially  at  least 
John  Maeok,  In  Oant.  Ocmticorum  Salomonis  eommeniar.,  Amstel.,  1703. 
32 


34  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


Casp.  Heunisoh  (Luth.)  Conimenlarius  apocalyplicus  in  Cant.  Canticorwm,  1688,  finds,  as 
CoccEius  had  already  done,  seven  periods  of  the  church  represented  in  the  Song  of  Solomoa, 
corresponding  with  the  seven  apocalyptic  epistles,  the  seventh  of  which  depicted  in  chap,  viii.,  is 
to  begin  in  the  year  A.  D.,  2060. 

G.  F.  G.  GoLTZ,  Das  Hohelied  Salomonis,  eine  Weissagung  von  den  letzten  Zeiten  der  Kirche 
Jesu  Christi :  [The  Song  of  Solomon,  a  prophecy  of  the  last  times  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ], 
BerL,  1850,  regards  in  the  interest  of  Irvingite  speculations  the  Song  of  Solomon  as  a  propheti- 
cal book,  which  sets  forth  the  final  fortunes  of  the  Church,  "  shortly  before,  during  and  after  the 
second  coming  of  Christ,"  and  accordingly  describes,  e.  g.,  in  ch.  iii.  the  restoration  of  the  original 
apostolic  constitution  of  the  Church,  etc. 

e.  The  Mystico-Mariological  Interpretation.  (Conceiving  Shulamith  to  be  identical  with 
Mary,  the  mother  of  God.) 

Ambeose,  Sermo  de  virginitate  perpetua  8.  Marim,  0pp.  ed.  Paris,  1642,  Vol.  IV,  explains 
in  addition  to  the  "  shut  gate  "  Ezek.  xliv.,  many  passages  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  hkewise,  es- 
pecially that  of  the  "  looked  garden  "  and  the  "  sealed  fountain  "  iv.  12  of  the  perpetual  vir- 
ginity of  Mary. 

[Geegorius  Magnus,  Exposiiio  super  Oanlica  Ganticorum.  Moody  Sttjaet  says :  "  The  two 
most  distinctive  features  in  his  exposition  are  a  great  expression  of  desire  for  the  conversion  of 
the  Jews  in  expounding  the  passage  '  I  brought  him  into  my  mother's  house,'  which  he  inter- 
prets of  ancient  Israel;  and  the  introduction  of  the  Virgin  Mary  into  the  song,  but  it  is  only  to 
the  effect  that  '  the  crown  wherewith  his  mother  crowned  him '  was  the  humanity  which  Christ 
derived  from  Mary." 

Michael  Psbllits,  Junior,  in  the  eleventh  century  "  wrote  a  metrical  paraphrase  and  a  prose 
commentary  on  the  Canticles"  in  Greek.  Moody  Stuaet  says  of  it:  "The  Virgin  Mary  is 
brought  in  most  fully  and  zealously;  and  to  the  writer  nothing  can  be  more  clear  than  that  she 
is  '  the  dove  and  the  only  one '  in  contrast  to  the  surrounding  multitude  of  queens  and  prin- 
cesses." 

"  A  similar  view  is  taken  of  Cant.  vi.  8,  9  in  western  literature  by  the  Abbot  Lucas,  the 
epitomizer  of  Aponius."     Theupp.] 

EnPEET  V.  Deutz,  in  Cant.  Ganticorum,  II.  VII.,  carries  out  this  suggestion  of  Ambrose  in  a 
continuous  exegesis  of  the  entire  book. 

DioNYsius  Carthusianus,  Gulielmus  Parvus,  Michael  Ghisleeius,  Salmeron  refer  ac- 
cording to  the  hermeneutical  rule  of  the  threefold  sense,  all  that  is  said  of  the  spouse  in  the  Song 
of  Solomon:  1.  To  the  Church ;  2.  To  the  individual  believing  soul;  3.  To  the  holy  Virgin. 

Cornelius  a  Lapide,  Gommentarii  in  V.  T.,  Venet.,  1730  ff,,  as  the  foregoing,  only  he  makes 
the  explanation  of  the  holy  Virgin  to  be  the  sensus principalis.*  [Ginsbueg  remarks  that  "he 
was  the  first  who  endeavored  to  show  that  this  song  is  a  drama  in  five  acts."  The  themes  of 
thtse  five  parts  are  stated  by  Theupp  to  have  been  respectively  "the  infancy  of  the  Christian 
church,  its  conflicts  with  the  heathen  power,  its  establishment  under  Constantine,  its  suffer- 
ings from  heresy,  and  its  renovation  under  the  later  Fathers."] 

/.  The  Mystico-hieroglyphiG  Interpretation.  (Conceiving  the  figurative  language  of  Can- 
ticles to  have  been  the  offspring  of  some  esoteric  doctrine  or  Egyptian  hieroglyphical  wisdom 
of  Solomon.) 

V.  PuPENDORP  (Vice-president),  "  Umschreihung  des  Hohenliedea,  oder  die  Gemeine  mil 
Christo  und  den  Engeln  im  Orabe  "  [Paraphrase  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  or  communion  with 
Christ  and  the  angels  in  the  grave]  edited  by  Rungb,  1776.  The  object  described  is  supposed 
to  be  the  participation  of  the  believers  of  the  Old  and  New  Test,  in  the  grave  and  death  of  the 
Saviour,  in  which  also  their  desire  for  His  appearing  is  likewise  represented,  and  the  future  of 

*  The  view  of  Shulamith  aa  the  hypostatical  wisdom  taken  by  Leo  TIebraeus  (de  amore  dial.  c.  3),  by  J.  Or.  Rosenmuelleb 
(Scholia  in  V.  T.),  and  suggested  likewise  by  Delitzsch  (HohdiM,  p.  65  ff.),  is  akin  to  this  marlological  explanation;  and 
with  this  again,  that  of  the  Rabbis  Moses  ben  Tidbon,  Immanuel  ben  Solomon,  eic.,  1b  closely  related,  who  make  Shul» 
mith  the  inteUectus  materiaiis  (comp.  above,  p.  28.) 


?  6.    HISTORY  OF  THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  36 


the  Church  until  the  general  resurrection  is  prophetically  prefigured.  The  ''  virgins  "  (moSj;) 
i.  3;  vi.  8,  etc.,  are  the  ''pure  and  chaste  souls  shut  up  in  the  dark  grave  and  waiting  for  the 
light,"  because  they  are  so  denominated  from  vhv  "  to  be  hidden,"  etc.,  etc. 

KiSTEMAKEK  (Oath,  clergyman)  Cantic.  Ganticorum  illusiratum  ex  hierographia  orieniali, 
1818,  agreeing  in  method  with  the  preceding,  but  in  results  with  the  common  interpretation  of 
the  synagogue  and  the  church,  according  to  which  the  bride  is  the  people  of  God. 

["Cantica  Canticorum  chymice  expUcaia  is  the  title  of  a  book  in  the  library  of  the  British 
Museum,  but  the  book  itself  in  the  lapse  of  years  has  gone  astray ;  and  we  can  form  no  con- 
jecture of  its  contents  except  from  the  words  of  Caepzovius,  that  the  Alchymista  dream  that 
under  the  shadow  of  his  words  Solomon  has  delineated  (in  the  Song)  the  whole  secret  concern- 
ing the  philosopher's  stone."     Moody  Stuart.] 

I  6.  Continuation. 
h.  The  profane-erotic  or  one-sided  Interpretations  of  the  Song  as  secular  history. 
That  many  of  the  most  ancient  Christian  interpreters  regarded  Canticles  as  a  Song  of  worldly 
love  portraying  voluptuous  and  sensual  images,  is  attested  by  Philasteius,  bishop  of  Brescia, 
(t  about  890)  who  adduces  this  view  in  his  list  of  heresies  as  one  of  the  heresies  of  his  time.  The- 
ODOEBT  (t  457),  who  combats  the  same  opinion,  already  enumerates  several  modifications  of  it. 
According  to  one,  Shulamith  was  some  bride  or  concubine  of  Solomon's,  according  to  another  Phar- 
aoh's daughter,  1  Kings  iii.  1,  according  to  another  still  Abishag  of  Shunem.  Among  the  ad- 
herents of  this  profane-erotic  e.xegesis,  Thbodoeet  had  doubtless  in  his  eye  Theodoee  of  Mop- 
suestia  (f  429),  the  well-known  advocate  of  a  strictly  literal  method  of  interpreting  Scripture  in 
the  sense  of  the  liberal  theology  of  Antiooh,  and  who  was  reproached  by  one  of  his  later  an- 
tagonists, Leontius  of  Byzantium,  for  having  interpreted  the  Canticles  "libidinose  pro  sua 
menle  el  lingua  meretricia,"  and  whose  commentary,  therefore,  together  with  the  rest  of  his  works, 
was  ecclesiastically  anathematized  by  the  fifth  ecumenical  council  in  the  time  of  the  emperor 
Justinian  (553),  and  has  in  consequence  been  lost.  During  the  middle  ages  this  profane  mode 
of  explanation  entirely  ceased  even  among  the  theologians  of  Judaism.*  And  subsequently  in 
theperiod  of  the  reformation  the  reformed  humanist,  Sebastian  Castellio  (1544),  was  the  first  to 
venture  again  to  explain  the  Song  as  a  "  colloquium  Salomonis  cum  arnica  quadam  Sulamitha," 
and  on  account  of  this  alleged  purely  worldly  character  to  demand  that  it  should  be  banished 
from  the  canon  of  Scripture,  which  led  to  his  own  speedy  banishment  from  Geneva,  at  the  in- 
stance of  Calvin.**  In  the  following  century  Hugo  Geotius  trod  partly  at  least  in  his  footsteps, 
who,  it  is  true,  theoretically  admitted  the  propriety  of  a  typical  and  allegorical  Messianic  inter- 
pretation, but  in  fact  continued  to  stand  by  a  one-sided  literal  and  pretty  profane  interpretation ; 
also  RiCHAED  Simon,  the  well-known  free-thinker  of  the  oratorio,  to  whom  the  book  appeared  to 
be  an  anthology  of  erotic  pieces  of  poetry  without  order  or  connection — whilst  others  went 
further  and  either  warned  against  reading  the  book  as  a  publication  injurious  to  morality  (Si- 
mon Episcopius),  or  thought  they  must  see  in  it  a  mere  idyl,  an  eclogue  with  coarse  compari- 
Bona  like  those  of  Polyphemus  in  Ovid's  Metamorphoses  (John  Cleeicus).  Then,  soon  after 
Semleb's  and  J.  D.  Michaelis'  attempts  to  prove,  in  a,  critical  way,  the  impossibility  of  an 
.  allegorical  or  in  general  of  any  spiritual  and  Messianic  view,  the  eighteenth  century  brought  the 
beginning  of  that  splintering  or  crumbling  process  initiated  by  Lessing  and  Heedee  (see  \  1, 
Eem.  2),  as  well  as  the  modern-drama  mode  of  understanding  it,  the  way  for  which  was  paved 
by  J.  C.  Jacobi,  v.  Ammon,  Keller  and  others,  both  resting  on  the  assumption  that  the  con- 
tents of  the  book  were  decidedly  secular  and  erotic,  and  both  cultivated  and  variously  modified 
by  numerous,  partisans,  scientific  and  unscientific,  down  to  the  most  recent  times.     And  then 

*Yet  the  party  combated  by  Kimchi  in  his  Commentary  on  account  of  his  assertion  that  Can  tides  was  a  Song  of  worldly 
lOTe  composed  by  Solomon  in  his  youth,  may  possibly  have  been  a  rabbi  of  an  earlier  period  in  the  middle  ages.  Comp. 
EiOehoen,  Repertorium,  Part  XII.,  p.  283. 

**  [Henbt,  the  biographer  of  Calvin,  gives  a  full  account  of  this  whole  affair,  Das  Leben  Johann  (hlvins,  Vol.  11.,  pp. 
384-390.  He  affirms  that  Castellio  withdrew  of  his  own  accord  from  Geneva,  and  was  not  banished  from  the  place  nor 
Bent  away  in  disgrace.  Calvin,  though  obliged  to  express  his  disapproval  of  his  views,  conducted  himself  with  great 
feniency  towards  Castellio  personally,  and  gave  him  on  his  departure  kindly  letters  to  bis  friends. — ^Tr.] 


36  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 

especially  in  the  dramatic  mode  of  understanding  it,  besides  the  assumption  of  a  simple  action 
with  but  one  love  in  the  case  (so  in  particular  Weissbaoh),  various  hypotheses  of  a  more  com- 
plicated sort  are  in  vogue,  according  to  which  two  (Umbeeit,  Ewald,  etc.,  and  generally  speak- 
ing the  majority)  or  even  three  pairs  of  lovers  (HiTZia,  Renan)  come  upon  the  stage. 

SPECIAL  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

I.    THE   OLDER   PEOPANE-EEOTIC   INTEEPEETER3. 

(Until  the  middle  of  the  I8th  century,  all  proceeding  from  the  simple  assumption,  that  the 
poem  sings  of  but  one  loving  relation,  viz.,  that  between  Solomon  and  Shulamith.) 

Theodore  of  Mopsuestia  (see  on  his  Commentarius  in  Cant.  Canticorum,  which  is  unfor- 
tunately entirely  lost :  Leontius  of  Byzantium,  adversus  Nestorianos  el  Eutychianos,  in  Gal- 
LANBii  Bibliolheca  Patrum,  Vol.  XII.,and  comp,  the  monographs  of  Siefpeet  (I827),Feitzsche 
(1836),  Klenee  and  others).  ["  In  the  fifth  century  Theodoee  of  Mopsuestia  ventured  on  as- 
serting that  the  bride  of  the  Song  of  Songs  was  none  other  than  the  Egyptian  princess  whom 
Solomon  espoused.  Whether  or  no  any  relics  of  the  interpretation  had  been  traditionally  pre- 
served in  the  East,  we  find  the  Jacobite  primate  Abdl-Faeaj  (f  1286)  allowing  in  his  Arabic 
history  the  Song  to  be  outwardly  a  dialogue  between  Solomon  and  Pharaoh's  daughter.  Other- 
wise the  name  of  Pharaoh's  daughter  has  not  been  traced  in  connection  with  the  Song  till  the 
occurrence  of  a  reference  to  her,  though  even  then  '  merely  in  passing,'  in  some  of  the  first  printed 
English  Bibles  in  the  sixteenth  century.  [See  note  to  p.  9.]  The  assertion  of  Davidson  and 
others  after  him  that  she  makes  her  appearance  in  Oeigen  is  most  improbable ;  and  after  a  care- 
ful search  I  feel  assured  that  it  is  incorrect.  I  may  add  that  Peeez  unjustly  charges  the  ancient 
Jews  with  asserting  that  the  Song  was  written  in  praise  of  her."  Theupp.  Moody  Stuaet 
says  to  the  s4me  purport :  ''  There  may  have  been  oversight  on  our  part,  but  we  have  not  found 
in  any  of  these  ancient  authors  [from  Oeigen  to  Beenaed]  the  remotest  allusion  to  Pharaoh's 
daughter,  and  must  confess  ourselves  quite  baffled  in  a  somewhat  laborious  attempt  to  trace  her 
introduction  into  the  Song  of  Solomon."] 

Sebast.  Castellio,  PsaUerium  reliqiuxque  sacrarum  lilerarum  carmina  cum  argummtis  et 
brevi  loeorum  difficiliorum  dedaraiione,  Basil,  1547,  labors  in  general  to  dress  up  the  contents 
of  Holy  Scripture  in  Latin  as  classical  and  smooth  as  possible,  and  hence  everywhere  substitutes 
respublica  for  ecclesia,  heroes  for  sancti,  genius  for  angelus,  Phcebus  for  sol;  Jupiter  or  even 
Oradivus,  Armipotens  for  Deus,  lotio  for  baptismus,  etc.,  and  in  Canticles  in  particular  makes 
use  of  sugary  fondling  and  softly  expressions  to  characterize  its  amatory  contents,  e.  g.,  i.  14  f. 
"  Mea  columbula  ostende  mihi  tuurn  vuUiculum.  Fac  ut  audiam  tuam  voculam,  nam  et  voculam 
venustulam  et  vultieulum  habes  lepidulum,''  ii.  15  :  "  capite  nobis  vulpeculas,  vinearum  vastatricu- 
las,"  etc. — He  had  already  in  Geneva,  shortly  before  his  exile  noted  in  his  Bible  at  Cant.  vii.  1 
the  words  "  Sulamitha,  arnica  Salomonis  et  sponsa,"  and  had  declared  orally  to  Calvin  :  "  que 
Salomon,  quand  il  fit  le  ehapitre  vii,  Halt  en  foUe  et  conduit  par  mondaniti  et  non  par  le  Saint 
Esprit " — for  which  reason  Calvin,  without  further  ado,  charged  him  with  the  view  that  Canti- 
cles was  a  "  carmen  obscosnum  et  lascivum,  quo  Salomo  impudicos  suos  amores  descripserit." — 
Comp.  also  his  complete  Latin  translation  of  the  Bible :  Biblia  V.  et  N.  T.  ex  versione  Seb.  Cas- 
talionis  c.  ejusd.  annotatt.,  Basil,  ap.  Oporin,,  1551,  and  frequently;  as  well  as  Seb.  Castalionis, 
defensio  suarum  translationum  Bibliorum,  Bas.,  1562 ;  finally  his  biography  by  Jac.  Maehly, 
Bas.,  1863.) 

HiTGO  Geotius,  Annotationes  in  V.  T.,  Par.  1664  (declares  the  Song  of  Solomon  to  be  an 
idyl-like  carmen  nuptiale,  representing  the  "  garritus  conjugum  inter  se,  Salomonis  et  filial 
regis  .^gypti,  interloquenttbus  etiam  choris  duobus  tarn  juvenum  quam  virginum,  qui  in 
proximis  thalamo  locis  exeubabant."  "  Nuptiarum  arcana"  he  says  further,  "sub  honestis 
verborum  involueris  hie  latent;  qu.CB  etiam  causa  est,  cur  Hebrcei  veteres  hiimc  librum  legi 
noluerint  nisi  a  jam  conjugio  proximis.''  Besides  the  sensus  hteralis,  the  allegoricus  and  typiom 
are  also  to  be  duly  regarded — a  rule,  however,  which  is  almost  entirely  disregarded  by  him  even 
in  the  main  controlling  passages.  Comp.  the  still  bolder  and  more  open  procedure  of  S.  Epis- 
copiua  in  his  Institutiones  Theologice. 


?  6.   HISTORY  OP  THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  37 

Richard  Simon,  Histoire  Oridque  du  V.  T.,  1685,  Vol.  I.  c.  4;  Canticles,  a  collection  of 
erotic  idyllic  songa,  without  order  or  unity. 
John  Clbeicus,  Oommentarius  in  V.  T.,  Tiibing.,  1733  ff. 

II.    LATER   AND   LATEST   SINCE   THE    MIDDLE    OF   THE    18TH    CENTURY. 

a.  The  founders  of  the  modern  profane  erotic  view  (adhering  in  the  first  instance  only  to 
the  more  general  results  of  the  negative  criticism). 

John  Solomon  Semler,  "Kurze  Vorstellung  wider  die  neue  Paraphradn  uber  das  Hohelied  " 
[Brief  remonstrance  against  the  new  paraphrase  of  the  Song  of  Solomon],  1757,  and  "  De 
mysiiccB  interpretationis  studio  hodie  parwn  ulili,"  1760. 

John  David  Michaelis,  in  Hob.  Lowlh.  prmleciiones  de  s.  poesi  Hehroeorum  notm  et  epimetra, 
Goetting.,  1758 ;  ed.  II,  1768  f.,  rejects,  nay  ridicules  the  allegorical  interpretation  as  well  of  the 
Church  as  of  the  Synagogue  ;  holds  the  poem  to  be  a  mere  earthly  love-song,  and  nevertheless 
supposes  that  he  can  relieve  or  remove  the  offence  of  its  standing  in  the  canon  by  seeking  to 
understand  its  amatory  contents  of  the  "  casti  conjugum  amores,"  instead  of  "  de  sponso 
^onsaque  ante  nuptias."  In  the  "  Neuorientalische  und  exeget.  Bibliothek,"  Part  IV,  1788, 
he  affirms  that  he  would  rather  venture  upon  the  explanation  of  the  Apocalypse  than  upon 
that  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  and  in  his  "Deutsche  TJeberselzung  des  A.  T.  mit  Anmerkungen 
jur  Ungelehrie  "  [German  translation  of  the  0.  Test.,  with  remarks  for  the  unlearned]  1769  ff. 
he  leaves  it  out  entirely. 

b.  The  Divisive  attempts  or  fragmentary  hypotheses.  (Canticles,  a  conglomerate  of  erotic 
songs  and  fragments  of  songs). 

J.  Th.  Lessing,  Eclogce  regis  Salomonis,  Lips.  1777,  compares  the  alleged  idyls  of  Canticles 
to  those  of  Theocritus  and  Virgil. 

J,  Q.  Herder,  "  Lieder  der  Liebe,  die  dltesten  und  schonsten  aus  dew,  Morgenlande  "  [Songs 
of  love,  the  oldest  and  most  beautiful  of  the  Orient],  1778,  declares  the  love  depicted  in  Canticles 
to  be  essentially  pure  and  innocent,  to  be  compared  with  the  love  of  Adam  and  Eve,  whilst 
they  continued  naked  and  sinless  in  paradise,  and  censures  the  profane  mode  of  treating  it 
equally  with  the  allegorical  explanation  as  hypocrisy,  and  lacking  in  moral  and  esthetic  purity. 
(Comp.  Umbeeit,  in  Herzog's  Seal  Enc.  VI.  p.  215 :  "  All  the  lily  purity  and  the  full  fragrance 
of  the  Song  has  been  transferred  to  his  composition,  which  is  in  entire  sympathy  with  it,  and 
even  the  clare-obscure,  which  is  elsewhere  made  an  objection  to  this  extraordinary  man,  is  here 
an  advantage  to  him  as  an  interpreter ;  the  rosy  morning  light,  which  is  spread  over  the  Song 
itself,  floats  likewise  over  his  exposition,  and  invests  it  with  its  very  peculiar  charm  and  fasci- 
nation. To  this  belongs  even  his  profound  and  delicate  distribution  of  the  whole  into  separate 
voices,  accordant  only  in  the  breath  of  love,  though  here  we  cannot  agree  with  him,"  etc.) 

J.  G.  Bichhorn,  Einleitung  in's  A.  T.  [Introduction  to  the  0.  Test.]  Vol.  III.  Leipzig,  1780, 
ff.,  agrees  in  all  essential  matters  with  Herder's  esthetically-sublimating  and  critically-dissecting 
view :  so  Hdpnagel,  in  Eichhorn's  Bepertorium,  VII,  199  ;  Paulus  and  Velthusbn,  ibid., 
XVII,  108  ff.  (see  above,  ?  1,  Rem.  1) ;  Jahn,  Einl  in's  A.  T.  II.  p.  816  ff. ;  Parbatj,  Imtitu- 
iio  interpretis  V.  T.,  p.  559 ;  de  Wbtte,  Einleitung  in  die  Kanon.  und  Apohryph.  Bitch,  des 
A.  T.,  Berl,  1817,  and  repeatedly ;  Augtjsti,  Orundriss  einer  Hisl.-Kril.  Einl  [Outlines  of  a 
historico-critical  Introduction],  1806,  1827. 

J.  F,  Klbueer,  Samfnlung  der  Oedichte  Salomo's,  sonst  das  Hohelied  genannt  [Collection 
of  the  Songs  of  Solomon,  otherwise  called  the  Canticles],  1780,  reproduces  the  view  of  Herder 
with  slight  modifications,  only  somewhat  more  learned  and  thorough ;  comp.  §  1,  Rem.  1. 

J.  Chr.  Doderlein,  Salomo's  Prediger  und  Hoheslied  neu  uhersetzt  mit  Anmerkungen 
[Solomon's  Eoclesiastes  and  Canticles,  newly  translated,  with  remarks],  1784 ;  2d  edit.,  1792, 
likewise  adheres  most  strictly  to  Herder. 

Velthusen,  "Der  Schwesternhandel,  eine  morgenldndische  IdyllenTcetle "  [The  affair  of  the 
sisters,  a  series  of  oriental  idyls],  1786,  and:  "Amethyst,  Beitrag  hist.-kritischer  Unter- 
iuchungen  uber  das  Hohelied"   [Amethyst;   a  contribution   to  the  historico-critical  investi- 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


gation  of  Canticles]  Brunsw.,  1786;  likewise:  Cantilena  Caniilenarum  Salomonis  duplici 
inierpreiaiione  illuslraia,  Helmst.,  1786. 

J.  F.  Gaab,  Beitrdge  zur  ErUarung  des  sog.  Hohenliedes  und  der  Klagelieder  [Contributions 
to  the  explanation  of  the  so-called  Canticles  and  the  Lamentations],  Tiib.,  1795 ;  Canticles  an 
"  anthology"  of  erotic  songs. 

Jtjsti,  Blumen  all-hebrdischer  Dichtkunst  [Flowers  of  the  ancient  Hebrew  art  of  poetry], 
Giessen,  1807. 

J.  C.  DoPKE,  Philologisch-kriiischer  Commenlar  zum  Hohenliede  Salomo's,  Leipz.,  1829,  holds 
that  the  songs  forming  the  Canticles,  "  many  of  which  appear  in  a  mutilated  condition,  were 
not  originally  composed  and  committed  to  writing  at  the  same  time,  but  were  prepared  on  various 
occasions,  probably  preserved  in  the  mouth  of  the  people,  and  afterwards  put  together."  Comp. 
in  opposition  Umbkbit's  review  in  the  Stud,  und  Kril.,  1829,  II. 

Ed.  Isip.  Magnus,  Kritische  Bearbeitung  und  Erhldrung  des  Hohenliedes  Salomo's  [Critical 
treatise  on  and  explanation  of  the  Song  of  Solomon],  Halle,  1842,  makes  out  no  less  than 
twenty  distinct  songs  and  fragments  of  songs  in  the  course  of  the  poem;  comp.  I  1,  Eem.  2,  as 
well  as  Delitzsch,  p.  2  ff. 

Heiligstedt,  in  Maueeb's  Commentarius  grammaiicus  criticus  in  V.  T.  IV,  2,  1848,  regards 
the  whole  as  a  combination  of  twelve  erotic  songs  in  one  idyl ;  comp.  I  1,  Kem.  3. 

Rebenstein,  Das  Lied  der  Lieder  [The  Song  of  Songs],  1834. 

Dan.,  Sandess,  Das  Hohelied  Salomonis  [The  Song  of  Solomon]  Leipz.  1866.  Comp.  on  this 
modern  Jewish  attempt  at  exposition,  as  well  as  on  the  preceding,  which  serves  as  its  basis  and 
model,  I  1,  Eem.  2,  and  Delitzsch,  p.  6  f. 

E.  W.  LosSNER,  Salomo  und  Shulamith,  die  Blumen  des  Hohenlieds  zu  einem  Strausse  gebun- 
den  [Solomon  and  Shulamith,  the  flowers  of  the  Canticles  tied  together  in  one  nosegay],  Leipz. 
1851  (comp.  likewise  I  1,  Rem.  2). 

c.  The  modern  dramatic  view.  (The  Song  of  Solomon  an  erotic  drama  with  two  or  more 
principal  personages,  that  is,  either  with  a  simpler  or  — by  the  assumption  of  several  love  affairs 
— a  more  complicated  action). 

J.  C.  Jacobi  (Preacher  at  Celle),  Das  durch  eine  leichte  und  ungekiinstelte  Erhldrung  von  seinen 
Vorwurfen  gerettete  Hohelied  [The  Song  of  Solomon  freed  from  objections  by  a  simple  and  in- 
artificial explanation]  1771.  The  whole  a  song  in  praise  of  conjugal  fidelity,  if  not  strictly  dra- 
matic, yet  preserving  the  dialogue  form,  worthy  of  a  sacred  poet,  and  instructive  and  salutary 
for  the  times  of  Solomon  and  his  successors. — "Shulamith  is  by  reason  of  her  beauty  brought  to 
Solomon's  court  together  with  her  husband,  who  has  been  moved  by  kindness  to  divorce  her  (?)  ; 
and  as  they  are  taking  her  away  from  her  husband's  side  and  presenting  her  wine,  the  king  ap- 
proaches and  offers  to  kiss  her.  Shulamith  is  alarmed  and  cries  to  her  husband:  "he  is  going 
to  kiss  me !  "  etc. — The  entire  attempt  is  very  awkward  and  clumsy  throughout. 

J.  W.  Fa.  Hezbl,  Neue  Uebersetzung  und  Erhldrung  des  Hohenlieds  [New  Translation  and  Ex- 
planation of  the  Song  of  Solomon],  1777. 

Chr.  Fr.  v.  Ammon,  Salomo's  verschmdhte  Liebe  oder  die  belohnte  Treue  [Solomon's  love  dis- 
dained, or  fidelity  rewarded]  Leipz.,  1795  (likewise  important  on  account  of  the  attempt  to  show 
that  the  poem  is  strictly  one  melodramatic  whole). 

K.  Fe.  Staeudlin,  uber  das  Hohelied  [on  the  Song  of  Solomon]  in  Paulus'  Memorabilien,  Part  2, 
p.  178  ff.,  like  Jacobi  only  in  a,  more  delicate  and  skilful  manner  he  makes  Shulamith's  country 
lover  come  likewise  upon  the  stage,  and  assigns  to  him  a  considerable  share  in  the  action,  espe- 
cially from  ch.  6  onward. 

K.  Fe.  Umbeeit,  Lied  der  Liebe,  das  dlteste  und  schonste  aus  dem  Morgenlande  [Song  of  love 
the  oldest  and  most  beautiful  of  the  orient]  Gott.  1820;  2d  Edit.  \9,2&,  a,ndi  Erinnerung  an 
das  Hohelied  [Reminder  of  the  Song  of  Solomon],  1839,  aims  at  the  utmost  simplification  of  the 
plot,  and  likewise  the  ethical  idealizing  of  its  contents  in  imitation  of  Heedbe's  esthetic  view; 
he  moreover  declares  viii.  8-14  to  be  a  spurious  addition. 

H.  EwALD,  Das  Hohelied  Salomonis  icbersetzt  mit  Einl.,  Anmerhungen,  etc.,  [The  Song  of  Solo- 
mon translated  with  an  Introduction,  Remarks,  etc.]    Gott.,  1826 ;  comp.  die  poet.  Bucher  des  A. 


I  6.    HISTORY  OF  THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  39 


2"8.,  1. 1839;  2d  edit.,  with  the  title:  Die  Dichter  des  A.  Bds.,  etc.  [The  poets  of  the  Old 
Test.],  18G6  (see  above,  §  3,  Rem.  1  and  2.) 

KoSTEE,  uber  das  Hohelied  [On  the  Song  of  Solomon]  in  Pelt's  Theol.  Mitarbeiten  for  th» 
year  1839;  No.  2. 

Bebnhaed  Hiezel,  Das  Lied  der  Lieder  oder  der  Sieg  der  Treue,  itbersetzt  und  erhldrt  [The 
Song  of  Songs,  or  the  triumph  of  fidelity,  translated  and  explained];  Zurich,  1840,  substantially 
follows  EwALD,  whose  view  he  seeks  to  correct  in  particular  passages. 

Fe.  Bottohee,  Die  dltesten  Buhnendichtungen  [The  oldest  stage-poetry],  Leipz.,  1850;  comp. 
Exeget.-Krit.  Aehrenlese  z.  A.  T.  [Exegetical  and  critical  gleanings  in  the  Old  Test.],  1849,  p. 
80  ff.,  and  iVewe  Exeget.-Krit.  Aehrenlese  [New  exeget.  orit.  gleanings],  Part  III,  1865,  p.  76 
ff.  He  explains  the  Song  of  Solomon  as  "  a  melodramatic  text  of  a  popular  stage-play  per- 
formed in  the  kingdom  of  Israel  about  B.  C.  950,  directed  against  the  royal  house  of  Solomon 
and  the  morals  of  his  harem  so  menacing  to  family  life,  and  the  exhibition  accompanied  after  the 
manner  of  Hindoo,  Chinese  and  even  ancient  Italian  dramas  by  acting  and  brief  improvisa- 
tions;" in  order  to  give  the  whole  as  burlesque  and  clownish  a  character  as  possible,  he  makes 
the  shepherd  penetrate  several  times  into  the  royal  harem  from  i.  15  onward  (i.  15  ff. ;  iv.  7  ff. ; 
vii.  12  ff.),  treat  his  comrades,  v.  1,  to  the  viands  and  liquors  of  the  wedding  feast,  and  finally, 
vii.  12  ff.,  go  off  with  his  beloved,  without  the  king  doing  anything  to  prevent  it,  etc. — Comp.  §  2, 
Eemark  1. 

G.  M.  EocKB,  Das  Hohelied,  Erstlingsdrama  aits  dem  Morgenlande,  oder  Familiensunden 
und  Liebesweihe.  Ein  Sittenspiegel  fur  Brautsiand  und  Ehe  [The  Song  of  Solomon,  a  primitive 
drama  from  the  orient,  or  family  sins  and  love's  devotion.  A  moral  mirror  for  the  betrothed 
and  married],  Halle,  1851.  He  explains  a  large  part  of  the  various  scenes  as  dreams,  some  of  which 
were  directly  represented  (by  apparitions  of  ghosts),  and  some  narrated  subsequently  (so,  e,  g., 
ii.  8-17;  iii.  1-5;  v.  2-vi.  3) ;  he  takes  other  sections  as  v.  8  ff. ;  vi.  11  ff.  to  be  rhapsodies  of 
Shulamith's  romantic  and  enthusiastic  fancy,  etc.) 

E.  Meiee,  Das  Hohelied,  etc.  [The  Song  of  Solomon]  Tiibingen,  1854,  returns  to  the  sim- 
pler and  more  moderate  view  of  Bwald. 

P.  HiTZiG,  Das  Hohelied  erhldrt  [The  Song  of  Solomon  explained]  in  the  Eurzgefasstes  exe- 
get. Handb.  zum  A.  T.  [Condensed  -exegetical  manual  to  the  Old  Test.],  Part  16,  Leipzig,  1855, 
brings  in  besides  Shulamith  and  her  country  lover — comp.  |  2,  Rem.  1, — also  Solomon's  wife 
(e.  g.,  iii.  6-11 ;  iv.  16  ff.),  and  one  of  his  concubines  (vii.  2-11)  speaking  and  acting,  thus  making 
the  plot  as  comphcated  as  possible. 

E.  P.  Peiedeich,  Cantioi  Canticorum  Salomonis  poetica  forma,  1855,  and  "  Das  sogen.  Ho- 
helied Salomonis  oder  vielmehr  das  pathetische  Dramation  'Sulamith '  parallelistisch  aus  dem 
Eebr,  %t,bersetzt"  [The  so-called  Song  of  Solomon,  or  rather  the  pathetic  drama  'Shulamith' 
translated  from  the  Hebrew  in  parallelisms].  Reprinted  from  the  Altpreussische  Monatsschrift, 
Konigsberg,  1866.  He  seeks  with  the  minutest  care  to  dissect  the  artistic  structure  of  the  dra- 
matic whole  in  its  details,  distinguishing  four  acts  with  ten  scenes  and  one  hundred  and  sixty 
chain-Unks  [catellas),  or  clauses  into  which  the  verses  are  sub-divided ;  he  mingles  with  it 
much  that  is  trifling  and  incongruous  without  doing  justice  in  any  way  to  the  theological 
character  of  the  poem. 

J.  G.  Vaihinsbe,  Der  Prediger  und  das  Hohelied  rhythmisch  ubersetzt  und  erhldrt  [Eo- 
clesiastes  and  the  Song  of  Solomon  rhythmically  translated  and  explained],  Stutt.,  1858, 
follows  for  the  most  part  the  view  of  Ewald,  but  with  a  critically  independent  attitude. 

Fe.  Ed.  Wbissbach,  Das  Hohelied  Salomo's  ubersetzt,  erkldrt  und  in  seiner  kunstrreichen  poet. 
Form  dargestelU  [The  Song  of  Solomon  translated,  explained  and  exhibited  in  its  highly  artistic 
and  poetical  form],  Leipz.,  1858;  by  an  acute  and  thorough  criticism  of  the  other  erotic  and  dra- 
matic views  he  simplifies  the  action  of  the  piece  to  the  extent  of  making  it  refer  simply  to  one 
loving  relation  between  Solomon  and  Shulamith,  but  denies  the  reality  of  the  transaction  (comp. 
?  4,  Rem.  2),  and  in  connection  with  this  refuses  also  to  admit  the  existence  of  a  more  profound 
ethical  idea,  or  a  typical  and  Messianic  significance  of  the  poem). 

Eenest  Renan,  Le  cantique  des  cantiques,  iraduit  de  V  Hebreu,  avee  une  elude  sur  le  plan, 
V  &ge  et  le  caract&re  dupoeme,  Paris,  1860,  2d  edit.,  1861,  approaches,  most  nearly  to  the  views 


40  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  Or  SOLOMON. 


of  BoTTCHBB  and  Hitzig,  only  he  fantastically  remodels  them  after  his  own  fashion,  and  thus 
brings  out  a  romantic  sentimental  pastoral  piece,  in  which  even  a  ballet  is  introduced  (vii.  2  ff; 
"une  danseuse  du  Harem").     Comp.  §  2,  Rem.  1. 

2  7.    CONCLUSION. 

c.   The  typical- Messianio  view,  or  that  based  upon  its  position  in  the  redemptive  history. 

The  two  principal  modes  of  viewing  the  Song  of  Solomon  thus  far  considered,  the  purely  alle- 
gorical as  well  as  the  one-sided  treatment  of  it  as  secular  history,  not  only  have  the  suspicious  cir- 
cumstance against  them  that  the  greatest  vacillation  prevails  in  shaping  the  views  of  their  ad- 
herents in  detail  from  the  earliest  periods  to  the  present,  and  that  no  one  of  these  views  com- 
mends itself  at  first  sight  as  a  perfectly  satisfactory  solution  of  the  enigma ;  but  both  of  them  in- 
troduce into  the  text  of  the  Song  strange  and  unproved  assumptions  which  are  in  flat  contradic- 
tion with  its  peculiar  character  both  internally  and  externally.  The  allegorical  explanation, 
however  it  may  be  modified  in  its  details,  makes  the  utterly  inconceivable  and  improbable,  nay, 
monstrous  assumption,  that  by  the  "kmg  Solomon  "  of  the  song  is  meant  not  the  historical  ruler 
so  named,  but  a  heavenly  prototype  of  the  same  name,  nay,  in  actual  fact,  no  other  than  Jehovah 
Himself,  and  then  further  involves  itself  in  inextricable  difficulties  in  its  explanation  of  particu- 
lars, e.g.,  of  the  sixty  queens  and  eighty  concubines  of  this  heavenly  Solomon,  as  well  as  of  his 
mother,  his  sedan  and  crown,  etc.  To  which  is  to  be  added  further  the  suspicious  circumstance 
that  in  every  other  instance  in  which  the  figurative  language  of  the  Old  Test,  symbolizes  the  re- 
lation of  Jehovah  to  Israel  as  a  marriage  or  betrothal,  it  is  the  bride  that  is  represented  in  the 
least  favorable  light,  nay,  that  is  mostly  described  as  a  harlot*  (so  particularly  in  Hosea,  Jere- 
miah, Ezekiel ;  comp.  above,  §  4,  p.  16),  whilst  in  the  Song  of  Solomon  the  precise  opposite  of 
this  is  the  case  [?].  The  profane  secular-history  explanation  not  only  sees  itself  driven  to  various 
artificial  hypotheses  and  auxiliary  hypotheses,  especially  to  the  introduction  of  one,  two,  three 
or  more  subordinate  persons,  whose  entrance  upon  the  scene  there  is  nothing  in  the  text  to  indi- 
cate, and  which,  as  particularly  the  "shepherd"  or  "herdsman,"  are  introduced  as  apparitions, 
suddenly  and  without  any  thing  to  prepare  the  way  for  their  coming  ;  it  also  leaves  totally  un- 
explained how  this  mere  worldly  love-song,  in  which  Solomon  is  alleged  to  be  represented  in  so 
extremely  disadvantageous  a  light  as  the  seducer  of  female  innocence,  could  have  found  admis- 
sion to  the  canon  of  Scripture,  and  this  with  a  title,  which  prefixed  to  it  with  commendatory 
emphasis  the  very  name  of  Solomon  himself,  the  great  royal  singer  and  sage  (comp.  §  1  and  3) ! 
Against  the  allegorical  or  directly  Messianic  view  testimony  is  borne  by  the  too  earthly  and  even 
sinful  colors,  in  which  Solomon,  the  historical  Solomon  of  the  1st  book  of  Kings,  is  depicted  as 
the  hero  of  the  piece.  The  one-sided  secular  history  explanation  with  its  directly  anti-Solomonic 
and  consequently  also  anti-Messianic  tendencies  is  refuted  by  the  fact  that  Solomon's  perseve- 
rance in  his  adulterous  designs  and  polygamous  desires  in  the  face  of  Shulamith's  innocence, 
cannot  be  shown  to  be  a  matter  belonging  to  the  subject  of  the  piece  by  a  single  decisive  proof- 
passage,  but  that  on  the  contrary  it  is  evident  to  an  unbiassed  exegesis  that  he  and  no  other  is 
Shulamith's  lover,  and  the  real  object  of  the  dramatic  representation  is  his  being  brought  back 
from  the  dizzy  heights  of  a  harem's  voluptuous  morals,  to  the  morally  pure  and  inviolable 
standpoint  of  conjugal  chastity,  love  and  fidelity. 

Since  the  typical  reference  of  the  loving  relation  depicted  in  the  piece  to  Christ  and  His  Church, 
enters  into  combination  with  this  simple  and  worthy  view  in  the  most  unconstrained  manner 
and  of  its  own  accord  as  it  were,  as  has  been  already  briefly  intimated  ?  4,  and  as  the  exposition 
of  the  Song  will  have  to  show  more  in  detail,  this  may  be  designated  the  typical-Messianic,  or — 
since  every  element  of  the  redemptive  history  possesses  of  itself,  and  by  an  inner  necessity,  a 
typical  virtue  which  points  forwards  and  upwards — the  redemptive-history  view.  Attempts  to 
establish  and  carry  it  out  were  probably  already  made  here  and  there  in  the  ancient  church,  es- 
pecially as  New  Testament  passages,  such  as  above  all  Christ's  declaration  respecting  Himself  as 
a  greater  than  Solomon  (Matt.  xii.  42;  comp.  Matt.  vi.  28;  Rev.  iii.  20),  appear  to  favor  it 

*  [This  Scriptural  usago  manifestly  lies  against  ZUoklbr's  own  interpretation  rather  than  the  allegorical,  aa  commonly 
held.— Tb.] 


§  7.  HISTORY  OP  THE  INTERPRETATION  OP  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  41 

rather  than  the  allegorical  or  the  direct  Messianic  interpretation.  But  the  greatly  preponder- 
ating inclination  of  the  fathers,  which  soon  attained  exclusive  sway,  to  plunge  immediately  and 
at  once  into  the  spiritual  sense,  must  have  stifled  in  its  birth  every  attempt  to  assert  at  the  same 
time  a  historical  sense,  and  branded  it  with  the  same  anathema  as  the  profane-erotic  interpreta- 
tion of  Theodoee  of  Mopsuestia.  It  was  not  until  after  the  middle  ages,  therefore,  that  more 
numerous  and  important  attempts  were  made  to  unite  the  historical  with  the  more  profound 
spiritual  meaning  by  the  intermediate  link  of  the  type,  and  attempts  not  barely  of  the  half-way, 
external  sort,  like  that  of  Qeotius  (see  §  6),  but  such  as  were  seriously  meant  and  worthily 
maintained.  Thus  above  all  that  of  the  noble  Spanish  mystic,  Louis  de  Leon  (f  1591),  who  had  it 
is  ■true  to  pay  the  penalty  in  the  prisons  of  the  inquisition  of  his  departure  from  the  broadly 
trodden  path  of  the  traditional  allegorizing,  as  well  as  his  choice  of  the  Spanish  language  for 
the  composition  of  his  commentary ;  and  further  the  like  atteinpts  of  the  reformed  interpre- 
ters, Mbkciee,  Lightfoot  and  Lowth,  as  well  as  of  the  famous  Catholic  preacher  and  his- 
torian BossuET.  VON  HoFMANN  stiU  tries  to  maintain  the  assumption  common  to  these  former 
adherents  of  the  typical  view,  that  the  bride  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  was  a  daughter  of 
Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt,  whilst  Delitzsoh  and  NAEaBlSBACH  who  in  the  main  agrees  with  him, 
espouse  the  view,  which  is  without  doubt  to  be  preferred  by  reason  of  vii.  1,  that  the  bride  was 
an  Israelitish  country  girl  from  Shunem. 

SPECIAL  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Luis  db  Leon  [Ludovicus  Legionenm),  Qantar  de  los  Caniares — a  translation  and  explana- 
tion of  the  Song  of  Solomon  in  classical  Spanish,  written  about  1569.  (According  to  the  ex- 
tracts given  by  C.  A.  Wilkbns,  Fray  Luis  de  Leon,  p.  206  if.,  and  the  remarks  by  which  he 
characterizes  it,  this  expositor  every  where  gives  most  prominence  to  the  historical  sense  which 
he  grasps  with  sound  esthetic  feeling  and  artless  simplicity.  "  Only  in  individual  passages  is 
the  veil  lifted  and  the  love  of  Jehovah  to  His  people,  of  Christ  to  the  soul,  of  believers  to  the 
Lord,  appears  as  in  the  highest  sense  the  rightful  bearer  of  all  the  attributes  heaped  upon  hu- 
man love.  For  pure  human  love  is  the  noblest  copy  of  the  divine.  They  are  alike  in  their 
mutual  aspirations,  alike  in  their  beginning,  nutriment,  development,  operation,  end ;  as  also 
earthly  beauty  is  the  shadow  of  the  eternally  beautiful.  Thus,  too,  the  reception  of  the  book 
into  the  canon  is  explained.  The  divine  Spirit  has  in  condescension  to  human  weakness  veiled 
the  spiritual  beauties  of  good  things  yet  unknown  in  figures  of  things  which  are  real,  lovely  and 
well  known.  We  should  learn  to  joy  over  the  distant  from  the  joy  which  the  near  affords,  and 
thus  suffer  ourselves  to  be  drawn  to  Him,  who  loves  us  above  all."— Peay  Luis  conceives  the 
theme  of  the  book  to  be  simply  "the  bliss  and  pain  of  love"  described  in  the  form  of  a  pastoral 
poem,  in  which  king  Solomon  is  represented  as  a  shepherd,  and  his  bride  Shulamith,  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  Egyptian  king,  as  a  shepherdess.  Their  love  is  depicted  in  the  nicest  and  most  per- 
fect manner :  in  other  amatory  poems  there  is  only  found  a  shadow  of  the  feeling  and  bliss  of 
love,  here  love  is  described  in  primal  perfection  even  to  the  most  subtle  features  of  its  being.— 
As  the  inquisition  at  Valladolid  took  offence  at  this  treatise  on  Canticles,  partly  on  account  of 
its  contents,  and  partly  because  it  was  written  in  Spanish,  it  remained  unprinted,  and  Leon 
published  subsequently,  after  he  had  languished  five  years  in  prison,  for  his  coiflplete^justifioa- 
tion  a  Latin  treatise  "  Pe.  L.  Legionensis,  In  Oaniiea  Oanticqm-m  Salommis  explanaho  "  (Salom., 
1580),  in  which,  besides  the  historical  sense,  he  also  stated  the  spiritual^  more  fully,  and  this 
partly  in  the  allegorical,  partly  the  typical  method.     Comp.  Wilkens,  Ibid.,  p.  317  ff.). 

Jo.  Meeceeus  {le  Mercier),  Commentarius  in  Job,  ProverUa,  Ecdesiast.  et  Cant.  Canlicorum, 
1573. 

John  Lightfoot,  Harmonia,  Chronica  et  Ordo  Vet.  Testamenti;  Opera,  Traj.  ad  &h. 
1699.  [A  Chronicle  of  the  Times  and  the  Order  of  the  Texts  of  the  Old  Testament;  m  his 
Works,  London,  1684.  He  says  L,  p.  76.  "After  the  building  of  the  summer-house  m  the  for- 
est of  Lebanon,  Solomon  pens  the  book  of  the  Canticles,  as  appeareth  by  these  passages  m  it, 
Cant.  iv.  8  •  vii  4  Upon  his  bringing  up  Pharaoh's  daughter  to  the  house  that  he  had  prepared 
for  her,  1  Kings  ix.  24,  he  seemeth  to  have  made  this  Song.  For  though  the  best  and  the  most 
proper  aim  of  it  was  at  higher  matters  than  an  earthly  marriage,  yet  doth  he  make  his  marriage 


42  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 

with  Pharaoh's  daughter  a  type  of  that  sublime  and  spiritual  marriage  betwixt  Christ  and  Hia 
church.  Pharaoh's  daughter  was  a  heathen  and  a  stranger  natively  to  the  church  of  Israel ;  and 
withal  she  was  a  black-moor,  as  being  an  African,  as  Cant.  i.  4,  5  alludeth  to  it ;  and  so  she  wa» 
the  kindlier  type  of  what  Solomon  intended  in  all  particulars. — Te.J 

Rob.  Lowth,  Be  Sacra  poesi  Hebrceorum  proeleciiones  academicce ;  Oxon.,  1753,  1763  (prcBl 
30  S.)  [In  the  scheme  and  divisions  of  the  book  he  adopts  the  view  of  Bossubt  to  be  stated 
presently.  In  regard  to  its  spiritual  meaning  he  contends  that  it  is  neither  a  "  continuous  met- 
aphor," nor  a  "  parable  properly  so  called,"  but  a  "  mystical  allegory  in  which  a  higher  sense  is 
superinduced  upon  a  historical  verity."  The  bride  he  decides,  though  not  without  hesitation,  to 
have  been  Solomon's  favorite  wife,  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh ;  his  marriage  with  an  Egyptian 
being  an  apt  adumbration  of  the  Prince  of  peace,  who  espouses  to  Himself  a  church  composed 
of  Gentiles  and  of  aliens.  Her  name  he  expresses  in  the  form  Solomitis,  as  derived  from  Solo- 
mon, like  Caia  from  Caius,  and  intended  to  be  suggestive  of  the  higher  sense  of  the  Song.— Te.] 

Jacques-Benigne  Bossubt,  Libri  Salomonis,  Froverbia,  Ecolesiasies,  Caniic.  Canlicorum, 
Sapientia,  Ecclesiasticus,  cum  notis,  etc.  Paris,  1693.  [He  supposes  the  Song  to  be  divided 
into  seven  parts,  corresponding  to  the  seven  days  of  the  marriage  feast.  It  commences  with  the 
bride's  being  brought  home  to  her  husband's  house  on  the  evening  which,  according  to  Jewish 
reckoning,  ushers  in  the  first  day.  Then  the  successive  mornings  are  indicated  by  the  adjura- 
tion of  the  bridegroom  as  he  leaves  his  chamber,  ii.  7;  iii.  5;  viii.  4,  or  by  the  admiring  lan- 
guage of  the  choir  of  virgins  as  the  bride  herself  appears,  iii.  6  ;  viii.  5 ;  vi.  10.  The  evenings 
are  either  expressly  mentioned,  iii.  1 ;  v.  2,  or  may  be  inferred,  ii.  6  ;  viii.  3.  The  seventh  day 
is  shown  to  be  the  Sabbath  by  the  fact  of  the  bridegroom  coming  in  public  attended  by  his  bride, 
viii.  5,  instead  of  going  forth  alone  to  his  occupation  as  he  had  done  previously. — Te.] 

[A.  Galmet,  Commentaire  littiral  sur  le  Cantique  des  Caiitiques.  "  His  views  are  substan- 
tially the  same  as  Bossuet's."] 

(Haemee),  Materialien  zu  einer  neuen  ErJcldrung  des  Hohenliedea,  Vom  Verfasser  der  Beo- 
bachtungen  uber  den  Orient.  From  the  English,  2  Parts,  1778-79.  [The  original  title  is,  The 
Outlines  of  a  New  Commentary  on  Solomon's  Song,  drawn  by  the  help  of  Instructions  from  the 
East,  containing — I.  Remarks  on  its  general  nature;  II.  Observations  on  detached  Places  of  it; 
III.  Queries  concerning  the  rest  of  this  poem.  By  the  author  of  Observations  on  divers  Pas- 
sages of  Scripture.  London,  1768.]  He  explains  like  those  before  named,  the  whole  as  a  cele- 
bration of  Solomon's  marriage  with  a  daughter  of  the  king  of  Egypt,  and  leaves  the  profounder 
spiritual  meaning  almost  entirely  out  of  sight.  [He  finds  two  queens  in  the  course  of  the 
Song — the  former  principal  queen  who  speaks,  iii.  1,  etc.,  and  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh  who  is 
henceforth  made  her  "  equal  in  honor  and  privileges,"  and  who  is  "  frequently  mentioned  after- 
wards in  history,  while  the  other  is  passed  over  in  tol;al  silence,"  this  new  marriage  being  an  apt 
representation  of  the  "  conduct  of  the  Messiah  towards  the  Gentile  and  Jewish  churches." — Te.] 

Salvadoe,  Histoire  des  institutions  de  Moise,  Vol.  II.     Paris,  1828  (like  the  preceding.) 

J.  Chb.  K.  v.  Hoffmann,  Weissagwig  und  ErfuUung  [Prophecy  and  Pnlfilment]  I.,  189  ff.; 
Schriftbeweis  [Scripture  proof]  II.,  2,  370  ff.  (comp.  above  J  2,  Rem.  1,  §4,  Rem.  1.) 

Peamz  Delitzsch,  Das  Hohelied  untersucht  und  ausgelegt  [The  Song  of  Solomon  investigated 
and  expounded],  1851  (see  above,  ?  2  and  4.) 

Ed.  Naegblsbach,  in  Reutee's  Allg.  Repertorium  der  theol.  Literaiur,  1851,  No.  IV. 

ScHLOTTMANN,  See  immediately  below. 

CONTEIBUTIONS   TO   THE    EXPLANATION    OP   THE   SONG   OP   SOLOMON    IN    MONOGEAPHS. 

G.  A.  RuPEETi,  Symbolx  ad  interpretationem  S.  Codicis.  Vol.  I.,/asc.  1,  2,  Getting.,  1782. 

P.  Ande.  van  Kooten,  Observationes  ad  noimuUa  Cantic.  Canticonim  looa;  dissertat.,  Ul- 
traj.,  1774. 

J.  F.  Nbunhofee,  Versuch  eines  neuen  Beitrags  zur  Erkldrung  des  Hohenlieds  [Essay  toward 
a  new  contribution  to  the  explanation  of  the  Song  of  Solomon],  Leipz.,  1775. 

Anton,  Salomonis  carmen  melicum  ad  metr.  prise,  et  mod.  music,  revocatum.   Viteb.,  1793. 

J.  F.  Gaab,  Bbiteabqe,  etc.   See  above,  p.  37. 

LiNDEMANN,  in  Keil's  und  Tzschirnee's  Analekten,  III.,  1,  p.  1  S. 


?  7.  HISTORY  OF  THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


43 


Habtmann,  in  Winbe's  ZeiUchrift,  I.  3,  p.  420  ff. 

G.  HoELEMANN,  die  Krone  des  Hohenlieds  (allegorical  explanation  of  ch.  viii),  Leipz.   1856  — 
see  above,  p.  32.  •       if  ■> 

SCHLOTTMANN,  The  bridal  procession  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  (iii.  6-11)  in  the  ,Stxcdien  und 
Kritiken,  1867,  II,  ranges  himself  at  the  very  beginning  decidedly  on  the  side  of  the  typical 
expositors:  "Whatever  we  may  think  of  the  origin  and  strict  literal  sense  of  the  Song  of  Solo 
mon,  the  right  will  ever  verify  itself  anew,  to  see  in  the  love  there  represented  the  emblem  of 
the  higher  divine  love  which  unites  the  church  to  her  heavenly  Lord,"  etc.) 

SUPPLEMEHTAET    BIBLIOQEAPHY   ADDED   BY    THE   TEANSLATOE. 

English  Commentaries  on  the  Song  of  Solomon. 
[Venerable  Bede  wrote  seven  books  on  the  Canticles.  The  iirst  is  "a  controversial  preface 
warning  his  readers  against  the  Commentary  of  Julian  of  Eclanum  which  that  writer  had  made 
a  vehicle  for  his  Pelagian  doctrines."  This  betrayed  Williams  (and  Ginsbueg,  who  copies  him) 
into  the  error  of  supposing  that  the  whole  "  work  was  intended  as  a  defence  of  the  doctrines  of 
grace  against  the  Pelagians."  The  seventh  book  "comprises  a  series  of  extracts  from  all  parts 
of  Gkegoet's  writings,  bearing  upon  the  Song."  In  the  other  five  books  "he  has  followed  the 
footsteps  of  the  fathers,  leaving  the  works  of  Geegoet  intact."- 

"The  Commentary  of  Poliot,  Bishop  of  London  in  the  12th  century,  with  the  Compendium 
of  Alouin,  was  printed  in  1638,  and  is  repeatedly  referred  to  by  Dr.  Gill." 

SooTUS  ,is  favorably  spoken  of  by  Poole,  Synopsis  Crit.,  Vol.  II.,  Pref.,  as  not  one  of  the  last 
to  be  named  of  this  period ;  "  author  non  inter  postremos  memorandus." 

The  first  three  chapters  of  the  Canticles,  with  Beza's  sermons  on  them,  translated  bv  John 
Haemae,  Oxford,  1587.' 

Thomas  James  (librarian  at  Oxford),  Expositio  libri  Canticorum,  ex  patribus  4to  Oxford 
1607. 
Thomas  Wilcocks,  An  Exposition  upon  the  book  of  the  Canticles,  London,  1624. 
Henoch  Glaphait,  The  first  Part  of  the  Song  of  Songs  expounded  and  applied,  London,  1602. 
Bishop  Hall,  An  open  and  plain  Paraphrase  upon  the  Song  of  Songs,  London,  1609. 
J.  Beale,  Solomon's  Song  with  an  Exposition,  London,  1615. 

Hbnet  Ainswoeth  (a  Brownist  divine),  Annotations  upon  the  five  books  of  Moses  the  book 
of  the  Psalms,  and  the  Song  of  Songs  or  Canticles,  London,  1639.  This  volume  has  done  much 
to  shape  the  current  allegorical  exposition  of  the  Song.  It  is  accompanied  by  a  metrical  para- 
phrase. 

Thomas  Beightman,  Commentary  on  the  Canticles,  London,  1644.  "  He  regards  the  book  as 
prophetic,  and  divides  it  into  two  parts ;  the  first,  chap.  i. — iv.  6,  describes  the  condition  of  the 
legal  church  from  the  time  of  David  to  the  death  of  Christ:  and  the  second,  chap.  iv.  7 — -viii.  14, 
the  state  of  the  evangelical  church  from  A.  D.  34  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ." 

John  Cotton,  A  brief  Exposition  of  the  whole  book  of  Canticles,  London,  1648,  He  likewise 
regards  it  as  descriptive  of  the  state  of  the  church  from  Solomon's  own  time  to  the  last 
judgment. 
John  Eobotham,  Exposition  on  the  whole  book  of  Solomon's  Song,  London,  1652. 
Assembly  op  Divines,  Annotations  upon  all  the  books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  Lon- 
don, 1657.  Very  brief  notes  mainly  occupied  with  suggesting  the  spiritual  import  of  the 
Song. 

W.  Guild,  Love's  Intercourse  between  the  Lamb  and  his  Bride,  Christ  and  His  Church,  in  a 
clear  explication  and  application  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  London,  1658. 

James  Dueham,  Clavis  Cantici,  London,  1668.    "  Published  after  his  death  with  a.  recommen- 
dation by  Dr.  Owen." 
De  Veil,  Explicatio  Literalis  Cant.  Cant.,  London,  1679. 

John  Collinges,  The  Intercourses  of  Divine  Love  betwixt  Christ  and  His  Church,  or  the 
particular  believing  soul,  metaphorically  expressed  by  Solomon  in  Canticles  i.  and  ii.,  2  vols., 
London,  1683. 


44  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OP  SOLOMON. 

John  Teapp,  A  Commentary  upon  the  book  of  Proverbs,  Eoolesiastes  and  the  Song  of  Solo- 
mon, London,  1650. 

Bishop  Pateiok's  Paraphrase  and  Annotations  on  this  Song  were  published  in  1700;  Mat. 
THEW  Henry's  Exposition  a  few  years  after. 

Whiston  published  an  Essay  in  1723,  charging  the  Song  of  Solomon  with  containing  "  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end  marks  of  folly,  vanity  and  looseness,''  maintaining  "  that  it  was  written 
by  Solomon  when  he  was  wicked,  and  foolish,  and  lascivious,  and  idolatrous,"  and  urging  its  re- 
jection from  the  sacred  canon. 

John  Gill,  An  Exposition  of  the  book  of  Solomon's  Song  commonly  called  Canticles,  London, 
1728.  "A  vast  treasure  of  varied  learning,  sound  doctrine  and  spiritual  experience ;  but  it  is  neither 
sufficiently  condensed,  nor  is  it  so  digested  by  the  author  as  to  present  to  the  reader  a  clear  idea  of 
his  own  interpretation."  He  pushes  the  allegory  to  the  furthest  extreme,  and  attaches  every  sense 
to  the  words  which  they  can  possibly  bear.  The  first  edition  contains  a  translation  of  the  Tar- 
gum  upon  this  book.  Another  comment  by  the  same  author  is  contained  in  his  Exposition  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testament. 

John  Wesley,  in  his  Explanatory  notes  upon  the  Old  Testament,  Bristol,  1765,  also  defends 
the  allegorical  interpretation  of  this  book,  and  especially  disallows  its  reference  to  Solomon  and 
Pharaoh's  daughter. 

[Giffoed],  a  Dissertation  on  the  Song  of  Solomon,  with  the  original  text  divided  according 
to  the  metre  [upon  Bishop  Haee's  hypothesis],  and  a  poetical  version,  1751.  He  "  considers  the 
poem  as  a  pastoral  composed  by  Solomon  as  the  amusement  of  his  lighter  hours,  just  after  his 
nuptials  with  Pharaoh's  daughter,  and  before  God  had  so  remarkably  appeared  to  him  and  given 
him  that  divine  wisdom,  for  which  he  was  afterwards  so  eminent." 

[Bishop  Pbkcy],  The  Song  of  Solomon,  newly  translated  from  the  original  Hebrew,  with  a 
commentary  and  annotations,  London,  1764.  He  confines  himself  to  the  literal  sense,  and 
adopts  substantially  the  view  of  Bossuet  that  it  was  written  on  the  occasion  of  Solomon's  mar- 
riage with  Pharaoh's  daughter,  and  is  divided  into  seven  parts  answering  to  the  seven  days  of 
the  wedding  feast. 

Mes.  Bowdlee,  Song  of  Solomon  paraphrased,  with  an  introduction,  containing  some  remarks 
on  a  late  new  translation  (Peecy's)  of  this  sacred  poem;  also  a  commentary  and  notes  critical 
and  practical,  Edinburgh,  1775. 

DuBELL,  Critical  remarks  on  Job,  Proverbs,  Psalms,  Ecclesiastes  and  Canticles,  1772,  follows 
the  same  general  theory,  but  "  totally  excludes  any  allegorical  or  spiritual  design." 

The  Song  of  Solomon  paraphrased,  with  an  Introduction,  Commentary  and  Notes  (published 
anonymously),  Edinburgh,  1775. 

W.  Geeen,  The  Poetical  Parts  of  the  Old  Testament  translated,  with  notes,  1781. 

Beenaed  Hodoson,  Solomon's  Song  translated  from  the  Hebrew,  Oxford,  1786.  "The  mys- 
tical sense  of  the  Song  is  never  referred  to — not  denied,  still  less  acknowledged." 

T.  Williams,  The  Song  of  Songs,  which  is  by  Solomon,  a  new  translation  with  a  commentary 
and  notes,  London,  1801.  Republished  in  Philadelphia,  1803.  Adopts  like  the  preceding  the 
general  hypothesis  of  Bossubt  and  Lowth,  and  takes  note  of  the  spiritual  meaning  throughout. 

John  Mason  Good,  Song  of  Songs,  or  sacred  Idyls  translated,  with  notes  critical  and  explana- 
tory, London,  1803.  Containing  a  literal  prose  translation  and  a  very  elegant  metrical  version. 
"A  work  of  great  beauty,  in  which  the  author  allows  and  defends  the  allegorical,  but  confines 
himself  to  the  literal  sense."  He  "  regards  the  entire  song  as  a  collection  of  distinct  idyls  upon 
one  common  subject,  and  that  the  loves  of  the  Hebrew  monarch  and  his  fair  bride." 

WiiiLiAM  Davidson,  Brief  outline  of  an  examination  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  with  remarks 
critical  and  expository,  London,  1817.  He  interprets  "  the  Song  of  Solomon  of  the  Christian 
church  from  the  time  of  John  the  Baptist." 

Scott's  Notes  in  his  Commentary  on  the  Bible  follow  the  current  allegorical  exposition,  and 
are  largely  drawn  from  Bishop  Patrick. 

Adam  Olaeke  eschews  the  allegorical  interpretation,  and  assigns  as  his  reasons  ;  "  1.  Because 
we  do  not  know  that  it  is  an  allegory.  2.  If  one,  the  principles  on  which  such  allegory  is  to  be 
explained  do  nowhere  appear."     Appended  to  his  commentary  is  a  translation  of  the  Targum  or 


i  7.  HISTORY  OF  THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  45 


Chaldee  paraphrase  of  this  book ;  also  the  Hindoo  mystical  poem,  the  Gitagavinda,  which,  agreea- 
bly to  the  suggestion  of  Sie  William  Jones,  he  regards  as  illustrative  of  the  Song  of  Solomon. 

B.  BooTHBOYD,  The  Hebrew  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  without  points  after  the  text  of 
Kennicott,  accompanied  with  English  Notes,  critical,  philological  and  explanatory,  2  vols.  4to. 
The  notes  consist  for  the  most  part  of  extracts  from  preceding  commentators,  chiefly  Peecy, 
Gkben,  Good,  Hodgson,  and  Haembe. 

John  Fey,  Canticles,  a  new  translation  with  notes,  London,  1811.  The  book  is  regarded  as  a 
coUeotion  of  idyls,  some  of  which  were  suggested  by  the  marriage  of  Solomon,  others  by  different 
domestic  scenes  in  humble  life ;  but  all  are  parables  of  the  love  of  Christ  and  His  Church. 

Chaeles  TATLOEin  the  Biblical  Fragments  (Nos.  345-453)  appended  to  Calmet's  Diction- 
ary, 1838.  Well  characterized  by  Moody  Stuaet  :  "  His  translation  and  arrangement  of  the 
Song  of  Songs — relating  merely  to  its  outward  structure  as  Solomon's  marriage  festival — evince 
great  research,  abundant  ingenuity,  the  utmost  delicacy  and  refinement  of  feeling,  along  with  a 
most  exuberant  fancy." 

W.  Newman,  Solomon's  Song  of  Songs,  a  new  translation,  London,  1839. 

Pye  Smith  in  his  "  Scripture  Testimony  to  the  Messiah,"  1847,  "  regards  this  Song  as  a  pas- 
toral eclogue  or  a  succession  of  eclogues  representing  in  the  vivid  color  of  Asiatic  rural  scenery 
the  honorable  loves  of  a  newly  married  bride  and  bridegroom."  This  led  to  a  controversy  be- 
tween him  and  Dr.  Bennett  in  the  Congregational  Magazine  for  1837  and  1838,  respecting  the 
proper  interpretation  of  the  Song.  A  subsequent  article  in  the  same  periodical  (for  1838,  p. 
471  ff.)  declares  that  there  is  "  no  more  reason  for  its  spiritual  interpretation  than  for  its  appli- 
cation to  the  revival  of  letters,  the  termination  of  feudalism,  or  any  other  gratifying  circum- 
stance in  civil  or  political  life."  Ginsburo. 

J.  Skinner,  An  Essay  towards  a  literal  or  true  radical  exposition  of  the  Song  of  Songs. 

Eobeet  Sandeman,  On  Solomon's  Song. 

W.  RoMAiNE,  Discourses  upon  Solomon's  Song. 

R.  Hawker,  Commentary  on  Solomon's  Song. 

Meditations  on  the  Song  of  Solomon,  London,  1848. 

Fbanois  Baeham,  The  Song  of  Solomon. 

Adelaide  Newton,  The  Song  of  Solomon  compared  with  other  parts  of  Scripture,  1852. 

Petee  Macpheeson,  The  Song  of  Songs  shown  to  be  constructed  on  architectural  principles, 
Edinburgh,  1856.  ''  His  supposition  that  this  song  consists  of  verses  written  round  an  arch- 
way, is  so  entirely  gratuitous,  that  it  is  only  misguiding  and  deceptive."     Moody  Stuart. 

KiTTO  in  his  Pictorial  Bible  and  in  his  Daily  Bible  Illustrations  "  presents  much  useful  infor- 
mation on  the  Song  of  Solomon." 

Samuel  Davidson,  (The  Text  of  the  Old  Testament  Considered,  London,  1856,  and  Introduc- 
tion to  the  Old  Testament,  1862)  adopts  the  shepherd  hypothesis,  regards  it  as  a  purely  amatory 
poem,  having  neither  an  allegorical  nor  a  typical  sense,  and  written  not  by  Solomon,  but  by  a 
citizen  of  the  northern  kingdom  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  after  Solomon's  death. 

A.  Moody  Stuaet,  An  Exposition  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  London,  1857  (republished  Phila- 
delphia, 1869).  The  peculiarity  of  this  eminently  devout  and  spiritual  commentary  is  the  par- 
allel instituted  and  carried  out  in  a  most  ingenious  and  elaborate  manner  between  the  Song  of 
Solomon  and  the  Gospels  and  Acts  of  which  it  is  regarded  as  a  prophetic  epitome.  He  regards 
i.  2— ii.  7  as  descriptive  of  the  period  immediately  before  and  after  the  birth  of  Christ ;  ii.  8— iii. 
5  from  the  appearance  of  John  till  the  baptism  of  Jesus ;  iii.  6— v.  1  from  Christ's  return  out  of 
the  wilderness  till  the  last  supper ;  v.  2— viii.  5  from  the  agony  in  the  garden  till  the  evange- 
lizing of  the  Samaritans;  viii.  5-14  from  the  calling  of  the  Gentiles  till  the  close  of  revelation. 

Benjamin  Weiss  (a  converted  Jew),  The  Song  of  Songs  unveiled,  a  new  translation  and  exposi- 
tion of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  Edinburgh,  1859.  He  conceives  it  to  be  "  half  historical  and  half 
prophetical,"  and  to  embrace  the  entire  interval  from  the  dedication  of  the  tabernacle  of  Moses  to 
the  resurrection  of  Christ  and  the  formation  of  churches  among  the  Gentiles. 

Cheistian  GINSBUE&,  The  Song  of  Songs  translated  from  the  original  Hebrew,  with  a  com- 
mentary historical  and  critical,  London,  1857,  and  in  his  article  on  Solomon's  Song  in  the  third 
Edition  of  Kitto's  Cyclopedia,  advocates  the  shepherd  hypothesis.    "  This  song  records  the  his- 


46  INTKODTJCTION  TO  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 

tory  of  an  humble  but  virtuous  woman,  who  after  having  been  espoused  to  a  man  of  like  humble 
circumstances,  had  been  tempted  in  a  most  alluring  manner  to  abandon  him,  and  to  transfer  her 
affections  to  one  of  the  wisest  and  richest  of  men,  but  who  successfully  resisted  all  temptations, 
remained  faithful  to  her  espousals,  and  was  ultimately  rewarded  for  her  virtue."  The  historical 
sketch  of  the  exegesis  of  the  book  is  very  full  and  valuable,  though  warped  by  the  peculiar  views 
of  the  writer. 

Joseph  Francis  THKtrpp,  The  Song  of  Songs,  a  revised  translation,  with  introduction  and 
commentary,  Cambridge,  1862,  divides  the  Song  into  six  groups ;  see  note  on  p.  H.  "  The  theme 
of  the  first  group  is  the  anticipation  of  Christ's  coming;  the  second  represents  the  waiting  for 
that  blessed  time ;  in  the  third  he  is  arrived,  and  we  have  there  the  description  of  the  espousal  and 
its  fruits.  The  fourth  group  delineates  the  subsequent  bodily  departure  of  the  Bridegroom  from 
his  Bride ;  the  fifth  his  spiritual  presence  with  her ;  and  the  sixth  their  complete  and  final  re- 
union." "  The  earlier  half  of  the  Song  presents  to  us  only  those  glories  which  older  seers  had  in 
various  ways  also  heralded.  With  respect  to  the  latter  half  of  the  Song  the  case  is  different.  The 
distinctness  with  which  it  is  there  unfolded  that  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  will  not  of  itself  be 
the  final  termination  of  all  earthly  expectation  and  anxiety  is  unparalleled  not  merely  in  all 
earlier  Scripture,  but  throughout  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament.  Nowhere  else  do  we  find  a 
passage  which  speaks  as  Cant.  v.  2-8  speaks  of  a  withdrawal  of  the  Messiah  from  the  church  for 
whose  salvation  He  has  once  appeared."  This  he  accounts  for  by  supposing  it  based  on  a  typical 
application  of  the  translation  of  Elijah.  The  untimely  removal  of  this  distinguished  prophet, 
who  was  fondly  styled  "  the  chariot  of  Israel  and  the  horsemen  thereof,"  and  the  painful  void 
created  by  his  departure,  foreshadowed  a  similar  experience  in  the  case  of  Messiah,  the  last  and 
greatest  of  the  prophets,  who  should  in  like  manner  forsake  His  sorrowing  people  for  a  season, 
though  with  the  view  of  ultimately  returning  never  to  leave  them  more.  The  Song  he  supposes 
to  have  been  written  a  century  or  more  after  the  death  of  Solomon  by  a  member  of  one  of  the 
prophetical  schools  in  the  kingdom  of  the  ten  tribes. 

Isaac  Taylor,  The  Spirit  of  the  Hebrew  Poetry ;  republished  in  New  York,  1862,  devotes  chap. 
X.  to  Solomon  and  the  Song  of  Songs. 

Chr.  Wordsworth,  The  Books  of  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes  and  the  Song  of  Solomon  in  the  au- 
thorized version,  with  notes  and  introductions  (Vol.  IV.  Part  III.  of  his  Commentary  on  the 
Bible),  London,  1868.  He  regards  it  as  a  prophetic  allegory,  suggested  by  the  occasion  of  Solo- 
mon's marriage  with  Pharaoh's  daughter,  and  descriptive  of  "  the  gathering  of  the  world  into 
mystical  union  with  Christ,  the  consecration  of  the  world  into  a  church  espoused  to  Him  as  the 
Bride." 

W.  Houghton,  Translation  of  the  Song  of  Solomon,  and  short  explanatory  notes  (London, 
1865),  in  which,  as  stated  by  the  American  editor  of  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  the  Song 
is  viewed  as  secular  and  the  theme  conceived  to  be  the  fidelity  of  chaste  love. 

American  Commentaries. 

Of  the  discussions  of  this  book  which  have  appeared  in  this  country,the  most  noteworthy  are 
the  following: 

Moses  Stuart,  in  his  Critical  History  and  Defence  of  the  Old  Testament  Canon  (Andover, 
1845),  devotes  pp.  364-385  to  a  consideration  of  the  Canticles.  He  regards  it  as  "  expressing 
the  warm  and  earnest  desire  of  the  soul  after  God  in  language  borrowed  from  that  which  charac- 
terizes chaste  affection  between  the  sexes,"  and  as  applicable  to  the  church  only  in  so  far  as  what 
pertains  to  individuals  who  are  pious  is  common  to  the  entire  body  of  believers.  He  thinks  the 
book  to  be  so  peculiarly  Oriental  in  its  imagery  and  style  of  thought,  that  while  adapted  to  the 
religious  wants  of  those  amongst  whom  it  originated,  and  probably  reserved  for  a  new  period  of 
usefulness  in  the  East  when  Christianized,  it  ia  of  inferior  value  to  occidental  Christians  generally. 

GEORaE  R.  NoYES,  A  new  Translation  of  the  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes  and  the  Canticles,  with 
introductions  and  notes,  chiefly  explanatory,  Boston,  1846.  He  conceives  the  book  to  be  a  col- 
lection of  amatory  songs  "  written  by  some  Jewish  poet,  either  in  the  reign  of  Solomon  or  soon 
after  it,"  and  without  any  "  express  moral  or  religious  design." 


?  7.   HISTORY  OF  THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  47 

Calvin  E.  Stowe,  in  the  Biblical  Repository  for  April,  1847,  gives  a  partial  translation  of 
the  Song  of  Solomon,  and  defends  its  allegorical  interpretation. 

Geokob  Bubeowes,  a  Commentary  on  the  Song  of  Solomon,  Philadelphia,  1853 ;  also  an  ar- 
ticle on  the  Song  of  Solomon  in  the  Princeton  Review  for  October,  1849.  "  The  Song  is  a  con- 
tinuous and  coherent  whole,  illustrating  some  of  the  most  exalted  and  delightful  exercises  of 
the  believing  heart."  He  deems  it  "  more  profitable  and  natural  in  meditating  on  this  book,  to 
view  the  bride  as  the  representative  of  the  individual  believer  rather  than  of  the  whole  church. 
As  the  church  is  a  collection  of  individuals,  its  state  must  be  that  of  the  members  composing  it ; 
and  no  distinction  can  be  drawn  between  the  love  of  Jesus  for  the  collective  body  and  His  love 
for  the  several  persons  constituting  the  whole  mass."  The  illustrations  from  Oriental  manners 
and  parallel  passages  in  ancient  and  modern  literature  are  particularly  copious  and  judicious. 

Leonaed  Withington,  Solomon's  Song  translated  and  explained,  Boston,  1861.  The  bride 
of  the  Song  is  the  daughter  of  an  Arab  Sheikh  (vii.  1),  whom  Solomon  married,  as  he  did  a  mul- 
titude of  other  princesses  from  the  little  tribes  around  Palestine,  with  the  "  wish  of  spreading  the 
Hebrew  empire  and  religion  through  the  vicinity.  And  he  writes  this  poem  to  show  how  pure 
his  felicity,  how  happy  his  marriage  with  a  rural  bride  taken  from  a  pagan  nation,  whom  never- 
theless he  brings  under  the  influence  of  the  true  religion,  and  hopes  to  convert  to  the  true  faith, 
and  make  one  of  the  instruments  of  promoting  the  glory  of  his  peaceful  kingdom.  But  the  oc- 
casional song  was  exalted  by  the  providence  of  God  into  a  higher  purpose.  That  purpose  was 
mainly  and  primarily  to  foreshow  the  formation  and  union  of  the  Gentile  church  with  Christ, 
when  a  more  sublime  and  spiritual  religion  should  be  presented." 

A.  R.  Fattsset  and  B.  M.  Smith,  The  Poetical  Books  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  with  a  critical 
and  explanatory  commentary,  Philadelphia,  1867.  Largely  based  upon  the  commentary  of 
MooDT  Stuaet,  whose  divisions  and  historical  application  it  adopts. 

Metrical  Translations. 

The  metrical  translations  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  are  very  numerous.  In  addition  to  the  Latin 
paraphrases  by  A.  Johnson,  (Physician  to  Charles  I.)  and  J.  Kee  (Professor  of  Greek  in  Aber- 
deen, 1727)  commended  by  Moody  Stuaet  .for  their  elegance,  and  an  anonymous  English  para- 
phrase "  The  loves  of  the  Lord  with  his  troth-plight  spouse  "  quoted  and  spoken  of  with  appro- 
bation by  the  same  author,  it  has  been  versified  (either  separately  or  combined  with  the  Psalms 
or  other  poetical  portions  of  the  Old  Testament),  by  William  Baldwin,  1549 ;  J.  Smith,  1575  ; 
EoBEET  Pletchee,  1586 ;  Dudley  Fennee,  1587 ;  Maekham,  1596 ;  Aegall,  1621 ;  Ains- 
WOETH,  1623;  Sandys,  1641;  Boyd,  1644;  R.  Smith,  1653;  Hildeesham,  1672;  T.  S.  (Lon- 
don) 1676;  WooDPOED,  1679  ;  Hills,  1681 ;  Lloyd,  1682  ;  Mason,  1683  ;  Reeve,  1684;  Bev- 
erley, 1687 ;  Baeton,  1688 ;  Fleming,  1691 ;  Stennett,  1700 ;  Stmson,  1701 ;  Ralph 
Eeskine,  1736 ;  Tansue,  1738 ;  Elizabeth  Rowe,  1739 ;  Bland,  1750 ;  Johnson,  1751 ; 
GiFFOED,  1751 ;  Baeclay,  1767 ;  Ann  Feancis,  1781 ;  Good,  1803 ;  Mason,  1818 ;  Taylob, 
1820 ;  a  late  graduate  of  Oxford,  1845  ;  Metrical  Meditations,  1856.  Another  is  announced  as 
forthcoming  by  Me.  William  S.  Rentoul,  of  Philadelphia,  to  accompany  his  edition  of  Moody 
Stuaet's  commentary. 

For  Sermons  preached  on  diflferent  passages  from  the  Song  of  Solomon,  see  Dabling's  Cyclo- 
p»dia  Bibliographica :  Holy  Scriptures,  pp.  583-586.— Tb.] 


I'ME 


SONG    OF    SOLOMON, 


TITLE: 

I.    1  THE  SONG  OF  SONGS,  WHICH  IS  BY  SOLOMON. 

FIEST    SONG. 

Th$  first  time  the  lovers  were  together  at  the  royal  palace  [in  or  near)  Jerusalem. 
(Chap.  I.  2— II.  7). 

FIRST   SCEKE: 

Shulamith  and  the  Daughters  of  Jerusalem. 
(Chap.  I.  2-8). 

Shulamith. 

2  ^Let  him  kiss  me  with  kisses^  of  his  mouth, 

^for  better  is  thy  love  than  wine ! 

3  In  fragrance  thine  unguents  are  good  ;* 

*an  unguent®  poured  forth  is  thy  name/ 
therefore  virgins  love  thee. 

TEXTUAL  AND   GRAMMATICAL. 

^  [VTiOLiPFE :  The  Church  of  the  coining  of  Christ  epeaketh,  aaying.  Matthews  :  The  voice  of  the  Church.  CoTbb- 
VKVZ :  0  that  thy  mouth  would  give  mo  a  kiss,  for  thy  breasts  are  more  pleasant  than  wine,  and  that  because  of  the  good 
and  pleasant  savor.  J.  • 

2  On  the  combination  of  the   kindred  words    pE^J   and   7y'p'''^l-     Comp.  1  Kin.  i.  12;  ii.  16;  Isa.  i.  13;  viii.  10? 

Jon.  i.  10,  16,  and  generally  Bwald,  Lehrluch,  g  281  u,  [Gbeen's  Heh.  Gram,  g  271,  3]. 
8  [WiOLiPFE :  The  voice  of  the  JPather.] 

*  [Thrttpp'b  proposed  emendation    D'''nDp    ''JDK'    W'^)    "like   aa   the   scent  which   cometh  from  incenaes,"  ia 

nothing  but  ingenious  trifling,  and  baa  not  even  the  merit  of  being  good  Hebrew. — Tr.] 
^  [Wic.   The  voice  of  the  Church.] 
^  Observe  the  assonance  in  Vty^  and  Qt;;  which  is  probably  intentional.    [Thb-upp:  as  ointment  thou  art,  by  thy 

name,  poured  forth.] 

^  In  regard  to  the  construction  of  the  words   ^TDK'   pl^D    IDES'   four  views  are  possible:  1.  QE^  is  taken  as  the 

flubject,  and  p'l^^l  as  3  pers.  fern,  here  employed  becanae  DK^  is  exceptionally  used  as  a  feminine  after  the  analogy 
of  the  Ethiopic  (so  Ew. :  "thy  name  is  poured  out  as  an  ointment;"  Vaih. :  "as  the  fragrance  of  balsam  thy  name 
pours  itself  forth,"  etc.)  2.  TDK/  is  regarded  as  the  suljject,  which  is  here  exceptionally  treated  aa  feminine,  and  to 
which  p'l^n  belongs  as  a  relative  clause;  "an  unguent,  which  is  shed  forth,  is  thy  name"  (so  the  Septuag.,  Vulg., 
Ldth.  and  the  generality  of  interpreters).  3.  VQIl/  is  taken  as  a  masc,  but  the  form  pTlj^  is  regarded  aa  a  hardened 
form  for  p'lV  (after  the  analogy  of  Isa.  xliv.  28;  Ecclea.  a.  15),  and  accordingly  translated  aa  before  (Hitzio). 
^'  pl^n   is  held  to  be  the  2  pers.  sing.  fut.  Hophal  with  a  double  accusative :   "  thou  art  poured  forth  in  respect  to 

thy  name  aa  ointment,"  i.  e.,  thou,  or  more  precisely  thy  name,  diffusest  a  noble  fragrance,  like  a  box  of  ointment 
jjrtilch  Is  emptied  of  its  contents  (so  J.  H.  Miohaelis:  "  siciU  oleum  effunderis  nomine  tuo;"  Hengstenb.,  Weissb.). 
This  last  construction  is  to  be  preferred  aa  grammatically  the  best  established,  while  it  agrees  la  sense  substantially 
with  Noi.  2  and  3. 

33  49 


50  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  I.  1— II.  7. 

Shulamith  and  the  Daughters  of  Jerusalem  (in  responsive  song). 

4  Draw  me ! — after  thee  will  we  run ! — ^ 

^The  king  has  brought  me  into  his  chambers  I ' 
We  will  exult  and  be  glad  in  thee, 
will  commend*  thy  love  beyond  wine ! — 
Rightly^  do  they  love  thee ! 

Shulamith. 

5  *Black  I  am,  but  ^comely,  ye  daughters  of  Jerusalem, 

as  the  tents  of  Kedar,  as  the  tent-cloths  of  Solomon. 

6  Look^  not  at  me,  because^  I  am  dusky ,^** 

because  the  sun  has  scorched"  me  ; 
^^my  mother's  sons  were  angry"  with  me, 
made  me  keeper  of  the  vineyards  ; — 
mine  own  vineyard  I  have  not  kept.^* 

{Looking  around  for  Solomon), 

7  ^^Tell  me,  thou  whom  my  soul  loveth,  where^^  feedest  thou  ? 

where  makest  thou  (thy  flock)  to  recline  at  noon  ? 
For''  why  should  I  be  as  one  straying^® 
by  the  flocks  of  thy  companions  ? 

Daughters  of  Jerusalem. 

8  ^^If  thou  know  not,^^  fairest  among  women, 

go  forth  in  the  footprints  of  the  flock 

and  feed  thy  kids  beside  the  shepherds'  tents. 

1  [Matt.   Yea,  that  same  moveth  me  also  to  run  after  thee.] 

«  [Matt.  The  spousesa  to  her  companions.] 

3  [Gov.,  Cranmer,  Bishops  :  "  privy  chamber ;"  Dowat  :  "  ceUars,"  altered  in  later  editions  to  "store-rooms." J 

■*  Upon    'T^3?n   prup.  "to  meutioa,  bring  to  remembraDce,"    then    "to   meQtion    with    praise,  celebrate,"  comp. 

Pe.  XX.  8;  Isa.  xlviil.  1;  Ixiii.  7;  also  Ps.  xlv.  18;  1  Chron.  xvi.  4,  where  it  is  parallel  to  mTl  thank,  praise. 

T 

B  [Gov.  Well  is  thera  that  love  thee.     Eng.  Ver.  The  upright,  Marg.  uprightly.    Notes,  Burrowes  :  sincerely.] 
0  [Wic.    The  Churcli,  of  her  tribulations.     Mat.  The  voice  of"  the  Church  in  persecution.    Gov.,  Cran.  I  am  black, 

(0  ye  daughters  of  Jeruealum)  like  as  the  tents  of  the  Ceilarenes  and  &a  the  hangings  of  Solomon;  but  yet  I  am  fair 

and  well-favored  witlial.    Gr:MSBDRo:  swarthy.] 

7  [Wituington:  fair;  Burrowes:  lovely.] 

8  [Gov.  marvel;  Dowat:  consider;  Williams,  Notes:  gaze;  Wirn,  scorn;  Ginsbueq  :  disdain.] 

•  ty   signifies  in  both  instances,  in  ^JXK/  and  in  ''JHSItl^E!'  not  "for,"   but  ''for  the  reason  that,"  "because" 

(et?  cKelfo  otl)  ;  comp.  Ex.  il.  2.    The  second  clause  is  therefore  co-ordinated  with   the  first,  although  explanatory  of 
it  (comp.  Weissb.  in  loc.) 

10  [Gov. :   so  black.     E.  Ver.   black;   Dowat:   brown;   Weiss:   swarthy;    Bon.,   Thrupp:   dark.]    On   ri'imHE' 

blackish,  dusky  (not   "  very  black,  deep  black,"  as  Hitz.  and  formerly  Ewald    too    would   have    it),  comp.  on   ver.  5 
above  [vJeeen's  S-^b.  Gram  ,  §  188]. 

^^  HTC^  is  not  "look  upon''  [so  B.  "V^;  Gov.  shinod;  Will,  beamed;  Thrupp:  fiercely  scanned;  Weiss:  glanced] 
(Septuag.  nape^Ke^e,  comp.  Job  XX.  9),  but  is  here=fl1^  (Gen.  xli.  23)  "scorch,  blacken,"  the  sense  already  expressed 

by  Aqtjtla  (ervveKava-^  fxe)  and  the  Yulg.  (dp.cnloravit  me)  [Goon:  discolored;  Bur.,  Gins,    browned],  and  retained  by 
most  of  the  recent  iiiterprt-tfr-rs  {in  opposition  to  Rosbnm.,  Hengstbnb.,  Weissb.). 

'2  [Mat.  The  voice  of  the  Synagogue.] 

^^  l"inj   either  Niph.  of  TTH  to  burn,  glow,  (so  Ew.,  Meier,  Hitz.),  or  more  probably  from  Tl^'H    (so  that  the 

eing.  would  he    n^HJ  or  mTIJ);  for  the  Niph.  of  T^H  always  elsewhere  means  "to  be  dried,  parched"  (Ps.  Ixix. 

4;  cii.  4,  etc.),  whilst  the  meaning  demanded  here  is  "to  be  angry,  wroth."    Comp.  Qbsbnids'  Lexicon  and  Weissb.  in 
loc.     [Got.:  had  evil  will.] 

14  [Civ.  :    Thus  was  I  fain  to  keep  a  vineyard,  which  was  not  mine  own.] 

15  [Wic.  Mat.  The  voice  of 'the  Ghurch  to  Christ.] 

^®  HD^X  elsewhere  howf  [which  Weisj.  retains]  is  here=n3^X   wheref  so  too  2  Kin.  vi,  13,  K'thibh,  whilst  the 

Kri  has  D^X, 

1^  n07C/  properly  "for  why"  (comp.  71^7    'lE'X,  Dan.  1.  10),  a  fuller  expression  for  the  simple   T^lol  v>hy,  ae 

,  .  -^-^L      ■■■" 

in  Job  xxxiv.  27,  \^~1^_  IK^X  stands  for  |3-7J^,  Ps.  xlv.  3.     The  sense  is  correctly  given  by  the  Sept.  and  Syr., 

which  here  and  in  Dan.  i.  10  translate  "that  not,  lest"  S.^.'/nore).    [Gov.:  and  that.    The  critical  conjecture  mentioned 

by  Williams,  that  this  word  should  be  pointed  as  a  proper  name  XSull^    O  Solomon  is  unworthy  of  attention. — Tr.] 

19  [Wic.  go  vagrant;  Cot.  lest  I  go  wrong  and  come  unto  the  flocks  of  thy  companions;  E.  Tbr,  one  (Qenev. 
uhb)  that  turiieth  aside;  Good,  Perot,  Clarke  :  wanderer;  Williams,  Frt  :  stranger;  Tatlor:  rover;  Ginsb.  :  roaming; 
E.  Ver.  Marg.  one  that  U  veiled,  so  Notes,  Weiss.,  Thrupp.] 

19  [Wic,  Mat.    The  Toice  of  Christ  to  the  Cuurch.] 

20  •vj  is  here  added  inasmuch  as  the  action  returns  upon  its  subject  (comp.  Prov.  Ix.  12;  and  il.  6;  vlU.  14'below)^ 
to  in  general  Ewald,  L>ihrb.  g  316  a  [Geeen'8  Eeb.  Chrest  note  on  Isa.  xl.  9.] 


[.  1— n.  7.  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  51 


SECOND    SCENE: 

Solomon  and  Shulamith. 

(Chap.  I.  9—11.  7). 

Solomon. 

9  To  mj  horse*  in  Pharaoli's  chariots 

I  liken"  thee,  my  dear.' 

10  Comely  are  thy  cheeks  with  chains,* 

thy  neck  with  beads." 

11  Chains"  of  gold  will  we  make  thee 

with  points'  of  silver. 

Shulamith. 

12  'Whilst  the  king  is  at  his  table," 

my  spikenard  yields  its  fragrance. 

13  A  bundle"  of  myrrh  is  my  beloved^'  to  me, 

that  lodges  between  my  breasts. 

14  A  cluster  of  the  cyprus-flower'^  is  my  beloved  to  me, 

in  the  vineyards  of  Engedi. 

Solomon. 

15  "Lo !  thou  art  fair,  my  dear, 

lo  !  thou  art  fair ;  thine  eyes  are  doves. 

Shulamith. 

16  "Lo!  thou  art  fair,  my  beloved,  yea  sweet; 

yea  our  couch  is  green.'* 

17  The  beams"  of  our  houses  are  cedars, 

our  wainscot"  is  cypresses." 
II.  1.  "I  am  (only)  a  wildflower  of  Sharon, 
a  lily  of  the  valleys. 

Solomon. 
2  As  a  lily  among  thorns, 

so  is  my  dear  among  the  daughters.  • 

1  [Wio.    my  riding;   GeNEV.  troop  (B.  V.  company)  of  horses;  Will.:  the  horse;  Noras:  th«  norses;  Qms. :  my 

2  [Cot.  There  will  I  tarry  tor  thee,  my  love,  with  mine  host  and  with  my  chariots,  which  shall  be  no  fewer  than 
Pharaoh's!  ,,         . 

8  Theplur.  riV}!^   [rather  nVJ?^— Tk-]    Judg.  xL  37  K'thibh.     [E.  Vee.  my  love,  Marg.  in  ver.  15:  companion; 

Will.  :  consort ;  Fry  :  partner.]  ,  „  „  •    ■,  ^    ■nr-.o^ 

«  [G™bt.  rows  0/ seones;  E.  Ver.  rows  o/JeweZs ;  Fey  :  Jewels;  With,   chains;  Thrdpp,  Gihsb.  :  circlet;  WMB8.. 

"""'[Geset.  chains;  E.  Veb.  chains  d/^oW;  Doway  :  jewels;  Fry:  strings  of  beads;  Good.  Borrowes:  strings  of 
pearls :  Thrdpp,  With.,  Ginsb.  necklace  ;  Weiss.:  chains,  t.  e.,  such  as  are  attached  to  the  pole  or  beam  of  the  carriage, 
and  which  the  horse  wears  on  his  necli.J  .^       .         .        ,  ^     ■*      -v     .i...  n^-^ 

9  [In  addition  to  the  renderings  given  to  this  word  in  the  preceding  verse,  Wio.  here  translates  it.  ribands,  COT. 
Qeck-baod  ;  E.  Ver.   borders ;  With,  collars,] 

'  [Cot.  buttons;  E.  Ver.  studs;  With,  stars.] 

'  fWlo.  The  voice  of  the  Cliuioh,  of  Christ.    Mat.  The  voice  of  the  Church.]  , 

'  [So  Cot.,  Bno.  Ver.  ;  Genet,  repast;  Doway:  repose,  after  the  VuLO.  acaibdu  and  the  LXX  aFiucAi<r€i,  Gool) . 
banqaet ;  Fey  :  '  the  king  in  his  circait '  may  either  refer  to  his  going  round  in  some  part  ot  the  procession,  or  to  taking  hu 
Btana  in  the  midst  of  his  retinue,  or  we  may  translate,  'until  the  king  had  taken  his  seat ;'  Will..,  Bder.  circle  oJJrKWii , 
Weiss.:  with  his  guest.] 

»[AlN8W.:  bag;TAYi,OR:  scent-bag;  Goon:  casket;  Bdrrowes  :  amulet.]      ^  ,^     .     ,    ,     „,„„„    „„„„f  „„„.  i- 

u  [Cot.  O  my  beloved.  E.  Ver.  my  well-beloved,  so  constantly  throughout  the  book  in  Gbitet.,  except  once  in 
V.9, "  over."] 

"  [So  Cot.,  Doway,  E.  Ver.  Marg.    The  text  of  the  Eng.  Ver.  has  camphire.] 

"   Wic,  Mat.  The  voice  of  Christ  to  the  Church.] 

"   Wic,  MiT.  The  voice  of  the  Church  to  Christ.] 

>*  Cot.,  Cran.,  Bish.  Our  bed  is  decked  with  flowers.    Dow. :  our  little  bed  is  flourishing.] 

"[Cot.  balk°sf'CEAN.,  Bish.  cross-Joints;  K.  V.:  rafters,  Marg.:  galleries;  Good,  Noyeb,  Fey:  roof;  Thetjpp; 
tioardings ;  Parkhurst  :  ceiling ;  Gesen.  :  carved  ceiling ;  Fuerst  :  carved  beams]. 

"^  [B.  Ver.  fir ;  AlNS.   brutin-tree.]  «.    .  * ., 

"  [Wia  The  voice  of  Christ,  of  Him  and  of  the  Church;  Mat.   The  voice  of  Christ.] 


5? 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


I.  1— ir  T 


stre^ 


Shulamith. 

3  ^As  an  apple-tree  among  the  trees  of  the  -wood, 

so  is  my  beloved  among  the  sons. 

In  his  shade  delighted  I  sit. 

and  his  fruit  is  sweet  to  my  palate.' 

4  He  has  brought  me  into  the  wine-house, 

and  his  banner  over  me  is  love. 

5  Stay  me  with  pressed  grapes,' 

refresh*  me  with  apples, 
for  I  am  sick  of  love. 

6  His  left  hand  is  under  my  head, 

and  his  right  embraces  me. 

7  ^I  adjure  you,  ye  daughters  of  Jerusalem, 

by  the  gazelles  or  by  the  hinds  of  the  field,' 
that  ye  wake  not,  and  that  ye  waken  not 
love  till  it'  please. 

1  [Wic,  Mat.  The  Toico  of  the  Church,  of  Christ.] 

2  [Coy.,  Cean.,  BrsH.,  Dow.  throat;  Qenbv.  mouth;  E.  V.  taste]. 

3  rCoT.  grapes;  Cean.,  Bish.  cups;  Oenev.,  E.  V.  flagons]. 
■1    E.  V.  comfort;  Marg.  straw  me;    Dow  ay,  compass   me  ahout;  AiNSWOETH:    strew  me  a  bed;    WILLIAMS; 

citrons  around  me;  Thedp?:  strew  me  with  citron  leaves].  „         „  „  „    „       ., 

6  [Wlc,  Mat.     The  voice  of  Christ,    of  the  Church;    Wio.,    Dow.    I  adjure  you;    CoT.,  Cean.,   Geket.,  B.  V.;    I 

charge  vou.] 

fi  [Theupp  has  ;  "  fells,"  so  as  to  rhyme  with  "  gazelles,"  in  fancied  imitation  of  the  original]. 
'  [Coy.,  Dow.,  Gekev.  she ;  B.  V.  correctly :  he ;  Qinsb.,  Thehpp  :  it]. 

■]nnx  Onty'n  (they  rightly  loYe  thee)  belong  to 
Shulamith  alone*  (comp.  Dopke  in  loc.)  Then 
vers.  5-7  unquestionably  belong  to  Shulamith 
alone  ;  ver.  8  again  to  the  ladies  of  the  court,  who 
reply  with  good-humored  banter  to  the  rustic  sim- 
plicity and  7iajwf(e  with  which  she  has  expressed 
vcr.  7  her  desire  for  her  royal  loYer ;  vers.  9,  ff. 
to  Solomon,  who  now  begins  a  loving  couYersation 
with  his  beloved,  reaching  to  the  close  of  the  act.f 
During  this  familiar  and  cosy  chat,  which  forms 
the  second  scene  of  the  act,  the  chorus  of  ladies 
withdraws  to  the  baclf-ground,  but  without 
leaving  the  stage  entirely ;  for  the  concluding 
words  of  Shulamith  ii.  7  are  manifestly  directed 
to  them  again,  and  that  not  as  absent,  but  as 
present  on  the  stage.  The  place  of  the  action 
must  be  supposed  to  be  some  locality  in  the 
royal  palace  or  residence  in  or  near  Jerusalem, 

some  one  of  the  "king's  chambers"  ("] 'OH  mn) 
ver.  4;  whether  precisely  the  "room  devoted  to 
wine  parties,"  the  "  wine-room  of  the  royal 
palace"  (Del.),  cannot,  as  it  seems,  be  certainly 
determined  from  the  repeated  reference  to  the 
excellence  of  wine  (i.  2,  4),  nor  from  the  men' 
tion  of   the  "house  of    wine"  (["H    TVZ  ii.  4); 

*  [So  Patrick,  Good,  Williams,  Tayloe,  Fry,  the  last  two  of 
whom  divide  ver.  5  in  like  manner,  assigning  the  wiirds  "  but 
comely,"  and  "  as  the  curtains  of  Solomon  "  to  the  daughters 
of  Jerusalem,  who  compliment  the  bride  on  her  beauty,  while 
she  in  the  remaining  clauses  speaks  depreciatingly  of  herself ; 
Taylor  also  apportions  vers.  '2.,  3  between  the  bride  and  her 
attendant  ladies,  to  whom  Fey  adds  an  imaginary  messenger 
from  the  king.  Harmer  carries  the  sub-division  of  parts  to 
an  equal  extent,  claiming  that  not  only  the  variation  in  num- 
ber, but  the  change  of  person  from  third  to  second,  and  via 
versa,  indicates  a  diversity  of  speakers.  The  majority  of  Eng- 
lish Commentators  regard  the  bride  as  the  sole  speaker  in  ver. 
2,  a.s  is  done  also  in  the  headings  to  this  chapter  in  the  author- 
ized version,  and  either  find  in  the  change  of  number  evi- 
dence of  the  plurality  involved  in  the  unity  of  the  speaker, 
(Poole,  Theupp),  or  suppose  that  she  in  thought  associates 
her  companions  with  herself,  we,  i.  e.,  "  T  and  the  virgins  fore- 
mentioned"  (AiNSWORTH),  or  that  it  is  the  language  of  mod- 
osty,  though  she  means  only  hei-self  (Clarke)]. 

t  [Pateick,  Scott  and  Taylor  suppose  it  interrupted  by  th« 
attendant  ladies  in  ver.  11]. 


EXEGETICAL    AND    CRITICAL. 

1.  For  the  explanation  of  the  title,  see  the  In- 
troduction, §  1  and  I  3.  To  the  view  of  those 
who  assign  vers.  2-4  entirely  to  the  "  daughters 
of  Jerusalem,"  and  suppose  the  words  of  Shula- 
mith to  begin  with  ver.  5  (Hitz.,  Vaih.  and 
others,  so  too  Del.)  stands  opposed — 1.  That  the 
wish  "  to  be  liissed  with  the  kisses  of  his  mouth  " 
could  scarcely  have  been  expressed  by  the  ladies 
of  the  court,  or  even  by  one  of  them,  without 
filling  Shulamith  with  indignation,  of  wliioh, 
however,  she  shows  nothing  in  what  follows. 
2.  That  the  w.ay  in  which  the  lover  is  extolled  in 
vers.  2,  3,  agrees  perfectly  with  the  fond  en- 
comiums and  euthusiastjc  descriptions  which 
Shulamith  subsequently,  i.  13,  ff.,  and  ii.  3,  ff., 
bestows  upon  her  lover.  3.  That  the  interchange 
of  the  1st  sing,  and  the  1st  plur.  plainly  points 
to  a  diversity  of  persons  speaking,  or  to  an 
alternation  between  a  single  speaker  and  a 
whole  chorus.  This  latter  circumstance  likewise 
renders  their  assumption  impossible,  wlio  (as 
Ew.,  Hengstenb.,  Weissb.  and  most  of  the  older 
interpreters)  suppose  that  the  whole  of  vers.  2-7 
is  spoken  by  Shulamith.  Undoubtedly  Shuhimith 
and  the  ladies  of  the  court  here  respond  to  each 
other  in  speech  or  song;  yet  not  so  that  only 
the  words  "  Draw  me  after  thee  .  .  .  chambers  " 
ver.  4  a  belong  to  Shulamith,  and  all  the  rest  to 
ver.  5  to  the  "  women  of  the  harem"  (so  Renan), 
but  simply  that  all  that  is  in  the  singular  is  to 
be  regarded  as  spoken  by  her  alone,  and  all  that 
is  in  the  plural  by  her  and  the  ladies  together, 
so   that  in  particular  DXIIJ  (we  will  run)  and 

U1  TvT'ii  (we  will  be  glad,  etc.)  are  to  be  assigned 
to  the  ladies  who  confirm  the  words  of  Shula- 
mith by  joining  in  them  themselves,  while  'JDtyO 

yinN  (draw  me  after  thee),  Vnn  ■]'7nn  'JS'Sn 
(the  king  has  brought  me  into  his  chambers)  and 


I.  1— II.  7. 


THt  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


53 


and  even  the  "  table  "  of  the  king  spoken  of 
i.  12  does  not  aiford  a  perfectly  sure  support  to 
this  opinion.  Oaly  it  appears  to  be  certain 
from  i.  It),  17  yiat  we  must  imagine  the  scene  to 
be  opeu  outwards,  and  to  aiford  a  prospect  of 
fresh  verdure  and  stately  trees,  such  as  cedars, 
cypresses,  etc.  It  must  therefore  have  been 
either  a  room  in  the  king's  palace  upon  Zion 
immediately  adjacent  to  parks  or  gardens,  or 
what  in  view  of  vi.  2,  3  (comp.  iv.  16)  is  still 
more  probable,  an  open  summer-house  (or  pavil- 
ion) in  the  royal  pleasure  gardens  of  Wady 
Urtas,  south  of  Jerusalem,  near  Bethlehem  and 
Etam,  in  those  magnificent  grounds  of  David's 
splendor -loving  son,  which  probably  bordered 
upon  Zion  itself,  and  theace  extended  southward 
for  several  leagues,  and  of  which  there  still  re- 
mains at  least  a  grand  aqueduct,  with  three 
basins  lying  successively  one  above  another,  the 
so-called  "pools  of  Solomon"  (comp.  K.  Forkee, 
Wanderunffen  darch  Paldstina,  Ziirich,  1865,  p. 
178,  etc.  ;  C.  Hbegt,  Paldstina,  p.  278,  etc. ; 
EwALD,  Oesehichle  des  Volkes  Israel,  III.  1,  p.  64, 
etc.).  That  Shulamith  had  formed  a  personal 
acquaintance  with  the  royal  gardens  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Jerus.alem  directly  after  she 
bad  been  brought  from  her  home  in  the  north 
of  Israel  to  Solomon's  court,  is  shown  by  her 
mention  i.  14  of  the  "vineyards"  or  "vine- 
gardens  of  Engedi,"  near  the  Dead  Sea,  five  or 
six  German  miles  south-east  of  Jerusalem,  from 
which  however  the  conclusion  must  not  be 
drawn  that  these  pleasure-grounds  of  Engedi 
formed  the  scene  of  the  action  in  the  opening 
of  the  piece ;  see  on  that  verse.  Weissbach 
very  properly  locates  the  second  scene  of  the 
Song  from  i.  9  onward  in  the  gardens  of  Solo- 
moa  near  Jerusalem,  but  puts  the  action  of  vers. 
1-8  somewhere  on  the  way  to  this  retreat,  where 
Shulamith  in  her  search  for  her  lover  chances  to 
meet  the  women  of  Jerusalem.  But  in  opposi- 
tion to  this  may  be  urged — 1.  That  there  is 
nothing  in  the  context  to  indicate  a  change  in 
the  locality  between  vers.  8  and  9.  2.  The  men- 
tion of  the  "king's  chambers"  in  ver.  4  cer- 
tainly implies  the  immediate  vicinity  of  a  royal 
palace,  and  probably  the  presence  of  the  speaker 
in  it.  3.  It  by  no  means  follows  from  the  meta- 
phors borrowed  from  pastoral  life,  in  which  Shula- 
mith speaks  of  her  lover,  ver.  7,  that  she  thought 
he  was  really  to  be  found  in  a  "pasture  ground," 
and  engaged  in  feeding  sheep.  4.  With  as  little 
propriety  can  it  be  inferred  from  ver.  8  that  Shu- 
lamith is  represented  as  wandering  about  over  the 
country  and  "  accompanied  by  some  little  kids, 
searching  for  her  lover  in  or  near  Jerusalem."  * 
2.  FiKST  Scene.  Shulamith.  Vera.  2,  3. — Let 
him  kiss  me  with  the  kisses  of  his  mouth. 
— 'JpE'' — for  which  Hitzig  needlessly  reads 
'4p.^'>  "let  him  give  me  to  drink,"  etc.  (comp. 

"'  [Taylor  and  Williams  make  the  place  to  have  been  the 
bride's  parlor  in  Solomon's  palace,  and  the  time  the  first  day 
of  the  week  preceding  the  marriage,  i.  1-8  belonging  to  the 
morning,  and  1.  9 — ii.  7  to  the  evening  of  the  day.  Bur- 
aoWBS  follows  Harmer  in  the  conjecture  that  "  in  the  open- 
ing scene  of  this  poem  the  king  had  probably  gone  forth,  ac- 
cording to  Oriental  customs,  to  meet  the  bride,  and  was 
awaiting  her  with  his  princely  retinue  in  an  encampment 
where  his  rich  pavilion,  ver.  5,  stood  pre-eminent.  The  spouse 
on  coming  in  sight  of  those  kingly  tents,  gives  utterance  to 
the  strong  emotions  of  her  heart]." 


viii.  2)— is  manifestly  the  utterance  of  a  wish, 
"0  that  he  would  kiss  me;"  and  its  subject  is 
not  •irr'S,  "his  mouth,"  which  is  too  remote  and 
manifestly  stands  in  a  genitive  relation  to  nip'E'J 
"kisses;"  nor  nip'K'ip,  equivalent  to  "one  of 
his  kisses"  (Ewald,  E.  Meier),  for  "a  kiss 
kisses  not  but  is  kissed,  and  mp'E'ilD  includes  an 
accusative "  (Hitzio).  The  speaker's  lover  is 
rather  thought  of  as  the  kissing  subject,  the 
same,  whom  iu  the  vividness  of  her  conception 
she  immediately  afterwards  in  b  and  in  ver.  3 
addresses  in  the  second  person,  as  though  he  who 
is  so  ardently  longed  for  were  already  present.* 
The  partitive  ]Q  properly  points  to  but  one  or  a 
few  kisses  of  her  lover  as  the  object  of  the  be- 
loved's wish;  comp.  Gen.  xx'viii.  11;  Ex.  xvi. 
27;  Ps.  cxxxii.  11,  and  generally  "Ew.,  Lehr., 
I  217,  b,  294,  c.  [Green's  lieb.  Gram.,  ^  242,  a]  ; 
J.  H,  MicHAELis,  in  loc,  "  uno  tantiim  vel  altera  dt 
osculis." — "Kisses  of  his  mouth  "■(■  are,  moreover, 
in  contrast  with  the  idolatrous  custom  of  hand- 
kisses,  or  kissing  the  hand  to  any  one  (Job  xxxl. 
27;  comp.  Del.,  in  loc),  tokens  of  honest  love 
and  affection  between  blood  relations  and  friends 
(Gen.  xxix.  11  ;  xxxiii.  4;  xli.  40 ;  1  Sam.  x.  1; 
XX.  41 ;  comp.  Ps.  ii.  12),  and  especially  between 
lovers  (Prov.  vii.  13).  It  is  not  likely  that  the 
similarity  of  the  words  pW2  kiss  and  Hpiy  drink 
gave  occasion  to  the  comparison  in  b  of  caresses 
with  wine  (Weissb.)  ;  this  comparison  is  of  itself 
a  very  natural  one  ;  comp.  iv.  10;  v.  1  ;  viii.  2. — 
For  better  is  thy  love  than  'wine. — D'"iT 
different  from  D^'l']  "breasts,  paps"  (which 
the  LXX  here  express  by  fiacroi,  and  the  Vulg. 
by  ubera  [so  Wic,  Gov.,  Dow.]),  as  well  as  from 
Cin  plur.  of  in  "beloved"  (v.  1), denotes  ma- 
nifestations of  love,  caresses,  (piXofppoabvat  (comp. 
iv.  10,  11;  vii.  13;  Prov.  vii.  18;  Ezek.  xvi.  8'; 
xxiii.  17),  i.  e.,  dalliance,  exhibition  of  n^HX 
(vii.  7  ;  viii.  6),  fond  endearments,  (iu  bad  taste 
VAIH.,  "iic4e/ej,"  flirtation. )  In  the  comparison  of 
such  love  with  wine,  the  tertium  comparationis  is,  as 
is  shown  by  the  parallels  iv.  10,  ff.;  v.  1;  vii.  9,  ff. 
not  the  intoxicating  power  of  wine,  but  primarily 
its  sweetness  J  only  ;  comp.  Acts  ii.  13.  The  figure 
of  intoxication  indicates  a  higher  grade  of  loving 
ecstasy  than  is  here  intended,  comp.  v.  1  b;  Prov. 
v.  19;  vii.  18,  and  in  gener.il  Weissb.,  in  loc. 
Ver.  3.  In  fragrance  thine  unguents  are 

good. — rC^y,  "  in  respect  to  odor,  as  to  fra- 
grance," limits  D''31!3,  "  good  "  (comp.  Josh.  xxii. 
10;  1  Kings  x.  23  ;  Job  xxxii.  4),  and  is  emphati- 
cally placed  at  the  beginning  of  the  sentence. 
Commonly:  "to  the  smell,"  or  "for  the  smell," 
against  which,  however,  lies  the  twofold  objec- 
tion :  1,  that  n'''l-denotes  not  the  organ  of  smell, 
nor  the  act  of  smelling,  but  the  odor  which  any 


*  [Patrick.  As  in  John  xx.  15  "  the  pronoun  is  used  with- 
out a  consciousness  of  the  absence  of  the  antecedent.  Her 
heart  is  so  full  that  she  supposes  every  one  must  know  who 
she  means  by  /urn-]." 

f  [  "  Permission  to  kiss  the  hand  of  a  sovereign  is  considered 
an  honor ;  but  for  that  sovereign  to  give  another  the  kisses 
of  his  mouth,  is  evidence  of  the  tenderest  affection,  and  is  the 
highest  possible  honor." — Burrowes.] 

t  [ "  Thy  love  is  more  reviving  and  exhilarating  than  the  ef- 
fects of  wine.  Comp.  Ps.  civ.  15 ;  Prov.  xxxi.  6."— """"'"""•"t 


54 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


I.  1— II.  7. 


thing  exhales  {odor,  halitus),  comp.  i.  12  ;  ii.  13  ; 
iv.  10;  yii.  14;  Hos.  xIt.  7,  etc.;  2,  it  is  not 
ry"h,  but  simply  nnS.  Hitzig's  construction  is 
quite  too  artificial ;  he  connects  3  a  with  2  J  as 
its  sublimitation,  and  translates  "  thy  caresses 
are  more  precious  than  wine  with  the  odor  of  thy 
precious  ointment  "  (oomp.  the  like  mode  of  con- 
nection adopted  in  the  Vulg.,  "ubera—fTagantia 
unguenlis  optimis"  [so  CovERDALE,  DowatJ).  So 
also  is  that  of  Weissbach,  "  thy  ointments  are 
good  to  serve  as  a  perfume,"  where  too  much  is 
evidently  foisted  into  the  simple  n"1^.*— An  un- 
guent which  la  poured  forth  is  thy  name. 

The  comparison  of  a  good  name  with  a  fragrant 

unguent  is  also  found,  and  on  the  basis  of  this 
passage  in  Hos.  xiv.  7,  8 ;  Eccles.  vii.  1 ;  Ecolus. 
xlix.  1.  The  ideas  of  smelling  and  being  (or  be- 
ing named,  bearing  this  or  that  name)  are,  as  a 
general  fact,  closely  related  through  the  interme- 
diate notion  of  breathing,  respiring  ;  comp.  in 
German  "  Geriicht,  ruchbar."-f  That  the  name 
of  the  lover  is  thus  compared  to  a  costly 
perfume  diffusing  u.  wide  fragrance  (comp. 
Mark  xiv.  3 ;  John  xii.  3)  plainly  indicates 
that  it  is  only  the  renowned  King  Solomon, 
an  actual  possessor  of  DW  (name,  i.  c,  fame, 
gloria— eomp.  Prov.  xxii.  1;  1  Kings  i.  47;  Job 
XXX.  3),  who  can  be  thought  of  as  this  lover,  and 
not  a  simple  country  swain  (so  Weissb.  properly 
against  Herd.,  Umbr.,  c/c.).— Therefore  vir- 
gins love  thee — i.  e.,  not  barely  on  account  of 
this  thy  renown,  but  on  account  of  all  the  excel- 
lencies  celebrated   in  ver.   2,  3.     Observe    that 

nioSj;  is  without  the  article.  It  is  not  the  virgins 
universally,  but  simply  virgins,  such  as  Shula- 
mith  herself,  or  the  "daughters  of  Jerusalem," 
the  ladies  of  Solomon's  court,  by  whom  she  sees 
herself  surrounded,  that  she  describes  as  lovers, 
as  reverential  admirers  of  the  graceful,  brilliant 
and  lovely  king.  The  guileless  country  lass,  who 
has  but  recently  been  transferred  into  the  circle 
of  the  countless  virgins  of  the  royal  court  (comp. 
vi.  8)  here  accounts  to  herself  for  the  fact  that 
many  other  virgins  besides  her  are  attached  to  the 
king  with  admiring  devotion  and  love  ;  comp.,  4.  e. 

3.  Shulamith  and  the  daughters  of  Jeru- 
salem. 

Ver.  4.  Draw  me  after  thee — as  it  is  to  be 
translated  with  thoTAEG.,  Luth.  and  most  of  the 
recent  expositors,  connecting  contrary  to  the 
common  accentuation  ^''inx  with  ''J3K'n,  which 
requires  it  as  its  proper  complement;  J  comp.  Hos. 

*  [  Weiss.:  Besides  or  in  addition  to  tlie  savor,  pXc.  A  sense 
whieh  tlie  prep,  rarely  lias,  and  which  is  neither  admissible 
hero  nor  in  Ex.  xiv.  28  ;  Lev.  xi.  20  ;  xvi.  16,  to  which  he  ap- 
peals. Incorrectly  also  the  Eng.  Ver. :  Because  of  the  savor, 
etc.,  which  must  then  be  connected  with  "  therefore,"  cte.,  in 
the  last  clause,  the  second  clause  being  parenthetic.  "  She 
has  ointments  preparatory  to  her  exaltation ;  just  as  Esther 
was  purified  to  go  in  to  the  king,  Bsth.  ii.  12." — Withington]. 
t[Comp.  Eng.  'To  be  in  good  or  bad  odor'  for  good  or  ill  re- 
pute. This  explanation  of  the  relation  of  these  ideas,  which  is 
developed  at  length  by  Baf.hr,  Symholik  d.  Mos.  CuUuj,  I.,  p. 
459  ff.,  appears  to  be  too  subtle  and  remote.  It  is  simpler  to 
find  the  connection  in  the  fact  that  the  odor,  like  the  name, 
indicates  the  character  or  quality  of  that  from  which  it  pro- 
ceeds, or  to  which  it  belongs.  It  is  an  elliux  from  the  object 
itself,  the  impression  which  it  makes  ad  centra. — Tr.] 

X  [  There  seems  to  be  no  suflScient  reason  for  departing  from 
the  authority  of  the  accents  in  the  present  instance.  "  We 
will  run  "  requires  "  after  thee  "  as  its  complement  to  indicate 


xi.  4;  Jer.  xxxi.  3.     By  this  drawing  is  meant, 
as  appears   from   6,  a  drawing  into    the   king's 
chambers,  or  at  least  into  immediate  proximity 
to  him,  not  a  conducting  out  of  the  palace  into 
the  country,  as  the  advocates  of  ftie  swain-hypo- 
thesis suppose,  who  see  in  these  words  an  ardent 
call  upon  her  distant  lover. — We  will  run — 
i.  e.,  not,  "  let  us  take  flight,  and  hasten  hence  " 
[so  GiNSBURG  ;   "Oh,  let  us  flee  together  !"],  aa 
though  here  again  there  were  a  cry  for  help  to 
her  absent  lover ;  but :    "we  will  hasten  to  him," 
viz.:  the  gracious  king;    a  lively  exclamation  ut- 
tered by  Shulamith,  and  at  the  same  time  by  the 
chorus  of  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  catching 
the  word  from  her. — The  king  has  brought 
me  into  his  chambers — a  simple  expression 
of  the  virgin's  rapturous  joy  at  the  high  honor 
and   delight  granted  her  by  the  king.     As  the 
words  stand,  they  contain  neither  an  indirect  pe- 
tition or  complaint  addressed  to  her  distant  lover 
(to  which  the  following  clauses  of  the  verse  would 
agree  poorly  enough),  nor  a  wish  directed  to  the 
king — as  though  the  preterite  ''J*<'pn  were  to  be 
taken  in  the  sense  of  a  precative  or  optative :   "0 
that   the  king  h.ad  brought  me  into  his  cham- 
bers" (so,  o.g.,  Hug,  Weissb,),  nor  finally  a  con- 
dition dependent  on  the  following   Ul   Tivii  (so 
Hahn,  who  supplies  DX,  if,  before  ''JXUrj.     "If 
the  king  brings  me  into  his  chambers,  we  will,"* 
cte.     Furthermore,  the  "king's  chambers"  are 
by  no  means  simply  identical  with  the  harem,  the 
house  of  the  w«men  belonging  to  the  royal  palace 
(Vaih.,  Ken.,  etc.);  this  would  rather  have  been 
designated  XrWiT\   ^"3,  as  in  Esth.  ii.  3,  9,  ff.,  or 
simply  called  HO,  house,  as  in  1  Kings  vii.  8  ;  ix. 
24;   Ps.  Ixviii.  13,  etc.     They  are   2    Sam.  iv.  7; 
xiii.  10,  the  king's  own  rooms  in  the  palace,  his 
sleeping  apartments  and  sitting-rooms,  jurae^raim 
regis,  in  distinction  from  those  of  his  wives  and 
the  ladies  of  the  court,  which  formed  a  particular 
division  of  the  royal  palace.     Comp.  1  Kings  vii. 
8  ;  Esth.  ii.  12-14.     Into  these   the   king's   own 
innermost  apartments,  Shulamith,  as  the  favored 
object   of  his   special  love,  had  been  repeatedly 
brought, — nay,  she  has  in  them  her  own  proper 
abode  and  residence.     She   had  therefore  a  per- 
fect right  to  say :  "  The  king  has  brought  me  into 
his  chambers"! — We  w^ill  exult  and  be  glad 
in   thee. — With   these  words,  which  recall  Ps. 
xxxi.  7;  cxviii.  24;  Isa.  xxv.  9;   Joel  ii.  21,  23, 
the  ladies  of  the  court  again  chime  in  with  the 
language  of  Shulamith,  in  order  to  commend  with 
her  the  happiness  of  belonging  to  the  number  of 
those  who  were  loved  by  the  king.     '^3,  in  thee. 


the  direction  of  the  running  more  than  "  draw  mo,"  where 
the  direction  is  sufficiently  implied.  The  violation  of  the  ac- 
cents is  merely  for  the  sake  of  evading  the  evidence  alTorded 
by  the  masc.  pron.  ^"""inX,  that  "after  thee  we  will  run"  is 

still  the  language  of  the  bride  to  Solomon — not  of  her  virgin 
companions  to  the  bride. — Tr]. 

*  I  So  too  Weiss.  :  "  W^hen  the  king  shall  have  brought  me ;" 
nor  is  it  a  prophetic  preterite,  the  bride  anticipating  the  time 
when  she  shall  be  brought  (Thrupp).  Ginsburg  insists  that 
the  changes  of  person  in  this  verse  "  clearly  show  that  the 
king  hero  referred  to  is  a  separate  person  from  the  beloved  to 
whom  the  maiden  is  addressing  herself."  But  he  is  compelled 
to  acknowledge  that  just  before  in  ver.  2  the  third  person 
and  the  second  both  refer  to  the  same  subject. — Tr.] 

t  [This  would  seem  to  compel  the  conclusion  that  the  mar- 
riage has  already  taken  place,  and  ia  not  still  future,  aa  our 
author  supposes. — Tr.] 


r.  1— II.  7. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


SO 


belongs  in  equal  measure  to  both  verbs ;  comp. 
Isa.  Ixv.  19. — We  vrill  celebrate  thy  love 
more  than  -wine. — Comp.  ver.  2. — Rightly  do 
they  love  thee. — The  most  obvious  construction 
is  to  make  the  virgins  again  the  subject,  as  in  3 
c,  and  consequently  to  regard  Shulamith  as  again 
the  speaker.  But  the  3d  plur.  might  also  be 
taken  impersonally  (they,  i.  e.,  people  generally 
love  thee.  Comp.  ID',  they  despise,  viii.  1),  and 
then  the  clause  might  be  spoken  by  the  entire 
chorus.     D'^i^'D,  an  adverbial   accusative  (as, 

e.  g.,  D'sSa,  wonderfully.  Lam.  i.  9),  means  nei- 
ther "without  reserve"  (Weissb.),  nor  "sin- 
cerely" (Gesen.,  Del.)  [ao  Notes;  Eng.  Ver. 
marg.:  uprightly],  but,  as  appears  from  the  con- 
text and  the  parallels  Ps.  Iviii.  2;  Ixxv.  3,  "with 
good  reason,  rightly"  (Bw.,  Hitzig,  Vaih.,  etc.). 
This  word  is  taken  as  the  subject  by  the  Sept. 
(fiiJ{in?f),  Vulg.  [recti  diligunt  te),  Hengstenb. 
(rectitudes,  i.  e.,  abst.  for  concrete,  the  upright 
love  thee),  Umbr.  (0  favorite  of  all  the  virtues), 
etc.  [so  Eng.  Ver.,  Thrcpp,  Wordsworth,  With- 
INGTON,  Ginsburq],  interpretations  as  ungram- 
matical  as  they  are  unsuited  to  the  connection. 
The  attempts  at  emendation  proposed  by  Velth., 
ScHBLLiNG,  AuGUSTi,  are  altogether  unnecessary* 
(see  Weissb.,  in  loc). 

4.  Shulamith.  Vers.  5-7. 

Ver.  6.  Black  I  am,  but  comely. — The  ex- 
planation of  the  fact  that  she  was  black 
(minsy)  contained  in  the  following  verse  shows 
that  by  this  blackness  can  only  be  meant  her  be- 
ing browned  by  the  hot  sun.  Then  too  in  Lam. 
iv.  8  the  substantive  linE?  denotes  only  the  livid 
or  swarthy  appearance  of  one  who  has  suffered 
long  from  famine  and  wretchedness,  and  in  this 
very  passage  the  strong  expression  "black"  is 
qualified  by  the  diminutive  "blackish"  (n^'niriK/) 
in  the  verse  immediately  following. — Moreover, 
the  whole  statement  before  us  was  occasioned  ac- 
cording to  ver.  6,  by  the  curious  looks  with 
which  Shulamith  had  meanw'hile  been  regarded 
by  many  of  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  and  pro- 
bably also  by  jeering  remarks  which  they  had 
made  (comp.  ver.  8).  "  But  comely  "  [Taylor: 
attractive,  engaging]  (HIKJ.,  lit.,  "agreeable")  ; 
the  plain  country  maid  hereby  expresses  with 
ftank,  straightforward  simplicity  her  conscious- 
ness that  nevertheless  she  was  not  altogether  un- 
worthy of  the  love  of  Solomon.  There  is  no  vain 
self-laudation  in  the  words. — As  the  tents  of 
Kedar,  as  the  curtains  of  Solomon.— The 
first  of  these  comparisons  is  designed  to  illustrate 
and  set  before  the  mind  the  idea  of  blackness,  the 
second  that  of  comeliness  or  elegance.  "Kedar 
is  a  Bedawiu  tribe  near  Palestine  in  the  Arabian 
desert.  Gen.  xxv.  13  ;  Isa.  xxi.  17,  which  is  here 
named  in  preference  to  all  others,  simply  because 
the  name  ^^P  seems  originally  to  denote 
"blackness."  ^  Tents  of  poor  Bedawins,  which 
are  always  exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  sun,  must 
certainly  appear  blacker  and  less  attractive  than 
those  of  Solomon ;  and  we  need  not  therefore 
with  other  interpreters  (see  especially  Fitz.  and 

•[Frt,  who  disregards  the  points;  they  do  right  in  loving 
tlioe.    ftooD  alter*  the  text  into :  thou  art  every  way  lovely.] 


Weissb.  who  refer  to  the  observations  of  modern 
travellers  as  dellaValle,Burckhabdt,1Iarmer, 
VoLNEY,  etc.,)  have  recourse  to  the  tents  now  com- 
monly covered  with  black  goat  skins,  as  Shulamith 
only  has  in  mind  the  blackness  caused  by  tlie 
sun's  rays.  But  Solomon's  tents  as  a  figure  of  the 
greatest  elegance  can  only  correspond  to  DIXJ 
comely.  We  may  without  difficulty  assume  that 
the  splendor-loving  Solomon  adopted  the  cus- 
tom of  oriental  monarchs  of  living  in  tents  once 
in  the  year  in  some  charming  district  and  in  the 
utmost  elegance  and  splendor  (comp.  the  re- 
marks above,  ver.  1,  respecting  the  pleasure 
grounds  at  Etham  and  Engedi.)  It  is,  therefore, 
wholly  unnecessary  to  understand  by  rii^'"]'  (with 
Del.,  Hitz.,  cte.,)  tapestry,*  which  is  neither  per- 
mitted by  usage  nor  by  etymology,  from  yy  con- 
tinuit,  prop,  velum,  then  tent-cloth."  We  shall 
have  in  the  main  to  abide  by  this  explanation  of 
the  passage  given  by  Ewald,  although  we  might 
assign  to  ny'T  a  different  etymology,  and  derive 
it  perhaps  with  Gesenius  from  yy  to  tremble, 
flutter,  or  with  Weissb.  from  ^y  to  be  bad,  i.  e., 
of  coarse,  inferior  workmanship.  The  two  com- 
parisons are  in  any  case  understood  in  quite  too 
artificial  a  manner  by  the  latter  and  by  several 
others,  who  assume  that  both  the  tents  of  Kedar  and 
the  tent-coverings  of  Solomon  set  forth  the  pecu- 
liar combination  of  dark  color  with  attractiveness 
in  Shulamith's  looks  (for  which  an -appeal  is  made 
to  the  testimony  of  travellers  like  D'Akvieux, 
Shaw,  etc.,  according  to  whom  a  plain  filled  with 
the  black  tents  of  the  Bedawin  presents  a  very 
pleasing  and  even  beautiful  spectacle. )  In  oppo- 
sition toBoTTCHER's  vicw,  who  though  he  assigns 
the  words  "Black  am  I,  daughters  of  Jerusa- 
lem, as  the  tents  of  Kedar  "  to  the  "  vinedresser," 
i.  e.,  to  Shulamith,  refers  the  rest  ("but  comely  " 
and  "as  the  tent  cloths  of  Solomon")  to  an  "elder- 
ly princess,"  who  looks  with  astonishment  at  the 
new  comer,  comp.  Hitz.  in  loc,  who  properly  re- 
bukes the  extravagance  of  the  dissecting  mania 
here  exhibited. 

Ver.  6.  Look  not  at  me  because  I  am 
dusky,  because  the  sun  has  scorched  me. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  context  to  indicate  that 
the  "look  "  is  one  of  approval,  in  admiration  of 
herbeautyf  (sersws Bottchee,  HiTZ.,e(c.)  Comp. 
above  on  ver.  5.  My  mother's  sons  were 
angry  vsrith  me.  Velth.,  Umbr.,  Ewald 
needlessly  think  of  step -brothers  or  half- 
brothers  ;  the  passages  adduced  for  this  pur- 
pose Lev.  xviii.  9;  xx.  11:  Deut.  xxiii.  2, 
etc.,  are  outweighed  by  many  others  as  Gen. 
xxvii.  29;  Ps.  1.  20;  Ixix.  9;  Deut.  xiii.  7,  where 
"mother's  sons"  corresponds  in  the  parallelism 
to  "  brothers,"  and  consequently  is  entirely  sy- 
nonymous with  it.  And  this  expression  is  the  less 
surprising  in  Shulamith's  mouth  since  like  a  true 
Hebrew  daughter  she  is  in  the  habit  of  denomi- 
nating everything  after  her  mother  ;  comp.  "my 
mother's  house,"  iii.  4;  viii.  2,  and  so  too  Ruth 
i.  8.  We  need  not  even  assume  that  she  would 
intimate  a  less  favorable  judgment  of  her  brothers 

*  [Eno.  Ver.,  curtains,  Ainswoeth  :  the  goodly  hangings 
that  were  in  his  house  and  about  his  bed.] 

t  [Look  not  disdainfully  upon  me,  Hall  ;  do  not  too  accu- 
rately scrutinize,  Tayloe  ;  Gaze  with  wonder  at  her  presump- 
tion, Notes.] 


56 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


I.  1— II.  7. 


as  more  or  less  strange  or  distant  in  their  bear- 
ing to  her  (RocKE,  Hitz.)  ;  and  there  is  still  less 
to  justify  the  assumption  that  her  brothers  are 
by  this  expression  emphatically  designated  as 
Shulamith's  own  brothers-german  {vs.  JlAGNUS.) 
Yet  it  may  with  considerable  probability  be  in- 
ferred from  the  expression  before  us,  that  Shula- 
mith's father  was  no  longer  living  at  the  time  of 
this  transaction,  and  her  brothers  had  assumed 
the  prerogatives  of  a  father  (comp.  Gen.  xxxiv. 
5,  tr.  ;  2  Sam.  xiii.  20  flf.),  but  that  her  mother 
meanwhile  was  still  living,  which  also  seems  to  be 
favored  by  vi.  9,  (viii.  2;  iii.  4).— Made  me 
keeper  of  the  vineyards.  This  manifestly 
does  not  assign  the  reason  of  her  brothers'  an- 
ger, nor  is  this  intimated  in  the  following  clause 
(vs.  Hengsteneerg  and  E.  Meiek),  it  is  rather 
passed  over  in  silence  as  irrelevant.  But  this 
clause  tells  what  her  brothers  did  in  consequence 
of  their  anger,  and  then  the  last  clause  states 
what  further  happened  to  her  when  degraded  into 
a  vineyard-keeper. — Mine   own   vineyard  I 

have  not  kept. — The  addition  of  ^IW  not  only 
gives  a  special  emphasis  to  the  suffix  in  'D"13, 
but  distinguishes  the  vineyard  of  Sbulamith  here 
named  as  quite  distinct  and  of  another  sort  from 
those  of  her  brothers,  which  she  had  been 
obliged  to  keep  (so  viii.  12).  It  is  a  vineyard  of  a 
higher  and  more  valuable  kind,  which  alas !  she 
had  not  carefully  guarded.  She  herself  with  all 
that  she  has  and  is,  must  be  intended  by  this 
vineyard  of  her  own  (comp.  Del.  and  Weissb.  in 
loc),  oritmaybeherbeauty  (Ew.jDciPKE.,  Magn., 
Heiliost.,  Hitz.,  Vaih.), — at  all  events  every 
thing  that  she  had  to  surrender  to  Solomon  and 
devote  to  him  when  she  became  his  beloved  and 
followed  him.  There  is,  in  these  words,  no  se- 
rious lament  for  her  lost  virtue  (on  the  con- 
trary see  iv.  12-16)  or  for  her  forsaken  lover  (as 
BoTTCHEB,  Meier  and  tentatively  also  Vaih.  ) ; 
but  they  contain  a  lament  half  in  jest  or  with 
mingled  sadness  and  irony  for  her  forfeited 
freedom,  for  w^hich  she  constantly  longs  in  spite 
of  her  attachment  to  her  royal  lover.  In  favor 
of  this  double  meaning  of  "  vineyard"  may  also 
be  urged  the  etymology  ot  D^3>  which  agreeably 
to  its  derivation  from  the  root  D^D,  signifies  the 
"noblest,"  the  "most  valued  possession,"  the 
"highest  good,"  (comp.  Hos.  ii.  17;  Isa.  v.  7; 
Ps.  xvi.  6,  as  well  as  Ewald  and  Hitziq  in  loc). 
Ver.  7.  Tell  me,  thou  vsrhom  my  soul 
loveth,  where  feedest  thou?  To  this  dreamy 
exclamation  of  longing  desire  for  her  still  absent 
lover,  the  close  of  the  preceding  verse  forms  a 
thoroughly  appropriate  introduction.  Despoiled 
of  her  freedom  and  her  beloved  home  she  can 
only  then  feel  happy  amid  the  new  and  splendid 
objects  which  surround  her,  when  he  from  love 
to  whom  she  has  forsaken  all  and  to  whom  her 
whole  heart  belongs,  is  actually  close  beside  her. 

^7  riTjn  "inform  me"  not  "cause  me  to  be  in- 
formed," for  Tjn  always  denotes  an  immediate 
declaration  or  announcement.  This  expression 
would  manifestly  be  less  suited  to  an  address  to  a 
far  distant  lover.  The  paraphrase  of  the  idea  ''111 
by  the  fond  circumlocution  ' '  whom  my  soul  loveth" 
is  found  four  times  beside  in  the  beautiful  section 


iii.  1-4. — Shulamith  represents  her  royal  lover 
as  "  feeding"  and  then  as  "  reclining"  (or  more 
exactly  as  "causing  to  recline,"  ms.,  his  flock) 
simply  because,  as  a  plain  country  girl,  she  sup- 
poses that  she  can  directly  transfer  to  him  the  re- 
lations and  occupations  of  country  life,  and  hence 
assumes  that  the  king  may  now  be  somewhere  in 
the  fields  with  his  flocks,  and  have  sought  with 
them  some  shady  resting-place  as  a  protection 
from  the  hot  noon-day  sun.  That  Solomon  was 
just  then  residing  in  his  pleasure  grounds  near 
Jerusalem,  that  is  to  say  in  the  country,  might 
favor  this  artless  conception  of  hers  (comp.  above 
on  ver.  5.)  But  the  assumption  of  Weissbaoh  is 
needless,  that  Solomon  was  then  actually  engaged 
in  the  over-sight  of  his  flocks  (Eccles.  ii.  7)  like 
Absalom  and  his  brothers  who,  according  to  2 
Sam,  xiii.  23,  S.,  were  accustomed  to  manage 
the  sheep-shearing  themselves,  and  to  convert  it 
into  a  merry-making.  Nothing  further  is  to  be 
sought  in  the  expressions  before  us,  than  a  ready 
trope  from  pastoral  life,  and  consequently  one  of 
those  criteria  which  mark  this  poem  as  at  least  a 
partially  idyllic  or  pastoral  drama  (comp.  Intro- 
duc.  1 1,  Rem.  3).  That  Joseph's  going  to  the 
pasturage  of  his  brethren.  Gen.  xxxvii.  15,  16, 
was  what  specially  suggested  the  present  figura- 
tive representation  is  too  far-fetched,  though  as- 
serted by  Hengsteneerg,  and  connected  with  his 
allegorical  mode  of  interpretation.  Parallels  for 
this  "  reclining  at  noon  "  may  better  be  adduced 
from  the  figurative  language  of  the  prophets,  as 
Isa.  xlix.  10;  Ps.  xxiii.  2;  Ezek.  xxxiv.  13-15, 
or  even  from  the  ancient  classics,  as  Theoceittis, 
Id.,  i.  14,  15;  vi.  4;  xxv.  216:  Horace,  Od., 
III.  xxix.  21  ;  ViRG.  Georff.  III.  324  ff.* 


[*  The  introduction  ot  these  figures  from  pastoral  life  has 
occasioned  much  needless  perplexity  among  interpreters. 
Clarke  says :  "  How  this  would  apply  either  to  Solomon  or 
to  the  princess  of  Egypt,  is  not  easy  to  ascertain.  Probably 
in  the  marriage  festival  there  was  something  like  our  masks, 
in  which  persons  of  quality  assumed  rural  characters  and 
their  employments."  Some  have  thought  this  to  be  a  sepa- 
rate and  independent  composition,  unconnected  with  the  pre- 
ceding in  which  the  king  was  spoken  of.  So  besides  the  Ger- 
man fragmentists.  Fry,  who  begins  a  new  idyl  with  ver.  1  on 
account  of  "  the  entire  change  of  imagery."  Others  maintain 
that  the  unity  of  the  poem  is  unbroken,  but  insist  that  the 
king  and  the  shepherd  are  distinct  persons ;  so  Ginsburg  and 
the  entire  class  of  interpreters  to  which  he  belongs,  and  ex- 
tremes meeting  here  as  not  infrequently  elsewhere,  allegori- 
cal interpreters  have  gone  so  far  in  the  same  direction  as  to 
allege  that  these  diverse  representations  are  incompatible  in 
application  to  any  literal  subject,  and  that  no  consistent  sense 
can  be  made  of  them  but  by  referring  them  to  Christ.  This, 
however,  is  to  prejudice  the  beauty  and  perfection  of  the  alle- 
gory, and  to  damage  the  spiritual  interpretation  of  the  Song 
itself  The  author  of  the  Song  is  not  writing  directly  of 
Christ  and  His  church,  but  only  under  the  figure  of  a  bride- 
groom and  his  bride.  His  language  must,  therefore,  in  all 
cases  have  immediate  application  to  the  latter,  and  can  set 
forth  the  former  only  as  the  character  and  relations  in  which 
the  more  immediate  subjects  are  presented,  serve  as  their 
faithful  image.  If  this  image  is  distorted,  wanting  in  con- 
sistency, and  its  various  parts  mutually  discordant,  the  effect 
of  the  whole  is  marred,  its  beauty  and  its  truth  are  defaced. 
It  is  at  least  safe  to  say  that  this  is  an  assumption,  which 
should  not  be  made  without  necessity. 

The  objection  to  the  explanation  of  the  bride's  language 
given  by  ZiicKLER  is,  that  it  seems  to  impute  to  her  the  silly 
conceit  that  her  royal  husband  or  betrothed  was  actually  en- 
gaged in  the  occupation  ot  a  shepherd,  and  it  makes  the  reply 
by  the  daughters  of  .Jerusalem  utterly  unmeaning,  ^itb- 
INOTON  presents  three  alternatives,  the  last  of  which  is  the 
only  simple  and  natural  one.  This  qjeech  "  may  be  a  natu- 
ral mistake  of  the  rural  lass  on  her  first  union  with  the  king, 
or  it  may  be  the  king  went  into  her  country  to  rusticate,  or 
it  may  bo  an  allegorical  expression  by  which  she  signifies 
that  the  king  is  a  shepherd  and  his  kingdom  is  a  flock."  Wil- 
liams :  "  If  he  be  like  a  good  shepherd  feeding  his  flock,  ad- 


X.  1— II.  7. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


5T 


For  why  should  I  be  as  one  straying  ?  etc. 
Tfl6)J2  is  very  variously  explained.  T\Q^  "  to 
cover"  is  commonly  regarded  as  its  theme,  and 
it  is  accordingly  translated  "  as  one  veiled  "  [so 
Eng.  Ver.  margin]  i.  e.,  as  a  harlot,  Gen.  xxxviii. 
14,  15  (RosENM.,  Del.)  [so  Thrupp,  Burkowes, 
Notes];  or  as  "one  ashamed,  veiled  through 
shame"  (Umbreit,  Dopke,  Hengstenbehg),  or 
"as   one  unknown"    (Ewald,    Heiliqst.,    who 


compare  the  Arab. 


obscurus  fuit,  oc- 


mltavit)  [Williams  :  as  a  stranger],  or  "  as  a, 
mourner,"  (so  some  of  the  older  commentators,  as 
R.  Solomon  ben  Melek,  [Ainswokth]  after  2 
Sam.  XV.  30).  [Weiss.  :  Muifled  up  as  eastern  wo- 
men always  were  when  exposed  lo  the  eyes  of 
strangers,  and  as  a  shepherdess  subject  to  insolent 
and  injurious  treatment  from  the  shepherds,  comp. 
Ex.  ii.  16-19].  But  the  signification  "cover"  can 
no  more  be  proved  for  DBJ?,  than  that  of  "  pining 
away,"  which  ScHnLTENS  {Op.  Min.  p.  240),  Rocke 
and  others  have  sought  to  establish  for  the  word. 
The  Vulgate  (ne  vagari  incipiam),  Stmmaoh.  (cOf 
pe/iBofihi)),  Str.  and  Taro.,  favor  the  meaning  of 
wandering  or  straying,  which  is  admirably  suited 
to  the  content ;  [Clarke  :  as  a  wanderer  ;  one 
who  not  knowing  where  to  find  her  companions 
wanders  fruitlessly  in  seeking  them.]  In  proof  of 
it  -we  shall  not  need  Bottcher's  emendation 
iTOiyp  ("as  a,  country-stroller"),  but  simply 
Hitzig's  assumption  that  PI'DJ?  by  a  transposi- 
tion of  the  y  is  for  ni;i;3  (=  n^^P  comp.  Gen. 
xxxvii.   15) ;    comp.    ffi;'  =  <]3;\  ^Dj?  =  Arab. 

,     8,  .^    etc.,  (a  view  as  old  as  Kleueer  in  loc, 

who  with  S.  BooHART  actually  proposes  to 'read 
rryB3).  The  following  expression  "  by  the 
flocks  of  thy  companions  "  is  closely  connected 
with  this  idea  as  the  more  exact  limitation  of  the 
"straying."  The  "straying  by  the  flocks  of  the 
king's  companions,"  is  nothing  but  a  figure  of 
speech  for  remaining  among  the  throng  of  ladies 
in  the  royal  court  without  the  presence  of  the 
king  himself;  and  that  is  just  the  veritably  deso- 
late and  forlorn  condition,  from  which  Shula- 
milh  wishes  to  be  released  by  the  return  of  her 
lover.  HiTZiG  arbitrarily  explains  the  wander- 
ing of  a  wandering  of  her  thoughts ;  and  still 
more  arbitrarily  Weissbaoh  seeks  to  give  to  T\Q}) 

(with  the  following  7^  for  7N)  the  sense  of 
"laying  hands  upon,  purloining"  ("that  I,  by 
the  flocks  of  thy  companions,  be  not  regarded  as 
one  who  will  lay  hands  upon  them,"  and  for  that 
reason  is  sneaking  about  them  watching  his  op- 
portunity.) 

5.  The  daughters  of  Jerusalem. 

Ver.  8.  If  thou  knovr  not,  fairest  among 
women,  etc.  This  address  (lit.  "  the  fair  (one) 
among  the  women."  compare  [Green's  He- 
brew Orammar,  §  260,  2  (2)],  Ewald,  Lehrbuch, 
i  513,  e.)   which  is   also  used  v.  9;  vi.  1  by  the 

ministering  public  benefits  and  dispensing  judgment,  why 
should  not  I  enjoy  the  common  benefit  f  If  he  be  indulging 
in  retirement,  why  may  not  I,  who  am  admitted  as  his  wife, 
enjoy  his  company  and  conversation  ?"] 


"daughters  of  Jerusalem"  in  speaking  to  Shu- 
lamith,  does  not  prove  that  the  counsel  here  given 
"  to  follow  the  tracks  of  the  flocks  and  pasture 
her  kids  beside  the  shepherds'  huts"  is  a  seri- 
ously meant  exhortation  to  Shulamith  to  return 
to  the  condition  of  a  shepherdess,  or  a  friendly 
direction  to  her  on  her  way  to  the  royal  flocks 
(Weissb.).  This  language  is  evidently  an  "an- 
swer adapted  to  the  narrow  range  of  thought  im- 
plied in  Shulamith's  question  (which  must  neces- 
sarily appear  foolish  to  the  ladies  of  the  court) 
and  hence  an  unmeaning  one,  after  which  the 
fair  shepherdess  knew  neither  more  nor  less  than 
she  did  before  "  (Del.).  It  is  therefore  jeeringly 
intended,  and  if  it  did  not  exactly  wound  her 
deeply,  it  was  certainly  adapted  to  increase  Shu- 
lamith's longing  for  her  lover.  —  ''^^^  xS-DN 
means  neither  "if  thou  do  not  know  thyself" 
(Sept.,  Luth.),  nor  "  if  thou  art  deficient  in  un- 
derstanding" (Ewald,  Hitzig,  cte.,  who  appeal  to 
Isa.  i.  3  ;  Ivi.  10,  passages  not  appropriate  in  this 
connection),  but  conformably  to  the  similar  pas- 
sage, vi.  12,  "  if  thou  know  not,"  viz. :  where  th_y 
lover  feeds,  this  object  being  readily  supplied 

from  the  context.— [NSn  '5pj;3  ^I^-'Ny  "  go  out 
at  the  heels  of  the  flock,"  i.  e.,  go  after  it,  follow 
its  tracks,  comp.  Judg.  iv.  10;  v.  15.  NV  there- 
fore denotes  here,  as  the  Hiphil  in  Isa.  xl.  26 ;  2 
Sam.  V.  2,  going  forth  with  the  flock,  not  going 
out  of  the  palace  (Vaih.,  etc.). — "  Thy  kids," 
i.  e.,  the  kids  which  as  such  an  enthusiastic  ad- 
mirer of  country  life,  and  u,  shepherd's  occupa- 
tion you  must  certainly  have.  That  she  actually 
had  some  with  her  (Weissb.)  by  no  means  fol- 
lows from  this  expression. 

6.  Second  Scene.  Solomon,  vers.  9-11.  The 
king  has  now  returned  from  the  engagements, 
which  had  hitherto  detained  him  from  his  wo- 
men, and  he  begins  a  tender  conversation  with 
Shulamith,  who  is  favored  by  him  above  all  the 
rest ;  during  which  the  others  withdraw  into  the 
background.     Comp.  No.  1,  above. 

Ver.  9.  To  my  horse  in  Pharaoh's  chari- 
ots, literally:  "to  my  mare;"  for  HDID  can 
scarcely  stand  collectively  for  D'pID  "horses, 
a  body  of  horse,"  (VuLG.  "equilatui;  Hbngstb., 
Weissb.,  etc.),  and  there  is  nothing  to  justify  its 

being  pointed  'riDID/  (Magn.,  Hitz.).  The 
singular  'riDID?  evidently  refers  to  a  favorite 
mare  of  the  king  (comp.  Zech.  x.  3),  to  a  partic- 
ularly fine,  and  splendidly  caparisoned  specimen 
of  those  -iaaape;  ;f(A«2i5£f  ^rfKnai  "m-noi,  which  ac- 
cording to  1  Kin.  X.  26,  Sept.,  Solomon  had  for 
his  chariots;  and  more  exactly  to  such  a  steed 
used  on  state  occasions  in  Solomon's  "  Pharaoh- 
chariots,"  i.  e.,  in  those  costly  Pharaonic  spans 
of  horses,  which  according  to  1  Kin.  x.  28,  29, 
he  had  imported  from  Egypt.  Solomon  com- 
pares his  beloved  to  this  mare  of  his,  harnessed 
and  magnificently  decorated  before  stately  Pha- 
raoh-chariots (not  exactly  before  one  of  them, 
Vatabl. ),  and  that  "  on  account  of  her  youthful 
bloom  and  her  unaffected  demeanor,  whose  lovely 
charms  are  still  further  heightened  by  the  sim- 
ple ornaments  worn  upon  her  head  and  neck, 
vers.  10,  11  "  (Del.).     The  point  of  the  compa- 


68 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


I.  1— II.  7. 


rison  is  not  to  be  sought  exclusively  in  the  proud 
bearing  of  the  horse,  Job  xxxix.  19,  etc.  (Ewald, 
Vaih.,  etc.),  any  more  than  in  the  glittering  or- 
naments of  his  head  and  neck.  In  opposition  to 
AVeissb.,  who  thinks  merely  of  the  latter,  and  re- 
ferring to  Haetmann's  Ilebrderin  am  Pulztische, 
(Hebrew  woman  at  her  Toilet),  OLEARina  "Per- 
sische  Rdsen  "  (Travels  in  Persia),  etc.  [see  also 
Hakmek's  Outlines,  p.  205,  and  the  illustrations 
of  a  bride's  dress,  in  Calmet's  Dictionary']  main- 
tains that  there  was  a  marked  similarity  between 
the  ornaments  of  pearls  and  chains  worn  by  horses 
and  by  women  in  the  East,  and  consequently  by 
Shulamith  in  the  present  instance,  it  may  be  said 
that  according  to  ver.  11  Solomon  now  first  pro- 
poses to  adorn  his  beloved  with  the  proper  gold 
and  silver  ornaments,  and  therefore  she  did  not 
yet  wear  a  burdensome  head  and  neck  ornament 
like  a  richly  bridled  mare.* — My  dear ;  comp.  i. 
16  ;  ii.  2  ;  iv.  1,  etc.,  where  the  same  familiar  form 
of  address  recurs. 

Ver.  10.  Comely  are  thy  cheeks  in 
chains.  I'W  kindred  with  ^^,  "(IB  etc.,  is 
equivalent  to  a  circle,  ring ;  in  the  plural  con- 
sequently it  denotes  a  chain  composed  of  many 
rings,  which  goes  around  from  the  head  under 
the  chin,  by  which  therefore  the  cheeks  are  en- 
circled. Shulamith  may  not  have  brought  this 
ornament  together  with  the  necklaces  named  in 
b  (D't.'in  kindred  with  Cin,  Bin,  little  disks 
of  metal  or  corals  pierced  and  strung  together) 
with  her  from  the  country,  but  may  have  received 
it  as  a  present  from  Solomon  since  her  coming  to 
the  royal  court.  Solomon,  however,  is  not  satis- 
fied with  this  simple  ornament,  but  promises  her, 
ver.  11,  much  richer  and  more  splendid  jewels, — ■ 
scarcely  with  the  view  of  alluring  her  and  bind- 
ing her  to  his  court  (as  even  Del.  supposes)  but 
simply  to  adorn  yet  more  handsomely  one  who  is 
so  lovely,  and  to  have  his  full  pleasure  in  her  as 
a  magnificently  attired  princess. f 


*  [Clarke,  Burrowes,  and  others  aflhere  to  the  singular, 
"  to  my  mare  or  steyd."  Good  drops  the  pronoun :  "  one  of 
the  steeds,"  supposing  tlie  13nal  yodh  to  be  paragogic.  So  the 
common  Eng.  Ver.,  ^vliich  talces  the  noun  in  a  collective  sense 
"  company  of  horses,"  and  is  followed  by  the  majority  of  Eng- 
lish commentators,  who  find  in  this  a  proof  of  its  allegorical 
meaning.  The  point  of  comparison  according  to  the  West- 
minster Assembly's  Annotations  is  "  comeliness,"  according 
to  Pry  "  splendid  decoration."  Poole,  "An  horse  is  a  very 
stately  and  beautiful  creature,  and  the  Egyptian  horses  were 
preferred  before  others,  and  Pharaoh's  own  chariot  horses 
were  doubtless  the  best  of  their  kind."  Thrupp,  Words- 
worth,  Moody  Stuart  suppose  special  allusion  to  the  formid- 
able character  of  Pharaoh's  horses  and  chariots  at  the  Red 
Sea,  Ex.  xiv.  9,  23.  Several  classic  parallels  have  been  ad- 
duced as  Theocritus,  Idyl,  xviii.  30 ;  Horaob,  Odes,  ill.  11 ; 
SopnooLES,  Electra,  25. — TrJ 

t  ["  The  mention  of  the  Egyptian  steed  in  ver.  9  naturally 
suggested  the  reference  here  made  to  the  beautiful  head-dress 
of  the  spouse."  Burrowes.  "  Whether  she  be  still  compared 
hereby  to  a  company  of  horses,  as  in  ver.  9,  or  to  a  woman  is 
doubtful,  for  both  similitudes  do  agree  to  the  things  here 
spoken  of.  The  bridles  of  horses  are  often  adorned  with  rows 
(of  jewels)  especially  in  kings'  chariots.  Also  the  next  words 
'  thy  neck  with  chains '  may  have  like  reference ;  for  the 
kings  of  Midian  when  they  went  to  war  had  chains  about 
their  camels'  necks,  Judg,  viii.  26."  Ainsworth,  so  too  Gill. 
Of  the  ornament  spoken  of  in  the  first  clause  Ainsworth  fur- 
ther says,  "  The  same  word  "I'lfl  is  also  used  for  a  '  turtle- 
dove,' which  some  therefore  take  here  to  be  jewels  or  orna- 
ments that  had  the  figures  of  '  turtle-doves.' "  It  is  so  in  fact 
translated  both  in  the  Sept.  and  VuLQ.,  followed  by  Wicliffb 
and  DowAY,  "  thy  cheeks  are  beautiful  as  the  turtle-doves." 
So  too  Cranmer  and  Bishops  ;  "  thy  cheeks  and  thy  neck  are 
beautiful  as  the  turtle's."  It  is  needless  to  say  after  the  ex- 
planation given  in  the  commentary  that  this  rendering  con- 
founds two  entirely  distinct  words. — Te.] 


Ver.  11.  Chains  of  gold — -with  points  oi 
silver.  Needlessly,  and  quite  too  artificially, 
Weissb.  will  have  us  understand  by  the  PnpJ 
^03n  something  similar  to  the  D7'"'D  litils 
disks  of  silver  pierced  and  strung  together,  which 
might  be  worn  along  with  the  gold  chains.  But 
Dl?  m(A  by  no  means  requires  this  explanation 
(comp.  iv.  13)  :  it  rather  leads  to  the  far  mor« 
natural  assumption  that  the  golden  chains  were 
dotted  with  silver  "punctis  argenteis  distincti" 
(Hitzig).* 

7.   Shulamith  vers.  12-14. 

Ver.  12.  Whilst  the  king  (is)  at  his  table, 
my  spikenard  yields  its  fragrance.  If  these 
words  were  to  be  translated  :  "  whilst  the  king 
was  at  tie  table,  my  spikenard  yielded  its  fra- 
grance" (RosESMnELLER,  EwALD,  Henostenb., 
Vaih.,  Weissb.,  etc.),  they  could  only  mean  :  "as 
long  as  Solomon  was  absent,  and  did  not  burden 
me  with  his  attentions,  I  was  happy  in  the  mem- 
ory of  my  friend ;"  they  would  accordingly 
bear  an  emphatic  testimony  to  the  correctness  of 
the  herdsman  or  shepherd-hypothesis;  for  that 
the  "  fragrance  of  the  spikenard  "  is  to  be  taken 
literally  and  explained  of  the  costly  nard-oil  on 
Shulamith's  hair  and  garments,  which  had  been 
as  it  were  suppressed  and  far  exceeded  by  the 
coming  of  her  lover  with  his  much  more  delight- 
ful fragrance  (Weissb.)  is  a  very  far-fetched  ex- 
planation of  these  simple  words. f  They  are  ra- 
ther to  be  taken  as  referring  to  the  present,  be- 
cause the  fact  of  there  being  no  n'D  was  in  the  pro- 
tasis makes  against  the  preterite  sense  of  \n  give% 
(comp.  HiTZ.  in  loc.)  and  because  30D  does  not 
properly  mean  table,  but  rather  company,  festive 
assembly  (comp.  the  adverbial  use  of  the  word  in 
the  singular,  1  Kin.  vi.  29,  and  in  the  plural,  2 
Kin.  xxiii.  5;  Job  xxxvii.  12)  and  consequently 
points  to  the  place  where  the  king  then  was,  to 
the  women's  apartment  of  his  palace  or  park  in 
contrast  with  his  former  stay  in  the  fields,  with 
the  soldiers,  on  the  chase,  or  elsewhere.  The 
fragrance  of  Shulamith's  nard  is  accordingly  a 
figurative  designation  of  the  agreeable  sensations 
or  delightful  feelings  produced  in  her  heart  by 
the  presence  of  her  lover  (comp.  Del.  ;   "it  only 

[*  Burrowes  adopts  the  conjecture  of  H.\rmer  in  his  Out- 
lines, p.  206,  that  this  is  the  description  of  a  crown.  So  Moodt 
Stuart  :  These  silver  studded  circles  of  gold  mean  either  the 
royal  or  the  nuptial  crown,  or  both  in  one.  Patrick,  Wil- 
liams, Taylor  make  this  the  language  not  of  the  bridegroom, 
but  of  the  attendant  virgins.] 

[t  Much  less  so,  however,  than  that  which  would  make  the 
nard  refer  to  a  distant  shepherd  lover,  of  whose  existence 
there  is  no  evidence.  Weiss,  who  adopts  the  above  rendering 
gives  a  peculiar  turn  to  the  thought :  "  The  bride  is  supposed 
to  liave  been  provided  with  a  bundle  of  spikenard,  with  which 
she  intended  to  regale  her  bridegroom,  when  he  entered  the 
banqueting  house  or  saloon,  where  the  guests  and  the  bride 
await  him,  and  he  approached  to  salute  her  according  to  cus- 
tom. But  unfortunately  the  bridegroom  being  detained  a 
long  time  in  another  chamber  by  one  of  the  guests,  the  bride's 
precious  bundle  of  spikenard  yielded  all  its  fragrance,  and  be- 
came useless.  When  he  entei-s,  however,  ver.  13  it  is  more 
than  supplied  by  the  delicious  odors  of  the  bridegroom's  oint- 
ments and  spices,  which  fill  all  the  room."  This  belongs  to 
his  historical  interpretation  of  it  as  an  emblem  of  Israel's 
losing  his  pious  fervor  and  lapsing  into  gross  sin,  while  the 
Lord  was  with  Moses  on  Mount  Sinai,  and  the  subsequent  for- 
giving love  and  condescending  grace  of  God. — Tr.] 

[J:  There  is  no  need  of  departing  from  the  preterite  form  o< 
the  Hebrew  verb  to  obtain  the  sense  desired.  It  should  be 
rendered  "  Whilst  the  king  has  been  (as  he  still  is)  with  his 
company,  my  nard  has  yielded  its  fragrance." — Te.] 


I,  1— II.  7. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


59 


emits  again  that  fragrance,  which  it  has  absorbed 
from  his  glances  "),  a  representation  which  by  no 
means  sounds  too  refined  and  courtly  for  this 
simple  country  girl,  this  child  of  nature,  which 
therefore  Hitzio  very  needlessly  puts  (as  well  as 
ver.  13)  into  the  mouth  of  an  enamored  court 
lady  as  a  voluptuous  piece  of  flattery  for  Solomon,* 
For  T1J1,  which  must  here  denote  not  a  stalk  of 
the  well-known  Indian  plant  Valeriana  Jatamansi 
(Maon.jBottoher),  but  the  aromatic  unguent  pre- 
pared from  it,  and  that  as  poured  out,  and  con- 
sequently emitting  its  fragrance,  comp.  Winer, 
R.  W.  ,8.  Art.,  "Narde."  [Smith's  Dictionary 
of  the  Bible,  Art.  Spikenard.  Kitto's  Biblical 
Cyclopedia,  Art.  Nerd]. 

Ver.  13.  A  bundle  of  myrrh  is  my  beloved 
to  me.  Evidently  an  advance  upon  the  figure 
of  the  fragrant  nard.  The  royal  lover,  who  now 
rests  upon  Shulamith's  bosom,  is  compared  by 
her  to  a  parcel  of  the  costly  myrrh-gum  such  as 
the  ladies  of  the  East  are  in  the  habit  of  carrying 
in  their  bosom.  iBH  HIS  is  not  a  bunch  [so 
Notes]  or  sprig  of  myrrh  (Ewald,  Delitzsoh, 
etc.)  for  there  is  no  more  evidence  of  any  aromatic 
quality  in  the  branches  and  leaves  of  the  myrrh 
tree  than  there  is  of  its  occurrence  in  Palestine 
at  all.  We  must  therefore  think  of  a  bundle  or 
box  (not  exactly  a  flask,  as  Weissb.  proposes, 
contrary  to  the  meaning  of  IIIX)  of  semi-fluid, 
or  fluid  myrrh  gum,  and  must  besides  compare 
the  use  of  this  gum  as  an  unguent,  which  is 
vouched  for  also  in  v.  5,  13 ;  Esth.  ii.  12  ;  Ex. 
XXX.  28.  On  the  carrying  of  boxes  of  ointment 
by  Hebrew  women,  comp.  also  Isa.  iii.  20 ;  Job 
xlii.  14,  and  Haktmann,  die  Hebraerin  am  Putz- 
tiachell.,  p.  280  f 

Ver.  14.  A  cluster  of  Cyprus  is  my  be- 
loved to  me.  ^33  Sept.  :  (/ciTrpof  here  and  iv. 
13)  is  the  Cyprus  flower  or  Alhenna,  which  is 
indigenous  to  India,  and  probably  to  Egypt 
(Pliny,  H.  N.  xii.  24)  and  may  have  been  trans- 
planted by  Solomon  in  his  vineyards  at  Engedi 
(on  which  comp.  No.  1  above)  for  the  sake  of  the 
peculiarly  strong  odor  of  its  yellowish-white, 
grape-like  clusters  of  flowers.  [See  Haemer's 
Outlines,  pp.  218-221;  Shaw's  Travels,  pp.  113, 
'4:  SoNNiNi's  Voyage,  pp.  291-302].  Comp.  in 
respect  to  the  fondness  of  oriental  women  for  this 
aromatic  plant  the  testimony  of  a  recent  traveller 


[*  The  meaning  of  this  verse  is  diflferently  given  by  Coveb- 
DALE :  "  When  the  king  sitteth  at  the  table,  he  shall  smell  my 
nardua."  Her  spikenard  was  not  for  her  own  gratification;  she 
had  perfumed  herself  with  it  for  the  king's  sake  alone,  Esth. 
ii.  12,  and  it  now  gladly  diffuses  its  fragrance  in  his  presence 
to  afford  him  pleasure.  This  Fry  takes  in  its  literal  sense, 
Bupposing  allusion  to  the  throwing  of  flowers  and  perfumes 
as  a  token  of  high  respect  and  complimentary  congratulation. 
To  this  NofES  a!dda  with  an  unnecessary  degree  of  hesitation 
its  emblematic  sense :  "  It  would  seem  to  be  too  harsh  a  fig- 
ure to  suppose  '  my  spikenard '  to  mean  '  my  personal  charms 
and  gracis '  though  such  a  supposition  is  favored  by  the  next 
verse."  Ainsworth  suggests  the  spiritual  application :  "  In 
her  and  from  her  so  adorned  by  her  beloved,  the  odor  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  in  her,  flowed  forth  and  spread  abroad  to  the  de- 
light of  herself  and  others."  Thrupp  :  "  The  symbolism  of  the 
feongof  songs  was  outwardly  acted,  as  is  recorded  in  the  gos- 
pels in  the  earthly  life  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  is  also  perma- 
nently embodied  in  the  worship  of  the  Christian  church.  It 
wafl  while  He  sat  at  table  that  the  feet  of  our  Saviour  were  on 
two  separate  occasions  anointed,  Luke  vii.  36-50 ;  John  xii.  3  fi". 
And  it  is  in  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  that  the 
church  still  most  solemnly  presents  her  sacrifice  of  praise  and 
thanksgiving,  which  she  beseeches  God  of  His  fatherly  good- 
ness to  accept." — ^Tr.] 


in  the  "  Ausland,"  1851,  No.  17.  "  The  white 
Henna-blossoms,  which  grow  in  clusters  and  are 
called  Tamar-henna,  have  a  very  penetrating  odor, 
which  seems  disagreeable  to  the  European  who  ia 
unaccustomed  to  it ;  but  the  Orientals  have  an 
uncommon  liking  for  this  odor,  and  prefer  it  to 
any  other.  The  native  women  commonly  wear  a 
bouquet  of  Tamar-henna  on  their  bosom."  The 
Hebrew  name  of  this  plant  might  with  Simonis 
and  others  be  derived  from  "133  to  cover,  with 
allusion  to  the  custom  which  prevails  among  Ori- 
ental women  of  staining  their  finger  nails  yellow 
with  Henna  powder,  but  it  is  more  natural  to  re- 
fer '^p2  as  well  as  Kvirpo;  and  the  Lat.  cuprum 
to  the  Sanskrit  root  cubh,  "to  shine,  be  yellow," 
whence  cubhra.  The  exact  parallelism  between 
ver.  13  and  14,  and  in  general  the  intimate  con- 
nection of  vers.  12-14,  with  their  figures  taken 
without  exception  from  the  region  of  vegetable 
aromas  further  yields  decided  testimony  against 
Hitzig's  division  of  the  passage  as  though  vers. 
12,  18,  belonged  to  one  of  the  women  of  the  Ha- 
rem, and  only  ver.  14  to  Shulamith. 

8.  Solomon,  SHULAMiin,  vera.  15-17. 

Ver.  15.  Lo!  thou  art  fair,  my  dear.  The 
fond  ardor,  with  which  she  has  just  spoken  of 
her  lover,  has  doubled  the  expressive  beauty  of 
her  features.  The  perception  of  this  leads  Solo- 
mon full  of  rapture  to  praise  her  beauty. — Thine 
eyes  are  doves,  i.  e.,not  "thine  eyes  are  doves'' 
eyes,"  as  though  (like  Ps.  xlv.  7  ;  1  Kin.  iv.  13 , 
Ezra  X.  18)  the  const.     'J'i?.    were  to  be  supplied; 

and  the  dove-like  simplicity  and  fidelity  of  Shu- 
lamith's eyes  were  to  be  brought  into  the  account 
as  the  point  of  comparison  (Vulo.,  Syr.,  Ibn 
Ezra,  Vat.,  Gesen.,  Del.,  etc.),  [Eng.  Ver.];  but 
as  is  shown  both  by  the  context  and  the  parallel 
passage,  v.  12,  "  thine  eyes  resemble  the  lustrous 
and  shimmering  plumage  of  doves,"  wherein 
more  particularly  the  white  of  the  eyes  is  com- 
pared to  that  of  the  body,  and  the  lustrous  iris 
to  the  metallic  lustre  of  the  neck  or  wings  of  the 
dove  (comp.  Ps.  Ixviii.  14).  Correctly  therefore 
the  Sept. ;  boOaXjini  cov  jTEpiarepai,  and  in  the  later 
times  Targ.,  Eashi,  Hengstenberg,  Hitzig,  etc.) 
[So  Hodgson,  Williams,  Fry,  Thrupp,  etc.~\. 

Ver.  16.  Lo !  thou  .art  fair,  my  beloved, 
yea  s-weet.  The  exactly  analogous  form  of  ex- 
pression, with  which  Shulamith  here  answers  the 
flattering  caresses  of  the  king,  makes  it  appear 
to  the  last  degree  forced  to  regard  these  words 
of  hers  as  addressed  to  a  distant  lover.  The  cli- 
macteric Oy,^  '\i<  "yes  sweet,  yes  charming" 
is  only  the  expression  of  her  loving  transport, 
and  finds  an  illustrative  commentary  in  the  de- 
scription ii.  3-5.  [Will.,  Gins,  connect  this  ad- 
jective with  what  follows  :  "  Lovely  is  our  ver- 
dant couch  "].— Yea,  our  couch  is  green,  lit. : 
"  greens,  grows  green  "  (HJJJ^'l)  a  reference  to 
the  stately,  verdant,  and  refreshing  natural  sur- 
roundings, in  the  midst  of  which  to  their  delight 
their  loving  intercourse  now  takes  place,  and 
perhaps  more  particularly  to  a  shady  grassplot 
under  the  trees  of  the  park,  upon  which  they 
were  for  the  moment  sitting  or  reclining ;  comp. 
j  1  above,  and  Weissb.  in  loo.  In  opposition  to 
Hbnqstenb.,  who  takes    tS^.j;.    in  the  sense  of 


60 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


I.  I— II.  7. 


"marriage-bed,"  and  p^n  in  a  purely  figura- 
tive sense  of  a  gladsonre  and  flourishing  condi- 
tion, may  be  urged  that  no  mention  can  be  made 
of  a  marriage-bed  for  Shulamith  and  Solomon 
before  their  nuplials,  which  are  not  described 
until  iii.  6,  etc. ;  likewise  the  contents  of  the  fol- 
lowing verses,  especially  ii.  1-3,  which  point  to 
a  continued  stay  of  the  lovers  in  the  open  air, 
under  shady  trees,  and  beside  fragrant  flowers.* 
Ver.  17.  The  beams  of  our  houses  are  ce- 
dars, our  wainscoting  cypress-trees.  This 
can  neither  be  the  language  of  the  "choir  of 
women  belonging  to  the  harem"  (Bottoheb), 
whose  entrance  here  would  be  to  the  last  de- 
gree disturbing;  nor  even  of  Solomon  (Hitzig, 
Weissb.,  Ren.)  to  whom  the  beauty  of  the  place 
where  they  are,  is  a  matter  of  perfect  indiffer- 
ence, by  reason  of  the  rapture  with  which  he 
regards  his  beloved ;  but  only  that  of  Shulamith, 
the  innocent,  light-hearted  child  of  nature,  who 
has  just  begun  to  express  her  pleasure  in  that 
lovely  spot  in  the  open  air,  to  which  her  lover  had 
conducted  her,  and  whose  words  would  sound  quite 
unfinished  and  end  abruptly  if  nothing  further 
were  added  to  the  commendation  of  their  verdant 
couch. — "Cedars"  and  "cypresses,"  also  named 
together  Isa.  xiv.  8;  Zeoh.  xi.  2,  as  costly  species 
of  wood  for  building  and  stately,  lofty  trees,  are 
here  evidently  meant  in  the  literal  sense,  of  liv- 
ing trees  of  this  description,  such  as  were  to  be 
found,  along  with  other  rare  and  noble  plants, 
in  the  royal  gardens  of  a  king  so  skilled  in  na- 
ture and  so  fond  of  splendor.  The  figurative 
part  of  her  language  lies  rather  in  the  "  beams  " 
and   the  "wainscoting"   (D'D'nT    from   Dm  = 


Ar. 


U 


J-" 


'  to   hew,"    hence  =  laquearia   of 


the  VuLG.,  wainscoting  on  walls  and  ceilings — 
not  "pillars,"  Weissb.,  nor  "rafters,"  Vatabl. 
and  L.  Cappell,  [so  E.  V.],  nor  "floor,"  Heno- 
STENBERO,  who  prefers  the  K'ri  D'B'ni).     She, 

who  had  hitherto  been  without  Solomon  in  the 
showy  apartments  of  the  palace,  felicitates  her- 
self that  she  can  now  rest  with  him  under  the 
green  trees  of  the  garden,  which  seem  to  her  to 
arch  over  them  a  far  finer  ceiling  than  those 
richly  adorned  halls.  It  is  impossible  to  recon- 
cile the  mention  of  cedars,  which  only  grew 
wild  in  Lebanon,  not  in  central  or  northern 
Palestine,  and  consequently  not  in  the  vicinity  of 
Shunem,  with  the  shepherd  hypothesis,  whose 
advocates  here  find  expressed  Shulamith's  long- 

*  ["  The  scene  eeemg  to  be  laid  in  the  Icioek  or  summer- 
house  in  the  royal  garden.  The  green  flowery  turf  is  our 
place  of  repose;  our  canopy  is  cedar  interspersed  with  fir, 
richly  carved."  Burrowes.  Better  still,  Good  ;  The  lovers 
are  not  in  a  house,  but  a  grove,  where  the  spreading  branches 
of  the  firs  and  the  cedars  are  poetically  called  the  beams  and 
the  roof  of  their  chamber.  Thus  Milton,  describing  Adam's 
bower,  Par,  Lost.,  iv.  692,  comp.  Homer  ii.,  xxiv.  191.  Har- 
MER  supposes  ver.  16  to  be  the  language  of  the  bride,  and  ver. 
17  that  of  the  bridegroom.  She  commends  the  rural  beauty 
of  the  spot  iu  whicli  they  then  were.  He,  impatient  to  intro- 
duce her  to  his  palace,  replies  in  substance  :  *'  Arise,  my  love, 
and  quit  this  place,  pleasant  ;ls  it  is,  for  equally  pleasant  and 
much  more  commodious  will  you  find  the  abode  to  which  I 
am  conveying  you,  it  being  built  of  the  fragrant  cedar,  and  of 
other  precious  wood."  PooLt',  with  many  others,  supposes 
the  nuptial  bed  to  be  referred  to  "  adorned  with  green  gar- 
Ijmds  or  boughs."  Ainsworth  :  "  Green  is  not  meant  so 
much  of  color  as  of  flourishing  growth  and  increase."] 


ing  for  the  verdure  and  shade  of  her  home  (c.  g 
EwALD,  Vaih.  ). 

9.  Shulamith  and  Solomon,  ii.  1-7. 

Ver.  1.  Shulamith  :  I  am  (only)  a  'wild 
flcwer  of  Sharon,  a  lily  of  the  valleys. 
The  connection  with  the  preceding  is  not  to  be 
denied  altogether  (with  Delitzsoh,  who  makes  a 
new  scene  begin  with  this  verse) ;  still  we  must 
assume  a  pause  of  some  length  after  i.  17, 
during  which  Shulamith  who  continues  to  tarry 
in  the  garden  at  the  side  of  her  lover,  reflects 
upon  her  great  good  fortune  in  being  selected  to 
be  the  darling  of  the  king,  and  by  the  comparison 
of  the  splendor  which  now  surrounds  her  wifli 
the  meadows  and  valleys  of  her  home  is  disposed 
to  humility  and  at  the  same  time  filled  with  long- 
ing for  that  simpler  condition  which  she  must 
forsake.  She  gives  an  artless  as  well  as  a  deli- 
cate and  striking  expression  to  these  feelings  by 
calling  herself  "a  wild-flower,"  a  "lily  of  the 
valleys,"  which  was  not  congruous  to  the  many 
ornamental  plants  and  artistic  beauties  of  the 
royal  court.* — Which   flower    of    the   plain   of 

Sharon  is  intended  by  t'lipn  nSs^n,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  determine.  Its  identity  with  the  "lily 
of  the  valley"  (Sept.,  Vulg.,  and  Taeq.  on  Isa. 
XXXV.  1,  the  only  other  passage   of  the   0.  Test. 

in  which  n72f50  occurs),  [Cean.,  lily ;  so  Lee], 
is  contradicted  by  its  being  mentioned  in  a  paral- 
lel with  it,  a  circumstance  which  requires  us  to 
think   of  some   similar  plant,  but   one  which  is 

specifically  different  from  it.  If  n7!f3n  were 
really  connected  with  '['nn,  "to  be  red"  (oomp. 
1*100  red,  Isa.  Ixiii.  1),  as  Hitzig,  Weissb.,  etc., 
assume,  the  simplest  course  would  be  with  Aquila 
and  R.  Kihchi  on  Isa.  xxxv.  1,  to  translate  it 
"rose,"  [so  Bish.,  Genev.,  E.  Veb..],  and  then 
to  compare  the  combination  of  rose  and  lily  in 
Ecclus.  xxxix.  13,  14  as  probably  drawn  from 
this  passage.  But  another  etymology,  which  sup- 
poses the  word  to  be  in  some  manner  compounded 

with  7S3  onion  (whether  D  is  prefixed,  which 
serves  to  form  quadrilaterals,  or  the  adj.  yDH 
"sour,"  lurks  in  its  initial  letters),  points  rather 
to  some  bulbous  plant,  perhaps  the  meadow- 
saffron,  which  the  Old  Syriac  seems  to  have  in- 
tended (comp.  Mich.,  Ewald,  Gesenius,  etc.), 
[so  RoYLE,  Wordsworth,  Notes  and  Thrupp, 
who  however  translates  it  "  daisy  "],  or  the  tulip 
(Velthusen,  Magn.,  Vaih.),  or  the  narcissus, 
for  which  last  the  Targ.  already  testifies  with  its 
DlplJ^.  As  no  one  of  these  significations  can  be 
demonstrated  with  absolute  certainty,  it  may  be 
most  advisable  with  the  Sept.  and  Vulg.  to  abide 
by  the  indefinite    "flower"    [so  Gov., Dow.],  or 

*  [Patrick,  Poo7.e  and  Doway  follow  'WlCLirrE  and  IMatth- 
E'ws  in  making  ver.  1  the  language  of  the  bridegroom.  The 
great  body  of  commentators  with  better  reason  assign  it  to 
the  bride.  Burrowes  :  "  Reclining  thus  on  a  bed  of  grass 
and  flowers,  the  beloved  and  the  bride  naturally  speak  of  each 
other  in  language  drawn  from  the  beautiful  objects  under 
their  notice."  Still  more  appropriately  Williams  :  "  The 
spouse  with  the  most  beautiful  productions  of  the  royal  gar- 
den in  her  view,  ventures  to  compare  herself,  not  with  them, 
but  with  the  more  humble  natives  of  the  fields  and  valleys." 
The  "  longing,"  which  Zockler  here  finds  for  her  home  and 
former  humble  station,  belongs  purely  to  his  theory  of  the 
plot  in  the  Song,  and  has  no  place  in  the  text  itself. — Ttt.] 


I.  l-II. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


61 


"wild-flower"  [so  WiTHiNOTOfJ,  Ginsburg].  Also 
in  regard  to  the  name  Sharon  tnE',  it  cannot  be 
said  decisively,  whether  it  denotes  the  well- 
known  plain  along  the  coast  between  Cesarea 
and  Joppa  (Acts  ix.  35),  or  the  trans-jordaiiic 
plain  named  1  Chron.  v.  16,  or  finally  a  third 
meadow-land  of  Sharon  between  Tabor  and  the 
lake  of  Gennesaret  mentioned  by  Eusebius  in  the 
Onomast.  This  last  might  perhaps  be  moat  rea- 
dily  thought   of  on   account    of  its   vicinity  to 

Shunem.*— Further  [nE^n  nSsan  is,  notwith- 
standing the  article  before  [l"ity,  to  be  trans- 
lated "a  wild-flower  of  Sharon"  (comp.  Oen. 
ix.  20 ;  XXXV.  16 ;  Jer.  xiii.  4,  etc. ),  and 
no  conclusion  can  be  drawn  from  this  ex- 
pression in  favor  of  the  allegorical  explanation 
of  Shulamith  as  the  Church  (against  Hengsten- 
BEKQ).f — In  both  these  Comparisons,  that  with 
the  flower  of  Sharon,  and  that  with  the  lily  (by 
which  must  be  meant  not  the  strongly  scented 
lilium  candidum,  but  rather  as  appears  from 
i.  5,  6  ;  V.  13  the  Palestine  red  lily,  lilium  rubens 
of  IPlint  H.  N.  xxi.  5),  the  terdum  comparat.  is 
both  the  diminutive  size  of  these  plants  com- 
pared with  cedars,  cypresses,  etc.,  and  also  their 
beauty  and  elegance  (Matt.  vi.  28;  Luke  xii, 
27),  so  that^  although  Shulamith  refers  to  her 
lowliness  and  rural  simplicity,  she  yet  says  no- 
thing derogatory  to  herself,J  and  quite  in  ana- 
logy with  i.  5  manifests  a  certain  self-regard 
though  genuinely  modest,  and  pure  as  a  child. 

Ver.  2.  As  a  lily  among  thorns,  so  is  my 
dear  among  the  daughters.  That  which  had 
been  to  Shulamith  an  expression  of  her  lowliness 
is  seized  upon  by  Solomon  with  courtly  skill  in 
order  to  bring  out  of  it  the  more  emphatic  praise 
of  her  grace  and  beauty.  More  strongly  almost 
than  afterwards  in  vi.  8,  9  he  puts  all  other  wo- 
men in  the  shade  in  comparison  with  his  chosen 
one,  likening  them  to  thorns,  the  well-known 
figure  of  whatever  is  mean,  troublesome  and  of- 
fensive (comp.  Judg.  ix.  14 ;  2  Kin.  xiv.  9  ;  Isa. 
vii.  23,  ff.;  xxxii.  13;  Iv.  13;  Ezek.  ii.  6;  xxviii. 
24  ;  Hos.  ix.  6 ;  X.  8 ;  Ps.  Iviii.  10  ;  Prov.  xxii. 
5,  etc).  [Notes  :  "  It  is  not  implied  that  the  lily 
grows  among  thorns,  but  that  his  love  surpassed 
other  women  as  much  as  the  lily  the  thorn." 
Moody  Sutart  quotes  the  following  as  lllustra- 


•  [Henostenberg  argues  that  "  the  valleys,"  which  corres- 
pond in  the  parallelism  with  "  Sharon,"  must  also  have  the 
force  of  a  proper  name,  and  on  the  ground  of  1  Chron.  xii.  15, 
he  decides  that  the  valleys  on  either  side  of  the  Jordan  are  re- 
ferred to.  Cov.,  Geneva,  Doway,  Fry,  Theupp,  With.,  Gins., 
follow  the  LXX  in  giving  to  Sharon  an  appellative  sense : 
meadow,  field  or  plain.  The  parallelism  is,  of  course,  not  suf- 
ficient to  justify  either  conclusion.  Good  finds  an  allusion 
here  to  her  birth-place :  "she  was  not  of  Egyptian  origin,  or 
royal  descent,  but  a  rose  of  the  fields  of  Sharon — a  native  of 
Palestine."  Of  course  the  famous  Sharon  must  be  the  one  in- 
tended in  such  a  passage  as  this. — Tr.] 

t  [The  article  is  always  definite  in  Hebrew ;  and  the  only 
correct  translation  is  therefore,  "  the  flower  of  Sharon,"  where 
the  article,  however,  is  not  to  be  taken  in  an  eminent  or  ex- 
clusive sense,  "  the  flower  "  par  excellence  (as  Wordsworth  : 
the  flower  of  the  whole  earth ;  Doway  :  the  flower  of  mankind) 
but  has  its  generic  sense,  as  is  usual  in  comparisons.  We  may 
in  conformity  with  our  idiom  substitute  our  indefinite  for  the 
Hebrew  definite  article  in  such  cases,  but  this  is  by  way  of 
paraphrase,  not  exact  translation.  See  Green's  Seb.  Gram,  g 
245,  5,  d.— Te.] 

|If  n^5f3ln  really  meant  the  "saffron,"  Oolchicum  au- 
lumnak,  the  comparison  would  contain  what  was  damaging 
nnd  degrading  to  Shulamith ;  but  this  is  not  admissible  on 
account  if  the  parallel,  "lily  of  the  valleys." 


tive  from  Bonak:  "Close  by  these  lilies  there 
grew  several  of  the  thorny  shrubs  of  the  desert ; 
but  above  them  rose  the  lily  spreading  out  its 
fresh  green  leaf  as  a  contrast  to  the  dingy  ver- 
dure of  these  prickly  shrubs."]  With  the  trans- 
lation "rose"  [so  Gov.,  Cean.]  (which  is  more- 
over absolutely  inadmissible,  since  the  fem. 
llJKfltJ'  must  unquestionably  have  a  sense  like 
that  of  the  masc.  WW  or  |E?lty  "lily")  the 
strong  contrast  intended  would  almost  entirely 
vanish,  for  the  thorns  serve  only  to  adorn  the 
rose.  Renan  regards  this  verse  and  ver.  7  as 
spoken  by  the  shepherd  (!)  entering  here  for  the 
first  time  {^'^ entrant  brusquemenl  en  seine")  I 
[GiNSBUBQ  imagines  that  i.  1.5  is  also  spoken  by 
this  .imaginary  shepherd. — Tr.] 

Ver.  3.  As  an  apple-tree  among  the  trees 
of  the  ■wood,  so  is  my  beloved  among  the 
sons.  Observe  the  exact  parallelism  of  this 
sentence  with  ver.  2.  Shulamith  gives  back  the 
flattering  commendation  of  her  lover  with  a  still 
closer  adherence  to  his  expressions  than  above 
in  i.  16,  and  thus  their  conversation  assumes  the 
appearance  of  a  "contest  of  mutually  eulogistic 
love"  (Delitzsch).  The  reference  of  Shula- 
mith's  language  to  an  absent  lover,  whom  she 
praises  in  opposition  to  Solomon,  who  is  indiffer- 
ent or  repulsive  to  her  (Ew.,  HiTZ.,  Vaih.,  etc.), 
destroys  the  simple  beauty  of  the  dialogue.  It 
is  inadmissible  to  understand  by  the  "apple 
tree  (H'Sri,  Sept.  /i^Xov)   some  nobler  fruit  tree 

than  the  common  Fyrus  malm,  as  for  instance,  the 
quince  (PyrM5  cydonia),  or  the  citron  [malus  medico) 
[so  Good,  Williams,  Tatlok,  Thbupp,  With.], 
or  the  orange  (as  is  done  by  Celsius  in  his 
Hierobot.  Vblthus.,  Rosenm.,  Van  Kooten,  etc.), 
on  account  of  the  mention  made  immediately  after- 
wards (ver.  id,  and  ver.  5)  of  the  sweet  fruit  of  the 
tree,  because  those  acquainted  with  the  East  in 
former  as  well  as  in  more  recent  times  commend 
even  the  common  apples  of  Syria  and  Palestine 
as  an  exceedingly  generous  fruit,  of  fine  flavor 
and  a  pleasing  fragrance  (comp.  Harmek, 
Observations,  etc.,),  and  because  the  compa- 
ratively rare  occurrence  of  ni3r>  in  the  Old 
Test.,  and  its  combination  with  the  fig,  pome- 
granate, palm,  etc.  (Joel  i.  12 ;  comp.  Sol.  Song 
vii.  9 ;  viii.  5)  point  to  its  belonging  to  the 
nobler  fruit-bearing  plants  of  the  tlora  of  an- 
cient Israel.  [Wordsworth  :  It  is  a  generic  word 
(like  malum  in  Latin),  and  may  include  the  citron 
and  lemon]. — In  his  shadow  delighted  I  sit, 
lit.,  "  I  delight  and  sit"  Cr^^E?;!  'm^n)  [Gins.: 
I  delight  to  sit"],  a  construction  like  'l^in  Ky^B 
1  Sam.  ii.  3,  where  the  first  verb  seems  to  have 
only  an  adverbial  force  and  the  second  expresses 
the  principal  idea,*  comp.  also  below  iv.  8;  v.  6, 
and  EwALD,  Lehrbuch,  I  285,  b.  [Green's  Heb. 
Gram,  g  269].  Further  it  is  no  more  neces- 
sary to  take  these  verbs  in  a  preterite  sense  here 
(EwALD,  HiTZ.,  etc.)  than  in  i.  12,  [strictly:! 
have  been  sitting  and  still  sit.— Tr.],  so  that  this 
passage  supplies  no  valid  argument  in  favor  of  the 
'shepherd  hypothesis.     In  the  figure  of  the  sha- 

*[W0RDBW.  preserves  the  distinct  verbal  force  of  both 
words:  "I  long  for  his  shadow  and  sit  beneath  it.  0»v.: 
"  My  delight  is  to  sit  under  his  shadow."  Bno.  ver.  :  i  sat 
down  under  his  shadow  with  great  delight."  Geneva  :  Un- 
der his  shadow  I  had  delight  and  sat  down,  J 


62 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


I.  1— II.  7. 


iow  the  point  of  comparison  is  not  the  pro- 
tection afforded  (as  e.  g.  Ps.  xvii.  8 ;  xci.  1 ;  Isa. 
XXV.  4,  etc.),  but  the  refreshing  and  reviving  in- 
fluence of  the  nearness  of  her  lover,  just  as  the 
eweet  fruit  of  the  apple-tree  serves  to  represent 
his  agreeable  caresses,  so  iv.  16  ;  vii.  14  (comp. 
Weissb.  in  loc). 

Ver.  4.  He  has  brought  me  into  his  ■wine 
house.     TTI  nu  must  be  the  same  essentially 

as  |"n  TWyjiO  1x2,  that  is  to  say,  a  room  or 
apartment  for  drinking  wine,  a  banquet  hall 
[Eng.  Ver.],  not  a  "  wine  shop  "  (!  Bottoh.),  or 
a  "  wine  cellar"  (Vuio. :  "  cella  vinaria,"  Luth., 
Ren.,  etc.),  [Gov.,  Gran.,  Genbv.,  Dowat,  Wil- 
liams], or  a  "  vine-arbor"  (Vaih.,  etc.),  or  a 
"vineyard"  (Ewald,  Heiliost.,  etc).  But  so 
surely  as  the  expressions  in  the  context,  espe- 
cially the  "fruit"  of  the  apple-tree  in  ver.  3(?,  and 
the  "  banner  "  iaib,  are  to  be  understood  figura- 
tively, with  the  same  certainty  must  the  literal 
interpretation  of  "  leading  into  the  wine  room" 
be  rejected,  and  the  sense  of  this  expression 
must  be  found  rather  in  an  increased  participa- 
tion in  the  sweet  tokens  of  his  love,  an  intoxica- 
tion from  caresses  (already  essentially  correct 

RUPERTI,     DoDEBL.,    GeSENIUS,   DoPKE,   WeISSB., 

etc.).  [So  Good,  Notes.  Gins.:  "bower  of  de- 
light."] The  words  need  therefore  neither  be 
taken  as  a  wish  (Sept.,  e'waydyeTk  fie  el^  oIkov  rov 
olvov,  Velth.,  Amm.,  Huq,  Umbreit,  etc.),  [so 
Good,  Fry],  nor  as  a  narrative  of  what  jtier 
country  lover  had  previously  done  with  her 
(Ewald,  Vaih.,  Bottcher),  nor  as  the  enthusi- 
astic exclamation  of  a  lady  of  the  harem,  who 
was  now  embraced  by  Solomon  instead  of  the 
coy  Shulamith  (!  !  HiTZ. ),  etc.  There  is  no  alter- 
native but  to  regard  it  as  a  figurative  description 
of  the  love  which  she  had  experienced  from 
Solomon,  having  its  most  exact  aualogon  in  i.  4 
b,  "the  king  has  brought  me  into  his  chambers." 
— And  his  banner  over  me  is  love,  i.  e.  not 
"he  bears  his  love  as  an  ensign  before  me  who 
follow  him"  (Grotius,  Hitzig,  Weissb.,  etc.),  [so 
Notes,  Thrdpp,  etc.'],  but  "love  waves  as  a  pro- 
tecting and  comforting  banner  over  my  head 
(Ps.  XX.  6)  when  I  am  near  him."  So  correctly 
DoPKE,  Del.,  [Wordsw.,  Burrowes]  ;  alsoTilw- 
ALD,  Vaih.,  etc.,  only  the  latter  here  again  find 
described  the   love    formerly  enjoyed  with  her 

shepherd  in  the  country.  The  banner  ( 'J'l)  is, 
wherever  it  occurs  in  the  Old  Test.,  e,  military 
figure  (comp.  besides  Ps.  xx.  6,  also  Num.  i.  52; 
ii.  2,  ff. ).  It  must  accordingly  be  explained 
here  too  in  this  sense,  and  not  with  Bottcher 
of  the  sign  before  a  wine  shop  (a  tavern  sign- 
board!).* 

Ver.  5.  Stay  me  with  grapes,  refresh  me 
with  apples.  The  caresses  of  the  king,  who 
is  clasping  and  embracing  her  (see  ver.  6)  pro- 
duce an  eifect  upon  one  so  ardent  in  her  love, 
which  even  if  not  "thoroughly  agitating"  (De- 
litzsch),  or  "taking  away  her  breath  and  almost 
stifling"  (Hoblem),   is   yet   powerfully  exciting 


*  [The  meaning  of  this  clause  is  well  expressed  by  Cover- 
dale  :  lie  loveth  me  specially  well.  Dow  ay  has ;  He  hath  or- 
inmd  in  me  chastity.  Parkfiurst,  without  reason,  supposes 
a  reference  to  "  a  light  or  lamp,  such  as  was  carried  before  the 
new-married  couple  on  the  evening  of  their  wedding,  comp. 
Matt.  XXV.  1,  2."] 


and  as  it  were  intoxicating,  and  directly  wakens 
in  her,  probably  for  the  flrst  time  since  she  came 
to  the  court,  the  consciousness  that  she  is  sick 
of  love  (comp.  v.  8),  and  therefore  needs  to  be 
strengthened  by  eating  some  refreshing  fruit,  or 
something  of  the  sort.  She  directs  her  request 
for  it,  as  is  shown  by  the  plurals  'JOBD  (liter- 
ally, fulcite  me,  support  me ;  comp.  Gen.  xxvii. 
37;  Ps.  civ.  15),  'JnS'l,  not  to  her  lover  himself 
(Weissb.),  but  to  the  ladies  of  the  court  near 
her,  to  whom  also  the  lively  exclamation,  ver.  7, 
is  uttered.     riVii^tSVi    are    neither  aromatic  un- 

guents  (Sept.,  fiiipa),  nor  flowers  (Vulg.  : /irfraje 
me  florihus  [so  Doway]  ;  so  too  Symm.,  etc.),  but 
agreeably  to  its  probable  derivation  from  t?I7S 
"to  found,  *o  make  firm"  (see  Knobel  on  Isa. 
xlvi.  8),  pressed  grapes,  and  so  perhaps  wine 
syrup,  or  better  raisin  cakes,  grape  cakes,  which 
is  favored  both  by  the  verb  ^D^  ^"^^  ^7  ^^^  ^^^ 
of  the  word  in  Hos.  iii.  1  (where  the  Sept.  trans- 
late, nifinaTa),  and  in  2  Sam.  vi.  19  (Sept.  ; 
Xdyavov  ano  TT/ydvov,  pancakes). 

Ver.  6.  His  left  hand  is  under  my  bead 
.and  his  right  embraces  me.  ^Jp3nj]1  must 
'not  be  taken  in  the  optative  here  any  more  than 
in  viii.  3,  where  the  entire  passage  recurs,  as 
though  the  sentence  expressed  a  wish,  "let  his 
left  hand  be  under  my  head  and  his  right  em- 
brace me"*  (Ewald,  Vaih.,  Weissb.,  etc.,  [so 
Ginsb.]. —  This  is  contradicted  by  the  whole 
situation  as  well  in  this  passage  as  in  viii.  3. 
On  the  score  of  language  too  it  is  simpler 
and  more  natural  to  understand  it  as  an  indica- 
tive. 

Ver.  7.  "  I  adjure  you,  ye  daughters  of 
Jerusalem,"  etc.  In  favor  of  Shulamith  as  the 
speaker  in  these  closing  words,  it  may  be  said: 
1.  That  she  is  unmistakably  the  speaker  of  these 
words  in  iii.  6  and  viii.  4,  where  as  here  they 
introduce  a  "pause  in  the  action  "  of  considera- 
ble length  (Ewald).  2.  That  Shulamith  already 
addressed  the  ladies  of  the  court  in  ver.  5,  who 
must  accordingly  be  supposed  to  be  near  at  hand 
as  spectators  of  her  joy.  3.  That  what  she  has 
said  of  her  being  "  sick  of  love  "  prepared  the 
way  for  this  adjuration,  and  the  latter  is  well- 
nigh;  unintelligible  without  reference  to  the  for- 
mer. We  may  from  the  outset,  therefore,  repel 
the  attempts  to  treat  the  verse  as  the  language 
of  the  queen  mother,  who  enters  here  (!  Bottoh.), 
or  of  the  celestial  Solomon  (Henostenb.,  after 
many  older  expositors  as  Starke,  Jo,  Laxqe, 
etc.),  or  of  the  poet  (Umbr.,  Hitzig), f  or, 
finally  of  the  shepherd  speaking  to  the  chorus 
(!  Eenan).  "I  adjure  you,"  literally,  I  cause 
you  (as  much  as  in  me  is)  to  swear,  I  exact 
from  you  the  sacred  promise,  I  earnestly  beg 
you. I     Compare    Gen.  1.  5;   Num.    v.   19.     By 

*  [Thrupp  insists  on  the  future  sense :  The  time  shall  come 
when  that  sickness  of  love,  of  which  I  now  complain,  shall  be 
solaced  and  satisfied.  Taylor  makes  vers.  4-6  the  protasis  of 
the  sentence  completed  in  ver.  7,  "  when  he  brings  me,  etc., 
when  his  left  hand  is,  etc.,  I  adjure  you,"  etc.] 

f  [Qlhh,  Patrick,  Scott  and  VI^illiams  make  this  tho  lan- 
guage of  the  bridegroom ;  tho  great  body  of  English  commen. 
tators  refer  it  to  the  bride. — Tr.] 

I  [WiTHiNGTON,  in  accordance  with  his  supposition  that  tho 
bnde  is  the  daughter  of  an  Arab  chief,  whose  adjuration  ia 
consequently  by  the  roes  and  hinds  of  her  native  fields,  re- 
marks ;  "  The  semi-paganism  of  the  oath  is  extremely  natu* 


I.  1— II.  7. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


65 


the  gazelles  or  by  the  hinds  of  the  field. 

These  animals  are  not  named  in  the  adju- 
ration, because  animals  generally  in  contrast  with 
men  have  "fixed  annual  rutting  seasons"  (HiTzia ; 
likewise  also  Herdeb.  and  others)  ;  nor  because 
the  ladies  of  Jerusalem  were  in  the  habit  of 
keeping  little  pet  gazelles  (J.  D.  Mich.),  nor  on 
account  of  the  resemblance  of  niSDS  and  HlrN 
misn    to    the    divine   names    OlKDIf   nin'    and 

■.■T-  t;         T     : 

D^Dtyn  'nvX  (Weissb.);  but  doubtless  on  account 
of  their  pretty  and  graceful  appearance  (oomp. 
Prov.  V.  19),  which  makes  these  animals  in  par- 
ticular fit  symbols  of  tender  and  ideal  love,  and 
must  make  them  especially  dear  to  women  in 
this  point  of  view,  Comp.  particularly  Dopke 
inloc,  likewise  Ewald  :  "  In  common  life  people 
Bwore  by  things,  which  belonged  to  the  subject 
of  conversation,  or  were  especially  dear  to  the 
speaker.  As  therefore  the  warrior  swears  by 
his  sword,  as  Mohammed  by  the  soul  of  which  he 
ia  just  about  to  speak  (Kor.  ch.  xci.  7),  so  here 
Shulamith  by  the  lovely  gazelles  since  she  is  spea- 
king of  love."* — That  ye  wake  not  nor  awa- 
ken love  until  it  please.  'Tj^iT  DX,  literally, 
"if  ye  wake,"  etc.  (Ewald,  |  325,  b),  [G-keen's 
Heb.  Ghreatomathy  on  Gen.  xlii.  15].  The  verb  is 
here  masc,  corresponding  to  UDViif,  in  a,  not  be- 
cause the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  were  not  real 
female  personalities,  as  HENGSTENBEua  [so  too 
Woedswokth]  insists,  but  because  the  primary 
gender  ia  here  used  as  common,  as  in  ver.  6 
above,  and  Judg.  iv.  20;  Isa.  xxxii.  11;  and 
frequently  in  the  imperative.  [Thrupp  explains 
it  by  "  the  general  indeiiniteness  of  the  character 
which  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  as  members 
of  the  chorus  here  sustain."  But  see  Green's 
5e6.  Gtow.  §275,  5.— Tr.]— n:inxn  is  certainly 
not  "the  loved  one,"  as  though  the  warning  here 
were  not  wantonly  to  wake  Shulamith  who  had 
fallen  asleep  (Vuia.  dilectam,  Syr.,  Gesen., 
Ewald,  Rosenm.,  Hbnqstenb.,  Renan  and  J.  D. 
MiOHAELis  who  for  the  sake  of  this  sense  points 
n^nxri),  but  as  this  meaning  would  be  in  the 
highest  degree  unsuitable  in  the  parallel  passa- 
ges iii.  5  and  viii.  4,  and  as  love  as  an  ethical 
idea  comes  significantly  forward  elsewhere  in 
this  poem  (vii.  7  and  viii.  6  f.),  it  is  manifestly 
love  itself  as  a  passion  slumbering  in  the  heart, 
which  it  would  not  do  over-curiously  to  rouse  or 
kindle  to  a  flame.  runKH  Tjt^n  cannot  possibly 
mean  "  disturbing  love  "  before  it  has  attained 
full  satisfaction  of  its  desire  for  converse  with 
the  beloved  object  (Delitzsoh,  Weissb.),  for  it 
certainly  expresses  something  analogous  to  T'Jjn 

ral."  Moody  Stuart  :  "  This  is  no  oath  by  the  hinds  of  the 
fields,  but  a  solemn  charge,  with  the  strength  of  an  oath." 
Williams  infei-s,  from  a  comparison  of  Gen.  xxi.  30,  that  the 
"  antelopes  and  hinds  of  the  field  "  are  referred  to  as  witnesses 
of  this  solemn  adjuration  made  in  their  presence. — Tr.] 
[*  Henry  :  "  She  gives  them  this  charge  by  everything  that 
^  ^  18_  amiable  in  their  eyes  and  dear  to  them."  Fry  :  "  The  bride 
bids  her  attendants  to  be  cautious  not  to  disturb  or  call  off  the 
attention  of  her  husband,  whose  society  she  has  so  coveted, 
as  though  they  were  approaching  the  gazelles  or  the  deer 
of  the  plaip."  Taylor  and  Bdrrowes  likewise  find  the  point 
of  the  allusion  in  the  timorousness  of  these  animals.  Gill 
and  Scott  combine  both :  "  They  are  gentle  and  pleasant 
creatures,  but  exceedingly  timorous."  Words.  :  "  The  roes 
and  hinds  love  their  mates  with  tender  affection  and  steadfast 
reliance  and  will  not  disturb  them  in  their  slumbers."] 


nxjp  "stir  up  jealousy"  Isa.  xlii.  1.3,  and  the 
Pi.  Ill;',  which  is  added  to  strengthen  it,  always 
and  only  has  the  sense  of  exciting  or  awakening 
e.  g.  strife,  Prov.  x.  12,  strength  or  power,  Ps. 
Ixxx.  3,  etc.  Comp.  also  irrilata  voluplas,  irrita- 
menta  amoris  seu  veneris  in  Latin  poets  (e.  ff.  Ovid, 
de  arte  am.  2,  681 ;  Metam.  9,  133  ;  Juven.  11, 
165) ;  although  here  we  are  certainly  not  to 
think  of  any  magic  charms  or  philters  to  inflame 
love  or  lust,  such  as  love  apples,  Gen.  xxx.  14,  etc., 
or  quinces  (Bottoher).  The  meaning  of  the  ad- 
monition is  rather  simply  this  :  "  Plunge  not  rash 
and  unbidden' into  the  passion  of  love,  that  is  to 
say  not  before  love  awakes  of  itself  (till  heart  is 
joined  to  heart,  till  God  Himself  awakens  in  you 
an  affection  for  the  right  man),  be  not  forward 
to  excite  it  in  your  hearts  by  frivolous  coquetry 
or  loose  amorous  arts."  This  caution  may  in 
some  measure  be  regarded  as  the  moral  of  the 
entire  poem,  inasmuch  as  it  aims  at  the  preser- 
vation of  the  chaste,  truly  moral,  and  conse- 
quently truly  natural,  character  of  love.  It  is, 
therefore,  most  suitably  put  into  the  mouth  of 
Shulamith  as  the  bearer  or  representative  of  such 
pureethical  love  in  contrast  with  the  women  ofSo- 
lomon's  court.*    Comp.  the  like  sentence  viii.  7  b. 


*  [  This  surely  cannot  be  accepted  as  a  satisfactory  expla- 
nation of  this  difficult  verse.  The  spontaneity  of  love,  which 
no  effort  must  be  made  to  awaken,  but  wliich  miist  be  excited 
of  itself,  so  far  from  being  accounted  a  worthy  lesson  of  di- 
vine revelation,  is  not  even  a  doctrine  of  ethics,  and  would  re- 
quire considerable  qualification  before  it  could  be  admitted  to 
be  sound  rational  advice.  If  inspired  instruction  were  to  be 
given  on  the  subject  of  conjugal  love,  and  a  whole  book  de- 
voted to  the  treatment  of  it,  we  might  reasonably  expect  that 
its  constancy,  purity  and  strength  would  be  prominently 
dwelt  upon,  that  due  attention  would  be  paid  to  the  qualities 
on  which  it  should  be  based,  the  affectionate  offices  by  which 
it  should  be  maintained,  and  the  holy  principles  by  which  it 
should  be  regulated.  But  instead  of  all  this  the  one  thing  in- 
sisted upon  is  that  love  must  be  spontaneous  and  unsolicited. 
What  is  this  but  to  convert  it  into  heedless,  inconsiderate 
passion,  the  spring  of  ill-judged  attachments,  which  prove  aa 
inharmonious  in  their  issue  as  they  were  irrational  in  their 
origin  ?  This  is,  besides,  a  very  different  thing  from  the 
theme  of  this  book,  as  ZiicKLER  himself  conceives  and  repre- 
sents it,  which  is  the  commendation  of  a  pure  and  chaste  con- 
jugal affection  as  opposed  to  the  dissoluteness  and  sensuality 
fostered  by  polygamy.  It  would  also  be  a  most  extraordina- 
ry admonition  for  Shulamith  to  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem, 
among  whom,  according  to  ZiicKLER's  hypothesis  were  the 
wives  of  Solomon,  married  to  him  long  before  Shulamith  had 
ever  seen  him. 

Then  besides  the  feebleness  and  inappropriateness  of  the 
sense  obtained,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  language  of  the 
verse  can  be  made  to  yield  it.  The  expressions  thus  explained 
are  exceedingly  vague.  There  is  nothing  to  indicate  in 
whom  they  are  cautioned  not  to  awaken  love,  whether  in 
themselves  or  others ;  or  in  what  way — may  they  not  in  any 
way  seek  to  win  another's  affection  or  to  excite  their  own, 
not  even  by  exhibiting  or  discerning  what  is  worthy  of  re- 
gard? And  "  till  it  (i.  &.,  love)  please,"  is  to  say  the  least  an 
unexampled  phrase.  It  is  a  very  singular  form  of  speech  for 
any  one  to  adopt :  "  do  not  excite  a  passion  until  that  passion 
is  willing  to  be  excited." 

Of  the  English  commentators,  who  take  "  love  "  in  its  sui>- 
jective  sense  of  the  feeling  or  emotion,  Ginssuro  under  the 
bias  of  the  unfounded  shepherd-hypothesis  translates :  "  nei- 
ther to  excite  nor  to  incite  my  affection  till  it  wishes  another 
love,"  the  words  "  another  love "  being  introduced  without 
any  warrant  from  the  text  or  context.  Patrick  paraphrases 
thus :  "  I  conjure  you  not  to  discompose  or  give  the  least  dis- 
turbance to  that  love ;  but  let  it  enjoy  its  satisfaction  to  the 
height  of  its  desires."  So  substantially  Taylor  and  Thropp. 
Weiss.  :  "  if  ye  disturb  this  love  until  it  shall  become  com- 
plete, i.  e.,  until  the  marriage  be  consummated."  But  the 
verbs  here  employed  mean  to  awaken  or  excite,  not  to  dis- 
turb. It  seems  better,  however,  with  the  great  body  of  in- 
terpreters to  take  "  love  "  here  as  in  vii.  G  in  its  objectiva 
sense  of  one  who  is  beloved.  Wordsworth  compares  "  tho 
words  of  S.  IGN-ATIUS  ad  Horn.  7,  6  ejucbs  epws  eo-TaupoiTat." 
The  bride  is  locked  in  the  fond  embrace  of  him  whom  she 
loves.    She  would  not  have  him  aroused  by  the  intrusion  of 


64 


THE  SONG  OP  SOLOMON. 


I.  1— II.  7. 


DOCTRINAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

1.  The  allegorical  interpretation  current  in  the 
Church  regards  all  the  particulars  in  the  forego- 
ing description  of  the  loving  intercourse  between 
the  bridegroom  and  the  bride,  as  allusions  veiled 
under  mystical  figures  to  the  relation  of  Christ 
to  the  Church  and  further  to  the  soul  of  the  in- 
dividual Christian.  It  sees  in  the  opening  words 
of  Shulamith  i.  2-4  a  manifestation  of  the  long- 
ing of  the  Church  for  union  with  her  heavenly 
bridegroom,  whilst  the  partial  identification  or 
combination  of  Shulamith  with  the  other  virgins 
was  especially  designed  to  indicate  that  the 
speaker  was  an  ideal  person  as  well  as  her  lover, 
who  is  now  addressed,  now  mentioned  in  the 
third  person,  and  who  forms  the  object  of  her 
longing  desire.  It  further  supposes  in  what 
Shulamith  says  vers.  5,6  of  her  "blackness" 
and  of  her  '*  not  having  kept  her  own  vineyard," 
references  to  the  sins  of  the  church,  as  the 
causes  of  her  temporary  separation  from  God 
and  her  enslavement  by  the  empire  of  this  world ; 
and  accordingly  finds,  in  ver.  7,  a  prayer  to  be 
informed  respecting  the  way  which  leads  back 
to  communion  with  God  and  Christ,  in  ver.  8  a 
statement  of  this  way  vouchsafed  to  her  by  divine 
grace  ;  vers.  9-17  depict  the  emulous  contest  of 
love,  which  proceeds  between  the  Church  peni- 
tently returned  to  her  heavenly  bridegroom  and 
Christ,  who  graciously  receives  her;  in  which 
the  cordial  promptness  and  address,  with  which 
the  bride  immediately  repeats  in  application  to 
her  bridegroom  everything  said  in  her  praise, 
indicate  the  faith  of  the  Church  working  by  love 
and  making  constant  progress  in  holiness.  Then 
in  ii.  1 — 7,  it  is  alleged  that  "declarations  of 
love  advance  to  the  enjoyment  of  love,"  and  this 
latter  is  represented  in  ver.  6  as  having  already 
attained  its  acme  under  the  emblem  of  an  em- 
brace, or  of  the  nuptial  couch.  The  epiphonema 
in  ver.  7  brings  the  entire  development  to  its 
conclusion,  and  shows  by  its  twofold  recurrence 
subsequently  in  iii.  5  and  viii.  4,  that  the  same 
subject  is  treated  in  successive  cycles,  and  the 
process  by  which  the  loving  union  of  Christ 
with  the  Church  is  effected  is  thus  repeatedly 
symbolized  under  an  allegorico-dramatic  veil, 
varied  with  every  iteration. — So  among  the  more 
recent  allegorizers,  e.  g.^  Hengstenberq  (pp.  2fiF., 
24  flF.,  36  fif.),  with  whom  the  rest,  as  Hahn, 
HoELEMANN,  etc.,  agree  in  everything  essential, 
and  particularly  in  the  assertion  of  a  cyclical 
mode  of  presentation,  by  which  the  -dramatic 
unity  of  the  whole  is  fundamentally  destroyed, 
and  several  successive  tableaux  or  portraitures 
of  character  are  assumed,  all  relating  to  the 
same  subject  (or  as  Hahn  expresses  it,  each 
"serves  to  supplement  or  further  explain"  its 
predecessors).  Similarly  the  older  allegorical 
interpreters,  only  they  go  into  more  detail  in 
the  mystical  exposition  of  the  individual  figures, 
and  see  e.  g.  in  the  bundle  of  myrrh,  i.  13,  a 
reference   to  Christ's  bitter  passion,  or  to  His 

others  to  the  interruptiug  or  abridging  of  her  joy.  Poole, 
with  an  eyo  to  its  spiritual  application:  "  Do  not  disturb  nor 
offend  him  by  your  miscarriages."  Words.  :  "  The  church 
conjures  her  children  that  they  be  not  impatient  but  wait  in 
faith  and  hope  for  Qod's  own  time,  when  it  may  please  Him 
to  arise  and  deliver  her." — Tr.J 


perfect  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  men  (comp. 
Starke  in  loc),  whereby  consequently  an  allu- 
sion to  His  munus  sacerdotale  is  added  to  that  to 
the  munus  propheticum  (i,  7,  Christ  as  shepherd), 
and  regium  (i.  12,  Christ  as  king) ;  or  expound 
the  "golden  bracelets  "  i.  11  of  the  growth  of 
faith,  the  "silver  points,"  in  the  same  passage, 
of  holiness  of  life;  or  hold  the  "wine  cellEcr" 
ii.  4  to  be  an  emblem  of  Christian  churches  and 
schools  as  "houses  of  wisdom,"  or  see  in  it 
whether  "the  altar  of  the  Church,  where  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  dispensed,"  or  the 
Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament, 
with  their  various  sorts  or  stages  of  divine 
revelation.* 

2.   In  opposition  to  such  aimless  and  unbridled 


*  [Geneva  Bible,  note  on  i.  2  :  "  This  is  spoken  in  the  per- 
son of  the  Church  or  of  the  faithful  soul  inflamed  with  the 
desire  of  Christ,  whom  she  loveth."  AiNSW.:  "The  bride  ia 
the  Church  espoused  to  Christ."  In  i.  2  she  "desireth  to 
have  Christ  manifested  in  the  flesh,  and  to  have  the  loving 
and  comfortable  doctrines  of  His  gospel  applied  unto  her  con- 
science." "  By  virgins  (ver.  3)  are  meant  all  such  (whether 
whole  churches  or  particular  persons)  who  with  chaste  and 
pure  minds  serve  the  Lord  only."  The  daughters  of  Jerusa- 
lem are  "  the  friends  of  Christ  and  His  Church,  the  elect  of  God, 
though  not  yet  perfectly  instructed  in  the  way  of  the  Lord." 
The  bride's  blackness  (ver.  5)  is  "  the  Church's  aflQictions  and 
infirmities."  Her  mother's  sons,  "either  false  brethren, 
false  prophets  and  deceivers,  or  inordinate  lusts  and  sins 
which  dwelt  in  her,  and  were  conceived  with  her."  "  The 
vineyards  opposed  to  her  own  vineyard  seem  to  mean  false 
churches,  and  in  them  the  corruption  of  religion,  whereunto 
her  mother's  eons  sought  to  draw  her ;  setting  her  to  observe 
the  ordinances  and  traditions  of  men,  or  otherwise  to  undergo 
their  cruelty  and  wrath."  In  ver.  7  "  the  Church  maketh 
request  unto  Christ  for  instruction  in  the  administration  of 
His  kingdom  here  on  earth."  Burrowzs  regards  this  section 
as  exhibiting,  in  successive  steps,  "  the  progress  of  the  pious 
soul  in  the  enjoyment  of  Christ's  love  and  favor."  1.  We 
enjoy  the  love  of  Jeans  as  manifested  in  private  communion 
"in  His  chambers,"  i.  4.  2.  In  the  way  of  duty  and  self-de- 
nial, i.  7-11.  3.  In  sitting  with  the  King  in  the  circle  of  His 
friends,  and  enjoying,  as  one  of  them,  the  delights  of  social 
communion  with  Him,  j.  12-14.  4.  In  delightful  repose  with 
Him,  amid  enlarged  prospects  of  spiritual  beauty,  i.  15-17. 
5.  In  the  protection  and  delights  set  forth  in  ii.  1-3.  6. 
In  enjoying  at  last  the  pleasures  mentioned  in  ii.  4r-7,  the 
greatest  possible  on  earth." 

■\VoRDSw.  finds  expressed  in  i.  2  "the  fei-vent  yearnings  of 
the  Church  for  the  advent  of  Christ."  "The  mother  of  the 
Bride  (i.  e.,  of  the  Church  of  Christ)  is  the  Jewish  nation,  and 
her  mother's  children  are  Jews  or  Judaizers.  It  was  the  de- 
linquency, ingratitude  and  cruelty  of  the  "  mother's  child- 
ren" which  made  the  Christian  Church  become  the  "keeper 
of  the  vineyards." 

According  to  Thrupp,  "  the  Church  of  Israel,  in  i.  2,  desires 
the  very  presence  of  her  Saviour.  She  had  been  instructed 
and  wooed  throiigh  the  messages  of  the  prophets  ;  she  desired 
now  that  her  promised  Messiah  should  pour  into  her  mouth 
words  from  His  own  mouth."  The  daughters  of  Jerusalem 
are  "  the  members  of  the  Church  of  Israel  in  their  contem- 
plative capacity;  not  necessarily  different  persons  in  their 
outer  being  from  the  virgins  of  ver.  3  (the  upright),  but  yet 
representing  them  in  a  different  point  of  view,  with  reference 
solely  to  their  intelligent  and  emotional  survey  of  what  is 
passing,  and  without  regard  to  their  own  spiritual  state." 
The  mother  of 'the  Bride  is  the  nation  of  Israel.  The  mother's 
sons  are  "the  several  membei-s  of  the  nation,  viewed  only  in 
their  civil  dealings,  in  their  relation  to  the  State,  not  in  their 
relation  to  the  Church."  Their  anger  was  the  rebellion  of 
the  ten  tribes.  Her  own  vineyard  was  the  religious  culture 
of  all  Israel.  Hindered  in  this  by  the  political  condition  of 
the  nation,  she  was  driven  to  the  establishment  of  colleges  of 
holy  disciples,  the  sons  of  the  prophets  at  different  centres, 
whose  spheres  of  action  are  denoted  by  the  vineyards,  of 
which  the  anger  of  her  brethren  made  her  the  keeper.  Weiss 
refers  this  section  to  the  time  when  Israel  lay  encamped  at 
the  foot  of  Sinai.  The  blackness  of  the  bride  (i.  5)  was  the 
sin  of  the  golden  calf,  the  sun  that  occasioned  it  was  the 
bondage  in  Egypt.  The  petition  (ver.  7)  concerns  the  leading 
through  the  wilderness,  and  the  house  (ver.  17)  is  the  taber- 
nacle of  Moses.  Moody  Stuart  supposes  the  longing  for 
Christ's  appearance,  and  His  actual  birth  among  men,  to  be 
the  subject  of  this  section ;  his  interpretation  of  which  is 
specialized  even  to  the  extent  of  making  the  "  green  bed"  of 
i.  16  refer  to  the  fresh  grass  upon  which  the  newly-born 
Saviour  waa  laid  in  the  manger  for  the  cattle. 


I— 11.  7. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


<iE 


trifling,  wliioh  lays  no  sure  historical  and  exe- 
getical  foundation  at  the  outset,  and  hence  sup- 
poses that  it  can  bring  every  possible  mystery 
into  the  simple  language  of  this  poem,  an  un- 
prejudiced historical  exposition  can  see  nothing 
in  the  seotioi  explaiuea  above,  but  the  first  act 
of  a  more  prolonged  lyrico-dramatic  action, 
which  by  a  gradual  progress  brings  to  its  de- 
nouement the  relation  of  two  lovers,  king  Solo- 
mon and  a  fair  Israelitish  maiden,  whose  pre- 
vious condition  was  that  of  a  shepherdess  or  a 
vine-dresser.  The  development  in  this  first  section 
is  not  cairied  beyond  the  exhibiting  a  decided  ethical 
contrast  between  the  character  of  this  maiden  and 
that  of  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem,  i.  c. ,  the  ladies 
of  Solomon's  court  or  harem,  and  the  knitting  in 
addition  of  a  firm  bond  of  loving  heart-communion 
between  her  and  the  king,  who  for  her  sake  already 
begins  to  contemn  all  the  others,  and  even  to  find  them 
unlovely  (see  ii.  2).  It  is  not  exactly  the  very 
first  of  the  "mutual  attachment"  of  the  two 
lovers  (Delitzsch),  but  it  is  the  first  conscious- 
ness in  both  of  the  incomparable  strength  and 
ardor  of  their  reciprocal  affection  (see  particu- 
larly ii.  6,  6),  which  is  exhibited  iu'this  act,  to- 
gether with  the  first  evident  cropping  out  of  an 
inner  contrariety  between  this  closely  united 
pair  and  the  other  persons  of  the  court;  and 
this  is  brought  by  the  principal  person  in  the 
piece  to  the  briefest  and  most  emphatic  expres- 
sion possible,  by  the  remarlc  at  the  close  in  ii.  7, 
as  a  contrast  of  true  and  false  love,  or  that 
which  "awalies  of  itself,"  and  that  which  is 
"excited"  by  amorous  arts.* 

8.  Only  thus  much  can  be  maintained  as  the  well 
assured  result  of  a   sober,  yet   earnest-minded 

1 

*  [The  contrast  in  character,  which  ZJ^ckler  finda  already 
indicated  in  this  section  between  Shulamith  and  the  daugh- 
ters of  Jerusalem,  though  essential  to  his  scheme  of  the  book, 
is  purely  imaginary.  It  certainly  is  not  established  by  ii,  2, 
the  only  passage  that  can,  with  the  slightest  plausibility,  be 
urged  in  its  favor :  whilst  i.  3  and  4  speak  decisively  against 
it. 

Whether  the  cyclic  or  the  dramatic  view  of  this  book  is  to 
be  preferred,  may  be  left  an  open  question  at  this  stage  of  the 
exposition.  If  our  author  succeeds  in  showing  a  continuous 
progress  in  the  acvion  from  first  to  last,  the  latter  view  ie  of 
course  entitled  to  the  preference.  But  if  he  fails  in  this,  as 
in  the  translator's  judgment  he  does,  and  as  all  have  done 
who  have  made  the  same  attempt  before  him,  we  seem  to  be 
shut  up  to  the  former ;  unless  indeed  even  the  cyclic  view,  at 
leaat  as  refined  by  some  of  its  later  advocates,  is  too  artificial 
for  the  artless  simplicity  of  this  beautiful  poem,  in  which  the 
same  theme  recurs  under  varied  aspects,  but  the  law  of  suc- 
cession is  rather  that  of  poetical  association  than  logical  ex- 
actness. 

And  the  general  character  of  this  section  creates  an  ante- 
cedent presumption  favorable  to  this  view.  The  intimacy 
here  described  is  of  the  strictest  and  most  loving  nature,  and 
seems  to  leave  no  room  for  any  further  advance.  Instearl  of 
preparing  the  way  for  a  married  union,  it  rather  implies  that 
the  marriage  has  already  taken  place.  The  "  bed  "  i.  IG  ia 
in  all  probability  not  the  nuptial  couch.  But  Shulamith's 
presence  in  the  king'  s  apartments,  the  kiasea  and  embraces, 
her  open  expression  of  her  passionate  fondness  for  the  king 
would  be  unbecoming  and  inadmissible,  especially  amid  the 
restraints  of  oriental  society,  prior  to  marriage. — Te.] 


exposition  of  this  first  division,  which  keeps 
aloof  from  the  profane  assumptions  and  artifi- 
cial combinations  of  modern  sliepherd-romances 
and  amatory  poems ;  and  it  is  simply  on  this 
basis,  therefore,  that  a  practical  application  of 
the  contents  of  this  chapter  and  a  half  must  pro- 
ceed, if  it  is  to  be  conducted  upon  sound  and 
worthy  principles.  Its  aim  must  consist  essen- 
tially in  pointing  out  and  devoutly  estimating  the 
typical  analogy  which  undeniably  holds  between 
what  is  here  found  and  the  dealings  of  the  Re- 
deemer with  His  Church.  As  Solomon  raised  his 
beloved  from  a  low  condition  to  his  own  glory, 
and  that  from  mere  love,  and  drawn  by  her 
beauty  and  charms,  so  the  Lord  has  exalted  man, 
sunk  in  misery  and  degradation,  from  no  other 
motive  than  His  love,  His  mere  personal  regard 
for  our  race,  upon  which  His  divine  glory  and 
blessedness  were  in  no  manner  dependent ;  for 

"Nothing  brought  Him  from  above, 
Nothing  but  redeeming  love." 

As  further  Solomon's  love  to  Shulamith  ap- 
pears in  a  gradual  growth  and  a  progression  by 
successive  steps,  so  too  Christ  lifts  both  His  entire 
church  and  the  individual  souls  that  compose  it, 
only  step  by  step  to  the  full  and  complete  fellow- 
ship of  His  grace.  To  the  call  into  His  kingdom, 
which  corresponds  with  the  establishing  of  the 
relation  of  conjugal  love  in  the  royal  gardens  at 
Jerusalem  represented  in  this  act,  succeed  ths 
higher  stages  of  illumination,  conversion,  sancti- 
fication ;  but  they  do  not  follow  immediately 
upon  the  heels  of  the  former.  As  finally  the 
lovely  combination  of  child-like  humility  and  of 
inward  longing  for  her  beloved,  which  Shula- 
mith's character  already  exliibits  in  this  first 
Song,  forms  her  chief  attraction  which  first 
makes  her  appear  truly  worthy  of  the  love  of  her 
royal  bridegroom,  so  in  the  soul  of  every  Chris- 
tian whom  the  Lord  calls  into  His  kingdom  and 
will  make  partaker  of  His  grace,  the  necessity  of 
surrendering  himself  voluntarily  to  these  gracious 
drawings  with  a  hearty  desire  for  a  complete 
union  with  him  becomes  His  highest  duty ;  for 
"  non  visi  volentes  trahuniur  a  Deo"  (Matt,  xxiii. 
37.) — Besides  these  analogies  a  sound  and  sober 
practical  exposition  of  this  section  must  also  hold 
up  the  numerous  points  of  difference  between  the 
historical  type  and  the  soteriological  and  Mes- 
sianic antitype  ;  and  among  these  it  must  par- 
ticularly point  out  the  dissimilitude,  nay  the  con- 
trast between  the  earthly  Solomon,  and  the  di- 
vine-human Redeemer,  as  well  as  between  the 
surroundings  of  both.  For  it  is  only  in  this  way 
that  the  total  of  what  is  contained  in  this  action 
can  be  duly  developed  and  converted  to  practical 
profit  in  both  a  positive  and  a  negative  respect. 
Comp.  Introduction,  g  4,  pp.  16  if. 


S6  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  II.  8—112-  5. 


SECOND   SONG. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  lovers,  related  by  Shulamith  who  has  returned  to  her  home. 

Chap.  II.  8— III.  5. 

FIRST  [and  only)  SCENE: 

Shulamith  (alone). 

8  Hark !'  my  beloved ;  lo !  here  lie  comes, 

leaping^  over  the  mountains, 
bounding  over  the  hills. 

9  My  beloved  is  like  a  gazelle 

or  a  young  hart.' 

Lo !  here  he  stands  behind  our  wall,* 
looking  through*  the  windows, 
glancing  through  the  lattices.* 

10  Answered  my  beloved  and  said  to  me: 

"Up,'  my  dear,  my  fair  one  and  go  forth  ! 

11  For,  lo  !  the  winter  is  past, 

the  rain  is  over,  is  gone. 

12  The  flowers  appear  in  the  land, 

the  time  for  song'  has  arrived, 

and  the  voice  of  the  turtle  dove  is  heard  in  our  land. 

13  The  fig-tree  spices*  its  green  figs 

and  the  vines  are  in  bloom,"  they  yield  fragrance, 
"up!  my  dear,  my  fair  one  and  go  forth  I 

14  My  dove,  in  the  clefts"  of  the  rock,     • 

in  the  recess  of  the  cliffs," 

let  me  see  thy  form,"  let  me  hear  thy  voice, 

for  thy  voice  is  sweet  and  thy  form  is  comely." — 

TEXTUAL   AND    GKAMMATICAL. 

1  [Wio.  heading:  The  voice  of  the  church  of  Christ.  Mat.:  The  Toice  of  the  church.  Gov.;  Methink  I  hear  the  Toiol 
«f  my  beloved.    So  Cain.,  BiSH.] 

2  "  Whilat  the  verb  J7T  suggesta  his  long  leaps,  as  he  springs,  comp.  Isa.  xxxv.  6;  Ps.  xviii.  30 ;  Zeph.  i.  9,  the  verb 
V3D  (an  older  form  for  Ti3p  and  related  to  VOp  to  press  together,  as  well  as  to  V3p  to  gatfier ;  in  the  Piel  "tocaueeto 

draw  together  ")  lets  us.  as  it  were,  see  the  gazelles,  with  which  the  lover  is  compared,  as  in  galloping  they  draw  their  feet 
together  again,  after  being  stretched  so  wide  apart."  Weissb. 
8  [AiNS. :  a  fawn  of  the  hinds  } 

4  ^nil  according  to  the  Targ.  on  Josh.  ii.  lo  equivalent  to  *T'p  "wall  "  occurs  nowhere  else  in  the  Old  Testament  ex- 
cept in  the  Chaldee  forms  ^703  Dan.  v.  5,  and  (plur.)  N'SnS  Ezr.  v.  8. 

6  [E.  Ver.i  '=  forth  at."  Gov.:  better  " in  at."    Words.:  ""spying  in  at  the  windows."] 
6  [Gov. :  peepeth  through  the  grate.    Ai.vd. :  flourishing  through  the  lattices.] 

T  The  two-fold  ^7  to  thee  after  ^D^p  arise  and  after  ''37  go,  throws  back  the  action,  as  it  were,  upon  its  subject  and 

thus  serves  to  impart  to  the  language  an  easy,  colloquial  and  kindly  character,  comp.  i.  8,  also  vera.  11, 13, 17 ;  iv.  6 ;  viii.  14. 

WzisSBicri  correctly  remarks  that  it  ia  chiefly  verbs  of  motion  to  wliich  this  kindly  ^7  or  ^7  or  ID  7   is    added.    [Mai.: 

The  voice  of  Christ.] 

8  [E.  Ver.:  "singing  of  birds,"  which  Harmbr  refers  especially  to  the  nightingale.  Wio. :  "cutting."  Gov.:  the 
twisting  time.    DowAT  :  "pruning,"  so  TeRDPP  and  Weiss.     Poole  :  cutting  or  cropping  for  nosegays.] 

»  [So  Notes.  Gov.  :  hringeth  forth.  B.  Ver. :  putteth  forth.  Goon,  GiNSn. :  sweeten.  WlutlAMS  :  ripen.  Fet  :  em- 
balm,   Weiss:  perfume.    Thrupp  :  mature.] 

10  [Wic. :  flowering.  Gov. :  blossoms,  so  Fry,  Noyes,  Thrupp.  Dow  ay  :  flower.  E.  Ver. :  tender  grapes ;  so  Good,  Weibs, 
fliNBQ.  Williams:  tender  buds.] 

u  [Wio. :  The  voice  of  Ghriat  to  the  church.] 

^2  U /Dn  ""Un  appeara  here  as  well  as  in  Ohad.  ver.  3 ;  Jer.  xlix.  16,  which  are  probably  derived  from  the  passage  be- 
fore us,  to  be  not  rocky  heights,  lofty  refuges  on  top  of  the  rocks,  (Schuit.,  Gesen.,  Hengstenb.,  Weissb.,  efc.,)  hut  rather 
^'fissurea,  cljfta  in  the  rocka"  (couip.  Ewald  and  Hitziq  in  toe.)    For  the  latter  figure  manifestly  agrees  better  with  the 

prcBent  situation,  (see  ver.  9)  and  may  also  have  a  bettor  etymological  basis  (comp,  Arab.      j_'>»    to  split.) 

13  nU*niD  (from  JT1  kindred  to  XXX)  comp.  Ezek.  xxxvlii.  20,  the  only  otber  passage  in  which  the  word  occnrs. 
I*  On  the  form  TK'^D  Qs  a  singular,  comp.  Ewald,  §256  &,  [Green's  Heb.  Qramm.  §  221,  7  a.] 


II.  8— III.  6.  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  b7 

15  Catch'  us  foxes, 

little  foxes,  spoiling  vineyards; 
for  our  vineyards  are  in  bloom. 

16  My  beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am  his, 

who  feeds  among  the  lilies. 

17  Against^  the  day  cools,  and  the  shadows  flee 

turn  thee,  my  beloved,  and  be  like 
a  gazelle  or  a  young  hart 
on  the  cleft'  mountains. 

{She  sleeps  and  after  some  time  awakes  again :) 

III.  1  *0n  my  bed'  in  the  nights" 

I  sought  him  whom  my  soul  loves ; 
I  sought  him  but  I  found  him  not. 

2  "  I  will  rise  now  and  go  about  in  the  city 

in  the  markets  and  in  the  streets ;' 

I  will  seek  him  whom  my  soul  loves." — 

I  sought  him  but  I  found  him  not. 

3  Found*  me  the  watchmen,  who  go  about  iu  the  city ; 

'"Whom  my  soul  loves,  have  ye  seen?"'" 

4  Scarcely"  had  I  pas,sed  from  them, 

when  I  found  him  whom  my  soul  loves. 

I  grasped  him  and  would  not  let  him  go, 

until  I  had  brought'''  him  into  my  mother's  house, 

and  into  the  chamber  of  her  that  conceived'*  me. — 

5  F*  adjure  you,  ye  daughters  of  Jerusalem, 

by  the  gazelles  or  by  the  hinds  of  the  field, 
that  ye  wake  not  and  that  ye  waken  not 
love  until  it  please. 

1  [Wic. :  The  Toice  of  Christ  to  the  church  against  heretics.    Mat.  :  The  voice  against  the  heretics.] 

2  Adopted  from  Thrupp.] 

3  [E.  Ter.  marg :  division,  but  in  the  text :  Bother,  as  though  it  were  a  proper  name  which  Patbick  identifies  with 
Bethel ;  Ainsworth  and  Poole  with  Bithron ;  and  Clauke  with  Beth-horon.  Gov. :  simply,  •'  mountains  "  omitting  Bether. 
BiSH.,  Crab.  :  wide  mountains.  Parkhurst,  Wilmams  :  craggy  mountains.  Bhrrowes  ;  a  region  cut  up  or  divided  hy 
mountains  and  valleys,  rough,  craggy  and  difficult  to  cross.    With.  :  our  secludeJ  hills.] 

*  [Wiclipfe's  heading ;  The  voice  of  the  church  gathered  together  of  Gentiles.  Mat.  :  The  voice  of  the  church  which  is 
chosen  out  of  the  heathen.] 

6  [Wic:  little  bed.] 

*  [So  AlNS. ;  Wic.  by  nights.    Mat.,  E.  Ver.,  by  night.] 

'  D''pliZ'  plur.  of  pW,  as  DHn  from  l^T  [Green's  Beb.  Gramm.  J  207, 1.  f.]  related  to  \}pp  <»  ™"  (whence  also 
pilff  lep)  denotes  "places  where  peojile  run,"  bustling  public  places,  hence  the  Sept.  correctly  iv  ayopals.  Oomp.  Eccles. 
xii.  4,  6;  and  Prov.  vii.  8.— For  J^lDnl  streets  (rkarelai.)  comp.Prov.  i.  20;  vii.  12.  Without  sufficient  proof  from  the  lan- 
guage Weissbaoh  claims  for  this  latter  expression  the  meaning  "markets,  open  squares,"  and  for  the  former  the  meaning 
"streets."  [Wic  :  by  towns  and  streets.  Gov. :  upon  the  market  and  in  all  the  streets.  Genev.  :  by  the  streets  and  by 
the  open  places.  E.  Ver.  in  the  streets  and  in  the  broad  ways.  Patrick:  D'pli^  are  the  lesser  thoroughfares  in  the  city 
or  the  streets  of  leaser  cities;  as  ntahT  are  the  greater,  wider  streets,  or  rather  the  streets  of  the  royal  capital  city.] 

*  On  Xyn  "  to  strike  upon  any  one,  find,  meet  him,"  1  Sam.  x.  3 ;  Song  Sol.  v.  7. 

»  fWio.  The  church  saith  of  Christ  to  the  apostles.    Mat.  :  The  church  speaking  of  Christ] 

10  The  interrogative  particle  H  is  omitted,  before  the  verb  Dn'N").  because  it  is  at  so  great  a  remove  from  the  be- 

ginningof  the  clause.    Comp.  Ewald,  ZeTtr&ucft,  §  314  a,  &. 
'    11  On  0}!D3  (tb^D  with  J  veritatis)  "as  much  as  a  little."  Comp.  Isa.  i.  9. 

u  On  the  form  Vn^'DHE'  for  VnX'aTIiJ'  see  Hitzig  in  he.  [Qreen'8  Heb.  Gram.,  J 160,  2.] 

^  'min  synonym  of  DN  as  Hos.  ii.  6. 

"  [Wio. :  The  voice  of  Christ  to  the  church.    Mat.  :  The  voice  of  Christ.] 

the  formula  of  citation  ii.  10  'S  1DN1  HH  IDK 


EXEGETICAL   AND   CRITICAL. 

1.  It  ia  the  fixed  opinion  of  almost  all  the  more 
recent  interpreters  that  this  act  contains  two 
monologues  or  sonnets  sung  by  Shulamith  alone, 
and  nothing  more  ;  and  this  is  verified  by  all  the 
particulars  that  it  contains.  The  attempt  of 
iMAONue  and  Deljtzsoh  to  strike  out  as  spurious 


and  so  to  gain  a  dialogue  form  for  the  first  and 
larger  division  (ii.  8-17)  is  wrecked  not  only  by 
the  evidence  of  genuineness  afforded  by  all  MSS. 
and  ancient  versions  in  favor  of  these  words,  but 
also  by  the  closing  verses  of  the  section  (vers. 
15-17)  which  correctly  interpreted  represent  her 
lover  as  present  only  to  the  imagination  of  Shula- 
mith or  to  her  memory,  which   vividly  recalled 


68 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


II.  8— III.  S. 


him.  Whether  the  two  monologues  are  regarded 
as  two  distinct  scenes,  (as  is  commonly  the  case), 
or  the  scene  is  allowed  to  remain  the  same  in  both 
without  change  and  only  a  pause  of  some  length 
is  interposed  between  them  (EwALD,  Hitz.,  Haiin,) 
is  on  the  whole  but  an  unessential  difference.  For 
a  pause  after  ii.  17  is  as  undeniable  and  as  uni- 
vei'sally  admitted  as  is  the  peculiar  character  of 
the  second  sonnet  iii.  1-5,  which  as  the  narration 
of  a  dream  (with  the  apostrophizing  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  Jerusalem  therewith  connected)  is  sharply 
and  distinctly  sundered  from  the  preceding  mo- 
nologue, though  this  too  is  of  a  narrative  charac- 
ter. As  to  what  takes  place  between  the  two 
monologues  or  scenes,  we  may  either  suppose 
(with  EwALD  and  others)  a  prolonged  meditition 
and  silence  on  the  part  of  Shul.amith,  exhausted 
by  the  foregoing  lively  expression  of  her  longing 
desire  for  her  lover,  or,  as  intimated  in  the  above 
translation,  that  she  sinks  into  a  brief  slumber, 
which  brings  before  her  in  a  dream  the  lover  for 
whom  she  so  ardently  longs,  and  thus  in  the  mo- 
ment of  her  awaking  recalls  to  her  remembrance 
a  like  dream  from  the  early  d.ays  of  her  love, 
which  she  hereupon  relates.  No  sufficient  proof 
of  this  assumption  can,  it  is  true,  be  brought  from 
the  context.  Yet  it  undoubtedly  has  more  in  its 
favor  than,  e.g.,  the  hypothesis  proposed  by  Um- 
BEEiT,  RocKE,  Vaihinger,  Renan  and  several  of 
the  older  writers,  that  Shulamith  utters  the  words 
ii.  8-17  in  a  dream,  and  then,  after  awaking,  she 
relates  (to  the  women  of  the  harem  around  her) 
a  dream  which  she  had  previously  had,  iii.  1  fF., 
in  order  to  "prove  her  changeless  love  to  the 
friend  to  whom  her  heart  was  given."  The  lan- 
guage in  ii.  8-17  has,  to  be  sure,  a  certain  dream- 
like vagueness,  rather  than  the  character  of  a 
strictly  historical  narration.  But  this  is  suffi- 
ciently explained  by  the  highly  excited  fancy  of 
the  singer,  which  brings  up  the  past  before  her, 
as  though  she  were  experiencing  it  anew,  and 
which  in  this  lyrical  recital,  that  is  any  thing  but 
dry  narration,  here  and  there  springs  over  what 
iniervenes  between  the  separate  particulars  of 
the  action,  especially  in  ver.  9  and  between  vers. 
14  and  15. 

2.  It  is,  however,  far  more  difficult  to  deter- 
mine the  scene  or  the  situation,  and  the  extern.al 
surroundings  of  the  speaker  during  this  act,  than 
to  decide  upon  the  form  and  style  of  the  discourse. 
The  adherents  of  the  shepherd-hypothesis,  who 
here  conceive  of  Shulamith  as  continuing  at  Je- 
rusalem in  the  royal  harem,  and  expressing  her 
longing  for  her  distant  lover,  can  urge,  it  is  true, 
in  favor  of  this  the  repetition  of  the  address  to 
the  "daughters  of  Jerusalem  "  at  the  close  of  the 
section  (iii.  5),  but  are  not  able  to  explain  why 
the  description  in  ii.  8-17  presupposes  an  un- 
doubted country  scene,  with  mountains,  hills, 
vineyards,  flowery  iields,  etc.,  or  why  it  is  a  sim- 
ple monologue  of  the  beloved,  and  neither  Solo- 
mon nor  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  utter  a  word. 
Bottcher's  view,  therefore,  seems  to  have  some- 
thing in  its  favor,  that  the  locality  of  the  action 
was  a  royal  country  house  not  far  from  Jerusa- 
lem, where  Shulamith  was  detained  a  solitary 
prisoner.  And  the  one  circumstance  at  least 
that  according  to  ii.  8  if.  the  scene  appears  to  be 
in  the  country,  might  be  conveniently  combined 
with  the  assumption  that  Shulamith  here  contin- 


ues to  slay  in  the   royal  pleasure-grounds   south 
of  the  capital,  and  that  Solomon  has  only  left  her 
again  for  a  while  for  some    unknown  reasons. 
But  Shulamith's  place  of  abode  plainly  appears 
to  be  one  further  removed  from  Jerusalem,  and  in 
fact  to  be  located  in  the  region  of  her  home.  For 
1)  the  mention   of  her   mother's  house,  with  its 
wall  and  its  latticed  window  (iii.  4 ;  ii.  9)  makes 
it  probable  that  she  is  there.     2)  We  are  also  led 
to  the  very  same  result  by  UV'^X2,  "  in  our  land," 
ii.  12,  the  mention  of  the  "vineyards  in  bloom," 
ii.  13,  15,  as  well  as  the  Tr\3  'in,  ii.  17,  whether 
this  difficult  expression  be  rendered  "separating 
mountains,"    or    "cleft  mountains,"    or    "spice 
mountains"   [see  in  loc).     3)  Shulamith  brought 
in   solemn  pomp  to   the  wedding  by  her   royal 
bridegroom,  as  described  for  the  first  time  in  the 
following  act,  iii.  6-11,  presupposes  that  she  had 
before  been  staying  again  in  her  parents'  house; 
for  it  is  from  thence  that  according  to  the  custom 
of  the  ancient  Hebrews,  the  bride  must  always 
be  brought  (comp.  1  Mac.  ix.  37,  39  ;  Matth.xxv. 
1,  elc).     4)  That  Shulamith  came  from  northern 
Palestine  to  Jerusalem  for  her  marriage  with  Sol- 
omon,  is  also  rendered   highly  probable  by  the 
mention  of  Lebanon  in  what  her  newly  espoused 
says  to  her,  iv.  8;  and  further,  the  "coming  up 
of  the  bride  out  of  the  wilderness,"  as  described 
in  iii.  6,  in  her  entry  into  the  capital,  might  point 
to  a  coming  from  the  north,  and  not  out  of  the 
wilderness  of  Judah,  which  lay  south  of  Jerusa- 
lem   (comp.  in  loc).     Accordingly  the   parental 
residence   of  the  bride,   or   its  vicinity  is,  with 
DoPKE,  Heiligstedt   and  Delitzsch,   to  be  re- 
garded as  the  scene   of  this  passage — that  is  to 
say,  Shunem  or  some  neighboring  locality  in  the 
tribe  of  Issachar  north  of  Mount  Gilboa,  or  on 
the  south  side  of  "Little  Hermon."     How  Shu- 
lamith came  thither  again  from  the  royal  resi- 
clence,  whether  peaceably  dismissed  to  her  home 
by  agreement  with  her  bridegroom,  or  conducted 
tijither  by  himself  in  order  to  be  subsequently 
brought  with  solemn  pomp  to  the  wedding,  is  not 
clearly    explained   in    the    piece.       Only    every 
thought  must  be  excluded  of  a  possible  flight  of 
the  virgin  from  the  royal  harem  to  her  home,  for 
she  exhibits  her  longing  for  her  royal  lover  in 
undiminished  strength,  and  this  too  not  as  though 
it  had  arisen  from  regret  at  her  too  hasty  flight 
from   him   (comp.  Delitzsch,  p.  99  f.). — As  re- 
gards  the  time  of  the  action,  it  appears  to  follow 
from  the  way  that,  ii.  11-13,  the  winter  is  de- 
scribed as  past,  and  the  fair  spring-time  as  come, 
that  an  interval  of  some  months  had  elapsed  be- 
tween the  summer  or  autumn  scene   of  the  pre- 
ceding act  (i.  14,  16  f.;  ii.  3  S.)  and  the  present, 
or  more  briefly,  that  "the  entire  rainy  season  lies 
between   ii.  7  and  ii.  8"   (Hitz.).     But  as   that 
charming  description  of  op'ening  spring  belongs 
to  a  narration,  and  furthermore  to  a  poetic  and 
ideal  narration  of  what  Solomon  said  to  his  be- 
loved on  his  first  meeting  with  her,  no  conclusion 
can  be  drawn  from  it  in  respect  to  the  time  of 
this  action.    And  neither  the  "winter"  in  ii.  11 
nor  the  "nights"  in  iii.  1  (according  to  Hitzig 
the  "long  winter  nights  !")  afford  any  support  for 
that  opinion,  which  would  charge  upon  the  poei 
too  great  a  violation  of  the  Aristotelian  demand 
of  the  unity  of  time.     On  the  contrary,  there  is 


II.  8— III.  5. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


69 


aolhing  in  the  way  of  assuming  with  Ewald,  Bott- 
CHEB,  Del.  and  most  of  the  later  interpreters,  an 
interval  of  but  a  few  days  between  Act  1  and  2 
(which  certainly  need  not  be  narrowed  down  to 
the  space  of  a  few  hours,  as,  e.  g.,  Vaihinger  as- 
sumes), nor  of  regarding  the  entire  action  of  the 
pi3ce  generally  as  taking  place  in  the  course  of  a 
single  spring,  and  occupying,  at  the  utmost,  a  few 
weeks.*    Comp.  on  vii.  13. 

3.  Ch.   ii.,  VERS.  8,  9. 

Ver.  8.  Hark !  my  beloved.  —  Literally, 
"the    voice    [or     sound]    of    my    beloved," — 

nn  7lp,  to  which  abrupt  expression  iTTI  it 
is  or  i^Opi  is  heard  is  to  be  supplied  as  in 
Isa.  xl.  3,' 6  (Matt.  iii.  3) ;  2  Kings  vi.  32.  [It 
is  rather  an  exclamation,  to  which  no  verb  need 
be  supplied,  see  Green's  Heb.  Chres.  on  Isa. 
xl.  3,  6].  And  the  following  expression,  "lo! 
there  he  comes,"  etc.,  shows  that  it  is  not  the 
words  of  the  bridegroom  (HENOSTENBEBa,  after 
MiCHAELis  and  many  of  the  older  writers),  but 
bis  coming  itself  or  the  sound  of  his  coming 
and  bounding  over  the  mountains  and  the  hills, 

in  short  his  steps,  which  are  indicated  by  7lp, 
comp.  v.  2 ;  Gen.  iii.  8 ;  1  Kings  xiv.  6.  That 
Shulamith  was  shortly 'expecting  her  lover,  may 
be  probably  inferred  from  this  exclamation  of 
hers  which  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  occa- 
sioned by  some  noise  in  which  she  thought  she 
heard  the  steps  of  him  for  whom  she  longed. 
But  that  which  further  follows  is  not  a  descrip- 
tion of  his  arrival,  which  now  actually  ensues 
(Magn.,  Del.),  nor  a  mere   airy  fancy  sketch  or 


*  [If  Shulamith  is  here  describing  her  first  meeting  with  her 
royal  lover,  there  is  no  reason  "why  she  might  not  remember 
and  relate  it  as  fully  as  is  here  done,  without  the  necessity  of 
being  transported  for  the  purpose  from  Jerusalem  to  Shunem, 
even  supposing  that  to  have  been  her  original  home.  Espe- 
cially a&  her  adjuration  of  the  "  daughters  of  Jerusalem,"  iii. 
6,  ia  a  more  evident  proof  of  her  still  being  in  the  royal  capi- 
tal, than  any  which  Zocklee  has  been  able  to  bring  to  the 
contrary.  He  seems  to  have  made  the  mistake  of  confounding 
the  locality  of  a  past  event  narrated  with  the  place  of  the  nar- 
rator. It  may  be  a  necessity  to  the  dramatic  hypothesis  to 
get  her  back  again  to  Shunem,  after  her  residence  with  the 
king  in  his  palace,  in  order  that  she  may  come  thence  in  so- 
lemn pomp  to  her  marriage  at  a  subsequent  period.  But  this 
scarcely  warrants  the  drawing  of  so  large  a  conclusion  from 
Be  Blender  a  premise. 

The  advocates  of  the  idyllic  hypothesis  find  here  a  distinct 
floug,  describing  a  visit  paid  by  the  lover  to  the  fair  object  of 
his  affections,  without  being  at  any  pains  to  trace  a  connec- 
tion between  it  and  what  had  preceded.  Tatlok  thinks  that 
this  belongs  to  the  second  day  of  the  marriage  feast ;  the  bride 
from  her  window  in  the  palace  is  attracted  by  the  sound  of  a 
hunting  party  (ii.  15) ;  the  bridegroom,  who  is  one  of  the 
party,  looks  up  and  addresses  her.  Withinoton  supposes 
flome  time  to  have  elapsed  since  the  preceding  scene.  "  The 
Dride  had  gone  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  after  a  stay  there  had 
gone  back  to  the  country,  and  was  to  remain  there  until  the 
season  came  of  her  husband's  rustication,  which  would  natu- 
rally be  in  the  spring."  Burrowes  :  "  The  beloved  had  left 
the  spouse ;  these  words  describe  his  return."  Wordsworth 
connects  this  scene  directly  with  the  immediately  preceding 
versa,  the  slumber  of  the  bridegroom  there  described  being 
equivalent  to  his  absence  or  withdrawal :  "  The  patience  of  the 
bride,  after  long  waiting,  is  rewarded  by  the  joyful  sight  of 
the  bridegroom  bounding  over  the  hills."  Ginsburg,  with 
his  peculiar  modification  of  the  shepherd-hypothesis,  describes 
the  situation  as  follows :  "  The  Shulamite,  to  account  for  the 
severity  of  her  brothers,  mentioned  in  ii.  6,  relates  that  her 
beloved  shepherd  came  one  charming  morning  in  the  spring 
to  invite  her  to  the  fields  (8-14) ;  that  her  brothers,  in  order 
to  prevent  her  from  going,  gave  her  employment  in  the  gar- 
dens (15) ;  that  she  consoled  herself  with  the  assurance  that 
ber  beloved  though  separated  from  her  at  that  time,  would 
come  again  in  the  evening  (16, 17) ;  that  seeing  he  did  not 
come,  she,  under  difficult  circumstances,  ventured  to  seek  him 
>nd  found  him  (iii.  1-4)."— iB.] 


dreaming  description  of  what  her  friend  would 
say  and  do,  if  he  were  now  actually  to  come 
(Umbr.,  Hitz.,  Vaih.,  etc. — see  No.  1,  above), 
but  a  vivid  reminiscence  of  the  way  that  he  had 
actually  come  to  her  the  first  time  and  of  the 
loving  conversation  which  had  then  taken  place 
between  him  and  her  by  the  wall  of  her  parental 
home.  It  was  the  more  natural  for  the  bride  to 
be  thus  vividly  transported  to  the  past,  as  she 
was  hourly  expecting  her  bridegroom  back 
again  at  the  very  spot  where  he  had  then  met 
with    her    for    the    first    time.* — Leaping — 

bounding  (J^ip— yspp).  From  this  descrip- 
tion of  her  lover's  first  coming  to  Shulamith, 
which  is  further  illustrated  by  the  following 
figures  of  the  gazelle  and  the  young  hart,  we 
may  perhaps  conclude  that  Solomon  while  hunt- 
ing on  Mount  Gilboa,  or  in  its  vicinity,  saw  his 
beloved  there  for  the  first  time,  and  formed  a 
connection  with  her  in  the  manner  ideally  de- 
scribed in  what  follows. 

Ver.  9.  My  beloved  is  like  a  gazelle  or 
a  young  hart.  Hitzig  calls  in  question  the 
genuineness  of  these  words,  with  no  other 
grounds  of  suspicion  than  such  as  are  purely 
subjective.  They  are  designed  more  particularly 
to  illustrate  and  justify  in  their  application  to 
her  lover  the  somewhat  bold  and  in  themselves 

not  very  intelligible  terms  in  "leaping,"  and 
V3p  "bounding."  And  this  they  manifestly  do 
in  so  far  as  they  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  he 
resembles  those  fair  and  noble  animals  not  in  his 
speed  and  agility  merely,  but  generally  in  the 
charming  grace  and  loftiness  of  his  whole  bear- 
ing. Comp.  passages  like  2  Sam.  ii.  18  ;  1  Ohron. 
xii.  8 ;  Prov.  vi.  5,  where  speed  alone  is  the  tert. 
comp.  in  this  figure,  with  Ps.  xviii.  34 ;  Hab. 
iii.  19;  Prov.  v.  19,  where  the  other  qualities  of 
these  animals  are  also  taken  into  the  account. — 
Lo  here  he  is,  standing  behind  our  waU. 
Judged  by  the  analogy  of  other  passages,  in 
which  it  is  found,  the  word  here  used  does  not 
mean  the  wall  about  the  vineyard  but  the  wall 
of  the  house,  to  which  the  mention  of  the  win- 
dow immediately  after  also  points.f  "  Our 
wall,"  because  Shulamith  means  the  house 
belonging  to  her  family,  in  or  near  which  she 
novp  is  again  [or  which  she  so  well     remembers 

Tr.]  ;    comp.  viii.   8  "our  sister,"  and  "our 

vineyards"  ver.  15.— Looking  through  the 
■windo-ws,  glancing  through  the  lattices — 
literally,  "from  the  windows,  from  the  lattices." 
It  is  a  matter  of  indifference  from  which  window 
he  looks  into  the  interior ;  it  was  only  worth 
while  to  affirm  in  the  general  that  he  looked  in 
from   the  region  of  the  windows,  that  is  from 

without.  "Window"  (p'^D),  and  "lattice" 
(SOnn — according   to  the    Targ.  Josh.  ii.  15,  18 


*  [There  is  no  propriety  in  sundering  this  from  what  fol- 
lows. The  succeeding  verses  evidently  continue  or  explain 
this  opening  exclamation.  If  it  belongs  to  the  present,  so 
does  the  entire  description  which  it  introduces.  If  the 
coming  of  the  beloved  here  narrated  is  past,  her  exclamation 
on  hearing  the  sound  of  his  approach  is  past  also.— Tr.] 

t  rHARMER  supposes  the  reference  is  to  a  kiosk  or  eastern 
arbor  and  quotes  the  Letters  of  Lady  Montague,  who  speaks 
of  them  II.  p.  74  as  "  enclosed  with  gilded  lattices,  round 
which  vines,  jessamines  and  honeysuckles  make  a  sort  of 
gi-een  wall."] 


70 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


II.  8— III.  6. 


equivalent  to  Jwn,  of  the  same  meaning  also 
with  2Wti  Judg.  V.  28:   Prov.  vii.  6,  as  well  as 

T  :  V 

with  ^^^8<  Hos.  xiii.  3:  Eccles.  xii.  3)  are  plainly 

T';~: 

only  different  names  for  the  same  thing,  of  which 
however  the  latter  expression  is  the  more  special 
or  precise;  for  the  lattice  properly  closed  the 
aperture  of  the  window  and  consequently  was 
that  through  which  he  must  have  looked,  comp. 
2  Kin.'  xiii.  17. —  fVP  literally,  "blooming" 
(comp.  Isa.  xxvii.  6;  Ps.  cxxxii.  18  and  especi- 
ally Ps.  Ixxii.  16,  where  '["Sn  occurs  of  men  bloom- 
ing out  of  the  earth)  does  not  express  a  "  transient 
appearing"  or  a  "quick  and  stolen  glance,"  but 
evidently  describes  the  blooming  and  radiant 
appearance  of  her  lover,  who  is  also  called  "  white 
and  red,"  v.  10.  "  He  blooms  in  through  the 
window"  (comp.  Michaelis  :  "■  roseum auum  vul- 
tuminstar  fioris  jucundissimi  per  retia  cancellorum 
ostendem")  isa  pregnant  expression,  and  reminds 
one  of  Gen.  xlix.  22,  where  Joseph  is  described 
as  a  young  fruit  tree  of  luxuriant  growth,  whose 
"daughters"   run    over   the  wall.* 

4.  Solomon's  fibst  okeeting  to  Shulamith, 
vers.  10-14. 

Ver.  10.  My  beloved  answrered  and  said 
to  me.  In  opposition  to  the  doubts  of  Magnus 
and  Delitzsch  regarding  the  genuineness  of 
these  words,  see  above  No.  1.  In  respect  to  T\iy 
in  the  opening  of  a  discourse  and  consequently 
in  the  sense  of  "beginning  to  speak"  (not  "  an- 
swering" Hengstenbeeg),  comp.  Deut.  xxi.  7  ; 
xxvi.  6;  2  Chron.  xxix.  31;  Isa.  xiv.  10;  Job 
iii.  2,  and  a-jroKplveudai,  which  is  frequently  so 
used  in  the  New  Testament. -j-  Arise,  my  dear, 
my  fair  one,  and  go  forth,  viz.,  out  of  the 
house — not  "out  of  the  city  into  the  country," 
as  the  adherents  of  the  shepherd-hypothesis  sup- 
pose, who  think  the  shepherd  utters  these  words 
to  Shulamith  in  her  captive  condition  (similarly 
also  Weissbach).J 

Ver.  11.  For  lo,  the  v^inter  is  past,  inp 
(for  which  the  K'ri  VnO  to  fix  the  correct  pro- 
nunciation instead  of  inp  as  it  might  possibly 
be  read)  denotes,  as  also  in  Aram.,  the  winter 
and  that  on  the  side  of  its  cold,  as  the  parallel 
expression  Dpi  (comp.  Eccles.  xii.  2;  Job 
xxxvii,  6)  denotes  the  same  on  the  side  of  its 
moisture,  that  is  to  say,  as  the  rainy  season 
(□'DitfJ  r\})_  time  of  rain,  Ezr.  x.  9,  13).  The 
winter  as  the  cold  season  of  the  year  necessarily 
keeps  people  in  the  house  ;  whence  the  allusion 
to  its  being  past  adds  force  to  the  solicitation  to 
come  out  of  the  house. 

Ver.  12.  The  flowers  appear  in  the  land, 
literally,  "are  seen  (1K"1J)  in  the  land."  On  the 
rapidity  with  which  the  spring  with  its  new  ver- 
dure and  its  blooming  attire  usually  follows  the 
winter  in  the  East,    comp.  Hasselquist,  Reisen, 


*  [WoRDSw. :  Literally,  sprouting  and  blooming  liltc  a 
tlowering  shrub  or  creeper,  wtioae  blossoms  peep  and  glance 
through  the  trellis  or  lattice  work  of  a  window,  and  giving 
brightnesa  and  loveliness  to  the  apartment.] 

t  [W0RD9W. :  Here  is  an  anticipation  of  the  phrase  so  often 
applied  in  the  gospels  to  Christ,  who  answered  even  the 
thoughts  of  His  hearers.] 

X  [It  can  scarcely  be  anything  btxt  a  slip  when  Withinqton 
puts  these  words  into  the  mouth  of  the  bride  :  "  He  heaiB  her 
distant  voice  :  Rise  up,  my  love,"  etc, — Tr.J 


p.  261. — The  time  of  singing  has  arrived. 

TDiri  r^il  is  not  the  "  lime  for  pruning  vinei," 
as  the  old  translators  explained  it,  after  the  anal- 
ogy of  Lev.  XXV.  3  f.  ;  Isa.  v.  6 ;  for  in  vers.  13 
and  15  the  vines  are  represented  as  already  in 
blossom,  the  time  for  pruning  them  was  therefore 
long  since  past;  but  it  is  the  "time  of  singing, 
of  merry  songs."  By  this,  however,  we  are  not 
to  understand  the  singing  of  birds  (Ibn  Ezka, 
Eashi,  E.  Meieb,),  but  conformably  to  Isa.  xxv. 
5  (Tp!),  xxiv.  16;  Job  xxsv.  10;  Ps.  cxix.  54; 
2  Sam.  xxiii.  1,  etc.  (J11TDI),  the  glad  songs  of 
men,  such  as  spring  usually  awakens,  especially 
in  the  life  of  shepherds  and  country  people 
(comp,  Judg.  xxi.  20  f.). — And  the  voice  of 
the  turtle  is  heard  in  our  land,  viz.  in  Pales- 
tine, the  land  of  Solomon  and  and  Shulamith. 
This  1JX"1N3  does  not  by  any  means  require  us 
to  regard  Shulamith's  country  lover  as  the 
speaker,  although  it  favors  the  assumption  that 
the  scene  of  the  narrative  lay  in  the  country 
rather  than  in  the  city.  The  "turtle-dove"  (1W) 
as  a  bird  of  passage  (Jer.  viii.  7)  is  a  fit  repre- 
sentative of  spring,  and  it  need  not  therefore 
symbolize  the  Holy  Spirit  (Takg.),  nor  the  meek 
(Hengstenb.),  nor  Israel  in  general  (Hahn). 

Ver.  13.  The  fig  tree  spices  its  fruit.  As 
D'Jp  means  not  the  early  figs  but  the  late  figs, 
i.  e.  the  small  fruit  of  the  fig  tree  which  con- 
tinues to  grow  during  the  winter,  and  does  not 
ripen  until  spring  (Septuag.  b\w&oi,  Vulgate, 
grossi),  and  as  Djn  signifies,  Gen.  1.  2,  26,  "  to 
spice,  to  perfume,"  this  verb  must  here  too  have 
the  sense  of  spicing  and  denote  that  "aromatic 
sweetness  "  which  figs  attain  about  the  time  of 
their  ripening  (comp.  Schubebt,  Reise  III.  p. 
113).  We  must  reject,  therefore,  both  the  "put- 
ting forth  "  of  the  ancient  versions  (Sept.,  Aq., 
Vulg.,  Syr.),  and  the  signification  of  "redden- 
ing" or  "browning, "preferred  by  Ew.a.ld,  Hitzig, 
Renan,  etc.;  for  the  late  figs  are  of  a  violet  color 
even  during  the  winter,  when  they  are  still  unfit 
to  eat  (comp.  Meier  and  Weissbach  in  loc). — 
And  the  vines  are  in  blossom,  literally, 
"are  blossom."  IIDD  a  substantive,  which  oo- 
curs  again  ver.  15  and  vii.  13,  and  whose  etymo- 
logy is  very  obscure  (comp.  Velth.,  Ewald  and 
HiTziG  in  loc),  can  mean  nothing  but  "blossom, 
vine  blossom"  either  here  or  in  the  other  two 
passages;  and  this  is  confirmed  by  the  ancient 
versions  (Sept.  Kvirpi^eiv,  Vulg.  florere,  Stmm. 
o'lvdvBri;  also  the  Str.  on  Isa.  xvii.  11).  It 
plainly  makes  no  difference  in  the  sense  whether 
we  translate  "the  vines  are  blossom  (comp.  e.  g. 
Ex.  ix.  31),  give  fragrance"  (as  is  commonly 
done)  or  "the  vines  in  blossom,  i.  e.  since  they 
are  blossoming,  yield  their  fragrance"  (see  e.g. 
Weissb.  comp.  Delitzsch).  With  regard  to  the 
fine  delicious  fragrance  of  t,he  vine  blossom  comp. 
also  Ecclus.  xxiv.  23. 

Ver.  14.  My  dove  in  the  clefts  of  the 
rock. — No  pause  is  observable  between  vers.  13 
and  14  (Hitzig;  comp.  Weissbach).  The  ten- 
derly caressing  and  alluring  language  continues 
without  change.  Solomon  here  entitles  his  be- 
loved a  "  dove  in  the  clefts  of  the  rock,"  because, 
as  appears  from  ver.  9,  the  bars  of  the  latticed 
window  still  separate  him  from  her.     The  allu> 


II.  8— III.  5. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


71 


sion  to  her  dove-like  innocenoe  and  her  lovely 
form  is  altogether  subordinate,  but  must  never- 
theless not  be  left  wholly  out  of  the  account  as 
e.  g.  Wbissbach  insists ;  for  "  dove  "  is  undoubt- 
edly a  tender  pet-name,  comp.  vi.  9,  and  even  i. 
15.  The  allegorical  interpretation,  which  sees 
in  the  dove  "persecuted  innocence"  (Hbngsten.), 
or  even  the  righteous  hiding  himself  in  the 
gaping  wounds  of  Christ  (Theodoret,  Gbeg.  the 
GREAT,  J.  Gebh.  )  has  clearly  no  exegetical  justi- 
fication.* In  the  secret  of  the  cliSs,  literally 
"  in  the  hiding-place  of  the  ladder  of  rock,  of  the 
steep  rocky  precipices,"  for  this  appears  to  be  the 
meaning  of  the  word  here  used.  The  expression 
evidently  serves  only  to  finish  out  the  figure  em- 
ployed immediately  before  of  the  clefts  of  the 
rook  concealing  the  dove.  No  conclusion  can  be 
based  upon  it  respecting  Shulamith's  place  of  re- 
sidence, as  though  it  actually  were  a  rock-bound 
castle  (Bottoheb),  or  were  in  Solomon's  lofty 
palace  upon  Zion  (Ewald,  Hitzio,  Vaih.,  etc.)^ 
The  present  description  would  rather  ap- 
pear to  indicate  (comp.  above  No.  2)  that  Shu- 
lamith's country  home  was  surrounded  by  a 
mountainous  and  rocky  region  (Delitzsoh). — 
Let  me  see  thy  form,  nxia  denotes  in  this 
poem  not  barely  the  face  (this  Solomon  already 
saw  through  the  lattice)  but  the  entire  form, 
comp.  V.  15,  also  Gen.  xii.  11 ;  xxix.  17;  xxxix. 
6. — Let  me  hear  thy  voice.  Evidently  an  in- 
vitation to  sing,  with  which  Shulamith  complies 
in  ver.  15. — The  following  fortifying  clause  re- 
minds of  the  similar  one  in  ver.  9,  a. 

5.  Shulamith's  answer. 

Ver.  15.  That  this  verse  is  a  little  vintagers' 
song  or  at  least  the  fragment  of  one,  and  that 
Shulamith  sings  it  in  answer  to  the  request  of 
her  lover  in  vers.  10-14  is  regarded  as  settled  by 
most  of  the  recent  interpreters  since  Herder. 
Only  the  allegorists,  as  Hengstenberg,  Hahn,  etc. 
see  expressed  in  it  Shulamith's  fear  of  the  foes 
of  God's  vineyard  ((.  e.  heretics  according  to 
Hengstenberg,  [so  Gov.,  Patr.,  Poole  and  the 
generality  of  English  Commentators],  pagan  Ha- 
mites  according  to  Hahn.);  and  Ewald  inap- 
propriately puts  the  words  into  the  mouth  of  the 
lover,  who  thus  makes  the  connection  again  with 
what  he  had  said  in  ver.  13.  That  we  rather 
have  here  a  separate  ditty  or  fragment  of  a  song, 
is  shown  not  only  by  the  plural  form  of  address, 

but  also  by  the  accumulation  of  rhymes  (D'/J^ty, 

D'JDp,  D''7ana,  D^al^).     And  that  this  ditty  is 

sung  by  the  bride,  not  by  the  bridegroom,  ap- 
pears from  its   contents,    which   seem  perfectly 


*  Harmer  Bays,  on  the  authority  of  Dr.  Shaw  :  "  Doves  in 

those  countries,  it  seems,  take  up  their  abodes  in  the  hollow 

places  of  rocks  and  clitfs."    Wordsw.  suggests  that  the  com- 

parison  is  "  to  a  dove  fleeing  to  the  clefts  of  the  rock  for  refuge 

tram  the  storm."    Goon  quotes  as  parallel  the  following  simile 

from  HoMER'8  description  of  the  wounded  Diana,  il.  xxi.  493. 

"  As  when  the  falcon  wings  her  way  above, 

To  the  cleft  cavern  speeds  the  affrighted  dove, 

Straight  to  her  shelter  thus  the  goddess  flew."] 

t  [So  Harmer,  who  supposes  an  allusion  to  "her  apart- 
ments in  a  lofty  palace  of  stone."  Goon  :  "  The  common  ver- 
sion, 'secret  places  of  the  stairs'  is  erroneous.  The  mistake 
has  obviously  originated  from  a  wish  in  the  translators  to 
give  a  literal  interpretation  to  this  highly  figiu-ative  phrase- 
ology. Stairs  may  well  enough  apply  to  the  royal  fair-one 
as  a  bride,  but  not  aa  a  dove."]  I 


suitable  for  the  keeper  of  a  vineyard  (see  1.  6), 
but  not  for  her  lover,  be  he  king  or  shepherd.* 
It  is,  however,  arbitrary  and  preposterous  to 
assume  with  Hitzig  and  Eenan,  that  Shula- 
mith sings  this  sonnet  at  one  of  the  win- 
dows in  the  harem  at  Jerusalem  in  order  to  in- 
form her  lover  from  her  old  home,  who  was  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  place  of  her  abode,  in  nearly  the 
same  way  that  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion  betrayed 
the  place  of  his  captivity  to  Bloudel,  his  faithful 
minstrel,  by  singing  the  refrain  of  a  song  famil- 
iar to  them  both.  The  whole  situation  too  is 
not  in  the  remotest  manner  adapted  to  such  a 
romantic  and  sentimental  meaning  and  design  of 
the  sonnet.  Its  context  rather  indicates  plainly 
enough  that  it  still  belongs  to  Shulamith's  narra- 
tive of  her  first  meeting  with  her  lover,  and  con- 
sequently is  neither  more  nor  less  than  her 
answer  to  his  request  to  come  out  to  him  and  to 
sing  to  him, — an  answer,  which  whether  actually 
given  by  her  in  just  these  words  or  not,  at  all 
events  concealed  a  delicate  allusion  to  her  lover 
under  a  popular  veil  artlessly  employed  and  half 
in  jest,  and  intimated  to  him  that  she  was  not 
disinclined  to  let  him  take  part  henceforth  in  her 
care  for  the  security  of  her  vineyard.  If  she 
really  sang  these  words,  she  did  so  while  open- 
ing the  doors  of  her  house  to  admit  her 
lover  who  stood  without  before  the  wall,  or 
while  she  stepped  out  to  him  singing  and  smiling 
(comp.  Delitzsch  in  loc.) — Catch  us  foxes, 
little  foxes,  spoiling  vineyards.  The  foxes 
deserve  this  name,  not  because  they  attack  the 
ripe  grapes  themselves  (Theocr.  Id.  1.  46,  if; 
V.  ll'.i),  but  because  by  their  passages  and 
holes  they  undermine  the  walls  of  the  vine- 
yards and  injure  the  roots  of  the  vines;  and 
they  also  gnaw  the  stems  and  young  shoots. -J- 
It  was  important,  therefore,  in  the  spring  when 
the  vines  were  blossoming,  to  protect  the  vineyards 
from  these  uninvited  guests ;  and  the  more  so, 
since  the  spring  is  the  very  time  of  the  coming 
forth  of  the  young  foxes  from  their  kennels.  The 
predicate  D'iHp  little  refers  toyownj?  foxes  (comp. 
Gen.  ix.  24;  xxvii.  15;  1  Kin.  iii.  7),  not  to  the 
diminutive  size  of  the  animals  which  nevertheless 
do  so  much  damage  [so  Harmer,  Good,  Wil- 
liams] ;  in  that  case  the  smaller  variety  of  the 
jackal,  which  is  known  by  the  name  of  adit>e,  would 

be  specially  intended  by  Q';;'!?'  (Hitzig).  But 
as  the  jackal  is  always  called 'K  or  [ij]  (Jpb  xxx. 
29.  Mic.  i.  8)  in  every  other  passage  in  which  it 
is  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament,  whilst  1]}W 


*  [Good,  Burrowes,  Noyes,  Adelaide  Newton,  Withinq- 
TON,  "Ehrupp,  make  this  the  language  of  the  bride ;  Patrick, 
Poole,  Ainsworth,  Henry,  Scott,  Taylor,  Fry,  Clarke, 
Wordsworth  the  language  of  the  bridegroom.  GlNSBmi<j 
puts  it  in  the  mouth  of  Shulamith's  brothers.  Wiluajis  is 
led  by  the  plural  form  of  the  pronouns  both  of  the  iirst  and 
second  persons  to  suppose  that  the  chorus  of  virgins  is  here 
addressing  the  companions  of  the  bridegroom.  The  ingenious 
suggestion  that  these  words  may  be  borrowed  from  a  popular 
song,  which  here  receive  a  new  meaning  from  their  connec- 
tion, agrees  well  with  this  peculiarity  in  the  form  of  expres- 
sion and  also  with  the  intimation  in  the  preceding  verse. 

Wordsw,  ;  "  He  commands  her  to  look  well  to  her  vineyard. 
He  calls  it  our  vineyard ;  it  is  his  as  well  as  hers."  Withiso- 
ton,  (after  Taylor,  who  thinks  this  verse  a  summons  to  a 
chase)  sees  in  it  an  allusion  to  the  "  sports  and  employments 
of  the  care-worn  king"  in  his  seasons  of  relaxation.] 

f  [Patrick;  Aristophanes  in  his  Equi'e^,  compares  sol- 
diers to  foxes ;  spoiling  whole  countries  as  they  do  vineyards.] 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


II.  8— III.  6. 


is  the  constant  designation  of  the  fox  proper,  we 
are  not  justified  here  in  departing  from  this  usual 
meaning  of  the  expression,  comp.  Oedmann, 
SammlunffenU.SS;  \S iSER,  Real- Worlerbuch,  Art. 
Fachse,  also  P.  Cassel  on  Judg.  xv.  4.  More- 
over the  expressions  "little  foxes"  and  "de- 
stroying vineyards"    are   simply  related   as  in 

apposition  to  the  principal  object  Q^l)lUi;  and 
both  this  and  the  words  named  as  in  apposition 
are  without  the  article,  because  it  is  not  Me  foxes 
universally,  but  just  foxes,  vineyard-destroying 
foxes  that  are  to  be  taken.  Hitzig  seeks  without 
necessity  to  base  upon  this  absence  of  the  article 

before  whyp  his  translation  "hold  for  us,  ye 
foxes,"e<c.,  whichhe makes equivalentto  "wait,ye 
foxes,  I'll  give  it  to  you ! " — For  our  vineyards 
are  in  bloom,  literally  "and  our  vineyards 
are  in  bloom;"  comp.  in  respect  to  this  specifying 
"  and,  and  in  fact,"  which  here  has  a  specially 
motive  character,  Ecoles.  i.  15;  viii.  2;  Juilg.  vi. 
25;  vii.  22;  Mai.  i.  11,  and  in  general  Evvald, 
1 340,  6.  By  the  expression  TlOi?  the  singer 
takes  up  again  what  had  been  said  by  her  lover, 
ver.  13,  a,  whether  she  altered  her  ditly  in  con- 
formity with  it,  or  that  expression  in  the  mouth 
of  Solomon  recalled  to  her  mind  this  vernal  song 
with  the  like-sounding  refrain  ;  this  latter  view  is 
evidently  the  more  natural. 

6.  CoNCLOSioN  or  the  first  monologue.  Vers. 
16,  17. 

Ver.  16.  My  beloved  is  mine  and  I  am 
his. — This  declaration  that  she  has  become  the 
property  of  her  beloved  and  he  hers,  that  they 
have  mutually  surrendered  themselves  to  one  ano- 
ther (comp.  vi.  3;  vii.  11),  does  not  continue 
Shulamith's  answer  to  the  greeting  of  Solomon, 
ver.  10  4-14  (Dblitzsoii,  Weissbach,  etc.),  but 
after  her  account  of  her  first  meeting  with  him, 
which  terminates  with  ver.  15,  she  takes  up  again 
the  expression  of  her  desire  for  her  absent  lover 
uttered  in  vers.  8,  9,  by  asserting  in  the  first  in- 
stance that  though  still  absent,  he  was  inseparably 
bound  to  her.* — Who  feeds  among  the  lilies. 
— Manifestly  a  figurative  expression  for  "who, 
wherever  he  abides,  spreads  radiance,  joy  and 
loveliness  about  him,"  or  "in  whose  footsteps 
roses  and  lilies  ever  bloom."-)-  With  reference  to 
the  figurative  nature  of  this  form  of  speech  as  a 
fixed  and  favorite  poetical  phrase,  comp.  its  re- 
currence with   two   different  applications,   iv.  6 


*  ["WlLLlAMB :  "  These  verses  stand  perfectly  distinct  from  the 
preceding."  Otliers  endeavor  to  establisli  a  direct  connection 
with  the  foregoing  verses.  Thus  Tayloe  paraphrases  :  "  I  am 
all  obedience  to  his  requests;  it  shall  bo  my  happiness  to  ac- 
complish his  desires."  And  Wordsworth  in  itfl  spiritual  ap- 
plication :  "  The  Church  thankfully  catches  up  the  expression 
'our  vineyard;'  and  rejoices  that  not  only  have  they  one 
vineyard,  but  that  He  is  hers  and  she  is  His."] 

f  [Good,  with  an  entire  misapprehension  of  the  figure  in- 
tended :  "  So  sweet  is  his  breath,  that  surely  he  feedeth  among 
the  lilies."  Gl.vaB.:  "Who  tends  his  flock  in  the  meadows 
abounding  with  flowers."  A  figure  for  "  the  best  pastures," 
according  to  Williams,  "for  in  such  lilies  appear  to  have 
grown  spontaneously ;"  or  for  "  sweet  and  lovely  pastures," 
according  to  Poole,  "  where  there  is  not  only  herbage  to  feed 
them,  but  lilies  to  delight  them."  Fry  suggests  as  the  con- 
nection between  the  clauses  of  the  verse ;  "  let  him  drive  his 
flock  to  pasture  in  the  flowery  meads  and  T  will  accompany 
him."  AiNswoRTe,  Henry.  Words,  and  others  find  in  the  lilies 
a  figurative  reference  to  the  bride  herself  as  the  object  of  his 
fond  att.achment,  and  one  who  had  been  compared  to  a  lily 
among  thorns,  ii.  2.] 


and  vi.  3.  Shulamith  had  already  represented 
her  royal  lover  as  feeding  his  flock,  i.  7. 

Ver,  17.  Against  the  day  cools  and  the 
shadovys  flee.. — Contrary  to  the  division  of  the 
verses,  as  well  as  to  the  analogy  of  vi.  3,  Herder, 
Amm.,  Kleuker,  Dopke  [so  Coverdale,  Doway] 
connect  these  words  with  the  participial  clause 
at  the  close  of  the  preceding  verse.  "Feeding 
among  the  lilies  till  the  day  grows  cool "  would 
yield  a  very  tame  and  trivial  thought,  whilst,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  following  solicitation,  "turn 
thee,"  etc.,  can  scarcely  dispense  with  some  more 
particular  statement  of  the  time  up  to  which  or 
about  which  it  should  be  complied  with.  Upon 
"0  1^  (literally,  "  enduring  till,"  "  waiting 
till  ")^"  until,"  "whilst,"  by  the  time  that, 
comp.  the  like  forms  of  expression.  Gen.  xxiv. 
33  ;  xxvii.  45  ;  Ex.  xxii.  26 ;  1  Sam.  i.  22  ;  xiv. 
19,  etc.;  also  i.  12  above,  where,  it  is  true,  the  con- 
nection demands  a  somewhat  different  transla- 
tion. Shulamith  evidently  bogs  her  lover  to  re- 
turn to  her  before  the  coming  on  of  the  shades  of 
evening  (before  the  day  wholly  cools,  and  the 
ever  lengthening  shadows  melt  quite  away  in  the 
darkness — comp.  Job  xiv.  2).  By  evening,  at  the 
latest,  and  before  night,  he  should  come  over  the 
mountains  to  her  swift  as  a  gazelle,  as  at  that  first 
time  when  she  had  seen  him  bounding  over  the 
summits  and  the  hills  (ver.  8).* —  Turn  thee  and 

be  like,  etc. — 3D  neither  qualifies  DD^  adver- 
bially, "resemble  hereabouts  a  gazelle,"  etc. 
(Weissbach)  ;  nor  is  it  an  invitation  to  her  friend 
already  present  to  ramble  with  her  upon  the 
mountains  in  the  neighborhood  "  (Delitzsch)  ; 
nor  equivalent  to  "turn  back  again,"  as  though 
it  were  intended  to  call  back  one  who  had  shortly 
before  been  near  her  and  who  was  going  away 
(Bottoher);  but  simply^"turn  thyself  hither, 
direct  thy  steps  hither"  (comp.  1  Sam.  xxii.  18; 
2  Sam.  xviii.  30).  The  Vulgate  quite  correctly, 
therefore,  as  regards  the  sense,  revertere;  so 
also  the  Str.,  Luth.,  etc. — The  call  upon  him 
to  "resemble  the  gazelle"  is  evidently  connected 
with  the  description  given  of  her  lover  in  ver. 
8.  She  wishes  that  her  lover  would  now  soon 
return,  as  she  saw  him  then,  swiftly  and  grace- 
fully, like  the  sudden  appearing  of  a  noble  deer 
on  the  mountain  height. — On  cleft  mount- 
ains.— ^This  translation   of  the   difficult  'irrSl? 

'■T  ^ 

^^I3  is  especially  favored  by  the  etti  5pi;  koOm- 
liarav  of  the  Sept.  The  usual  signification  of 
in3,  "piece,"  "severed  portion"  (Gen.  xv. 
10;  Jer.  xxxiv.  18,  19,  etc.)  lies  at  the  basis 
of  it ;    and  both   the   name  of  the  place,   ]nr>3, 

Bithron,  the  designation  of  a  mountain  ravine 
east  of  the  Jordan,  2  Sam.  ii.  29,  and  the  Greek 

*  [Good  :  "Till  the  day  breathe.  The  expression  is  truly  ele- 
gant and  poetical.  At  midnight  all  nature  lies  dead  and  life- 
less. The  sh.adows,  however,  at  length  fly ;  the  morning 
breathes  and  nature  revivifies.  The  Intrinsic  excellence  of 
the  metaphor  has  seldom  been  understood  by  our  commenta- 
tors, who  havo  almost  all  of  them  referred  it  to  the  day  breeze 
of  the  country,  or  at  least  to  that  peculiar  current  of  air  which 
is  often  found  existing  in  most  climates  at  the  dawn."  Wil- 
liams :  "  Return,  my  beloved,  and  remain  with  me  until  the 
day  breathe."  Noyes  :  "  This  is  understood  by  many  of  the 
morning.  But  the  more  recent  commentators  refer  it  to  sun- 
set or  the  evening."  Wordsw.:  "  Before  the  first  cool  gales 
of  the  evening."] 


n.  8— in.  5. 


THE  SONG  6F  SOLOMON. 


i)ayd(:,  "fissure,  cleft,"  offer  themselves  at  once 
as  confirmatory  analogies  (comp.  Gesen.,  Lex., 
also  Vaih,,  Renan  and  Delitzsou  in  loc,  "riven 
mountains").  Commonly,  "on  mountains  of  sep- 
aration," i.  e.,  on  the  mountains  that  separate 
us  (comp.  LuTHEK,  "  auf  den  Scheidebergen ;" 
Mekc,  Ewald,  Hitzig,  also  the  Targ.,  Ibn  Ezra 
and  Jakchi)  [so  Ginsburg].  Peculiarly  Weiss- 
bach  "on  the  spice-mountains"  (or  "  Bathrilm 
heights,"  comp.  Vulg.,  "super  monies  Bother," 
and  Theodoeet,  who,  as  well  as  the  Syr.,  trans- 
lates similarly  "  knl  to,  bpjj  ■&vfiLafidTtiV  ")  ;  by  this 
he  supposes  to  be  meant  Shulamith's  breasts  per- 
fumed with  aromatic  betel-leaves,  i,  e.,  with 
luiXo^a^pmi,  malabalhrum^=Siyr.,  bathrum.  But 
such  an  adducing  of  the  D''nty3  ''in,  mountains  of 
apices  mentioned  in  viii.  14,  and  that  as  identical 
in  signification  with  the  "mountain  of  myrrh" 
and  "hill  of  frankincense"  mentioned  in  iv.  6, 
i.  e.,  with  the  fragrant  breasts  of  his  beloved  {?), 
is  in  the  present  instance  manifestly  destructive 
of  the  sense  and  repugnant  to  tihe  connection,  and 
would  besides  yield  an  absolutely  lascivious 
sense,  which  the  expressions  in  question  do  not 
have  in  the  two  passages  alleged. 

7.  Shulamith's  dream  with  the  epiphonema 
TO  the  DAUGHTERS  OF  Jerusalem,  iii.  1-5. — Comp. 
above  No.  1  and  2.  This  brief  section,  the  nar- 
ration of  a  dream  which  she  had  previously  had, 
need  not  be  referred  to  any  other  place  than  that 
of  the  preceding  action ;  and  no  convincing 
ground  can  be  gathered  from  the  passage  itself, 
either  for  the  view  of  Delitzsch  that  from  the 
scene  of  the  present  action  "Jerusalem  was  visi- 
ble in  the  distance,"  nor  for  that  of  Weissbach, 
who  imagines  the  scene  to  have  been  the  very 
streets  of  Jerusalem.  The  adjuration  of  the 
daughters  of  .lerusalem  at  the  close  by  no  means 
implies  their  presence,  but  is  sufficiently  ex- 
plained by  the  fact  that  the  speaker,  led  by  the 
same  feelings  as  before  (ii.  6  fi'.)  to  a  lively  ex- 
pression of  the  harm  resulting  from  a  self-induced 
exciting  of  the  love  sickness,  clothes  this  expres- 
sion in  exactly  the  same  words  now  as  then,  and 
conceives  of  the  same  witnesses  present  here  as 
there.  As  besides  the  exclamation  in  question 
has  also  the  character  of  a  general  moral  senti- 
ment (comp.  above  p.  55)  intended  for  the  specta- 
tors (real  or  imaginary)  of  the  piece,  the  address 
to  the  women  of  Jerusalem  conceived  of  as  really 
distant  from  the  speaker,  would  be  the  less  sur- 
prising. And  further,  in  the  third  passage,  in 
which  the  exclamation  occurs,  viii.  4,  the  ab- 
sence of  the  persons  addressed  is  more  probable 
than  their  presence  (see  in  loc.). 

Ver.  1.  On  my  bed  in  the  nights  — 
(.  e.,  agreeably  to  the  context  and  the  whole 
situation  the  same  as  "  once  in  a  dream," 
"lying  upon  my  bed  by  night  and  dreaming."* 


*  [So  Good  :  "  The  word  '  dream  '  does  not  occur  in  the 
original ;  but  from  the  period  of  time,  the  place  and  position 
of  the  fair  bride,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  she  is  here  de- 
scribing a  dream."  Scott  :  "  The  circumstances  of  this  nar- 
ration (and  of  one  in  some  respects  similar  in  the  fifth  chap- 
ter) are  bo  improbable,  if  applied  in  their  literal  meaning  to 
the  newly-espoused  queen  of  King  Solomon,  that  to  avoid 
the  difficulty  and  to  maintain  the  consistency  of  a  dramatic 
poem  on  occasion  of  Solomon's  marriage,  it  has  been  con- 
sidered merely  as  a  dream  of  the  spouse.  But  the  narrative 
gives  not  the  least  intimation  of  this."  To  which,  however, 
NoYES  replies :  "  The  author  would  not  be  more  likely  to 
violate  probability  or  propriety  in  an  allegory  than  in  the 


ni7''j73  belongs  not  to  the  verb  "  I  sought," 
but  to  the  preceding,  "on  my  bed"  (comp.  the 
like  connection  in  ii.  8)  ;  and  this  entire  state- 
ment of  the  place  and  time  "on  my  nightly 
couch,"  is  plainly  not  designed  to  declare  where 
she  had  vainly  sought  her  lover,  viz.,  in  her  bed 
(Luther,  so  too  Hengstenberg,  Delitzsch, 
Weissbach),  but  how  she  had  sought  and  not 
found  him,  viz.,  sleeping  and  dreaming  at  night. 
Delitzsch,  e.  g.,  has  sought  to  set  aside  what 
is  morally  offensive  in  the  former  explanation, 
by  the  assertion  that  "  in  a  dream  she  might 
miss  her  lover  even  in  the  night,  as  though  he 
were  already  her  husband,  who  shared  her  bed." 
But  thus  it  is  clear  that  tho  offence  is  not  re- 
moved ;  it  is  only  increased.  Far  more  attrac- 
tively, and  answering  more  exactly  to  the  true 
construction,  Hitzig:  "It  would  be  inadmis- 
sible to  understand  it :  I  thought  to  find  him  on 
my  bed.  Rather :  I  on  my  bed  thought  to  find 
him.  And  not  him  too' on  the  bed.  She  after- 
wards in  ver.  2  resolves  to  seek  him  out  of  the 
house ;  so  she  seeks  him  now  in  the  room,  inside 
of  the  house,  as  far  as  her  eye  can  penetrate, 
not  barely  within  her  bodily  reach."  Moreover, 
"in  the  nights"  is  certainly  not  equivalent  to 
"  in  long  and  dreary  nights"  (Hengstenb.,  and 
in  general  almost  all  the  allegorists),  nor  "in 
the  long  winter  nights"  (Hitzig),  nor  "in  seve- 
ral nights,"  as  though  the  same  dream  had  been 
repeated  more  than  once  (Vaihinger)  [West- 
minst.  Annotat.:  "  night  after  night ;"  so  Pat- 
rick] ;  but  the  plur.  stands  poetically  for  the 
sing,  as  more  general  and  pictorial  [Green's 
Seh,  Chrest.  on  Gen.  xxxvii.  8] ;  comp.  the 
"clefts  of  the  rock"   and   "steeps,"  ii.  14  and 

nn'bl  again,  ver.  8. — I  sought  him  -whom 
my  soul  loves.  Comp.  on  i.  7. — I  sought 
him  and  I  found  him  not — viz.,  in  my  im- 
mediate surroundings,  which  my  dream  had  in 
the  first  instance  conjured  up  before  me. 

Ver.  2.  I  -will  rise  now  and  go  about  in 
the  city.  With  life-like  vividness  of  descrip- 
tion she  relates  what  she  said  in  her  dream,  as 
though  she  were  saying  it  now  for  the  first  time. 
It  is  therefore  unnecessary  to  supply  '/^"^DS*  1 
said  (comp.  vii.  9)  before  W  HOTpN.  The  city 
with  its  markets  and  streets,  where  she  proposes 
to  wander  about  seeking  her  lover,  is  certainly 
Jerusalem,  the  royal  city  itself.  She  was  there 
when  she  had  the  dream,  and  the  action  of  the 
dream  accordingly  takes  place  there  too. — In 
the  markets  and  in  the  streets.  The  im- 
propriety that  there  would  be  in  an  Israelitish 
maiden's  actually  roving  about  the  streets  in 
such  a.  search  (comp.  Prov.  vii.  11)  disappears 
of  course,  if  Shulamith  was  dreaming. 

Ver.  3.  Found  me  the  -watchmen  ■who 
go  about  in  the  city.    Such  nightly  guardians 

ordinary  products  of  his  imagination."  "With.  :  "  She  ima- 
gines herself  in  the  city,  and  relates  the  incidents  in  vers. 
3,  4.  There  is  no  need  of  supposing  it  a  dream  ;  it  may  be 
accounted  for  by  the  vivacity  of  eastern  thought."  Tatiob 
thinks  that  what  is  subsequently  said  of  the  nocturnal 
search  is  not  descriptive  of  what  the  bride  actually  did,  but 
opUtive  or  hypothetical.  Fry  springs  over  the  difficulty  by 
means  of  his  idyllic  hypothesis,  conceiving  that  this  has  no 
relation  to  the  "  nuptials  of  King  Solomon,"  but  that  it  re- 
lates "  a  circumstance  in  domestic  life,  among  the  lower  or 
middling  classes  of  society  "]. 


74 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


II.  8— III,  5 


of  the  public  safety  might  easily  occur  to  the 
simple  country  maiden  in  her  dream,  because 
she  had  heard  of  their  existence,  or  also  because 
she  had  seen  some  of  them  at  night  from  her 
residence.  Comp.  Ps.  cxxvii.  1 ;  Isa.  lii.  8. — 
■Whom  my  soul  loves,  have  ye  seen? 
The  emotion  of  the  questioner  led  to  the  prefixing 
of  the  object  "  whom  my  soul  loves,"  as  the  word 
of  greatest  consequence  to  her.* 

Ver.  4.  Scarcely  had  I  passed  from  them-; 
literally  "what  I  had  passed  from  them  was  a 
little,  until  I  found,"  etc.  (So  correctly  HiTZiG, 
Weissbaoh). — ^When  I  found  him  whom 
my  soul  loves.  Not  because  she  thought  her- 
self at  once  transported  from  the  city  to  her 
home  (Hitzig),  but  simply  in  virtue  of  the 
easily  shifting  and  quickly  changing  scenery  of 
dreams,  which  bring  now  this  person,  now  that 
immediately  before  us.— I  grasped  him  and 
did  not  let  him  go.  So  also  Delitzscii,  Hit- 
zig, etc.,  after  the  Sept.  Cod.  Vatic.  {Kal  ova  acpyim 
avTov),  the  Syr.  and  Rasiii.  On  the  contrary, 
the  TuLG.  "tenui  eum,  nee  dimittam,"  and  similarly 
Vatabl.,  Ewald,  Hengstb.,  Weissb.,  etc.  [So 
Gov.,  Doway:  will  not  let  him  go].  But  N7l 
1J31N  by  no  means  compels  us  to  regard  the  ac- 
tion as  future,  "for  the  connection  with  Vav  relat. 
[conversive]  was  simply  severed  by  the  negative 
and  the  second  mode  [future]  was  allowed  to 
remain,  comp.  Job  xxiii.  11;  Jer.  xliv.  42;  2 
Sam.  ii.  28,  Ewald,  Lehrb.  I  333  <?."  (Hitzig). 
The  immediate  linking  too  of  VniriN  with  'nxra, 
as  well  as  the  circumstance  that  the  language 
does  not  pass  into  the  form  of  ah  address  to  her 
lover  ("I  grasp  thee  and  will  not  let  thee  go," 
etc.),  shows  plainly  enough  that  Shulamith  is 
continuing  her  account  of  what  occurred  in  her 
dream. f  Until  I  had  brought  him  into  my 
mother's  house.  The  house  or  tent  of  the 
mother  is,  in  the  East,  the  proper  residence  of 
the  female  members  of  the  family,  comp.  Gen. 
xxiv.  67  ;  Ruth  i.  8.  In  the  mouth  of  Shulamith 
the  expression  properly  vouches  only  for  her 
childlike,  artless  and  dutiful  disposition  (comp. 
Introduo.  §  4,  Rem.  i.),  not  for  the  specially 
chaste  and  pure  character  of  her  love  for  Solomon 
(Delitzscii  ),  and  still  less  certainly  for  any  impure 
lusts  that  she  might  cherish  (Weissbaoh).  And 
there  is  no  intimation  of  the  latter  in  the  words 
added,  simply  for  the  sake  of  the  parallelism, 
"and  into  the  chamber  of  her  that  conceived  me."  J 

Ver.  5.  Comp.  on  ii.  7,  as  well  as  above,  at  the 
beginning  of  this  No. 


DOCTRINAL    AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  According  to  the  allegorical  exegesis  of  ancient 
as  of  modern  times,  the  essential  thing  described 
in  this  song  is  the  "  painful  search,"  which  must 
precede  the  ■finding  of  the  heavenly  bridegroom 
on  the  part  of  his  church,  as  well  as  on  the  part 
of  the.soul  of  the  individual  believer.  And  they 
commonly  find  in  ii.  8-17  the  development  of 
the  thought  "  that  sore  trials  will  precede  the 
appearing  of  the  heavenly  Solomon,"  while  iii. 
1-5  sets  forth  the  truth,  that  the  salvation  of  the 
Messiah  cannot  be  brought  to  pass  by  one's  own 
strength,  nor  by  earthly  and  human  means,  but 
that  whoever  seeks  to  draw  the  Saviour  down 
from  heaven  in  this  way,  not  only  will  not  find 
Him,  but  will  be  found  and  punished  by  His 
watchmen.  In  short,  the  native  inability  of 
man  to  achieve  his  salvation  of  himself,  and  the 
necessity  of  a  saving  interposition  of  divine 
grace  from  above  to  deliver  us  from  our  distress 
and  disquiet,  is  thought  to  form  the  principal 
object  represented  in  this  section  (comp.  Hengs- 
tenbebo,  pp.  49-66 ;  Hahn,  p.  46 ;  Stakke, 
Synops.,  p.  2404,  2426  f.,  and  the  older  interpre- 
ters there  adduced).* 


*  [Poole  ;  She  accosted  the  watchmen  "  without  either 
fear  or  shame,  as  being  transported  and  wliolly  swallowed  up 
with  love.  She  doth  not  name  him  [her  husband]  because 
she  thought  it  needless,  as  supposing  that  a  person  of  such 
transcendent  excellency  could  not  be  unknown  to  men  in 
that  public  capacity.  Their  answer  is  not  mentioned,  either 
because  they  gave  her  no  answer,  at  least  no  satisfactory  an- 
swer, or  because  by  their  silence  she  gathered  that  they  were 
unable  or  unwilling  to  inform  her ;  and  being  eager  in  the 
pursuit  of  her  beloved,  she  would  not  lose  time  in  imper- 
tinent discourses  with  them  "]. 

I  [The  second  verb  is  certainly  future,  though  the  act  de- 
scribed may  still  be  past,  its  time  being  reckoned  not  from 
the  moment  of  speaking,  l>ut  from  the  period  denoted  by  the 
antecedent  verb.  The  future,  when  thus  employed,  indicates 
that  the  .act  is  subsequent  to  or  conditioned  by  the  preceding 
j)r6terite.  Green's  Hd).  Gram.,  g  263,  ."5  a.  The  shade  of 
thought  so  suggested  is  well  expressed  in  the  English  ■Ver- 
sion :  "I  held  him,  and  would  mit  let  him  fjo." — Tr.] 

J  [Hodgson  ;   "  This  passage  seems  to  prove  that  the  person 


here  married  was  not  Pharaoh's  daughter ;  for  if  she  had 
been  Pharaoh's  daughter,  her  mother's  house  would  have 
been  in  Egypt,  whereas  this  scene  lies  in  Jerusalem ;  for  in 
the  ne.xt  line  she  addresses  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem,  and 
desires  them  not  to  disturb  her  sleeping  husband  "]. 

*  [DowAY,  note  on  ii.  8 :  "  The  voice  of  my  beloved  :  that 
is,  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  surmounting  difficulties."  On 
ii.  15 :  "  Christ  commands  His  pastors  to  catch  false  teachers, 
by  holding  forth  their  fallacy  and  erroneous  doctrine,  which, 
like  foxes,  would  bite  and  destroy  the  vines."  On  iii.  1  : 
"  The  Gentiles  as  in  the  dark,  and  seeking  in  heathen  delu- 
sion what  they  could  not  find,  the  true  God,  until  Christ  re- 
vealed His  doctrine  to  them  by  His  watchmen  (ver.  3),  that 
is,  by  the  apostles  and  teachers,  by  whom  they  were  con- 
verted to  the  true  faith.  And  holding  that  faith  firmly,  tlie 
spouse,  the  Catholic  church  declares  (ver.  4),  that  '  She  will 
not  let  Him  go,  till  she  bring  Him  into  her  mother's  house,' 
that  is,  till  at  last  the  Jews  shall  also  find  him." 

Geneva,  note  on  ii.  8 :  "  This  is  spoken  of  Christ,  who  took 
upon  Him  our  nature  to  come  to  help  His  Church."  On  ver. 
15  :  "  Suppress  the  heretics  while  they  are  young,  that  is, 
when  they  begin  to  destroy  the  vine  of  the  Lord."  On  iii.  1 : 
"  The  Church  in  troubles  seeketh  to  Christ,  but  is  not  incon- 
tinently heard." 

WORDSW.,  on  ii.  8  :  "  After  absence  the  bridegroom  returns. 
The  Church  is  comforted  after  her  trials.  Thus  it  waa  at  the 
first,  advent,  when  Christ  came  to  the  Church  after  long  ex- 
pectation ;  and  thus  will  it  be  when  He  will  come  at  the 
great  day."  On  ver.  15  :  "  The  duty  of  the  Church  to  main- 
tain the  faith  and  to  repress  heresy.  The  poisonous  error  is 
to  be  nipped  in  the  bud."  On  iii.  1 ;  "  The  Bride  seeming  to 
herself  to  be  left  a  widow,  seeks  her  Beloved  in  a  time  of 
darkness  and  sorrow,  and  she  finds  Him  not ;  she  therefore 
goes  forth  in  quest  of  Him.  This  has  been  verified  at  divers 
times  in  tlie  history  of  the  Church,  specially  was  it  true  at 
the  time  of  our  Lord's  passion.  So  will  it  be  in  the  dart 
night  of  Anti-Christi.anism,  on  the  eve  of  the  second  advent 
of  Christ."  On  ver.  4 :  "  The  Church  passes  from  the  watch- 
men, because  they  would  not  help  her  to  find  Christ.  This  is 
a  very  important  text,  in  reference  to  the  question  of  schism. 
If  the  watchmen  of  a  church  do  not  direct  the  eyes  of  the 
faithful  to  Christ,  the  faithful  must  pass  from  them — what- 
ever the  consequences  may  be — the  faithful  must  seefe  for 
Christ  until  they  find  Him." 

According  to  Thrupp,  this  section  describes  the  Church  as 
patiently  awaiting  the  advent  through  a  long  season  of  dark 
storms,  of  baneful  attacks  and  of  anxious  searchings.  MooDT 
Stuart  makes  its  subject  to  be  "  the  sleeping  Bride  awak- 
ened;" first,  "the  call  to  meet  the  bridegroom"  through 
"  the  preaching  of  John  the  Baptist,"  ii.  8-15 ;  secondly, 
"the  response  to  the  ctvll,"  ii.  16 — iii.  5,  when  "  John's  dis- 
ciples seek  Christ."  "Weiss,  finds  the  winter  (11. 11)  in  the 
forty  years'  wandering  of  the  children  of  Isrjiel  in  the  desert : 
the  foxes  (ver.  15)  are  the  idolatrous  Canaanites  whom  they 
were  bidden  to  destroy ;  the  night  (iii.  1)  is  the  period  of  the 
Judges,  marked  by  few  revelations ;  the  watchmen  (ver.  3) 


U.  8— III.  5. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


75 


2.  A  considerate  historical  exposition  also  re- 
cognizes the  loving  desire  and  search  of  a  bride 
for  her  bridegroom,  as  the  main  object  described 
in  this  act.  But  it  avoids  seeing  anything  morally 
reprehensible  in  this  longing  desire  of  the  maiden 
separated  from  her  lover.  It  rather,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  unmistakable  design  of  the  poet, 
regards  this  very  fidelity  with  which  the  bride 
clings  to  the  friend  of  her  choice  even  during  a 
long  separation,  as  one  of  the  loveliest  traits  in 
her  character.  Neither  by  day  nor  by  night, 
neither  waking  nor  dreaming  can  she  turn  her 
thoughts  away  from  the  object  of  her  affection.* 
Every  noise  seems  to  her  to  betoken  his  coming; 
in  the  sound  of  every  voice  she  fancies  that  she 
hears  him  for  whom  she  ardently  longs,  and 
whom  she  is  expecting  back  with  painful  eager- 
ness. With  perfect  distinctness  and  the  utmost 
vividness  the  glad  event  of  her  first  meeting  with 
her  lover  still  stands  before  her  eyes.  She  re- 
calls most  clearly  all  the  particulars  of  an  occur- 
rence, the  most  enrapturing  she  has  ever  known. 
Of  the  sweet  and  flattering  words,  which  her 
royal  bridegroom  then  addressed  to  her,  not  one 
has  escaped  her.  She  can  still  relate  most  ex- 
actly both  the  words  perfumed  with  the  sweetest 
fragrance  of  spring,  with  which  her  nature- 
loving,  nature-appreciating  friend  then  enticed 
her  out  and  irresistibly  drew  her  to  himself,  and 
the  verse  of  the  rustic  song,  by  singing  which 
she  playfully  gave  him  to  understand  that  she 
returned  his  affection,  that  her  vineyard  should 
henceforth  bloom  for  him,  and  that  he  should 
help  her  to  guard  and  keep  it.  And  that  other 
painful  and  yet  blessed  moment  of  her  former 
intercourse  with  her  royal  lover  stands  no  less 
clearly  before  her  eyes,  which  taught  her,  in  a 
dream  it  is  true,  and  yet  with  heart-stirring 
power,  that  she  could  no  longer  live  without 
him,  that  she  could  not  be  for  an  instant  sepa- 
rated from  him  without  experiencing  a  painful 
longing  for  him,  and  that  this  loving  desire  and 
languishing  for  him  would  never  henceforth 
cease  until  she  had  him  and  held  him,  until  she 
was  wholly  and  forever  united  with  him.  This 
yearning  of  her  heart,  so  affectingly  described 
by  her,  attains  its  acme  once  in  the  conclusion 
which  she  reaches  in  her  account  of  her  first  in- 
terview with  her  lover  (ii.  16) :  "  My  beloved  is 
mine,  and  I  am  his,  who  feeds  among  the  lilies ;" 
and  again,  in  the  closing  words  of  her  recital  of 
her  dream  (iii.  4) :  "I  grasped  him  and  did  not 
let  him  go  until  I  had  brought  him  into  my 
inother's  house  and  into  the  chamber  of  her  that 
conceived  me." 

Vre  Samuel  and  tlie  prophets  of  his  school ;  following  their 
directions  Israel  soon  found  his  Lord  in  the  days  of  David 
.(ver.  4).  BORROWES :  In  ii.  8-lY,  our  Lord  allures  us  by  the 
beauty  of  heaven ;  iii.  1-5  describes  a  "  season  of  spiritual 
desertion,"  differing  from  v.  2-8,  "  in  this  respect  that  in  tiie 
latter  the  beloved  ia  repulsed  by  neglect,  while  in  the  former 
nothing  of  that  kind  seems  mentioned."  Patrick  remarks 
upon  the  words  "  on  my  bed,"  iii.  1 :  *'  This  is  expounded  with 
strahge  variety  by  interpreters ;  some  understanding  hereby 
the  bed  of  affliction,  others  the  bed  of  ease  and  pleasure, 
others  of  weakness  and  infirmity,  etc.  But  I  have  taken 
both  bed  and  nigM  in  the  most  simple  sense,  to  signify  the 
time  and  place  for  most  composed  thoughts ;  comp.  Ps. 
IV.  4"]. 

*  [So  Williams  :  "  This  dream  shows  how  much  the  mind 
of  the  spouse  was  occupied  with  the  object  of  her  affection. 
He  was  the  subject  of  her  inquiry  both  by  day  and  by 
night."  BURROWES :  "  This  illustrates  the  earnestness  of  a 
Boul  in  seeking  Jesus  daring  a  time  of  His  absence  "]. 


3.  In  this  double  confession  of  a  love  faithful 
unto  death,  which  cannot  rest  until  its  longing  for 
a  complete  and  permanent  union  with  the  beloved 
object  is  appeased,  is  evidently  disclosed  the 
fundamental  thought  of  this  section  of  the  piece. 
For  the  epiphonema  to  the  daughters  of  Jerusa- 
lem (iii.  5)  which  is  here  again  added  as  the  con- 
cluding words  of  the  entire  act,  has  a  subordi- 
nate significance  as  a  refrain  repeated  verbatim 
from  ii.  7  and  only  appears  as  a  practical  infer- 
ence, with  the  limitations  due  to  the  time  and 
the  place  from  the  real  summit  of  contemplation 
before  ascended,  ver.  4.  Applied  to  the  entire 
body  of  the  kingdom  of  God  and  especially  to 
the  relation  of  the  New  Testament  child  of  God 
to  his  Lord  and  Saviour,  this  practical  inference 
must  necessarily  assume  a  somewhat  different  as 
well  as  deeper  and  broader  form  and  meaning 
than  in  its  relation  to  the  "  daughters  of  Jeru- 
salem." In  the  case  of  Christians  the  meaning 
of  the  loving  desire  and  waiting  of  a  bride,  who 
can  no  longer  live  without  her  bridegroom,  who 
feels  herself  to  be  wholly  his  as  he  is  wholly 
hers,  and  who  will  then  first  be  satisfied  when 
his  house  has  become  hers,  and  her  house  his, — 
the  meaning  for  Christians  of  such  a  bride-like 
longing  is  just  a  powerful  admonition  to  strive 
after  a  complete  and  permanent  union  with  the 
Saviour  as  the  true  bridegroom  of  souls,  and  not 
to  let  Him  go  until  He  has  made  His  entry  into 
both  house  and  heart  with  all  the  fulness  of  His 
heavenly  gifts.  The  Christian  should  not  grow 
weary  of  longing  for  and  imploring  the  advent 
of  his  Lord  into  his  heart,  until,  become  en- 
tirely His  and  His  alone,  he  can  say,  "My  be- 
loved is  mine  and  I  am  his,"  until  he  feels  that 
his  soul  is  espoused  to  Him  as  the  bride  to  her 
bridegroom  (John  xiv.  23  ;  xvii.  21  ff.).  And  as 
the  Church,  in  so  far  as  she  is  the  true  and  pro- 
per bride  of  the  Lord,  cannot  cease  to  long  for 
His  glorious  appearing,  by  which  she  shall  be- 
come one  flesh  with  Him  for  ever  and  ever  (Eph. 
V.  32 ;  2  Cor.  xi.  2  ;  Eev.  xxii.  17),  so  also  the 
soul  of  each  individual  Christian  should  be  ever 
saying  to  the  heavenly  bridegroom,  with  the 
fervent  petition  of  earnest  love,  "Come,  Lord 
Jesus;  come  quickly."  The  typical  exegete, 
whose  task  coincides  in  essential  particulars  with 
that  of  the  practical  expositor,  must  keep  him- 
self in  the  main  to  these  principal  and  funda- 
mental thoughts  as  suggested  by  the  contents  of 
this  section  devotionally  considered,  and  must 
most  carefully  avoid,  as  destitute  of  the  requisite 
exegetical  basis,  the  too  special  exposition  of  de- 
tails, such  as  e.  g.  the  reference  of  the  "  clefts  of 
the  rock,"  ii.  14,  to  the  wounds  of  Christ ;  of  the 
"  little  foxes  "  to  heretics  and  other  seducers ;  of 
the  "  nights  "  to  dark  seasons  of  affliction  ;  of  the 
"watchmen"  to  angels,  etc.  Models  of  a  truly 
edifying  typical  treatment  of  the  Song  of  Solo- 
mon as  a  whole  and  of  the  present  section  in 
particular  may  be  found  in  those  precious  pearls 
belonging  to  the  hymnology  of  our  Evangelical 
Church,  which  have  drawn  their  loveliest  figures 
and  their  most  characteristic  and  leading  motives 
from  the  ideas  which  underlie  this  section,  with- 
out falling  into  a  too  labored  or  trifling  allegori- 
cal interpretation  of  subordinate  details,  e.  g. 
such  hymns  as  W.  C.  Desslee's  "Friend  of 
souls,  how  well  is  me,"  A.  Dbesb's  "Bridegroom 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


III.  6— V.  L 


of  souls,"   p.   Gerhard's 
grieve?"    L.   Laurentius' 


*  Why  then  should   I 
"  Take   courage,    ye 


*  In  the  hymn  of  Scriver  above  quoted  the  refrain  at  the 
end  of  «ach  stanza  is  "  I  am  thine  and  thou  art  mine,  I  will 
no  other's  be."— P-Gerhard's  "  Why  then  should  I  grieve?" 
ends  with  the  following  stanzas,  suggestive  of  the  same  pas- 
iage  (Cant,  ii.  6),  as  well  as  of  iii.  4: 

Lord,  my  Shepherd,  fount  of  pleasure, 

Thou  art  mine,  I  am  Thine, 
No  one  can  us  sever. 

I  am  Thine,  for  me  Thou  savest, 
And  Thy  blood,  for  my  good, 

On  the  Cross  Thou  gavest. 

Thou  art  mine,  and  I  embrace  Thee, 
Nought  haa  might,  0  my  Light, 

From  my  heart  t'  erase  Thee. 

Let  me  come,  0  bring  me  thither; 

Thou  with  mo,  I  with  Thee, 
Jor  aye  shall  be  together. 


pious,"  Chr.  Scriver's  *'Life  of  my  soul,"*  c^c. 


In  Laurentius'  Advent  Hymn^  "Take  courage,  ye  pious," 
the  fourth  stanza,  which  describes  the  speedy  coming  of  the 
bridegroom,  is  based  upon  the  beautiful  description  of  th* 
reviving  life  of  spring  ii.  11- 1-3 : 

Ee'U  not  be  long  delayed, 
Up  from  thy  sleep  arise ; 
The  trees  in  bloom  arrayed. 

And  fair  spring's  brightening  skies 
Times  of  refreshing  pledge. 
Predicts  a  beauteous  day 
The  evening  bathed  in  red, 
The  darkness  flees  away,  etc. 
[As  samples  of  English  sacred  verse  suggested  by  this  portion 
of  the  Song  of  Solomon  may  be  mentioned  the  familiar  hymna 
of  AVatt's,  "The  voice  of  my  beloved  sounds,"  "Hark!  the 
Redeemer  from  on  high,"  "Often  I  seek  my  Lord  by  night,'* 
"  Of  all  the  joys  we  mortals  know;"  and  upon  the  Song  gene- 
rally Watts'  Hymns^  Book  I.  66-78.     Translations  of  some  of 
the  German  hymns  named  ia  the  text  may  be  found  in  the 
Lyra  Gernianica  and  in  Dr.  Schaff's  "  Christ  in  Song."— Tr.] 


THIRD   SONG. 

The  solemn  bringing  of  the  Bride  and  the  marriage  at  Jerusalem, 
Chap.  III.  6.— V.  ]. 

first  scene: 

The  entry  of  the  bridal  pair  into  Jerusalem. 

(Chap.  III.  6-11). 

Daughters  of  Jerusalem  (as  spectators  of  the  bridal  procession). 

6  Who^  is  this  coming^  up  out  of  the  wilderness, 

like  pillars  of  smoke, 

perfumed^  with  myrrh  and  frankincense, 

with*  every  powder^  of  the  merchant  ? — 

7  Lo  !®  SolomonV  own  palanquin,® 

sixty  heroes  about  it 
of  the  heroes^  of  Israel. 


textual  and  grammatical. 

»  [Wic. :  The  Synagogue,  of  the  Church.    Mat.  :  The  voice  of  the  Synagogue  marvelling  in  itself  at  the  Church  of 
Christl. 

2  [Dow. :  That  ascendeth  by  the  desert  as  a  little  rod]. 

3  The  Masoretic  H'^tSpD,  for  which  ri"l£3pQ  (Aij.,  Symm.,  Vulq.,  Luther,  Schlottm.  [bo  Fry])  is  a  mere  shift  to  obtain 

an  easier  reading,  ia  moio  correctly  rendered  "surrounded  with  perfumes,"  or  "  thoroughly  perfumed,"  than  with  some 
recent  interpreters  "exlialing  odors"  (Ewald,  Umbr.,  Meieb,  Ren.),  [or  "fuming,"  Taylor,  Williams];  comp.  Weissbach 
m  loc.  and  the  Te9u/xi.aju.eV7j  of  the  Sept.     [Gov.,  Mat.,  Cran.,  As  it  were  a  smell  of  j. 

*  This  expression  is  also  dependent  upon  HTtSpD.  so  that  |0  in  730  is  consequently  not  comparative  (Dopke)  [so 

Williams,  Taylor,  doubtfully  suggested  also  by  Ainsworth],  but  partitive  as  in  i.  2.  The  clause  if  completed  would  there- 
fore read:  -'Sdeoted  as  aromatic  powder  from  out  of  every  sort  of  aromatic  powder  of  the  merchant,  i.e.  the  best  of  all 
aromatic  powders." 

^npilX   properly  denotes  simply  "  dust,"  but  is  here  necessarily  the  dust  of  pounded  spicea.    [Comp.  Eng.  Ter., 

Itt-: 

1  Kin.  X.  15.    Gov.,  ^Iat.,  Gran.,  All  manner  spices.    Dow.,  Aroraatical  spices.    Genev.,  All  the  spices]. 
^  [Wic,  Mat.  :  The  voice  of  the  Church].  . 

^  Literally:  "  Lo,  his  palanquin  which  is  to  Solomon,"     7^^  with  the  preceding  suffix  has  an  intensive  signification, 

as  i.  6  ;  viii.  12. 

8  [So  rendered  by  Good,  Taylor,  Parkhurst,  Williams,  Fry,  Withington,  Weiss.,  Ginsburq.  Harmer  haa  "  litter, 
palanquin  or  something  of  that  sort ;"  so  Moody  Stuart,  Robinson  in  Ges.  Xcx.,  Davidson  in  FuerstV  Lex.  Noyes  :  Carriage, 
a  kind  of  open  vehicle  now  usually  called  a  palanquin;  Wicliffe:  litil  bed  (litter);  Matthews:  bedstead;  other 
English  versions;  bed.    Four  different  words  are  rendered  "bed"  in  the  authorized  English  Version o(  this  Song:  HlflD 

in  this  passage,  K/lj;  in  i.  16,  H^^D  in  iii.  1,  and  HJ^"!^  («■  garden  bed)  in  v.  13  ;  vi.  2.— Tr.] 

^  On  vK'lty    ''"ii3J  comp.  the  precisely  analogous  expression  ^33    '*'^13J  Jer.  Ii.  30. 


3—"-  :i.  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


8  All  of  them  practised'  with  the  sword,  trained  to  war,' 

each  with  his  sword  upon  his  thigh 
against'  fear  in  the  nights. 

9  A  litter*  has  king  Solomon  made  for  himself 

of  the  wood  of  Lebanon. 

10  Its  pillars  he  made  of  silver, 

its  support^  of  gold,  its  seat*  of  purple; 
its  interior'  was  embroidered,  from  love, 
by  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  — 

11  Come*  out,  ye  daughters  of  Zion,  and  see 

king  Solomon  with"  the  crown 

wherewith  his  mother  crowned  him  in  the  day  of  his  nuptials 

and  in  the  day  of  the  gladness  of  his  heart. 

SECOND  SCENE: 

Solomon  and  Shulamith  (at  the  wedding  feast  in  the  royal  palace). 

(Chap.  IV.  l.-V.  1.) 

Solomon. 

IV.  1.  '°Lo !  thou  art  fair,  my  dear  ;  lo  !  thou  art  fair, 
thine  eyes  (are)  doves"  behind  thy  veil  ;'^ 

'  3ln    7'^^  lit.  "taken  of  the  sworJ,"  grasped,  held  by  the  sword,  i.  e.  familiar  with  its  management,  practieel 

In  its  use ;  comp.  the  like  intransitive  use  of  passive  participles  such  as  rHt33,  [Ot?,  10I  (Ps.  oiii.  14 ;  cxil.  7  ;  Judg. 

Tiii.  U),  cfe  (Genev.  ;  They  all  handle  the  sword.  Wicl.,  followed  by  the  rest  of  the  Eng.  versions  :  holding  swords; 
upon  which  Good  remarks :  "  This  is  obviously  inaccurate ;  for  in  the  next  member  of  the  verse  we  are  expressly  told  that 
their  swords  were  undrawn  and  girt  upon  their  thighs."  Hodgson:  " holders,  possessors  of  swords,  that  is,  warriors ;" 
so  Moody  Stuart.    Ginsburg  :  "  skilled  in  the  sword  "J. 

2  With  HDri/Q  '1370  comp.  the  Homeric  Ma.tiic6ii.cvoi  iroKiiioio,  11. 16,  811 ;  only  'HsSd  is  a  past  participle. 
[The  Hebrew  participles  do  liot,  properly  speaking,  express  relations  of  time.    See  Qreen'3  Hth.  Gram,  g  266]. 

'  VO  here  has  the  sense  of  riTTlD  "  that  there  may  not  be  terror,"  etc.  [Good  ;  against  the  peril  of  the  night ;  Thrupp  ; 
against  nighily  alarm].  Ewald's  explanation  " out  of  fear"  is  accordingly  to  be  rejected;  so  is  that  of  Kosekmdeller, 
DiiPEE,  Vaihingzr,  etc.,  who  render  |n  iecause  of.    [So  Eng.  Vek].    Comp.  vh'h    inS  Ps.  xci.  6. 

^  [Wicl.  :  Of  Christ  and  of  the  Church  chosen  of  the  Gentiles.    He  renders  l'n3X  "chair  ;"  Gov.,  Mat.:  bedstead; 

Ceas.,  Bl3H. :  palace;  Genev.  :  palace  or  chariot  (marg.);  Eng.  Vbr,  :  chariot  or  bed  (marg.);  Dow.;  portable  throne; 
Good:  bridal  couch;  Williams:  "carriage,"  which  he  explains  as  a  "  kind  of  palanquin  of  state  ;"  Moody  Stuart;  "not 
a  wheeled  carriage  but  a  litcer  or  palanquin;"  Wordsworth:  litter  or  palanquin  or  sedan;  Taylor,  Ij'ry,  Withington, 
Thropp,  Ginsborg:  palanquin ;  Wei33,  who  explains  it  of  the  most  holy  place  in  Solomon's  temple  ;  throne-chamber]. 
i>  rn^3"l  is  scarcely  the  cover,  the  canopy  of  the  sedan  (Ewald,  Magk.),  or  the  bottom  of  the  couch  (V^EidSBACH), 
T  ■  : 
but  rather  its  support  for  the  back,  aa  most  recent  interpreters  correctly  assume,  with  an  eye  to  the  Sept.  {ava.KXi.Tov) 
and  the  VuLG.  (reciiwaioWuTTi).  [WiCL.:  the  leaning  place;  Gov.,  Mat,,  Crvn.,  Bish.  :  covering;  Genev.  :  pavement;  Dow.: 
seat;  so  Withington;  Eng.  Ver.  :  bottom;  Good:  its  inside  (the  wrought  roof);  Taylor;  canopy;  Williams:  carpet; 
Fry:  mattress;  Gi^'Sburg:  support,  that  which  supports  the  back  when  sitting;  so  Wordsworth,  Thbupp  ;  Noyes  : 
railing ;  Weiss  :  overlaying  (i.  e.  wainscot,  plating)]. 

'  D31D  from  53*1  "  to  sit  upon  "  is  here  unmistakably  a  "  seat ;"  comp.  Lev.  xv.  9.    [WiCL. :  the  steiging  up,  identi- 
T  :  V  "  T 

cal  in  sense  with  the  Doway:  the  going  up,  i.  c  the  perpendicular  sides;  Gov.,  Mat.,  Cran.,  Bish. :  seat,  so  Williams, 
Thrupp,  Notes;  Genev.;  hangings,  so  Good,  Fry,  Moody  Stuaet,  Weiss;  Eng.  Ver.;  covering;  Taylor:  the  carriage 
body]. 

T  [Wicl.  ;  The  midst  he  adorned  (Doway  :  covered)  with  charity  Ibr  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem.  Cov.,  Mat.,  Cran.  : 
the  ground  pleasantly  paved  for,  e£c.  Bish.:  the  ground  pleasantly  paved  with  love.  Genev.:  paved  with  the  love  of  the 
daughters,  cfc.  Eng.  Ver.  :  paved  with  love  for,  ete.  Williams:  lined  (Fry:  spread  over)  with  love  by,  etc.  Good:  its 
covering  is  paved  with  needle  work  by  his  best  beloved  among  the  daughters,  etc.  Noyes  ;  its  interior  curiously  wrought 
by  a  lovely  one  of  the,  etc.  Ginsburg  ;  tesselated  most  lovely  by,  eic.  Thrupp:  tesselated  with  love  because  of,  etc. 
Wei89;  within  it  is  strewn  of  love,  etc.'\. 

8[WiOL.:  The  voice  of  the  Church,  of  Christ.    Mil.;  The  Church  speaking  of  Christ].    DJ'NV  for  HJNS  for  the 

TV:  T     V 

■ake  of  the  assonance  here  designed  with  DJ'XT  ;  see  Bwald,  Lehrh.  ?  198,  5.  [Green's  Heh.  Crom.  ?164,  3]. 

*  [WiCL.,  Dow. :  in  the  diadem.    Thrupp  :  gaze  on  king  Solomon  and  on  the  crown]. 

"I  Wicl.  The  voice  of  Christ  to  the  church.  Mat.  The  voice  of  Christ.  Mat.,  Cov.:  O  how  fair  art  thou,  my  love;  how 
feir  art  thou;  thou  hast  dove's  eyes  besides  that  which  lieth  hid  within.  Thy  hairy  locks  are  like  a  flock  of  sheep  that  bo 
clipped,  which  go  first  up  from  the  washing  place.] 

^1  [Genev.  :  Thine  eyes  are  like  the  dove's.  Dow. ;  thine  eyes  as  it  were  of  doves.  Eng.  Ver.  thou  hast  dove's  eyes.] 

12  EWAlD  takes  lj;3D  to  be  synonymous  with  3'' JOD  and  DBS  in  the  sense  of  "  tress,  lock  of  hair  "  (j.  e  "  about 
thy  locks,"  similarly  also  tjMBRElI).    HtNGSlENB.  follows  Luther  in  translating  "between  thy  braids."    But  HHV  related 

to  the  Chald.  DDV)  D]f  DV  "  **>  cover  "  (comp.  Targ.  on  Gen.  xxxviii.  15.)  cannot,  as  appears  from  Isa.  xlvii.  2,  mean  any- 
thing but "  veil ;"  and  this  meaning  decides  likewise  in  the  case  of  n^30  in  favor  of  the  signiflcalion  "  forth  from  be- 
hind "  or  "  through."  [WlOL.:  Without  it  that  within  is  bid.  Dow. :  besides  that  which  lieth  hid  within.  Genet,  "among 
thy  locks  "  connected  with  what  follows.  Eng.  Ver.,  within  thy  locks ;  so  Ain3worth,  Good,  Taylor.  Fry  ;  tresses ; 
Tbrupp  :  plaits ;  Pabkhuest,  Perot,  Willums,  Wiihinotok,  Weiss,  GmSBUEa,  Wordsworth  :  yell]. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  HI.  6— V.  1 . 


thy  hair  like  a  flock  of  goats, 
reposing^  on  Mount  Gilead. 

2  Thy  teeth  like  a  flock  of  shorn^  sheep, 

which  have  come  up  from  the  washing, 

all  of  which  bear^  twins, 

and  a  bereaved  one  is  not  among  them. 

3  Like  a  crimson  thread*  thy  lips, 

and  thy  mouth^  (is)  lovely ; 

like  a  piece  of  pomegranate  thy  cheek' 

behind  thy  veil. 

4  Like  the  tower  of  David  thy  neck, 

built  for  an  armoury  ;' 

a  thousand  bucklers  are  hung  upon  it, 

all  the  shields^  of  heroes. 

5  Thy  two  breasts  are  like  two  fawns, 

twins  of  a  gazelle, 

that  are  feeding  among  lilies. 

ShUIvAMITH. 

6  Until^  the  day  cools  and  the  shadows  flee, 

I  will  get  me  to  the  mountain  of  myrrh 
and  to  the  hill  of  frankincense. 

Solomon. 

7  Thou^**  art  all  fair,  my  dear, 

and  there  is  not  a  blemish  in  thee. — 

8  With  me  from  Lebanon,  my  bride, 

with  me  from  Lebanon  thou  shalt  come ; 
shalt  journey"  from  the  top  of  Amana, 
from  the  top  of  Shenir  and  Hermon, 
from  dens^^  of  lions, 
from  mountains  of  panthers. 

9  Thou  hast  ravished"  my  heart,  my  sister,  my  bride, 

hast  ravished  my  heart  with  one  of  thy  glances, 
with  one  chain  of  thy  necklace, 

1  Literally,  "  which  have  couched  {^\^iXtS)  from  Mount  Gilead  downward  (1V7J1  1(10)  »■  e.not  "at  the  foot  "  of 

:|Tv  t:»      — 

this  mountain,  but  on  it,  so  that  they  are  visible  to  the  beholder  in  a  line  from  its  summit.  [Dow.  which  have  come  up 
from;  Cran.,  Bi3h.  :  are  shorn.  Qenev.:  look,  down  from;  Eng.  Ver.  appear  from,  or  eat  of  (marg  );  Parkhuest  :  glisten; 
Fry,  after  ScHDLTENS;  go  in  the  morning  to  water;  Witeington,  hang  over  the  clefts  of;  Thrupp,  hanging  down  the 
Slope  of;  GiNSBDRG  after  FoBRSr  in  his  Lea:,  (not  his  Ctmcord. where  he  has  "decuTnbere,  considere")  "springing  down."] 

*  ni^^Vp  literally  "shorn  "  viz.:  sheep,  Dwm  vi.  6.    [Cran.  :  Thy  teeth  are  like  sheep  of  the  same  bignesB,  which 

went  up  from  the  washing  place.    Genev.  :  a  flock  of  sheep  in  good  order. 

8  [GiNSB.  ''paired;  theHiphilof  QXn  to  be  double,  to  be  pairs  (Ex.  xxvi.  24;xxxvi.  29)  is  to  make  double,  to  make  pairs, 

-   T 

to  appear  paired."  Fry  quotes  from  Henley's  note  in  Gregory's  translation  of  Lowth'8  Lectures  ;  "  The  Arabic  verb 
denotes  not  only  to  bring  forth  twins,  but  also  to  have  a  companion."] 

*  [Dow.:  Scarlet  lace;  Gov.,  Mat.,  Cran.,  Bish.,  rose-colored  ribbon;  Genev.,  Eng.  Ter.,  thread  of  scarlet.] 

6  [WiCL. :  thy  fair  speech  sweet ;  Cov.,  Mat.,  thy  words  are  lovely ;  Genev.  ;  thy  talk  is  comely ;  Enq.Ver.  thy  speech  is 
comely.] 

6  [WiOL.,  Gov.,  Mat.,  Gran.,  Bish.,  Dow.;  cheeks.    Gbnev., Eng.  Yer.  temples.] 

'  LWiCL. :  with  pinnacles.    Gov.,  Mat.,  Dow.:  with  bulwarks.    Cran.,  Bish.  ;  with  costly  stones  lying  out  on  the  sides. 

Genev.,  for  defence.    Ginsdurg  follows  Rashi  and  Rashb.am  in  taking  nVfl/^  as  a  contraction  for  nVS/Nn  froninSx 

to  teach,  and  renders :  "  for  the  builder's  model,  i.  e.  so  that  architects  might  ieam  their  designs  from  it  I  "] 

8[Wicl.  The  armor  of  strong  men.  Gov.,  Mat.,  Cran.,  Biga. :  the  weapons  of  the  giants.  Dow. :  the  armor  of  the 
valiants.] 

0  [Mat.  The  spouse  speaketh  to  himself.  0  that  I  might  go  to  the  mountain  of  myrrh  and  to  the  hill  of  frankinceni* 
till  the  day  break  and  the  shadows  be  past  away.] 

10  [Mat.  The  voice  of  Christ  speaking  to  the  cnurch.] 

" ''"llU'n  parallel  with   "'XI^H  must  be  derived  from  "^^K/  in  the  sense  of  "journeying,  travelling,"  confirmed  by 

T  •  T 

Isa.  Ivii.  9,  not  in  that  of  "  lookintf "  (for  which  it  is  true  Nam.  xxiii.  ft,  might  be  adduced) ;  comp.  Sept.  (eXeva-i)  Kal  SieAevan), 
Syp,,  Kost.,  Magn.,  BoTTon  ,  Hitz  ,  etc.  [This  argument  cannot  be  esteemed  decisive  except  upon  the  assumption  that 
parallel  clauses  must  be  identical  in  signification,  which  is  not  always  nor  even  usually  the  case.  Wicl.,  Dow. :  thou  shalt 
be  crowned.    Other  Eng.  Versions,  look]. 

13  [Wicl.  from  the  coi-ching  lions  and  the  hilt  of  paradise.  Withington  :  from  the  cottages  of  Araotb,  fi-om  the  hills  of 
Nemairim].  , 

!■*  In  relation  to  this  privative  sense  of  33  7  comp.  e.  g.    /pO  "to  free  from  stones"  (Isa.  v.  2),  t^"1t^"to  uproot" 

fPs.  Hi,  7  ;  Job  xxxi.  12),  etc. ;  and  for  the  thought  comp.  Ovid's  ''oculos,qui  rapuere  meos  "  and  the  Greek  OvKyeiv  which 
differa  from  pacrKaCvetv  in  expressing  an  enchantment  by  love.  [Wicl.,  Gov.,  Mat.,  Genet.,  Dow.,  wounded.  Cran.,  Bish., 
bewitched.  Eng.  Veb.  marg.:  taken  away.  GiNSD.:  emboldened.  Noxes;  taken  captive.  Weiss,  who  compares  the  Ger- 
man kerzen  to  press  to  the  heart :  cherished.] 


III.  6— V.  1. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


70 


10  How  fair  is  thy  love,'  my  sister,  my  bride, 

how  much  better  thy  love  than  wine, 

and  the  fragrance  of  thy  unguents  than  all  spices, 

11  Liquid  honey  thy  lips  distil,  my  bride, 

honey  and  milk  are  under  thy  tongue, 

and  the  fragranceof  thy  garments  is  like  the  fragrance  of  Lebanon  » 

12  A  garden  locked'  is  my  sister,  my  bride, 

a  spring  locked,  a  fountain  sealed. 

13  Thy  plants  are  an  orchard  of  pomegranates, 

Avith  most  excellent  fruit; 
cypress  flowers  with  nards, 

14  Nard  and  crocus,  calamus  and  cinnamon, 

with  every  variety  of  incense-woods ; 

myrrh  and  aloes, 

with  all  the  chief  spice  plants. 

15  A  garden  spring*  art  thou,  a  well  of  living  water, 

and  streams*  from  Lebanon. 

Shulamith. 

16  Awake,*  north  wind,  and  come  thou  south, 

blow  upon  my  garden  that  its  spices'  may  flow ! 
Let*  my  beloved  come  to  his  garden 
and  eat  his  excellent  fruits.' 

Solomon. 
V.  1  P"  come  to  my  garden,  my  sister,  my  bride, 
I  pluck  my  myrrh  with  my  balsam, 
I  eat  my  honeycomb^'  with  my  honey, 
I  drink  my  wine  with  my  milk. — 

{turning  to  the  wedding  guests)  : 
Eat'^  friends,  drink,"  and  drink  to  repletion,  beloved. 

5  rWlCL.  teats.  Gov.,  Mat.,  Chan.,  Bi8H.,  Dot7.  :  breaats]. 

*  1  WicL.  incense.  Gov.,  Mat.,  Dow.  :  frankincense.] 

'  [Ens.  Vek.  inclosed,  or  barred  (marg).  Gov.,  Mat.  :  Thou  art  a  well-kept  garden,  O  my  sister,  my  sponse,  thon  art  a 
well  kept  water  spring,  a  sealed  well.  The  fruits  that  spront  in  thee  are  like  a  very  paradise  of  pomegranates  with 
Bweet  fruits.] 

*[Thrdpp  proposes  a  needless  change  of  text:  "The  Hebrew  text  has  Q^JJ  riTD  '  a  fountain  of  gardens.'    Thisseems 

inappropriate ;  partly  because  the  introduction  of  the  *  gardens '  tends  to  confusion  with  the  previous  image,  partly  because 
as  that  spoke  of  '  a  garden  '  in  the  singular,  we  should  hardly  here  have  mention  of  '  gardens  '  in  the  plural.  Houbigant 

conjectured  with  unusual  felicity,  that  for  □"'JJ]  we  should  read  D''7j  ;  and  this  though  unconfirmed  by  external  authority, 
has  so  strongly  tlie  appearance  of  being  the  true  reading,  that  we  may  without  much  rashness  venture  to  accept  it.  The 
word  denotes  the  waves  of  the  fountain  continually  welling  upwards.] 

^  [Gov.,  Mat.,  Cban.,  Bish.:  which  run  down.    Dow.;  which  run  with  violence.] 

*  [Mat.  Christ  calleth  the  heathen.]  . 

^  L  D^Dty3)  here  not  the  solid  aromatic  substances  themselves  as  ver.  14,  but  the  odors  streaming  f^om  them ;  1  7^"' 

the  assonance  with  D''7Tb  ver.  15,  appears  to  be  intentional.    [Gov.,  Mat.,  Gran.,  Bisjs.:  the  smell  thereof  may  be  carried 

on  every  side.] 

8  fin  Wicliffb's  and  the  Dow  AT  Bible  as  in  the  Vulgate  the  fifth  chapter  begins  here.  WiCL.  The  church  saith  of 
Christ.] 

*  I  Gov.,  Mat.  :  eat  of  the  fruits  and  apples  that  grow  therein.    Dow. :  fruits  of  his  apple  trees.] 

JO  [WiCL.:  Christ  saith  to  the  church.  Mat.:  Christ  speaketh  to  the  church.  WiCL.,  Gov.,  Mat.  ;  Come  into  my  garden  0 
my  sister,  my  spouse.] 

n  [  ^^1  lit.  "  a  wood,  thicket "  here  denotes  the  honey-comb,  as  in  1  Sam.  xiv.  27  the  feminine  form  rTll?^    ^^"^^ 

^yV\)  prop,  the  rough  or  harsh  in  honey  in  contrast  with  the  smoothly  flovring.] 

12  [WicL.  Christ  to  the  Apostles  saith.    Mat.  Christ  speaketh  to  the  Apostles.] 

isfWlCL.:  be  inwardly  made  drunken.  Gov.,  Mat.,  Gean.,  Bish.:  be  merry,  0  ye  beloved.  Genet.  ;  make  you  merry,  0 
well-htloved.    Eng.  Ver.;  drink  abundantly, O  beloved;  marg.  be  drunken  with  loves.] 

nuptial  feast.  The  dramatic  vividness  and 
life  of  the  description  reaches  its  highest  point 
precisely  in  this  middle  section  of  the  piece, 
and  in  fact,  Renan  seems  to  be  not  altogether 
wrong  when  he  says  of  it,  or  at  least  of  its  first 
scene  (iii.  6-11):  "No  portion  bears  so  many 
traces  as  this  of  a  real  representation,  and  even 
of  a  certain  amount  of  stage  apparatus  and  of 
costumes."  Yet  the  thought  of  an  actual  perform- 


EXEGETICAL  AND   CEITICAL. 

1.  The  contents  of  this  section  rightly  under- 
Bteod,  plaoe  it  beyond  doubt  that  iii.  6-11  de- 
scribes a  bridal  procession,  i.  c,  the  solemn  bring- 
ing of  a  bride  to  her  marriage,  and  iv.  1 — v,  1 
the  marriage  itself,  or  more  exactly  the  loving 
conversation  of  the  newly  wedded  pair  at  their 


so 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


III.  G— V.  1. 


anoe  (even  if  only  in  the  private  circle  of  a 
family  engaged  in  a  wedding  feast,  as  Renan 
proposes,  pp.  83,  if.)  is  forbidden  first  by  the  fact 
that  the  dramatic  style  is  not  suflBciently  sustained 
in  the  other  acts,  e.  g.  that  which  immediately 
precedes  with  its  simple  monologue;  and  second- 
ly by  the  scanty  change  of  person  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  dialogue  in  both  the  scenes  of  this 
act,  which  is  more  lyrical  and  subjective  than 
dramatic  and  objective.  For  in  the  first  instance 
with  regard  to  iii.  6-11,  the  speaker  in  this  sec- 
tion, although  not  the  poet  himself  (Herdee, 
Umbreit),  is  simply  the  band  of  the  "daughters 
of  Zion,"  ver.  11,  whilst  the  principal  personages, 
Solomon  and  Shulamith,  remain  mere  objects  of 
sight  to  these  women  of  Jerusalem,  and  attended 
by  a  brilliant  retinue  pass  mutely  over  the  stage. 
Now  since  the  spectators  designated  in  ver.  11 
as  the  daughters  of  Zion,  are  scarcely  ditferent 
from  the  "daughters  of  Jerusalem"  elsewhere 
introduced  (comp.  on  ver.  11),  and  little  or  noth- 
ing that  is  well  founded  can  be  alleged  in  favor 
of  the  assumption  of  those  recent  writers,  who 
conceive  the  speakers  to  be  "citizens"  or  "resi- 
dents "  of  Jerusalem  (Ewald,  Magnus,  Db- 
LiTzscH,  HiTziG,  Renan),  Or  "men  and  women" 
alternately  (Bottcher),  or  "courtiers  of  Solo- 
mon" even  (Weissbach),  it  is  just  the  chorus  of 
the  piece  that  speaks  exclusively  in  this  scene, 
the  same  chorus  which  made  its  appearance  both 
speaking  and  acting  only  in  the  first  part  of  the 
first  act,  while  in  the  second  part  it  withdrew 
more  into  the  background,  and  in  the  second  act 
did  not  come  into  view  at  all.  A  partition  of 
the  several  utterances  contained  in  the  four 
strophes  of  the  section  (ver.  6,  vers.  7,  8,  vers. 
9,  10,  ver.  11)  among  different  persons  or  groups 
of  persons  in  the  chorus  is  perhaps  admissible, 
and  this  most  probably  so  that  the  first  three 
strophes  may  with  Delitzsch  be  put  into  the 
month  of  different  particular  groups,  and  the 
last  (ver.  11)  assigned  to  the  whole  body  of 
spectators,  or  to  "the  entire  festive  multitude." 
Yet  no  greater  multiplicity  or  life  is  thus  gained 
for  the  action  after  all,  for  the  discourse  con- 
tinues nevertheless  to  be  limited  exclusively  to 
the  persons  of  the  chorus. — Again  in  iv.  1 — v.  1 
it  is  only  Solomon  and  Shulamith,  who  are  en- 
gaged in  conver.iation,  although  they  are  not 
alone,  but  as  v.  1  shows,  in  company  with  the 
merrily  feasting  wedding  guests.  The  attempts 
of  HiTz:<j  and  Renan  to  bring  more  life  and  va- 
riety into  the  action  by  introducing  the  shepherd 
from  ver.  8  onward,  are  to  be  rejected  as  empty 
conceits;  especially  that  of  the  latter  who  makes 
the.shepherd  stand  "at  the  foot  of  the  seraglio- 
tower"  (aupied  dela  tour  de  serail)  as  alanguish- 
ing  lover,  and  speak  all  from  ver.  8  to  ver.  16  a 
to  his  beloved,  until  she  finally  grants  him  ad- 
mission, and  he  then  v.  1  "celebrates  together 
with  the  chorus  the  triumph  of  his  love"  (simi- 
larly also  Bottcher).  The  whole  impression 
especially  of  what  the  enraptured  bridegroom 
says  in  his  description  of  the  charms  of  his  bride 
(iv.  1  ff.,  9  ff.)  is  that  of  an  extremely  simple 
action,  which  aims  at  a  description  of  the  feelings 
of  the  loving  pair  at  the  celebration  of  their  mar- 
riage and  the  utterances  of  their  emotion  far 
more  than  at  an  exhibition  of  what  they  did,  and 
consequently   betrays  again   more  of  a  lyrical 


than  a  strictly  dramatic  character.  But  even  if 
there  really  were  reason  to  assume  a  scenic  rep- 
resentation or  at  least  a  seriously  intended 
destination  to  that  end,  no  such  indecent  contents 
could  in  any  case  be  admitted  in  this  representa- 
tion, as  HiTZiG  and  Renan  maintain,  the  former 
by  his  assertion  that  with  what  the  bridegroom 
says  v.  1  his  conjugal  embrace  of  the  bride 
begins  before  the  eyes  of  the  spectators  (!);  the 
latter  by  his  remark  upon  what  he  takes  to  be  the 
words  of  the  shepherd  "II  se  rassure  sur  sa 
fidUite  (.'),  etc.  With  as  little  propriety  could  a 
burlesque  character  be  attributed  to  the  repre- 
sentation, as  is  done  by  Bottcher,  who  e.  g.  sees 
in  V.  le  a  direction  from  the  shepherd  to  his 
comrades  to  fall  upon  the  wine  and  the  provi- 
sions of  the  wedding  table  and  to  drink  them- 
selves drunk. — Moreover  the  bride  is  with  most 
of  the  recent  interpreters  (even  Umbreit,  Ewald, 
Vaihinoer,  Renan,  and  most  of  the  other  advo- 
cates of  the  shepherd-hypothesis)  to  be  supposed 
to  be  no  other  than  Shulamith,  and  she  exalted 
to  the  rank  of  a  queen  in  the  proper  sense,  a 
wife  of  Solomon  preferred  before  all  others,  asia 
shown  by  the  appellation  "my  sister  bride," 
which  is  first  used  in  iv.  9  ff.,  and  further  by 
the  passage  vi.  8,  9,  as  well  as  the  fact  that  Shu- 
lamith is  subsequently  denominated  a  "prince's 
daughter,"  vii.  2.  Neither  iii.  6  where  "out  of 
the  wilderness"  is  by  no  means  to  be  explained 
of  a  coming  of  the  bride  from  the  south,  nor  iii. 
11  (see  in  loc.)  stands  opposed  to  this  assumption 
or  compels  a  return  to  the  opinion  of  many  of  the 
older  writers  that  the  bride  was  a  daughter  of 
rharaoh  coming  up  from  Egypt.  Solomon  is  be- 
sides to  be  thought  of  as  participating  in  the 
festive  procession,  whether  we  imagine  him 
seated  in  the  sedan  along  with  his  bride  or  on 
horseback  at  the  side  of  it.  For  the  marriage 
customs  of  ancient  Israel  required  (comp.  1  Mace, 
ix.  37,  89,  and  see  above,  p.  60)  the  bridegroom 
to  bring  the  bride  from  the  house  of  her  parents 
with  an  honorable  escort  even  though  the  distance 
from  thence  to  his  residence  amounted  to  one 
or  to  several  days'  journey.  And  an  intimation 
appears  to  be  contained  (ver.  8)  in  the  mention 
of  the  "terrors  of  the  nights"  (see  in  loc.)  that 
he  had  in  fact  conducted  her  by  a  march  of  several 
days  to  Jerusalem,  and  consequently  had  him- 
self brought  her  from  her  home  in  Shunem. 
Against  the  view  of  Delitzsch  and  Schlottmann 
{"  Der  Brautzug  des  Bohenlieds,"  Stud,  und Krit., 
1867,  II.,  239  f.)  that  Solomon  himself  was  not 
with  the  bridal  procession,  but  simply  awaited 
its  arrival,  and  at  length,  when  it  had  come  near 
enough,  went  forth  from  his  palace  to  show  him- 
self to  the  bride  and  likewise  to  the  festive  mul- 
titude, may  be  urged  not  indeed  the  mention  of 
the  "sedan  of  Solomon"  in  ver.  7,  for  this  is  not 
necessarily  a  sedan  in  which  Solomon  himself  is 
sitting,  but  the  circumstance  that  Solomon  is 
mentioned  (ver.  11)  in  a  manner  which  implies 
that  he  was  with  the  festive  procession  rather 
than  going  to  meet  it  or  receiving  it  at  the  door 
of  his  palace.  The  contents  of  the  preceding  act 
had  also  prepared  the  way  for  Solomon's  going 
to  Shulamith  and  fetching  her  to  Jerusalem  him- 
self, comp.  p.  60. — After  what  has  been  already 
remarked,  there  can  be  no  further  doubt  respect- 
ing the  locality  of  the  two  scenes.     In  iii.  6-11 


ni.  6— V.  1. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


St 


it  18  some  street  in  Jerusalem,  or  more  exactly 
(see  ver.  6)  an  open  area  at  one  of  the  gates  of 
the  city,  commanding  a  prospect  of  the  desert 
region  stretching  north-east  from  the  city  toward 
Jericho  (comp.  Delitzsoh's  somewhat  too  in- 
definite statement  of  the  scene  :  "Neighborhood 
of  Jerusalem  and  the  city  itself").  In  iv.  1  to  v. 
1,  however,  it  is  the  wedding  hall  of  the  royal 
palace,  in  which  the  newly  married  pair  carry 
on  their  cosy  talk  somewhat  apart  from  the 
guests  sitting  at  the  festive  ta.ble;  a  hall  which 
we  must  perhaps  conceive  (see  on  iv.  6)  to  have 
been  immediately  adjoining  a  garden  and  open 
outwards  like  the  locality  in  the  first  act. — Be- 
tween scene  1  and  2  we  may  perhaps  suppose  the 
marriage  ceremony  to  have  been  performed  by 
some  of  the  priestly  order;  for  according  to 
Prov.  ii.  17  ;  Mai.  ii.  14,  such  a  religious  act  un- 
doubtedly took  place  at  the  weddings  of  the  an- 
cient Hebrews  (see  the  exegetical  explanation  of 
the  former  passage,  in  the  commentary  on  Pro- 
verbs) ;  and  in  chap,  iv  Solomon  no  longer  speaks 
to  bis  beloved  aa  if  they  were  simply  betrothed, 
but  as  if  they  were  actually  married,  see  especially 
ver.  12  ff.  With  no  valid  reasons  for  it  Hitzio 
makes  the  wedding  ceremony  take  place  between 
iv.  8  and  9.  For  the  allegation  that  the  language 
of  Solomon  does  not  become  really  "fond,  affect- 
ing and  languishing  "  until  ver.  9  is  purely  sub- 
jective, and  is  notverified  by  the  contents  of  vers. 
9-16,  comp.  with  vers.  1-7;  and  even  if  it  were 
correct,  it  would  not  prove  that  a  pause  is  to  be 
assumed  between  vers.  8  and  9  to  be  filled  up  by 
the  solemnization  of  the  marriage. 

2.  The  bridal  procession,  iii.  6-11. — First 
Strophe,  ver.  6. 

Ver.  6.  Who  is  this  coming  up  out  of 
the  1171166111688?  This  "exclamation  of  ad- 
miration and  praise"  ["voz  de  admiracion  y  de 
loor"  according  to  Luis  de  Leon)  certainly  does 
not  refer  to  the  sedan  of  Solomon  approaching 
the  city  (Hitzig,  Weissbach)  any  more  than  it 
docs  to  Solomon  with  his  retinue,  as  though 
nXt  'p  were  here  to  be  taken  as  a  neuter :  "  what 
is  this,"  etc.,  (Ewald  and  others) ;  [so  Perot, 
Good,  Taylor,  Williams,  Ginsbubg].  The  an- 
swer to  the  question  here,  as  in  the  two  passages 
(vi.  10  and  viii.  5)  where  it  recurs  verbatim,  can 
be  no  other  than  "  Shulamith,"  the  expected  bride 
of  the  king,  the  heroine  of  the  day,  the  prime  ob- 
ject of  interest  and  of  curiosity  to  the  residents 
of  Jerusalem  (correctly  explained  by  all  the  older 
interpreters  and  among  the  more  recent  by 
Dblitzsch,  Vaihinger,  Hengstenbebo,  Schlott- 
MANN,  etc.).  It  is  in  their  name  and  as  expres- 
sive of  their  feelings  that  the  chorus  now  speaks. 

The  verb  "come  up,"  literally  "ascend"  (ni^f) 
simply  denotes  the  ascent  from  the  lower  level 
of  the  surrounding  country  to  the  city  situated 
upon  a  high  mountain  (comp.  1  Kin.  xii.  28,  elc), 
not  the  perpendicular  ascent  of  the  pillar  of 
smoke,  with  which  Shulamith  is  compared  in 
what  follows,  (Hitzig,  Weissbach.)  —  Upon 
nansn-jD  Schlottmann  correctly  remarks: 
' '''  From  the  wilderness '  is  merely  intended  to  sug- 
gest a  general  conception  as  if  in  describing  a 
similar  entry  into  one  of  our  cities  we  were  to 
say  '  from  the  country.'  The  immediate  vicinity 
•f  ancient  Jerusalem  was  richly  adorned  with 
35 


gardens  and  orchards,  such  as  are  not  wholly 
wanting  even  now."  For  proof  that  an  ex- 
tremely desolate  and  barren  rocky  waste  lies  be- 
tween Jerusalem  and  Jericho,  and  consequently 
in  the  very  direction  from  which  the  festive  pro- 
cession coming  from  the  north  of  Palestine  must 
approach  the  city,  comp.  the  unanimous  accounts 
of  modern  travellers  in  Palestine,  t.</.,  one  of 
the  latest,  K.  Furrers  [Wanderungen,  etc.,  p. 
147)  :  "How  silent  and  solitary  it  was  here,  {viz., 
immediately  beyond  Bethany)  I  We  looked  in 
vain  for  a  hut.  Briers  and  fragments  of  rock 
covered  the  declivities.  Yet  even  in  this  barren 
region  small  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats  found 
here  and  there  a  scanty  subsistence,"  etc.  Comp. 
also  -Robinson's  Physical  Oengraphy  of  the  Holy 
iared— Like  pillars  of  staoke.  ]1!i]}  niircjl 
(or  Wy  nnpn,  Joel  iii.  3)  are  neither  "  ela- 
tiones fumi"  as  though  the  root,  from  which  it  is 
derived,  were  ln'=inN  "  to  be  high  "  (Ewald, 
Weissbach),  nor  "  clouds  of  smoke,  whirls  of 
smoke  "  (from  Tn''==110  agitatusfuit, — Hengsten- 
bebo), but  palm-like  high  and  slender  pillars  of 
smoke,  as  is  shown  by  the  unmistakably  close 
affinity  between  iTIDTl  and  lOn  "palm"  [so 
Bukbowes,  Weiss].  The  expression  is,  there- 
fore, a  poetical  and  descriptive  synonym  of  the 
prosaic  W]!  llHi^  "pillar  of  smoke"  Judg.  xx. 
40.  Comp.  Klbuker  :  "A  vertically  ascending 
column  of  steam,  which  spreads  out  at  the  top 
into  small  clouds,  has  the  shape  of  a  palm-tree, 
whose  upright  trunk  first  rises  in  like  manner 
high  in  the  air  and  then  divides  into  a  like  bushy 
crown."  The  tertium  comparationis  in  the  com- 
parison of  the  approaching  bride  of  the  king  with 
pillars  of  smoke  is  moreover  two-fold :  it  is  in- 
tended to  set  forth  her  slender,  stately  appear- 
ance and  the  dense  volume  of  rare  perfumes 
which  stream  forth  from  her  (or  her  sedan)  to 
delight  the.  sense  (comp.  Schlottmann  in  loc). 
In  the  worst  possible  taste,  Hitzig  :  The  figure 
has  reference  to  the  sedan,  which  is  to  be  con- 
ceived of  as  "perhaps  higher  than  it  was  long," 
and,  since  it  rested  on  the  shoulders  of  its  tall 
bearers,  as  "projecting  perpendicularly  up- 
wards." —  Perfumed  with  myrrh  and  in- 
cense. As  ProT.  vii.  17  a  bed  and  Ps.  xlr.  9  the 
garments  of  the  royal  bridegroom,  so  here  the 
bride  coming  to  her  wedding  or  more  particularly 
her  sedan  and  her  dress  are  filled  with  refresh' 
ing  perfumes  (Prov.  xxvii.  9).  Comp.  what  CoR- 
Tius  RuFUS  (VIII.  9,  23)  relates  of  aromatic 
fumigations  in  the  public  processions  of  the  kings 
of  ancient  India,  as  well  as  the  accounts  of 
modern  travellers,  such  as  Tavebnieb,  etc.,  res- 
pecting the  custom  formerly  in  vogue  at  the 
Turkish  court  in  Constantinople  of  'burning  in- 
cense and  aloes  -in  silver  chafing  dishes  at  the 
formal  reception  of  foreign  ambassadors* 
(Schmidt,  Bibl.  Geographus,  p.  78). 

*  ["  The  bride  of  Solomon  is  represented  here  as  perfumed 
in  a  solemn  procession  made  upon  occasion  of  the  king's  en- 
tering with  her  into  Jerusalem.  The  virgins  went  out  to  meet 
them  iii.  11 ;  they  burnt  odors  before  them  with  a  profusion 
that  became  a  royal  wedding,  so  that  the  smoke  ascended  like 
pillars  Or  these  pillars  of  smoke  may  refer  to  the  burning 
perfumes  in  Jerusalem  as  a  preparative  for  the  reception  of 
the  royal  pair."  Harmee.  "The  bride  was  bo  nchly  pro- 
vided with  perfumes  that  they  curied  up  in  dense  columns  of 
smoke,  visible  at  a  distance  as  the  procession  moved  along. 
Thrupp     "It  is  commonly  supposed  that  the  slender  ana 


82 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


III.  6— V.  1. 


Second  Strophe,  vers.  7,  8  (probably  spoken 
by  a  different  group  of  the  women  of  Jerusalem 
from  the  first,  comp.  above  No.  1.) 

Ver.  7.  Lo!  Solomon's  own  palanquin.* — 
The  spectators  beholding  the  procession  now  al- 
ready quite  near,  perceive  that  the  magnificent 
couch  in  the  centre  of  it  belongs  to  no  less  a  per- 
son than  Solomon  himself,  and  hence  immediately 
infer  the  high  rank  of  her  who  sits  within  it, 
which  is  made  still  more  apparent  by  the  splen- 
did surroundings  of  the  palanquin. — Sixty  he- 
roes about  it  of  the  heroes  of  Israel — i.  e., 
probably  from  the  number  of  those  six  hundred 
heroes  or  *' mighty  men"  (D'''^13J),  with  whom 
David  had  surrounded  himself  as  his  guard  of 
honor  or  his  general  staff  (comp.  2  Sam.  x.  7 ; 
[xv.  18]  ;  xvi.  6  ;  xx.  7  ;  xxiii.  8  ff.)  and  which 
undoubtedly  still  formed  under  Solomon  the 
flower  of  the  Israelitish  army,  or  in  part  at 
least,  a  sort  of  standing  body-guard  about  the 
king  (comp.  2  Sam.  xv.  1  ;  1  Kings  i.  5).  At  any 
rate,  the  sixty  heroes  here  appear  as  a  guard  of 
honor,  which  had  attended  him  on  his  bridal 
journey  for  his  beloved. f 

Ver.  8.  Against  fear  in  the  nights — 
t.  e.,  that  fear  m.ay  not  be  excited  in  the 
nights ;  for  in3  is  not  objective  terror,  that  which 
produces  terror  (Delitzsch,  Henqstenberg,) 
[Ginsbdrg],  but  subjective  terror,  being  fright- 
ened out  of  sleep  (Job  iv.  14  ;  Ruth  iii.  8).  The 
meaning  is  evidently  this  :  to  secure  her  while 
travelling  from  sudden  alarm  and  consequent 
disturbance  of  her  slumber  at  night  upon  her  way 
to  Jerusalem  (not  after  her  arrival  there,  as  Hit- 
zio  claims),  the  sixty  sword-begirt  heroes  were 

graceful  form  of  the  bride  gradually  increasing  in  tallness  as 
she  came  nearer,  is  compared  to  the  light  and  beautiful  column 
of  smolio  which  ascends  from  a  burning  censer  of  incense. 
But  is  it  not  more  probable  that  the  dust  caused  by  the  ap- 
proach of  the  sedan  and  its  attendants  is  compared  to  columns 
of  smoke  ?  Or  might  not  the  pillars  of  smoke  actually  ascend 
from  censers  borne  in  front  of  the  procession?"  Noyes.  The 
Genevan  version  here  has  this  note :  "  This  is  referred  to  the 
church  of  Israel  which  was  led  by  the  wilderness  forty  years." 
"  The  reference  is  evident  to  the  marching  of  the  children  of 
Israel  through  the  wilderness,  with  the  pillar  of  cloud  before 
them  and  with  the  pillars  of  smoke  ascending  from  the  altar 
of  incense  in  the  sight  of  the  priests,  and  from  the  altar  of 
atonement  in  the  sight  of  all  Israel  "  Moody  Stuart.  So  al- 
legorical interpreters  generally,  who  find  in  this  one  of  the  indi- 
cations of  the  spiritual  meaning  of  the  Song.  "  She  came 
perfumed  with  myrrh  and  frankincense,  because  myrrh  waa 
one  of  the  principal  ingredients  in  her  holy  ointment  (Ex. 
XXX.  22),  and  incense  waa  offered  constantly  on  the  golden  altar 
before  the  veil ;  and  because  myrrh  is  the  symbol  of  the  death 
and  burial  to  which  Christ  condescended  as  man ;  and  because 
frankincense  is  the  type  of  prayer  offered  by  Him  as  our 
priest  and  offered  to  Him  as  God.  And  she  is  perfumed  with  all 
the  powders  or  spices  of  the  merchant  because  all  the  glories 
of  the  ancient  ritual  are  spiritualized  in  the  gospel."  Words- 
worth.J 

*  ["A  travelling  litter  is  here  intended."  Thrupp.  "  Either 
a  howdah,  to  bo  borne  on  the  back  of  a  camel  instead  of  an 
elephant,  or  a  palanquin  to  be  carried  on  the  shoulders  of 
men,  or  to  be  borne  as  a  litter  between  two  camels,  hoi'ses  or 
mules."  KiTTO.  Wordsworth  follows  Hengstenberq  in  sup- 
posing an  allusion  to  the  marriage  bed,  which  is  manifestly  at 
variance  with  the  context. — Tr.J 

f  [Thrupp  after  Patrick:  "The  number  of  David's  heroes, 
'  thirty  and  seven  in  all,'  was  exactly  thirty  exclusive  of  those 
who  stood  superior  to  the  rest  in  rank ;  and  if  the  number 
three-score  have  any  definite  meaning  in  the  present  verse,  it 
is  probably  to  be  taken  as  the  double  of  the  number  of  the  he- 
roes of  David's  reign.  A  comparison,  however,  of  this  verse 
with  vi.  8  may  furnish  ground  for  regarding  sixty  as  a  deter- 
minate number  used  for  an  indeterminate."  Wordsworth 
allegorizes  thus:  "twice  thirty,  twice  David's  number,  be- 
cause the  two  armies  of  Christ's  soldiers  (viz.:  the  Gentile  and 
the  .Tew)  are  here  represented  aa  united  in  the  army  of  the 
peaceful  Solomon,  Christ."] 


assigned  to  her  as  her  escort.  As  the  jourcey 
from  Sfaunem  to  Jerusalem  amounts  to  about  fifty 
miles  in  a  direct  course,  and  consequently  made 
it  necessary  to  pass  at  least  one  and  perhaps  two 
nights  on  the  route,  and  this  very  probably  in  a 
wild  solitary  region  (IBIBI,  yer.  6),  such  a  mili- 
tary escort  was  by  no  means  superfluous.  At  a 
later  time  also,  when  Shulamith  was  urging  a  re- 
turn to  her  home  (vii.  12),  she  takes  for  granted 
that  it  would  be  necessary  to  spend  several  nights 
in  villages  upon  the  way. 

Third  Strophe.  Vers.  9,  10  (again  spoken  by 
a  fresh  division  of  the  chorus). 

Ver.  9.  A  litter  has  King  Solomon  made 
for  himself.— t'V)3K,  though  difficult  of  expla- 
nation etymologically,  denotes  according  to  the 
ancient  versions  and  rabbinical  tradition  a  porta- 
ble couch,  a  litter  (according  to  Kimohi,  a  bride's 
litter  *  in  particular  ;  a  similar  view  in  Sot.  IX. 
14).  It  is  therefore  to  be  regarded  as  identical 
with  the  ntap,  ver.  7.  In  opposition  to  Hitzig, 
who  declares  the  two  to  be  distinct,  and  places 
the  king  in  the  HtSD,  and  the  bride,  whom  he 
thinks  to  be  coming  to  meet  him,  in  the  ]'I'"13N 
see  particularly  Schlottmann,  p.  229  ff.;  also 
Weissbach,  p.  177,  who  correctly  observes  that 
the  remark  before  us,  as  well  as  that  contained  in 
strophe  2  (vers.  7,  8),  is  related  to  the  question 
in  ver.  6,  and  must  therefore,  like  that  first  an- 
swer, point  to  a  female  person  as  the  occupant 
of  the  litter  referred  to.  In  an  etymological  point 
of  view,  Hitzig's  explanation  of  P'TflK  as  related 
to  the  Sanskrit paryina,  "saddle,  riding-saddle,'' 
and  consequently  as  not  properly  denoting  a 
couch  for  lying  down,  but  a  portable  chair 
(comp.  the  Syr.,  which  takes  the  word  as  a  syno- 
nyme  of  ND3),  may  deserve  to  be  preferred  above 
all  others,  especially  if  we  might  also  adduce  with 
it  the  Indian  paryang^  "bed,"  compared  by 
Bottcher  [Suppl.  Lex.  Aram.,  p.  49).  For  nei- 
ther the  derivation  from  the  Greek  atiempted  long 
ago  by  Jerome  (on  Isa.  yii.  14),  as  though  it  were 
identical  with  the  (popc'iov  of  the  Sept.  (so  among 
the  later  writers,  Magnus  and  Schlottmann), 
nor  the  various  recent  attempts  to  refer  it  to  some 
Semitic  root,  e.  ff.,  to  the  Chald.  NliJ,  currere 
(hence  properly  equivalent  to  currus,  Gesenics) 
[chariot,  Eng.  Ver.],  or  to  X"\3=1Na,  "  to  be 
handsomely  adorned,  to  shine  "  (Weissbach),  or 
to  ma,  whether  in  the  sense  of  "spreading  out," 
or  in  that  of  "  cutting  neatly,  executing  elegant 
workmanship  "  (Ewald,  Meier,  Delitzsch,  etc., 
all  of  whom  compare  the  Chald.  N'"113,  bed),  or 
finally  to  7113=113, /em  (Wiseman,  Sor.  Syr., 
and  Gesen.-Dietr.  in  the  Ilandworterbuch,  com- 
paring the  "ferculum  "  of  the  Vulg.  and  the  Syr. 
ph'rulo,  "cradle") — none  of  these  attempts  at 
explanation  are  really  satisfactory  in  a  linguistic 
point  of  view.  But  even  if  the  "Appiryon  "  is 
properly  a  portable  seat,  it  may  still  be  identical 
with  the  "Mittah,"  yer.  7;  for  as  a  travelling 
sedan  it  was  doubtless  arranged  both  for  sitting 
and  for  reclining,  and  was  spacious  enough  to  af- 
ford room  for  Solomon  along  with  Shulamith.    It 

*  ["It  seoms  to  signify  the  nuptial  bed,  or  an  open  chariot, 
or  some  such  like  thing,  in  which  the  bride  was  carried  in 
pomp  to  the  bridegroom's  house ;  and  in  this  sense  is  the  word 
used  in  the  Mishnah." — OiLUJ 


in.  6— V.  1. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


88 


is  more  natural,  however,  and  likewise  corres- 
pondB  better  with  decorum  and  with  the  mar- 
riage customs  of  the  ancient  Hebrews  to  imagine 
the  Icing  riding  along  side  or  seated  on  a  separate 
litter  of  a  less  showy  sort.  For  the  Hindoo  bridal 
custom,  according  to  which  both  bride  and  groom 
were  carried  along  together  in  one  large  palan- 
quin, can  scarcely  determine  the  usage  under  the 
Old  Testament  (comp.  Sohlottmann,  in  loc). — 
"  Has  made  for  himself"  is,  according  to  2  Sam. 
XV.  1 ;  1  Kings  i.  5,  equivalent  to  "procured, 
provided  for  himself,"  comparavit  aibi,  not  ex- 
a,ct\y  =faciendum  curavit,  "caused  to  be  made" 
(for  which  Esth,  vii.  9  has  been  alleged). — Of 
the  ■wood  of  Lebanon — ^literally:  "from  the 
woods  of  Lebanon,"  i.  e.,  from  various  costly  spe- 
cies of  wood  found  on  this  mountain,  particularly 
cedars  and  cypresses,  comp.  1  Kings  v.  10  ;  vi. 
16 ;  vii.  2,  as  well  as  i.  17  above.* — Its  pillars 
he  made  of  silver. — So  that  only  the  frame  of 
the  sedan  was  of  those  valuable  woods,  not  its 
various  decorations,  which  belonged  to  its  inner 
as  well  as  its  outer  fitting  up.  □''IIS^  are  not 
the  feet  of  the  couch,  as  though  the  KTavai  b.pyv- 
piwoSe^  (Xenoph.,  Anab.  IV.,  4,  21 ;  Atken.  IL, 
9),  or  the  Roman  tables  with  silver  legs  (^Juven. 
II.,  128),  were  to  be  compared,  but  the  small  pil- 
lars designed  mainly  for  ornament,  not  as  sup- 
ports, with  which  the  sedan  was  embellished  ; 
comp.  the  aurafse  columnie  of  a  royal  sedan  spoken 
of  by  CuKTius,  IX.  8,  26,  as  well  as  the  mention 
of  Indian  palanquins  with  silver  pillars  by  v. 
Oblich,  Indische  Beise,  p.  123. — Its  seat  of 
purple. — By  this  are  meant  not  cushions,  but 
costly  coverings,  which  were  spread  over  the 
hard  wooden  base:  comp.  Judg.  v.  10;  Am.  iii. 
12  ;  Prov.  vii.  16. — Its  interior  was  embroi- 
dered from  love  by  the  daughters  of  Jeru- 
salem.— The  suffix  in  ij'in,  like  that  of  the  three 
preceding  words,  can  only,  refer  back  to  the  prin- 
cipal subject  Il''^3^{,  not  to  the  purple  of  the  cov- 
erings (Maqn.,  Hitzig).  Since  the  back  and  the 
Beat  have  been  mentioned  before,  the  "midst" 
or  "  inside  "  of  this  elegant  litter  can  mean  no- 
thing but  the  sides  and  top  of  the  same  vehi- 
cle. The  decoration  of  these  inner  portions  of 
the  sedan  is  characterized  by  the  participle  ^'XT 
(from  nSI  to  arrange  together,  combine,  comp. 
n-jifl,  "  tesselated  pavement  "),  as  consisting  in 
figures  arranged  together  to  resemble  mosaic, 
which  points  to  fine  embroidery,  for  these  figures 
cannot  be  conceived  to  be  upon  any  thing  but  the 
coverings  which  lined  the  walls.f    Consequently 

•  [Tayioe  is  peculiar  in  connecting  the  laat  words  of  yer.  9 
with  ver.  10  thus :  "A  nuptial  palanquin  hath  king  Solomon 
made  for  himself.  He  hath  made  of  Lebanon-wood  its  pillars 
(the  poles  of  the  palanquin,  and  perhaps  the  whole  of  its  wood- 
work) ;  of  silver  (tissue)  its  canopy ;  of  gold  (tissue)  its  lower 
carriage  (lit.,  the  ridden  in  part,  which  hangs  by  cords  from 
the  pillars  or  poles) ;  with  purple  its  middle  part  (door)  is 
spread,  a  present  from  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  (a  finely 
wrought  carpet,)  or  wrought  with  an  ornamental  pattern  of 
needle-work."J  ,  .  , 

trPATEicK  supposes  a  reference  to  the  "foot-cloth,  whicn 
lay  at  the  bottom  of  the  chariot,  with  elegant  figures  of  shep- 
herds and  shepherdesses  perhaps  and  all  their  innocent  court- 
ships ''  Moody  Stoaet  mentions  (without  adopting)  an  opinion 
also  suggested  by  Fey  and  Mrs.  Francis  that  "  verses  expres- 
sive of  love  were  wrought  into  the  fabric  "  of  the  inner  lining. 
Stuart  insists  upon  the  strict  meaning  of  a  'pavement  ol 
stone,"  and  applies  the  description  to  the  "ark  of  the  covenant 
with  the  tables  of  the  law  as  the  chariot  of  the  divine  king  of 
Israel."— Tr.J 


nothing  is  more  obvious  than  to  see  in  tho 
"daughters  of  Jerusalem"  the  makers  of  this 
embroidery,  and  in  HDriN  love,  which  is  added  to 
limit  the  participle  'VTS'\  the  mention  of  the  dis- 
position, impelled  by  which  the  daughters  of  Je- 
rusalem performed  this  work.  The  [D  in  nU30 
is  therefore  equivalent  to  "from,  or  on  the  part 
of,"  and  does  not  introduce  the  agent  after  a 
passive  verb  *  (as  Hitzig  and  other  opponents  of 
this  construction  suppose),  which  would  cer- 
tainly be  contrary  to  usage.  The  Sept.  is  sub- 
stantially correct,  only  nins  is  taken  as  in  recent 
times,  e.  g.,  by  Vaihinger,  in  the  sense  of  a 
"token  or  gift  of  love  ;"  so  Herdee,  Delitzsch 
and  others.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  incorrectly 
rendered  by  Luther  (who  partially  follows  the 
Vulgate)  :  "  paved  within  in  a  lovely  manner  for 
the  sake  of  the  daughters  at  Jerusalem  ;"  also  by 
Umbreit  :  "  adorned  from  love  to  the  daughters 
of  Jerusalem  ;"  Hengstenb.:  "adorned  with  the 
love  of  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem"  (as  though 
they  were  themselves  seated  inside  of  the  sedan); 
Bottcher:  "adorned  with  one,  who  is  beloved 
beyond  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem,"  i.  t.,  far 
more  than  they;  and  finally  Doederl.,  Ewald, 
Weissbach,  Renan,  Hitzig,  Schlottmann  : 
"adorned  with  a  love  from  among  the  daughters 
of  Jerusalem  " — as  though  nuriX  here  meant  the 
same  as  amata  (which  is  in  reality  not  the  case 
either  here  or  any  where  else  in  the  Song  of  So- 
lomon ;  see  above  on  ii.  7  and  comp.  on  vii.  7)  op 
as  though  instead  of  this  expression  we  were  re- 
quired in  spite  of  MSS.  and  versions  to  read 
nnnx  (as  in  Hos.  iii.  1 ;  Deut.  xxi.  15)  or  n^HS 
(comp.  Hos.  ix.  10),  as  Hitzig  in  fact  proposes. 
The  same  interpreter  infers  from  DTE'IT]'  mj3p 
that  the  royal  bride  denoted  by  HDnx  is  not  Shu- 
lamith,  but  a  native  of  Jerusalem,  whilst  the  rest 
of  the  advocates  of  this  last  named  view  take  the 
"daughters  of  Jerusalem"  here  in  the  wider 
sense  of  "daughters  of  Israel"  (see  particularly 
Schlottmann). 

Fourth  Strophe.  Ver.  II  (spoken  by  the 
whole  body  of  the  chorus). 

Ver.  11.  Come  out,  daughters  of  Zion. — 
This  form  of  address  is  adopted  instead  of  "  daugh- 
ters of  Jerusalem,"  which  had  just  been  used  at 
the  close  of  verse  10,  merely  for  the  sake  of  va- 
rying the  expression,  not  to  distinguish  the 
ordinary  women  of  the  city  from  the  ladies 
of  the  court  (Ewald,  Hitzig,  etc.)  [so  Ginsb.]. 
The  coming  out  here  urged  is  not  necessarily  the 
coming  out  of  individuals  from  their  houses  ;  it 
is  sufficient  to  suppose  the  interior  of  the  city 
contrasted  with  the  open  space  at  one  of  the 
gates  where  the  action  is  proceeding  (see  above 
No.  1,  p.  72). — And  gaze  at  king  Solomon 
w^ith  the  crown  wherewith  his  mother 
crowned  him,  etc.  By  this  crown  is  neither 
meant  the  royal  bride  herself,  as  though  she 
were  here  entitled  the  crown  of  her  husband  as 
in  Prov.  xii.  4  (Vaih.,  Hengstenb.),  nor  is  the 


*  [So  Perot:  "The  middle  thereof  is  wrought  (jn  needle- 
work) by  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  (as  a  testimony  of  theirj 
love."  Williams  :  "  The  preposition  is  not  most  usually  hy 
but  frmn.  In  the  present  instance  it  probably  includes  both^ 
lined  with  love  by  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem,  and  probably 
received  aa  &  present  from  them."] 


84 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


III.  6— V.  1. 


expression  a  general  figurative  designation  of 
Solomon's  sovereignty  or  liis  glory  as  a  conquer- 
or (Starke  and  many  of  tlie  older  commenta- 
tors; also  Hahn).  We  are  rather  to  look  upon 
it  as  a  proper  festive  crown,  a  wedding  coronet 
of  gold  and  silver  (scarcely  of  fresh  flowers), 
such  as  probably  not  only  brides  but  bridegrooms 
were  accustomed  to  wear  at  Israelitish  weddings, 
as  was  the  custom  at  least  in  later  times  accord- 
ing to  the  testimony  of  the  Talmud ;  *  see  Sel- 
DEN,  Uxor  Ebr.  II.  139  f.;  Hibt,  de  coronis  apud 
Hebrxos  nuptialibus  sponsi  sponsseque,  Jen.  1748. — 
That  it  was  no  other  than  Solomon's  mother,f 
who  put  this  crown  upon  his  head,  is  not  to  be 
explained  from  the  fact  that  mothers  generally 
take  a  special  interest  in  such  matters  of  orna- 
ment (Hitzig),  but  from  a  peculiar  marriage 
custom,  according  to  which  the  mother  in  token 
of  her  approval  of  the  marriage  alliance  con- 
tracted by  her  son,  with  her  own  hand  adorned 
him  with  a  festive  crown.  It  is  still  a  question, 
however,  whether  the  reference  is  to  that  wed- 
ding crown,  which  Solomon  had  previously  worn 
upon  his  marriage  with  the  Egyptian  princess, 
1  Kin.  iii.  1,  and  which  in  order  to  distinguish  the 
.  present  new  bride  above  others  he  had  now 
brought  out  anew  (Ewald),  or  whether  as  "  the 
new  love  deserved  a  new  crown"  (Hitzig),  we 
are  to  assume  that  the  crowning  was  first  per- 
formed by  Bathsheba  in  honor  of  the  present 
nuptial  celebration  (eo  the  most).  The  latter  as- 
sumption is  favored  not  only  by  the  tenor  of  the 
words  used  (see  particularly  "and  in  the  day  of 
the  gladness  of  his  heart"  in  d)  but  also  by  the 
circumstance  that  Bathsheba,  Solomon's  mother, 
probably  survived  David,  her  royal  husband,  a 
number  of  years,  and  continued  to  be  a  highly 
respected  and  influential  person  at  the  court  of 
Solomon;   comp.  1  Kin.  i.  11;  ii.  13 fl^. 

3.  Solomon  to  Shdlamith  at  the  wedding 
entertainment,  iv.  1-6. 

Ver.  1.  Lo,  thou  art  fair,  my  dear,  etc. — 
The  verbal  correspondence  of  this  praise  of  Solo- 
mon's beauty  with  i.  15  is  designed  as  in  vi.  4 
(and  so  in  vi.  10;  viii.  5  comp.  with  iii.  6)  to 
direct  attention  to  Solomon  as  again  the  speaker 
of  these  words.  And  it  follows  with  great  prob- 
ability that  the  person  addressed  is  likewise  the 
same  as  before,  not  some  new  object  of  the  king's 
love  diiferent  from  Shulamith,  as  Hitzig  asserts. 
— Behind  thy  veil. — So  correctly  Hitzig, 
Vaih.,  Heiligst.,  etc.,  with  whom  Bottcii.  and 
Gesen.-Dietr.    ("through   thy   veil,"    i.e.,    ap- 

*  ["  It  was  usual  with  many  nations  to  put  crowns  or  gar- 
lands on  ttiG  heads  of  new  married  persons.  Tlie  Mishnah  in- 
forraa  us  that  this  custom  prevailed  among  the  Jews ;  and  it 
should  seem  from  the  passage  before  us  that  the  ceremony  of 
putting  it  on  wfis  performed  by  one  of  the  parents. 
Among  the  Greeks  the  bride  was  crowned  by  her  mother, 
as  appears  from  the  instance  of  Iphigenia  in  Euripides,  ver. 
903.  Bocn.^RT  supposes  the  nuptial  crown  and  other  orna- 
ments of  a  bride  alluded  to  in  Ezek.  xvi.  8-12 ;  Geogr.  Sacr. 
p.  2,  1.1. — The  nuptial  crowns  used  among  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  were  only  chaplets  of  leaves  or  flowers.  Among  the 
Hebrews  they  were  not  only  of  these,  but  occasionally  of 
richer  materials,  as  gold  or  silver,  according  to  the  rank  or 
wealth  of  the  parties."  Perot.  To  this  Good  adds :  "  It  was 
customary  equally  among  the  Greeks  and  Orientals  to  wear 
crowns  or  garlands  of  difiisrent  degrees  of  value,  in  proportion 
to  the  rank  of  the  person  presenting  them,  on  festivals  of 
every  description ;  but  those  prepared  for  the  celebration  of 
a  nuptial  banquet  as  being  a  festivity  of  the  first  consequence, 
Trere  of  peculiar  splendor  and  magnificence."] 

t  [WiTHlNOTON  is  alone  in  finding  not  Solomon's  mother,  but 
his  mother-iu-law,  in  this  passage ;  he  renders  thus :  "  wear- 


pearing  through)  substantially  agree.* — Thy 
hair  like  a  flock  of  goats  'which  repose  on 
Mount  Gllead. — -As  Gilead  is  visible  from  the 
Mount  of  Olives  in  the  far  distance,  but  not  from 
Jerusalem,  its  mention,  like  that  of  Lebanon  and 
Hermon  in  ver.  8,  and  like  so  many  other  allusions 
in  the  poem  to  localities  in  the  north  of  Palestine, 
is  to  be  explained  from  the  circumstance  that 
when  Solomon  was  speaking  to  his  beloved,  he 
liked  to  transport  himself  to  the  region  of  her 
home  with  its  peculiar  circle  of  impressions  and 
ideas.  Gilead  is,  besides,  a  mountain  land  specially 
rich  in  cattle  (comp.  Num.  xxxii.  1 ;  Mic.  vii.  14  ; 
Jer.  1.  19),  and  modern  travellers  have  found  it 
still  strewn,  as  it  were,  with  flocks  and  herds. 
Comp.  Arvieux,  II.,  688;  Paulus,  Reisen,  7, 108; 
Rosenm.,  Morgenl.,  I.,  85,  etc. — The  point  of  com- 
parison in  the  figure  is  to  be  found  mainly  in  the 
glossy  blackness  and  luxuriant  abundance  of 
Shulamith's  hair,  perhaps  also  in  its  silky  soft- 
ness and  delicacy,  less  likely  in  her  elegant  and 
elaborately  braided  tresses,  to  which  Magnus 
thinks  there  was  subordinate  reference.  Old 
Luis  de  Leon  correctly  (in  Wilkens,  p.  219) : 
"  He  indicated  thus  the  abundance  and  the  color 
of  her  hair;  for  the  goats,  which  pastured  there, 
were  dark  and  glossy.  He  says  therefore :  as 
the  goats  scattered  on  the  summit  of  Gilead  give 
it  a  fine  and  pretty  appearance,  whilst  before  it 
looked  like  a  bald  and  arid  rock,  so  does  thy  hair 
adorn  and  ornament  thy  head  by  its  rich  color 
and  abundance." 

Ver.  2.  Thy  teeth  like  a  flock  of  shorn 
sheep. — Sheep  recently  shorn,  consequently 
smooth,  and  besides  just  washed  in  the  pool,  and 
hence  snow-white,  evidently  are  a  peculiarly  ap- 
propriate figure  for  dazzling  white  teeth,  pro- 
vided pastoral  figures  or  those  taken  from  the 
realm  of  country  life  were  to  be  used  at  all.  And 
this  was  to  a  certain  extent  necessary  here;  at 
least  it  was  extremely  natural  to  illustrate  the 
contrast  between  the  blackness  of  her  hair  and 
the  whiteness  of  her  teeth  by  adding  a  flock  of 
white  lambs  to  the  flock  of  black  goats  spoken  of 
in  ver.  1.  The  idea  of  the  pool  for  the  sheep 
spontaneously  offered  itself,  since  washing  newly 
shorn  sheep  was  a  universal  custom  in  antiquity; 
comp.  Columella's  advice  (VII.  4)  to  wash 
sheep  four  days  after  the  shearing. — All  of 
■which  bear  fwins,  and  one  bereaved  is 
not  among  them. — An  allusion  to  the  com- 
pleteness of  her  teeth,  the  two  rows  of  which, 
upper  and  lower,  not  only  have  no  breaks,  but  in 
every  instance  exhibit  a  pair  of  teeth  exactly  an- 
swering to  one  another,  twin  teeth,  as  it  were, 
throughout.f     That   sheep  in  the  East  are  still 


ing  the  wreath  which  his  (new  rural)  mother  wove  for  him  ia 
the  day  of  his  espousals  (to  her  daughter)." 

*  [Percy  gives  the  preposition  a  privative  sense,  and  trans- 
lates "  now  thy  veil  is  removed."  lie  supposes  that  the  royal 
pair  having  alighted  from  their  carriage,  the  ceremony  of  un- 
veiling the  bride  here  follows,  which  gives  occasion  to  the 
bridegroom's  encomium  on  those  features  which  the  veil  in 
great  measure  concealed.  But  WlLLUMS  observes  that  the 
"  Eastern  poets  celebrate  the  charms  of  the  fair  through  their 
veils,  and  improve  this  circumstance  into  an  elegant  compli- 
ment." AiNswoRTH  and  others  remark  upon  the  circumstance 
that  seven  particulars  are  here  mentioned  in  the  description 
of  the  bride,  viz.:  her  "  eyes,  hair,  teeth,  lips,  temples,  neck 
and  breasts,"  uniting,  as  Moody  Stuart  expresses  it,  "perfec- 
tion of  number  with  perfection  of  beauty." — Tr.] 

t  [GiNSDURG  adopts  the  translation  of  LowTH,  Percy  and 
Fry  with  advantage  to  the  figure  :  "All  of  which  are  paired. 
That  is,  each  upper  tooth  has  its  corresponding  lower  on«. 


m.  6— V.  1. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


81 


mostly  diSvfioTdKni,  i.  e.,  have  two  lamba  at  a  time, 
IB  testified  by  recent  traTellers,  e.  g.,  tlie  anony- 
mous autiior  of  the  publication,  ^'JEgypten  wie  es 
jetzt  ist,"  p.  42  (comp.  Magil  in  loc),  L.  de 
Leon  (in  the  same  place  as  before)  has  again  finely 
shown  the  sensible  and  striking  character  of  the 
comparison  here  selected:  "The  figure  almost 
paints  the  whole  thing  before  our  eyes.  The 
flock  of  sheep,  which  always  go  crowded  together 
like  the  scales  of  fir  cones,  represent  the  compact- 
ness and  smallness  of  her  teeth  :  their  whiteness 
is  expressed  by  their  coming  up  from  the  wash- 
ing; their  uniformity  by  none  being  sick  or  bar- 
ren." 

Ver.  3.  Like  a  crimson  thread  thy  lips, 
and  thy  mouth  is  lovely. — The  lips  immedi- 
ately follow  the  teeth,  not  simply  because  they 
cover  them  (Hitzig),  but  also  because  the  bright 
red  of  the  one  forms  an  elegant  contrast  with  the 
dazzling  whiteness  of  the  other ;  comp.  the  com- 
bination of  the  two  colors  in  v.  10.  Then  the 
mouth,  comprehending  both  teeth  and  lips,  stands 
here  in  its  quality  of  an  organ  of  speech,  whence 
also  it  is  called  13"in  from  13^,  "  to  speak,"  and 
is  supplied  with  a  predicate  (HIXJ,  lovely  ;  comp. 
ii.  14;  i.  15),  which  serves  to  characterize  not  so 
much  its  pretty  shape  or  color  as  the  agreeable 
and  beneficent  effects  proceeding  from  it.  The 
Sept.,  Vulg.,  Syb.,  Hengstenb.,  etc.,  take  1310 
as  equivalent  to  speech;  A.  Schultens  and 
DoPKE,  to  tongue  ;  Hitzig,  to  palate.  But  like 
all  that  is  described  before  and  after,  this  expres- 
sion must  denote  some  part  of  the  body,  and  one 
too  that  is  externally  visible,  and  which  forms  a 
substantial  feature  of  Shulamith's  beauty. — 
Like  a  piece  of  pomegranate  thy  cheek. — 
npl  literally  "the temple"  (Judg.  iv.  21 ;  v.  26), 
here  manifestly  the  upper  part  of  the  cheek, 
whose  soft  red  borders  upon  the  white  of  the 
temple.  For  this  figure  of  the  half  of  a  pomegra- 
nate (train  vhs)  refers  to  the  pleasing  combi- 
nation of  white  and  red ;  on  one  side  of  the  exte- 
rior of  this  fruit  "  a  bright  red  is  mingled  with 
yellow  and  white,"  whilst  the  other  side  looks 
brown  (Dopke).    It  is  only  to  a  half,  a  segment* 

(nSs  from  Vha,  "to  cut  fruit,"  2  Kings  iv.  39)  of 
the  pomegranate  that  the  cheek  is  compared  be- 
cause its  soft  curve  only  corresponds  in  fact  to 
the  segment  of  a  sphere.  Not,  therefore,  "like 
a  slice  of  a  pomegranate"  (LtJTH.)  [so  Durell, 
HoDG.,  Thbupp],  as  though  the  flat  inner  surface 
of  a  sliced  pomegranate  were  intended  (Heng- 
stenb., Hahn.,  etc.).  For  the  appearance  of  the 
reddish  seeds  of  this  fruit,  lying  in  a  yellowish 
pulp,  would  not  form  a  suitable  comparison, 
whether  for  a  cheek  or  a  temple. 
Ver.  4.     Like   the   tower  of  David   thy 


thus  they,  as  it  were,  appear  in  pairs,  like  this  flock  of  white 
sheep,  each  of  which  keeps  to  its  mate,  as  they  come  up  from 
the  waahing  pool.  Andno  one  of  tliem  is  deprived  ofilsiellnm, 
i.  e.,  no  tooth  is  deprived  of  its  corresponding  one,  just  as  none 
of  the  sheep  is  hereaved  of  its  companion.  The  teeth  surely, 
which  are  here  compared  to  the  flock,  cannot  be  said  to  bear 
twins  like  the  sheep."]  ^      .  .,, 

*  [Castellus,  followed  by  Patrick,  Good  and  others :  tne 
opening  flower  or  blossom  of  the  pomegranate.  Williams  : 
"If  the  bridal  veil  of  the  Hebrew  ladies  was  like  that  of  the 
Persians,  made  of  red  silk  or  muslin,  it  would  throw  a  glow 
over  the  whole  countenance  that  will  account  more  fully  tor 
this  comparison."] 


neck,  built  for  an  armoury.     His  aim  was  not 

to  describe  the  slender  grace  and  erectness  of 
Shulamith's  neck  in  and  of  itself,  but  likewise 
with  reference  to  its  ornaments  consisting  of 
brilliant  jewelry  and  ornamental  chains  (comp. 
i.  9-11)  and  consequently  in  respect  to  its  superb 
and  stately  appearance  (comp.  vii.  5  [4]  ).  A 
pecularly  suitable  comparison  was  accordingly 
offered  to  the  king  in  the  tower,  hung  around 
with  burnished  pieces  of  armor,  and  probably 
built  of  white  free-stone,  which  David  may  have 
erected  somewhere  in  the  vicinity,  perhaps  at 
one  corner  of  his  palace  on  Zion  as  a  bulwark 
or  a  watch  tower.*  The  identity  of  this  tower 
with  the  "  tower  of  Lebanon  which  looks  toward 
Damascus "  mentioned  in  vii.  5  (4)  is  contra- 
dicted by  the  fact  that  the  latter  is  a  figure  for 
an  entirely  different  thing  from  that  now  before 
us  [versus  EwALD,  Hitzig,  etc.).  Still  less  can 
the  ivory  tower  spoken  of  in  the  very  same  pas- 
sage be  identical  with  this.  This  manifestly  ap- 
pears from  the  further  defining  clauses  "  built 
for  an  armory,"  etc.,  to  have  been  a  fortification, 
a  stronghold  for  arms,  a  tower  for  warlike  pur- 
poses, and  hence,  perhaps,  is  not  distinct  from 
the  "  house  of  the  mighty  "  (CliajH  1X2)  spoken 
of  in  Neh.  iii.  16,  which  is  assigned  to  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  district  of  Beth-zur  and  the  sep- 
ulchres of  David,  i.  e.,  on  the  eastern  side  of 
Zion,  on  the  very  spot  where  David's  old  palace 
must  have  stood  (comp.  Weissbach  in  loc.) — 
The  difficult  expression  ni''3'7j1,  which  the  LXX 
render  as  a  proper  name  {Qa2Aptili'&),  the  Vulg. 
by  propagnacula,  Aq,,  and  the  Versio  Veneta  by 
£7rdif£if,  is  most  correctly  taken  with  Kimchi  for 

a  compound  of  vii  coUis  [const,  /jl)  and  HI'S 
enses,  edges,  sword-blades  (Prov.  v.  4  ;  Judg.  iii. 
16;   comp.  Ps.  cxlix.  6),  or  which  amounts  to  the 

same  thing,  referred  to  PlSn  "to  hang"  and 
nVS  in  the  same  sense  as  before  (Hengstenb., 
Del.,  Weissb.,  etc.).  In  both  cases  it  must  des- 
ignate a  lofty  object  of  the  nature  of  a  fortifica- 
tion, hung  around  with  swords  or  bristling  with 
swords,  consequently,  as  mention  is  also  made 
of  shields  in  what  follows,  an  armory  which,  as 
it  served  for  the  preservation  of  numerous  mar- 
tial weapons  of  offence  and  defence,  was  like- 
wise hung  around  with  them  on  the  outside,  and 
thus  embellished.     For  the  shields  hung   on  it 

(rS;?)  according  to  the  next  clause  of  the  verse, 
and^not  barely  in  it  (as  Hitzig  supposes,  who 
fancies  a  "mound  of  earth,"  which  "hides  in  its 
bosom  such  murderous  weapons "  as  swords, 
shields,  etc.  This  explanation  is  at  any  rate 
better  suited  to  the  connection  and  yields  a  more 
appropriate  figure  for  Shulamith's  neck  decorated 
with  brilliant  ornaments  than  the  derivation  of 

nraSn  from  a  substantive  'sSlI,  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  Arab.,  would  mean  "host,  army" 
(Ewald:  "built  for  troops;"  Bottch.,  Rodig., 
compare  Heiligst.),  or  from  an  alleged  adjective 


*  rOooD  •  "The  graceful  neck  of  the  fair  bride  is  compared  to 
this  consummate  structure ;  and  the  radiance  of  thejewels  that 
surrounded  it  to  the  splendor  of  the  arms  and  shields  with 
which  the  tower  of  David  was  adorned.  The  simile  is  ex- 
quisite."] 


86 


THE  SONG  OP  SOLOMON. 


III.  6— T.  1. 


'flSri  exitialis,  destructive,  hence  ni'ilyFI  exUialia, 
viz.  arma,  murderous  weapons,  or  from  n37^]57 
tobewhite,  hence  "  pieces  of  alabaster  "  (Hahn), 
and   the  like.*— All   the  shields  of  heroes 

D'oStS  has  a  wider  meaning  than  ]J0,  which 
specially  denotes  the  "shield  of  a  light  armed 
soldier,"  the  "target;"  see  Gesen.  Thes.,  p. 
1418.  We  are  scarcely  to  think  of  the  shields 
of  conquered  heroes,  of  those  for  instance  which 
David  (2  Sam.  viii.  7)  had  taken  from  the  Syrians 
(versus  Weissb.),  because  Ihe  mighty  men  here 
mentioned  are  simply  referred  to  as  the  garrison 
of  the  armory  here  described.  Comp.,  moreover, 
Ezek.  xxvii.  11,  a  passage  which  is  probably 
based  on  that  before  us. 

Ver.  5.  Thy  t'wo  breasts  like  tw^o  fa'wns, 
twins  of  a  gazelle,  that  are  feeding  among 
lilies.  On  c  comp.  ii.  16.  The  comparison  is 
plainly  intended  to  express  "  delicate  and  ex- 
quisite beauty"  (Hitz.)  ;  for  since  the  gazelle 
itself,  when  full  grown,  is  an  admirable,  attrac- 
tive and  favorite  emblem  of  womanly  grace  and 
loveliness  (Prov.  v.  19  ;  comp.  above  on  ii.  7,  9), 
a  twin  pair  of  its  young  lying  on  a  bed  covered 
■with  lilies  appears  to  be  still  better  fitted  to  illus- 
trate the  fragrant  delicacy  and  elegance  of  a 
chaste  virgin  bosom  veiled  by  the  folds  of  a  dress 
redolent  of  sweet  odors  (comp.  i.  13).  A  more 
detailed  parcelling  out  of  the  comparison  (as  for 
instance  by  Hitziq,  who  thinks  that  the  dress 
was  red,  or  by  Weissb.,  who  supposes  a  particu- 
lar reference  in  the  young  gazelles  to  the  dark- 
colored  nipples  of  her  breasts  as  their   especial 


*  ["  Our  first  businesa  is  here  with  ttie  controverted  word 

nVD/H/,  our  traaslation  of  which  "with  projecting  para- 
pets," is  in  partial  accordance  with,  and  derives  support  from 
tliat  of  SymMACHUS,  eis  eTraA^eiy   {al.  eTTavui   eTraAfetoi/).     The 

word  nrsSn,  or  rather  its  singular  71^5  /H  [better  IT'S  7nj 

is  regularly  derived  from  the  root  HS  7-  That  root  is,  according 
to  BuxTORF,  actually  found  in  the  Chaldee  in  the  Targura 
of  Jonathan  on  Lev.vi.  5  ;  although  in  the  Targum,  as  printed 

by  "Walton,  wo  read  not  ''£)7^  but  flDV.    However,  whether 

the  root  ho  used  or  no,  its  meaning  may  be  assumed  to  be 

identical  with  that  of  ^137,  which  is  found  in  other  places  in 

the  Targum  of  Onkelos.  The  meaning  is  "  to  add  on,"  "  to 
join  on."  The  substantive  derived  from  it,  when  applied  to  a 
building,  would  thus  naturally  denote  the  projecting  parts  of 
the  building,  which  seem  aa  it  were  to  be  added  on  to  the  rest. 

"We  have  an  analogous  term  in  the   Chaldee    r3l7,  derived 

from  the  same  root  aa  nT'D7r\,  and  used  in  the  Talmud  of 
strongly  marked  eyebrows.  The  projecting  parapets  of  a 
tower  are  in  fact  its  eyebrows.  And  tliat  ancient  towers  were 
built  with  such  projecting  parapets,  and  moreover  that 
shields  were  hung  by  way  of  display  on  the  exterior  of  the 
parapets,  is  established  in  tlie  most  satisfactory  manner  by  a 
representation  on  a  bas-relief  at  Kouyounjik,  given  by  Layarb, 
and  also  in  Smith's  Diet,  of  the  Bible^  s.  v.  Gammadims.    Of 

the  current  explanations  of  riV37n,  the  only  one  which 

seems  to  call  for  notice,  is  that  which  derives  it  from  H /H  "  to 
hang,"  nVD  "edges,"  and  makes  it  mean  "an  armory." 
Against  this  lie  the  objections,  1st  that  it  unnecessarily  treats 

nVD  /H  as  a  composite  word  ;  2d,  that  an  armory  would  be 
more  naturally  described  as  a  "  hang-weapons "  than  a 
*'  hang-edges  ;"  3d,  that  the  figure  before  us  is  not  that  of  an 
armory,  but  of  a  building  with  shields  hung  on  its  exterior ; 
4th,   that  any  etymological   connection  between   the   words 

nV3 /H  aRd  ■'l7n  in  the  two  adjoining  clauses  is  improba- 
ble, as  it  would  destroy  the  charm  of  the  studied  homceophony. 
There  are  two  othei  passages  of  Scripture  in  which  we  may  trace 
some  allusion  to  this  tower,  Mic.  iv.  8  ;  Isa.  v.  2."  Theupp.] 


charm,  and  in  the  lilies  to  the  snowy  whiteness 
of  her  bosom)  is  inadmissible,  and  leads  to  what 
is  in  violation  of  good  taste  or  to  what  is  obscene, 
from  both  which  the  poet  has  kept  free  here  as 
every  where  else.  Admirably  here  again  Luis 
DE  Leon  (p.  221,  f.) :  "In  addition  to  the  deli- 
cacy of  the  young  kids,  in  addition  to  their  simi- 
larity as  twins,  in  addition  to  their  loveliness  and 
gentleness  they  have  in  their  merry  gambols  a 
frolicksomeness  and  gayety,  which  irresistibly 
enchains  the  eyes  of  beholders,  and  attracts 
them  to  come  near  and  touch  them,"  etc. 

Ver.  0.  Until  the  day  cools  and  the  sha- 
dows flee  I  will  get  me  to  the  mountain 
of  myrrh  and  to  the  bill  of  frankincense. 
If  Solomon  were  .still  the  speaker  in  these  words, 
nothing  else  could  possibly  be  meant  by  the  moun- 
tain of  myrrh  and  the  hill  of  frankincense,  but 
the  breasts  of  the  bride  which  would  be  so  desig- 
nated here  in  facetious  and  flowery  style  (Ewald, 
Heiligst.,  Weissb.,  Ben.,  etc.,)  with  allusion  to 
the  fragrant  substances,  which  were  between 
them  or  upon  them*  (comp.  i.  13).  But  the 
very  circumstance,  that  then  the  foregoing  figure 
for  the  bosom  would  here  be  followed  by  one  en- 
tirely new  and  of  a  different  description,  whilst 
every  other  part  of  the  body  spoken  of  in  this 
section  is  represented  by  but  a  single  figure  (see 
vers.  1-4)  makes  it  improbable  that  the  words 
before  us  belong  to  Solomon.  To  which  may  be 
added  that  DVn  niS'tV  1^,  e/c,  must  belong  to 
Sliulamith  here  as  well  as  in  ii.  17;  and  that 
Bottcher's  attempt  to  assign  only  these  intro- 
ductory words  to  the  "vinedresser"  as  he  calls 

her,  and  the  latter  part  of  the  verse  from  '7  ^7K 
onward  to  the  king  who  interrupts  her,  seems 
scarcely  less  arbitrary  than  HiTzio's  view  that 
the  whole  verse  is  spoken  by  the  shepherd,  who 
suddenly  enters  and  declares  his  purpose  to  effect 
the  speedy  rescue  of  Shulamith  !  Umbr.,  Dopke, 
Vaih.,  Dehtzsch,  ete.,  properly  assign  the  words 
to  Shulamith,  who  seeks  thus  to  parry  the  ardent 
encomiums  of  Solomon,  and  hence  expresses  the 
wish  to  leave  the  wedding  hall  resounding  with 
the  boisterous  festivities  of  the  guests  until  the 
approach  of  evening.  The  "  mountain  of  myrrh" 
and  the  "  hill  of  frankincense,"  which  she  wishes 
to  visit  for  this  end,  were  probably  certain  lo- 
calities about  the  royal  palace,  near  the  hall  and 
visible  from  it,  which  either  always  bore  those 
names  or  only  on  the  occasion  of  the  present 
marriage,  to  which  fumigations  with  various 
spices  belonged  as  on  absolutely  indispensable 
ingredient,  comp.  iii.  6.  As  presumably  solitary, 
shady  spots,  belonging,  it  may  be,  to  grounds 
laid  out  as  gardens  (perhaps  "beds  of  balsam" 
of  the  sort  mentioned  in  v.  13,  raised  in  the  shape 
of  pyramids  or  towers),  these  must  have  been  to 
the  simple-minded,  guileless  child  of  nature  more 
desirable  places  to  stay  in  than  the  noisy  festive 
hall.  Comp.  her  similar  expressions  of  a  strong 
desire  for  the  fresh  solitude  of  nature  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  luxurious  life  of  the  court ;  i.  7,  16, 
and  especially  vii,  12  (11)  if.  This  understand- 
ing of  the  "  mountain  of  myrrh,"  etc.,  is  evidently 

*[NoYES  thinks  that  the  bride  herself,  in  respect  to  her 
general  charms,  is  here  compared  to  a  mountain  of  myrrh, 
etc.,  to  whom  the  lover  says  he  will  return  as  the  antelopt 
flies  to  the  mountain.] 


Ill,  6— V.  1. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


far  less  forced  than  explaining  it  of  Lebanon,  or 
generally  of  the  region  of  Shulamith's  home,  for 
which  she  here  expresses  her  desire  (Cmiskeit, 
Vaxh.),  or  of  "  Sion  as  the  seat  of  the  court" 
(Hitzig),  or  of  Zion  as  a  figure  of  the  church 
(Hengstenb.),  or  of  Moriah  as  the  Temple-moan- 
tain  which  is  here  designated  ^l^^^  "(n  (Ibn 
EzaA,  Jaeohi).     Comp.  on  v.  13  and  vi.  2. 

4.  Continuation:  vers.  7-11. 

Ver.  7.  Thou  art  all  fair,  my  dear,  and 
there  is  not  a  blemish  in  thee.  Correctly 
Delitzsch  :  "  This  childlike  disposition  expressed 
ver.  6,  makes  her  but  the  more  lovely  in  the 
eyes  of  the  king ;  he  breaks  out  in  the  words, 
'thou  art  all  fair,  my  dear,'  etc.,  undoubtedly 
meaning  that  the  beauty  of  her  soul  corresponds 
with  her  outward  beauty — not  with  reference, 
therefore,  to  the  charms  of  her  bodily  figure 
from  her  breast  downward,  which  are  more  fully 
described  subsequently  vii.  2  S."  (Weissb.)^Ou 
the  form  of  expression,  particularly  in  4,  comp. 
2  Sam.  xiv.  2-5 ;   Eph.  v.  27. 

Ver.  8.  With  me  from  Lebanon,  my 
bride,  -with  me  from  Lebanon  thou  shalt 
come.  Several  of  the  advocates  of  the  shep- 
herd-hypothesis assume  at  these  words  a  change 
of  person  and  with  it  likewise  a  change  of  scene, 
either  making  the  shepherd  himself  enter  and 
speak  all  that  foUovvs  to  ver.  16  (so  Bottcheb, 
Ben.),  or  at  least  to  ver.  8  (so  Hitzig),  or  re- 
garding all  from  this  verse  to  v.  8  as  a  mono- 
logue of  Shulamith,  who  herein  relates  the  words 
previously  spoken  to  her  by  her  country  lover 
(so  EwALD,  who  accordingly  imagines  that  the 
words:  "Lo,  here  comes  my  lover,  and  says  to 
me,"  or  the  like,  have  been  dropped  out  before 
this  verse).  But  an  unprejudiced  interpretation 
renders  such  artifices  needless.  Led  by  the  wish 
of  his  beloved,  expressed  in  ver.  6,  to  exchange 
her  place  amongst  the  jubilant  guests  for  the 
quiet  solitude  of  nature,  Solomon  recalls  her 
descent  from  a  simple  shepherd's  family  in  the 
mountain  region  of  Northern  Palestine,  and  hence 
he  exultingly  and  in  exaggerated  expressions 
announces  to  her  how  instead  of  living  in  sterile 
mountain  districts,  and  on  barren  rocky  heights 
rendered  insecure  by  wild  beasts,  she  should 
henceforth  make  her  home  with  him  in  the  royal 
palace,  and  in  the  midst  of  its  rich  joys  and 
blissful  beauties,  herself  its  loveliest  flower,  the 
most  charming  and  spicy  of  its  gardens  (see 
especially  vers.  12-15).  The  enthusiastic  lover 
does  not  consider  that  in  this  he  says  nothing 
that  is  really  agreeable  to  her,  but  actually  con- 
travenes her  longing  to  escape  into  the  open 
country  from  the  close  and  sultry  atmosphere  of 
court  life,  any  more  than  he  concerns  himself 
about  the  exaggerated  character  of  his  compari- 
sons, e.  ff.  of  the  mountains  around  Shuneni  with 
Lebanon,  or  of  the  "little  foxes"  in  Shulamith's 
vineyards  (ii.  15)  with  lions  and  panthers.  Po- 
etical exaggerations  of  this  sort  are  besides  quite 
accordant  with  his  taste  (comp.  ver.  4  and  espe- 
cially vii.  5),  and  appear  much  less  strange  in 
him  than  the  bold  comparison  of  Zion  or  of 
Solomon's  palace  with  the  heights  of  Lebanon 
and  Hermon  (according  to  .Hitzig,  Bottoh., 
Kenan,  etc.,)  would  sound  in  the  mouth  of  a 
simple   shepherd. — Besides  ''NU/1    "  thou    shalt 


come"  shows  that  the  speaker  had  a  definite 
term  in  mind,  to  which  Shulamith  was  to  come 
from  "Lebanon"  as  her  previous  residence 
(comp.  Hitzig  in  loc),  and  that  consequently  the 
idea  of  going  up  and  down  from  one  peak  of 
Lebanon  to  another  (Delitzsch)  is  not  found  in 
the  passage.* — Shaltjourney  from  the  top  of 
Amana.  The  "summit"  or  tlie  '-top"  of 
Amaua  is  without  doubt  the  mountain  by  the 
river  Amana  mentioned  2  Kin.  v.  12  K'ri,  that  is 
to  say  that  peak  of  the  Lebanon  or  more  accu- 
rately the  Antilibanus-range,  in  which  this  river 
Amana,  the  Chrysorrhoas  of  the  Greeks  or  the 
Barada  of  the  Arabs  takes  its  rise.  This  peak, 
like  the  following  Shenir  and  Hermon,  stands  of 
course  by  poetic  license  for  the  entire  range. 
For  the  poet  cannot  have  intended  a  contrast 
between  the  Lebanon  in  a  and  these  names  of 
mountains  that  follow,  but  "he  only  varies  the 
names  because  one  meant  the  same  to  him  as 
another"  (so  Correctly  Hitzig,  versus  Delitzsch, 
Hengstenb.,  e?c.). — From  the  top  of  Shenii 
and  Hermon.  According  to  Deut,  iii.  9  Shenir 
was  the  Amoritish  name  for  Hermon  itself,  which 
thereby  appears  to  be  designated  as  the  "snow 
mountain"  (according  to  Jaechi  on  that  pas- 
sage and  the  Tabgum  on  this).  Still  it  is  shown 
as  well  by  the  passage  before  us  as  by  Ezek. 
xxvii.  5,  1  Chron.  v.  23,  that  a  distinction  was 
commonly  made  between  Shenir  which  lay 
further  to  the  north  and  Hermon  (now  Jebel 
esh-Sheikh)  the  more  southern  of  the  principal 
peaks  in  the  entire  Hermon  or  Antilibanus  range 
(comp.  Robinson,  Palest.  II.  p.  440  (^edit.  1838), 
]3eh.th.  on  1  Chron.  v.  23).  As  now  Amana, 
where  the  Chrysorrhoas  has  its  source,  must  be 
the  peak  lying  farthest  to  the  east  or  north-east, 
the  enumeration  of  the  three  peaks  or  ridges  be- 
longing to  Antilibanus  evidently  proceeds  from 
the  north-east  to  the  south-west,  or  from  the 
region  of  Baalbec  to  that  of  Hasbcya  and  Paneas 
(comp.  Hitzig  in  loc). — From  dens  of  lions, 
from  mountains  of  panthers.  These  ex- 
pressions as  belonging  to  the  description  and 
only  alluding  in  a  general  way  to  the  wild  and 
inhospitable  character  of  the  region  about 
Shulamith's  home,  are  not  to  be  pressed  for  the 
sake  of  obtaining  any  more  special  sense,  par- 
ticularly not  so  as  with  Kosteb,  Bottcheb, 
RiTZia,  etc.  to  explain  the  lions  of  "the  king 
of  Israel  and  his  magnates  who  have  dragged 
the  graceful  roe  Shulamith  into  his  den  !"  Liona 
moreover  must  have  had  their  haunts  in  the  for- 


*  [This  interpretation  certainly  assumes  such  extraordinary 
exaggerations  aa  to  cast  suspicion  upon  its  correctness. 
NOTKS  says  :  "  Verses  8  and  9  seem  to  be  introduced  very  ab- 
ruptly, and  their  import  in  this  connection  is  not  very  obvi- 
ous. Di^DERLBlN  and  others  suppose  them  to  be  an  invitation 
to  the  bride  to  take  an  excursion  with  him,  in  order  that 
they  might  admire  together  all  that  was  grand  and  beautiful 
in  scenery.  Others  suppose  them  to  be  an  invitation  to  the 
maiden  to  come  from  a  place  of  danger  to  a  place  of  complete 
security  in  the  arms  of  her  lover."  Goon  :  "  By  this  forcible 
appeal  the  royal  speaker  invites  his  beloved  to  his  arms  as  to 
a  place  of  safety ;  and  encourages  her  to  look  towards  him 
for  security  amidst  any  dangers,  either  actual  or  imaginary, 
of  which  she  might  be  apprehensive."  Burrowes  :  "  These 
mountains  thus  beautiful  but  dangerous  are  put  in  contrast 
with  the  mountain  of  myrrh  and  the  hill  of  frankincense. 
The  beloved  would  have  his  spouse  leave  the  former  and 
seek  his  society  in  the  retreats  of  the  latter."  The  majority 
of  English  commentators  adopt  a  similar  view,  though  with 
some  variety  in  the  figurative  or  symbolic  sense  which  they 
put  upon  the  mountains  in  question. — TK.j 


88 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


III.  6— V.  1. 


ests  of  Lebanon,  as  well  as  in  the  reeds  on  the 
banks  of  the  .Jordan  (Zech.  xi.  3  ;  Jer.  xii.  5)  and 
on  Basban  (Deut.  xxxiil.  22).  And  panthers 
(this  is  the  meaning  of  D''7'?-?'  ^"^  leopards, 
which  as  is  known,  are  only  found  in  Africa)  are 
still  found  in  the  region  of  Lebanon  according  to 
modern  travellers.  (Burckhakdt,  Beisen  in  Sy- 
nen,  pp.  99,  66). 

Ver.  9.  Thou  hast  ravished  my  heart,  my 
sister,  my  bride.  This  double  designation  of 
his  beloved  as  sister  and  as  bride  is  neither 
meant  to  indicate  a  peculiarly  intimate  nor  pre- 
eminently chaste  and  pure  relation  of  love.  The 
thing  here  intended  by  it  is  the  designation  of  a 
certain  relationship.  As  Solomon's  lawful  wife 
Shulamith  now,  after  the  marriage  has  taken 
place,  stands  next  to  him  as  n  sister  to  her 
brother.*  She  is  not  barely  one  of  a  number  of 
wives  (vi.  8)  but  a  sisterly  sharer  of  his  royal 
rank  and  name.  She  is  queen,  as  he  is  king, 
yes,  a  "prince's  daughter,"  vii.  2,  as  he  is  a 
prince's   son  (correctly  Hitziq  and  Weissb.). — 

■Jj13|S  not  "thou  robbest  me  of  courage" 
(Umbr.,  M,\qn.),  nor  "thou  hast  given  me 
courage"  (Symm.,  Syb.,  Ewalu,  Dopke,  BiiTT- 
CHEE,  Meier,  Weissb.,  etc.),  but  "thou  hast  un- 
heartedme"  (Delitzsch)  i.e.  "robbed  me  of 
my  heart,  so  that  it  is  no  more  mine  but  thine," 
hast  "enchanted  me  and  made  me  wholly  thine 
own."f — 'With  one  of  thy  glances  ;  literally 
"  with  one  from  thy  eyes,"  i.  e.  with  a  single  one 
of  the  glances  that  proceed  from  them  (Hengs- 
TENB.,  HiTziG,  etc.);  for  the  masc.  inX3  of  the 
K'thibh,  which  is  certainly  to  be  retained,  can- 
not refer  to  one  of  the  two  eyes  ([^i^  is  never 
masc),  but  only  to  one  thing  which  comes  forth 
from  the  eyes,  an  eifect  proceeding  from  them.  J — 
■With  one  chain  of  thy  necklace.  The 
representation  is  ideal  and  hyperbolical  as  in 
the  preceding  verse.  It  proceeds  in  rapturous 
exaggerations  as  well  here  where  it  paints  in 
detail,  as  before  where  it  dealt  in  pompous  and 
jrandiloquent  expressions.  But  to  be  sure,  in 
/he  matter  of  love,  it  always  remains  true : 
imall  causes  often  produce  great  effects ! —  pJl' 
not  "ringlet,  lock  of  the  front  hair  hanging 
down  on  the  neck"  (Hitzig),  but  neckchain,  or 


*  [P.\TRIC£  :  "  Sister  is  only  a  word  of  tenflerness  and  en- 
dearment used  by  husbands  to  their  wives  ;  as  appears  by  the 
book  of  Tobit  vii.  16  ;  viii.  4,  Y."  Notes,  with  less  cogency,, 
compares  Tibul.  iii.  1,  20.  Thrupp  is  consequently  not  -war- 
ranted in  saying :  "  The  union  of  the  two  appellations  is  of 
itself  an  almost  decisive  objection  against  all  literal  interpre- 
tation of  the  Song.  When  it  is  urged  by  the  literalists  that 
the  term  sister  is  merely  used  as  an  expression  of  endear- 
ment, it  may  be  at  once  replied  that  that  is  the  very  last 
term  which  in  ch.-iste  love  a  bridegroom  would  ever  think  of 
applying  to  his  bride."] 

f  [Wordsworth  obtains  substantially  the  same  sense  by 
a  rendering  precisely  the  opposite  :  "  Lit. :  Them  hast  he- 
hearted  nw..  It  implies  the  answering  of  heart  to  heart ;  the 
passing  of  one  heart  into  another,  so  aa  to  be  united  with  it 
and  fill  it."] 

%  (Williams,  -who  remarks  that  "  the  K'ri  and  many  MSS. 
read  r\n&^  tem.  to  agree  with  T^,"  endeavors  to  account  for 

the  singularity  of  the  expression  so  understood  in  the  follow- 
ing manner;  "  Supposing  the  royal  bridegroom  to  have  bad 
a  profile  or  side  view  of  his  bride  in  the  present  instance, 
only  one  eye  or  one  side  of  her  necklace  would  be  observable  ; 
yet  this  charms  and  overpowers  him.  Tertullian  mentions 
a  custom  in  the  East  of  women  unveiling  only  one  eye  in 
conversation,  while  they  keep  the  other  covered  ;  and  Nieiiuhr 
mentions  a  like  custom  in  some  parts  of  Arabia.  Trav.  in 
Arab.  I.  p.  202."] 


ornament  (comp.  the  plur. ;  Prov.  i.  9 ;  Judg. 
viii.  16).  D''jniS,  since  it  is  plural,  can  neither 
mean  "neck"  (SBPt,  Vulg.,  Hitziq,  etc.)  uot 
be  a  diminutive  of  endearment,  "tiny  neck" 
(Gesenius,  Ewald,  Heiligst.,  etc.).  It  must 
rather  denote  something  suspended  about  the 
neck,  a  necklace  or  jewelry  for  the  neck,*  and 
pj^   a  single  piece   or  constituent  of  it.     What 

had  enchanted  the  king  was  of  course  not  the 
elegance  or  ingenious  workmanship  of  this  orna- 
ment itself,  but  that  Shulamith's  neck  looked  so 
charmingly  in  it.     Comp.  above  on  i.  10. 

Ver.  10.  How  fair  is  thy  love,  my  sister, 
my  bride.  Q'TH  here  again,  not  "breasts" 
(Sept.,  Vclg.,  Luthek),  but  "caresses,  mani- 
festations of  love,"  as  i.  2.  Comp.  generally  i. 
2,  3.  Solomon  here  gives  back  to  his  beloved 
with  larger  measure,  what  she  had  there  de- 
clared of  him  when  absent. 

Ver.  11.  Liquid  honey  thy  lips  distil,  my 
bride ;  honey  and  milk  are  under  thy 
tongue.  As  in  the  preceding  verse,  which  like 
the  present  consists  of  three  clauses,  the  first 
two  members  refer  to  one  and  the  same  subject, 
so  these  two  clauses  aim  to  depict  but  one  attri- 
bute or  one  ehai-acteristic  of  Shulamith,  viz.,  her 
lovely  discourse,  how  sweetly  she  talked.  For 
it  is  to  this  that  the  figures  of  lips  and  tongue 
point,  comp.  on  the  one  hand  Prov.  v.  3;  vi.  24; 
vii.  5 ;  xvi.  24 ;  and  on  the  other  Ps.  Iv.  22 ; 
Ixvi.  17  ;  X.  7  ;  Pindar,  Nem.  iii.  134  ;  Theoceit. 
Id.  viii.  82  ff.;  xx.  26  fit.  The  fragrant  spittle  of 
tile  kissing  mouth  can  scarcely  be  intended  (vs. 
Dopke,  Magn.,  Weissb.),  in  spite  of  Arabic  and 
classic  parallels,  that  might  be  adduced  (the 
saliva  oris  osculantis  Horat.  Od.  I.  13,  16 ; 
Catull.  99,  2,  etc.).  For  the  parallels  ii.  14,  v. 
13,  16,  likewise  refer  to  the  loveliness  of  dis- 
course, not  to  the  sweetness  of  kisses. — And 
the  fragrance  of  thy  garments  is  like  the 
fragrance  of  Lebanon.  As  is  shown  by  the 
parallel,  Hos.  xiv.  7,  the  Lebanon  of  this  pas- 
sage is  not  to  be  converted  into  Djn?  "  frankin- 
cense "  as  Dopke  imagines,  on  account  of  the 
^' sicut  odor  t/iuris^'  of  the  Vulg.  (which  proba- 
bly arose  from  misunderstanding  the  uf  ba/i^ 
Kifiavov  of  the  Sept.).  Modern  travellers  testify 
(ScHULZ,  Leit.  d.  Allerh.,  Th.  V.  p.  459 ;  Zelleb, 
Bibl.  Worterbuch  fiir  d.  Christl.  Voile  II.  p.  42) 
that  the  cedar  groves  of  Lebanon  diffuse  a  strong 
ialsamic  odor.  Isaac  also  commends  the  scent  of 
his  sou  Esau's  garments  (Gen.  xxvii.  27) ;  and  so 
Ps.  xlv.  9  praises  the  garments  of  a  king  cele- 
brating his  marriage,  which  were  perfumed  with 
myrrh,  aloes  and  cassia. 

5.   Continuation.   Vers.  12-16. 

Ver.  12.  A  garden  locked  is  my  sister,  my 
bride  ;  a  spring  locked,  a  fountain  sealed.  If 

instead  of /J  in  b  we  were  with  about  50  Heb.  Mss. 
of  Kennicott,  the  Sept.,  Vulg.,  Syr.,  «;c.,f  to  read 

*  [Whether  this  conclusion  be  correct  or  not,  the  argument 
here  urged  in  its  favor  is  plainly  not  decisive  ;  for  the  plural 
of  ")X."llf,  the  ordinary  word  for  "  neck,"  is  more  frequently 

used  in  a  singular  than  a  plural  sense. — Tr.] 
t  [So  Thrupp:  The  received  Hebrew  text  here  gives  not 

M  but  7J  which  our  E.  V.  renders  *' a  spring."    But  the 

word  never  occurs  elsewhere  in  this  sense;  nor  Is  it  indeed, 
in  the  singular,  applied  to  aught  but  a  heap  of  stones.] 


111.  6— V.  1. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


80 


[J  again,  the  comparison  with  the  garden,  being 
immediately  repeated,  would  appear  to  be  the 
main  and  prominent  thought.  But  it  is  evi- 
dently more  suitable  that  the  figure  of  the 
spring,  which  is  not  carried  out  any  further  in 
what  imcneJiately  follows,  should  be  twice  re- 
peated, in  order  that  it  may  not  be  too  abrupt. 

The  change  of  the  unusual  7J  (which  means 
spring,  fountain,  as  appears  from  Josh.  xv.  19 ; 
Judg.  i.  15 ;  comp.  English  well,  of  which  the 
German  "  Wellen  "  (waves)  is  the  plural)  into  [J. 
which  had  been  used  just  before,  would  also  be 
easier  to  explain,  than  a  conversion  of  the  latter 
into  the  former  expression.  The  garden  and  the 
spring  being  looked  up  and  sealed,  naturally  in- 
dicates that  the  access  is  open  only  to  the  owner 
and  possessor  himself.  Comp,  ver.  16,  where 
Shulamith  designates  her  hidden  charms  first  as 
her  own  garden,  then  as  Solomon's ;  also  Prov. 
V.  15-18,  where  the  figure  of  a  spring  is  likewise 
applied  to  the  natural  relation  between  a  wife 
and  her  wedded  lord,  so  that  she  is  represented 
by  a  fountain  absolutely  inaccessible  to  all  men 
except  her  husband,  and  the  right  of  the  latter 
freely  to  enjoy  and  to  refresh  himself  with  the 
waters  of  this  spring  is  clearly  presupposed.* 
A  previous  coyness  of  Shul.amith  toward  her 
lover  (HiTziG,  Vaih.,  etc.)  is  not  at  all  the  thing 
iatended. 

Vers.  13,  14.  A  more  minute  description  of  the 
garden,  i.  «.,  of  the  charms  of  Shulamith,  in  so 
far  as  they  may  be  represented  by  the  choice 
plants  and  delicious  fruits  of  a  pleasure  garden, 
accessible  only  to  the  king;  an  expansion  there- 
fore of  12  a  (as  12  6  is  more  fully  unfolded  in 
ver.   15).     Thy   plants  are   an   orchard   of 

pomegranates.  Hw  means  here  as  in  Ex. 
xxxi.  5,  not  a  plantation  (Henqstenb.),  but  a 
single  plant,  literally  a  shoot,  sprout  (comp.  XyTW 
Ps.  Ixxx.  12;  Jer.  xvii.  8;  Ezek.  xvii.  6,  7).  By 
this  figarative  expression  are  denoted  the  charms, 
the  ravishing  beauties  of  the  beloved  in  general, 
not  specially  her  limbs  (Hitzig),  or  the  fragrance 
of  her  unguents  (Weissb.).  A  particular  ex- 
planation of  the  individual  products  of  the  gar- 
den is,  on  the  whole,  impossible,  and  it  leads  to 

what  is  at  variance  with  good  taste.  O^JIST 
pomegranates,  i.  e.,  the  trees,  not  their  fruit 
(BoPKB,  EwALD,  Weissb  ) ;  for  the  fruit  is  men- 
tioned afterwards. — On    the    different    opinions 

*  [Fry  im.agine3  that  this  and  the  following  versps  do  not 
"  contain  comparisons  of  the  bride,  but  are  descriptive  of 
the  residence  prepared  for  her  reception."  He  translates : 
"  A  garden  is  enclosed,  my  sister  espoused,"  e.ic.  M\undrell, 
in  his  Jourmy  says  :  "  About  the  distance  of  one  hundred  and 
forty  paces  from  these  pools  \i.  e.  of  Solomon]  is  the  fountain 
from  which  they  principally  derive  their  waters.  Tliis  the 
friars  told  us  waa  the  sealed  fountain,  to  which  the  holy 
spouse  is  compared,  Cant.  iv.  12.  And  they  pretend  a  tradi- 
tion that  King  Solomon  shut  up  these  springs,  and  kept  the 
door  of  them  scaled  with  his  signet,  to  preserve  the  waters 
for  his  own  drinking  in  their  natural  freshness  and  purity. 
Nor  was  it  difficult  thus  to  secure  them,  they  rising  under 
ground,  and  having  no  avenue  to  them  but  a  little  hole  like 
the  mouth  of  a  narrow  well.  These  waters  wind  along 
through  two  rooms  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock,  which  are 
arched  over  with  stone  arches,  very  ancient,  perhaps  the 
work  of  Solomon  himself.  Below  the  pool  runs  down  a  nar- 
row, rocky  valley,  inclosed  on  both  sides  with  high  moun- 
tains ;  this,  they  told  us,  was  the  enclosed  garden  alluded  to 
in  the  game  Song."] 


respecting  the  etymology  of  D'ni^,  comp.  the 
Introduction,  §  8  Rem.  2. — 'With  most  excel- 
lent fruit;  lit.,  "with  fruit  of  excellencies" 
(D'lja  as  vii.  14).  The  fruit  of  the  pomegranate 
trees  before  mentioned  may  very  well  be  in- 
tended ;  Dj.'  with  does  not  necessarily,  as  is  shown 
by  i.  11,  introduce  something  entirely  new  and 
of  a  different  sort  (vs.  Weissb.)  —  Cyprus 
flowers  with  nards.  As  already  remarked 
on  i.  12,  14,  the  Cyprus  flower  or  alhenna  was 
the  only  one  of  these  plants,  which  was  also 
cultivated  in  Palestine.  The  nard  grass,  grown 
only  in  India,  is  therefore  simply  added  here  for 
the  sake  of  the  delightfully  fragrant  unguent 
obtained  from  it,  as  in  the  following  verse  in- 
cense, calamus,  cinnamon,  and  probably  also 
saffron  are  exotic  plants  known  to  the  Hebrews 
only  from  their  aromatic  products.  The  descrip- 
tion accordingly  loses  itself  here  again  in  rap- 
turous exaggerations  and  improbabilities  in 
natural  history,  which  however  at  the  same  time 
bear  witness  to  an  extensive  knowledge  of  na- 
ture (comp.  Introduc.  J  3,  Rem.  1). — Nard  and 

crocus,  calamus  and  cinnamon.  D3*)3, 
Chald.  D3113,  Sept.  icpdnog  (comp.  Sanskrit, 
kunlmma)  is  the  saffron  flower,  (Crocus  sativus) 
indigenous  in  India,  but  introduced  also  into 
Egypt  and  Asia  Minor,  and  consequently  per- 
haps also  into  Palestine.  A  water  was  prepared 
from  it  for  smelling  bottles,  with  a  pungent 
but  agreeable  odor,  which  was  a  great  favorite 
in  antiquity ;  comp.  Winer  R.  W.  B.  Art. 
"  Safran." — T\}\),  Sept.  /idAauof,  is,  according  ta 
Jer.  vi.  20;  Isa.  xliii.  24;  Ezek.  xxvii.  19,  a/ 
article  of  trade  brought  from  Arabia  Felix, 
sweet  cane,  calamus.  The  calamus  (juncus 
odoratus,  Plin.  XII.  22 ;  XXI.  18)  which  accord- 
ing to  Theophrastus,  Puny  and  Strabo,  grew 
in  Coelesyria  and  by  the  lake  of  Gennesaret, 
was  of  an  inferior  and  less  valuable  sort. —  trojp 
a  Semitic  name,  as  it  would  appear  (lit.  "the 
Teed,"  or  the  "rolled  together,"  from  DJp=njp), 

in  case  it  is  not  of  Indian  origin,  and  connected 
with  the  Malay  kainamanis  (so  Rodiger,  Addita- 
menta  ad  Thesaur.,  p.  Ill)  signifies  cinnamon, 
which,  according  to  Herodot.  III.  Ill  came 
through  Arabia  from  the  remotest  south,  that  is, 
probably  from  Ceylon. — With  every  variety 
of  incense  v^oods,  i.  e.,  with  every  species  of 
wood,  which  yields  a  fragrant  gum  of  the  nature 
of  frankincense,  or  when  pulverized  is  used  as 
"  aromatic  dust,"  or  as  a  powder  to  be  sprinkled 
for   fumigation.     In    opposition  to   the   reading 

|i:3^  'Sj;  (Sept.,  Velth.,  Dopke),  see  Hitzig 
,„  loc. — Myrrh  and  aloes,  with  all  the  chief 
spices.     For   myrrh    comp.    on  i.   13 ;  and  for 

aloes  (nibriN  or  D'Shn,  as  Prov.  vii.  17.  ;  Num. 
xxiv.  6 ;  Gr.  aya>.2.oxov,  Sanskr.  aguru,  aghil) 
see  Winer,  R.  W.  B. — Under  "  all  the  chief  (lit., 
all  heads  of )  aromatic  plants,"  balsams  or  spicea 
(D'nM  a  general  expression,  as  in  Ex.  xxx.  23 ; 
Esth.  ii.  12),  in  addition  to  the  substances  al- 
ready named,  cassia  is  especially  to  be  regarded 
as  included.  For  according  to  Ex.  xxx.  23  ff., 
this  particular  aromatic  product  was  mingled 


90 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


III.  6— V.  1. 


with  myrrh,  calamus  and  cianamon,  in  the  holy 
anointing  oil,  and  in  Pa.  xlv.  9  (8)  it  appears 
with  myrrh  and  aloes  among  the  precious  spices, 
with  which  the  garments  of  the  royal  bridegroom 
were  perfumed. 

Ver.  16.  Further  expansion  of  ver.  12  h. — A 
garden  spring  (art  thou),  a  V7ell  of  living 
■water.  Comp.  Gen.  xxvi.  19;  Jer.  ii.  13.  By 
the  "garden  spring"  (lit.  spring  of  gardens) 
HiTziQ  understands  the  fountain  of  Siloah  in 
particular — an   assumption  which  is  the   more 

gratuitous,  as  the  allusion  to  H  vU'  which  he  finds 
in  □TiSk'  ver.  13,  exists  merely  in  the  fancy  of 
the  overacute  modern  critic,  in  spite  of  Neh.  iii. 
15  :  Isa.  viii.  6 ;  Eccles.  ii.  6,  etc. — And  streams 
from  Lebanon,  i.  c,  water  as  fresh  and  de- 
lightfully refreshing  as  the  gushing  streams  fed 
by  the  snows  of  Lebanon,  Jer.  xviii.  14.  On 
the  figure  comp.  besides  Prov.  v.  15,  the  Pheni- 
cian  inscription  of  Kition  (No.  2)  adduced  by 
HiTZiG,  in  which  a,  husband  calls  his  deceased 
wife  "n3D,  i.  e.,  "n  ^30.  "thespringof  my  life." 
6.  The  complete  union  of  the  lovers,  ver.  1 6, 
V.  1. — Ibn  Ezra,  followed  by  Ewald  and  De- 
LiTzscH,  correctly  puts  the  whole  of  ver.  16  into 
the  mouth  of  Shulamith.     The  contrast  of  'iJ  my 

garden  in  a  with  IJJ 7  kia  garden  in  b  does  not 
make  in  favor  of  two  speakers,  but  simply  brings 
out  the  thought  that  her  garden  is  his,  and  there- 
fore that  she,  with  all  she  has  and  is,  belongs  to 
him ;  a  delicately  refined  suggestion  which  is 
lost  by  dividing  the  verse  between  the  lover  and 
(lis  beloved,  as  approved  in  recent  times  (Dopke, 
Hagn.,  Bottch.,  Hitz.,  Ren.,  etc.). 

Var.  16.  ATvake,  north  ■wind,  and  come, 
O  south.  Shulamith  in  her  poetically  excited 
frame  summons  just  these  two  winds  to  blosv 
upon  her  garden,  because  neither  the  east  wind 
with  its  parching  effects  and  its  frequent  storms 
(Gen.  xli.  6  ;  Isa.  xxvii.  8),  nor  the  rainy  west 
wind  (1  Kin.  xviii.  44  f ;  Luke  xii.  64)  would  be 
suitable  in  the  connection  ;  and  yet  two  opposite 
winds  must  be  named,  as  it  is  not  a  blowing  off 
or  blowing  away  that  is  intended,  but  causing 
the  odors  to  flow  forth  and  wafting  them  in  all 
directions.*  That  its  spices  may  flow,  i.  e., 
that  every  thing  in  me,  which  pleases  my  lover, 
all  my  charms  may  show  themselves  to  him  in 
their  full  power  and  loveliness. — Let  my  be- 
loved come  to  his  garden,  and  eat  his  ex- 
cellent fruits.  The  language  here  becomes 
plainer,  and  passes  over  into  a  solicitation  to  her 
lover  to  enjoy  to  the  full,  her  charms  which  he 
had  been  praising  (for  '7JX  "to  eat"  in  this 
comp.  Prov.  xxx.  20.)  Yet  she  expresses  this 
wish  not  by  a  direct  address  to  him,  but  by  speak- 

*  [BtmROWBS :  "  The  east  wind  is,  in  Palestine,  generally 
vitliering  and  tempestuous ;  the  west  wind  brings  from  the 
sea  clouds  of  rain,  or  dark,  damp  air ;  the  north  wind  is  cool- 
ing and  refreshing,  its  power  being  broken  by  the  mountain 
chain  of  Lebanon  ;  the  south  wind,  though  hot,  has  its  heat 
mitigated  in  the  upland  regions,  and  is  never  stormy.  The 
north  wind  is  called  on  to  "  arise,"  because  it  is  more  power- 
ful and  strong ;  the  south  wind  to  "  come,"  as  though  it  were 
the  soft  breathing  zephyr.  The  north  wind  brought  clear 
weather ;  the  south  wind  was  warm  and  moist.  The  bride 
here  calls  for  the  north  wind,  that  thereby  all  clouds  may  be 
swept  away  and  the  sky  cleared ;  and  for  the  south  wind  that 
its  genial  influenii-  might  ripen  the  fruits  of  the  garden  and 
^aw  forth  the  fr;i^ance  of  the  flowers."] 


ing  of  him  in  the  third  person — a  token  of  her 
chaste,  modest  and  bashful  mind. — Chap.  v.  1.  I 
come  to  my  garden,  my  sister,  my  bride. 

That  Solomon  is  here  the  speaker,  whilst  full  of 
rapture  he  sets  himself  to  comply  with  his  be- 
loved's invitation  and  to  devote  himself  entirely 
to  her  loving  embrace  incontestably  appears  from 

the  correspondence  of  "(1X3  with  X3'  in  b  of  the 
preceding  verse,  and  of  'B/^X  here  with  /JS'l 
there.  These  verbs,  as  well  as  "J^'l?  (^''•'^PP.'^ 
"I  pluck,"  Ex.  xvi.  16)  and  TfntI  are  not  to  be 
taken  as  preterites:  "  I  have  come,"  etc.,  (Del., 
as  the  Sept.,  Vclg.,  Luther,  etc.,)  because  the 
acme  of  love's  enjoyment,  to  which  both  are 
tending,  was  by  no  means  reached  and  exhausted 
by  a  single  conjugal  embrace,  but  strictly  as 
present,  as  serving  to  state  that  which  is  in  the 
very  act  of  being  performed.*  Comp.  '^n'ST;  i. 
9,  and  numerous  examples  in  Ewald,  Lehrb.,  ^ 
135  c,  [Green's  Heb.  Gram.,  J  262,  2.]— I  pluck 

my  myrrh I  eat  my  honey 

I  drink  my  Tvine.  A  threefold  declaration  in 
different  forms  of  his  immediate  readiness  to  en- 
joy the  charms  of  his  beloved,  with  a  partial  re- 
turn to  the  figures  in  iv.  10, 11, 13.-)- — Eatfriends, 
drink  and  drink  to  repletion,  O  beloved. 
Every  other  understanding  of  these  closing  verses 
seems  inappropriate  and  forced  but  that  already 
suggested,  according  to  which  they  are  an  en- 
couraging address  of  the  bridegroom  to  the  wed- 
ding guests,  who  remain  behind  at  the  table. 
Tims,  e.  g.,  that  of  Ewald,  that  Shulamith  des- 
cribes in  these  words  the  way  in  which  her  dis- 
tant lover,  if  she  were  with  him  and  were  cele- 
brating her  marriage  with  him,  would  remember 
his  friends  ;  the  strange  and  burlesque  idea  of 
BoTTCHER  referred  to  above,  p.  72  ;  that,  too,  of 
EiCHHORN,  Magnus,  Hitzig  :  that  the  words  are 
an  exhortation  of  the  poet  to  the  two  lovers  to 
enjoy  their  love  and  intoxicate  themselves  there- 
with ;  and  the  like  views  of  others,  according  to 
which  Solomon  either  encourages  his  beloved 
(Umbr.,  Hengstenb.,  HAHN)orshehim(WEissB.) 
to  the  enjoyment  of  love.  These  latter  views  are 
based  upon  an  untenable  translation  of  WSV^  by 
"love"  as  though  it  were  the  object  of  lIDtyi  ("in- 
toxicate yourselves  with  love ")  for  DHH  with 
the  acripiio  plena  is  plur.  of  HIT  "  beloved " 
(comp.   on  i.  2),   and   consequently    Prov.  vii.  18 

(where  it  is  D'1'1  "  caresses  "  with  the  scripUo 
defectiva)  cannot  decide  for  the  present  case.  The 
Sept.,  Vulg.,  Luther,  Dopkb,  Vaih.,  Del.,  are 
substantially  correct,  the  last  of  whom  adds  the 
just  remark  in  explanation  :  "For  each  (of  the 
guestc)  was  to  have  his  share  in  tasting  the  joy 
of  this  day." 

*  [There  is  no  reference  in  the  language  here  employed  to 
any  thing  low  and  sensual,  but  to  pure  and  elevated  enjoy- 
ment in  the  society  and  converse  of  his  charming  bride.  The 
passage  is  thus  appropriately  paraphrased  by  Taylor  :  "  I  al- 
ready enjoy  the  pleasure  of  your  company  and  conversation ; 
these  are  as  grateful  to  my  mind  as  delicious  food  could  be  to 
my  palate :  I  could  not  drink  wine  and  milk  with  greater 
satisfaction."  He  also  gives  a  like  figurative  turn  to  the  last 
clause :  "And  you,  my  friends,  partake  the  relish  of  those 
pleasures  which  you  hear  from  the  lips  of  my  beloved,  and  of 
those  elegancies  which  you  behold  in  her  deportment  and  ad 
dress." — Tr.] 

t  [But  see  n'lT  vil.  13.— Te.] 


III.  6— V.  1. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


0. 


DOCTRINAL    AND    ETHICAL. 

1.  That  the  action  of  the  Canticles  reaches  its 
centre  and  acme  in  this  act,  and  especially  at  the 
close  of  it,  cannot  be  doubted  upon  an  unpreju- 
diced view  of  the  whole.  "The  newly  wedded 
bride  is  now  in  the  arms  of  her  husband  and 
king.  Their  ardent  mutual  love  is  the  joyous 
spectacle  presented  to  a  festiye  assembly,  which 
is  attached  to  (he  king  by  friendship  and  love. 
Every  where  the  feeling  suited  to  a  wedding,  en- 
joyment, and  this  enjoyment  shared  by  loving 
sympathy.  Arrived  at  thesuramit  of  love's  mys- 
tery and  moving  there  with  holy  purity  the  song 
here  dies  away  amid  the  revelry  of  the  guests." 
(Del.,  p.  115.) 

2.  The  recognition  of  the  central  and  superior 
significance  of  this  section  is  of  necessity  precluded 
upon  the  allegorical  interpretation,  because  it 
fails  to  perceive  the  organic  progress  of  the  ac- 
tion in  general,  and  supposes  the  union  of  the 
two  lovers  to  have  become  complete  long  before 
this,  (comp.  above,  p.  56)  so  as  neither  to  require 
nor  admit  of  increase.  This  unto  mystica,  this 
perfect  union  of  Christ  with  His  church  or  with 
the  individual  soul  it  consequently  finds  not  at 
the  conclusion  merely,  but  already  indicated  at 
the  very  beginning  of  the  present  act  in  the  "bed 
of  Solomon,"  iii.  7,  by  which  it  is  true  many  alle- 
gorists  understand  every  different  sort  of  thing, 
{e.ff.,  Ibn  Ezra,  the  land  of  Israel;  the  Targ. 
and  in  recent  times  again  .Jo.  Lange,  the  temple; 
Sanctics,  prayer ;  Theodoret,  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures; Aponius,  the  cross  of  Christ;  and  Osian- 
DEE,  the  free  exercise  of  religion  even!)  But 
the  majority  find  represented  in  it  the  communion 
of  believers  with  Christ  at  the  acme  of  its  per- 
fection, whether  their  particular  explanation 
points  to  Christ  Himself  (Ambrose),  or  they  find 
symbolized  in  it  the  heart  of  the  Christian  be- 
liever in  conformity  with  Eph.  iii.  17  (Coccei., 
etc.,)  or  the  free  access  of  believers  to  the  throne 
of  grace  in  this  world  and  the  next  (.Joh.  Maeck.), 
or  "  tffe  church  militant  on  earth,  in  which  many 
children  are  born  to  the  Lord  "  (Starke  after 
many  of  the  older  writers,  as  Gregory  the  Great, 
Cassiodor.,  Beda,  Calov.,  Heunisch,  etc.),  or 
"  the  intimate  relation  between  the  heavenly 
Solomon  and  the  church"  (Hengst.),  or  the 
"  kingdom  administered  by  Solomon,  so  far  as  its 
power  is  directed  ad  extra"  (Hahn).  In  the 
case  of  the  sedan  or  magnificent  couch  ( jnSK  iii. 
9)  this  divergence  of  interpretations  is  repeated 
with  a  prevailing  disposition  to  refer  it  to  the 
unk)  mystica.  For  besides  the  holy  of  holies  in 
the  temple  (Takg.),  or  the  word  of  God  (Mercer.), 
or  the  church  (Zeltn.),  or  the  human  nature  of 
Christ  (Amekos.,  Athanas.,  Greg.,  Beda,  An- 
8ELM,  Jo.  Lange),  it  is  particularly  the  work  of 
redemption  with  the  gracious  results  proceeding 
from  it  (Sanotius  ;  similarly  Cocceihs,  Geoene- 
WEQEN,  Starke,  etc.,)  or  as  expressed  by  Henq-' 
stenberg:  "the  glory  of  those  measures  by 
which  the  heavenly  Solomon  brings  the  Gentile 
nations  into  His  kingdom,"  that  is  supposed  to 
be  intended  by  this  figure  of  the  sedan.*     It  is 

*  [Weiss  expounds  it  of  the  holy  of  holies  in  Solomon's 
temple ;  the  Geneva  version  of  "  The  temple  which  Solomon 
made ;"   Thkupp  and  Woedsworth,  of  the  cross  of  Christ : 


the  same  with  iii.  11,  where  the  "day  of  Solo- 
mon's marriage  "  according  to  Starke  signifies 
three  things:  1.  The  day  of  salvation,  when  a 
sinner  yields  to  converting  grace,  and  is  united 
to  Christ  by  faith  ;  2.  The  day  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  just,  when  Christ  will  make  them  par- 
takers of  the  blessedness  of  the  world  to  come. 
3.  The  time  when  the  Jewish  people,  who  have 
long  rejected  Him  shall  crown  Him  in  faith  and 
publicly  acknowledge  Him  as  their  bridegroom — 
an  explanation  with  which  most  of  the  older  and 
the  later  writers  (even  Hengstenb.,  Hahn,  etc.,) 
substantially  agree,  especially  in  so  far  that 
nearly  all  of  them  understand  by  the  mother  of 
Solomon  the  church  of  the  Old  Testament  or  the 
people  of  Israel,  and  by  the  crown  with  which 
she  adorns  her  son  the  entire  body  of  converted 
souls,  which  are  an  ornament  and  an  honor  to 
the  Messiah,*  comp.  Phil.  iv.  1  ;  1  Thes.  ii.  19, 
etc. 

This  method  of  putting  every  possible  inter- 
pretation upon  every  particular  thing,  and  thus 
attaining  an  extravagant  exuberance  of  multi- 
farious significations,  is  also  followed,  of  course, 
by  the  allegorists  in  the  enthusiastic  description 
of  the  beauty  of  the  bride  in  iv.  1  S.  The  hair 
of  Shulamith  compared  with  the  fiock  of  goals  is 
made  to  signify  either  the  entire  body  of'believers 
or  the  weak  and  despised  members  of  the  church, 
or  on  the  contrary,  those  who  strive  after  a  higher 
measure  of  perfection,  the  prelates  of  the  church 
who  have  a  keen  eye  like  the  goats,  seek  their 
food  on  the  summits,  eat  what  is  green  and  chew 
the  cud,  and  have  parted  hoofs  and  horns,  where- 
with to  fight  the  heretics!  The  teeth  of  the  be- 
loved are  prelates  who  feed  upon  the  Scriptures, 
or  teachers  who  attack  the  heretics;  the  lips 
either  the  preachers  of  God's  word  or  confessions 
of  faith  of  the  church  ;  the  neck  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures or  the  steadfastness  and  assured  hope  of 
believers  ;  the  breasts  compared  with  twin  roes 
either  the  law  and  the  gospel,  or  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  or  the  Jews  and  Gentiles,  or  the 
enstern  and  western  church,  or  baptism  and  the 
Lord's    Supper   as   the    two   sacraments   of  the 


The  Westminster  Annotations,  Moody  Stuart  and  B.  M. 
S.MITH,  of  the  person  of  Christ ;  Adelaide  Newton,  of  the 
church ;  Ainsworth,  of  Christ  and  llis  church ;  Scott,  the 
everlasting  covenant  which  Christ  has  nit'ditated  in  our  be- 
half; Patrick,  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  by  which  the 
church  is  carried  triumphantly  through  the  world ;  Williams, 
the  gospel  in  its  onward  progress ;  Fry  and  Burrowes,  that 
conveyance,  or  those  methods  of  divine  grace  by  which  the 
believer  is  carried  onward  toward  heaven;  Gill  and  Henrx, 
hesitate  between  the  human  nature  of  Christ,  the  church,  the 
gospel,  and  the  plan  of  salvation.  Burrowes  says :  "It  seems 
no  part  of  the  mind  of  the  Spirit  that  we  should  take  this 
description  to  pieces  and  try  to  allegorize  the  several  parts.' 
Thrupp  also  conveniently  declines  to  carry  the  allegory 
through  in  all  its  details ;  "  It  is  not  necessary  to  suijpose  that 
any  significance  is  intended  in  the  assignment  of  separate 
materials  to  particular  parts  of  the  vehicle."  Scott,  however, 
is  ready  with  distinct  meanings  for  the  "  pillars  of  silver,"  the 
"bottom  of  gold,"  and  the  "covering  of  purple."  And  Thrupp 
himself  insists  that  every  separate  feature  of  the  bride  in  iv. 
1-7  "  must  have  its  own  distinct  allegorical  import.  The 
comparisons  would  be  as  extravagant  on  the  allegorical  as  on 
the  literal  interpretation,  if  the  former  were  not  to  be  carried 
out  into  details ;  and  in  fact  that  interpretation  is  virtually 
literal  which  refuses  to  see  any  allegory  except  in  the  general 
words  'Thou  art  fair.'  "] 

*  Besides  this  prevalent  form  of  the  spiritual  interpretation 
of  iii.  11  there  are  various  others  of  a  more  trifling  character,  es- 
pecially among  the  older  exegetes  of  whom,  e.  g.,  Beda  and 
Anselm  expound  the  wedding  day  of  Christ's  conception  and 
birth;  Honorius  v.  Adtun  and  Bernard  of  the  death  and 
resurrection  of  the  Lord  Cand  then  the  "  crown "  naturall; 


92 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


III.  6— V.  1. 


church  !*  The  locking  up  of  the  garden  iv.  12 
ff.  denotes  the  strong  protection  with  which  God 
surrounds  His  church  as  with  a  wall  of  lire  ;  the 
sealing  is  the  gracious  operations  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  on  the  church  to  enlighten  and  preserve  it, 
Eph.  iv.  30.  The  blowing  of  the  north  and  south 
wind,  iv.  16  also  signifies  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the 
varied  operations  of  His  grace,  purifying,  quicli- 
ening,  comforting,  rendering  fruitful,  etc. ;  and 
the  "  coming  of  the  bridegroom  into  his  garden" 
(v.  1)  according  to  the  chronological  expositors 
denotes  the  dawn  of  some  new  epoch  in  church 
history,  e.  ff.,  according  to  CoccEios  the  times 
immediately  succeeding  Constantine  the  Great; 
according  to  Heunisch  the  ante-reformation 
period  from  the  time  of  the  great  Schism  (1378); 
according  to  Coiin.  a  Lapiue  the  incipient  old  age 
of  the  church,  etc.,  but  according  to  the  greater 
number  the  particular  times  when  Christ  enters 
with  the  heavenly  blessings  of  His  grace  into  the 
hearts  of  believers  (Rev.  iii.  20 ;  John  xiv.  23), 
or  the  threefold  advent  of  the  Redeemer:  1.  In 
the  form  of  a  servant  to  found  His  church.  2. 
His  invisible  coming  by  His  Holy  Spirit  to  every 
individual  of  His  people.  3.  His  eschatologiciil 
coming  at  the  judgment  and  the  consummation. 
Compare  generally  the  multitude  of  old  interpre- 
tations of  this  sort  collected  by  Starke  on  this 
section;  also  Wilkens,  Fkat  Luie  de  Leon,  p. 
207,  215,  and  DaiiscH,  Symbolik  der  Christlkhen 
Religion,  Vol.  II.  {Tubing.,  1859),)  passim. 

3.  Against  such  excesses  and  capricious  trifling 
there  is  no  protection  but  in  that  historical  exe- 
gesis, which  on  the  basis  of  the  meaning  of  the 
words  impartially  ascertained  endeavors,  it  is 
true,  to  point  out  the  relations  in  which  this  ac- 
tion s'ands  to  the  mysteries  of  revelation  and  re- 
demption, and  so  to  make  application  of  its  con- 
tents to  the  matters  of  the  Christian  life,  but 
conscientiously  refrains  from  all  seeking  or 
chasing  after  any   direct  spiritual  and  practical 

becomes  eitlier  tlr;  crown  of  thorns,  or  the  crown  of  glory  he- 
longing  to  His  resurrection  and  exaltation),  whilst  chronologi- 
cal expositors  as  Heiniiard, Heunisch,  eic,  connect  the  wedding 
day  with  the  ejjoch  of  Constantine  the  Great,  or  the  conver- 
sion of  the  heatlien  in  a  tjody  by  the  church,  and  Catholics 
like  Cornelius  a  Lapide  and  Calmet  explain  the  "  mother  "  of 
Solomon  of  the  Virgin  M.ary." 

*  [The  two  hreasts  are  further  explained  in  the  notes  of  the 
DowAT  version  to  mean  the  love,  of  God  and  the  love  of  our 
neighbor;  in  the  Gexeva,  Icnowledge  and  zeal ;  by  iMooDT 
Stuart  and  M.  B.  Smith,  faith  and  love ;  Patrick,  the  preach- 
ers respectively  among  .Jewish  Christians  and  among  the 
Gentiles ;  Ainsworth,  the  loving  aflfectiou,  wholesome  doc- 
trines, sweet  consolations  and  gracious  beneficence  of  the 
church ;  Scott,  the  believer's  simplicity  of  affection  for  Christ 
and  the  delight  which  Christ  reciprocally  takes  in  him; 
Thrdpp,  "Weiss  and  Wordsworth,  the  fountains  of  nourish- 
ment whence  is  drawn  the  milk  of  pure  and  sound  doctrine; 
while  Gill  allows  a  choice  between  ministers  of  the  gospel, 
the  two  Testaments,  the  two  Sacraments  and  the  two  great 
commandments  of  the  law.  Burrowes,  whom  none  can  sus- 
pect of  an  indisposition  to  allegorize,  has  the  good  taste  to  re- 
volt at  such  mangling  of  inspired  emblems.  lie  says,  p.  :^59, 
"  In  the  comparison  of  the  foregoing  verses  the  thing  to  be  il- 
lustrated is  the  general  beauty  of  the  pious  soul  in  the  eyes  of 
.Tesus.  Losing  sight  of  this  most  commentjitors  have  marred 
the  paBsagc  l>y  separating  these  emblems  from  one  another, 
and  appropriating  them  to  other  uses  than  the  one  intended 
by  the  Holy  Spirit.  What  would  be  thought  of  a  person  who 
under  the  plea  of  heightening  the  effect  of  a  picture  by  a  great 
artist,  should  cut  out  the  several  figures,  the  trees,  the  waters, 
the  tinted  clouds,  and  exhibit  thera  apart  in  every  imaginable 
variety  of  light  and  position?  This  would  show  something 
more  than  want  of  judgment.  Jfo  argument  would  be  neces- 
sary to  make  us  feel  that  such  was  never  the  mind  of  the 
artist.  The  common  method  of  expounding  this  and  the  other 
kindred  passages  in  the  Song,  seems  no  less  unreasonable."] 


interpretation  of  individual  passages,  much  less 
of  individual  words.  To  such  an  exegesis  there 
appear  to  be  chiefly  three  particulars  of  especial 
consequence  in  that  stage  of  the  action  which  is 
represented  in  this  act :  the  elevation  of  the  bride 
from  a  low  condition  to  royal  dignity  and  glory ; 
her  wondrous  beauty  as  the  ground  of  this  eleva- 
tion ;  and  her  chaste  and  humble  mind  which 
impels  her  to  belong  only  to  her  lover  and  to  live 
for  him  alone. 

a.  The  simple  country  maiden  from  the  tribe 
of  Issachar  is  raised  to  be  queen  of  all  Israel, 
conducted  in  Solomon's  stately  couch  with  a 
brilliant  military  escort,  welcomed  by  the  women 
of  Jerusalem  with  pride  and  admiration,  brought 
for  her  marriage  to  his  splendid  palace  in  Zion 
by  Solomon,  the  most  famous  prince  of  his  time. 
Here  full  of  rapture  he  declares  to  her  that  he 
loves  and  admires  her  more  than  all  beside,  that 
she  has  completely  won  and  captivated  him,  so 
that  his  heart  belongs  to  her  alone,  and  that  she  is 
henceforth  to  exchange  her  humble  surroundings 
and  her  country  home  for  his  royal  palace  and 
its  rich  enjoyments  and  brilliant  pleasures  (see 
especially  iv.  8,  9).  In  like  manner  Christ,  who 
is  a  greater  than  Solomon,  who  is  King  of  all 
kings,  and  Lord  of  .ill  lords,  has  exalted  His 
church  from  misery  and  a  low  estate  to  a  partici- 
pation in  His  divine  glory ;  He  has  made  the 
despised  and  forsaken  "  His  sister  and  bride,"  a 
joint-heir  of  His  eternal  glory  in  heaven,  has  re- 
ceived her  into  His  kingdom,  into  His  heavenly 
Father's  house  and  there  prepared  a  place  for  her, 
which  she  shall  never  be  willing  to  exchange  for 
her  former  abode  in  a  remote  and  foreign  land, 
in  the  wilderness  of  a  sinful,  earthly  life.  For 
the  infinite  superiority  of  that  exaliation  which 
the  church  of  the  Lord  has  experienced  above 
that  of  Shulamith,  and  which  every  penitent  and 
believing  soul  in  it  still  experiences  day  by  day, 
is  shown  in  this  that  the  shepherd  girl  from 
northern  Palestine  might  with  good  reason  look 
wistfully  back  to  her  poverty  from  Solomon's 
palace,  that  her  desire  to  return  from  th^sultry 
life  of  the  court  to  the  fresh  cool  mountain  air  of 
her  home  was  but  too  well  justified,  whilst  the 
soul  which  has  been  translated  out  of  the  wretch- 
edness of  a  sinful  worldly  life  into  the  blessed 
communion  of  God's  grace,  has  no  occasion  nor 
right  to  be  dissatisfied  with  its  new  home,  but  on 
the  contrary  has  gained  unmingled  joy,  delight 
and  imperishable  glory  instead  of  its  former  con- 
dition of  unhappy  bondage  and  darkness. 

b.  The  cause  of  Shulamith's  elevation  to  be 
queen  of  her  people  lay  in  her  wonderful  beauty, 
which  throws  the  king  into  such  an  ecstasy  that 
he  analyzes  it  with  the  utmost  detail  in  order 
that  he  may  adduce  the  finest  objects  of  nature, 
which  his  realm  affords,  to  set  forth  her  charms; 
yes,  that  he  represents  one  single  glance  of  her 
eyes,  one  chain  from  the  ornaments  of  her  neck 
as  possessed  of  the  power  to  chain  him  to  her 
completely.  So  also  it  is  the  beauty  and  god-like 
dignity,  originally  belonging  to  human  nature,  ob- 
scured indeed  by  sin,  but  not  completely  and  for 
ever  destroyed,  which  brought  the  Lord  down  to 
our  earth  and  made  Him  our  Redeemer,  the  royal 
bridegroom  and  loving  husband  of  His  church. 
But  there  is  this  difference  between  the  earthly 
Solomon  and  his  celestial  antitype,  that  the  latter 


III.  6~V.  1. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


93 


must  restore  the  partially  destroyed  and  hideously 
distorted  beauty  of  His  beloved  before  He  can 
raise  her  to  sit  with  Him  on  His  throne  ;  He  must 
in  order  to  effect  this  restoration  endure  the  direst 
sufferings ;  He  must  redeem  the  poor  captive 
from  the  prince  of  this  world  by  the  ransom  of 
His  own  precious  blood  ;  and  afterwards,  too,  He 
must  with  much  trouble  and  pains  seek  to  retain 
her  wbom  He  has  dearly  purchased  in  the  way  of 
righteousness  and  truth  and  preserve  her  from 
falling  back  again  into  the  defilement  of  sin.  The 
heavenly  Solomon  can  never,  during  the  course 
of  this  present  world,  attain  to  a  really  pure  and 
undisturbed  joy  in  His  bride.  He  has  quite  too 
much  to  do  in  cleansing  her  ever  anew  with  the 
washing  of  water  by  the  word  in  order  to  pre- 
sent her  to  Himself  holy  and  without  blemish,  not 
having  spot  or  wrinkle  or  any  such  thing  (Eph. 
v.  26,  27).  The  heavenly  bridegroom  of  souls 
can  neither  sing  to  His  church  as  a  whole,  nor  to 
its  individual  members  such  a  praise  of  her 
beauty  as  was  sung  by  Shulamith's  husband, 
culminating  in  the  encomium,  "  Thou  art  all 
fair,  my  dear,  and  there  is  not  a  blemish  in 
thee,"  iv.  7.  He  has,  on  the  contrary,  but 
too  abundant  occasion  to  speak  to  her  in  the 
tone  adopted  in  the  16th  chapter  of  the  prophet 
Ezekiel.  He  must  too  often  hold  up  before 
her  not  only  the  wretchedness  of  her  birth  and 
the  misery  of  the  first  days  of  her  childhood,  bat 
also  the  gross  unfaithfulness  and  scandalous  de- 
filement of  the  fiesh  and  spirit,  of  which,  though 
His  elect  and  His  beloved,  she  has  since  made  her- 
self guilty.  And  He  must  all  the  more  postpone 
her  entrance  upon  the  full  enjoyment  of  His 
blessed  society  and  His  heavenly  benefits  until  the 
future  state,  for  the  reason  that  she  is  previously 
lacking  in  many  respects  in  another  virtue  which 
is  most  of  all  commended  in  Shulamith,  her  his- 
torical type.     This  is: 

c.  The  chaste  and  humble  mind,  which  the  be- 
loved of  the  earthly  Solomon  still  preserved  even 
after  her  elevation  to  regal  dignity  and  glory, 
that  child-like,  pure  and  obedient  heart  which 
she  brings  to  her  husband,  and  in  virtue  of  wbich 
she  will  belong  only  to  him  and  offer  the  sweet- 
scented  flowers  and  delightful  fruit  of  her  garden 
to  him  for  hig   exclusive   enjoyment.      On  the 


ground  of  this  most  sterling  of  all  the  qualities  of 
his  beloved,  this  crown  of  her  virtues,  Solomon 
celebrates  on  the  very  day  of  his  marriage,  his 
perfect  union  with  her ;  the  locked  garden,  the 
bolted  and  sealed  fountain  is  opened  to  him  for 
his  comfort  and  refreshment. — The  Church,  as  the 
bride  of  the  Lord,  remains  a  mere  bride  so  long 
as  she  has  to  suffer  and  to  fight  here  below,  be- 
cause she  does  not  remain  a  locked  garden  and  a 
sealed  fountain,  to  the  extent  that  this  could  be 
affirmed  of  her  Old  Testament  type ;  because,  on 
the  contrary,  she  too  often  admits  the  seductive 
and  defiling  powers  of  sin  and  of  the  world  to  the 
sanctuary  of  her  virginity,  and  allows  them  to 
desecrate  the  temple  of  her  heart.  Not  until  the 
end  of  days  will  her  perfect  union  with  the  heav- 
enly bridegroom  be  consummated,  when  she  has 
sufi^ered  and  contended  to  the  full,  and  the  great 
mystery,  of  which  Paul  writes,  Eph.  v.  32,  has 
been  fulfilled  by  the  final  and  visible  coming  of 
her  beloved.  Until  then.it  is  only  individual 
souls  in  the  midst  of  her,  that  band  of  His  faithful 
and  elect,  who  are  truly  known  to  the  Lord  alone 
(2  Tim.  ii.  19;  Rom.  viii.  28  ff.),  whom  He  raises 
to  the  blessed  height  of  a  most  intimate  commu- 
nion with  Himself,  and  by  the  outpouring  of  His 
love  in  their  hearts  makes  them  partakers  of  the 
full  blessings  of  His  heavenly  grace.  This  is  that 
invisible  communion  of  saints,  which,  as  the  true 
salt  of  the  earth  and  light  of  the  world,  forms  the 
real  eoul  of  Christendom,  the  genuine  realization 
of  the  idea  of  the  Church ;  which,  as  the  true 
Bride  of  the  Lamb,  day  by  day  with  longing  hearts 
unites  in  the  supplication  of  the  Spirit :  "  Come, 
Lord  Jesus,"  Rev.  xxii.  17  ;  which,  as  the  entire 
body  of  the  wise  virgins  (Mafth.  xxv.  10)  with 
loins  girded  and  lamps  burning  (Luke  xii.  35) 
waits  and  watches  until  He  comes  "that  is  holy 
and  that  is  true,  that  openeth  and  no  man  shut- 
teth ;  and  shutteth  and  no  man  openeth  "  (Rev. 
iii.  7) :  which  shall  therefore  one  day  in  glorious 
reality  and  with  never-ending  joy  experience  the 
fulfilment  of  that  desire  which  bids  them  sigh  and 
cry  here  below : 

Oh  I  come,  do  come,  Thou  Sun, 
And  bring  us  every  one 
To  endless  joy  and  light, 
Thy  halls  of  pure  dsUght. 


94  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  V.  2— VIII.  4. 


FOUETH  SONG. 

Shulamith's  longing  for  her  home  again  awakened. 

Chap.  V.  2— VIII.  4. 

FIRST    SCENE: 

Shtjlamith  and  the  Daughters  of  Jeeusalem. 
(Chap.  V.  2— VI.  3.) 

Shulamith  (relating  a  dream). 

2  P  was  sleeping,  but  my  heart  was  waking' — 

Hark  ?  my  beloved  is  knocking : 
'  Open*  to  me,  my  sister, 
my  dear,  my  dove,  my  perfect  f 
for*  my  head  is  filled  with  dew, 
my  locks  with  drops  of  the  night !' 

3  "  I'  have  taken  oiT  my  dress, 

how  shall  I  put  it  on  ? 
I  have  washed  my  feet, 
how'  shall  I  soil  them  ?" — 

4  My'  beloved  extended  his  hand  through  the  window,'" 

and  I  was  inwardly  excited"  for  him. 

5  Up  I  rose  to  open  to  my  beloved, 

and  my  hands  dropped  with  myrrh, 
and  my  fingers  with  liquid  myrrh, 
upon  the  handle  of  the  bolt. 

6  I  opened  to  my  beloved, 

and  my  beloved  had  turned"  away,  was  gone ; 

textual  and  grammatical. 

1  rWlCL.,  Mat.  :  The  voice  of  the  Church.] 

2  The  xinmistakably  close  connection  of  these  words  with  what  follows  "  Hark  !  my  beloved  knocking !"  gives  to  both  th« 

participles  rUt^'*  ii-nd  H^  the  sense  of  imperfects.    HiTziG  correctly  says :  "  The  connection  makes  the  two  partic.  as  well  aa 

p3Tn  express  the  relative  past  (comp.  Jer.  xxxviii.  26;  Ex.  v.  8);  and  this  first  part  of  the  verse  is  therefore=''Q^7n3  Gen. 

xli.  17." 

^  Lit.  "  The  sound  of  my  beloved  knocking,''  etc.    Comp.  ii.  8.    pSIl  is  not  in  apposition  to  ^"IH,  but  the  predicate, 

and  for  this  reason  is  without  the  article;  comp.  Gen.  iii.  8  [see  Green's  Okresttmi,.,  p.  95,  on  this  passage].  HiTZia  correctly  : 
"blp  is  just  the  knocking,  and  is  known  to  be  HTII    7lp  hy  the  accompanying  words." 

i  [M\T. :   Christ  to  the  Church.] 

6  [Gov.,  Mat.,  Cran.,  Bish.:  darling.    Genev.,  Eng.  Ver.:  undefiled.] 

"   ty  before  ""lyXI  assigns  the  reason  as  "^K^N  Eccles.  vi.  12,  or  as  "'3  Cant.  ii.  11. 

^  [M  \T. :   The  voice  of  the  spousess.] 

8  The  prolonged  form  n^D'X  instead  of  TK  or  n.D''X  serves  to  make  the  question  more  emphatic,  like  our  "How  could 

TT     ■■  '     ••  T     " 

I  ....  ?   How  can  you  ask  me  to ?" 

0  [Mat.  :  The  voice  of  the  Church  speaking  of  Christ.] 

10  WicL.,  Mat.:  hole.    Genev..  Eng.  Ver.:  hole  of  the  door.] 

11  Genev.  :  Mine  heart  was  affectioned  toward  him.    Marg.  as  ENG.  Ver.:  my  bowels  were  moved.] 

1-  "^On  cognate  with  p^n  "  to  embrace  "  is  substantially  synonymous  with  53D  "  to  turn ;"  comp.  the  Hith.  in  the  sense 

of  "  turning  and  forsalcing,"  Jer.  xxxi.  22,  as  well  as  tho  substantive  D^pfl^H  "  that  which  is  turned  or  rounded,"  vii.  2  be- 
low. "  He  had  turned  away  "  is  now  strengthened  by  adding  the  synonyme  "13^  to  express  his  total  disappearance.  Symma- 
caus  correctly  :  aTrofevtra?  ajrijASe,  and  still  better  the  VuLQ.:  "  at  ille  declinaverat  atque  trantierat ;"  for  the  pluperfect  Beni» 
of  the  verbs  is  demanded  by  the  context. 


V.  2— Vin.  4.  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  95 

my  soul  failed,'  when  he  spoke  ;* 
I  sought  him  but  I  did  not  find  him, 
I  called  him  but  he  answered  me  not. 

7  Found^  me  then  the  watchmen,  who  go  around  in  the  city ; 

they  struck  me,  wounded  me, 
took  my  veil*  ofi"  from  me, 
the  watchmen  of  the  walls. 

8  P  adjure  you,  ye  daughters  of  Jerusalem, 

if  ye  find  my  beloved — 

what  shall  ye  tell  him  ? 

"  that  I  am  sick  of  love." 

Daughtees  op  Jerusalem. 

9  What*  is  thy  beloved  more  than  (any  other)  beloved,' 

thou  fairest  among  women  ? 
What  is  thy  beloved  more  than  (any  other)  beloved, 
that  thou  dost  adjure  us  thus  ? 

Shulamith. 

10  My^  beloved  is  white  and  ruddy, 

distinguished  above  ten  thousand. 

11  His  head  is  pure  gold, 

his  locks  are  hill  upon  hill,' 
black  as  a  raven.'" 

12  His  eyes  like  doves  by  brooks  of  water, 

bathing  in  milk,  sitting  on  fulness." 

13  His  cheeks  like  a  bed  of  balm, 

towers  of  spice  plants ;" 
his  lips  lilies, 
dropping  liquid  myrrh. 

14  His  hands  golden  rods, 

encased  in  turquoises ;" 
his  body  a  figure  of  ivory, 
veiled  with  sapphires. 

1  Oomp.  Gen.  xlil.  8:  3S  XS\  [Cov.,  Mat.:  Now  like  as  aforetime,  when  he  spake,  my  heart  could  not  refrain, 
Wioi.,  Dow.:  melted.  Bdkkowes  :  sunk  in  consequence  of  what  he  had  said.  Notes,  better :  I  was  not  in  my  senses  while 
*  ^a  Others  read  instead  of  n213,  ^'^\2^\^  and  either  explain  this  from  the  Arabic  as  equivalent  to  113;>3  "at  his  going 
away,  at  his  departure"  (Bw.,  etc.)  or  (comparing  the  Arab.  <ia6ra— nnX  "behind  him,"  (Hitz.)  with  which  Umbrht's 
reference  of  'n213  to  a  verb  13T  "to  follow "  ("I  went  out  to  follow  him ")  substantially  agrees.  But  all  these  explana^ 
tions,  as  well  hb  that  of  Weissbach,  according  to  which  we  should  read  '^^2^^3  "  on  his  account,  for  his  sake,"  lack  the  requi- 
site confirmation  in  point  of  language. 

'  TMat.:  The  Church  complaineth  of  her  persecutors.] 

*  [WiCL.:  mantis.    Cot.,  Mat.:  garment.    Cran.,  Bish.:  kerchief    Dow.:  cloak.J 

6  I  Mat:  The  Bpousess  speaketh  to  her  companions.]  .    ^  ^,     ,       jo    „»        rm.        ■       *  *i. 

6  TOlCL -1110  voice  of  friends  saith  to  the  Church.    Which  is  thy  lemman  (lover)  of  the  loved !    Mat.:  The  voice  of  the 
Synagogue.    Who  is  thy  love  above  other  lovers— or  what  can  thy  love  do  more  than  other  loves  1] 

'  '  ^nD  beyond  any  one  who  is  a  beloved,  i.  e.,  more  excellent  than  any  other.  IH  here  simply  states  the  idea  in  a  ge- 
neral form,  and  tO  is  comparative,  expressing  the  superiority  of  one  thing  above  another,  as  in  10  b. 

8  fWiCL.:  The  voice  of  the  Church  of  Christ  saith  to  the  friends.    Mat.:  The  Church  answering  of  Christ  ] 

9  rWiOL.:  a^  bunches  of  palms.    Dow.:  as  the  branches  of  palm  trees.    Genev.:  curled.    Bng.  Vek.:  bushy.    Tbeupp  in 
Imitation  of  the  reduplicated  form  in  Hebrew :  flow  flowingly.] 

n    Sv."  Mat";  r'/Zningt  a'pleSus  place.  CaA..,  BxSH.:  set  like  pearls  in  gold.    Ge^t.:  remain  by  the  full  vessels. 
Dow.:  iit  beside  the  most  full  streams.    Bm.  Vek.:  fitly  set;  Marg.:  sitting  in  fullness,  that  is,  fitly  placed  and  set  as  a  pre- 

™^'/reov.fMAT.,*'cR«!!Bl"l'.]   His  cheeks  are  Uke  a  garden  bed  wherein  the  apothecaries  plant  all  manner  of  sweet 

*^"i?rCov.,  Mat.:  His  hands  are  full  of  gold  rings  and  precious  stones;  his  body  is  like  *<=  pure  i^vory,  decked  over  witt 
sapphires.  Cean.,  Bish.:  his  hands  are  like  gold  rings  having  enclosed  the  pleasant  stone  of  Tharsis,  Dow.,  his  handi 
wrought  round  of  gold,  full  of  hyacinths.    Genet.:  his  hands  as  rings  of  gold  set  with  the  chrysolite.] 


98  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  V.  2— VIII,  4. 


15  His  legs  columns  of  white  marble 

set  on  bases  of  pure  gold  ; 
his  aspect  like  Lebanon, 
choice'  as  the  cedars. 

16  His  palate*  is  sweets,' 

and  he  is  altogether  precious.* 

This  is  my  beloved,  and  this'^  my  friend, 

ye  daughters  of  Jerusalem. 

Daughters  of  Jerusalem. 

VI.  1  Whither'  has  thy  beloved  gone, 
thou  fairest  among  women  ? 
whither  has  thy  beloved  turned, 
that  we  may  seek  him  with  thee  ? 

Shulamith 

2  My'  beloved  has  gone  down  to  his  garden, 

to  the  beds  of  balm*, 
to  feed'  in  the  gardens 
and  to  gather  lilies.^" 

3  I  am  my  beloved's  and  my  beloved  is  mine, 

who  feeds  among  the  lilies. 


second  scene: 

Solomon  to  the  same  as  before. 

(Chap.  VI.  4.— TIL  6.) 

Solomon. 

4  Fair"  art  thou,  my  dear,  as  Tirzah, 

comely  as  Jerusalem,  terrible''  as  bannered"  hosts, 

1  ^:in3  "  chosen,  excellent "  (not  "  young  man,"  as  Tarq.,  Magn.,  Ew.,  Bottch.  have  it)  is  evidently  intended  to  indicate 
the  pre-eminence  of  the  cedars  above  all  other  trees,  their  surpaasing  height  and  stately  form.  Comp.  7UT  ver.  10  above, 
■which  ia  substantially  synonymous,  as  well  as  the  expressions  D'pX  "in3D  Jer.  xxii.  7,  and  D'tVI^  1in3D  (together 
with  D^nS<  nOlp)  2  Kings  xix.  23.  This  word  moreover  belongs  to  ^nX"lD  as  its  predicate ;  for  it  is  too  remote  to  refer 
it  to  the  suffix  attached  to  this  word,  or  to  a  new  subject  derived  from  it  (Hitz.). 

2  [Gov.,  Mat.,  Dow.:  his  throat.     Cran.,  Bish.:    the  words  of  his  mouth.     Genev.,  Enq.  Ver.:  his  mouth;    Marg.: 
ate.] 

s  On  the  plur.  D'pnDD  "sweetnesses"  see  Bw.  Lehrh.  J179,  a  [Green's  Hd>.  Oram.  §201,  1,  a  and  c]. 

*  C^^nn  lit.  "  preciousnesses,  desirable  things ;"  comp.  Joel  iv.  5  ;  Hos.  ix.  16 ;  2  Chron.  xxxvi.  19. 

5  On  the  repeated  HT  comp.  Gen.  ill.  15. 

«  [WicL.:  The  voice  of  holy  souls,  of  the  church.    Mat.  :  The  voice  of  the  synagogue  speaking  to  the  church.] 

7  [WiGL.,  Mat.  :  The  voice  of  the  church. J 

8  In  regard  to  Dt?3  mjO;?  comp.  on  v.  13  above. 

6  [Gov.,  Mat.,  Gran.,  Bish.  :  tliat  he  may  refresh  himself] 

ID  [Thrupp  :  Note  in  the  Hebrew  of  this  verse  not  only  the  rhyme  between  D'3i3  and  D'JtyiE',  but  also  the  resemblance 

in  sound  hetween  nUll;;'?   and  m;?l'7.  Cot.,  Mat.:  flowers.    Cran.:  roses.] 

It  [WiCL.,  Mat.;  The  voice  of  Christ  to  the  church.  WiCL.:  Fair  thou  art,  my  love,  sweet  and  fair  as  Jerusalem.  Gov., 
Mat.  :  Thou  art  pleasant,  0  my  love,  even  as  loveliness  itself;  thou  art  fair  as  Jerusalem,  glorious  as  an  army  of  men  with 
their  banners.]  « 

12  [Goon,  Percy,  Taylor,  Thrupp  :  dazzling.] 

"  nl^TJJ  'it->  provided  with  a  SjT  banner,  gathered  about  a  standard  (comp.  Num.  i.  62;  ii.  2;  Ps.  xx.  6);  not, 

"distinguished,  select,"  as  Weissb.  misled  by  the  affinity  between  this  expression  and  7^J1  v.  10  supposes.    The  fem. 

niS^JJ  is  not  to  be  explained  by  a  n"ljnD  understood  (L)N  EzEi),  but  it  "  expresses  the  idea  of  a  collective,  as  In  nmS 
T  ;  •  -:  -  T  I 

and  nVu"  (Hitz.). 


V.  2— VIII.  4.  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  ii( 

5  Turn  away  thine  eyes  from'  me, 

for  they  have  taken  me  by  storm.^ 
Thy  hair  is  as  a  flock  of  goats, 
reposing  on  Gilead. 

6  Thy  teeth  as  a  flock  of  sheep,' 

that  go  up  from  the  washing, 

all  of  which  have  twins, 

and  there  is  not  a  bereaved  one  among  them. 

7  Like  a  piece  of  pomegranate  thy  cheek 

from  behind  thy  veil. — 

8  There  are  sixty  queens 

and  eighty  concubines 

and  virgins  without  number. 

9  My  dove,  my  perfect  is  one,* 

the  only  one^  of  her  mother, 
the  choice"  one  of  her  that  bare  her. 
Daughters  saw  her  and  called  her  blessed, 
queens  and  concubines  and  they  praised  her : 
10  "  Who'  is  this,  that  looks  forth  like  the  dawn, 
fair  as  the  moon,  pure  as  the  sun', 
terrible  as  bannered  hosts  ?"' 


Shulamith. 

11  To^  the  nut"  garden  I  went  down, 

to  look  at  the  shrubs  of  the  valley, 
to  see  whether  the  vine  sprouted, 
the  pomegranates  blossomed. 

1  'Weissb.  preposterously :  ^^J^D  "VT^  ^30(1  is  equivalent  to  "turn  thine  eyea  away  from  thee  to  me,"  and  then  th« 

only  suitable  sense  in  the  second  ciai;«<.  muat  be  "thine  eyes  encourage  me."  [So  Thkupp  :  IJjn  "opposite,  over-against." 

The  full  meaning  is  "  Thou  who  art  standing  over  against  me,  bend  thou  thine  eyes  so  as  directly  to  meet  mine."]  Against  this 
excessively  artificial  and  over-reiiaed  interpretation  of  1J30  one  single  parallel  is  decisive,  Isa.  i.  16 ;  ^y^_  "^A^.P  —  ^"l^pH 

"  put  away — from  before  mine  eyes." 

2  The  Hiph.  ^TTin  from  im  "to  rage,  be  violent,"  most  probably  expresses  a  sense  corresponding  to  the  predicate 
nS'N,  consequently  not  "  to  encourage,  inspire  courage,"  as  in  Ps.  cxxxviil.  3,  but  "  to  assault,  violently  excite,  take  by 

storm."  [Cov.,  Mat.:  make  me  too  proud.  Ckaw.,  Bish.:  have  set  me  on  fire.  Dow.:  make  me  flee  away.  Eng.  Vee.:  over- 
come me ;  Marg.:  puffed  me  up.    Thrupp  :  swell  my  heart  with  pride.] 

s  Verbally  corresponding  with  iv.  i,  except  in  the  more  special  nl21Spn  "shorn"  instead  of  the  more  general  ex- 
pression D'^mn  "  lambs  "  used  here.    [This  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  in  Arabic,  but  in  Heb.  it  means  "  ewes,  sheep."] 

<  The  numeral  ririK  one,  forming  a  marked  contrast  with  the  sixty,  eighty,  etc.,  receives  its  proper  limitation  from  the 
added  STI:  one  she,  t.  e.,  she  only.  [It  is  better  to  regard  K'n  as  the  copula  Uke  DHH  in  ver.  8.  Green's  Beb.  Oram. 
§258,2].  That  TinN  "my  sister"  which  stands  with  TISH  'ruV  "my  dove,  my  perfect"  in  the  parallel  passage  v.  2. 
can  have  influenced  the  selection  of  finX  "one"  in  this  place,  is  very  improbable  (vs.  Weissb.). 

'  NTI  nnX  cannot  be  taken  here  otherwise  than  it  was  before;  the  predicate  is,  therefore,  wanting  after  this  expres- 
sion, as  well  as  after  the  parallel  KTI  7113,  and  hence  the  predicate  of  the  preceding  clause,  m> ;"  my  dove,  my  perfect " 

must  be  supplied  here  again.  The  m'eaning  therefore  is  "only  one,  she  alone  is  my  dove,  my  da,rling;  she  alone  of  her 
mother  (i.  e  her  only  daughter),  she  as  separated  or  chosen  of  her  that  bare  her."  So  correctly  Weissb.  in  opposition  to 
HiTZ.  who  takes  nnS  the  second  time  as  the  predicate  and  N'n  as  subject:  "  she  is  the  only  one  of  her  mother. 

«  On  n"ia  eJe^to  (Vulg.)  from  T13  "to  separate,"  comp.  Ezek.  xx.  38;  Jcr.  xxiii.  28.  [Thrdpp:  Tor  the  same  reason 
that  'nnn  llt^  "my  perfect  one"  may  be  rendered  "my  own  on?"  may  ni3,  lit.  "pure  one  "he  rendered  "  sole  darling." 
She  is  her  parent's  "pure  one " ;  and  this  would  in  fact  be  the  best  rendering,  had  not  the  word  " pure  in  its  original  sense 
become^somewhat  antiquatedO  ^^^^  ^  ^^^  .^  ^^^^  ^^.^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^j^j      faj^^  the  moon, 

chosen  as  the  sun?    Cot.,  Mat.  :  Who  is  she,  this  that  peepeth  out  as  the  morning?  fair  as  the  moon,  excellent  as  the  sun.J 

8  [Good,  MOODT  SlCART  and  others;  dazzling  as  the  stars.)  n„ . .,  .  t  woT>t  ^n-om 

9  [WiCL  :  The  voice  of  the  church,  of  the  synagogue,  Mat.  :  Christ  to  the  synagogue.  (JT;.  Mat.,  Ceax.  .  I  went  down 
into  the  nut-garden  to  see  what  grew  by  the  brooks,  and  to  look  if  the  vineyard  flourished  and  if  the  pomegranates  were  shot 

*"*  w^  [Casteil.,  Pabkhurot  :  pruned  garden  as  if  I'UX  were  from  IjJ.    Thrcpp  without  authority  proposes  to  substituta 

36 


«6!  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON.  V.  2— Vin.  4. 


12  I'  knew  it  not,  my  desire  brought  me 

to  the  chariots  of  my  people,  the  noble. 

Daughters  of  Jeeusalem. 

VII.  1  Come'  back,  come  back,  Shulamith, 

Come  back,  come  back,  that  we  may  look  upon  thee. 

Shulamith. 
What'  do  you  see  in  Shulamith  ? 

Daughters  op  Jerusalem. 
As  the  dance  of  Mahanaim. 

Solomon. 

2  How*  beautiful  are  thy  steps  in  the  shoes,  O  prince's  daughter, 

thy  rounded^  thighs  are  like  jewels, 
the  work  of  an  artist's  hands. 

3  Thy  navel  is  a  round  bowl," 

let  not  mixed  wine  be  lacking!' 
thy  body  is  a  heap  of  wheat, 
set*  around  with  lilies. 

4  Thy  two  breasts  are  like  two  fawns, 

twins  of  a  gazelle. 

5  Thy  neck  like  a  tower  of  ivory, 

thy  eyes  like  pools  in  Heshbon 
at  the  gate  of  the  daughter  of  multitudes ; 
thy  nose  like  the  tower  of  Lebanon 
which  looks  toward  Damascus. 

6  Thy  head  upon  thee  like  Carmel," 

and  thy  flowing  locks  like  purple — 
a  king  fettered  by  curls !'" 

1  [Mat.  :  The  voice  of  the  synagogrue.  Cov.,  Mat.  :  Then  the  chariots  of  the  prince  of  my  people  made  me  enddenly 
afraid.  Cran.,  Bish.  :  I  Icnew  not  that  my  eoul  had  made  me  the  cliariot  of  the  people  that  be  under  tribute.  Dow. :  My 
Boul  troubled  me  for  the  chariota  of  Aminadab.  Genev.  :  I  knew  nothing,  my  soul  set  me  as  the  chariots  of  my  noble  people. 
Eng.Ver.  :  My  soul  made  me  like  the  chariots  of  Ammi-nadib ;  Marg.:  Set  me  on  the  chariota  of  my  willing  people.  Thrupp  : 
"All  translations  which  introduce  a  preposition  before  'the  chariots' — 'on,'  'to,*  'among,'  'on  account  of,'  etc.,  are 
grammatically  untenable."    He  renders:  my  soul  had  made  me  the  chariots  of  my  people  the  Freewilling.]    ''jnrDty    ^1!/3J 

limits  the  meaning  of  the  preceding  ^j^J^T'  K?,  though  there  is  no  necessity  of  supplying  ''3.    Tlie  relation  is  rather  such 

■  :  — T 
that  the  preceding  principal  clause  is  logically  subordinated  to  the  limiting  and  explanatory  clause  annexed  to  it.  and  thus 
yields  some  such  sonse  ad  "without  my  knowing  it,  unawares  my  desire,  eic;"  comp.  Job  ix.  5,  Isa.  xlvii.  11  as  well  as  HiTZ. 
and  Hengstenb. in  Joe,    ^\^Di — which  can  neither  be  the  object,  nor  in  apposition  with  the  subject  of  T^^T"  —might  it  is 

true,  have  the  sense  of  "I  myself"  (comp.  IIos.  ix.  4;  Job  ix.  21;  Ps.  iii.  3,  etc.),  but  as  the  subject  of  the  verb  ''JHOK'  oh- 

■   :  ~  T 
tains  the  sense  of  "  desire,  longing,"  which  is  attested  by  Gen.  xxiii.  8  ;  .Tob  xxiii.  13 ;  2  Kin.  ix.  15,  etc. 

2  [WiCL. :  The  voice  of  the  cliurch  to  the  faith  of  theneophyte.  Mat.  :  The  voice  of  the  church  calling  again  the  syna- 
gogue.] 

3  [WicL. :  The  voice  of  Christ  to  the  church,  of  the  synagogue.  Mat.  ;  Christ  to  the  synagogue.  What  pleasure  have 
ye  more  in  the  Shulamite  than  when  she  danceth  among  the  men  of  war?] 

4  pVlCL.,  Mat.  :  The  voice  of  Christ  to  the  church.     Mat.  :  0  how  pleasant  are  thy  treadings  with  thy  shoes. 

5  For   D^pl?3n  and  its  root  pDH  turn,  revolve,  see  on  v.  6,  and  for  DO'T'  thighs,  on  v.  16. 

6  [Thrupp:  Note  the  homceophony  in  the  Hebrew.]  inDH  MX  "bowl  of  roundness"  is  of  course  equivalent  to 
"  round  bowl,"  see  Ewald,  g  287  f.  [Green's  Heb.  Gram,  g  2.54,  6,  a]  The  root  *inD,  as  appears  from  the  Samaritan,  is  synony- 
mous with  "^nD  "  to  go  round,  surround ; "  comp.  on  the  one  hand  nlHO  "  shield,"  Ps.  xci.  14,  and  on  the  other  hand  "irlD 
caatle,  fortress,  tower ;  also  ?Tinty  " little  moon,"  and  the  Talmudic  IHO  wall,  fence. 

'       -:  -  TT    , 

'  [Wick.;  Never  needing  drink.  CoN.,  Mat.:  whichis  never  without  drink.  Dow.:  Never  wanting  cups.  E.  V.'  which 
wanteth  not  liquor.]  ^*  ** 

•  nJIO  Aramrcism  for  nj-lt^;  literally  "hedged  in  lilies." 

T  T 

5  [CrENRV. :  scarlet.    Eng.  Ver.  Marg.:  crimson.] 

10  D'tDHl  elsewhere  "  channels,  water-troughs  "  are  here  manifestly  the  flowing  ringlets  or  locks  of  her  hair,  comp.  the 
Lat.  cima  fivms.  [Gov.,  M  IT. :  like  the  king's  purple  folden  up  in  plates.  Cran.  :  like  purple  and  like  a  king  jroinc  forth 
with  his  guards  about  lum.  Dow.:  as  a  king's  purple  tied  to  water-pipes.  O'.nev.  :  the  king  istiodinthi-  rafters-  with  the 
rnarginiil  note  "  he  dellghtcth  to  come  near  thee  and  to  be  in  thy  company."  Exa.  Ver.  :  the  king  is  held  in  the'  irall  e-ipa. 
WORDSWORTU  :  the  king  is  bound  or  tied  at  the  water-troughs,  i.  e.  dispenses  grace  through  the  appointed  channels  i 


V.  2— VIII.  4.  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


99 


THIRD   SCENE: 

Solomon  and  Shulamith  (alone). 
(Chap.  VII.  7.— VIII.  4.) 

Solomon. 

7  How  fair  art  thou  and  how  comely, 

O  love,'  among  delights  !^ 

8  This  thy  stature  resembles  a  palm  tree, 

and  thy  breasts  clusters.' 

9  I*  resolve :  I  will  climb  the  palm, 

will  grasp  its  branches,' 

and*  be  thy  breasts,  please,  like  clusters  of  the  vine, 

and  the  breath  of  thy  nose'  like  apples, 

10  And  thy  palate*  like  the  best  wine 

Shulamith  (interrupting  him). 

—going'  down  for  my  beloved  smoothly,'" 
gliding  over  the  lips  of  sleepers. 

11  I  am  my  beloved's, 

and  for"  me  is  his  desire. 

12  Come,'^  my  beloved,  let  us  go  out  to  the  country," 

lodge  in  the  villages, 

13  Start  early'*  for  the  vineyards ; 

we  shall  see  whether  the  vine  has  sprouted, 

its  blossoms  opened,'^ 

the  pomegranates  flowered  .... 

there  will  I  give  thee  my  love.'* 

1  rWiCL. ;  Thou  most  dearworth.    Cot.,  Mat.  :  my  darling.    Genet.  ;  0  my  loTe.] 

2  [Thrupp,  who  is  quite  too  fond  of  ingenious  emendations :  "  0  daugliter  of  allurements.  We  may  follow  the  StMAC  and 
Aquila  in  dividing  the  D''J3^r\3  of  our  Hebrew  text  into  the  two  wordi  DUJl*   r\^."] 

8  [Cot.,  Mat.  :  like  the  grapes.] 

^    WicL. :  Christ  of  the  holy  cross  saith.    Mat.  :  The  spouse  speaking  of  the  cross.] 

5   'WlCL.,  Dow. :  fruits.] 

1    WicL. :  The  voice  of  Christ  to  the  church.    M.at.  :  The  spouse  to  the  spousess.] 

7  [WloL. :  The  smell  of  thy  mouth.  Dow. :  odor  of  thy  mouth.  CoT.,  Mat.  :  the  smell  of  thy  nostrils.  Genet.  :  the 
savor  of  thy  nose.] 

8  rWlOL.,  Cot.,  Mat.,  Dow. :  throat.    Cran.  :  jaws.    Bish.,  Genet.,  Ens.  Ver.  :  the  roof  of  thy  mouth.] 

"  [WicL. :  The  church  saith  of  Christ, — worthy  to  my  love  to  drink,  to  the  lips  and  to  the  teeth  of  him  to  chew.  Cot., 
Mat.  :  this  shall  be  pure  and  clear  for  my  love  ;  his  lips  and  teeth  shall  have  their  pleasure.  Cran.  :  which  goeth  straight 
unto  my  beloved  and  bursteth  forth  by  the  lips  of  the  ancient  elders.  BiSH.;  which  is  meet  for  my  best  beloved,  pleasant 
for  his  lips  and  for  his  teeth  to  chew.  Genet.  :  which  goeth  straight  to  my  well-beloved  and  causeth  the  lips  of  the  ancient  to 
speak.  Dow. ;  worthy  for  my  beloved  to  drink  and  for  his  lips  and  his  teeth  to  ruminate.  Eng.  Ver.  :  that  goeth  down 
sweetly  (Marg.  straightly)  causing  the  lips  of  those  that  are  asleep  {Marg.  the  ancient)  to  speak.  Thrupp  :  "In  so  difficult  a 
passage  some  variations  of  text  must  be  expected;  and  for  D^JIi''  ^HDIi'  'the  lips  of  the  sleepers,'  the  LXX,  Striac  and 
Aqdila  apparently  concur  in  reading  D^JK'T  "'H^Ii'  'my  lips  and  teeth  ; '  to  which  reading  the  versions  of  Symmachus  and 
Jerome  also  lend  partial  and  indirect  support.  It  has,  however,  the  disadvantage  of  being  ungrammatical,  the  true  Hebrew 
for '  my  lips  and  teeth '  being  "'JtJ'l  TIDK'-  Moreover,  the  received  text  is  decidedly  upheld  by  the  Targum,  and  yields  a 
more  appropriate  meaning."] 

i"  On  D'''1E'''dS  '^Vin  lit."goinga<;cordingtoevenness"(inan  even,  smooth  way)comp.  the  similar  D''TtJ'''D3  IjSnnn 

Prov.  xxiii.  31 ;  also  Isa.  viii.  6. 

11  On  ''^y=''^X  comp.  Prov.  xxix.  5  ;  Ps.  xxxvi.  3.    [WlOL.;  I  to  my  love  and  to  me  the  turning  of  him.    Dow.:  I  to 

my  beloved  and  his  turning  is  towards  me.  Cot  ,  Mat.,  Cran.  :  There  will  I  turn  me  unto  my  loTe,  and  he  shall  turn  him 
unto  me.    Bish.  :  I  am  my  beloTed's  and  he  shall  turn  him  unto  me.    Genet.:  I  am  my  well-beloved's  (End.  Ter.  :  beloved's) 

and  his  desire  is  toward  me.  Ginsburg  :  "  It  is  for  me  to  desire  him.   ^  7J7  lit.  on  me,  i.  e.  it  is  upon  me  as  a  duty,  thus  2  Sam. 

xviii.  11 ;  ProT.  Til.  14  "] 

'2  [WiCL.:  The  voice  of  the  church  to  Christ.  Mat.  :  The  church  speaking  to  Christ.] 

'3  On  mtyn  Sy  of  going  out  of  the  city  into  the  open  country  comp.  also  1  Sam.  xx.  6. 

"  "  To  start  early  (D'Styil)  for  the  vineyards  "  i.  e.  to  rise  early  and  go  to  them,  a  constr.  pra3gnans,  comp.  Ew.  §  282,  a 
[Green's  Biib.  Gram.  §  272,  3.  Wicl.  :  early  rise  we  to  the  vine.  Cov.,  Mat.:  in  the  morning  will  we  rise  betimes  and  go  see 
the  vineyard.] 

1'  The  Piel  nn3  ''  t"  ^^  taken  reflexively,  "  opened  themselves     (Dei.,  Hengstenb.,  Meier),  perhaps  also  inchoatively, 

"  whether  they  are  opening,  are  on  the  point  of  bursting  "  (Ew.,  Heiliost.,  Vaih.  etc.).    For  11D  p  comp.  on  ii.  13. 
'•  On  ■'lil-nX  IPX  comp.  Prov.  xxix.  17.  [WicL.  omits.  Cot.,  Mat.,  Cran.  Bish.,  my  breasts.] 


100 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


V.  2— VliL  4. 


14  The  mandrakes'  give  forth  their  odor, 

and  over  our  doors  are  all  sorts  of  excellent  fruit,' 
new  as  well  as  old, 

(which),  my  beloved,  I  have  laid  up  for  thee.' — 
Vni.  1  O*  that  thou  wert  as  a  brother  of  mine, 

who  sucked  the  breasts  of  my  mother  1 
should  I  find*  thee  without  I  would  kiss  thee, 
yet"  none  would  despise'  me. 

2  I  would  lead  thee,  bring  thee  to  my  mother's  house, 

thou^  wouldst  instruct  me ; 

I  would  give  thee  to  drink  of  the  spiced  wiae, 

of  my  pomegranate  juice. 

3  His  left  hand  is  under  my  head, 

and  his  right  embraces  me.' — 

4  P"  adjure  you,  ye  daughters  of  Jerusalem, 

that  ye  wake  not,  and  that  ye  waken  not 
love,  till  it  please. 

I  rWlCL. :  the  mandrakes  give  their  smell  in  our  gates.  All  apples  new  and  old,  my  love,  I  kept  to  thee.  Gov.,  Mat.  : 
there  shall  the  mandragoras  give  their  smell  lieside  our  doors ;  there,  0  my  love,  have  I  kept  unto  thee  all  manner  of  fruits 
both  new  and  old.] 

3  [Genev.:  All  sweet  things.]  ,        ,         ,_ 

3  This  laiit  clause  cannot  be  taken  as  an  independent  sentence  (Dopke,  Rosenm.,  Hknostenb.)  for  then  the  verb  would 
have  "new  fruit"  likewise  for  its  object.    "lli^X  must  be  supplied  and  the  resulting  relative  clause  must  only  be  connected 

with  the  last  predicate  Q^iW''  (correctly  Hliz.). 

<  [WiCL.,  M  IT.:  The  voice  of  the  patriarchs  speaking  of  Christ.  WiCL. :  Who  to  me  giveth  [Dow.  shall  give  to  me]  thee 
my  brotlier  sucking  the  teats  [Dow.  breasts]  of  my  mother,  that  I  find  thee  alone  without  forth  [Dow.  I  may  find  thee  with- 
out] and  kiss  thee.    Cov.,  Mvt.  :   0  that  I  might  lind  thee  without  and  kiss  thee,  whom  I   love  as  my  brother,  which 

sucked  my  mother's  breasts ;  and  that  thou  wouldst  not  be  offended  if  I  took  thee  and  brought  thee,  etc.  Cean.: and  that 

thou  shouldst  not  be  despised     I  will  lead  thee  and  bring  thee,  etc.] 

6  On  the  conditional  clause  without  DJ<,  and  with  nothing  to  mark  the  apodosis,  comp.  Hos.  viii.  12 ;  Prov.  xxiv.  10; 

Judg  xi.  36. 

"6  Qj  yet,  nevertheless,  see  Ew.  §  341,  a,  [Gesen.  Lex.  in  verb.] 

^  On  1^3  see  ver.  7  below,  Prov.  vi.  30.    Instead  of  ""^  me  some  inferior  MSS.  read  T^  thee,  which  however  seems  far 

less  appropriate,  and  has  doubtless  been  repeated  here  from  the  close  of  the  preceding  verse.    All  the  ancient  versions  read 

^S.    [Genev.;  they  should  not  despise  thee ;  Marg.  me]. 

»  [WicL.,  Dow.,  Gehbv.  :  Thou  Shalt  teach  me.  Gov.,  Mat.,  Cban.,  Bish.  :  that  thou  mightest  teach  me.  BK8.  Vee.: 
who  would  instruct  me.j 

0  This  exclamation  differs  from  that  in  il.  6,  with  which  in  other  respects  it  agrees  verbatim,  merely  in  the  omission  of 
S  after  nrilli  just  as  nnn  stands  alone  also  in  ver.5  b,  so  likewise  in  Ex.xxiv.  4;  xxxii.  19.  We  have  already  seen  vi.  3; 

iv.  1 ;  vii.  4,  etc.  that  the  poet  does  not  like  exact  verbal  repetitions  of  formulas  before  used. 

10  [WiCL.,  Mat.:  The  voice  of  Christ.]     Repeated  with  some  freedom  from  ii.  7 ;  iii.  5.     In  place  of  DX  there,  » 

prohibitory  HO  is  introduced  here  (see  EwALn,  g  325,  h,  comp.  also  on  v.  8  above)  [Ainsworth,  with  more  scrupulous  ad- 
herence to  the  form  of  the  Hebrew  expression ;  why  should  ye  stir,  and  why  should  ye  stir  up  the  love.]  And  by  omitting 
the  gazelles  and  hinds  of  the  field  as  well  as  contracting  V^HPtW  ~\^  into  one  word  by  means  of  Makkeph,  a  rhythmical 

reduction  of  the  whole  exclamation  to  a  verse  of  but  two  members  has  been  attained. 


EXEQETIOAL    AND    CRITICAL. 

1.  The  place  of  the  action  in  this  new  section 
is  without  doubt  the  same  as  in  the  foregoing  act. 
The  dialogue  with  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  (v. 
8,9,16;  vi.  1-8;  vii.  1);  the  mention  of  the 
"city"  and  the  "keepers  of  its  walls  "  in  this 
fresh  recital  of  a  dream  (v.  2-7)  which  reminds 
one  of  its  predecessor  (iii.  1-5);  the  "garden" 
of  Solomon,  to  which  he  has  gone  down,  vi.  2; 
finally  and  above  all  her  appeal  to  her  lover  to 
go  out  with  her  "to  the  country"  (vii.  12)  and 
to  the  house  of  his  chosen  one's  mother  (viii.  2), 
and  there  in  the  enjoyment  of  simple  country 
pleasures  to  become  to  her  "as  a  brother  who 
had  sucked  the  breasts  of  her  mother"  (viii.  1) ; 
all  this  points  to  the  king's  palace  at  Jerusalem 
as  the  scene,  and  more  probably  to  some  room  in 
this  palace,  th,an  to   "contiguous  grounds"    or 


"  the  royal  gardens,"  as  is  thought  by  Delitzsoh. 
The  room  in  the  palace  on  Zion,  which,  according 
to  scene  2  of  the  foregoing  act,  was  used  for  the 
marriage  feast,  may  very  well  be  the  one  in  which 
the  whole  of  the  present  act  was  performed  ;  for 
there  is  no  indication  any  where  of  a  change  of 
scene,  not  even  between  vii.  1  and  2,  or  between 
vers.  6  and  7  of  the  same  chapter  (vs.  Del.). — 
The  time  of  the  action  is  determined  by  its  char- 
acteristic contents  to  have  been  some  days  or 
weeks  later  than  the  wedding  festivities  described 
in  act  third.  For  the  relation  of  love  so  pure  and 
happy  at  the  beginning  has  since  suffered  certain 
checks  and  interruptions,  which  reveal  them- 
selves on  the  part  of  Shulamith  at  least  by  various 
symptoms  of  uneasiness,  nay,  of  sadness  and  de- 
jection, without  her  betraying,  however,  that 
she  has  been  at  all  wounded  or  actually  injured 
by  her  husband.  The  dream,  which  she  tells  her 
companions  at  the  beginning  of  the  section  that 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


101 


Bhe  has  very  recently  had  in  the  night,  begins 
exactly  like  the  preceding,  and  runs  on  partly  in 
the  same  way.  Ii  does  not,  however,  end  as  that 
does  in  a  bright  and  joyous  manner,  but  with 
pain  and  fright.  Seeking  her  beloved  by  night, 
she  not  only  fails  to  find  him — she  is  beaten  and 
robbed  by  the  watchmen!  Her  gloomy  misgiving 
in  respect  to  the  unfaithfulness  of  her  lover,  ex- 
pressed in  her  apprehension  that  she  might  soil 
her  feet  again,  which  had  just  been  washed  (v. 
3,  see  in  loc),  proves  to  be  only  too  correct,  and 
drives  her  therefore  with  an  anxious  and  trou- 
bled heart  to  have  it  said  to  her  lover,  who  has 
actually  forsaken  her  for  a  time,  "  that  she  is  sick 
of  love  " — of  loving  solicitude  about  his  heart 
partially  averted  and  alienated  from  her  (v.  8) ! 
She  expresses  this  solicitude,  it  is  true,  not  by 
open  complaint ;  on  the  contrary,  in  what  follows 
she  sedulously  avoids  dropping  any  thing  to  the 
disadvantage  of  her  husband  in  the  hearing  of  the 
ladies  of  the  court  (v.  10-16),  she  apologizes  for 
his  leaving  her  by  the  harmless  assumption  that 
he  may  have  gone  "to  feed  in  the  gardens  and  to 
gather  lilies,"  vi.  2,  and  only  inserts  in  her  ex- 
clamation at  the  close  an  allusion  indicative  of 
painlul  longing  in  respect  to  the  way  that  she 
wishes  to  be  and  to  remain  her  beloved's,  viz., 
that  he  should  now  as  formerly  "  feed  among  the 
lilies,"  that  he  should  be  and  remain  a  guileless, 
pure  and  simple-hearted  country  lover  (vi.  8) ! — 
When,  therefore,  Solomon  himself  returns  to  her 
after  a  considerable  absence,  the  manifestations 
of  her  partial  dissatisfaction  with  him  assume  a 
somewhat  altered  form.  She  regards  him  gravely 
and  sternly,  and  thus  leads  him  in  the  picture  of 
her  beauty  and  loveliness,  which,  full  of  ecstacy, 
he  again  begins  to  sketch  (vi.  4  ff.;  comp.  iv.  1  ff. ) 
to  introduce  some  allusions  to  her  "  terribleness  " 
(vi.  4,  10),  as  well  as  to  the  effect  of  the  glance 
of  her  eyes  (vi.  6  a),  which  "  overcome "  or 
"dismay"  him.  The  spirited  statement  of  the 
prior  rank  accorded  to  her  above  all  his  wives 
and  virgins,  into  which  this  description  finally 
passes  (vi.  8-10),  she  leaves  wholly  unnoticed ; 
nay,  she  answers  it  with  a  description  of  what 
she  once  did  and  was  engaged  in,  when  a  simple 
country  maid  in  happier  circumstances,  and  with 
more  agreeable  surroundings  (vi.  11),  and  there- 
upon she  gives  him  plainly  enough  to  understand 
that  the  elevation  bestowed  upon  her  in  conse- 
quence of  her  love  "to  the  state-carriages  of  her 
people,  the  noble,"  i.  e.  to  the  highest  rank 
among  the  nobles  of  her  people,  had  also  led  to 
her  being  painfully  undeceived  (vi.  12).  She 
even  wishes  to  escape  from  the  society  of  the  vo- 
luptuous ladies  of  the  court,  which  has  become 
irksome  to  her,  and  she  is  induced  to  return  and 
remain,  not  so  much  by  their  urgent  entreaties 
and  representations  (vii.  1)  as  simply  and  alone 
by  her  unconquerable  love  to  Solomon,  whom  she 
hopes  finally  to  free  from  his  corrupt  surround- 
ings and  to  gain  wholly  for  herself  and  for  the 
purer  pleasures  of  her  life  at  home. — To  the  new 
and  exaggerated  laudation  of  her  charms,  in 
which  her  lover  hereupon  indulges  (vii.  2  ff.)  she 
listens  in  silence  ;  as  in  one  place  at  least  they 
offend  against  the  rules  of  modesty  (vii.  3),  she 
deigns  not  to  answer.  Not  until  the  other  ladies 
had  left  her  alone  with  Solomon,  does  she  venture 
to  open  her  heart  to  him  and  to  give  free  expres-  j 


sion  to  her  longing  desire,  which  has  been  most 
strongly  aroused,  to  return  to  her  home  and  to 
have  her  lover  changed  from  a  voluptuous  servant 
of  sin  to  an  innocent  child  of  nature  like  herself. 
She  does  this  by  interrupting  (vii.  10)  the  fond 
language  of  her  husband  just  where  it  had  be- 
come most  urgent  and  tender,  and  chiming  in 
with  what  had  been  begun  by  him.  With  extra- 
ordinary address  and  delicacy  she  first,  as  it 
were,  disarms  and  fetters  him  (vii.  10,  11)  and 
then  brings  her  desire  before  him  with  such  over- 
powering force  and  urgency  that  refusal  is  im- 
possible, and  he  is  borne  along  as  on  the  wings 
of  the  wind  by  her  pure  love,  which  triumphs 
thus  over  the  enticements  and  temptations  of  his 
court  (vii.  12  ff.).  He  need  not  utter  a  word  of 
express  consent  to  her  request ;  she  has  him  com- 
pletely in  her  power,  and  as  he  has  just  called 
himself  "  a  king  fettered  by  her  locks  "  (vii.  6), 
she  but  briefly  refers  to  the  fact,  that  his  whole 
desire  is  toward  her  (vii.  116),  that  "his  left 
arm  is  under  her  head,  and  his  right  embraces 
her  "  (viii.  3),  and  then  leaves  the  scene  on  the 
arm  of  her  beloved  with  that  exclamation  twice 
before  uttered  to  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem 
(viii.  4),  and  which  this  time  has  the  force  of 
farewell  advice.* 


*  [That  Solomon  had  given  Shulamith  any  occasion  for 
disquietude,  or  that  her  pain  at  liis  absence  arone  from  a  auB- 
jjiciun  of  the  constancy,  warmth  or  purity  of  his  affection,  is 
the  merest  tigment  williout  the  eliadow  of  a  foundation  in 
the  language  of  the  Song.  Solomon  is  Shulamith's  ideal  as 
she  is  his.  She  does  not  utter  one  word  of  complaint  to  oth- 
ers or  of  reproach  to  him.  There  is  nothing  to  imply  that  in 
her  IBOSt  secret  thoughts  she  cen*-ures  him  for  an  ahsence 
which  U  intolerable  to  her.  As  far  as  there  is  any  blame  ia 
the  case,  she  casts  it  upon  her  own  drowsy  sluggishness, 
which  forbore  to  open  to  him  promptly  and  grant  him  the 
admission  that  he  sought.  Even  this,  however,  occurring  aa 
it  did  in  a  dream,  seems  to  be  told  not  so  much  in  a  spirit  of 
velf-reproach  as  to  demonstrate  that  she  was  "sick  of  love." 
She  longs  for  her  beloved  every  monieut,  and,  sleeping  or 
waking,  he  is  ever  in  her  thoughts,  and  she  is  uneasy  and 
restless  when  he  is  not  by  her  side.  But  her  confidence  is 
unabated  that  she  is  her  beloved's  and  her  beloved  is  hers, 
vi.  3.  Her  language  respecting  him  is  that  of  affectionate 
admiration,  v.  10,  ate.,  and  his  to  her  is  that  of  the  most  ten- 
der fondness,  vi.  4,  etc.  There  has  been  a  brief  separation,  but 
there  is  nothing  to  indicate  so  much  as  a  momentary  estrang&- 
ment  on  her  part  or  on  his. 

The  current  allegorical  interpretations  seem  here  to  be  at 
fault  in  one  direction  as  much  as  that  of  Zocklee  errs  in  the 
other.  The  image  of  ideal  love  presented  in  the  Song  should 
not  be  marred  by  the  untimely  introduction  of  any  thing 
outride  of  itself,  whether  the  sins  and  inconsistencies  of  the 
church  or  of  believing  souls  on  the  one  hand,  or  the  actual 
historicdl  character  of  Solomon  as  learned  from  Kings  and 
Chronicles  on  the  other.  We  are  not  at  liberty  to  put  con- 
straint upon  the  language  here  employed  for  the  sake  of 
making  the  bride  mirror  forth  the  deficiencies  of  the  Churcli 
or  of  preserving  the  consistency  of  Solomon's  character  as 
represented  here  with  all  that  is  recorded  ot  him  elsewhere. 

The  bride  supplies  an  emblem  of  devoted  attachment  and 
faithful  love,  which  is  to  be  set  before  the  Church  aa  the  ideal 
towards  which  she  should  tend,  and  after  which  she  should 
aspire  and  struggle,  rather  than  as  a  picture  which  has  been 
or  is  realized  in  her  actual  life.  It  is  a  bride  loving,  longing 
for,  delighting  in  her  lord,  but  conscious  of  no  unfaithfulness 
on  her  part  and  suspecting  none  on  his. 

And  the  bridegroom  is  equally  removed  from  any  charge 
of  inconstancy.  The  military  metaphor  of  vl.  4,  5,  to  which 
ZocKLER  appeals,  is  not  suggestive  ot  frowns  or  of  displeasure 
any  more  than  iv.  4  or  the  strong  language  of  iv.  9.  It  is  her 
incomparable  charms,  the  batteries  of  beauty  and  of  love 
which  assault  him  with  such  resistless  energy  that  he  pleads 
for  quarter.  Nor  is  there  any  foundation  for  the  desire  at- 
tribiiteil  to  Shulamith  to  escape  from  S'lomon's  court  or  to 
kave  him  forsake  it  on  account  of  its  presumed  excesses.  It 
certainly  cannot  be  deduced  from  langua^ie  which  simply 
expresses  an  exquisite  deligiit  in  natural  objects,  and  a  wish 
to  eujoy  them  in  the  company  of  her  beloved,  and  to  possess 
the  opportunity  which  would  thus  be  afforded  for  uninter- 
rupted and  unrestricted  converse.  The  language  of  the  bride 


102 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


V.  2— VIII.  4 


2.  The  sketch  here  given  of  the  inner  progress 
of  the  action  in  the  course  of  this  act  departs  in 
several  important  particulars  from  the  view  of 
the  later  interpreters ;  but  it  appear.s  to  us  to  be 
the  only  one  which  corresponds  with  the  lan- 
guage and  the  design  of  the  poet.  It  is  princi- 
pally distinguished  from  the  view  of  Delitzsoh, 
which  approaches  it  most  nearly,  by  its  taking 
the  "little  disturbances"  and  troubles  in  the 
life  of  the  newly  married  pair,  which  this  scholar 
also  af&rms,  to  be  more  serious  and  real,  and  not 
restricting  them  for  instance  barely  to  the  tragic 
contents  of  that  story  of  her  dream  (v.  2-7)  but 
letting  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  chaste  bride 
■with  the  voluptuous  conduct  of  the  king  and  his 
court  come  properly  forward  as  the  actual  cause 
of  the  clouded  horizon  of  their  married  state. 
Our  view  too  repels  the  assumption  shared  by 
Delitzsoh  with  several  recent  commentators,  but 
destitute  of  proof,  that  the  description  of  Shula- 
mith's  charms  contained  in  vii.  2  ff.  was  occa- 
sioned by  a  "country- dance"  which  she  was 
executing  before  him  and  the  ladies  of  the  court, 
— a  hypothesis  dubious  in  every  point  of  view, 
and  upon  which  Shulamith's  character  could 
scarcely  be  freed  from  moral  taint  (for  the  dance 
in  question,  the  "dance  of  Mahanaim"  can 
scarcely  be  conceived  of  as  other  than  an  unchaste 
pantomime) ;  and  from  this  it  would  be  but  a 
single  step  to  the  notion  of  Renan  that  Solomon 
in  this  passage  describes  the  charms  of  a  danseuse 
of  the  harem,  or  to  the  similar  one  of  Hitzig, 
that  the  king  is  here  "cooing  round  a  concubine." 
Finally  our  view  differs  in  one  point  at  least  from 
that  of  Delitzsoh  in  respect  to  the  division  into 
scenes,  inasmuch  as  it  rejects  the  opening  of  a 
new  scene  or  even  act  after  vi.  9  (comp.  in  loc, 
as  well  as  the  Introduction,  §  2,  Rem.  2),  and 
consequently  takes  the  whole  to  be  one  act  with 
three  scenes,  of  which  the  first  extends  to  vi.  3; 
the  second  to  vii.  tj;  and  the  third  from  that  to 
viii.  4.  Against  the  assumption  of  a  point  of  di- 
vision after  vii.  6  it  has  often  indeed  been  urged 
(see  e.g.  Ew.,  Hitz.,  Weissb.,  and  Hengstenb. 
too)  that  the  passage  vii.  2-10  forms  a  con- 
tinuous description  of  the  beauties  of  the  beloved, 
beginning  with  her  feet  and  ending  with  her  nose 
and  palate.  But  with  the  more  general  exclama- 
tion vii.  7,  "  How  fair  and  how  delightful  art 
thou,  0  Love,  among  the  joys!"  this  description 
evidently  assumes  an  entirely  different  character 
from  that  it  had  before  in  vers.  2-6,  where  the  in- 
dividual members  are  enumerated  very  much 
as  had  been  done  previously  (iv.  1-3  and  vi.  6-7) 
only  in  inverted  order,  and  certain  comparisons 
are  instituted  with  them.  And  what  Shulamith 
says  to  her  lover  (vii.  10  ff.)  in  the  closest  con- 
nection with  the  second  description  (or  rather 
interrupting  it  and  proceeding  of  her  own  mo- 
tion), is  of  such  a  nature  that  it  can  scarcely  be 
conceived  of  as  spoken  in  the  presence  of  the 
"daughters  of  Jerusalem,"  who  had  been  present 


before.  On  which  account  Delitzsch's  assump- 
tion that  a  new  scene  begins  with  vii.  7,  does  not 
in  fact  deserve  so  unceremonious  an  epithet  as 
that  of  '•  purely  gratuitous,"  which  Hitzig  be- 
stows upon  it.  The  assumption  of  Hitz.,  Bott- 
CHEE,  Een.  and  Hengsteneebg  that  a  new  scene 
does  not  begin  until  vii.  12,  might  with  equal 
propriety  be  denominated  gratuitous ;  and  so 
might  many  other  modes  of  division  which  differ 
from  ours,  e.  g.,  that  followed  by  Ewald,  Dopke, 
Bottoher,  Hitz.,  Hengstenb.,  etc.,  and  in  gen- 
eral by  most  of  the  recent  writers  according 
to  which  a  new  scene  opens  with  vii.  2;  that  of 
Vaih.  and  others  (particularly  the  older  writers) 
which  begins  this  new  scene  with  vii.  1  ;  the 
assertion  of  Ewald  that  vi.  10 — vii.  1  is  a  dia- 
logue between  the  ladies  of  the  court  and  Shula- 
mith which  is  repeated  by  Solomon,  etc.  The 
question  as  to  the  beginning  and  end  of  the 
scenes  in  this  act  moreover  appears  to  be  of 
little  consequence,  inasmuch  as  the  locality  of 
the  action,  as  has  been  before  shown,  does  not 
change.*  The  only  matters  involved  are  1)  an 
entrance  at  vi.  4  of  Solomon,  who  had  not  been 
present  before  and  2)  an  exit  or  retirement  of  the 
chorus  in  the  neighborhood  of  vii.  6,  or  vii.  11. 
And  this  retirement  of  the  chorus  is  furthermore, 
as  is  shown  by  the  epiphonema  viii.  4,  probably 
not  to  be  conceived  of  as  a  total  disappearance 
but  simply  as  a  withdrawal  to  the  background,  as 
toward  the  end  of  Act  first  (see  above,  p.  62). 

3.  Scene  first  a.  Shulamith's  story  or  hek 
DREAM,  v.  2-8. — This  like  the  similar  passage  iii. 
1-5  must  be  a  dream,  which  Shulamith  had  had 
shortly  before,  and  which  she  now  relates  as 
indicative  of  the  state  of  her  mind.  In  opposi- 
tion to  the  opinion  that  Shulamith  is  relating  a 
real  outward  occurrence  (DiiPKB,  Hahn,  Weissb., 
etc.)  maybe  urged  both  the  analogy  of  that  prior 
passage  and  that  such  an  affair  is  inconceivable 
in  the  history  of  Solomon's  love  to  Shulamith. 
It  would  have  conflicted  with  decorum  for  that, 
which  is  narrated  in  vs.  2-5,  to  have  actually 
taken  place;  and  for  the  favorite  of  the  king  to 
have  been  beaten  and  robbed  by  the  city  nightwatch 
as  is  related  ver.  7,  would  form  the  non plus  ultra 
of  historical  improbability.  Besides  the  vision- 
ary character  of  the  experience  described  ii! 
indicated  not  only  by  the  introductory  words, 
when  correctly  explained,  "  I  was  sleeping  but 
my  heart  was  waking,"  but  also  by  several 
characteristic  particulars,  as  ver.  3  and  6. 

Ver.  2.  I  was  sleeping  but  my  heart  Twas 
waking. — Hitzig  adduces  a  striking  parallel  to 
the  thought  that  in  a  dream  the  heart  or  spirit 
is  awake,  while  the  rest  of  the  person  sleeps, 
from  Cic.  de  divin.  I.  30:  "jacet  corpus  dormientit 
ut  mortui,  viget  antem  et  vivit  animus,"  Weiss- 
bach's  objections  (p.  211)  to  this  parallel  as  in- 
admissible amount  to  nothing.  Comp.  F.  Splitt- 
gebber,  Schlaf  und  Tod,  nebst  den  damit  zu.ia7n- 
menh'dngendcn Erscheinungen  des Seelenlebens  (Halle, 
1866),  p.  37flF.,  espec.  p.  43:  "The  soul  is  still 
in  the  body  during  sleep,  though  freer  from 
it  than  in  the  state  of  wakefulness.  It  is  in  a 
condition    of  inner    self-collection   and   conoen- 


Tii.  11, 12  is  entirely  parallel  to  ii.  10-13  in  the  mouth  of  her 

lover.  And  the  indelicacy  alleged  in  vii.  2  is  not  in  the  pure  lan- 

gujige  of  the  song,  nor  in  the  chaste  and  beautiful  emblems  em- 

iiloypfl.  but  must  be  wholly  charged  to  the  account  of  mal-inter- 

lu-ciation     Commentators  of  what  our  author  justly  terms  the  ■         .        .  j         >        . 

luolline-erotic  class  have  put  their  own  offensive  glosses  upon:  I  rati  on  in  order  that  it  may  afterwards   operate 

this  Song ;  and  some  devout  and  evangelical  interpreters  have  I  ~ . _ 

unfortunately  made  concessions  which  the  facts  of  the  case  do  *  [The  difficulty  of  finding  a  suitable  beginning  and  close 
not  warrant.  I'here  is  not  the  slightest  taint  of  impurity  or  im-  for  these  divisions  suggests  a  doubt  of  their  certainty,  or  at 
modesty  to  be  found  in  any  portion  of  this  elegant  lyric— Tn.]  j  least  of  their  importance. — ^Te.] 


V.  2— via.  4. 


THE  SONG  OP  SOLOMON. 


103 


with  the  greater  force  upon  the  course  of  things 
around  it  in  its  particular  sphere  of  life."  And 
p.  71,  "  The  soul  sinks  down  in  sleep  to  its  in- 
nermost life-hearth,  and  loses  itself  there  in  that 
potential     self-consciousness,    which    forms    the 

proper    essential    quality    of    our  spirits ;  

whilst  in  dreams  it  lifts  itself  to  a  comparatively 
higher  region,  that  of  the  dawning  conscious- 
ness, as  it  were,  a  region  which  stands  consid- 
erably nearer  the  surface  of  the  outward  life  and 
the  daily  consciousness,  which  moves  upon  it,  and 
whose  images  therefore  leave  behind  more  impres- 
sive traces  in  our  memory,  which  extend  into 
our  waking  moments."  Hence  Goschel  not 
incorrectly  remarks:  "If  sleep  is  to  be  con- 
ceived of  as  depression,  (icara^opn),  dreaming  is 
elevation  (avafofid),"  From  this  statement  also 
it  further  appears   why  the  view  maintained  by 

Geot.  and  Dopke,  that  tj;  '^Sl  njtj'  'JN  denotes 
a  condition  midway  between  sleep  and  wakeful- 
ness, a  semi-sleep,  is  superfluous  ;  an  opinion  by 
the  way,  which  has  the  meaning  of  the  words 
against  it,  for  "  I  slept"  is  not  the  same  thing 
as  "I  was  half  asleep."  The  heart  stands  here 
in  its  customary  0.  Test,  sense  of  the  centre  and 
organ  of  the  entire  life  of  the  soul,  not  barely 
for  the  intellectual  faculties  of  the  soul,  the 
region  of  thought,  as  Hitzig  maintains.  Comp. 
further  on  Prov.  ii.  10  (in  this  commentary.) — ■ 
Hark,  my  beloved  is  knocking :  Open  to 
me,  my  sister,  my  dear,  my  dove,  my  per- 
fect. Compared  with  the  similar  passage  ii.  8 
this  fond  quadruple  address  shows  a  considerable 
advance  in  the  relation  between  the  loving  pair. 
The  predicate  "  my  fair  one,"  which  there  stands 
with  "my  dear"  is  here  wholly  wanting,  and  is 
supplied  by  the  more  intimate  "my  sister," 
which  since  Shulamith's  marriage  had  become 
the  common  pet  name,  by  which  Solomon  called 
her  (see  iv.  9,  10,  12,  v.  1).  He  had  it  is  true  al- 
ready said  "my  dove"  to  her  before  their  nup- 
tials (ii.  14,  comp.  again  vi.  9) ;  but  "  my 
perfect "  is  an  entirely  new  appellation  (comp. 
likewise  again  vi.  9),  which  it  is  likely  was  first 
adopted  after  their  marriage,  and  by  which  Solo- 
mon probably  designed  to  express  her  innocence 
and  purity  (nsn  perfect,  integra)  in  contrast 
with  the  character  of  his  other  wives,  who  were 
not  so  perfect  and  pure.  For  he  can  scarcely  have 
employed  this  appellation  unmeaningly,  as  "my 
angel"  among  us  {vs.  Dopke  and  Hitz.),  [nor 
can  it  mean  as  Thbupp  alleges  "mine  perfectly 
or  entirely."] — For  my  head  is  filled  with 
dew,  my  locks  with  drops  of  the  night. 
The  copiousness  of  the  nightly  fall  of  dew  in 
Palestine  is  attested  also  by  the  well-known  his- 
tory of  Gideon's  fleece,  Judg.  vi.  88;  comp.  also 
Ps.  ox.  3;  2  Sam.  xvii.  12;  Mic.  v.  6;  Bar.  ii.  25. 
That  Shulamith  sees  her  lover  come  to  her  win- 
dow dripping  with  the  dew  of  the  night,  and 
chilly  tod  in  consequence,  miglit  seem  to  imply 
that  she  thought  of  him  as  a  shepherd,  who  as 
aypavlav  "abiding  in  the  field"  (Lukeii.  8)  had 
had  to  endure  wet  and  cold,  and  hence  had  sought 
shelter  in  her  dwelling.  But  to  explain  that 
representation  it  is  sufficient  to  assume  that  the 
first  half  of  her  dream  (vers.  2-4)  transports  her 
back  to  her  home,  or  in  other  words  that  now  in 
her  dream,  as  she  had  done  before  when  awake 


(see  i.  7;  ii.  16;  iv.  6)  she  transfers  her  lover 
without  more  ado  from  the  sphere  of  royalty  to 
that  of  a  shepherd's  life.  That  in  the  latter  half 
of  her  dream  (vers.  6,  7)  she  thinks  of  him  again 
as  living  in  the  city,  and  herself  too  as  wandering 
about  in  the  city  looking  for  him,  is  a  feature  of 
the  most  delicate  psychological  truth,  which  has 
its  analogue  in  the  story  of  her  previous  dream, 
iii    1-4. 

Ver.  8.  I  have  taken  oflf  my  dress.  'JIJHS 
lit.,  "my  tunic,  my  under  garment."  She  here 
too  thinks  herself  back  again  in  her  former  hum- 
ble circumstances,  where  she  commonly  wore 
nothing  but  a  tunic,  ;t:(T(ii'  (comp.  Ex.  xxii.  25  f. ; 
2  Sam.  xiii.  18,  also  Mark  vi.  9,)  and  consequent- 
ly in  the  night  was  entirely  unclothed  with  the 
exception  of  the  warm  covering  or  upper  gar- 
ment (nSnto,  Ex.  ibid..  Gen.  ix.  23;  Deut.  xxii. 
17)  under  which  she  slept. — I  have  washed 
my  feet:  how  shall  I  soil  them?  This  is 
again  another  particular  referring  back  to  her 
former  scanty  mode  of  life  in  the  country.  She 
did  not  then  wear  the  shoes,  which  since  her 
elevation  to  be  a  prince's  daughter  (vii.  2)  she 
was  now  obliged  to  wear:  on  the  contrary  she 
ordinarily  went  barefoot  in  the  house  and  in  its 
immediate  vicinity,  except  in  long  walks  in  the 
country  when  she  wore  sandals,  (comp.  Am.  ii.  6, 
viii.  B;  Deut.  xxix.  4;  Josh.  ix.  5).  Hence  the 
feet  washed  before  going  to  bed  might  easily  get 
dirty  again  on  the  floor  of  the  house.  The  soil- 
ing of  the  feet  is  in  the  religious  and  ethical 
region  a  symbol  of  moral  contamination  from  the 
petty  transgressions  of  every-day  life  (John  xiii. 
10) ;  and  in  the  figurative  language  of  dreams  it 
is  a  well-known  symbol  of  moral  defilement  re- 
proved by  the  conscience  and  accompanied  with 
shame,  comp.  (Schubeet,  Symbolik  des  Traums, 
Sd  edit.  p.  18,  Splittbebgeb,  ibid.  p.  128  ff.*). 
It  is  therefore  from  going  out  to  her  lover,  this 
symbol  of  more  intimate  and  enduring  intercourse 
with  him,  that  she  apprehends  the  soiling  of 
her  feet.  Hence  the  objections  which  she  makes 
to  complying  with  his  request,  and  the  cold,  al- 
most indifferent,  if  not  exactly  "rude"  (Del.) 
tone  of  her  answer. f 

Ver.  4.  My  beloved  extended  his  hand 
through  the  w^indow^.  ^l^^~[0  lit.,  from 
the  hole,  J  i.  e.,  through  the  latticed  window  (for 
that  is  certainly  what  is  intended  here,  as  ap- 
pears from  ii.  9,  not  a  mere  opening  in  the  wall 
as   Hitz.    supposes)    and   from   it   toward   me.  J 


*  A  marked  instance  of  this  is  to  be  found  in  the  well- 
known  dream  of  the  youthful  Ansgar  at  Corbie,  of  the  broad 
morass,  which  prevented  him  from  coming  to  his  mother  and 
other  pious  women,  whom  he  saw  in  the  company  of  the 
blessed  virgin  on  a  delightful  road,  comp.  A.  Tappehorn,  Lehen 
des  li^l.  Ansgae,  Apostels  Van  Dantmark,  etc.  Munst.  1863,  p. 
69  f.  RiMBERT.  Vda  S.  Ansgarii,  c.  2,  in  Pertz,  Monum. 
Germaniffl  Tom.  II.  p.  690. 

f  [BuRROWES  states  the  true  sense  much  more  simply  and 
correctly :  "  These  words  mean,  that  as  the  bride  had  retired 
to  rest,  she  could  not  put  herself  to  the  trouble  of  arising 
even  to  let  in  the  beloved."] 

X  [Not  "  withdrew  his  hand  from  the  hole,"  a  rendering 
mentioned  by  AiNswoRTH,  disapproved  by  Williams,  and 
adopted  by  BuRROWES  and  GiNSBURG  ] 

g  [Percy :  "It  was  the  ancient  custom  to  secure  the  door 
of  a  house  by  a  cross  bar  or  bolt ;  which  at  night  was  fastened 
with  a  little  button  or  pin.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  door 
waa  left  a  round  hole,  through  which  any  person  from  with- 
out might  thrust  his  arm,  and  remove  the  bar,  unless  this 
additional  security  were  superadded."    Thrupp  :  "The  hole 


104 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON 


V.  2— vin.  4. 


This  gesture  of  extending  (U'l^)  the  hand  in 
does  not  signify  his  intention  to  climb  in  through 
the  window  (Hitz.),  nor  his  desire  to  gain  access 
by  forcibly  breaking  a  hole  through  the  wall 
(Hengstenbeeg  after  Ezek.  viii.  7,  8)  [so 
Woedswoeth],  but  is  rather  the  expression  of 
an  urgent  request  to  be  admitted.^  The  cus- 
tomary gesture  of  a  petitioner  is,  it  is  true  that 
of  spreading  forth  his  hands  rD3  iJ''13  (Ex.  ix. 
29-31,  etc.)  But  this  could  not  be  done  in  the 
present  instance  on  account  of  the  amallness  of 
the  window  and  the  darkness  of  the  night,  and 
would  besides  have  been  unsuitable  in  relation 
to  his  beloved,  for  everywhere  else  it  appears 
only  as  a  usage  in  prayer.  He  must  here,  there- 
fore, in  craving  admission  adopt  a  gesture,  which 
would  at  the  same  time  express  his  longing  to  be 
united  with  his  beloved  (comp.  Del.  and  Weissb. 
,„  loc.) — And  I  was  inwardly  excited  over 
him;  lit.,  "my  bowels*  were  agitated,  sounded 
over  him" — which  according  to  Jer.  xxxi,  20; 
Isa.  xvi.  11;  Ixiii.  15  is  equivalent  to  "I  felt  a 
painful  sympathy  for  him."  This  was  of  course 
because  she  had  let  him  stand  out  in  the  wet  and 

cold.  According  to  the  reading  ''Tp  (so  the  so- 
called  Erfurt  Ms.,  see  de  Rossi  in  loc  )  the 
feeling  expressed  would  be  regret  instead  of 
pity:  "  my  bowels  were  agitated  on  me"  (i.  e.  in 
me,  or  over  me,  on  my  account — comp.  Hitz.  and 
Ew.  in  loc.)  But  this  slenderly  attested  reading 
appears  to  have  crept  into  the  text  from  Ps.  xlii. 
6,  12,  and  for  this  reason  to  deserve  no  attention. 
Ver.  5.  TJp  I  rose  to  open  to  my  beloved. 
'JX  stands  after  'POP  without  special  emphasis, 
according  to  the  more  diffuse  style  of  speaking 
among  the  people.  So  Hitz.  no  doubt  correctly, 
whilst  Weissb.,  is  certainly  far  astray  in  assert- 
ing that  Shulamith  means  by  this  'JX  to  empha- 
size "her  entire  person  in  contrast  with  any 
particular  parts. "f  And  my  hands  dropped 
with  myrrh  and  my  fingers  with  liquid 
myrrh  upon  the  handle  of  the  bolt.  That 
is  to  say,  as  my  hands  touched  the  handle  of  the 
bolt  (or  lock  on  the  door  of  the  house)  in  order 
to  shove  it  back  and  open  it,  they  dropped,  etc. 
^i|j;]!3n  niiJ3  7^.  whose  genuineness  Meiee 
suspects  without  any  reason,  plainly  shows  that 
the  dropping  of  myrrh  did  not  proceed  from 
Shulamith's  anointing  herself,  as  she  rose  and 
dressed,  (as  Magn.  and  Weissb.  imagine)  [so  too 
Bceeowes],  but  from  the  fact  that  her  lover  had 
taken  hold  of  the  door  on  the  outside  with  pro- 
fusely anointed  hands,  and  so  had  communicated 


the  fluid  unguent  of  myrrh  to  the  bolt  inside  like- 
wise.* This  might  have  resulted  from  the  unguent 
tlowing  in  from  the  outer  lock  through  the  key- 
hole (Hitz.),  or  some  drops  of  myrrh  from  the 
hand  of  her  lover  inserted  through  the  hole 
above  the  door,  might  have  trickled  down  upon 
the  inner  look,  which  was  directly  beneath  (Del). 
Too  accurate  an  explanation  of  the  affair  seems 
inadmissible  from  the  indefinite  dreamlike  char- 
acter of  the  whole  narrative.  But  at  any  rate 
an  anointing  of  the  outer  lock  of  the  door 
by  the  lover  on  purpose  is  not  to  be  thought 
of  (with  Less.,  Dopke,  Ew.,  Vaih.,  etc.) 
because  though  classic  parallelsf  may  be 
adduced  for  this  "silent  homage  of  love," 
none  can  be  brought  from  oriental  antiquity. 
— "tZSil  11D  is  not  "  overflowing  myrrh,"J  i.  e., 
dealt  out  in  copious  abundance  (Ew.),  but  myrrh 
exuding  or  flowing  out  of  itself  in  contrast  with 
that  which  is  solidified  and  gum-like,  a/ivpva 
cTaavfj  in  contrast  with  Cji.  ■kTmotti  (Theophr. 
Hist.  Plant.  9,  4) ;  comp.  "I'lTI  "ID  Ex.  xxx.  23, 
as  well  as  above  on  i.  13. 

Ver.  6.  I  opened  to  my  beloved,  comp.  ou 
5  a. — And  my  beloved  had  turned  away, 
w^as  gone.  My  soul  failed  w^hen  he  spoke. 
That  is,  before,  when  he  was  speaking  to  me 
through  the  window  (vers.  2,  4),  my  breath  for- 
sook me,  my  soul  almost  went  out  of  me.  J  It  is 
consequently  a  supplementary  remark,  whose 
principal  verb,  however,  is  not  necessarily  to  be 
taken  as  a  pluperfect  (vs.  Dopke). — I  songht 
him  but  I  did  not  find  him ;  I  called  him 
but  he  did  not  ans^Arer  me.     With  the  first 


is  that  through  which  according  to  the  fashion  of  eastern 
doors,  a  person  from  without  thrusts  in  hia  hand  in  order  to 
insert  the  Itey  and  so  to  open  it,  see  Thomson  The  Land  and 
the  Book,  chap,  xxii."] 

*  [Alexander  (Comra.  on  Isa.  xvi.  11):  "The  viscera  are 
evidently  mentioned  as  the  seat  of  the  affections.  Modern 
usage  would  require  heart  and  bosom.  Barnes  correctly 
applies  to  this  verse  the  distinction  which  philologists  have 
made  between  the  ancient  usage  of  boivls  to  denote  the  upper 
viscera  and  its  modern  restriction  to  the  lower  viscera,  a 
change  which  sufficiently  accounts  for  the  different  associa- 
tions excited  by  the  same  or  equivalent  expressions  then  and 
how."] 

■j-  [Thrupp:  "«p  I  arose."  Literally  "I  arose."  So  too  at 
the  beginning  of  the  next  verse  the  literal  rendering  is  simply 
"I  opened."  But  in  both  places  the  use,  contrary  to  the 
Hebrew  custom  of  the  pronoun  ^JX  "I"  is  emphatic;  and 
Beems  to  indicate  an  alertness  and  forwardness,  which  must 
in  an  English  rendering  be  expressed  in  some  other  manner.] 


*  [Tenupp  thinks  the  myrrh  came  from  the  hands  of  the 
bridegroom,  "Wordsworth  from  those  of  the  bride.  Williams  : 
"  Commentators  in  general  suppose  that  the  perfume  here 
called  liquid  myrrh,  proceeded  from  the  moisture  of  his  hands, 
wet  with  dew ;  and  the  compliment  in  this  view  is  very  ele- 
gant and  beautiful,  implying  that  the  fragrance  of  his  body 
perfumed  everything  which  came  in  contact  with  it.  If  the 
perfume,  however,  be  referred  to  the  spouse,  I  think  it  will 
imply  that  she  had  anointed  herself  with  such  Inxuriancy 
that  her  iingei-s  were  still  wet  with  myrrh ;  and  this  would 
partly  account  for  her  reluctancy  to  rise,  since  indulgence 
naturally  induces  sloth."  Good  and  Patrick  strangely  ima- 
gine that  in  her  haste  to  reach  the  door  she  overturned  a  vaae 
of  fragrance  which  agreeably  to  oriental  practice  she  had 
prepared  for  her  lover.  1 

f  Particularly  Lucretius,  IV.  1171 : 

"jit  lacrimayts  exclustis  amaior  limina  swpe 
Ftoribus  et  sertis  operit,  poste.sqiif.  superbos 
Unguii  amaracino  et  foribus  miser  oscula  Jlgit.^^ 
Comp.  also  Tibull.  I.  ii.  14 ;  Athence.  ed.  Casaubon,  I.  G69. 

X  [Good  :  "  Pure  or  perhaps  liquid  myrrh,  that  which  weepa 
or  drops  from  the  tree,  the  most  esteemed  but  most  expensive 
of  this  class  of  perfumes."] 

§  [NoYES  gives  the  most  satisfactory  explanation  of  this  ex- 
pression: ^^Iwas  not  in  my  senses;  literally,  'my  soul  was 
gone  from  me.'  The  meaning  most  suited  to  the  connection 
is,  that  she  acted  insanely  in  not  admitting  her  beloved  at  hia 
request.  It  seems  to  denote  that  bewilderment  of  the  facul- 
ties caused  by  fear,  as  in  Gen.  xlii.  28,  or  by  any  other  pas- 
sion ;  here  by  the  passion  of  love."  Or  rather  the  bewilder- 
ment intended  would  seem  to  be  that  strange  want  of  self- 
possession  so  common  in  dreams,  in  consequence  of  which  a 
person  does  precisely  the  wrong  thing,  and  as  the  result,  finds 
himself  in  most  embarrassing  and  trying  situations.  West- 
minster Annotations  :  "  My  neglect  of  his  speech  troubled 
me  when  he  wiis  gone."  Scott  :  "  Either  she  now  recollected 
his  former  most  tender  and  affectionate  call  which  she  had 
resisted ;  or  he  spake  a  reproving  word  as  he  withdrew,  which 
filled  her  with  extreme  distress."  Thrupp:  "  My  soul  failed 
mo  for  what  he  had  spoken.  Here  the  reference  must  be  to 
the  words  uttered  by  the  bridegroom  when  he  first  presented 
himself  at  the  door ;  for  there  is  no  record  of  his  speaking 
subsequently."  GiNSBURQ  :  "When  he  spoke  of  it,  i.  e.,  of  his 
going  away."  MooDT  Stuart  :  "  My  soul  failed  for  his  speak- 
ing ;  with  mingled  desire  and  fear  she  listens  till  her  soul 
faints  within  her."] 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


105 


of  these  lines  comp.  lil.  2  5;  with  both  together 
ProT.  i.  28  ;  viii.  17. 

Ver.  7.  Found  me  then  the  'watchmen, 
etc.  Comp.  iii.  3,  Hitz.  correctly:  "In  her  pre- 
vious dream  the  watchmen  make  no  reply  to  her 
question;  here  without  being  questioned  they 
/eply  by  deeds." — Took  my  veil  off  from  me. 
im  (from  TIT  spread  out,  disperse,  make  thin) 
is  according  to  Isa.  iii.  23  a  fine  light  material 
thrown  over  the  person  like  a  veil,  such  as  was 
worn  by  noble  ladies  in  Jerusalem ;  comp.  Tako. 
on  Gen.  xxiv.  65;  xxxviii.  14  where  XTHT  repre- 
sents the  Heb.  "I'JS*  '''tj"?  ^K\i/i  certainly  means 
not  a  bare  "lifting"  (Meier),  but  a  forcible 
tearing  off  and  taking  away  of  this  article  of 
dress  ;  else  this  expression  would  not  form  with 
the  preceding  "they struck  me,  woundedme,"  the 
climax,  which  the  poet  evidently  intends. — The 
watchmen  of  the  w^alls  ;  not  the  subject  of 
the  immediately  preceding  clause  (W-eissb.),  but 
a  repetition  of  the  principal  subject  which  stands 
at  the  beginning  of  the  verse.  In  her  complaint 
she  naturally  comes  back  to  the  ruffians  who  had 
done  all  this  to  her,  the  villainous  watchmen. — 
"  Watchmen  of  the  walls,"  whose  functions  re- 
late as  in  this  instance  to  the  interior  of  the  city, 
and  who,  therefore,  were  not  appointed  princi- 
pally with  a  view  to  the  exterior  circuit  walla, 
occur  also  Isa.  Ixii.  6. 

Ver.  8.  I  adjure  you,  etc.  For  this  expres- 
sion, as  well  as  the  masc.  form  of  address,  comp. 
on  ii.  7. — What  shall  ye  tell  him?  So  cor- 
rectly Bw.,  Heiligstedt,  Del.,  Hengstenb.  etc.  ; 
for  although  HD  sometimes  expresses  an  earnest 
negative  or  prohibition,  and  might  therefore  be 
synonymous  with  DX  in  ii.  7 ;  iii.  5,  yet  the 
translation  "  do  not  tell  him  that  I  am  sick  of 
love"  (Wbissb.  and  others)  yields  a  less  natural 
sense  than  the  one  given  above,  according  to 
which  Shulamith  seeks  to  induce  her  lover  to  a 
speedy  return  by  the  intelligence  of  her  being 
sick  of  love.  And  in  fact  she  connects  a  charge 
of  this  purport  to  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  im- 
mediately with  the  narrative  of  her  dream,  be- 
cause this  had  already  evidenced  in  various  ways 
that  she  had  an  almost  morbid  longing  for  her 
lover  (see  especially  ver.  4,  b;  vers.  6,  7.) 
4.  Continuation,  b.  Shtjlamitk's  desoeiption 

or  HEK  LOVER,  V.   9-16. 

Ver.  9.  What  is  thy  beloved  more  than 
(any  other)  beloved,  thou  fairest  among  wo- 
men? This  question  of  the  daughters  of  Jerusa- 
lem which  serves  in  an  admirable  way  to  connect 
what  precedes  with  the  following  description  of  the 
beauty  of  her  lover,  springs  from  the  assumption 
readily  suggested  by  vers.  2-4,  that  Shularaith's 
lover  was  some  other  than  Solomon;  an  as- 
sumption admitted  without  scruple  by  the  vo- 
luptuous ladies  of  the  court,  in  spite  of  their 
knowledge  of  the  fact  that  Shulamith  had  shortly 
before  given  her  hand  to  the  king  as  her  lawful 
husband.     It  is  therefore  a  question  of  real  ignor- 


*  rTHBnpp :  "  It  seems  to  be  generally  agreed  that  the  word 
TiS  occurring  here,  and  at  Isaiah  iii.  23,  denotes  a  wide  and 
thin  garment,  such  as  Eastern  ladies  to  the  present  day  throw 
over  In  the  rest  of  their  dress.  The  Germans  well  translate 
it  Schleierkleld,  veil-garment."  Good:  "To  tear  away  the 
veil  from  an  Eastern  !ady  is  one  of  the  greatest  indignities 
that  can  be  offered  to  her."] 


ance  and  curiosity,*  which  they  here  address  to 
Shulamith,  not  the  mere  show  of  a  question  with 
the  view  of  leading  her  to  the  enthusiastic  praise 
of  the  king  who  was  well  known  to  the  ladies  of 
the  court  and  beloved  by  them  likewise  (Del.); 
and  quite  as  little  was  it  a  scornful  question 
(DoPKE,  Meier)  or  reproachful  (Magn.)  or  one 
involving  but  a  gentle  reproof  (IIixz.) — against 
these  last  opinions  the  words  "fairest  among 
women"  are  decisive. 

Ver.  10.  My  beloved  is  -white  and  ruddy, 
distinguished  above  ten  thousand.  This 
general  statement  precedes  the  more  detailed 
description  of  the  beauties  of  her  lover,  which 
then  follows  vers.  11-15  in  ten  particulars,  at  the 
close  of  which  (ver.  16)  stands  another  general 
eulogium. — The  aim  of  the  entire  description  is 
evidently  to  depict  Solomon,  as  one  who  is  with- 
out blemish  from  head  to  foot,  as  is  done  2  Sam. 
xiv.  25,  26  in  the  case  of  his  brother  Absalom. 
A  commendation  of  his  fair  color,  or  his  good 
looks  in  general  fitly  stands  at  the  head  of  the 
description. — n^  lit.,  "dazzling  white;" stronger 

than  p7;  an  expression  which  may  be  applied 
to  a  king's  son,  but  scarcely  to  a  simple  young 
shepherd  from  the  country.  His  face  might  very 
well  be  called  ruddy  or  brownish  (as  1  Sam  xvi. 
12)  but  scarcely  dazzling  white;  and  it  is  to  the 
face  that  the  predicate  mainly  refers,  as  a  com- 
parison with  vers.  14  and  15  shows. — To  white  as 
the  fundamental  color  is  added  the  blooming  red 
(DlIN)  of  the  cheeks  and  other  parts  of  the  face 
both  here  in  the  case  of  Solomon  and  Lam.  iv.  7 
in  the  description  of  the  fair  Nazarites  of  Jeru- 
salem, which  reminds  one  of  the  passage  before 
US. —  "Distinguished  above  ten  thousand,"  lit. 
"from  ten  thousand,  or  a  myriad"  (71331),  i.  e., 
surpassing  an  immense  number  in  beauty.  Comp. 
Ps.  xoi.  7,  as  well   as  the  plur.  ni33T  Ps.  iii.  7 ; 

Deut.  xxxiii.  17. — VlJT  from  SjT  "standard, 
banner,"  as  in  Lat.  insignia  from  signum,  denotes 
one  that  is  conspicuous  as  a  standard  amidst  a 
host  of  other  men,  signalized,  distinguished  above 
others,  and  [0  is  again  comparative  as  in  ver.  9. 
The  expression  is  evidently  a  military  one  like 
ni^lJJ  vi.  4,  10. 

Ver.  11.  His  head  is  pure  gold.  The  com- 
parison is  not  directed  to  the  color  of  the  face,  as 
though  this  was  to  be  represented  as  a  reddish 
brown  (Hitz.),  but  to  the  appearance  of  the  head 
as  a  whole.  From  the  combined  radiance  of  his 
fresh  and  blooming  countenance,  and  of  his  glossy 
black  hair  adorned  with  a  golden  crown,  it  pre- 
sented to  the  beholder  at  a  distance  the  appear- 
ance of  a  figure  made  of  solid  gold  with  a  reddish 
lustre.  0Pi2  according  to  Gesen.,  Hengstenb., 
and  others,  equivalent  to  that  which  is  hidden, 
conoealed=gold  that  is  treasured  up  ;  according 
to  Dietrich  and  others  from  DHJ  "to  be  solid, 
dense,"  hence  massive  gold;  according  to 
Hitz.,  Weissb.,  etc.,  equivalent  to  that  which  is 

*  [Much  better  Theupp  :  "  That  the  dramatic  form  may  be 
preserved  a  question  is  here  put  by  the  chorus  of  the  Daugh- 
ters of  Jerusalem  in  order  to  furnish  occasion  for  the  descrip- 
tion which  follows."  It  is  also  to  bo  observed  that  the  inquiry 
is  not  who  he  is,  as  though  it  implied  their  ignorance  of  his 
person,  but  what  is  he.  They  simply  wish  to  draw  from  her 
her  estimate  of  him. — Tr.] 


106 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


reddish,  of  red  lustre,  which  latter  explaQation 
is  favored  by  Arabic  parallels  and  by  the  expres- 
sion OnjJ  Jer.  ii.  22.  The  adjective  T3  con- 
nected with  it  designales  this  gold  as  carefully 
refined  and  purified  (comp.  the  Hoph.  part.  1310 
with  the  lilie  sense  1  Kin.  x.  18). — His  locks 
are  hill  upon  hill.  Dwj])7'3  may  be  thus  ex- 
plained with  Del.,  Weisse.,  etc.,  by  deriving  it 
from  77j1  to  raise,  heap  up  (whence  /H  a  hill 
and  S-iSjT  high,  Ezeli.  xvii.  22).  Commonly 
"palm   branches,"    ("flexible    or  curling   palm 

branches"  from  770  in  the  sense  of  "wavering 
or    swaying    to     and    fro");      or     "pendent, 

hanging  locks  "  (frora  T\lT\  suspendit  —  so  Hengs- 
TENB.);    or  "pendulous   clusters  of  grapes  "   (as 

though  D^hrh^=U^^l'll  Isa.  xviii.  5 — so  HiTZ.). 
The  comparison  reminds  us  somewhat  of  that 
with  the  flock  of  goats  on  Mount  Gilead  (iv.  2; 
vi.  5^  ;  which  wsis  also  designed  to  set  forth  his 
long  curling  locks  piled  one  on  another. — 
Black  as  a  raven.  Parallels  to  this  simile 
from  Arab,  poets,  see  in  Haetmann,  Ideal  vieibl. 
Schonheit,  I.  ib  f ,  comp.  Magnus  on  Cant.,  iv.  1 
(p.  85)  and  Dopke  in  loc.  The  latter  adduces 
particularly  two  verses  of  Motanebbi  (from  J. 
V.  Hammee,  p.  11) : 

"  Black  as  a  raven  and  thick  as  midnight  gloom. 
Which  of  itself,  with  no  hairdresser,  curls." 

Ver.  12.  His  eyes  like  doves  by  brooks 
of  water.  On  the  comparison  of  the  eyes  with 
doves  comp.  i.  15.  In  this  case  it  is  not  doves 
in  general,  but  particularly  doves  sitting  "  by 
brooks  of  water  "  (lit.  water-channels  or  beds)  to 
which  the  eyes  are  likened  doubtless  in  order  to  re- 
present the  lustrous  brightness  and  the  moisture  of 
the  white  of  the  eye  by  a  figure  like  that  employed 
vii.  5,  and  to  place  it  in  fitting  contrast  with  the 
iris  whose  varied  hues  resemble  the  plumage  of 
the  dove. — Bathing  in  milk,  sitting  on  ful- 
ness. A  further  description  of  the  relation  of 
the  "doves"  to  the  "brooks  of  water,"  i.  e.  of 
the  iris  (with  the  pupil)  to  the  white  that  sur- 
rounds it.  These  water-brooks  here  appear  to 
be  filled  up  with  milk  instead  of  water,  and  the 
doves  answering  to  the  irides  of  both  eyes  are 
represented  as  bathing  in  this  milk  and  accord- 
ingly as  "sitting  on"  or  "by  fulness" — in 
which  there  is  an  allusion  likewise  to  the  convex 
form  of  the  eye  (correctly  the  Septdaq.,  Vclo., 
Sye.,  and  after  them  Hengstenb.,   Weissbaoh, 

etc.).  HNto,  lit.  "fulness,"  an  idea  undefined 
in  itself,  is  here  limited  by  the  preceding  'p'SN 
D'D  and  therefore  means  "the  fulness  of  the 
water-courses,     that     which     fills     them    up " 

(Weissb.)  ;  and  the  7^  which  stands  before  it, 
indicates  the  same  sense  substantially  of  sitting 
by  this  fulness,  as  is  expressed  by  the  same 
preposition   before   D'D  'p'3X  (comp.   Ps.  i.   3). 

Others.take  ^^70  in  the  sense  of  "setting"  as 
of  a  gem  (comparing  J3N  HNyO  Ex.  xxviii.  17) 
and  hence  translate  "  enthroned  in  a  setting  " 
(Magn.)  or  "jewels  finely  set"  (Bottoh.,  Del., 


preceded  by  Ibn  Ezea,  Jakoh.,  Rosenm., 
Winee).     But  in  opposition  to  this  may  be  urged 

both  the  absence  of  ]3N  after  the  indefinite  nN'7D, 
and  the  prep.  7^  instead  of  which  3  might  rather 
have  been  expected.  More  correctly  CoocEius 
and  Dopke,  who  explain  it  "over  the  setting" 
i.  e.  "  over  the  edge  of  the  brook,"  though  still 
they   do    violence    to   the   natural   meaning    of 

nx'7a. 
Ver.  13.    His  cheeks  like  a  bed  of  balm. 

The  tert.  compar.  is  not  barely  their  delightful 
fragrance,  but  likewise  the  superb  growth  of 
beard  upon  his  cheeks.  Shulamith  would 
scarcely  have  compared  beardless  cheeks  with  a 
bed  of  balm,  i.  e.  a  garden  plot  , covered  with 
plants.  That  she  likens  the  two  cheeks  to  but 
one  bed  may  be  explained  from  the  fact  that  the 
beard,  which  likewise  surrounds  the  chin  and 
lips,  unites  them  into  one  whole,  which  like  the 
borders  in  many  gardens   has  its  two   parallel 

sides  (comp.  Hitzig).  The  punctuation  lijll^, 
which  the  ancient  versions  seem  to  have  followed 
(e.  ff.  Vtjlg.  " sicut  areolie  aromatum")  and  which 
Weissb.  still  prefers,  accordingly  appears  to  be 
less  suitable  than  the  sing,  rijnj^  here  retained 
by  the  Masorites ;  whilst  the  plur.  TIU11J>  is  un- 
questionably the  true  reading  in  vi.  2. — ToTvers 
of  spice  plants.  The  expression  ni'7^JD 
D'np"lD  is  doubtless  so  to  be  understood,  as  ex- 
planatory apposition  to  Vip^T}  JTJ'11,J7  and  the  bed 
of  balm  is  accordingly  to  be  conceived  of  as  a 
plot  embracing  several  "towers"  or  pyramidal 
elevations  of  aromatic  herbs,  by  which  the  rich 
luxuriance  of  his  beard  and  perhaps  also  its  fine 
curly  appeai-ance  is  most  fitly  set  forth  (Ew.,  De- 
LiTzscH,  Hengstenb.,  etc.).  We  can  see  no 
ground  for  the  scruples,  which  are  alleged  to 
stand  in  the  way  of  this  explanation,  or  why  we 
must  with  J.  Cappellus  suppose  a  reference  to 
"boxes  of  unguents"  [pyxides  unguenlorum)  or 
with  Hitzig,  Feiede.,  Weissb.,  follow  the 
Septuao.  (iphovaai  fivps^md)  in  reading  the  part. 

niSljn.  The-  fem.  plur.  ni'7^jp  from  S^JD  is 
also  attested  by  viii.  10.  The  custom  of  raising 
fragrant  plants  on  mounds  of  earth  of  a  pyram- 
idal or  high  tower-like  shape,  receives  sufiicient 
confirmation  from  iv.  6  (the  "mountain  of 
myrrh  "  and  the  "  hill  of  frankincense  ").  And 
the  whole  comparison  appears  to  be  entirely  ap- 
propriate, if  we  but  think  of  the  beard  on  the 
chin  and  cheeks  of  her  lover  as  not  merely  a  soft 
down  (HiTZ.)  but  as  a  vigorous,  finely  cultivated 
and  carefully  arranged  growth  of  hair.  And  in 
this  we  are  justified  in  precise  proportion  as  we 
rid  ourselves  of  the  notion  of  a  youthful  lover  of 
the  rank  of  a  shepherd,  and  keep  in  view  king 
Solomon  in  the  maturity  of  middle  life  as  the 
object  of  the  description  before  us.  Besides  the 
circumstance  that  they  were  in  the  habit  of  per- 
fuming the  beard,  as  is  still  done  to  a  considera- 
ble extent  in  the  east  (see  Aevieux,  R.,  p.  52 ; 
DELLA  Valle,  II.  98 ;  Haemer,  Beobacht,  II.  77, 
83 ;  Eeiske  on  Tarafa,  p.  46)  may  have  contributed 
its  share  to  the  particular  form  of  the  compari- 
son.— His  lips  lilies,  dropping  liquid  myrrh. 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


101 


Of  course  it  is  not  white  but  red  lilies,  lilies  of 
the  color,  denoted  iv.  3  by  the  "  crimson  thread," 
to  which  the  lips  of  her  lover  are  here  likened. 
The  "  dropping  of  liquid  myrrh  "  (oomp.  on  ver. 
3)  refers  not  to  the  lilies  (Syr.,  Rosbnm.)  but 
directly  to  the  lips.  It  serves  to  represent  the 
lovely  fragrance  of  the  breath,  which  issues 
from  her  lips  (comp  vii.  9);  for  the  "loveliness 
of  his  speech"  (Hengstenb.,  oomp.  Tabg.)  is 
not  mentioned  till  ver.  16. 

Ver.  14.  His  hands  golden  rods.     Others, 
as  CooOEl.,  Gesen.,  [Thesaur.  p.  287),  Rosenm., 

DoPKE,  Vaih.,  Tso  Eng.  Vee.  1,  take  3ni  'VSj 
to  be  gold  rings,  which  they  refer  to  the  bent  or 
closed  hand,  with  allusion  also  to  the  finger- 
nails colored  with  alhenua  as  compared  with  the 
jewels  of  the  rings.  Very  arbitrarily,  because 
1)  the  curved  or  hollow  hand  must  necessarily 
have  been  denoted  by  ^jD ;  2)  the  proper  expres- 
sion for  ring  would  not  have  been  vwJ  but 
□nin  or  flyaa ;  3)  D'xSaD  could  no  more  ex- 

T  •'         ■  T  ■-.  : 

press  the  idea  of  being  "set  with  anything," 
than  turquoises  standing  with  it  could  yield  a 
figure  even  remotely  appropriate  for  yellow- 
stained  finger  nails.  vwJ  is  rather  roller,  cylin- 
der, rod,  and  the  expression  "  golden  rods ''  is 
applied  primarily  to  the  individual  fingers  with 
reference  to  their  reddish  lustre  and  finely 
rounded  shape  (comp.  ver.  11  a)  and  then  by 
synecdoche  to  the  hands  consisting  of  the  fin- 
gers.*— Encased  in  turquoises.  Whatever 
precious  stone  may  be  intended  by  ty'IJ'"irii 
whether  the  chrysolite  of  the  ancients  (see 
Septuag.,  Ex.  xxviii.  17;  xxxix.  13)  which 
seems  to  answer  to  our  topaz  ;  or  what  is  now 
called  the  turquoise  (a  light-blue  semi-precious 
stone);  or  the  onyx,  which  Hitzig  proposes  (though 
this  was  called  OTVU  Gen.  ii.  12,  elc),  it  is  at  all 
events  in  bad  taste  to  understand  by  this  enca- 
sing of  the  fingers  in  costly  jewels  anything 
but  actual  jewel  ornaments  with  which  his  hands 
glittered,  agreeably  to  the  well-known  custom 
in  the  ancient  East  of  wearing  many  rings. 
(Oomp.  WiNEK,  Realworterb.,  Art.,  "Ringe" 
a,nd.  "  Siegelring").  The  nails  in  and  of  them- 
selves differed  too  little  in  color  and  lustre  from 
the  fingers  and  hands  as  a  whole,  to  admit  of 
their  being  compared  with  precious  stones ;  and 
staining  them  with  alhenna  (comp.  on  i.  14)  if 
practised  at  all  in  the  time  of  Solomon,  was  most 
likely  a  custom  restricted  to  women  and  which 
could  scarcely  have  been  likewise  in  use  amongst 

men.  On  xba  in  the  sense  of  "encasing" 
(lit.,  to  fill  in  the  encasement  or  enclosure)  comp. 
Ex.  xxviii.  17;  xxxi.  5;  xxxv.  33.  "Golden 
rods  encased  in  turquoise  "  or  "  with  turquoise" 

*  [Thbupp  :  "  His  hands  are  folding  panels  of  gold.    The 

word  V'lJ  is  applied,  as  we  learn  from  1  Kings  yi.  34,  to  the 
separate  portions  of  a  folding  door ;  the  doors  to  the  holy  of 
holies  consisted  of  two  leaves,  each  of  which  in  its  turn 
consisted  of  two  halves  or  folds.  There  is  no  passage  in 
which  the  word  denotes  a '  ring ;'  nor  would  this  meaning 
be  here  so  appropriate.  The  image  is  that  of  a  door,  not 
necessarily  a  large  door,  constructed  in  four  or  five  separate 
folds,  corresponding  to  the  appearance  presented  by  the  hand 
when  the  fingers,  while  kept  in  contact  with  each  other,  are 
stretched  at  full  length."] 


are  properly  such  rods  filled  into  the  body  of 
jewels  here  named  i.  e.  surrounded  and  glitter- 
ing with  them  (comp.  Weissb.  in  loc). — His 
body  a  figure  of  ivory,  veiled  with  sap- 
phires. y^O  here,  where  the  exterior  parts  of 
the  body  only  are  enumerated,  is  certainly  not 
"his  bowels,  his  inwards"  (Hengstenbeeg), 
but  "his  body,"  comp.  vii.  3,  as  well  as  Dan.  ii.  32, 
where  D'.I?n  also  stands  as  a  synonym  of  ]03.  It 
is  only  the  pure  white  and  the  smooth  appearance 
of  the  body,  t.  e.  of  the  trunk  generally,  including 
the  breast,  thighs,  etc.,  which  can  be  intended 
by  the  comparison  with  an  W  np^^  a  "  figure  of 

ivory "  {rW})  sing,  of  T\^p\V^l  [but  see  Gesen. 
Lex.  s.  V. — Tr  ]  forms,  thoughts,  Job  xii.  5),  a 
comparison  in  which  that  ivory  work  of  art  re- 
stored by  Solomon  according  to  1  Kin.  x.  18  may 
have  been  before  the  mind  of  the  speaker.  The 
sapphires  veiling  the  statue  are  naturally  a  figure 
of  the  dress  of  sapphire-blue  or  better  still  of  the 
dress  coniined  by  a  splendid  girdle  studded  with 
sapphires.  On  the  latter  assumption  the  appa- 
rent " unsuitableness  of  the  comparison"  van- 
ishes, which  certainly  would  have  to  be  admitted 
(HiTZ. )  if  the  sapphire  referred  to  the  azure 
color  of  the  dress.  For  it  would  evidently  be 
too  far-fetched,  with  Vaih.  to  refer  the  sapphire 
to  the  "blue  veins  appearing  through  the  splen- 
did white  skin  '  of  the  body,"  and  this  would 
neither  comport  with  the  deep  blue  color  of  the 
sapphire  or  lapis  lazuli,  nor  with  the  expression 

"veiled,  covered  (037.170)  with  sapphires."^ 
There  is  accordingly  an  indirect  proof  of  the 
royal  rank  and  condition  of  Shulamith's  lover  in 
the  representations  of  this  verse  likewise,  espe- 
cially in  its  allusions  to  the  ornaments  of  precious 
stones  on  the  hands  and  about  the  waist  of  the 
person  described. 

Ver.  15.  His  legs  columns  of  white  mar- 
ble. The  figure  of  an  elegant  statue  is  here 
continued  with  little  alteration.  To  understand 
the  D'pjty  simply  of  the  lower  part  of  the  legs 
and  to  assume  that  Shulamith  omits  to  mention 
the  DOT]  i.  e.  the  upper  part  of  the  legs  from  a 
fine  sense  of  decorum  (Hitz. )  is  inadmissible, 
because  D'pjty  according  to  passages  like  Prov. 
xxvi.  7 ;  Isa.  xlvii.  2  appears  to  include  the 
upper  part  of  the  leg,  whilst  DOT  according  to 
Gen.  xxiv.  2;  Ex.  xxviii.  42:  Dan.  ii.  32,  etc., 
denotes  rather  the  loins  or  that  part  of  the  bodj 
where  the  legs  begin  to  separate.  Further, 
the  mention  of  the  legs  and  just  before  of 
the  body  could  only  be  regarded  as  unbecom- 
ing or  improper  by  an  overstrained  prudish- 
ness,  because  the  description  which  is  here 
given  avoids  all  libidinous  details  and  is  so 
strictly  general  as  not  even  to  imply  that  she 
had  ever  seen  the  parts  of  the  body  in  question 
in  a  nude  condition.  It  merely  serves  to  com- 
plete the  delineation  of  her  lover,  which  Shula- 
mith sketches  by  a  gradual  descent  from  head 
to  foot,  and  moreover  is  to  belaid  to  the  account 
of  the  poet  rather  than  to  that  of  Shulamith, 
who  is  in  every  thing  else  so  chaste  and  delicate 
in  her  feelings. — The  legs  are  compared  with 
"white  marble"  (TO)  principally  on  account  of 


108 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


T.  2— VIII.  4. 


the  lustrous  color  of  their  skin,  not  with  refer- 
ence to  their  solidity ;  for  an  Arabic  poet 
(Amru  b  Keltii.,  Moal.  ver.  18)  pictures  even  the 
legs  of  a  girl  as  "pillars  of  marble  and  ivory;" 
and  the  figure  of  the  marble  column  is  also  em- 
ployed in  a  like  sense  by  Greek  poets  and  my  tho- 
graphers  (comp.  Vaih.  in  loc).  Set  on  bases 
of  fine  gold,  viz.,  on  the  feet  which  are  here 
named  as  ttie  bases  or  pedestals  of  the  columns 
(their  IID')  without  however  .going  into  any 
further  desoriplion  of  them.*  His-aspect  like 
Lebanon,  nX"lD  not  synonymous  with  HDlp 
"  stature  "  (vii.  8),  but  denoting  his  entire  appear- 
ance, his  whole  figure  and  bearing  comp.  ii.  14. 
By  this  comparison  with  Lebanon  his  figure  is 
characterized  as  majestically  tall  and  impressive, 
comp.  .Jer.  xlvi.  18.  There  is  probably  no  allu- 
sion to  the  "lordly  look  "  which  Lebanon  bestows 
upon  his  beholders  (vs.  Eosenm.,  Magn.),  and 
still  less  likelihood  of  a  reference  to  the  roots  of 
the  mountain  penetrating  deeply  and  extending 
widely  in  the  earth  as  analogous  to  the  "  roots  of 
her  lover's  feet."  Job  xiii.  27  ;  Hog.  xiv.  6  (va. 
HiTz.). — Choice  as  the  cedars;  that  is,  stately 
and  majestic  as  these  giant  trees  which  crown 
the  summit  of  Lebanon. 

Ver.  16.  His  palate  (is)  sweets,  ^n  is  not 
the  mouth  for  kissing  (Magn.,  Bottch.)  but  the 
palate  as  an  organ  of  speech,  as  in  Job  vi.  30  ; 
xxxi.  30;  Prov.  v.  3;  viii.  7.  HiTZ.  correctly: 
"  It  is  speech  which  first  betrays  that  the  beauti- 
ful body  described  vers.  10-15  has  a  soul ; " 
whilst  Weissb.  in  asserting  that  the  palate  is 
here  regarded  as  an  organ  of  breathing  like  the 
lips  ver.  13,  fails  to  perceive  this  advance  from 
the  corporeal  to  the  spiritual  and  creates  an  un- 
handsome repetition.  On  ihe  figure  comp.  Prov. 
xvi.  21;  xxvii.  9. — And  he  is  altogether  pre- 
cious. 173  "all  of  him"  combines  in  one  the 
sum  total  of  the  ten  corporeal  excellencies  enu- 
merated in  vers.  11-16  together  with  the  last 
named  endowment  of  a  spiritual  nature,  and  thus 
completes  the  portrait  of  her  lover,  whereupon 
there  follows  the  general  reference  to  the  pre- 
ceding description:  "This  is  my  beloved,  and  this 
my  friend,  ye  daughters  of  Jerusalem." 

5.  Conclusion,  c.  The  question  where  heb 

LOVEE  IS  AND    ShULAMITH's  ANSWER.   VI.   1-3. 

Ver.  1.  Whither  has  thy  beloved  gone,  ete. 

As  in  what  precedes  Shulamith  had  made  no  dis- 
tinct declaration  respecting  the  person  of  her 
lover,  but  only  given  an  ideal  description  of  his 
beauty,  the  women  might  still  remain  uncertain 
who  and  where  he  was.  Hence  this  additional 
question,  which  like  that  in  v.  9  is  a  question  of 
curiosity  and  expresses  some  such  sense  as  this :  If 
then  thy  lover  is  a  person  of  such  extraordinary 
elegance  and  beauty,  how  could  he  have  suffered 
you  to  be  away  from  him?  how  could  he  have 
permitted  you  to  become  the  wife  of  another  so 
that  you    now   must   pine    after    him  and    seek 

*  (BuRltoWES  :  "  These  doubtless  rofor  to  the  beauty  of  his 
sandals  ;"  so  Good,  Taylok,  Williams  and  others.  This  speras 
to  be  the  better  explanation  notwithstanding  Ginsruug's 
objection  :  "  That  it  refers  to  his  feet  and  not  to  his  san- 
dals is  evident  from  vers.  11  and  14,  where  the  head  and  the 
hands,  the  visible  parts  of  the  body,  are  described  aa  golden  ; 
and  it  is  but  natural  tliat  the  feet,  the  only  remaining  ex- 
posed parts,  should  also  be  described  as  golden.") 


longingly  for  him?  At  all  events  that  particular 
in  Shulamith's  story  of  her  dream,  according  to 
which  her  lover  "had  turned  away,  was  gone," 
V.  6,  determined  the  form  of  their  question.  The 
women  may  have  thought  that  they  perceived  in 
this  the  echo  of  an  actual  occurrence,  a  sudden 
desertion  of  Shulamith  by  her  former  lover. 
Manifestly  no  one  of  them  thought  of  Solomon  as 
the  object  of  her  languishing  and  painful  desire. 
V.;r.  2.  My  beloved  has  gone  down 
to  his  garden,  to  the  beds  of  balm.  This 
answer  of  Shulamith  is  certainly  evasive,  but 
scarcely  jesting  and  roguish  (Hitz.)  ;  it  is  ra- 
ther sadly  ironical.  She  does  not  seriously 
mean  to  represent  Solomon  as  actually  occupied 
with  working  in  the  garden  or  with  rural  plea- 
sures (as  Del.  supposes).  She  merely  intends  to 
intimate  that  other  matters  seem  more  pressing 
and  important  to  him  than  intercourse  with  her, 
his  chosen  love,  and  with  this  view  she  makes 
use  of  those  pastoral  and  agricultural  (horticul- 
tural) tropes,  with  which  she  is  most  conversant 
and  most  entirely  at  home  (comp.  i.  7,  14;  ii. 
3,  16,  etc.)  It  is  further  probable  that  "going 
down  to  the  beds  of  balm"  and  "gathering  lilies" 
may  contain  an  allusion  to  amorous  intercourse 
meanwhile  indulged  with  others  of  his  wives; 
and  with  this  the  primarily  apologetic  drift  of 
her  whole  statement,  which  is  purposely  figura- 
tive and  ambiguous,  might  very  well  consist. 
What  Shulamith  here  says  can  in  no  event 
refer  to  a  lover  ef  the  rank  of  a  shepherd; 
for  it  would  be  trifling  and  in  bad  taste  to 
attribute  to  him  in  that  case  besides  his 
main  business  of  feeding  his  flock,  that  of  being 
engaged  with  beds  of  balm  and  other  objects  be- 
longing to  the  higher  branches  of  gardening 
(comp.  Weissb.  in  loc.)  and  to  explain  the  "gar- 
den" in  the  sense  of  iv.  12-15  (that  is,  of  Shula- 
mith herself,  as  the  locked  garden,  which  her 
country  lover  had  now  come  to  Jerusalem  to 
visit)  must  be  regarded  as  the  extreme  of  exegeti- 
cal  subtilty,  andean  neither  be  brought  into  har- 
mony with  the  verb  IT'   "has  gone  down"  (for 

which  we  would  then  rather  expect  TV)}}  "has 
come  up"),  nor  with  the  plur.  D"3J3  "in  the  gar- 
dens" (vs.  Hitz.,  Bottoh.,  Ren.). 

Ver.  3.  I  am  my  beloved's,  etc. — The  par- 
tial transposition  of  the  words  as  compared  with 
ii.  16  is  not  due  to  chance,  but  is  an  intentional 
alteration:  comp.  iv.  2  with  vi.  6;  ii.  17  with 
viii.  14. — The  connexion  of  the  exclamation  be- 
fore us  with  ver.  2  is  given  by  Hitzig  with  sub- 
stantial correctness:  "The  words  of  ver.  2  are  a 
rebuff  to  str.angers  concerning  themselves  about 
her  lover ;  the  averment  in  ver.  3  that  they  be- 
long to  one  another,  indirectly  excludes  a  third, 
and  is  thus  inwardly  connected  with  ver.  2." 
With  which  it  must  nevertheless  be  kept  in  vievr 
that  this  present  assertion  is  not  made  without, 
at  the  same  time,  feeling  a  certain  pain  at  the  in- 
fidelity of  one  so  purely  and  tenderly  beloved.* 

*  [This  Is  certainly  a  most  extraordinary  comment  upon 
language  which  manifestly  expresses  nothing  but  the  most 
entire  confidence  in  Solomon's  unabated  attachment  to  her- 
self while  it  rejiifirms  her  own  undivided  attachment  to  him. 
The  inconstancy  of  the  bridegroom,  which  ZiiCKLRR's  precon- 
ceived scheme  obliges  him  to  assume,  is  contradicted  in  ex- 
press terms  by  this  verse,  converts  ver.  2  into  an  unmeaning 
evasion  instead  of  the  frank  statement,  whether  literal  or 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


109 


The  remark  made  by  Del.  on  this  verse  cannot 
be  substantiated:  "With  these  words,  impelled 
by  love  and  followed  by  the  daughters  of  Jerusa- 
lem (?),  she  continues  on  her  way,  hastening  to  the 
arms  of  her  lover  "  (similarly  too  Weissb.).  The 
text  does  not  contain  the  slightest  intimation  of 
such  a  departure  of  Shulamith  to  look  for  him, 
and  a  consequent  change  of  scene.  Comp. 
above,  No.  2. 
6.    Second  Scene,     u.  Solomon's  ebiterated 

PKAISE  OP  THE  BEAUTY  OF  ShULAMITH,  VerS.  4-10. 

The  simplest  view  of  this  scene  is  that  all  to  ver. 
10  incl.  is  an  encomium  pronounced  by  the  king, 
who  has  meanwhile  entered,  upon  his  beloved,  but 
hitherto  somewhat  neglected  and  consequently 
saddened  wife  Shulamith,  whilst  vers.  11,  12  is 
spoken  by  her,  and  vii.  1  by  her  alternately  with 
the  chorus.  And  the  following  explanation  of 
the  details  will  show  that  this  is  on  all  accounts 
the  most  satisfactory.  We  must  reject,  therefore, 
the  views  of  Ewald,  who  puts  the  whole,  even  the 
colloquy,  vi.  11  to  vii.  1,  into  the  mouth  of  Solo- 
mon, and  consequently  assumes  but  one  speaker; 
of  HiTzio,  who  makes  the  ladies  of  the  court  re- 
tire and  the  "  shepherd  "  enter  and  speak,  ver.  9  ; 
of  BoiTOHEE,  who  besides  iniroduces  the  queen 
mother  likewise  as  a  speaker  in  the  words  "  she  is 
the  only  one  of  her  mother,  the  choiceof  her  that 
bare  her"  (ver.  9  a);  of  Umbkeit,  who  takes  ver. 
10  to  be  the  question  of  the  poet,  vers.  11  ff.  the 
language  of  Shulamith  walking  sadly  about  in  the 
king's  nut  garden ;  of  Magnus,  who  breaks  up  the 
whole  section  into  no  less  than  five  fragments,  etc. 
Ver.  4.  Fair  art  thou,  my  dear,  as  Tirzah, 
comely  as  Jerusalem. — Hi'^jT  Tirzah  ("de- 
lightful;" also  the  name  of  a  woman,  Numb, 
xxvi.  33,  in  the  passage  before  us  rendered 
ei'SoKta  by  the  Sept.  )  is  certainly  the  subsequent 
residence  of  the  kings  in  the  northern  kingdom, 
yet  not  here  named  as  such  along  with  Jerusalem, 
but  as  a  remarkably  beautiful  and  charming  town 
in  northern  Palestine.  Its  mere  name  cannot 
possibly  have  afforded  the  reason  of  its  being 
mentioned.  It  is  much  more  likely  that  its  loca- 
tion not  far  from  Shunem  (according  to  Hitz.,  in 
the  territory  of  Issachar,  the  tribe  of  Baasha?) 
may  have  had  some  influence,  since  Solomon  is 
elsewhere  particularly  fond  of  comparing  his  be- 
loved with  localities  in  the  region  of  her  home 
(iv.  1,  8,  11,  15;  vii.  5,  6).  Comp.  moreover  In- 
troduction, §  3,  Eem.  1. — The  site  of  ancient  Tir- 

flgnrative,  whicli  it  plainly  is,  and  imputes  a  meaning  to  ver. 
1  which  the  words  certainly  do  not  contain,  and  which  no  one 
who  was  not  pressed  by  the  exigencies  of  a  theory  would  ever 
imagine  that  he  found  there.  If  the  unsuccessful  search  for  her 
lover,  which  Shulamith  reports,  v.  6,  7,  was  only  a  troubled 
dream,  it  can  create  no  surprise  that  in  her  waking  moments 
she  knows  and  is  able  to  state  in  the  general  whither  her 
beloved  had  gone,  even  if  she  were  not  certain  in  what  partic- 
ular spot  in  his  extensive  gardens  he  was  then  to  be  found. 
The  allegorical  sense  commonly  put  upon  these  verses  will 
appear  sufficiently  from  the  following  citations  :  "Jerusalem 
being  on  an  hill,  they  went  down  to  the  gardens  ;  so  Ohnst 
comes  down  from  heaven  spiritually  into  the  congregation." 
Testmisster  Annotations.  "  The  garden  which  had  been  de- 
scribed in  iv.  12 — V.  1.  The  '  garden '  refers  to  the  Christian 
body  in  its  unity,  the  '  gardens '  denote  its  manifoldness ;  in 
the  New  Testament  we  read,  as  Theodoket  remarks,  alike  of 
the  Church  and  of  the  churches.  Under  the  dispensation  of 
the  gospel,  no  less  than  under  that  of  the  older  covenant, 
Christ  nurtures  His  people  in  the  purity  of  holiness.  But  He 
now  not  only  feeds  His  flock  among  lilies,  but  also  gathers  li- 
lies ;  gathers  with  joy  and  acceptance  from  His  people  those 
fruits  of  holiness  which  through  the  grace  of  His  Spirit  they 
are  continually  bringing  forth."  Tbedpp.— Tb.J 


zah  is  no  longer  accurately  known.  K.  Furrer, 
Wanderungen,  etc.,  p.  241,  thinks  that  he  saw  it 
not  far  from  Sichem  (to  the  north  of  it  and  due 
west  of  Samaria),  "  on  a  charming  green  hill, 
part  of  which  has  a  very  steep  descent;"  but  he 
has  probably  taken  a  locality  considerably  to  the 
south  for  the  ruins  of  the  old  royal  city,  probably 
ThuUuza  (three  hours  east  of  Shomron,  one  hour 
north  of  Mount  Ebal),  so  explained  also  by 
Robinson.  Comp.  Hergt,  Paliistina,  p.  410;  L. 
Voelter,  Art.  "  Thirza,"  in  Zeller's  Bibl.  Wor- 
terbuch,  and  Winer,  in  Realworterbuch. — Jeremiah 
also  speaks  of  Jerusalem's  comeliness,  Lam.  ii. 
15.— Hengstenb.  makes  the  poet  rise  from  Tirzah 
to  Jerusalem  as  a  still  grander  city ;  but  this  is 
contradicted  by  the  fact  that  the  predicate  PIIKJ 
"comely,"  as  appears  from  i.  5  compared  with  i. 
8,  is  inferior  to  ilS'  "fair." — Terrible  as  baa- 

TT 

nered   hosts. — O'N  from  the  same  stem  with 

T 

riD^N  "terror,"  is  used  Hab.  i.  7  to  designate  the 
Chaldeans  as  a  dreadful  foe,  and  here,  therefore, 
can  only  designate  the  person  addressed  as  fear- 
ful, terrible,  as  is  especially  evident  from  the 
comparison  with  "armies"  or  "bannered hosts." 
— But  why  is  Shulamith  here  said  to  be  "  terrible 
as  bannered  hosts"  (which  is  only  further  un- 
folded in  what  follows,  "  turn  away  thine  eyes 
from  me,  for  they  assault  me")?  Not  because 
she  was  to  be  represented  in  a  general  way  as 
triumphant  over  men,  whose  hearts  she  wounds 
and  captivates  by  her  glances,  (Gesen.);  much 
more  likely,  because  she  has  exerted  upon  Solo- 
mon in  particular,  her  ardent  lover,  a  fearful 
power  by  those  eyes  of  hers,  which  pierce  the 
heart  and  vanquish  all  resistance  (Ew.,  Dopke, 
Delitzsch,  and  the  great  body  of  interpreters) ; 
but  most  likely  of  all  because  it  was  from  those 
marvellously  beautiful  eyes  a  grave  reproachful 
look  had  fallen  upon  him,  because  he  had  felt 
himself,  as  it  were,  called  to  account  and  chastised 
by  the  awe-inspiring  innocence  and  purity  of  her 
look.  Hitz.  is  substantially  correct,  only  he 
makes  the  "  chastising  look"  proceed  from  Shu- 
lamith still  unmarried,  who  from  love  to  her 
young  shepherd  acts  coldly  towards  the  king  in 
his  addresses.  This  explanation  cannot  be  inval- 
idated by  the  fact  that  the  predicate  "  terrible 
as  bannered  hosts  "  recurs  ver.  10  below,  as  the 
language  of  the  ladies  of  the  court,  quoted  by  So- 
lomon ;*  for  in  this  quotation  Solomon  uses  great 
freedom,  as  is  shown  by  the  extravagant  compar- 
isons with  the  '  sun,  moon,  and  dawn  of  the 
morning  (see  in  loc). 

Ver.  5.  Turu  a-way  thine  eyes  from  me, 
for  they  have  taken  me  by  storm. — By  this 
must  be  substantially  meant,  as  appears  from 
the  context,  an  influence  proceeding  from  Shula- 
mith's  serious  looks  to  the  heart  of  her  con- 
science-smitten husband,  by  which  he  was  awed 
and  abashed  (comp.  the  parallels  adduced  by 
Hitz.  from  the  Syr.  and  Arab,  for  the  sense  of 
terrifying),  not  the  exciting  of  love  to  a  passion- 

*  [This  can  scarcely  be  characterized  in  any  other  way  than 
as  carrying  a  theory  through  regardless  of  dilficulties  which 
the  plain  words  of  the  text  may  interpose.  The  expression 
"  terrible  as  armies  with  banners "  cannot  mean  one  thing 
here  and  a  different  thing  in  ver.  10.  As  Goon  correctly  re- 
marks ;  '*  The  artillery  of  the  eyes  is  an  idea  common  to  poets 
of  every  nation."  Comp.  Anacreon,  Od.  ii.,  xvi.;  MUS.EU8, 
Bero  d  Lmndi.r.—'i&.} 


110 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


ate  ardor  (Dopke),  nor  bewitching  (Vaihin- 
qeb),  nor  manifesting  her  resistless  and  vic- 
torious power  OTer  her  lover  (Delitzsoh),  etc.— 
Thy  hair  is  like  a  flock  of  goats,  etc. 
Comp.  iv.  1  b.  On  ver.  6  comp.  iv.  'A.  On  ver. 
7  comp.  iv.  3  6.  The  omission  in  this  passage* 
of  the  description  of  the  lips  and  tongue  con- 
tained in  iv.  3  a,  is  simply  to  be  explained  from 
the  abridged  character  of  the  present  delinea- 
tion, whict  is,  as  it  were,  but  an  abstract  of  the 
preceding,  -and  since  it  was  enough  simply  to 
remind  his  beloved  of  the  encomiums  passed 
upon  her  on  her  wedding  day,  might  fitly  be  re- 
stricted to  bare  hints  or  a  summary  recapitula- 
tion. The  opinion  of  Hengstenbebg  and  Weiss- 
bach,  that  the  number  four  is  maintained  as 
characteristic  of  the  form  of  this  abridged  de- 
scription, as  the  number  ten  in  the  larger  one, 
imputes  too  whimsical  a  design  to  the  poet.  Far 
too  artificial  also  HiTzio :  The  omission  of  iv. 
3  ffi  is  to  intimate  "  a  brief  pause  "  in  the  vain 
endeavors  of  the  king  to  gain  over  the  coy 
Shulamiih,  whereupon  the  voluptuous  sensualist 
and  inconstant  "butterfly"  suddenly  breaks  off 
after  ver.  7,  bethinking  himself  that  there  are 
other  damsels  yet  [Iliad  ix.  395  f.),  and  accord- 
ingly leaving  the  scene  with  the  words,  "  Well,  I 
have  sixty  queens  and  eighty  concubines,"  etc., 
to  make  love,  soon  after  (vii.  2  ff.)  to  another(!). 
Ver.  8.  There  are  sixty  queens  and 
eighty  concubines,  etc.  That  this  exclama- 
tion is  not  "uttered  aside,"  and  indicative  of 
the  sudden  breaking  of  the  thread  of  the  king's 
patience,  who  has  thus  far  been  vainly  laboring 
witli  Shulamith  (according  to  Hitzig's  view,  just 
stated),  incontrovertibly  appears,  from  its  close 
connection  with  ver.. 9,  which  nothing  but  the 
extreme  of  arbitrary  criticism  can  sunder  from 
it,  and  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  "  shepherd." 
Accordingly,  even  Renan  has  not  ventured  to 
approve  Hitzig's  separation  of  ver.  9  from  ver. 
8,  but  has  assigned  both  verses  to  the  shepherd, 
who  interrupts  the  king  by  singing  them  "from 
without!"  But  how  could  the  praise  of  the 
"  one  dove,"  the  "  one  perfect,"  etc.,  contained 
in  ver.  9,  come  from  any  other  mouth  than  that 
which  uttered  the  encomium  upon  the  beauty  of 
the  king's  beloved,  beginning  ver.  4 !  And 
again,  how  else  could  the  way  be  prepared  for 
the  emphatic  declaration:  "My  dove  is  one," 
etc.,  but  by  this  glance  at  the  great  number  of 
the  queens,  concubines  and  virgins,  who  were 
all  at  the  rich  king's  command,  but  all  of  whom 
he  was  ready  to  subordinate  to  that  one !  It  is 
plain  that  one  verse  here  sustains  the  other,  and 
they  are  all  to  ver.  10  inclusive  most  intimately 
connected  together  like  links  in  a  chain,  which 
cannot  be  broken.  This  has  been  seen  by  the 
majority  even  of  the  advocates  of  the  shepherd- 
hypothesis,  without  their  finding  anything  better 
here  after  all  than  a  "last  violent  assault"  upon 
Shulamith's  innocence  (Ew.),  or  a  "new  and 
heightened  piece  of  flattery "  (Vaih.),  or  a 
"  thought  adapted  to  win  the  heart  and  ensnare 


*  At  least  according  to  the  Masoretic  text ;  though  the 
Septuaq.  insert  the  worda  iv.  3  a  ('fls  arrapTtov  kokklvov 
;^eiATj  trou,  Kai  17  KaKia  aov  iipaia.)  here  too  in  their  proper 
place  (between  vers.  6  and  7).  [But  gratuitous  insertions 
from  parallel  passages  are  too  frequent  in  the  Septuagint  to 
warrant  the  suspicion  of  an  omission  from  the  currently  re- 
ceived text]. 


the  refined  feelings  of  Shulamith"  (Bottch.), 
etc.  On  the  relation  of  the  numbers  here  given, 
"sixty  queens"  and  "eighty  concubines"  of 
Solomon  to  the  seven  hundred  queens  and  three 
hundred  concubines,  as  stated  (1  Kin.  xi.  8,  see 
Introduc,  §  3,  p.  12).  The  passage  before  us 
evidently  contains  a  statement  referable  to  an 
earlier  period  in  Solomon's  life,  which  must  as 
surely  have  been  correct  for  some  fixed  point  of 
time  (which  it  is  true  cannot  now  be  accurately 
ascertained),  as  the  much  larger  numbers  of  the 
book  of  Kings  are  to  be  reckoned  historically  ac- 
curate for  Solomon's  latest  and  most  degenerate 
years.*  For  there  is  just  as  little  necessity 
really  for  discrediting  them  as  "very  large 
statements  in  round  numbers"  (Hitzig),  as  there 
is  for  the  attempt  to  bring  out  an  approximate 
adjustment  with  the  lower  statements  of  this 
passage,  by  the  change  of  700  to  70,  and  of  300 
to  80  (comp.  Thenius  on  1  Kin.  in  loc).  The 
accounts  of  ancient  writers,  as  Plutarch 
[Artax.  c.  27),  Cuetius  (III.  3,  24),  Athen^eds 
[Deipnos.  III.  1),  respecting  the  size  of  the 
harem  of  the  later  Persian  monarchs  (e.  g., 
Artaxerxes  Mnemon  had  360  vaWan'iier ;  Darius 
Codomannus  was  accompanied  by  360  pellices 
on  his  march  against  Alexander,  etc.")  are  analo- 
gies, which,  rightly  weighed,  make  rather  in 
favor  of  than  against  the  credibility  of  the  book 
of  Kings  in  this  matter.  And  although  the 
harems  of  modern  oriental  rulers  are  often  stated 
to  be  considerably  smaller,  so  that  e.  g..  Shah 
Sefi  of  Persia,  according  to  Oleauius,  had  but 
three  wives  and  three  hundred  concubines,  Sul- 
tan Abdul  Medjid,  of  Constantinople,  something 
over  three  hundred  and  fifty  wives,  etc.,  these 
accounts  of  a  very  recent  period  prove  nothing 
respecting  the  customs  and  relations  of  a  hoary 
antiquity.  The  seven  hundred  and  three  hun- 
dred of  the  book  of  Kings,  as  well  as  the  sixty 
and  eighty  of  this  passage,  may  indeed  be  round 
numbers.  This  is  favored  to  some  extent  in  the 
former  case  by  the  circumstance  that  the  total 
amounts  to  precisely  one  thousand,  and  in  the 
latter  by  the  popular  and  proverbial  use  of  the 
numbers  six,  sixty  (comp.  Cic.  Verrin.  I.  c. 
125),  six  hundred  (Ex.  xiv.  7;  Judg.  xviii.  11; 
1  Sam.  xxvii.  2,  and  the  well-known  use  of  the 
lat.  sexcenti).  But  both  these  numerical  state- 
ments must  at  all  events  pass  for  approximately 
exact;  and  neither  the  hypothesis  that  1  Kings, 
loc.  cil.  states  the  entire  number  of  all  the  wives, 
both  principal  and  subordinate,  that  Solomon 
had  in  succession  (so  «.  g.  Keil  in  loc.),  nor  the 

*  [Westminster  Ankotations<  "It  seems  that  Solomon 
writ  this  boolc  of  Canticles  before  ho  had  his  full  number  of 
wives  ;  for  ho  had  many  more  after."  Patrick  (followed  by 
Williams,  Scott  and  Henbt)  supposes  allusion  not  to  Solo- 
mon's own  wives,  but  to  those  of  other  princes,  for  the  reason 
that  "  it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  he  had  so  many  as  are  there 
mentioned,  while  his  mind  was  tilled  with  such  divine  rap- 
tures as  these."  Fry  fancies  that  he  finds  here  an  argument 
for  the  idyllic  hypothesis :  "  The  passage  before  us  contains  a 
tacit  intimation  that  though  King  Solomon's  name  and  King 
Solomon's  pen  were  made  use  of  by  the  divine  Inspirer  of 
these  Canticles  to  construct  an  allegory  representative  of  the 
loves  of  Christ  and  His  Church,  very  different  loves  from 
those  of  Solomon  must  be  imagined  as  the  archetype,  even 
when  in  the  exterior  of  the  allegory,  circumstances  of  royalty 
and  circumstances  connected  with  the  laraelitish  monarch 
are  supposed.  And  it  is  for  the  same  reason  that  though 
King  Solomon  is  the  undoubted  author  of  these  songs,  he  so 
frequently  disrobes  himself  of  his  royal  character,  and  speaks 
in  the  person  of  a  shepherd,  or  leads  us  to  contemplate  some 
faithful  pair  in  the  humbler  ranks  of  life  "]. 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


Ill 


opinion  that  tlie  "  virgina  without  number"  may 
afford  the  means  of  adjusting  the  difference  be- 
tween them,  seems  to  be  admissible.  Against 
the  latter  resource  even  Hiizio  remarks  :  "  The 
above  difference  cannot  be  reconciled  by  means 

of  the  niD7i;  virgins ;  for  these  plainly  consti- 
tute a  third  class,  and  one  outside  of  the  harem" 
— that  is  to  say,  merely  maids  of  the  court,  at- 
tendants upon  the  harem,  whom  the  king,  if  he 
had  chosen,  might  likewise  have  exalted  to  be 
concubines.  On  Henqstenberq's  allegorical  ex- 
planation, according  to  which  the  "household 
of  the  heavenly  Solomon"  is  here  depicted,  and 
consequently  sixty  and  eighty  =  one  hundred 
and  forty,  is  to  be  taken  as  a  mystical  number,* 
see  Introduction,  p.  31. 
Ver.  9.    My   dove,   my  perfect    is    one, 

comp.  on  V.  2.  The  opinion  that  'HnN  "my  sis- 
ter," which  stands  with  Tirari  'Jljl''  "my  dove, 
my  perfect "  in  the  parallel  passage  v.  2,  can  have 
influenced  the  selection  of  Hnx  "one"  in  this 
place,  is  very  improbable  (vs.  Weissb.). — The 
only  one  of  her  mother,  the  choice  one  of 
her  that  bare  her.  It  follows,  from  the  sub- 
sequent mention  of  Shulamith's  little  sister,  viii. 
8,  that  the  predicate  "only"  here  (as  in  Prov. 
iv.  3)  is  not  to  be  taken  literally,  but  in  the 
tropical  sense  of  "incomparable."  On  the  com- 
bination of  "mother"  and  "she  that  bare  her," 
iii.  4,  viii.  5.  On  the  clause  generally,  Prov.  iv. 
3. — Daughters  savr  her  and  called  her 
blessed,  queens  and  concubines  and  they 
praised  her.  On  the  sentence  comp.  Prov. 
ixxi.  28,  probably  a  free  imitation  of  this  pas- 
sage.    The   "daughters"    evidently   correspond 

to  the  r\lD7^  "  virgins,"  ver.  8,  as  also  the 
"queens  and  concubines"  of  that  verse  recur 
here,  that  they  may  expressly  subordinate  them- 
selves to  Shulamith,  who  is  preferred  above 
them.  On  account  of  this  exact  correspondence 
between  this  clause  and  ver.  8,  it  is  incompre- 
hensible how  HiTZ.  can  regard  ver.  9  as  spoken 
by  the  shepherd.  Whence  could  he  know  that 
Solomon's  queens  and  concubines  had  such  an 
opinion  of  Shulamith?  And  how  unnatural 
and  far-fetched  would  such  a  remark  about  the 
uniqueness  and  all-surpassing  loveliness  of  his 
beloved  appear  as  the  first  exclamation  of  the 
shepherd  immediately  upon  his  coming  to  her ! 
In  the  course  of  his  familiar  conversation  with 
her  he  might  appropriately  say  something  of  the 
sort,  but  not  as  the  first  word  of  his  salutation. 

*  [Thrdpp  givea  a  different  view  from  the  allegorical  stand- 
point :  "As  regards  the  sixty  and  the  eighty,  we  have 
of  course  in  each  case  a  definite  number  for  an  indefinite. 
The  choice  of  the  particular  numbers  seems  to  have  been 
mainly  dictated  by  a  studied  avoidance  of  the  number  seventy, 
to  which  a  certain  sacredness  and  completeness  would  have 
attached.  It  is  no  harmonious  covenant-relationship,  in 
which  the  queens  and  concubines  stand  to  Christ :  all  is  with 
them  imperfect  and  wide  of  the  mark.  A  directly  opposite 
view  is  erroneously  tak»n  by  HENasTENBERO."  Wordsworth 
exhibits  the  Archdeacon  of  Westminster  in  his  comment : 
"  The  concubines  are  more  numerous  than  the  queens.  May 
not  this  perhaps  signify  that  the  number  of  the  members  of 
sectarian  congregations  would  be  greater  than  that  of  the 
Church  ?  "  He  had  before  remarked  upon  the  fourscore  con- 
cubines :  "  A  state  of  things  is  here  represented  when  schisms 
prevail  in  Christendom.  The  concubines  represent  Christian 
congregations  which  have  some  spiritual  gifts  and  graces,  but 
are  not  perfectly  joined  to  Christ  in  the  unity  of  the  one  faith 
and  apostolic  fellowship  "]. 


Ver.  10.  Who  is  this  that  looks  forth 
like  the  dawn  ?  If  these  words,  like  the  ex- 
clamations iii.  ti  and  viii.  5,  which  likewise  be. 
gin  with  ns'l-'p  "who  is  this,"  had  really  been 
the  opening  of  a  new  scene  (as  Rosenm.,  Dopke, 
Heiligst.,  Del.,  Vaih.,  Weissb.,  etc.,  maintain, 
either  supposing  Solomon,  or  his  courtiers  and 
attendants,  or  the  ladies  of  the  court  to  be  the 
speakers)  they  wouldhave  been  preceded  by  a  con- 
cluding formula  like  iii.  5  and  viii.  4.  Instead  of 
this  ver.  9  rather  required  to  be  further  explained 
and  supplemented  in  regard  to  Shulamith's  being 
praised  and  pronounced  blessed  by  Solomon's 
wives ;  a  statement  was  still  needed  of  what  the 

ItyN  'blessing'  and  77n  'praising'  of  those 
women  amounted  to.  And  the  thing  of  all  others 
best  adapted  to  this  purpose,  was  a  mention  of 
that  admiring  praise,  which  according  to  iii.  6ff. 
the  ladies  of  the  court  bestowed  upon  Shulamith 
on  her  entry  into  Zion  upon  her  wedding  day. 
To  this  panegyric,  of  which  he  must  have  had 
mediate  or  immediate  cognizance,  Solomon  here 
refers,  though  only  in  the  way  of  inexact  sug- 
gestion not  of  faithful  reproduction  (substan- 
tially correct  Ew.,  B.  HiRZEL,  BoTTCH.,  HiTZ.). 

nSpMH  lit.  "looking  down,  gazing  down" 
from  a  high  position :  comp.  ^pty  in  Judg.  v. 
28;  Ps.  xiv.  2;  liii.  3;  cii.  20;  Lam.  iii.  50. 
Reference  is  thus  made  to  the  prominent  or  ex- 
alted place  occupied  by  Shulamith  in  the  world 
of  women.  She  outshines  all  others  like  the 
early  dawn,  which  looks  from  heaven  over  the 
mountains  down  to  the  earth.  Yes,  like  the  sun 
and  moon  !  Dawn,  moon  and  sun  are  here,  there- 
fore, personified  as  it  were,  like  the  sun  in  i.  6 
above.  Fair  as  the  moon,  pure  as  the  sun. 
m3  here  equivalent  to  spotless,  bright-shining, 
comp.  Ps.  xix.  9;  and  on  the  silvery  moon  as  an 
image  of  superior  purity  and  beauty  Job  xxv.  5; 
xxxi.  26.  Arabic  poets  also  sometimes  compare 
female  beauty  with  the  brightness  of  the  moon 
e.  g.  Hamasa  (ed.  Sohultens,  p.  483.)  "Then 
Lamisa  appeared  like  the  moon  of  heaven  when 
it  shines ;  "  Motanebbi  (Translation  by  Von 
Hammee,  p.  29,  42,  etc.  )  and  others,  comp. 
DoPKE  and  Maon.  in  loc.)*  The  poetic  expres- 
sions nj37   "white"  and  HSn   "hot"  for  moon 

tt:  t 

and  sun,  which  are  again  combined  in  Isa.  xxiv. 
23,  are  particularly  suited  for  the  comparison, 
because  they  are  both  feminine  and  alike  indica- 
tive of  white  and  blazing  radiance. — Terrible 
as  bannered  hosts.  This  concluding  simile 
points  to  the  identity  of  the  person  intended  with 
the  one  described  in  ver.  4,  and  at  the  same  time 
testifies  to  the  identity  of  the  speaker  and  against 
the  sundering  of  this  verse  from  the  preoeding.f 
7.  Continuation,     b.   SnnLAMiTH    and    the 

LADIES   or  THE  COURT,   VI.  11 VII.   1. 


*  Here  too  belong  the  verses  from  Theocritus,  Id.  xviii.  26  ft. 
"  *A(»)?   avTdWotaa  Ka\hv  Si^tftau'e  irpoaijiTTOv, 
TloTv^a  vv^  are,  AeVKOi'  eap  ^(eiTwi'o?  avipTO^, 
'nSe  Kai  a  xpvaia.  'EAeVa  Ste^aiVer'  kv  a^j-lv." 
f  [Dow AT  note ;  "  Here  is  a  beautiful  metaphor  describing 
the  church  from  the  beginning.     'As  the   morning  rising,' 
signifying  the  church  before  the  written  law ;  '  fair  as  the 
moon,'  showing  hei"  under  the  written  law  of  Moses ;   '  bright 
as  the  sun,'  under  the  light  of  the  gospel ;  and  '  terrible  as  an 
army,'  the  power  of  Christ's  church  against  its  enemies."] 


112 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


V.  2— VIII.  4 


Some  recent  commentators  take  this  particu- 
larly difBcult  little  section  to  be  a  narration  by 
Shulamitii  of  sometliing  which  she  had  previously 
experienced,  in  which  she  also  repeats  the  lan- 
guage of  others  to  her,  together  with  her  answer 
(HiTZ.,  Meier,  etc.);  Naegelsb.  (inREUTER's  JZe- 
pert.  1852,  No.  10)  on  the  contrary  regards  it  as  a 
reverie  of  Shulamith,  in  which  she  foreshadows 
to  herself  her  reception  by  her  country  friends 
on  her  expected  return  to  them ;  Ew.  (and  Hahn) 
a  continuation  of  the  discourse  of  Solomon,  in 
which  a  colloquy  between  Shulamith  and  the 
ladies  of  the  royal  court  is  repeated;  the  majori- 
ty of  both  the  older  and  the  later  expositors, 
however,  make  of  it  an  independent  dialogue  be- 
tween Shulamith  and  the  "daughters  of  Jerusa- 
lem," in  which  the  verses  vi.  11,  12  together 
with  the  words  "  what  do  you  see  in  Shulamith" 
in  vii.  1  are  assigned  to  the  former,  and  the  re- 
mainder of  vii.  1,  to  the  latter.  This  last  under- 
standing of  it  is  the  only  one  which  avoids  the 
manifold  difEcultiesand  forced  explanations  with 
which  each  of  those  previously  mentioned  is 
chargeable. 

Ver.  11.  To  the  nut-garden  I  went  down. 
According  to  the  various  interpretations  put 
upon  the  entire  section,  these  words  are  thought 
to  contain  either  1)  Shulamith's  answer  to  what 
is  supposed  to  be  the  wondering  question  of  the 
ladies  of  the  court  in  ver.  10  (so  Del.  and  Weissb.: 
she  states  to  her  noble  auditors  in  these  words 
not  so  much  who  she  is,  as  why  she  had  come 
down  to  the  king's  garden) ;  or  2)  the  beginning 
of  an  account  of  what  happened  to  her  on  the  oc- 
casion of  her  being  first  brought  to  the  king's 
court  ('Ew.,  Umbr.,  Hitz.,  Vaih.,  Bottch.,  Ren. 
etc. — all  agreeing  in  this  that  Shulamith  here  be- 
gins to  tell  the  story  of  her  former  "abduction" 
to  the  king's  harem);  or  3)  the  beginning  of  a 
dreamy  description  of  what  Shulamith  would  do 
after  her  return  home  (Naeqelsb.  loc.  cit.)  or  4) 
the  beginning  of  a  statement  of  the  way  in  which 
the  daughter  of  Zion  attained  the  high  dignity 
which  the  words  of  the  heavenly  Solomon  had 
ascribed  to  her,  especially  in  vers.  9  and  10, 
(Hengstenb.)  ;  or  5)  the  beginning  of  a  recital 
by  Solomon,  in  which  he  prophetically  depicts 
the  process  of  the  conversion  of  (he  gentiles  to 
the  God  of  Israel  (Haun)  etc.  We  hold  that  of 
these  views  the  second  comes  nearest  to  the  true 
iense  of  the  poet,  but  prefer  to  find  in  the  words 
instead  of  a  statement  of  what  Shulamith  was 
doing  at  the  precise  moment  of  her  "  abduction," 
a  description  of  what  she  was  in  the  habit  of 
doing  before  she  came  to  the  royal  court.  We 
accordingly  take 'nnv  neither  as  pluperf.  ("I 
had  gone  down"),  nor  as  a  proper  perfect,  nor 
as  an  aorist,  but  as  a  statement  of  an  action  fre- 
quently repeated  in  the  past,  a  customary  action, 
in  which  sense  though  it  elsewhere  belongs 
rather  to  the  future,  the  perfect  is  sometimes 
used  in  the  0.  T  (e.  g.  2  Sam.  1.  22,)  comp.  Ew. 
Lehrb.  ^  136,  c. — If,  therefore,  Shulamith  com- 
mences in  this  way  to  describe  her  rural  occupa- 
tions prior  to  her  exaltation  as  queen,  she  there- 
by gives  her  husband  plainly  enough  to  under- 
stand (hat  he  has  in  no  wise  satisfied  her  by  his 
enthusiastic  laudations  and  admiring.declarations 
of  love,  but  that  she  now  longed  more  than  ever 
to  get  away  from  his  voluptuous  court  and  from 


the  vicinity  of  his  sixty  queens  and  eighty  concu- 
bines to  the  green  little  nut  garden,  the  fresh 
valleys  and  the  lovely  vineyards  in  the  region  of 
her  home. — lUN  DJJ  denotes  according  to  all 
the  versions  as  well  as  to  ancient  Talmudic  tra- 
dition a,  "nut  garden,"  a  meaning  for  which 
there  is  the  less  need  to  substitute  "kitchen- 
herb  or  vegetable  garden"  (with  Hitz.)  since 
IUX  is  doubtless  the  same  word  with  the  Pers. 
ghtiz  and  Josephus  JBell.  Jud.  III.  10,  8,  ex- 
pressly testifies  to  the  occurrence  of  nut-trees  in 
the  region  of  the  lake  of  Tiberias,  not  far  conse- 
quently from  Shulamith's  home.  The  nut-garden 
here  mentioned  is  to  be  sought  in  this  her  native 
region  and  not  in  the  neighborhood  of  Jerusalem 
or  within  the  range  of  the  king's  gardens.  It 
can  scarcely  be  different  from  the  vineyards  and 
orchards  described  vii.  13  ff.  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  house  of  Shulamith's  mother. — 
To  look  at  the  shrubs  of  the  valley,  etc. 
The  garden  itself  probably  lay  likewise  in  this 
valley-bottom,  or  at  all  events  considerably  lower 
than  Shulamith's  residence  (hence  TT'  "went 
down").     "Shrubs"  or  "green"  of  the  valley 

(  'D^n  '?^ )  probably  denotes  whatever  verdure 
sprouted  up  in  the  place  where  the  water  of  the 
Wady  had  run  off,  less  likely  the  green  of  proper 
water-plants  (Job  viii.  12).  On  the  combination 
of  verdure  or  shrubs,  vines  and  pomegranates 
comp.  ii.  12,  f.  the  like  juxtaposition  of  flowers, 
fig  trees  and  vines.    3  DNI  "  to  look  at  anything  " 

denotes,  as  it  invariably  does,  the  pleased, 
gratified  contemplation  of  an  object  (comp.  Ps. 
xxvii.  4,  Ixiii.  8;  Mic.  iv.  11,  etc.)  not  the  busy 
looking  for  something,  for  which  latter  sense 
not  even  Gen.  xxxiv.  1  can  be  adduced  (vs. 
Hitz.). 

Ver.  12.  I  knew  It  not,  my  desire  brought 
me,  etc.  The  thing  intended  is  scarcely  her  "  de- 
sire to  walk  out  in  the  open  air"  (Ew. ),  or  her 
"  curiosity  "  (Vaih.  ),  or  her  "  wish  to  see  the  vine 
sprout"  (Hitzig),  but  much  more  probably  her 
desire  to  belong  to  her  royal  lover,  her  longing 
to  be  wholly  and  for  ever  her  beloved's.  When 
and  how  this  desire  was  first  awakened  in  her, 
she  does  not  here  state;  she  had  given  utterance 
to  this  in  another  place,  see  ii.  8-17.  In  the 
passage  before  us  she  simply  assumes  the  ex- 
istence of  her  desire  and  longing  for  her  lover, 
and  only  tells  how  little  she  knew  or  imagined  in 
the  midst  of  those  rural  occupations  of  hers  (ver. 
11)  that  she  was  exalted  by  it  "to  the  chariots 
of  her  people,  the  noble,"  in  other  words,  how 
little  she  suspected  beforehand  that  her  lover 
was  the  king,  the  ruler  of  all  Israel. — To  the 
chariots  of  my  people,  the  noble.  ni^a'iD 
strictly  denotes  merely  "wagons,"  but  here,  like 
the  combination  "horses  and  chariots"  in  other 
passages  (Deut.  xx.  1  ;  Isa.  xxxi.  1 ;  Ps.  xx.  8) 
seems  to  express  the  idea  of  the  full  display  of 
the  power  and  pomp  of  the  kingdom,  but  without 
suggesting  anything  of  a  military  nature,  so  that 
as  in  1  Sam.  viii.  11 ;  2  Sam.  xv.  1  we  are  to 
think  chiefly  of  state  carriages  in  the  festive  pro- 
cessions of  the  king  and  his  court.  Being  trans- 
ferred or  promoted  to  these  chariots  of  state 
would  accordingly  be  tantamount  to  elevation  to 


-VIII.  4. 


THE  SONG  OF  80Ll».MJ-\. 


113 


royal  dignity  and  glory,  of  which  the  analogy  of 
Joseph  in  Egypt  is  an  instructive  instance,  Gen. 
xli.  43  ff.  So  far  as  the  language  is  concerned, 
there  is  no  special  ohjection  to  this  interpretation. 
The  connection  of  the  accusative  ni331D  with 
the  verb  OW  without  a  preposition  most  probably 
expresses  the  idea  of  ^'removing  or  bringing  in  the 
direction  (comp.  Isa.  xl.  24;  Dan.  xi.  2;  or  into  the 
vicinity  of  something,"  (comp.  Judg.xi.  29);  this 
is  the  case  not  merely  with  verbs  denoting  motion, 
but  with  all  possible  verbal  ideas  (see  numerous 
examples  in  Ew.,  §  281,  d).  QW  is  often  elsewhere 
synonymous  with  X'SH  "to  bring  or  conduct  to 
any  place  "  (comp.  Gen.  ii.  8)  and  so  ni33"1D  D1K/ 
may  very  readily  mean:  "  tobring  to  the  chariots, 
to  transfer,  exalt  into  the  sphere  or  region  of  the 
chariots  " — a  meaning  which  is  at  all  events  more 
obvious  than  the  rendering  "to  set  me  on  the 
chariots"  (Syk.,  Del.,  etc.)  ;  or  than  the  expla- 
nation of  Velth.,  Gesen.,  Ew.,  Bottoh.,  Hitz., 
Ken.,  etc.:  "  made  me  happen  among  the  chariots  " 
[viz.,  of  the  royal  retinue);  or  than  the  strange 
rendering  of  the  Vuto.,  which  probably  presup- 
poses the  reading  '^^3!^  instead  of  'JHOi?  "  con- 
iurbavit  me  propter  quadrigas,''  etc. ;  or  finally  than 
construing  J^133'1D  as  a  second  object,  either  in 
the  sense  of  "mailing  me  or  converting  me  into 
chariots,"  i.  e.,  "  a  princess  "  (Umbr.)  or  "a  de- 
fence" (Hengstene.);  or  "making like  chariots, 
i.e.,  as  swift  as  cliariots "  (Rosenm.,  Magn., 
Dopke).  Since  no  one  of  these  constructions  ap- 
pears to  be  better  established  in  point  of  lan- 
guage than  ours,  while  this  latter  undoubtedly 
yields  a  less  forced  and  more  attractive  thought, 
we  might  with  all  coniidence  declare  it  to  be  the 
only  one  that  was  admissible,  if  it  were  not  that 
the  difficult  limiting  genitive  ^n:  'H.y  "  of  my 
people,  the  noble,"  involves  the  real  meaning  of 
nj33"in  and  consequently  of  the  entire  passage 
in  an  obscurity  that  can  scarcely  be  cleared  up. 
The  translation  "  chariots  of  my  people,  the  no- 
ble," or  "  chariots  of  my  noble  people,"  is  on 
the  whole  the  most  satisfactory  (the  absence  of 
the  article  before  the  adjective  is  of  no  conse- 
quence, comp.  Gen.  xliii.  14;  Ps.  cxliii.  10 
[Gbeen's  Heb.  Gram.,  ?  249,  1,  J]).  The  re- 
sulting sense  cannot  then  be  materially  different 
from  that  of  D.J?  un:  "  nobles  of  the  people  " 
Ps.oxiii.8or  Uy7\  "i  Num.  xxi.  18  (comp.  \X^V_  "\ 
Ps.  xlvii.  10)  and  will  accordingly  refer  to  the 
noble  countrymen  of  Shulamith,  to  the  proceres 
tea  optimates  gentis  sux ;  for  the  explanation  "war- 
ohariots  of  the  people  of  the  prince"  (Weissb.) 
certainly  has  as  much  against  it  as  the  opinion 
that  3"1J  'B^  is  one  noun,  either  equivalent  to 
"prince'of  the  realm"  (Vaih.)  or  =  the  well- 
known  proper  name  Amminadab  (Ex.  vi.  23 ; 
Num.  i.  7  ;  Buth  iv.  19 ;  1  Chron.  ii.  10 ;  vi.  7, 
etc.).  This  last  expedient,  manifestly  the  most 
confusing  of  all,  was  already  tried  by  the  Sept., 
Stmmaoh,,  Vplo.,  Luthek  (who  has  Amminadib 
instead  of  Amminadab),  and  after  them  by  most 
of  the  older  interpreters,  especially  the  alle- 
gorizers,  with  whom  it  was,  so  to  speak,  a  fixed 
dogma  that  Amminadab  means  the  devil !  But 
even  if  we  shun  such  devious  ways,  the  sense  of 
the  expression  "  transferred  to  the  chariots  of  my 


noble  people  "  remains  obscure  and  ambiguous 
enough,  and  we  can  either  assume  that  the  "  no- 
ble people"  or  "noble  folk"  "  Edelvolk"  (Ew.) 
was  intended  to  denote  the  noble  extraction  of 
Israel,  or  the  courtiers  of  Solomon,  or  the  whole 
people  as  represented  in  the  person  of  its  prince 
(so  substantially  Del.,  comp.  Vaih.).  In  all 
which,  however,  it  still  remains  a  question  why 
the  poet  did  not  make  Shulamith  speak  in  so 
many  terms  of  her  elevation  to  the  chariot  or  to 
the  throne  of  her  prince. — To  complete  as  far  as 
possible  our  enumeration  of  all  that  interpreters 
have  made  out  of  the  crux  before  us,  Weiss- 
bach's  view  of  this  verse  may  here  be  stated  in 
conclusion.     According  to  it  "the  words  of  ver. 

12  in  the  mouth  of  the  person,  who  had  proposed 
the  question  ver.  10  (viz.,  a  courtier,  who  had 
gazed  with  astonishment  upon  Shulamith  in  the 
garden)  mean :  X  asked  the  question  because  I 
did  not  know  that  this  brilliant  and  majestic 
spectacle  was  you ;  I  had  rather  supposed  that  I 
saw  the  prince's  army  chariots  before  me!" — 
Hahn,  too,  thinks  that  the  speaker  of  these  words 
is  not  Shulamith  but  Solomon,  who  thus  relates 
how,  when  filled  with  longing  desire  for  a  re- 
union with  Japhetic  geutilism,  his  soul  suddenly 
and  insensibly  set  him  "on  the  chariots  of  his 
people  as  a  prince."* 

Chap.  7,  Ver.  1.  Come  back,  come  back, 
Shulamith,  etc.  As  according  to  our  under- 
standing of  vers.  11  and  12  Shulamith  expresses 
in  them  her  longing  for  the  simpler  circum- 
stances of  her  native  region  and  speaks  of  her 
elevation  to  the  king's  throne  as  a  distinction, 
which  came  to  her  without  her  knowledge,  and 
contrary  to  her  expectation,  nothing  is  more 
natural  than  to  conceive  that  she  spoke  this 
in  a,  saddened  and  painfully  excited  mood,  and 

*  [The  simplest  and  most  natural  explanation  of  these  words 
finds  in  them,  as  it  is  expressed  by  Wordsworth:  "  the  cheerful 
alacrity  and  fervent  affection  of  the  bride  flying  on  the  wings 
of  love  "  to  the  bridegroom.  Moody  Stuart  :  "  In  a  moment 
her  soul  is  carried  away  directly,  irresistibly,  rapidly  toward 
her  bridegroom  and  her  king."  "WiTHmaTOu  thus  para- 
phrases :  "I  went  into  the  garden ;  I  walked  among  its  shades; 

1  surveyed  its  beauties ;  I  remembered  the  owner,  and  my  soul 
melted  with  rapture  and  love."  Patrick  makes  a  somewhat 
different  application :  "  The  meaning  of  this  verse  seems  to  be 
that  the  spouse  hearing  such  high  commendations  of  herself, 
both  from  the  bridegroom  and  from  the  persons  mentioned, 
ver.  10,  with  great  humility  saith,  that  she  was  not  conscious 
to  herself  of  such  perfections  (I  did  not  know  it,  or  I  did 
not  think  so),  but  is  excited  thereby  to  make  the  greatest 
speed  to  endeavor  to  preserve  this  character  he  had  given  her." 
Percv  and  Good  understand  it  of  the  bride's  hesitation  and  ir- 
resolution after  she  had  promised  to  meet  her  beloved  in  the 
garden.  The  latter  states  its  meaning  thus :  "  I  was  not  aware 
of  the  timidity  of  my  mind,  which  hurried  me  away  from  my 
engagement,  when  in  the  very  act  of  adhering  to  it,  with  the 
rapidity  of  the  chariot  of  Amminadib."  Theupp  on  the  basis  of 

2  Kings  ii.  12  ;  xiii.  14 :  "The  church  had  unconsciously  and 
unexpectedly  become  the  source  and  channel  of  victorious, 
might  to  all  the  willing  people  of  God.  '  My  soul,'  she  says,, 
'  had  made  me.'  It  is  the  unshrinking  and  devoted  zeal  with, 
which  the  church  prosecutes  the  task  set  before  her  that 
makes  her  the  rallying  point  for  all  who  would  join  in  tl>» 
service  of  her  Lord."  Others  attribute  this  language  to.  the 
bridegroom.  Thus  Tatloe  and  Williams  :  "  The  affectiocft  of 
the  prince  carried  him  to  meet  his  love  with  the  rapidity  of 
a  chariot."    Bueeowes,  as  Scott  and  Henet,  finds  in  ve»8.11- 

13  a  statement  of  the  feelings  of  the  bridegroom  dujciBg  his 
temporary  withdrawal.  When  he  left  his  spouse,  v,  6,  it  was 
"  only  to  withdraw  to  his  favorite  place  of  resort  itt  the  gar- 
den ;"  where  "  almost  unconsciously,  ere  he  was  aware,  his 
soul  was  filled  with  the  desire  of  meeting  her  again,  a  desire 
so  strong  that  it  would  have  carried  him,  to  her  arms  with 
the  swiftness  of  the  chariot  of  Amminadib."  It  is.  character- 
istic of  Gill's  exposition  that  in  commenting  on  ver.  11  h« 
proposes  the  question.  Why  are  .bslijjv^rg.lij!;.^  vsisX  aaid  amr 
Bwers  it  under  ten  heads.] 


114 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


V.  2— VIII.  1 


to  conjecture  that  her  strong  and  painful  feeling 
of  home-sickness  would  be  accompanied  by  a 
corresponding  gesture.  This  gesture  we  must 
unquestionably  suppose  from  the  earnest  and 
repeated  call  addressed  to  her  by  the  ladies  of 
the  court  "come  back,  turn  back"  {^2W  '^lij 
comp.  Judg.  T.  12)  was  that  of  intending  to  go 
away,  to  escape  from  the  vicinity  of  the  vicious 
court  of  the  king,  which  had  become  offensive 
to  her.  She  does  not  purpose  to  withdraw  from 
the  "king's  garden"  (Dopke,  Delitzsoh,  etc.), 
in  which  besides  she  could  scarcely  have  been 
at  the  time,  but  from  the  vicinity  of  the  king 
altogether,  who  had  greatly  grieved  her,  and 
that  of  the  ladies  of  his  court,  whose  society  she 
feels  that  she  must  henceforth  avoid.  Hence  it 
is  that  the  latter  (for  it  is  to  them  that  Shula- 
mith's  answer  "  what  do  you  see  in  Shulamith  ?" 
is  directed)  call  to  her,  entreating  her  to  turn 
again  and  permit  them  still  to  look  upon  her 
charming  person.  For  this  is  the  only  sense  in 
which  'ni  ninjl  "  that  we  may  look  upon  thee" 
(3   nin    not   materially   different   from    3   DSI 

:        T  T  :  T  T 

vi.  11)  can  be  taken,  viz.:  that  of  beholding  with 
delight,  feasting  the  eyes  upon  her  to  whom  they 
had  long  before  accorded  the  praise  of  beauty 
(comp.  their  frequent  form  of  address,  "fairest 
among  women,"!.  8;  v.  9;  vi.  1).  That  it  is 
the  ladies  of  the  court,  who  address  to  her  this 
summons  to  return  and  remain,  and  not  Solo- 
mon (whom  many  of  the  older  commentators 
regard  as  the  speaker  in  these  words,  see 
Stakke),  is  either  to  be  explained  by  Solomon's 
uniting  in  the  call  of  the  women  (comp.  Dopke, 
EwALD,  elc),  or  better  still  by  the  assumption 
that  he  who  was  more  affected  than  all  others  by 
her  attempt  to  go  away,  does  more  than  barely  call 
her  back,  he  seeks  by  loving  force  to  detain  her; 
and  hence,  speechless  with  passionate  emotion, 
he  first  embraces  and  holds  her,  that  he  may 
afterwards  fetter  her  by  the  fondest  adulation* 
(ver.  2ff.). — 'What  do  you  see  in  Shula- 
mith? This  question  asked  by  the  party  ad- 
dressed is  doubtless  to  be  understood  as  modestly 
declining  the  praise  indirectly  bestowed  upon 
her  beauty  in  thus  calling  her.  Shulamiih 
wishes  to  be  no  longer  looked  at  and  admired  by 
such  people  as  Solomon's  concubines  and  the 
ladies  of  his  court ;  this  has  become  oppressive 
to  her.  The  humility  of  her  entire  question 
certainly  characterizes   also  her  designation   of 


*  [The  abruptness  witli  which  this  verse  is  introduced  and 
the  ambiguity  of  some  of  its  expressions  make  its  meaning 
extremely  doubtful  and  have  led  to  a  variety  of  uncertain 
conjectures,  but  do  not  justify  the  acceptance  of  the  incredi- 
ble sense  here  put  upon  it.  According  to  the  view  which  is 
entertained  of  the  context  it  has  been  supposed  to  be  ad- 
dressed to  the  bride,  who  waa  rising  to  leave  the  speakers 
(Taylor),  or  had  been  borne  away  from  them  by  her  inward 
rapture  figuratively  described  in  the  preceding  verse  (Moody 
STU.iRT),  or  who  had  p.arted  from  them  in  company  with  her 
husband  (Patrick),  or  who  was  timidly  shrinking  from  meet- 
ing him  (Wlu.iAMS,  Goon,  the  latter  of  whom  renders  thus  : 
"  Virgins. — '  Return,  return,  0  bride  of  Solomon  !  Return, 
return,  that  we  may  yet  respect  thee.'  Koyal  Bride. — '  What 
do  you  expect  from  the  bride  of  Solomon  V  'Pirgins. — '  For- 
titude, like  the  conflict  of  two  armies  '  ").  Or  it  is  thought  to 
be  a  call  upon  the  bride  to  return  from  her  alienation  to  her 
husband  (Ainsworth,  Bcruowes,  as  well  as  Wordsworth, 
who  thinks  that  the  iteration  of  the  appeal  denotes  a  sum- 
mons "  to  both  Jew  and  Gentile  to  return  to  God  and  to  one 
another  in  Christ  and  Ills  Church"),  or  to  return  in  peace  from 
victorious  conflict  (Thrupp,  who  compares  Josh.  x.  21 ;  Judg. 
viii.  9  ;  xi.  31 ;  1  Kin.  xxii.  28).— Tr.] 


herself  JTsSltS?!  (lit.,  "in  the  Shulamitess,"  i.  e. 
not  "in  this  Shulamitess"  but  "in  one  who  is 
a  Shulamitess;"  comp.  1  Kin.  xx.  36;  Isa.  vii. 
14  ;  Joel  iv.  3,  etc.).  Its  meaning  is  certainly  no 
other  than  "  why  do  you  look  at  me,  a  plain 
country  girl  (Hitzig)?  what  you  see  in  the 
simple  daughter  of  a  Galilean  village  ?" '  rt^lthwTl 
is,  as  the  article  shows  both  here  and  where  it 
was  used  in  the  vocative,  certainly  not  the  pro- 
per name  of  a  person  (so  most  of  the  ancient 
versions  and  interpreters) ;  no  more  is  it  an  adjec- 
tive meaning  "  favored,  treated  with  kindness  " 
(Weisse.),  but  a  gentile  noun,  synonymous  with 
n'BJIK'n  1  Kin.  i.  3 ;  2  Kin.  iv.  12,  25,  of  which 
it  is  only  a  dialectic  variation;  it  is  accordingly 
a  designation    of  the   person   in   question  from 

ohw  or  DJ-IE',  the  place  of  her  abode.*  This 
place,  the  ^ovXf/a  of  Eusebids  and  Jerome  in 
his  Onomast.  and  the  modern  Solam  appears  to 
have   received   its  name,   which  originally  may 

have   been  =  070  "ladder,"  on   account  of  its 

t'.. 

location  on  a  steep  mountain  declivity  (comp. 
Robinson,  Pal.  II.  234),  just  as  many  other 
mountains,  e.g.  that  mentioned  1  Mac.  xi.  59  bear 
the  name  'KXifj.a^  (comp.  Hitzio  in  loc.  and  "  Ur- 
geschichle  der  Philister,"  p.  126).  According  to 
Josh.  xix.  18  this  Shunem  was  situated  in  the 
tribe  of  Issachar,  according  to  1  Sam.  xxviii.  4; 
xxix.  1, 11 ;  xxxi.  1  not  far  from  Mount  Gilboa  and 
the  plain  of  Jezreel,  according  to  2  Kin.  iv.  22-25 
not  very  remote  from  Mount  Carmel  (comp.  on 
ver.  6  of  this  chapter,  and  above  on  ii.  8 ;  iii.  6 ; 
iv.  1,  8;  also  the  Introduction,  p.  6).  As  the 
dance  of  Mahanaim.  Some  interpreters  after 
the  example  of  the  Vulg.  ("  quid  videbis  in  Sula- 
mite,  nisi  choros  castrorum?^^)  connect  the  difficult 

words  D^JriSn  mhos  with  the  question  "  why 
will  ye  look  upon  Shulamith,  as  one  looks  upon 
the  dance  of  Mahanaim?"  (Hahn,  Weissb., 
Renan,  etc.,)  or  "  as  at  the  dance  of  M."  (Hitzig). 
But  it  seems  more  natural  and  better  suited  to 
the  context  with  the  majority  of  both  the  older 
and  more  recent  commentators,  to  regard  these 
words  as  the  answer  to  the  question  of  Shula- 
mith, given  of  course  by  those  who  had  asked  her 
to  return,  and  who  take  this  mode  of  stating  why 
they  were  in  fact  so  much  concerned  to  see  Shu- 
lamith yet  longer.  They  see  in  her  "something 
that  resembles  the  dance  of  Mahanaim,"  some- 
thing as  magnificent  and  transporting  as  the 
dance  of  the    angel-host,  east   of  the  Jordan  on 

*  [The  article  as  well  as  the  form  of  the  noun  certainly 
favor  its  derivation  from  the  place  of  her  birth  or  resi- 
dence. The  chief  objections  to  it  are,  first  that  Shunem  if 
never  called  Shulem  in  the  Bible  but  always  Shunem  and 
its  inhabitants  Shunammites ;  and  secondly,  the  bride  is  called 
a  prince's  daughter,  vii.  2.  The  derivation  from  Solomon  (to 
which  Clarke  compares  Charlotte  from  Charles,  Henrietta 
from  Henry,  etc.),  is  favored  by  most  English  commentators, 
and  still  divides  the  suffrages  of  the  learned,  though  it  does 
not  satisfactorily  account  for  the  form  of  the  name  nor  ex- 
plain the  presence  of  the  article.  Its  derivation  from  Salem 
in  the  sense  of  Jerusalem,  as  though  it  were  equivalent  to 
Jerusalemite,  as  Gill  and  others  suggest  after  KiMcm  and 
Aben  Ezra  is  utterly  inadmissible.  Others  follow  the  ex- 
ample of  Aquila  {iipijvvvovtra)  and  attribute  to  it  an  appel- 
lative sense  as  derived  from  the  root  U/]if',  so  Patrick: 
"  perfect,"  and  Thrupp:  "The  peace-laden,  lit.,  the  bepeaced. 
The  name  is  derived  from  the  same  root  as  Solomon  and 
stands  in  partial  correspondence  with  it." — Tr.] 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


THE  SONG  OP  SOLOMON. 


115 


Jacob's  return  home  to  the  promised  land.  See 
Gen.  xxxii.  1-3,  to  which  passage  there  is  an  un- 
mistakable allusion  here  as  Dopke,  Delitzsch, 
Henqstenb.,  Meier,  etc.,  correctly  assume.  This 
occurrence  in  the  early  patriarchal  history  as 
celebrated  as  Jacob's  wrestling  at  Peniel  (Gen. 
ixxii.  28,  comp.  Hos.  xii.  4ff.),  this  miraculous 
experience  of  the  patriarch  Jacob,  to  which  the 
town  of  Mahanaim  between  Jabbok  and  the  Jor- 
dan, the  royal  residence  of  the  anti-Daridic 
northern  kingdom  under  Ishbosheth  (2  Sam.  ii.  8 
if.)  owed  its  name,  forms  here  the  point  of  com- 
parison and  is  evidently  intended  to  represent  the 
sight  of  Shulamith  as  of  angelic  beauty  and 
heavenly  sublimity,  just  as  she  had  before  been 
compared  with  the  morning  dawn,  the  sun  and 
moon  (vi.  10),  and  in  agreement  with  the  fad  that 
in  other  passages  dances  in  praise  of  God  are 
attributed  both  to  the  otars  and  to  the  angels  of 
God  (comp.  Job  xxxviii.  7  :  Judg.v.  20;  Ps.  ciii. 
21;  cxlviii.2;  1  Kingsxxii.  19;  Luke  ii.  13,  e^c). 
The  "dance  of  Mahanaim"  is  accordingly  the 
well-known  dance  of  the  angels  on  the  site  where 
Mahanaim  subsequently  stood.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  take  D^Jnan  in  its  appellative  sense 
"dance  of  the  angel  choirs"  (Dopke)  or  "the 
angelic  hosts  "  (Gesen.)  or  "  the  angel-camps" 
(Del.)  or  "  the  double  army  "  (Umbr.,  Weis.sb.  ; 
comp.  the  Targ.  in  loc).  We  must,  however,  de- 
cidedly rejectevery  interpretation  of  these  words, 
which  sees  in  them  an  "  invitation  to  dance," 
whether  it  is  Solomon  (so  Bottcher),  or  the  ladies 
ofthecourt(Ew.,  Delitzsch,  eCc),  or  Solomon  and 
his  companions  (Dopke),  who  are  supposed  to 
make  request  of  Shulamith  to  execute  the  famous 
dance  of  Mahanaim  in  their  presence.  Such  a 
dance,  whether  it  be  regarded  as  a  solemn  festive 
dance,  in  which  several  took  part  (Ewald,  Bott- 
cher, etc.),  or  as  a  contra-dance  of  two  ranks, 
one  consisting  of  young  men,  and  the  other  of 
young  women  (Hitziq),  or  as  a  solo  dance  by  a 
"danseuseof  the  Harem  "  (Ren.),  or  as  a  "coun- 
try festival  dance  in  the  simple  attire  of  a  shep- 
herdess or  a  vine-dresser  "  (Del.)  is  as  devoid  of 
evidence  for  its  historical  existence,  as  it  is  impos- 
sible to  demonstrate  from  the  present  context  that 
it  was  in  this  instance  actually  performed.  And  if 
actually  exhibited  on  the  stage,  and  described  in 
the  terms  that  follow  (ver.  2  ff.),  it  certainly 
would  not  have  afforded  that  "  most  chaste  spec- 
tacle," that  "  indication  of  Shulamith's  humility 
and  childlike  disposition  "  which  Delitzsch  pro- 
fesses to  see  in  it;  comp.  above  No.  2,  p.  94. 

8.  Conclusion,     c.    Solomon's  final  lauda- 
tion   OP   THE    BEAUTY   OF    HIS    BELOVED,  vii.  2-6. 

Delitzsch  alone  has  put  this  description  into  the 
mouth  of  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  instead  of 
that  of  Solomon  [so  Taylor,  Good,  Williams, 
Fry,  Patrick,  Ainsworth  and  others  on  the 
ground  chiefly  that  the  king  is  spoken  of  in  the 
third  person,  ver.  5],  against  which,  however, 
may  be  urged  not  only  the  sameness  of  the  tone, 
which  prevails  in  this  as  in  the  following  brief 
section  (vers.  7-10),  but  also  the  circumstance 
that  the  caressing  speeches  here  go  further  in  one 
point  at  any  rate,  and  to  say  the  least,  are  more 
undisguised  than  could  have  been  expected  from 
themouth  of  women  (see  ver.  3).  This  description 
of  the  beauty  of  Shulamith  also  has  the  greatest 
»imilarity  to  those  which  Solomon  had  previously 


given  (iv.  1  ff. ;  vi.  4  ff.),  only  it  enumerates  her 
various  charms    in    the  reverse   order,  by   as- 
cending from  the  feet  to  the  head,  and  thus  pro- 
ceeds in  conformity  with  the  customary  Hebrew 
phrase    "  from  the  foot  to  the  head  "   (2  Sam. 
xiv.  25  ;  Isa,  i.  6).     That  this  inverted  order  of 
the  description  was  not  occasioned  by  the  person 
described   executing  a  dance,  but  simply  arose 
from  the  poet's   desire  for  variety,  is  correctly 
recognized  even  by  Hitzio;  comp.  also  Ewald 
in  loc.  (vs.  Delitzsch,  Vaih.,  Renan  and  others). 
One  point  of  contact  with  a  preceding  passage  of 
like  character  in  the  poem  is   found  in  the  ten 
beautiful  parts  of  the  body,  which  are  here  ad- 
duced as  in  Shulamith's  description  of  the  charms 
of  her  lover  (v.  10-16). — How  beautiful  are 
thy  steps  in  the  shoes,  O  prince's  daugh- 
ter !     That  the  beginning  is  made  with  the  steps 
(D'p.J?il  comp.  Ps.  Iviii.  11 ;  2  Kings  xix.  24),  i.  e., 
with  the  feet  as   stepping,  as  in   motion,  proves 
nothing  in  favor  of  the  dancing  hypothesis  al- 
ready  rejected.     For  "to   step"  is   not  =  "to 
dance,"  and  Shulamith   must  have  taken    some 
steps  at  the  beginning  of  this  description,  inas- 
much as  Solomon  must  have  led  her  back  to  his 
or  to  her  former  position,  or  have  conducted  her 
to  some  seat  after  her  purpose  to  go  away.     In 
doing  so  he  points  out  to  her  her  graceful  and 
charming  "  steps  in  her  shoes,"  or  in  other  words 
how  very  becoming  the  shoes,  which  she  weara 
as   a  "prince's   daughter,"    are  to   her   as  she 
walks  !     The  shoes  are  manifestly  mentioned   as 
something  which  she  did  not  wear  originally  and 
in  common  (comp.  v.  3),  as  a  constituent,  there- 
fore, of  her  new  and  elegant  court  dress,  which 
had  doubtless  been  prepared  in  a  most  luxurious 
manner,  both  in  material  and  style,  and  probably 
were  ornamented  with  bows  of  purple,  yellow  or 
variegated  ribbons,  like  the  showy  sandals  of  no- 
ble Hebrew  women  in  later  times  (comp.  Ezek. 
xvi.    10;    Judith  x.  9;    Winer  R.-W.-B.,  Art. 
" Schuhe").     She  is  at  the  same  time  designated 
a  "prince's   daughter"   or    "noble   daughter" 
in  order  to  Indicate  her  present  high  rank   (not 
her  noble  descent,  which  according  to  i.  6;  ii.  8 
ff.,  vi.   11  is  improbable).    nS  is  here  used  in  a 
wide   sense  for  female  in  general,  to  mark  the 
fem.  gender,  as  ii.  2  ;  vi.  9  ;  Gen.  xxx.  13  ;  Judg. 
xii.    9,    etc.;  and  the   term  3"1J   "noble"    may 
have  been  suggested  by  the  y^i  'B.J?  which  she 
had  used  just  before.     That  this  form  of  address 
is   substantially   synonymous  with    "my   sister 
bride  "  has  already  been  observed  on  iv.  9  above. 
Thy  rounded  thighs  are  like  jewels.     Lit., 
"the  roundings  of  thy  thighs,"  i.  e.,  the  rounded 
parts  which  constitute  thy  thighs  (^'5!]]  genit.  of 
the  material  [Green's  Meb.  Gram.,  §  254,  4]  aa 
Ps.   xl.   16:  Ixviii.  31,  etc.— The  word  D'^l^n  is 
very  variously  explained  "necklace  "  or  "jewels" 
(Sept.,  Vulo.,  Syr.,    Rosenm.,  Maqn.,    Vaih., 
Bottcher),  "  clasps"  (Ew.),  "pearls"  (Hitzig), 
"ornaments"     (Hengstenb.),    or    "ornamental 
chains."    As  is  shown  by  the  singular  'yn.  Hwlli 
which  occurs  Prov.   xxv.  12;   Hos.  ii.  15,  some 
elegantly  made  ornament  must  be  intended,  and 
according  to  the  passage  before  us   it  must  be 
composed  of  round,  smoothly  turned  globules  or 
pearls,  as  it  is  used   to  set  forth  the  perfectly 


116 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


rounded  shape  of  the  thighs.— The  work  of  an 
artist's  hands.  The  sing.  Hiy^a,  which  the 
Sept.  and  Syr.  correctly  retain,  is  here  employed 
because  the  numerous  globules  or  pearls  strung 
together,  form  but  one  whole,  one  necklace.  The 
form  pa,  of  the  same  signification  with  )TOS 
P'--t.  viii.  30,  and  with  the  Chald.  and  Syr.  ]D'N 
(see  HiTziQ  in  loc,  and  Ewald,  Lehrbuch,  §  152 
b)  serves  to  denote  the  artificer  or  artist  {rexviTTig, 
arlifex)  in  contrast  with  the  E'^n  (TeKToiv,  faber) 
workman  who  only  performs  the  coarser  kind  of 
work.  That  a  skilful  turner  is  here  particularly 
intended  appears  from  O'^^X}.  The  rotundity  of 
the  thighs  is  one  of  the  noted  beauties  of  the  fe- 
male figure,  not  merely  according  to  Oriental,  but 
also  according  to  Grecian  taste,  as  is  shown  by 
the  well-known  attribute  of  Aphrodite  KaUTTvyoc- 
Ver.  3.  Thy  navel  is  a  round  boivl.  I^K' 
according  to  the  unanimous  testimony  of  the  old 
translators  =  "iit'  Ezek.  xvi.  4,  and  ==  Arab. 
surr,  i.e.,  "navel"  (comp.  on  Prov.  iii.  8). 
But,  as  we  learn  from  the  comparison  with  a 
round  bowl  or  mixing  vessel  (on  JJN  see  just  be- 
low), as  well  as  from  the  following  wish  that  this 
vessel  may  not  lack  mingled  wine,  the  navel  itself 
as  such  cannot  be  intended,  but  rather  the  whole 
belly  (abdomen)  with  the  navel  as  its  centre. 
Correctly  therefore  Hahn,  Vaih.,  Weissbach,  etc., 
''dein  Schooxs,"  {thy  lap)  by  which  expression  the 
reference  demanded  by  what  follows  is  sufficient- 
ly intimated,  whilst  the  translation  "pudenda  " 
(Magnus,  Dopkb,  Hitzig)  cmnot  be  justified  on 
linguistic  grounds;  for  both  T'lK'  Job  xl.  16, 
and  the  Arab,  sirr  {alSolov,  arcanum)  are  only 
related,  not  identical  ideas. — jJK  plur.  nUJX  (Isa. 
xxii,  24  ;  Ex.  xxiv.  6)  does  not  denote  a  cup,  but 
rather  a  bowl,  a  large  round  drinking  vessel, 
here  doubtless  a  bowl  for  mixing  ()cpnr^/:>,  Sept., 
VuLO.)  as  the  following  JID  "mixed  wine" 
shows.  For  that  they  prepared  this  drink  (a  mix- 
ture of  wine  with  warm  or  cold  water — Beraclioth 
7,  5;  8,  2;  Pesach  7,  13;  Maasser  4,  4)  exclu- 
sively in  smaller  vessels  as  cups,  goblets,  etc.,  can 

scarcely  be  proved  by  the  formula  D13ri~nX  JIID 
(vs.  Hitzig). — Let  not  mixed  wine  be  lack- 
ing. This  wish,  which  is  not  tobe  converted  with 
the  older  interpreters  into  an  objective  state- 
ment, as  "  nunguam  indigens  poculis"  VuLQ. )  or 
"  to  which  drink  is  never  wanting  "  (Lutheb), 
contains  without  doubt  an  allusion  of  like  na- 
ture, but  not  so  delicate  as  that  contained  in 
V.  12  ff.*  (comp.  Prov.  v.  15  fF. ).     Some  modern 

*  [There  is  no  reason  for  suspecting  an  indelicacy  in 
this"  perfectly  harmless  expression.  Neither  the  words  em- 
ployed, the  mode  of  their  employment,  nor  the  connection 
in  which  they  stand  warrant  such  an  imputation.  NoYEa 
correctly  says  the  "  spiced  wine  "  is  '*  mentioned  merely 
to  sot  off  the  beauty  and  richness  nf  the  cup."  Moody 
Stuart  :  "  The  dress  of  the  bride  is  described  throughout, 
except  where  clothing  is  not  worn,  as  on  the  neck  and 
the  face.  The  proof  of  this  is  ample  and  irresistible  in  the 
very  first  line  of  the  picture — the  feet  '  beautiful  with  shoes.' 
The  person  might  have  been  clothed,  while  the  feet  were  un- 
shod ;  but  it  was  impossible  that  the  feet  should  be  beauti- 
fied with  the  finest  sandals,  without  the  whole  person  being 
arranged  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband.  Both  the 
terms,  therefore,  in  this  verse  are  of  necessity  parts  of  dress 
covering  the  corresponding  parts  of  the  person,  according 
to  the  tendency  in  all  languages  to  transfer  the  names  that 


commentators  vainly  seek  by  various  methods  to 
escape  this  admission,  e.  g.,  Bottchee  by  the 
assumption  that  this  wish  ^as  only  designed  to 
set  forth  in  a  vivid  manner  the  circular  form  of 
the  iiavel;  Hbngstenb.  by  the  allegorizing  re- 
mark: "the  capacity  of  the  church  to  revive  the 
thirsty  with  a  noble  refreshing  draught  is  repre- 
sented under  the  emblem  of  a  bowl  always  full 
of  mixed  wine;"  Del.  by  the  assertion:  "The 
navel  in  so  far  as  it  became  visible  through  her 
dress  as  she  breathed  harder  in  dancing  (?) 
was  like  a  circular  cup  which  was  not  lacking 

in  spiced  wine"  (but  iN  with  the  following  volun- 
tative  or  jussive  future  !),  "  i.  e.,  as  full  of  bloom- 
ing health  (Prov.  iii.  8)  as  that  of  spiced  wine." 
— Thy  body  is  a  heap  of  w^heat,  set  around 
Twith  lilies. — D'Bn  HO^J?.  is  certainly  not  a 
"  sheaf  of  wheat "  (Ewald,  who  here  has  in  mind 
Ruth  iii.  7,  where,  however,  HO^^  rather  means 
a  heap  of  sheaves),  but  an  accumulated  heap  of 
grain  (comp.  2  Chron.  xxxi.  6  ff.;  Neh.  iii.  34),  so 
that  the  point  of  comparison  lies  on  the  one  hand 
in  its  being  arched  over,  and  on  the  other  in  its 
yellowish-white  color,  and  perhaps  also  subordi- 
nately  in  the  fruitfulness  of  such  a  heap  of  grain. 
"Set  around  with  lilies  "  appears  to  allude  to  the 
custom  of  "garnishing  with  flowers  such  a  heap 
of  wheat  on  the  floor,  when  they  threshed  the 
grain  in  the  open  field  immediately  after  the  har- 
vest" (Dopke), — a,  custom  which,  to  be  sure, 
has  to  be  inferred  solely  from  this  passage.  That 
the  whole  is  a  mere  "  fancy  picture  "  (Weissb., 
Hitzig)  is  improbable.  Yet  the  comparison  was 
probably  suggested  by  the  lily-red — we  would 
have  to  say  the  rose-red — color  of  her  dress 
which  chastely  and  modestly  covered,  as  it 
should,  the  body  of  the  young  lady,  just  as  in  v. 
14  the  sapphires  enveloping  the  "ivory  figure" 
indicated  the  color  of  the  garriient.    At  all  events 


designate  the  living  body  to  the  dress  that  both  conceals  and 
adorns  it.  There  is  a  great  agreement  of  critics,  as  well  as 
obvious  suitableness  in  interpreting  the  goblet  of  wine  as  an 
image  of  the  clasp  that  secures  the  girdle,  composed  proba- 
bly of  rubies  to  which  wine  is  often  compared."  So  sub- 
stantially also  P.\TIUCK,  Harmer,  Parkhurst,  Taylor,  Wil- 
liams, and  others.  Good,  on  the  contrary,  objects  to  the 
opinion  "  that  the  royal  poet,  instead  of  delineating  the  per- 
sonal charms,  '  the  unbought  graces '  of  his  accomplished 
fair,  is  merely  describing  her  different  habiliments  with  the 
splendid  figures  which  were  wrought  on  them.  Against  such 
an  interpretation  I  cannot  but  strongly  protest,  as  equally 
unpoetical,  and  unjust  to  the  text.  In  the  literal  sense  of 
the  original,  I  see  no  indelicacy  whatever,  and  there  ought 
to  be  no  indelicacy  in  its  translation.  The  royal  bard  is 
merely  assuming  a  liberty,  and  that  in  the  chastest  manner 
possible,  which  we  are  daily  conceding  in  our  age  to  every 
painter  and  sculptor  of  eminence."  Good  coincides  in  opinion 
with  ZocKLER,  that  "  navel  "  is  here  used  in  a  wide  sense  for 
"  the  whole  of  the  surrounding  region,"  and  proposes  the 
rendering  "  ^vai^t."  Adopting  this  suggestion,  BtTRROWES 
presents  the  following  picture  as  his  conception  ofthe  figure 
here  described :  "  D'irst,  the  feet  more  beautiful  in  the  elegant 
sandals;  then  the  contour,  the  folds  ofthe  bridal  dress  falling 
around  the  hips,  graceful  as  the  curvature  of  a  rich  necklace 
wrought  by  a  finished  hand ;  next,  the  body  like  a  heap  of 
wheat  encompassed  with  lilies ;  then,  the  waist  expanding 
into  the  bosom,  elegant  as  a  goblet  rounded  gracefully  up- 
wards, and  filled  with  the  richest  spiced  wine."  Scott; 
"  Comeliness  of  person,  not  richness  of  attire  or  ornament,  is 
intended ;  otherwise  the  commendations  would  be  equally 
appropriate  to  the  most  deformed,  if  splendidly  attired,  as  to 
the  most  beautiful ;  nor  is  there  any  need  to  remove  the  gar- 
ments in  order  to  distinguish  a  very  well  proportioned  and 
comely  person  from  others  in  the  most  ordinary  intercourse 
of  life.  Either  men  or  women  may  disguise  themselves  by 
decoration ;  but  becoming  raiment  sets  off  the  form  of  those 
who  wear  it."] 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


117 


the  characteristic  feature,  and  the  chief  signifi- 
cance, perhaps,  of  the  entire  figure  lies  not  in  this 
subsidiary  matter  of  setting  it  around  with  lilies, 
but  in  the  heap  of  grain.  Approximate  parallels 
are  adduced  by  Dopke,  Maon.,  etc.,  e.  g.,  a  pas- 
sage from  MoTANEBBi  (v.  Hammer,  p.  74),  where 
the  loins  of  a  girl  are  likened  to  a  sand-hill;  Om- 
MONBHEir  [Hamaaa,  in  Beiske  Taraf.,  p.  53), 
^•Nales  habet  ut  tumulos  arense  rare  compactss ;" 
NuWEiRins  [loc.  cil,,  p.  131):  "Poetse  comparant 
nates  amatse  cum  collibus  arenaceis.^' 

Ver.  4.  Thy  t^70  breasts  are  like  t^vo 
young  roes,  etc. — Comp.  iv.  5.  "  Feeding 
among  the  lilies "  is  omitted  here,  because  the 
figure  of  lilies  had  just  been  employed  with  a 
somewhat  diiferent  application ;  not  from  regard 
to  ver.  9,  which  has  nothing  to  do  with  "feed- 
ing "  either  In  figure  or  in  fact  (vs.  Weiss- 
bach). 

Ver.  5.  Thy  neck  is  like  a  tower  of  ivory. 
— The  tert.  comp.  lies  on  the  one  hand  in  its  be- 
ing slender  and  straight,  and  on  the  other  in  the 
pure  white  skin  of  the  neck ;  it  is  therefore  simi- 
lar, though  not  exactly  like  that  in  iv.  4.  The 
ivory  tower  here  mentioned  is  certainly  different 
from  the  tower  of  David  named  there,  inasmuch 
as  it  is  not  to  be  couoeived  of  as  a  tower  for  de- 
fence or  an  arsenal,  but  without  doubt  a  structure 
designed  for  purposes  of  luxury,  like  Ahab's  ivory 
house  (1  Kings  xxii.  39  ;  comp.  Am.  iii.  15  ;  Ps. 
xlv.  9),  or  like  the  ivory  throne,  on  which  Solo- 
mon sat,  according  to  1  Kings  x.  18  ff. — Thine 
eyes  pools  in  Heshbon. — As  v.  12  the  eyes  of 
the  lover  are  compared  with  "  doves  by  brooks 
of  water,  bathing  in  milk,  sitting  on  fullness," 
so  here  the  eyes  of  his  beloved  are  likened  to 
light  blue  pools  or  basins  of  water,  which  charm- 
ingly mirror  back  the  rays  of  the  sun.  Comp. 
Ovid,  de  arte  amat.,  II.,  722: — "oculos  tremulo 
fiilgore  micantes,  ut  sol  a  liquida  ssepe  refulgel  aqua." 
The  pools  near  Heshbon,  perhaps  just  two  pools 
lying  near  together  before  one  of  the  principal 
gates  of  this  city,  may  have  been  especially  suited 
for  such  a  comparison  by  the  clearness  of  their 
sheets  of  water  and  the  loveliness  of  their  banks. 
Modern  travellers,  as  Seetzen,  Bueckhaedt, 
etc.,  still  mention  at  least  one  large  reservoir  of 
water  near  Hesban  (the  ancient  Heshbon,  the  city 
of  the  Moabitish  kings,  Deut.  ii.  24  ff.;  Isa.  xy. 
4),  lying  in  a  wady  south  of  the  city,  which  is 
enthroned  on  a  high  hill,  and  consisting  of  excel- 
lent masonry;  comp.  Cbome,  Paldstina,  I.,  254 
ff.— At  the  gate  of  the  daughter  of  multi- 
tudes.—This  "  daughter  of  multitudes  "  (n3 
D'ST  lit.  "  daughter  of  many,"  leafSpog)  or  pop- 
ulous city  is  assuredly  Heshbon  itself  (comp. 
the  frequent  designation  of  cities  by  the  personi- 
fying expression  n3  "daughter,"  e.g.,  Isa.  i.  8; 
X.  32  ;  xxiii.  12  ;  Ps.  cxxxvii.  6),  a  city  which  in 
the  age  of  David  and  Solomon  was  certainly  next 
to  Rabbath  Ammon,  the  most  populous  place  m 
the  neighboring  kingdoms,  or  rather  provinces  of 
Israel  east  of  the  .Jordan.  Hengstenbeeq's  opin- 
ion is  inadmissible  that  D'31  n|  is  only  another 
«xpre8siouforn3-1"Rabbah,"  or  ^S.^  '.3|  "!'] 
"Rabbath  of  the"  children  of  Ammon,"  so  that 
here  the  pools  of  two  trans-jordanic  cities  would 
be  named.     And  so  is  Hitzig's  notion  that  "the 


populous  "  is  the  name  of  a  particular  gate*  of  the 
city  of  Heshbon  (D'^T  03  therefore  not  genitive 
but  appositive),  viz.,  that  at  which  the  markets 
and  the  tribunals  were  commonly  held  ;  for  there 
is  no  example  anywhere  else  of  the  personification 
of  the  gates  of  a  city  as  daughters. — Thy  nose 
like  the  tower  of  Lebanon,  which  looks 
tov7ard  Damascus. — Literally:  as  "a  tower 
of  Lebanon  "f — but  it  does  not  follow  from  this 
absence  of  the  definite  article  that  one  tower  out 
of  several  of  the  same  kind  and  situation  is  in- 
tended (Hitzig).  For  it  is  plainly  designated  as 
a  watch-lower,  or  a  look-out  by  "Ul  HSIX  ;  and 
though  there  may  have  been  in  all  several  struc- 
tures of  this  description  on  Mount  Lebanon  (fo? 
according  to  2  Sam.  viii.  6  David  had  set  military 
garrisons  in  Damascene  Syria),  yet  there  could 
scarcely  have  been  more  than  one  that  "looked 
toward  Damascus,"  i.  e.,  which  served  for  the  mil- 
itary observation  of  this  city,  which  since  Be- 
aon's  defection  had  become  dangerous  to  Israel's 
northern  frontier  (comp.  1  Kings  xi.  23,  24). 
Naturally  enough  it  cannot  now  be  accurately  de- 
termined where  this  tower  of  Lebanon  is  to  be 
looked  for,  whether  at  Fukra,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  which  Robinson  indicates  a  "remarkable 
tower  "  probably  designed  for  military  purposes 
(Zeitschr.  d.  Deutsch.-Morgenl.  Oesellsch.Yll.  1,  77), 
or  at  Magdol,  a  place  in  the  same  region,  with  a 
very  ancient  temple  looking  to  the  north  (ibid.,  p. 
72).  At  all  events,  however,  this  tower  of  Leba- 
non is  totally  distinct  from  the  tower  of  David 
mentioned  iv.  4,  and  this  the  more  certainly  as 
the  latter  served  to  represent  a  majestic  and 
beautifully  ornamented  neck,  and  the  former  a 
straight  nose,  forming  a  handsome  profile. 
Ver.  6.  Thy  head  upon  thee  like  CarmeL 

On  the  somewhat  inaccurate  expression  "thy 

head  upon  thee,"  in  which  the  head  appears  in 
some  sort  as  an  appendage  to  the  entire  man, 
comp.  2  Kings  vi.  31  ;  Judg.  xiv.  18.— The  main 
thing  to  be  regarded  in  the  comparison  with  Car- 
mel  is,  that  next  to  Lebanon  it  is  the  loftiest 
mountain  in  Northern  Palestine,  and  for  this  rea- 
son perhaps  it  is  often  designated  7D"13ri  t^KI 
"  head  of  Carmel "  (1  Kings  xviii.  42;  Am.  ix. 
3 ;  comp.  Jer.  xlvi.  18)  ;  probably  also  there  may 
be  a  subordinate  reference  to  its  being  covered 
with  dense  woods,  an  emblem  of  a  luxuriant 
growth  of  hair  (Mic.  vii.  14;   comp.  v.  13  a  above) 

. whilst   its    loveliness,    which    Hengstenbekg 

would  have  to  be  most  of  all  regarded,  is  proba- 
bly left  out  of  the  account.— And  thy  flowing 

locks  like  purple. — Tv>1  here  comapendula — 
literally  "the  pendant,  that  which  hangs  down 
from  thy  head"  (comp.  Isa.  xxxviii.  12,  where  it 
denotes  the  thrum,  i.  e.,  the  threads  of  the  old 
web  hanging  down  on  the  loom,  to  which  the  new 

are  attached)  from  hhl  pendere,  Job  xxxviii.  4. — 
In   the   comparison    of    the    hair    with    purple 


*  [So  Thrupp  :  "  That  gate  of  Heshbon  which  opened  north- 
eastward in  the  direction  of  Rahbah  of  Ammon,"  or  "  the  gate 
of  approach  to  the  pools,  the  portal  through  which  the  mul- 
titude of  the  Gentile  world  presses  to  drink  to  the  full  of  the 
clear  and  unruffled  waters  of  Christian  doctrine."] 

f  [The  correct  translation  is  "  the  tower  of  Lebanon,"  the 
entire  expression  being  rendered  definite  by  the  article  before 
the  last  noun.    See  Geeen's  Hfb.  Oram,  g  246,  3.— Tr.] 


118 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


(|DJ"IX  particularly  denoting  the  red  purple  in 
distinction  from  the  darli  violet-blue  purple  or 
rh^B)  the  color  is  not  so  much  taken  into  consi- 
deration— for  red  hair,  or  such  as  at  all  inclines 
to  a  reddish  oast,  is  not  at  all  supposable  in  an 
Oriental  beauty— as  its  dark  lustre  (comp.  t.  11). 
As  also  with  the  Greeks  Tropijivpzot  often  has  al- 
most the  same  signification  with  ^f Aof,  and  hence, 
e.g.,  Anacbeon  (xxviii.  6,  7)  uses  TTOfiijivpal  xalrai 
as  the  synonym  of  KOfiai  fj-tMuvai;  Pbopebtius, 
III.,  17,  22,  speaks  of  the  purpurea  coma  of 
Nisus,  and  Suidas  explains  the  Homeric 
nvavoxa'iTTiq  by  '' iieXav6&pi^,  Trop(f>vp6&pL^"  (other 
pertinent  citations  from  TinntL.,  Vikg.,  Cic, 
Plin.,  etc.,  see  in  Rosenm.  and  Dopke  in  loc). 
It  is,'moreover,  also  possible  that  some  purple 
ornament,  that  Shulamith  may  have  worn  braided 
in  her  hair  (comp.  Iliad,  xvii.  52),  gave  occasion 
to  the  comparison ;  whilst  there  is  no  need  what- 
ever of  supposing  an  allusion  to  the  later  custom 
among  the  Hebrew  women  of  dying  their  hair 
with  henna  and  the  like  to  give  it  a  yellowish 
red  appearance.  Comp.  Dopke  in  loc.  and  Winer 
R.-W.-B.,  Art.  "Haar."— A  king  fettered 
by  curls.  The  noble  lustre  of  his  beloved's 
head  of  hair  just  described  makes  the  transition 
easy  to  the  powerful  effect  which  it,  or  more 
particularly  her  wonderfully  beautiful  locks,  has 
wrought  on  him,  ber  royal  lover  (comp.  iv.  9). 
On  the  comparison  of  pretty  looks  with  nets  or 
snares,  in  which  the  lover  is  caught,  Ecolus.  ix.  3, 
4,  as  well  as  numerous  parallels  from  Oriental 
poets  (in  Ewald,  Heiligst.,  and  Dopke);  also 
Prov.  vi.  25,  where  this  ensnaring  efi'ect  is  attri- 
buted to  the  eye-lashes,  as  Eccles.  vii.  26,  to  the 
arms  of  the  beloved  object.  The  Vulg.,  Ste., 
LuTH.,  and  more  recently  'Weissbach  and 
Fkiedmoh  connect*  '^^a  with  I'JJ'IN:  "as  the 
king's  purple,"  or  as  "  purple  of  a  king,"  but  in 
BO  doing  involve  themselves  in  inextricable  diffi- 
culties in  the  explanation  of  the  concluding 
words:  D'OTTIS  'IIOX  (e.  g.,  Friedbich  :  "as 
the  purple  of  a  king  that  is  unbound  like  the 
folds  in  the  troughs;"  Weissbach:  "as  a  king's 
purple  fastened  in  running  water" — where  an 
allusion  is  supposed  to  the  purple  dye-houses  on 
the  Phoenician  side  of  Carmel) ! 

9.  Third  Scene,  a.  Solomon:  vers.  7-11. 

Ver.  7.  How  fair  art  thou,  and  how 
comely,  O  love,  among  delights. — It  is  no 
more  necessary  here  than  in  iii.  10,  to  take  nSHX 
in  the  sense  of  n^HN,  as  is  done  by  the  Vulg. 
{"charissima")  and  Syb.,  or  to  point  it  accord- 
ingly as  Hitzig  proposes.  We  evidently  have  to 
do  with  an  apostrophe  to  love  as  such,  like  that 
contained  in  iv.  10,  only  for  the  more  concrete 
idea  "  thy  love,"  the  more  universal  one  of  love 
in  general  is  here  substituted.  H^HN  has  sub- 
stantially the  same  sense  as  in  ii.  7,  v.  8,  viii, 
6,  7,  or  as  in  2  Sam.  i.  26,  elc.     In  a  strangely 


*  [So  too  HoUBiGANT  and  Thrupp  ;  the  latter  of  whom  ren- 
ders :  "like  royal  purple  enfixed  among  the  wainscotings. 
The  picture  is  that  of  a  rich  cliamber,  on  the  walls  of  which 
are  carved  wooden  panels  alternate  with  purple  hangings. 
The  former  serve  to  relieve  and  to  show  off  the  beauty  of  the 
latter,  to  which  latter  the  well-ordered  and  well-featened 
tresses  of  the  bride's  hair  are  compared."] 


arbitrary  manner  Weissbach  takes  n3nX  in  its 
proper  infinitive  sense  as  in  apposition  with  the 
predicate  not  as  a  vocative :  "how  fair  art  tbpu, 
and  how  comely,  a  loving  in  delight" — which  is 
made  to  mean  "  one,  to  iove  whom  awakens  de- 
light."— D'j-rj;i?ri  (or  nw:^ir\  Eccles.  ii.  8)  arenot 
"caresses"  (Hengstenb.),  but  the  sensations 
of  pleasure  connected  with  them,  "joys,  de- 
lights "  (comp.  Prov.  xix.  10,  Mic.  i.  16,  ii.  9). 
Solomon  does  not  mean  by  it  vulgar,  carnal 
pleasure,  but  the  sweet  joys  of  connubial  inter- 
course, as  he  now  experiences  them  anew  in 
embracing  Shulamith. — On  the  necessity  of  as- 
suming either  an  exit  of  the  chorus,  or  their 
withdrawal  to  the  back-ground  during  the  en- 
thusiastic manifestations  of  conjugal  tenderness 
which  begin  here,  comp.  above.  No.  2,  p.  100, 
where  all  that  was  necessary  is  noted  respecting 
the  propriety  of  having  a  new  scene  begin  with 
this  verse. 

Ver.  8.  This  thy  stature  resembles  a 
palm   tree.      The    riKt    "this"   before    '^I^DIp 

"thy  stature"  is  commonly  regarded  as  re- 
ferring back  to  the  description  of  the  beauty  of 
the  beloved,  contained  in  vers.  2-6,  which  how- 
ever is  the  more  inadmissible,  as  separate  parts 
only  of  the  body  were  there  spoken  of,  for 
whose  combination  into  one  idea  HX'ID  (v.  15), 
and  not  DIOlpi  would  have  been  the  proper  ex- 
pression. Delitzsch  correctly  remarks:  "As 
he  lets  her  go  from  his  arms,  he  surveys  her 
figure  with  his  eyes,  and  finds  it  like  the  palm- 
tree,"  elc.  To  get  a  lively  impression  of  her 
towering  stature  (comp.  HOIp  in  Isa.  x.  33 ; 
Ezek.  xxxi.  3 ;  Ps.  xxxvii.  24),  he  must  have  let 
go  of  her  for  a  moment  at  least,  and  have  con- 
templated her  more  from  a  distance.  The  female 
name  Tamar,  which  is  not  an  unusual  one  in  the 
Old  Test.,  is  based  upon  the  comparison,  which 
is  quite  a  favorite  with  oriental  poets,  of  a  tall 
and  slender  stature  with  the  palm  (comp. 
Fbaehn  on  IliTi  Fossl.,  p.  72 ;  also  Homeb,  Od. 
vii.  160).  And  thy  breasts  clusters,  i.  e. 
those  of  the  palm-tree,  by  which  must  be  in- 
tended the  date-palm,  loaded  with  its  clusters 
of  fruit  (correctly  Rosenmuelleb,  Bottchek, 
Hitzig),  especially  as  it  is  not  until  the  follow- 
ing verse  that  the  transition  is  made  to  clusters 
of  grapes,  which  are  expressly  designated  as 
such  by  the  addition  of  ]3Jn  "the  vine."  That 
the  date  clusters  are  rather  hard,  and  to  that 
extent  appear  not  to  correspond  to  the  swelling 
softness  of  the  breasts,  does  not  impair  the 
suitableness  of  the  comparison,  as  the  only  thing 
regarded  is  the  form  (vs.  Weissb.)  Moreover, 
the  mention  of  breasts  again  in  this  passage 
(comp.  ver.  4)  proves  that  the  preceding  descrip- 
tion (vers.  2-6)  is  not  closely  connected  with  that 
before  us,  and  consequently  that  Weissbach's 
opinion  that  twelve  beauties  are  designedly 
enumerated  in  vers.  2-11  {viz.,  the  stature  and 
the  breasts,  in  addition  to  the  preceding  ten), 
lacks  confirmation. 

Ver.  9.  I  resolve  I  will  climb  the  palm- 
tree,  'il?'?'*  '8  "Ot  to  bs  taken  as  a  preterite  "  I 
said,"  or  "  I  resolved,"  at  some  former  time,  etc., 
as  though  these  words  referred  back  to  v.  1  (so 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


119 


VoLQ.,  Luther,  etc.),  but  as  a  present,  since 
several  other  wishes  are  uttered  in  what  follows, 
but  no  mention  is  made  of  any  previous  fulfil- 
ment of  these  wishes.  Comp.  also  '\r\pWPi  ver. 
11,  which  plainly  points  to  a  fond  desire  of  her 
lover,  just  manifested  afresh,  not  to  one  enter- 
tained at  a  former  period.  I  VT'ill  grasp  its 
boughs.     D'3ippD   lit.   "  that  which  is  on  top  " 

(kindred  with  77D,  770' to  lift  up),  i.  e.,  the 
branches  and  leaves  forming  the  crown  of  the 
palm-tree.  A  more  particular  interpretation  of 
the  figure,  c.  g.,  so  that  the  nose  and  mouth, 
which  her  lover  wished  to  kiss,  are  here  intended 
by  the  "branches"  (Wbissb.),  is  inadmissible, 
and  leads  to  offences  against  good  taste. — ^And 
be  thy  breasts,  please,  like  clusters  of 
the  vine  (comp.  on  ver.  8),  and  the  breath 
of  thy  nose  like  apples.  Nothing  more  is 
here  expressed  than  the  design  to  kiss,  or  to 
revel  in  the  beauty  and  the  sweetness  of  the 
face  and  the  bosom  of  his  beloved.  Chap.  iv. 
16,  V.  1,  is,  therefore,  not  to  be  directly  com- 
pared.— "  The  breath  of  the  nose  "  (comp.  Isa. 
li.  22,  2  Sam.  xxii.  16)  is  here  expressly  men- 
tioned, because  this  is  what  is  perceived  in 
kissing  the  mouth.  The  figure  of  apples  is  the 
more  appropriate,  because  the  apple  n-13F>  de- 
rives its  name  in  Hebrew  from  its  delightful 
fragrance. 

Ver.  10.  And  thy  palate  like  the  best 
'wine.  The  palate  is  not  named  here  as  the 
organ  of  speech  (Henqstenb.  and  others),  but 
as  a  substitute  for  the  mouth  or  the  lips  in 
respect  to  the  sweet  breath  or  lovely  kisses 
(comp.  V.13).  lion  I"  lit.  "wine  of  the  good" 
(comp.  31D"n3"l2  Prov.  xxiv.  25),  is  equivalent 
to  "delightful,  excellent  wine."  See  on  this 
periphrasis  for  the  adjective,  Ewald,  Zehrb. 
\  287,  b  [Gb.een'3  Heb.  Gram.,  i  254,  6,  6].— 
Going  do'wn  for  my  beloved  smoothly. 
As  the  supposition  that  '"1117  "  for  my  beloved" 
has  slipped  in  here  by  mistake  from  the  11th 
verse  following  (Amm.,  Heiligst.,  Hitz.  ;  also 
Ewald  formerly),  is   as  arbitrary  as  its  change 

to  n'n^  "my  love"  (Velth.,  Meier),  ot  to 
D'lnS  "beloved  ones,  friends"  (so  Ewald  now), 
there  is  no  doubt  that  Shulamith  here  takes  up 
the  king's  words,  in  order  as  in  iv.  16  to  con- 
tinue his  description,  and  to  give  him  to  under- 
stand, in  the  most  flattering  way,  that  she  fully 
responds  to  his  love,  and  is  ready  to  grant  him 
every  enjoyment  of  it.— Gliding  over  the 
lips  of  sleepers.  Others  :  causing  the  lips  of 
those  that  are  asleep  to  speak  (Meroerfs, 
Henostenb.,  Del.,  etc.,  connecting  2m  with 
7\T)  speaking  (in  a  bad  sense),  slander);  or 
"causing  the  lips  of  sleepers  to  long  for  it" 
(Weissb.),  etc.  But  for  331— whence  3T  as  the 
name  of  the  bear  with  his  slow  and  awkward 
gait— the  signification  "to  flow  gently,"  or  "to 
glide  "  is  suitable  enough,  and  the  meaning  un- 
doubtedly is,  that  pleasant  tasting  wine  easily  puts 
one  to  sleep,  so  that  he  who  drinks  it  is  insensi- 
bly overtaken  by  slumber  (correctly  Ew.).  There 
is  certainly  no  allusion  to  the  saliva  ons  of  two 


lovers  united  in  a  kiss,  (according  to  the  expres- 
sion in  Lucretius,  "jungunlque  salivas  oris," 
etc.)  for  such  an  image  of  refined  sensuality  is 
inconceivable  in  the  mouth  of  the  chaste  Shula- 
mith. 

Ver.  11.  I  am  my  beloved's  (comp.  vi.  3), 
and  for  me  is  his  desire. — Lit.:  "and  on  me 
(rests)  his  desire."  T\T>WPi  as  in  Gen.  iii.  16, 
the  passage  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  this,  of  the 
longing  desire  of  the  man  lor  tlie  society  of  his 
wife,  not  of  gross  sensual  desires  for  sexual  in- 
tercourse. The  whole  is  a  triumphant  exclamation 
in  which  Shulamith  joyfully  affirms  that  her  lover 
cannot  exist  without  her,  and  it  thus  prepares 
the  way  for  her  making  the  request  of  him,  which 
follows.  With  indescribable  vulgarity  Hitziq 
asserts  that  "  the  concubine  here  recognizes  with 
faltering  voice  and  bursting  eyes  the  mutual  ne- 
cessity of  love." 

10.  Continuation  and  Conclusion,  b.  Shu- 
lamith's  victorious  assault  on  Solomon's  heart,  vii. 
12 — viii.  4. 

Ver.  12.  Come,  my  beloved,  let  us  go  out 
to  the  country. — The  beloved  (in)  who  is  ad- 
dressed, can  be  no  other  than  the  one  addressed 
just  before  in  vers.  10,  11,  that  is  to  say,  Solo- 
mon, not  the  "shepherd,"  to  whom  she  certainly 
would  not  have  been  obliged  in  the  first  instance 
to  have  expressed  her  wish  to  escape  from  the 
contracted  city  walls  into  the  country  in  the  form 
of  an  earnest  entreaty,  and  a  fluent  and  impas- 
sioned persuasion,  even  if  he  were  with  her  in 
Jerusalem  (vs.  Bottch.,  Hitz.,  Ren.);  and  if 
he  was  not  with  her,  it  was  utterly  useless  to  ad- 
dress these  words  to  him  when  far  remote  (vs. 
Ew.,  Vaih.).  Her  persuasion  is  plainly  directed 
to  a  lover,  who  was  really  present,  and  besides 
was  seriously  meant,  not  a  mere  fantastical  make- 
believe  request,  a  desire  which  the  petitioner  was 
convinced  beforehand  could  not  possibly  be 
granted  (vs.  Weissb.). — Let  us  lodge  in  the 
villages. — To  the  country  (HIE')  are  here  added 
villages  (C^S^  from  "133  1  Sam.  vi.  18  ;  construct 
133)  as  in  I'Chron.  xxvii.  25.  They  are  alone 
adapted  to  the  idea  of  "lodging,  passing  ihe 
night"  (vh),  not  "cypress-flowers"  or  "alhen- 
nas,"  which  Dodfkl.,  Ew.,  Meier  unsuitably 
mingle  in  here,  and  which  could  scarcely  have 
been  so  common  then  in  the  holy  land,  that  peo- 
ple could  sleep  on  them  or  under  them  (comp.  on 
i.  14). — On  the  necessity  of  spending  at  least  two 
nights  on  the  way  from  Jerusalem  to  Shunem,  see 
on  iii.  8  above  (p.  82). 

Ver.  13.  Let  us  start  early  for  the  vine- 
yards.— It  is  not  vineyards  lying  on  the  route  to 
Shunem,  which  they  might  visit  on  their  way, 
that  are  here  intended,  but  doubtless  the  vine- 
yards at  Shulamith's  home,  and  probably  her 
own.  For  it  was  in  these  alone  that  she  could 
take  so  lively  an  interest  as  is  expressed  in  what 
follows.— We  shall  see  whether  the  vine 
has  sprouted,  its  blossoms  opened. — The 
vines  and  pomegranates  here  named  are  the  sama 
as  those  in  vi.  U.  Shulamith  wishes  to  return 
with  her  lover  to  just  those  innocent  rural  occu- 
pations and  pleasures,  which  are  there  described 
as  belonging  to  her  former  mode  of  life.  The 
season  implied,  as  in  vi.  11  and  in  ii.  11  ff.,  is  tha 


120 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


spring — that  period  in  the  year  which  most  in- 
cites and  allures  to  the  enjoyment  of  external  na- 
ture. It  is  inadmissible  to  suppose  that  precisely 
one  year  had  elapsed  between  the  spring  depicted 
in  those  passages  and  that  which  is  here  implied 
(HiTZ.).  It  is  more  probable — inasmuch  as  the 
whole  action  appears  to  run  its  course  in  two  or 
three  weeks  (oomp.  on  ii.  8  ff.  above,  p.  69) — that 
the  same  spring  is  meant  here  as  there,  supposing 
the  poet  to  have  formed  a  clear  conception  of  the 
intervals  between  the  main  particulars  of  the  ac- 
tion.— There  will  I  give  thee  my  love. — 
'^^  means  not  "thy  caresses  bestowed  on  me," 
but  "mine  bestowed  on  thee."  This  to  be 
sure,  she  hag  already  granted  him  (see  iv.  16  ; 
vii.  7  flP. ),  but  not  as  yet  continuously,  nor  without 
temporary  disturbances  and  interruptions  (comp. 
vi.  4  f.;  vi.  11),  nor  as  yet  with  the  full  and  unre- 
served opening  of  her  heart.  But  there  [W  with 
strong  emphasis,  as  Am.  vii.  12)  there  amid  the 
loveliness  and  joyous  freedom  of  fair  nature  she 
will  become  entirely  his. — Observe  how  little  this 
passage  again  suits  the  so-called  shepherd  hypo- 
thesis ;  or  even  Weissbaoh's  supposition  that 
Shulamith  is  not  serious  in  uttering  the  wish  be- 
fore us,  and  that  ]ns<  Dt^  is  therefore  to  be  taken 
conditionally:  "There  would  I  give  —  if  it 
were  only  supposable  that  you  could  go  with 
me"  (?!). 

Ver.  14.  The  mandrakes  give  forth  their 
odor. — □'NT.'in  are  not  '-lilies"  (Lutheb),  but 
the  fruit  of  the  mandrake  (mandragora  vernalis,  or 
alTopa  mandragora)^  a  wild  plant  common  in  Pa- 
lestine, particularly  in  Galilee  (Schubert,  Reise, 
III.,  117),  of  the  same  genus  with  the  belladonna, 
with  small  whitish-green  blossoms,  which  in  May 
or  June  become  small  yellow  apples,  about  the 
size  of  a  nutmeg,  of  a  strong  and  agreeable  odor 
UiTJ'Xa  evoafia.  Test  Issachar,  c.  1  ;  comp.  Dioscorid. 
IV.  76:  ehuSrj  fieri  ftapovQ  tiv6q).  As  now  these 
apples  have  a  pleasant  smell,  but  not  the  blos- 
soms nor  the  plant  itself,  Shulamith  of  course  re- 
fers to  the  former,  and  here  therefore  looks  for- 
ward to  a  more  advanced  season  than  in  ver.  13 — 
that  is  to  say,  the  time  of  wheat  harvest  (see 
Gen.  XXX.  14),  as  in  what  follows  in  her  mention 
of  "this  year's  fruit"  her  imagination  goes  still 
further  for  ward. — These  apples,  according  to  Gen. 
XXX.  14-16,  were  regarded  as  an  artificial  provo- 
cative of  sexual  love  (whence  also  the  name 
D'Nin  from  Ift,  D'ln)  even  in  the  earliest  Ori- 
ental  antiquity;  so  also  by  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  by  whom  they  were  therefore  called 
KipKaia,  Circeta  (comp.  also  ihe  name  'Afpodhr/ 
liavSpayopr/Tic in  Hesyohius  and  Phavorinus),  by 
the  Arabs,  who  to  this  day  call  them  luff&h  es- 
Shait&n,  "  Satan's  apples,"  by  all  Christendom  in 
the  middle  ages  (see  Graesse,  Beitrage  zur  Lite- 
tur  und  Sage  des  Mittelalters,  1850),  and  by  many 
still  in  modern  times  ;  comp.,  e.g.,  Father  Mtl- 
LER  in  his  Journey  to  the  Promised  Land:  "  This 
root  (!),  which  I  found  in  the  wilderness  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  and  brought  considerable  of  it 
away  with  me,  has  many  medicinal  virtues,  re- 
moves barrenness,  and  makes  efficacious  love-po- 
tions." (See  Del.,  Genesis,  p.  467.)  Shulamith 
certainly  does  not  name  the  dudaim  here  on  ac- 
count  of  these  supposed   aphrodisiac  qualities, 


much  less  does  she  mean  to  intimate  an  intention 
to  prepare  a  magic  potion  from  them  to  excite  her 
lover  to  a  higher  degree  of  affection.  This  fruit 
is  rather  to  her  in  her  innocence  and  simplicity 
merely  the  symbol  of  love,  and  her  naming  them 
here  like  the  "  excellent  fruits  of  all  sorts  over 
our  doors"  is  merely  designed  to  add  to  the  at- 
tractions and  enjoyments  of  her  home,  which  she 
had  before  mentioned,  such  as  were  new  and 
less  familiar- to  her  lover  (see  Weissb.  in  loc). 
Meier  goes  too  far  in  seeking  a  symbolic  sense 
for  the  words,  when  he  understands  "the  love 
apples  are  fragrant"  to  mean  simply  "I  am 
deeply  in  love,"  and  "the  old  fruit  and  the  new  " 
there  mentioned  to  signify  the  sweet  fruits  of 
love,  of  which  she  would  give  him  to  partake,  the 
old  love  which  had  been  in  existence  hitherto,  and 
the  new,  which  would  meanwhile  grow  up  and 
reach  a  heightened  intensify.  See  in  opposition 
to  this  allegorizing,  which  fritters  away  the  sim- 
ple freshness  of  a  description  so  true  to  nature  for 
the  sake  of  insipid  trivialities,  Hitz.  and  Weissb. 
in  loc. — And  over  our  doors  are  all  sorts  of 
excellent  fruit,  new  as  well  as  old. — By 
"  our  doors  "  Shulamith  means  the  doors  of  her 
parental  home  in  Shunem,  where,  besides  her 
brothers  and  sister  (i.  6  ;  viii.  8),  her  mother 
still  lived  (comp.  iii  4;  viii.  2).  This  house  had 
probably  several  doors,  at  all  events  a  front  and 
a  back  door,  and  likely  also  side  doors,  whence 
the  plural.  On  shelves  in  the  inside  over  these 
doors  they  may  have  kept  choice  ripe  fruit,  as  is 

often  done  in  our  farmers'  houses ;  hence  the  7J7 
"over"  before  U"nn3  "our  doors,"  which  can  nei- 
ther mean  "in front  of"  (Luther,  v.  Amm. ),nor 
"within" (Magn.)  nor  "by"  or  "at"(Coco.,HAHN, 
GoLTZ,  etc.).  Prov.  xvii.  19  also  seems  to  allude 
to  a  use  of  the  beams  or  boards  over  the  doors  of 
rustic  dwellings  for  keeping  various  objects 
(even  if  not  exactly  for  the  construction  of  regu- 
lar store-rooms). — On  D"Ijn  lit.,   "excellencies, 

precious  things"  oomp.  iv.  13.  ~12  refers  to  the 
various  kinds  of  this  fine  fruit,  not  as  Weissb.  af- 
firms, to  the  distinction  between  this  year's  and 
last  year's  fruit.  As  regards  these  two  expres- 
sions (Q'JU;;  DJ  D'E/in),  they  are  both  to  be 
taken  in  the  same  sense  as  Mat.  xiii.  52  Kaiva  nal 
7TaXai.a.  (comp.  also  Lev.  xxv.  22;  xxvi.  10),  and 

as  epithets  limiting  D'"1jn~73 ;  they  must  not  in 
violation  of  the  accents  be  connected  with  the 
final  clause  "I  have,  my  beloved,  laid  up  for 
thee"  (vs.  Magn.,  Del.,  Meier).  This  as  well 
as  the  reference  of  the  verb  'JjlJfX  tp   the  whole 

sentence  from  U'nn3-7^  onward,  as  if  the  last 
three  clauses  of  the  verse  formed  one  long  period 
(Ew.,  Umbr.,  Weissb.)  is  inadmissible,  for 
though  she  might  speak  of  having  stored  old  or 
last  year's  fruit  for  her  lover,  the  same  could  not 
be  said  of  this  year's,  which  had  still  to  ripen 
and  grow. 

VIII.  1.  O  that  thou  wert  as  a  brother  of 
mine,  nX3  cannot  possibly  be  taken  as  a  simple 
vocative  (Septuao.,  Luth.).  It  rather  refers  to 
a  relation  like  that  of  a  brother  ("as  a  brother 
of  mine,"  comp.  Ps.  xxxv.  14)  and  consequently 
expresses   the  wish  and  that  a  wish   seriously 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


THE  SOXG  OF  SOLOMON. 


121 


meant  and  speedily  to  be  realized  (vs.  Weissb.), 
that  Solomon  would  come  so  near  to  her  in  every 
respect,  both  inwardly  and  outvpardly,  that  she 
could  regard  and  treat  him  just  as  her  own 
brother,  as  a  member  of  her  family,  belonging  to 
her  own  domestic  household.  The  wish  here 
expressed  would  have  no  meaning  in  respect  to  a 
lover  of  the  rank  of  a,  shepherd.  It  most  mani- 
festly implies  as  its  object  a  lover,  whose  whole 
station  in  life  was  above  that  of  his  beloved,  in 
whose  case  there  must  be  a  coming  down  from  his 
elevation,  if  an  actual  living  communion  is  to 
subsist  between  him  and  her.  For  the  fact  of 
his  having  made  his  beloved  a  "queen  "and  a 
"prince's  daughter"  is  evidently  without  effect 
on  the  child-like  and  bumble  mind  of  this  simple 
child  of  nature.  She  has  not  been  able  to  pre- 
vail upon  herself  in  addressing  this  proud  lord 
of  a  harem,  surrounded  by  his  sixty  queens  and 
his  eighty  concubines,  as  well  as  by  his  female 
slaves,  to  call  him  her  own  with  the  same  cor- 
dial confidence  that  a  sister  cherishes  towards 
her  brother.  She  has  learned  to  call  him  niT 
"beloved"  but  not  nx  "brother,"  often  as  he 

T 

may  since  their  marriage  have  addressed  her  as 
nbp 'niriN  "my  sister,  bride."  If  this  relation 
which  she  sustained  to  him  be  correctly  estimated, 
Henostenbeeg's  paraphrase  of  the  exclamation 
before  us  "0  that  thou  who  art  my  brother, 
wouldst  enter  into  a  really  brotherly  relation  to 
me"  will  appear  to  be  by  no  means  so  absurd, 
as  Weissb.  would  represent  it.*  TWere  I  to 
find  thee  without,  I  would  kiss  thee. 
"Without,"  t.  e.  on  the  street  or  in  the  open 
country  and  in  general  wherever  I  must  now 
observe  a  stiff  courtly  etiquette  toward  thee  as 
king.  A  new  protest  therefore  against  the  man- 
ners of  the  harem,  which  had  become  intolerable 
to  her. — Yet     none    would    despise    me. 

'S  ID'-k'?  they,  viz.  the  people,  would  not  des- 
pise and  reproach  me  as  though  I  were  a  vulgar 
wench  who  kissed  strange  men  in  the  public 
street;  comp.  Prov.  vii.  12,  13. 

Ver.  2.  I  would  lead  thee,  bring  thee  to 
my  mother's  house.  What  she  had  only 
dreamed  before  iii.  4,  she  can  now  utter  to  her 
lover  as  the  burning  wish  of  her  heart,  certain 
of  its  speedy  accomplishment.  -"JJnJ??  "I  would 
lead  thee,"  that  is  to  say  by  the  hand  ;  whither 
is  told  by  the  following  verb,  which  limits  the 
one  before  it  in  the  same  way  as  1j^^?!  does 
'1N!!fDN  in  ver.  1,  b. — Thou. wouldst  instruct 
me. '  Again  an  indication  that  the  lover  is  not  a 
young  shepherd  but  the  wise  and  learned  king 
Solomon,  in  comparison  with  w.hom  Shulamith 
had  long  learned  to  feel  her  ignorance  and  at 
the  same  time  her  need  of  instruction  from  the 
rich  stores  of  his  mind.  Feeling  the  incongruity 
of  instruction  by  a  lover,  who  was  a  mere  shep- 
herd, HiTZ.  has  taken  up  again  the  conjecture 
of  Ibn  Ezra,  that  '^  is  to  be  supplied  before 
'JiaSn  and  the  verb  thus  converted  into  a  rela- 


*  fWllUAMS :  She  suggests  a  wish  that  her  relation  to  him 
were  rather  that  of  an  infant  brother  than  a  husband;  that 
she  might  be  at  liberty  to  express  her  affection  in  the  strong- 
est and  most  public  manner,  without  incurring  the  charge  of 
forwardness  or  indecorum.] 


live  clause  is  to  be  referred  as  a  3d  pers.  fem. 
to  the  preceding 'HN:  "my  mother  who  would 
teach  me,"  viz.  how  to  do  every  thing  for  you  in 
the  best  manner.  But  this  is  quite  arbitrary  ;  for 
all  the  verbs  before  and  after  are  in  the  2d  pers. 
[?] ;  a  verb  thus  extraordinarily  interrupting 
this  series  must  necessarily  have  been  indicated 
not  merely  by  'K'  or  ItJ'N  but  by  an  emphatic 
N'n  "  she " ;  and  to  this  X'H  would  then  have 
to  be  opposed  an  ^pil'N  '.1^  etc.  comp.  (Bottcher 
Neue  Aehrenl.  III.  172).  Most  of  the  ancient 
versions  confirm  ours,  which  is  the  common 
view  ;  and  that  the  Sept.  and  Syr.  in  place  of 

'JIH 7i1  have  mechanically  repeated  the  last  line 
of  iii.  4,  can  prove  nothing  against  its  correctness. 
I  would  give  thee  to  drink  of  the  spiced 
wine.  That  Tpt^S  "I  would  cause  thee  to 
drink"  contains  an  intentional  allusion  to  '"jpE'S 
"I  would  kiss  thee,"  ver.  1,  which  is  identical 
in  its  consonants,  is  an  idle  remark  of  Hitzio 
and  Weissbaoh,  which  has  little  in  its  favor. 
Meier  has  needlessly  taken  this  clause  to  be  a 
statement  of  what  her  lover  was  to  teach  the 
speaker,  "thou  wouldst  teach  me  how  to  make 
thee  drink,"  etc.;  so  too  Ewald  and  Heiligst., 
according  to  whom  the  meaning  is:  "from  thy 
mouth  I  would  learn,  what  is  pleasant  and 
agreeable  to  thee,  viz.,  to  cause  thee  to  drink," 
etc.     But  all  is  simpler  and  in  better  taste  if  we 

assume  no  close  relation  between  'J'lB'?/!  "thou 
wouldst  instruct  me  "  and  this  clause,  and  find 
nothing  intimated  here  beyond  the  reciprocity 
subsisting  between  the  spiritual  gifts  which  the 
teacher  confers,  and  the  bodily  refreshment 
which  his  pupil  affords  him  in  turn  (comp.  Luke 
X.  38  ff.,  1  Cor.  ix.  11  ;  Gal.  vi.  e).— By  the 
spiced  wine,  of  which  she  means  to  give  him  to 
drink,  Shulamith  probably  means  grape  wine 
mixed  with  fragrant  and  pungent  essences  (ac- 
cording to  a  well-known  oriental  custom,  comp. 
DoPKE  and  Yaih.,  in  loc).  The  definite  article 
designates  this  wine  as  the  well  known  drink  of 
superior  excellence,  as  the  spiced  wine  par  ex- 
cellence; comp.  3'l!3n  I';  vii.  10.  Of  my  pom- 
egranate juice.  Notwithstanding  the  absence 
of  the  copula  something  different  from  the  pre- 
ceding is  here  intended  and  not  the  spiced  wine 
itself,  as  though  this  were  merely  made  from  the 
juice  of  fruit  (Hitzig).  For  such  a  difference  is 
indicated  by  the  use  of  D'D^  "must,  unferment- 
ed  juice,"  instead  of  the  preceding  \]l  "wine," 
as  well  as  by  the  mention  above  of  the  vine  along 
with  the  pomegranate  (vii.  13,  comp.  vi.  11). 
The  suffix  in  'JIHT  (for  which  the  VniG.  and 
Syr.  read  'JiaT  "  my  pomegranates  ")  is  gen.  of 
possession  to  D'D.^  (comp.  ■'E/'lj^  IH)  hence 
equivalent  to  "pomegranate  wine  prepared 
by  me."  It  makes  against  the  view  of  Weiss- 
bach  and  others:  "of  the  wine  of  my  pomegran- 
ate tree,"  that  accordingto  vi.  11;  vii.  13,  Shu- 
lamith had  more  than  one  such  tree. — The 
ancients  called  the  fermented  juice  of  pome- 
granates "  wine,"  as  appears  from  Plin.  H.  N. 
14,  16:   "  Yinumfit — epunicie,  quod  rhoiden  {f>ot6, 


122 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLO.UJ^'. 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


pomegranate)  vacant" ;  comp.  Winer  R.-W.-B. 
Art.  "Wein." 

Ver.  3.  His  left  hand  (is)  under  my  head 
and  his  right  embraces  me.  This  verse  is  not 
a  mere  phrase  to  mark  the  termination  of  a  sec- 
tion, and  unconnected  with  what  precedes  (HiT- 
zig).  It  rather  stands  in  the  same  sort  of  con- 
nection with  the  detailed  description  given  vii.  IS 
ff.  of  what  the  two  lovers  would  do  and  enjoy  to- 
gether in  Shulamith's  home,  that  ii.  6  does  with 
the  preceding  representation  of  their  mutual  en- 
joyment of  nature  and  of  love,  i.  10 ff.;  ii.  3  ff. 
Only  there  Shulamith  was  depicting  the  present, 
whilst  here  she  vividly  portrays  joys  belonging  to 
the  future ;  though  not  in  an  optative  form,  as 
EwALD,  Vaih.,  etc.,  assume  without  sufficient 
reason. 

Ver.  4.  I  adjure  you,  ye  daughters  of  Jeru- 
salem, etc. — On  the  significance  of  this  exclama- 
tion here  as  Shulamith's  farewell  to  the  daughters 
of  Jerusalem  (which  Hitzig  too  has  seen  with 
substantial  correctness),  see  on  ii.  7  above.  Only 
it  is  not  necessary  with  Vaih,  to  impute  the  brev- 
ity of  its  form  to  the  excited  and  reproachful 
tone  in  which  Shulamith,  who  had  been  affronted 
by  the  ladies  of  the  court,  here  speaks. 

DOCTRINAL   AND   ETHICAL. 

1.  The  churchly  allegorical  exegesis  is  neces- 
sarily precluded  from  gaining  an  insight  into  the 
progress  of  the  action  in  the  act  before  us.  It 
finds  every  where  figurative  representations  of 
soteriological  mysteries  with  no  inner  organic 
connection  ;  shifting  figures,  the  aim  of  which 
lies  in  the  repeated  exhibition  of  the  central  point 
of  Christian  truth,  the  conversion,  justification, 
sanctification  and  perfection  of  the  sinner  by  the 
grace  of  the  Redeemer,  or  the  call  and  election 
of  the  whole  church  to  the  saving  communion  of 
God  in  Christ.  Thus  the  narrative  of  the  dream, 
V.  2-7,  together  with  the  following  dialogue,  as 
far  as  vi.  3,  that  is  to  say,  the  first  scene  accord- 
ing to  our  division  seems  to  it  to  be  a  dramatic 
representation,  which  is  already  complete,  of  the 
apostasy  and  restoration  of  the  Church,  or  of  the 
fall  and  redemption  of  mankind.  This  one  sec- 
tion constitutes,  as  it  were,  the  Canticles  in  brief, 
a  poetic  picture  of  the  entire  history  of  redemp- 
tion from  first  to  last.  This  representation  opens, 
according  to  Hengstenb.  (p.  135),  with  a  "  dark 
Bcene,"  or  night  piece.  The  apostasy  of  unbe- 
lieving mankind  from  their  God,  and  especially 
the  rejection  of  the  Saviour  by  the  daughter  of 
Zion,  together  with  the  punishment  of  induration 
and  blindness  which  overtook  her  in  consequence, 
are  so  distinctly  set  forth  by  the  dream-like  fig- 
ures of  Shulamith's  sleep,  her  lover's  vain  desire 
to  be  admitted,  his  subsequent  disappearance,  and 
the  fruitless  search  for  him,  and  finally  by  the 
blows  which  the  watchmen  (the  "heavenly  min- 
isters of  vengeance")  administered  to  her  during 
her  search,  that  the  whole  forms,  so  to  speak,  a 
fit  accompaniment  to  Isa.  liii.  and  likewise 
an  illustration  of  Eom.  xi.  7,  "  the  election  hath 
obtained  it  and  the  rest  were  blinded,"  or  of 
Rom.  xi.  25,  26.  And  then  again  the  representa- 
tion is  directed  to  the  goal  of  the  ultimate  con- 
version of  Israel  and  the  consequent  consumma- 
tion of  the  entire  redemptive  process.     For  for- 


saken and  repelled  by  her  lover,  she  nevertheless 
continues  always  sick  with  love  and  longing  for 
him  (v.  8) ;  in  answer  to  the  question  proposed 
to  test  her,  what  she  thinks  of  her  lover  (v.  9), 
she  exhibits  a  heart  full  of  love  and  submission 
to  the  heavenly  Solomon,  as  the  ideal  of  all  ex- 
cellence (v.  10-lti) ;  finally  she  answers  the  sec- 
ond question  also,  which  is  addressed  to  her  to 
pave  the  way  for  her  reunion  with  her  heavenly 
ioridegroom,  in  a  concrete  manner  (vi.  1-3),  since 
in  her  answer  to.  Where  has  thy  beloved  gone  ? 
she  ungrudgingly  recognizes  that  he  has  his  be- 
ing in  the  Church,  and  in  consequence  of  this  rec- 
ognition the  former  relation  may  be  regarded  as 
restored. — So  Hengstenbekg,  whose  view  may 
be  regarded  as  the  idealizing  recapitulation  of  all 
former  churchly-allegorical  interpretations  of 
this  section. — The  following  portions  also  depict 
according  to  him  the  one  main  object  of  the  song 
again  and  again — the  restoration  of  the  loving 
relation  between  the  Lord  and  His  Church,  which 
originally  existed,  was  then  disturbed  and  broken 
off,  and  has  finally  been  cemented  again.  Ch.  vi. 
4-10  does  this  in  the  form  of  praises  of  the  beauty 
of  the  bride,  and  a  comparison  of  her  with  all 
other  women,  who  constitute  the  household  of  the 
heavenly  Solomon.  Ch.  vi.  11 — vii.  1  in  the  form 
of  a  narrative  by  the  daughter  of  Zion  of  the  way 
in  which  she  attained  to  the  high  dignity  of  a 
bride  of  heaven's  king,  together  with  a  blessing 
bestowed  upon  her  by  the  daughters  of  Jerusa- 
lem, who  express  their  heartfelt  joy  at  her  return 
from  her  wanderings,  and  at  the  distinguished 
graces  which  have  in  consequence  been  imparted 
to  her  ;  ch.  vii.  2-11,  in  the  form  of  a  new  pane- 
gyric pronounced  by  the  king  upon  the  daughter 
of  Zion,  who  has  returned  to  him  from  her  stray- 
ing, and  consequently  to  her  former  beauty, — to 
which  is  further  added  the  expression  of  his  de- 
termination to  enjoy  her  charms,  and  her  cordial 
assent  to  this  determination  (vii.  8-11);  and 
finally,  vii.  12  to  viii.  4,  in  the  form  of  a  prayer 
from  the  daughter  of  Zion  to  her  heavenly  lover, 
to  restore  to  her  his  ancient  love,  and,  far  from 
the  tumult  of  this  sinful  world,  in  rural  retire- 
ment and  seclusion,  to  live  with  her  as  her  bro- 
ther.— The  explanations  of  the  older  allegorists 
are  still  richer  in  repetitions  and  in  correspond- 
ing measure  poorer  in  true  inward  progress. 
One  of  their  number,  e.  g.,  Starke  (who  closely 
follows  Marck,  Ainsworth,  Michael.,  etc.)  para- 
phrases vi.  2,  3,  so  as  to  make  the  bride  set  forth 
"the  delightful  feelings  resulting  from  the  spe- 
cial presence  of  the  bridegroom  of  her  soul, 
which  she  has  just  experienced  in  her  heart," 
describing  thus  Christ's  control  in  the  spice  gar- 
den of  His  Church,  i.  e.,  in  the  hearts  of  the  true 
children  of  God,  wherein  the  whole  work  of  sal- 
vation by  the  Lord  in  the  word  and  sacraments, 
and  His  operations  on  individual  souls,  planting, 
fostering,  preserving  and  perfecting,  is  briefly 
exhibited.  Ch.  vii.  1  he  then  paraphrases  thus: 
"Return,  return  to  me  and  to  thyself  from  the 
confusion,  in  which  thou  wert,  before  I  revealed 
myself  again  to  thee  (v.  6  ;  Ps.  cxvi.  7),  0  Shu- 
lamith, who  hast  obtained  peace  with  God,  right- 
eousness and  strength  in  communion  with  me ;  re- 
turn again,  banish  all  gloomy  and  timorous 
thoughts.  I  shall  ever  remain  thy  Jesus,  thy 
Saviour  and  Benefactor.     Fix  only  a  confiding 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


THE  SONG  OP  SOLOMON. 


123 


heart  again  on  me,  thy  soul's  friend,  that  we,  viz.  I, 
thy  Kedeeiuer,  with  my  Father  who  loves  thee  in 
me,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  may  look  upon  thee,  i.  e., 
may  have  our  delight  and  joy  in  thee  as  a  perfect 
mirror  of  spiritual  beauty."  And  in  viii.  1  the 
same  interpreter  remarks  upon  the  words, 
"Should  I  find  thee  without,  I  would  kiss  thee," 
etc.:  If  I  find  thee  without,  i.e.,  meet  thee  outside  of 
my  mother's  house,  while  I  live  in  the  foreign  laud 
and  the  pilgrimage  of  this  world  (2  Cor.  v.  B-9),  I 
will  kiss  thee  with  the  kiss  of  faith,  love  and 
obedience,  yea,  give  thee  all  conceivable  tokens 
of  my  sincere  and  ardent  love  (Ps.  ii.  12  ;  Hos. 
xiii.  2  ;  Job  xxxi.  27).  And  no  one  should  put 
me  to  shame,  least  of  all  they,  to  whom  I  appear 
so  despicable,  and  who  scoff  at  me  when  I  boast 
of  my  communion  with  thee  and  declare  thy 
praise  (v.  7  ;  Gen.  xxxviii.  23,  etc.,  dc.)."  In 
short,  every  possible  thing  is  here  found  in  every 
thing,  and  the  simple  meaning  of  the  words  is 
almost  every  where  sacrificed  to  the  superabun- 
dant fancy  of  a  dogmatical  and  mystical  interpre- 
tation. 

2.  The  proper  antithesis  to  such  excesses  can 
surely  not  lie  in  banishing  with  the  profane-ero- 
tic exegesis  every  thing  sacred  from  the  course 
of  the  action  here  presented,  and  converting  it, 
as  is  done  particularly  by  Hitziq  and  Renan, 
into  a  succession  of  voluptuous  scenes  in  the  ha- 
rem, without  order  or  progress.  This  view  be- 
comes really  repulsive,  especially  where  it  main- 
tains that  the  poet  brings  Solomon's  love  for  other 
favorites  than  Shulamith  before  his  readers  or 
spectators  by  a  detailed  description  of  his  amor- 
ous intercourse  with  them  ;  that  he  describes  with 
particularity  by  word  and  act  how  the  king  turns 
wearied  away  from  the  coy  Shulamith,  to  "in- 
demnify" himself  with  the  other  beauties  of  his 
harem.  HiTZio's  exegesis  on  the  passage  vii. 
2-11  based  on  this  understanding  of  it,  even 
BoTTOHER  indignantly  pronounces  one  that 
"culminates  in  the  disgustingly  vulgar," — a 
judgment  that  might  with  equal  reason  be  passed 
upon  Benan's  treatment  of  the  same  section.  But 
even  in  its  more  moderate  form,  as  advanced  by 
Hekdee,  Umbr.,  Ew.,  Vaih.,  etc.,  the  shepherd  hy- 
pothesis invariably  involves  much  that  is  of  doubt- 
ful morality,  by  which  the  religious  and  ethical 
character  of  the  section  before  us  is  sensibly 
damaged  in  several  points.  Solomon's  character 
especially  suffers  more  than  is  just,  inasmuch  as 
there  is  heaped  upon  him  besides  the  reproach 
of  polygamy  with  its  excesses,  that  of  an  assidu- 
ous attempt  at  seduction  and  a  corrupting  as- 
sault upon  female  innocence,  an  actually  adulter- 
ous procedure  therefore, — which  especially  in  the 
so-called  "final  assault,"  vii.  2-10,  comes  into 
unseemly  contrast  with  the  alleged  fidelity  of  the 
maiden  to  a  distant  lover.  Shulamith's  charac- 
ter, too,  appears  on  this  view  less  fair  and  great 
than  in  ours ;  the  extravagance,  not  to  say  the 
braggart  character  of  the  description  given  of 
her  lover,  v.  10-16,  if  this  refers  to  a  plain  young 
shepherd,  is  particularly  offensive ;  so  is  the  ex- 
cited pathos  of  the  appeal  which,  according  to 
this  view,  is  directed  to  n,  far  distant  lover  to  go 
with  her  into  the  country,  vii,  12  S.  Some  of  the 
finest  and  loveliest  traits  in  the  picture  of  this 
noble  woman  are  wholly  lost,  especially  the  sym- 
bolic significance  of  her  dream,  v.  2-7 ;  the  lovely 


gentleness  with  which  she  seeks  by  her  evasive 
answer  in  vi.  2,  3,  to  excuse  her  absent  hus- 
band; the  adroitness  with  which  she  interrupts 
him  (vii.  10)  in  order  wholly  to  disarm  and  cap- 
tivate him ;  the  genuine  womanly  naivete  with 
which,  in  her  picture  of  the  innocent  joys  of  their 
life  together  in  the  country,  she  inserts,  viii.  2,  a 
hint  of  the  instruction  which  she  hopes  to  receive 
from  her  lover,  etc. 

3.  The  typical  Messianic  view  avoids  these 
faults  in  a  manner  which  really  satisfies  both  the 
aesthetic  and  the  religious  feeling.  It  through- 
out gives  due  prominence  alike  to  light  and  shade, 
and  while  it  sets  forth  in  all  its  rigor  the  con- 
flict of  the  lovely,  chaste  and  pure  child  of  na- 
ture with  the  corrupt  manners  of  the  court  and 
her  royal  lover  who  shared  them,  it  nevertheless 
paves  the  way  likewise  for  a  truly  blessed  recon- 
ciliation and  removal  of  this  conflict  by  showing 
how  Shulamith's  urgency  to  return  to  her  coun- 
try home,  lays  the  foundation  for  a  change  of 
mind  in  her  husband,  and  for  satisfying  her 
boldest  and  highest  wishes.  The  true  power  of 
love  in  the  humble  maiden  thus  shines  in  its  most 
glorious  light,  and  the  lover  who  at  first  resisted  is 
drawn  along  by  it ;  his  resistance  to  the  sanctity  of 
the  marriage  connection  is  overcome  by  the  purity 
of  her  feelings. — When  put  in  a  parallel  with  the 
relation  of  Christ  to  His  Church,  this  episode  from 
the  story  of  the  love  of  Solomon  and  Shulamith 
certainly  exhibits  more  disparity  than  resem- 
blance. But  it  forms  also  just  that  section  of  the 
story,  in  which  the  dissimilarity  of  the  two  rela- 
tions must  naturally  come  most  strongly  out,  in 
some  parts  of  it  almost  to  the  obliteration  of 
every  trace  of  similitude.  And  yet  there  remain 
even  here  significant  analogies  enough  to  es- 
tablish the  essentially  Messianic  character  of  the 
whole.  Above  all  the  glowing  description  of  the 
beauty  of  the  lover,  v.  10-16,  which  is  only  ap- 
plicable to  Solomon,  not  to  any  of  his  subjects, 
points  to  the  King  of  all  kings  as  the  heavenly 
prototype  of  that  king,  as  the  possessor  of  an 
eternal  glory  which  far  outshines  the  splendor  of 
the  earthly  Solomon.  Mankind  seeking  after 
God,  and  craving  His  salvation,  the  antitype  in 
the  history  of  redemption  of  the  earthly  Shula- 
mith, by  its  earnest  and  continued  longing,  wait- 
ing, entreating  and  imploring,  succeeds  in  mov- 
ing this  heavenly  Solomon  to  give  up  his  glory 
and  enter  into  its  low  estate,  as  she  moves  her 
lord  and  king  to  the  resolve  to  live  with  her  in 
her  mother's  house,  and  to  partake  with  her  of 
all  the  simple  country  enjoyments  and  pleasures 
which  this  house,  with  its  surroundings,  could 
ofl'er  him  and  her.  In  this  parallel  there  cer- 
tainly lies  a  prophecy  of  the  fulfilling  of  that 
which  is  written,  John  xiv.  23,  "  If  a  man  love 
me,  he  will  keep  my  words  ;  and  my  Father  will 
love  him,  and  we  will  come  unto  him  and  make 
our  abode  with  him;"  likewise  of  2  Cor.  vi.  16 
(Lev.  xxvi.  11 ;  Hebr.  viii.  10),  "  I  will  dwell  in 
them,  and  walk  in  them  ;  and  I  will  be  their  God, 
and  they  shall  be  my  people ;"  as  well  as  of  Rev. 
xxi.  3,  "Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with 
men,  and  He  will  dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall 
be  His  people,  nnd  He  himself,  God  with  them, 
shall  be  their  God."  That  significant  phrase  too, 
"thou  wouldst  instruct  me,"  viii.  2,  points  to  the 
higher  stage  of  divine  revelation  to  whioh  man- 


124 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


V.  2— VIII.  4. 


kind  has  been  exalted  under  the  New  Testament, 
in  the  same  manner  as  Isa.  liv.  13  (John  tL  45): 
"And  all  thy  children  shall  be  taught  of  the 
Lokd;"  or  as  Jer.  xxxi.  33  (Heb.  viii.  10  £f.): 
"I  will  put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts,  and 
write  it  in  their  hearts; — and  they  shall  teach 
no  more  every  man  his  neighbor,  saying,  Know 
the  Lord;  for  they  shall  all  know  me  from  the 
least  of  them  unto  the  greatest  of  them,  saith  the 
Lord,"  (comp.  Joel  iii.  1  f.  ;  Acts  ii.  16  f.  ;  1 
John  ii.  27,  etc.). — But  certainly, — and  herein 
lies  the  exaltation  of  the  New  Testament  Solo- 
mon above  the  Old,  and  the  superiority  of  the 
New  Testament  covenant  of  grace,  as  compared 
with  the  marriage  covenant  between  Solomon  and 
Shulamith — no  express  entreaty  with  flattering 
words  and  persistent  supplication  was  needed  to 
bring  down  the  Lord  of  the  New  Covenant  to  His 
own.  Even  if  here  and  there  in  His  parables  He 
assumes  the  air  of  the  reluctant  friend  or  the 
unmerciful  judge,  and  thus  seems  to  impose  upon 
His  own  people  the  duty  of  importunate  begging 
and  crying  (Luke  xi.  5-8;  xviii.  1-7),  this  is 
purposely  done  that  the  contrast  between  human 
hard-heartedness  and  His  own  infinitely  merci- 
ful and  prevenientlove,  may  induce  to  a  heartier 
confidence  in  the  latter.  His  becoming  poor  in 
order  to  make  us  rifth,  His  emptying  and  hum- 
bling Himself  to  the  form  of  a  servant  was  pre- 
venient  throughout,  with  no  merit  or  worthiness 
on  the  part  of  man  ;  yea,  so  that  He  "  was  found 
of  them  that  sought  Him  not,  and  was  made  mani- 
fest unto  them  that  asked  not  after  Him  "  (Rom. 
X.  20;  Isa.  Ixv.  1).  Of  His  coming  to  His  own 
it  may  in  truth  be  said: 

"  Tou  do  not  need  to  labor. 

Nor  Btriiggle  day  and  night. 
To  bring  Ilim  down  from  lieaven. 

By  efforts  of  your  might. 
He  comes  of  His  own  motion. 

Is  full  of  love  and  grace, 
Your  every  grief  and  sorrow 

He'll  utterly  efface." 

And  besides  it  is  a  real  and  substantial  glory, 
which  He  gives  up  and  forsakes  from  love  to  the 
poor  children  of  men,  not  a  mere  seeming  glory, 
full  of  sin  and  vanity,  like  that  of  the   earthly 


Solomon.  His  love  to  the  poor  damsel  of  earth 
is  so  utterly  unselfish  that  He  gives  everything 
and  receives  nothing,  whilst  she  can  give  nothing 
but  only  receive  (comp.  St.  Francis  of  Assisi 's 
fable  of  the  rich  king  Christ,  and  the  fair  damsel 
"Poverty").  Nay,  she  does  not  even  possess  as 
her  own  those  "  excellent  fruits,  new  and  old," 
with  which  she  was  to  regale  her  gracious  and 
heavenly  guest  upon  his  entrance  into  her  mother's 
house.  But  it  is  her  lover,  and  He  alone,  who 
makes  the  seed  of  His  divine  word  bring  forth  in 
her  good  and  worthy  fruit,  which  endureth  unto 
everlasting  life.  It  is  He  alone  who  makes  her 
rich  in  all  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  and  of  righteous- 
ness (Phil.  i.  11 ;  Gal.  v.  22,  etc.).  He  alone  dis- 
tributes the  precious  wine  of  joy  at  the  table  of 
His  grace,  by  which  He  solemnly  seals  and  con- 
firms with  His  earthly  bride,  the  covenant  of  His 
love,  established  by  His  bloody  sacrificial  death 
(comp.  John  ii.  1-11).  And  while  Shulamith's  en- 
treaty of  her  royal  lord  and  husband  "  0  that  thou 
wert  like  my  brother,  who  sucked  the  breasts  of  my 
mother"  (viii.  1)  can  only  be  made  in  the  most  re- 
stricted sense, — while  she,  upon  a  calm  and  sober 
view  of  the  case  at  least,  can  expect  no  more  than 
a  transient  coming  down  of  her  lover  into  her  pov- 
erty and  retirement,  the  heavenly  bridegroom  of 
the  Church,  on  the  contrary,  comes  not  only  once 
and  in  the  fullest  truth,  but;  for  ever  as  our  bro, 
ther  on  the  earth.  He  "  is  not  ashamed  to  call 
all  them,  whom  He  redeems.  His  brethren  "  (Heb. 
ii.  11  ;  comp.  John  xx.  17).  He  is  made  partaker 
of  their  earthly  flesh  and  blood  in  order  to  raise 
them  from  being  slaves  of  sin  and  death  to  be 
children  of  God  and  heirs  of  His  eternal,  heavenly 
blessedness  (Heb.  ii.  14,  15  ;  John  viii.  32-36). 
— Thus  set  in  the  light  of  His  deeds  of  redeeming 
love,  this  section  of  the  Canticles  becomes  a  song 
of  praise  to  the  grace  of  the  Lord,  which  worketh 
all  in  all,  a  hymn  of  glory  to  that  inscrutable 
mystery  of  the  Divine  mercy,  of  which  Paul  ex- 
claims, Rom.  xi.  34  f.:  "  For  who  hath  known 
the  mind  of  the  Lord?  or  who  hath  been  His 
counsellor  ?  Or  who  hath  first  given  to  Him  and 
it  shall  be  recompensed  unto  him  again  ?  For  of 
Him,  and  through  Him,  and  to  Him,  are  all 
things;  to  whom  be  glory  for  ever.   Amen." 


VIII.  5-14.  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


125 


FIFTH  SONG. 

ne  return  home  and  the  triumph  of  the  ehaste  love  of  the  wife  over  the  unchaste  feelings  of  her  royA 

husband. 

CttAP.  VIII.  5—14. 
FIRST   S  C E NE: 

The  arrival  home. 

(Vers.  6-7.) 

Country  people  (in  the  fields  at  Shunem). 

5  Who^  is  this  coming  up  out  of  the  wilderness, 

leaning  upon  her  beloved  ? 

Solomon  (entering  arm  in  arm  with  Shulamith). 
Under=^  this^  apple  tree  I  waked  thee  ;* 
there^  thy^  mother  travailed^  with  thee, 
there  travailed  she  that  bare  thee. 

Shulamith  (familiarly  pressing  up  close  to  her  lover). 

6  Place^  me  as  a  signet  ring  upon  thy  heart, 

as  a  signet-ring  upon  thine  arm. 
For  strong  as  death  is  love, 
hard  as  SheoP  is  jealousy 
Its  flames^"  are  flames  of  fire, 
a  blaze  of  Jehovah.^^ 

textual  and  grammatical, 

1  [WiCL.:  The  voice  of  the  synagogue,  of  the  church.    Mat.:  The  synagogue  speaking  of  the  church.] 

2  [WiCL. ;  The  voice  of  Christ  to  the  synagogue,  of  the  holy  crosa.  Under  an  apple  tree  I  reared  thee.  Mat.:  The  voice 
of  the  spouse  hefore  the  spousess.  Gov.,  Mat.:  I  am  the  same  that  waked  thee  up  among  the  apple  trees.  Bish.  ;  I  waked 
thee  up  among,  etc.     Genev.:  I  raised  thee  up  under  an  [Eng.  Yee.:  the]  apple  tree.] 

3  n^iUpn  deictic :  "  this  apple  tree." 

<  We  read  TnT}!;;. 

'  TS'B'ID  we  take  to  be  synonymous  with  Q^  as  in  Jer.  xviii.  2 :  2  Kings  xxiii.  8,  etc. 

TT  T 

'  Here  too  we  read  the  fern.  auf.  "nSN  ^H 7311  and  at  the  end  of  the  verae  "nmS^  (or  with  the  Sept.,  Vulg.,  Stti. 

7  73n  liere  as  well  as  in  Ps.  vii.  15  is  taken  by  Ibn  Ezra  and  Hitzig  in  the  sense  of  "conceiving"  [so  Genev.:  cor- 

ceived] ;  but  the  meaning  of  writhing  with  pain,  travailing  (toSi'f  etv)  is  more  obvious  and  better  confirmed  by  73n,  D^ S^H. 

At  all  events,  we  must  reject  Meier's  explanation:  "there  thy  mother  betrothed  thee"  (in  like  manner  Schultens,  J.  I). 
MiCHAELis,  Magnus)  [so  too  Percy,  Good,  Williams,  BuRROWES  and  others];  for  even  if  the  sense  of  pledging  or  betrothing 

were  certainly  established  for  the  Piel  of  yJHH)  it  would  still  require  "^j  to  me,  for  its  more  exact  limitation.    The  Vulg. 

{c&rrupta  est,molata  cjrf)  with  still  less  propriety  has  taken  7311  in  ^^^  sense  of  "corrupting"  (in  like  manner  Aquila  : 
5ie05(ip7j).  On  the  contrary,  the  Sept,  correctly :  e/eet  oiSivrjaey  ere  r}  ti-rir-qp  a-ov,  [Wicl.;  there  shamed  is  thy  mother,  there 
defiled  is  she  that  gat  thee.  Dow.:  "  there  thy  mother  was  corrupted,  there  she  was  deflowered  that  bare  thee ;"  to  which  is 
appended  the  note:  "under  the  apple  tree  I  raised  thee  up;  that  is,  that  Christ  redeemed  the  Gentiles  at  the  foot  of  the 
cross,  where  the  synagogue  of  the  Jews  (the  mother  church)  was  corrupted  by  their  denying  Him  and  crucifying  Him."] 

8  [Mat.:  The  church  speaking  to  Christ.] 

«  [Wicl.,  Cov.,  Mat.,  Cran.,  Bish.,  Dow.:  hell.    Genev.,  Eng.  Ver.:  the  grave.] 

10  [WiOL.,  Dow.:  lamps.    Other  English  versions :  coals.] 

11  In  HTl^niK'  the  Masorah  has  connected  the  genitive  pl^  with  the  construct,  as  in  H  w3ND  Jer.  ii.  31,  and  asinpro- 

T  :  ■.■  V    ;  -  T  T  :  ■■ :  - 

per  names  compounded  with  "jy  or  XCV  (^^^  abbreviation  of  mn^).   The  recension  of  Ben  Asher  retains  this  mode  of  writing 

T  T 

the  expression  as  a  compound,  while  that  of  Ben  Naphtali  separates  the  words.  The  «/iAdye?  avr^y  of  the  Septuaqint  is  based 
upon  this  contraction  into  one  word.  Ewald  and  Hitzig  needlessly  conjecture  that  the  original  reading  waa  n^nuri/K^ 
HV  niDri/K'  "its  flames  are  flames  of  God,"  The  analogy  of  the  preceding  sentences  rather  requires,  as  Weissbach  cor- 
rectly observes,  the  giving  of  two  predicates  to  the  single  subject  n^£32/'l.  It  is,  therefore,  properly  to  be  translated  "its 
flames  are  flames  of  fire,  they  are  a  blaze  of  God."  On  the  etymology  of  JIDH /E'  as  a  compound  of  K'X  and  (13717  compare 

Weissbach  in  loc.  [The  K'  is  servile,  such  as  marks  the  Shaphel  species  in  Chald.  and  Syr.  See  Geben.  and  Pdeeat's  Lexi- 
cons.   Gov.,  Mat.:  a  very  flame  of  the  Lord.    Genev.;  a  vehement  flame.    Eng.  Ver.  :  a  moat  vehement  flame,] 


126  THE  SONG  OP  SOLOMON.  VIII.  5-14. 


7  Many  waters  cannot 

quench  love, 

and  rivers  shall  not  wash'  it  away. 

If  a  man  were  to  give 

all  the  wealth  of  his  house  for  love, 

he  would  be  utterly  contemned. 

SECOND     SCENE: 
Shulamith  with  hee  lover  (in  the  circle  of  her  friends.) 

(Vers.  8-14.) 

Shulamith. 

8  A'  sister  we  have,  little 

and  she  has  no  breasts  ; 

what  shall  we  do  for'  our  sister 

in  the  day  that  she  shall  be  spoken  for  ?* 

Shulamith's  Brothees. 

9  If  ^  she  be  a  wall, 

we  will  build  upon  her  a  silver  castle ; 

but  if  she  be  a  door, 

we  will  stop  her  up  with  a  cedar  board. 

Shulamith. 

10  P  was  a  wall 

and  my  breasts  like  towers. 
Then  was  I  in  his  eyes 
as  one  that  finds  peace. — ■ 

11  Solomon'  has"*  a  vineyard  in  Baal-hamon. 

He  committed  the  vineyard  to  the  keepers, 
each  was  to  bring  for  its  fruit 
a  thousand  of  silver. 

12  My'  vineyard,  my  own,'"  is  before  me ; 

the  thousand  is  thine,  Solomon, 

and  two  hundred  for  the  keepers  of  its  fruit. 

Solomon. 

13  Thou  that  dwellest  in  the  gardens, 

companions  are  listening  for  thy  voice  ; 
let  me  hear  it. 

1  P^tDty  is  neither  "to  deluge"  (Ewald),  nor  "overilow"  (Delitzsch,  Hengstenberg),  nor  "choke  up"  with  sediment 

(ROSENM.),  but  "  wash  away,  sweep  away,"  as  is  shown  by  Job  xiv.  19 ;  comp.  Isa.  xxTiii.  17  f.;  Ezek.  xvi.  9. 

2  [WiCL.:  The  voice  of  Christ  to  the  lineage  of  holy  church.  Mat.;  Christ  speaking  of  the  church  to  the  synagogue. 
Note  in  Geneva  Bible  :  The  Jewish  church  speaketh  this  of  the  churcii  of  the  Gentiles,  Gov.,  Mat.:  When  our  love  is  told 
our  young  sister,  whose  breasts  are  not  yet  grown,  what  shall  we  do  unto  her?] 

3  On    7   TWVi~TV^  "  what  shall  wo  do  in  respect  to,"  etc.,  comp.  1  Sam.  x,  2 ;  also  Gen.  xxvii.  37. 

*  3  "^ill  is  neither  "  to  speak  to  any  one,"  nor  "  to  speak  about  any  one,"  whether  in  a  good  or  a  had  sense  (Doe- 
DEKl..,  Weissb.),  but  simply  and  only  "  to  speak  for  any  one "  ( 3  prep,  of  the  end  or  aim,  as  in  7  6),  i.  €.,  to  sue  for  any 

one,  to  woo  a  maid  {1  Sam.  xxv.  39). 

&  [Mat.:  The  answer  of  Christ  for  the  church.] 

6  [WicL.:  Tlie  voice  of  the  church  answering.  Mat.:  The  church  answereth  to  the  synagogue.  Gov.,  Mat.:  If  I  be 
a  wall  and  my  breasts  like  towers,  then  am  I  as  one  that  hath  found  favor  in  his  sight.] 

^  { WiOL.:  Tile  synagogue  of  tlie  church  eaith.  Vine  she  was  to  peaceable  in  her  that  hath  peoples ;  she  took  it  to  the 
keepers ;  a  man  taketh  away  for  the  fruit  of  it,  a  thousand  silver  plates.  Dow.:  The  peaceable  had  a  vineyard  in  that 
which  hath  people.     Mat.  :  The  synagogue  speaking  to  the*  church.] 

^  7\u}^7.  7VT\    D^3  literally  "a  vineyard  became  Solomon's,"  i.e.,  he  has  it  now  (comp.  Ps.  cxix.  56,  83;  also 
:  ■         T  T 
Ezek.  xvi.  8),  not,  he  had  it  once,  as  thougli  Solomon  were  here  spoken  of  as  a  ruler  long  since  dead  (Ewald,  Hitzig,  cicX 

8  [WicL.:  Christ  to  the  church  saith.  Mat.:  The  voice  of  Christ.  Gov.,  Mat.:  But  my  vineyard,  O  Solomon,  giveth 
thee  a  thousand,  and  two  hundred  to  the  keepers  of  the  fruit.  Thou  that  dwellest  in  the  gardens,  0  let  me  hear  thy 
voice,  that  my  companions  may  hearken  to  the  same.] 

10  On  the  different  explanations  of  wt^    *'D"13  see  on  i.  6,  p,  56. 


VIII.  5-14. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


127 


Shulamith  (singing). 

14  Flee,'  my  beloved, 

and  be  like  a  gazelle, 

or  a  young  hart 

upon  mountains  of  spices.^ 


1  [WiCL.,  Mat.:  The  voice  of  the  church  to  Christ.  WiCL.:  Tlee  thou,  my  love ;  be  thou  likened  to  a  capret  and  to 
an  hart,  calf  of  harts,  upon  the  mountains  of  sweet  spices.  Gov.,  Mat.:  O  get  thee  away,  my  love,  as  a  roe  or  a  young 
hart  unto  the  sweet  Bmelling  mountains.  The  end  of  the  Ballet  of  Ballets  of  Solomon,  called  in  Latin  (hnticum  Canr 
Hcorum.1 

2  On  the  general  usage  of  D^DK'jl  comp.  iv.  14:;   v.  13;  vi.  2. 


EXEGBTICAL   AND    CRITICAL. 

1.  Some  of  the  more  recent  interpreters  dis- 
member this  last  act,  by  attaching  part  of  it  to  the 
preceding  section,  and  regarding  the  remainder 
as  an  appendix  or  epilogue  to  the  whole.  Thus 
Umbreit  extends  the  last  act  of  the  piece  to  viii. 
7,  which  is  then  followed  by  viii.  8-12  as  a  first 
appendix,  "The  shrewd  old  brothers  and  the 
naively  jesting  sister;"  and  viii.  13, 14  as  a  second 
appendix,  "The  unlucky  trip  to  the  country." 
In  like  manner  Renan,  who  regards  the  fifth  act 
as  ending  with  viii.  7,  and  the  remaining  seven 
verses  as  forming  an  epilogue.  On  the  contrary 
V.  HorMANN  connects  vers.  5-12  with  his  last 
main  division  of  the  whole  (vi.  1 — viii.  12),  and 
considers  the  last  two  verses  only,  vers.  13,  14, 
as  an  appendix. — Dopke  and  Magnus  push  the 
process  of  dismemberment  to  the  greatest  length, 
the  former  of  whom  divides  this  section  into  three 
separate  songs  (5-7;  8-12;  13,  14).  The  latter 
makes  it  consist  of  four  small  pieces,  a  lyric 
poem:  "The  parting"  (5-7),  two  dramatic  epi- 
grams (8-10  and  11,  12),  and  a  fragment  with  sev- 
eral glosses  (13,  14). — A  correct  apprehension 
of  the  unity  of  this  section  as  one  whole,  sepa- 
rated from  the  preceding  by  the  solemn  introduc- 
tory formula  Ul  DNI  'D  "Who  is  this,"  etc.,  is 
found  inEwALD,  Hitz..  Del.,  Hengstenb.,  Vaih., 
BoTTOHER,  Weissb.  Only  some  of  these,  espe- 
cially the  last  named,  go  too  far  in  their  asser- 
tion of  the  compactness  and  continuity  of  the 
passage,  since  they  fail  to  recognize  the  differ- 
ence between  the  two  scenes,  which  it  unmistaka- 
bly contains.  For  in  vers.  5-7  there  is  evidently 
represented  a  return  home,  and  in  vers.  8  ff.  a 
transaction  after  arriving  home.  The  former  of 
these  paragraphs  exhibit  the  principal  couple  of 
the  piece  as  still  travelling,  although  quite  near 
the  end  of  their  journey.  The  latter  depicts 
their  acts  and  doings  at  home  in  the  circle  of 
Shulamith's  family,  where  merry  jests  and  peace- 
ful enjoyment  reign.  The  two  scenes  of  such 
different  character  are  therefore  related  exactly 
as  in  the  third  act ;  only  there  the  excited  tumult 
of  the  capital  and  the  noisy  bustle  of  the  royal 
palace  on  Zion  resounding  with  luxurious  festi- 
vities, formed  the  background  of  the  action, 
whilst  here  an  innocent  rural  seclusion  and  sim- 
plicity, a  cheerful,  quiet  life  under  apple  trees, 
in  gardens,  and  on  mountains  fragrant  with 
spices,  is  depicted  as  a  bright  and  peaceful  ter- 
mination of  the  whole  matter. 

2.  With  respect  to  the  time  and  place  of  the 
action   no  well  grounded  doubt  can  exist,  on  the 


supposition  that  the  contents  and  meaning  of  the 
preceding  act  have  been  correctly  understood. 
Solomon  must  have  yielded  to  the  urgent  entrea- 
ties of  his  beloved,  and  immediately  arranged  a 
journey  to  her  home  and  started  with  her,  so 
that  at  the  utmost  there  can  only  be  an  interval 
of  three  or  four  days  between  this  and  the  fore- 
going act.  Various  indications  suggest  Shunem, 
the  home  of  Shulamith,  as  the  goal  toward  which 
the  loving  pair  are  journeying,  and  consequently 
as  the  locality  of  this  act ;  especially  the  intro- 
ductory passage,  ver.  5,  rightly  understood  and 
interpreted,  and  also  the  mention  of  Shulamith's 
little  sister,  ver.  8  f.,  her  "abiding  in  the  gar- 
dens," ver.  13,  as  well  as  the  "mountains  of 
spices"  or  "mountains  of  balm,"  ver.  14,  which 
remind  us  of  ii.  17. — Partly  on  account  of  the  in- 
troductory words,  which  are  identical  with  iii.  6, 
"  Who  is  this  coming  up  out  of  the  wilderness  ?" 
partly  on  account  of  the  masc.  suffixes  in 
■j-mil.!?,  "IDX  ■]n'73n,  etc.  (according  to  the  Ma- 
soretic  punctuation),  which  appear  to  show  that 
the  passage  refers  not  to  Shulamith's  but  to  Solo- 
mon's birth-place,  Weissbach  (as  also  Dopke, 
etc.,  before  him)  explains  and  assumes  the  royal 
palace  on  Zion  to  be  the  place  of  this  action ; 
vers.  5  ff.  describe  the  arrival  of  the  lovers  there 
from  the  royal  gardens  (or  more  exactly  from  the 
"path  or  pasture  ground  of  the  royal  flocks, 
which  is  to  be  sought  between  Zion  and  the 
king's  gardens") ;  the  rest  of  the  action  is  then 
performed  on  Zion  itself  But  the  correctness 
of  the  Masoretic  reading  in  that  passage  is 
more  than  doubtful  (see  just  below.  No.  3) ; 
and  it  is  only  by  the  greatest  forcing  that  all 
that  follows,  especially  vers.  8  f.,  11  ff.  and  ver. 
13,  can  be  brought  into  harmony  with  this  trans- 
fer of  the  scene  to  Jerusalem,  as  is  sufficiently 
shown  by  the  strange  combinations  of  Weissbach 
with  respect  to  the  circumstances,  under  which 
Bathsheba  had  borne  Solomon  "under  an  apple 
tree  "  and  the  way  that  Shulamith  had  "  waked  " 
the  king  on  this  his  native  spot,  comp.  on  ver. 
5  J. — The  majority  of  recent  interpreters  are 
agreed  with  us  in  assuming  Shunem  to  be 
the  place  of  the  action,  only  the  advocates 
of  the  shepherd  hypothesis,  as  might  be  expected, 
make  not  Solomon,  but  the  shepherd  and  Shula- 
mith arrive  there  and  transact  what  follows  ; — 
a  view,  which  is  already  suf&ciently  refuted  by 
ver.  12  where  Solomon  is  evidently  addressed  as 
present  (see  in  loc.  as  well  as  on  ver.  13),  and 
which  has  as  little  foundation  as  Vaihinger's 
assertion  that  vers.  5-7  is  performed  at  the  house 
of  Shulamith's  mother,  and  vers.  8  ff.  "  on  the 
eastern  slope  of  little  Mt.  Hermon,"  where  her 


128 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


VIIl.  6-1 4, 


brothers  may  have  haJ  Iheir  pasture  ground. — 
When  Dblitzscii,  whose  view  of  the  position  and 
import  of  this  act  is  in  every  other  respect  cor- 
rect and  appropriate,  finds  represented  merely 
"a  visit  of  Shulamith  with  her  husband  to  her 
home,"  we  must  remark  on  the  contrary  that  the 
entreaties  and  desires  of  Shulamith  at  the  close 
of  the  preceding  act  certainly  looked  to  more 
than  a  mere  transient  stay  at  her  home,  and  that 
this  was  demanded  by  the  whole  state  of  the 
case.*  It  was  only  in  an  actual  settlement  both 
of  herself  and  of  her  husband  in  her  home  that 
she  could  iind  the  needed  guarantee  of  an  undis- 
turbed continuance  of  her  relation  to  him  of  cor- 
dial and  conjugal  love. 

3.  FiKST  Scene.    The  arrival,  vers.  5-7. 

Ter.  5.  Who  is  this  coming  up  out  of  the 
■wilderness  ?  So  asked  iii.  6  the  "  daughters  of 
Jerusalem,"  the  chorus  of  ladies  of  the  court,  who 
took  part  in  the  action  until  towards  the  end  of 
the  preceding  act.  This  chorus  could  only  have 
come  to  Shulamiih's  home  in  company  with  the 
royal  pair ;  and  then  the  question  before  us  would 
be  insupposable  in  their  mouth f  (vs.  Eenan, 
etc.).  EwALD,  Bottcher,  Hitzio,  Delitzsoh,  etc. 
therefore  correctly  assume  the  speakers  to  be 
"shepherds,"  or  country  people,  or  "inhabitants 
of  the  district,"  whilst  Umbbeit  and  Meier  arbi- 
trarily suppose  the  question  to  be  put  by  the  poet 
himself;  Weissb.  by  courtiers  on  Zion,  Rosenm.  by 
citizens  of  Jerusalem. — 1310  lit.  "place  to  which 
cattle  are  driven,  pasture  ground"  (in  opposition 
to  cultivated  land,  comp.  Isa.  xxxii.  15;  Joel  i. 
19;  Ps.  Ixv.  13)  is  here  used  in  a  different  sense 
from  iii.  6  where  it  referred  to  the  barren  tracts 
north  and  east  of  Jerusalem.  It  is  here  a  desig- 
nation of  the  plain  of  Esdraiilon  or  Merj  ibn 
'Amir,  lying  southward  from  Shunem  to  Jezreel, 
which  is  still  for  the  most  part  unfilled  and 
traversed  by  Bedouins  (Robinson,  Fal.  II.  824, 
362).  For  through  this  plain  the  travellers 
coming  from  the  capital  must  ultimately  pass. — 
Leaning  upon  her  beloved.  The  long  jour- 
ney, though  she  may  have  got  over  part  of  it  in 
her  sedan,  has  wearied  the  delicate  lady  who 
therefore  supports  herself  upon  the  arm  of  her 
husband.  Failing  to  recognize  this  situation 
so  clear  in  itself  and  bo  easily  conceivable,  the 
old  translators  have  variously  altered  the  sense 
of  the  passage.  In  this  way  we  may  explain 
the  glosses  to  be  found  in  the  text  of  the 
Sept.  and  VuLO.,  Xtlevaavdiaiitiir!  (==011300) 
and  deliciis  affluens  (=npJDnD),  which  are 
in  both  cases  followed  again  by  the  correct 
translation  of  nill-^;?  npSinD. — Under  this 
apple    tree   I   -waked    thee.     The  pointing 


*  [The  transparent  absurdity  of  thia  hypotheais  of  Solomon 
going  to  Shunem  not  merely  for  a  visit  but  to  reside,  involv- 
ing the  abandonment  of  his  capital  and  the  neglect  of  the 
affairs  of  government,  renders  any  scheme  of  the  book  un- 
tenable of  which  it  is  a  necessary  part — ^Tb.] 

■f  [ZijCKLER  has  repeatedly  argued  before  that  the  recur- 
rence of  the  same  language  implies  the  same  speaker  and  the 
same  subject :  see  his  comment  on  iv.  1 ;  iv.  6 ;  vi.  9 ;  vi.  10 
and  several  times  elsewhere.  Whatever  force  there  is  in  this 
consideration  makes  against  the  locality  and  the  speakers 
that  he  here  assumes.  The  wilderness  here  spoken  of  should 
not  without  some  obvious  necessity  be  regarded  as  different 
from  that  in  iii.  0.  And  that  the  queen  appears  on  foot  lean- 
ing on  her  royal  husband's  arm  is  surely  not  suggestive  of 
the  termination  of  along  and  wearisome  journey Tb.J 


■ynili;?,  like  that  of  the  following  verb  impUea 
that  Solomon  is  the  person  addressed  and  that 
Shulamith  is  the  speaker,  but  the  consonants 
admit  also  of  the  reverse,  and  the  old  Syriao 
version  seems  actually  to  have  read  fern,  suffixes. 
Most  of  the  older  as  well  as  of  the  more  recent 
interpreters,  following  the  Masoretic  text  con- 
ceive Shulamith  to  be  the  speaker,  whilst  Hitzig, 
Bottcher  (who  to  be  sure  assigns  a  part  of  the 
verse  to  Shulamith's  mother),  Uelitzsch,  Reb- 
ENST.,  Sanders,  ete.  make  her  lover  speak.  In 
favor  of  the  latter  assumption  it  may  be  urged 
1)  that  if  Solomon  were  the  person  addressed, 
the  absurd  sense  would  result  of  his  birth  under 
an  apple  tree — a  sense  which  is  certainly  not 
made  any  more  tolerable  by  Weisseach's  sup- 
position of  a  "temporary  sojourn  of  Bathsheba 
in  the  royal  gardens  with  a  view  to  her  confine- 
ment ;  "  2)  that  in  case  the  young  shepherd  were 
addressed  the  entire  absence  of  any  mention  of 
his  mother  in  what  precedes,  would  be  somewhat 
surprising  and  is  not  relieved  by  the  parallels 
adduced  by  Ewald  Gen.  xxxv.  48,  Donati,  vit. 
virg.  c.  1,  etc.  ;  3)  that  vers.  6,  7  confessedly  spo- 
ken by  Shulamith  would  require  to  be  more 
closely  connected  with  ver.  5  b  than  they  actual- 
ly are,  in  case  ver.  5  b  was  also  spoken  by  her: 
4)  that  the  expression  "  travail "  or  "  conceive  " 

(73n)  seems  fitter  in  the  mouth  of  a  man  than 
of  a  woman,  in  like  manner  as  yj1111J7  when 
correctly  explained  only  appears  appropriate  in 
the  mouth  of  the  lover.  For  this  expression, 
which  we  therefore  read  ^HIIIJ?,  as  is  shown 
by  its  likeness  to  lllj^il  ver.  4,  is  not  to  be  un- 
derstood of  a  literal  awakening  out  of  sleep 
(EwAiD,  Heiliqst.,  Hitzig,  Vaih.  etc.)  but  of 
waking  a  previously  slumbering  affection,  the 
stirring  up  of  love.  "  I  waked  thee  "  is  here 
equivalent  to  "I  excited  thy  love,  I  won  thy 
heart "  (DoPKE,  Del.,  Hengstenb.  etc.).  The 
circumstance,  to  which  Solomon  here  alludes,  is 
manifestly  identical  with  that  described  by 
Shulamith  ii.  8  ff.  We  must,  therefore,  imagine 
the  apple  tree  to  be  immediately  adjoining  the 
house  of  Shulamith's  mother,  and  probably 
shading  one  of  its  windows ;  the  following  state- 
ment is  thus  too  more  easily  explained. — There 
thy  mother  travailed  with  thee,  there 
travailed  she  that  bare  thee.  "  There,"  i.  e. 
not  precisely  under  the  apple  tree  as  though  the 
birth  had  taken  place  in  the  open  air  (Dopke), 
but  more  indefinitely,  there,  where  that  apple 
tree  stands,  in  the  dwelling  shaded  by  it. 

Ver.  6.  Place  me  as  a  signet-ring  upon 
thy  heart.  This  is  manifestly  said  by  Shula- 
mith in  ardently  loving  response  to  what  her 
lover  had  said  to  her,  by  which  she  had  been  re- 
minded of  the  commencement  of  her  relation  to 
him.  She  thereupon  presses  familiarly  and 
closely  to  him,  illustrating  the  meaning  of  her 
words  by  a  corresponding  action.  DHin  the  seal 
or  signet-ring  (Gen.  xxxviii.  18)  is  here  as  in 
Jer.  xxii.  24,  and  Hag.  ii.  23  (which  latter  pas- 
sage is  probably  an  imitation  of  that  before  us)  a 
symbol  of  close  inseparable  connection  and  most 
faithful  preservation.  Reference  is  had  to  the 
custom  attested  by  Gen.  loc.  cit.  of  wearing  sig- 
net-rings on  a  string  upon  the  breast  as  well  as 


VIII.  5-14. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


129 


to  the  like  custom  of  binding  tliem  to  the  arm  or 
right  hand  (see  Jer.  loc.  ciL,  Eoclus.  xlix.  11) ; 
not  to  the  use  of  the  signet-ring  for  sealing,  as 
though  the  sense  were  "  press  me  closely  to  thy 
breast  and  in  thy  arms "  (Hitzig),  and  quite 
as  little  to  the  impression  taken  from  the  seal 
(Herder,  Dopke),  or  to  an  elegantly  engraved 
bracelet  (Weissb.  ),  or  even  to  the  high  priest's 
breastplate  (Golz,  Hahn,  etc.)  For  strong  as 
death  is  love,  bard  as  Sheol  is  jealousy. 
The  request  that  he  would  keep  her  iirmly 
and  faithfully  as  his  inalienable  possession  is 
here  based  by  Shulamith  on  a  reference  to  the 
death-vanquishing  power  and  might  of  her  love, 
or  rather  of  love  (H^nx  absolutely),  of  true 
love  in  general.  "The  adjectives  DtJ?  and  HK'p 
stand  together  also  in  Gen.  xlix.  7  to  designate 
the  passionate  anger  and  fiery  zeal  of  Simeon 
and  Levi  as  one  which  was  too  strong  and  invin- 
cible to  be  repressed.  As  our  poet  probably  (?) 
had  this  passage  in  mind,  he  doubtless  designed 
ny?  to  be  understood  here  too  of  the  all-con- 
quering power  and  HU^p  (literally  hard,  resist- 
ing all  impressions)  of  the  constancy  of  love 
which  baffles  every  attempt  to  suppress  or  to  ex- 
tirpate it.  The  comparisons  also  tend  to  the 
same  conclusion;  for  death  overcomes  all  things 
and  the  nether  world  (hell,  sheol)  cannot  be  sub- 
dued, comp.  Job  vii.  9  ;  Wisd.  ii.  1 ;  Matt.  xvi.  1 8 ; 
1  Cor.  XV.  55."  Thus  Weissbaoh,  who  is  sub- 
stantially correct,  only  he  goes  too  far  perhaps, 
in  regarding  Gen.  xlix.  7  as  the  model,  which 
the  poet  designedly  follows  in  this  passage.  On 
nxjp  zeal,  zealous  love,  comp.  Prov.  vi.  34 ; 
xxvii.  4,  where  however  the  expression  is  used 
in  a  bad  sense  of  love  that  has  cooled,  jealousy. 
In  this  passage  it  intensifies  the  idea  of  love,  just 
as  "death"  and  "  hell  "  stand  to  each  other  in 
the  relation  of  climax,  and  as  "strong"  (i.  c. 
invincible)  indicates  a  lower  degree  of  the  pas- 
sion of  love  than  "hard,  unyielding  "  [i.  e.  inex- 
orable, not  to  be  appeased,  like  the  realm  of  death, 
which  never  gives  up  anything  that  it  possesses). 
Comp.  HiTziQ  in  loc. — Its  flames  are  flames 
of  fire,  a  blaze  of  Jehovah.  On  D'32'T 
''sparks,  rays,  flames,"  comp.  Jobv.  7  OP."}  '.J^ 
"sons  of  the  flame,"!  e.  sparks  of  fire) ;  Ps. 
Ixxvi.  4  ("flashes"  or  "sparks  of  the  bow," 
«.  e.  arrows) ;  Deut.  xxxii.  24 ;  Hab.  iii.  5,  etc. 
Love  or  rather  its  intenser  synonym  nxjp  (comp. 
Zeph.  i.  18),  appears  here  as  a  brightly  blazing 
fire,  which  sends  forth  a  multitude  of  sparks  or 
flames  into  the  hearts  of  men  and  thus  verifies 
its  invincible  power  and  its  inextinguishable  in- 
tensity. And  this  quality  belongs  to  it  because 
it  is  not  natural  fire,  but  a  "blaze  of  Jehovah," 
a  flame  kindled  and  sustained  by  God  Himself. 
Observe  that  the  name  of  God  is  mentioned  only 
in  this  one  passage  of  the  Song,  which  must, 
however,  prove  to  be  just  the  radiant  apex  in 
the  development  of  its  doctrinal  and  ethical 
contents  (comp.  Doot.  and  Eth.  No.  2).  As  par- 
allels to  this  verse  may  be  adduced :  Motanebbi 
(edit.   V.  Hammer)  p.  3 : 

In  the  heart  of  the  lover  flames  the  blaze  of  desire 
Fiercer  than  the  flames  of  hell,  which  are  but  ice  in  compa- 
rison. 3g 


Alsd  Anacreon  :   "  vtiuf  Si  koI  aiStiphv  Koi  nvp.'' 
Likewise  Theooriths,  Id.  2,  133. 


-  epoj?  S'  apa,  KaX  Alirapt'ou 


IIoAXaKLs  'At^alaToio  creAag  ^\oyep(i>Tepov  aiOei. 

And  many  other  expressions  of  Arabic,  Greek 
and  Roman  poets.     See  Maonus  in  loc. 

Ver.  7.  Many  waters  cannot  quench  love, 
and  rivers  shall  not  wash  it  away.  It  is  here 
shown  more  particularly  in  what  respect  love  is 
a  divine  flame,  a  fire  greater  than  any  kindled 
by  a  human  hand,  comp.  1  Kin.  xviii.  38.  To 
the  figure  of  a  blazing  fire  was  readily  added 
that  of  the  inability  of  floods  of  water  to  extin- 
guish this  fire,  and  therefore  in  explanation  of 
this  new  figure  we  need  neither  refer  (as  Hitzio 
does)  to  Isa  xliii.  16,  a  passage  which  is  difi'er- 
ent  in  every  respect,  nor  (with  Vaihinger  and 
others)  explain  the  floods  of  water  of  the  entice- 
ments of  Solomon  in  particular,  by  which  he 
would  have  turned  Shulamith  away  from  her 
lover.  The  "rivers"  (niinj)  do  not  form  a 
climax  to  the  "many  waters,"  as  Holemann 
supposes  (see  e.  g.  on  the  contrary  Jon.  ii.  3) ; 
but  in  the  latter  case  the  thing  chiefly  regarded 
is  the  great  mass  of  the  element  hostile  to  fire 
and  in  the  former  its  rapidity  and  violence. — 
If  a  man  were  to  give  all  the  w^ealth  of  his 
house  for  love,  i.  e.  with  the  view  of  exciting 
love  and  producing  it  artificially  where  it  does 
not  exist.  Here  \ve  might  really  see  something 
to  favor  the  shepherd  hypothesis,  if  a  statement 
of  the  impossibility  of  purchasing  true  love  was 
not  appropriate  in  the  mouth  of  Shulamith  on  our 
assumption  likewise.  But  that  this  is  the  case,  may 
be  learned  from  the  contrast  between  Shulamith's 
genuine,  invincibly  strong  love  for  Solomon  and 
the  mere  semblance  of  love  wliich  had  previously 
subsisted  between  this  king  and  his  other  wives; 
comp.  the  sentence  referring  to  this  very  con- 
trast, ii.  7  ;  iii.  5  ;  viii.  4,  by  which  Shulamith 
represents  to  the  ladies  of  the  court  how  im- 
possible it  was  for  them  by  means  of  their  amor- 
ous arts  really  to  gain  the  king's  heart  (see  on 
ii.  7,  p.  63).  On  the  expression  comp.  Num. 
xxii.  18  ;  Prov.  vi.  31,  which  latter  passage  was 
probably  drawn  from  this.  On  E'''N  "  a  man, 
any  one,"  comp.  Ex.  xvi.  29.  That  it  is  here 
an  indefinite  subject  seems  the  more  certain  from 
the  fact  that  in  the  apodosis  also  a  universal 
statement  follows  with  an  impersonal  form  of  the 

verb  (17  1IO'').  Vaihinger,  Holem.,  etc.,  there- 
fore translate  without  good  reason  "If  some 
man,"  etc. — He  would  be  utterly  con- 
temned; lit.,  "contemning  they  would  contemn 
him."  The  impersonal  plural  expresses,  as  in 
the  similar  passage  Prov.  vi.  30,  the  universal 
sentiment  not  merely  that  of  those  in  particular 
who  were  solicited  by  false  love  and  with  money. 
The  repetition  of  the  verb  by  means  of  the  In- 
fin.  absol.  expresses  the  very  high  degree  of  con- 
tempt, which  such  an  one  as  is  here  spoken  of 
would  encounter. 

4.  Second  Scene. — a.  Shulamith's  iittle  sis- 
ter, vers.  8-10.  Weissbaoh  is  alone  in  attempting 
to  point  out  an  intimate  connection  between  these 
verses  and  the  preceding.  He  says :  "  What 
was  uttered  ver.  7  c,  o(  as  a  universal  proposition 


130 


THE  SONG  OP  SOLOMON. 


VIII.  5-1  i 


(viz.  that  money  aad  property  have  no  value  as 
compared  with  love)  is  now  vers.  8,  9  condition- 
ally illustrated  in  the  sister  who  Is  still  young 
and  destitute  of  charms,  whilst  Shulamith  rep- 
resents herself,  ver.  10,  as  the  antithesis."  As 
this  view  can  only  be  based  on  a  very  artificial 
interpretation  of  vers.  8,  9,  we  shall  have  to 
abide  by  the  looser  connection  maintained,  e.  g., 
by  Delitzsch  and  Hahn.  They  suppose  that 
the  sense  expressed  by  Shulamith,  vers.  6,  7,  of 
the  high  happiness  which  she  possesses  and  en- 
joys in  her  love  for  the  king,  reminded  her  of 
her  young  sister  who  was  still  debarred  from 
such  loving  enjoyment,  and  she  accordingly  ex- 
presses her  solicitude  for  her  future  conduct  and 
fortunes.  Upon  this  assumption  the  unmistaka- 
ble dramatic  progress  receives  due  acknowledg- 
ment without  the  sundering  of  all  connection 
between  the  new  scene  which  begins  here  and 
that  which  preceded  it,  as  is  the  case,  e.  g.,  in 
Umbeeit's  view,  according  to  which  vers.  6,  7 
constitute  the  closing  sentiment  of  the  drama 
(spoken  by  the  poet  himself)  and  vers.  8-14  a 
twofold  supplement  to  it.  So  in  the  similar  views  of 
Renan,  Dopke,  Magnds  (comp.  above  No.  1)  and 
no  less  so  finally  on  the  assumption  of  Doder- 
lein,  Ewald,  Heiligstedt,  Meieb  and  Rocke, 
that  Shulamith  narrates  in  vers.  8,  9  what  had 
formerly  been  said  by  the  brothers  in  relation  to 
her  little  sister.  In  opposition  to  this  latter 
opinion,  according  to  which  vers.  8,  9  are  to  be 
regarded  as  recitative,  and  Shulamith's  own 
words  do  not  begin  again  until  ver.  10,  Delitzsch 
correctly  urges  :  "It  would  be  vain  to  appeal  to 
iii.  2  :  v.  3  to  prove  the  possibility  of  this  view ; 
in  both  those  passages  the  introduction  of  the 
language  of  another  without  any  formal  indica- 
tion of  the  fact,  occurs  in  the  course  of  a  narra- 
tive, whilst  viii.  8  f.  is  only  converted  into  a  narra- 
tive by  the  ^'fratres  aliquando  dixeruni  "  (Heilig- 
stedt) understood.  There  is  nothing  to  justify 
such  an  insertion.  The  only  seeming  necessity 
for  it  might  be  found  in  vi.  9,  according  to  which 
Shulamith  herself  appears  to  be  the  "little  sis- 
ter." It  is  not,  however,  said  in  vi.  9  that  "Shula- 
mith was  the  only  daughter  of  her  mother,  but 
only  that  her  mother  did  not  possess  or  know 
her  equal,"  (comp.  in  loc).  Hitzig,  too,  em- 
phatically opposes  understanding  the  passage  as 
a  narration,  but  assumes  that  both  verses,  ver.  9, 
as  well  as  ver.  8,  were  spoken  by  Shulamith's 
brothers,  which  is  contrary  to  the  relation  of  the 
two  verses  as  question  and  answer.  Neverthe- 
less this  assumption,  shared  also  by  Vaihinqer, 
especially  if  one  brother  is  supposed  to  speak  in 
ver.  8,  and  the  other  in  ver.  9,  would  be  far  more 
tolerable  than  Bottoher's  view,  which  makes 
Shulamith's  mother  put  the  question  in  ver.  8, 
and  one  of  her  sons  answer  it  in  ver.  9  ;  or  than 
the  opinion  of  Hengstenberq  that  both  vers.  8 
and  9  were  spoken  by  Solomon  ;  or  than  the  view 
of  Starke,  and  of  many  of  the  older  interpreters, 
that  ver.  8  belongs  to  Shulamith,  and  ver.  9  to 
Solomon. 

Ver.  8.  We  have  a  sister,  little,  and 
she  has  (as  yet)  no  breasts.  On  [£3p  "  lit- 
tle" in  the  sense  of  young,  belonging  to  the 
period  of  childhood,  comp.  Gen.  ix.  24 ;  xxvii. 
15  ;  1  Kings  iii.  7  ;  and  in  relation  to  the  breasts 
as  (he  criterion  of  virgin  maturity,  Ezek.  xvi.  7. 


What  shall  -we  do  .  .  .in  the  day  that 
she  shall  be  spoken  for?  The  day  that  a 
maiden  is  sued  for,  is  when  she  becomes  of  a 
marriageable  age.  The  suit  was  addressed  in 
the  first  instance  to  the  father  of  the  damsel,  or 
to  her  brothers,  not  directly  to  herself  (Gen.  xxxiv. 
11,  13;   xxiv.  50,  etc.). 

Ver.  9.  If  she  be  a  virall,  we  ■will  build  up- 
on her  a  silver  castle ;  but  if  she  be  a 
door,  we  will  stop  her  up  -with  a  cedar 
board.  Delitzsch  correctly  paraphrases  these 
words:  "If  she  opposes  a  firm  and  successful 
resistance  to  all  immoral  suggestions,  we  will 
build  on  her,  as  on  a  solid  wall,  a  castle  of  sil- 
ver, i.  c,  we  will  bestow  upon  her  the  freedom 
and  honor  due  to  her  virgin  purity  and  stead- 
fastness, so  that  she  may  shine  forth  in  the  land 
like  a  stately  castle  on  a  lofty  wall  which  is  seen 
far  and  wide.  But  if  she  is  a  door,  i.  p..,  open 
and  accessible  to  the  arts  of  seduction,  we  will 
block  her  up  with  cedar  boards,  i.  e.,  watch  hei 
so  that  she  cannot  be  approached  by  any  sedu- 
cer, nor  any  seducer  approached  by  her." — As 
soon  as  we  suppose  the  brothers  to  give  this  an- 
swer respecting  their  younger  sister,  it  loses  the 
strange  or  even  oflfeusive  appearance  which  its 
figures  would  certainly  have  in  the  mouth  of 
Shulamith.  Then,  too,  we  shall  not  be  compelled 
to  seek  for  a  closer  connection  between  this  senti- 
ment and  the  main  action  of  the  poem  (as  the  ad- 
vocates of  the  shepherd  hypothesis  do),  but  can 
abide  by  the  simple  assumption  that  what  is  here 
said,  as  in  general,  all  from  ver.  8  onward,  is 
simply  designed  to  form  a  cheerful  and  sportiva 
termination  of  the  whole  matter.  Least  of  all 
need  we  take  refuge  in  the  over-refined  view  of 
Weissbaoh  that  ver.  9  is  a  continuation  of  the 
language  of  Shulamith,  who  supposes  two  ques- 
tions to  be  put  to  her  by  certain  men  respecting 
her  sister  when  marriageable,  and  immediately 
replies  to  them  both — so  that  the  sentences  run 
thus: 

....  What  shall  we  do  then  in  respect  to  our 
sister  when  they  ask  about  her: 

[a)  "  Is  she  a  wall  ?" 

Ans.  We  will  build  a  little  silver  wall  around 
her  (?) ; 

(b)  "Is  she  a  door?" 

Ans.  We  will  construct  around  her  (?)  a  ce- 
dar frame  (?) — . 
As  to  the  particulars  observe  further :  The 
wall  nnin  is  not  designed  to  set  forth  the  ide?. 
of  lofty  stature  (Hnip  vii.  8),  or  the  impossibility 
of  being  sealed,  but  simply  that  of  the  firm  re- 
sistance which  checks  the  further  advance  of  foes 
(Hitzig correctly,  vs.  Weissbach). — The  "castle 
of  silver"  «]p3  HTD  to  be  built  on  the  wall  is, 
of  course,  only  to  be  conceived  of  as  a  small  but 
strong  castle,  tower  or  bulwark  (comp.  m't3  in 
Num.  xxxi.  10;  Ezek.  xxv.  4,  eic),  or  if  any  pre- 
fer asa  "pinnacle"  or  "  battlement  crowning  the 
wall"  (Hitzig,  Heiligstedt,  Magn.,  Meier, 
Holem.— comp.  the  Sept.  .-  iwa^ic), — not  as  a 
"palace"  (Goltz)  [so  Eng.  Ver.]  or  "habita- 
tion" (Hengstenberg),  or  "court-yard"  (Bon- 
chbr),  or  "low fence"  (Weissbach).  The  mean- 
ing of  the  figure  is  admirably  illustrated  by  Hit- 
zig by  a  reference  to  our  proverbial  form  of 
speech,  "  He  (or  she)  deserves  to  be  set  in  gola." 


VIII.  5-U. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMOX. 


131 


He  also  not  inappropriately  suggests  an  allusion 
to  the  way  that  oriental  ladies  to  this  day  decorate 
their  head-dress  with  strings  of  silver  coinj  or 
with  horn-like  ornaments  of  embossed  silver  and 
the  like  (comp.  on  iv.  4  above).  On  the  con- 
trary the  sense  which  Vaihingeb.  would  attribute 
to  the  expression  is  undemonstrable  and  in  bad 
taste:  "we  will  seek  to  obtain  a  large  dowry  by 
her."  And  Weissbacu's  explanation  is  perfectly 
absurd  and  trifling:  "we  will  carry  up  a  silver 
wall  around  her,  who  needs  no  such  protection." 
— The  door  presents  a  fitting  contrast  to  the  wall, 
because  it  is  easily  opened  and  admits  everything 
through  it;  an  expressive  emblem  of  unchastity 
which  is  open  to  every  amorous  seduction. 
"Stopping  up"  or  "  blocking  "  (Hitzig:  "bar- 
ricading") this  door  with  a  "cedar  board"  natu- 
rally means  a  determined  warding  off  of  those 
seductive  influences,  and  rendering  all  dissolute- 
ness impossible  by  the  most  sedulous  care.  By 
this  is  not  to  be  understood  a  "  fore-door  or  ves- 
tibule door  in  front  of  the  proper  door"  (Hug), 
nor  a  "cedar  post"  (Wbissb.),  nor  a  tablet  to 
be  put  on  the  door  as  an  ornament  (Holem.),  but 
quite  certainly  a  plank  or  board  to  be  put  against 
the  door  on  the  inside  to  prevent  it  from  turning 
and  opening.  This  board  was  to  be  of  cedar, 
because  this  wood  is  a  particularly  strong  build- 
ing material  and  not  liable  to  rot.* 

Ver.  10.  I  was  a  wall  and  my  breasts  like 
towers.  This  is  evidently  said  by  Shulamith, 
whose  thoughts  were  turned  back  to  her  own 
maiden  state  by  her  brothers'  faithful  care  shown 
for  the  honor  and  purity  of  her  little  sister. 
Looking  back  upon  this  time,  which  now  lies  in 
the  past,  she  can  joyfully  affirm  that  all  seduction 
recoiled  from  her  as  from  a  solid  wall,  and  that 
no  one  had  dared  to  venture  an  assault  upon  her 

( 

•  TTheopp  quotes  in  opposition  to  the  view  above  given 
of  this  verso  the  language  of  Rekan  :  "  This  interpretation 
is  pressed  hy  serious  difficulties.  I  do  not  insist  on  its  vapid 
and  feeble  character.  We  may  admit  contrary  to  all  proba- 
bility, that  the  silver  battlements  of  which  the  brothers 
speak  might  denote  a  sort  of  ornament  as  a  recompense  of 
the  young  girl's  virtue,  it  will  still  remain  a  trait  whoso 
signification  is  an  enigma.  If  the  brothers  wish  to  punish 
their  sister  in  case  she  should  commit  any  fault,  why  do 
they  menace  her  with  panels  of  cedar?  It  is  evident  that 
this  implies  an  idea  of  riches  and  luxury.  Battlements  of 
silver,  panels  of  cedar  answer  to  one  another.  Neither  of 
these  alternatives  includes  an  idea  of  punishment  or  recom- 
pense." Thkopp  himself  supposes  it  to  be  the  language  of 
the  bridegroom,  and  its  meaning  to  be :  "  We  will  build  her 
up,  and  that  in  full  glory.  The  walls  and  the  doors  come 
into  view  as  two  of  the  most  obvious  features  of  every  edi- 
flco.  As  for  her  wall  of  enclosure,  we  will  fence  her  around 
with  silver ;  as  for  her  doors,  of  cedar  alone  and  of  no  in- 
ferior wood,  shall  they  be  constructed."  Borbowes  :  "  Her 
nature  should  be  adorned  with  ornaments,  giving  more  beauty 
and  strength  than  turrets  of  silver,  or  a  richly  carved  door 
of  the  most  elegant  cedar."  Moodv  Sro.iET  :  "They  liken  the 
little  sister  to  two  of  the  principal  parts  of  a  building  or  tem- 
ple—flrst,  the  wall  without  which  there  is  no  stability,  no 
house ;  and  second,  the  door  without  which  there  is  no  en- 
trance to  the  house,  and  no  use  of  it.  The  wall  is  the  mage 
■  of  stability  on  which,  with  its  solid  strength,  is  to  be  built  a 
silver  palace  for  habitation  and  for  beauty.  The  door  is  the 
image  of  accessibleness ;  but  a  door-way  without  the  wooden 
frame  work,  requires  cedar  boards  to  distinguish  it  trom  a 
mere  open  thoroughfare."  Sood  understands  by  the  silver 
turrets:"  " The  prominent  charm  of  an  ample  dowry  shall 
immediately  be  her  own ;"  and  by  the  "  door  encased  in  ce- 
dar:" "She  shall  be  the  graceful  entrance  to  my  favor  and 
friendship."  Harmer,  who  supposes  the  little  sister  to  be 
Pharaoh's  daughter  espoused  to  Solomon,  imagines  that  the 
"wall"  and  the  door"  are  emblems  of  the  political  conse- 
quences of  the  alliance  as  on  the  one  I;?"'' ,^  ^uard  an* 
defence,  giving  a  new  security  to  Judsea,"  and  on  the  other 
opening  "a  free  communication  between  Egypt  and  the 
Jewish  country."] 


pure  and  awe-inspiring  charms  (her  breasts  as 
inaccessible  and  hard  to  be  scaled  as  towers  upon 
walls,  comp.  vii.  9  6). — Then  was  I  in  his  eyes 
as  one  that  finds  peace,  (.  e.,  this  careful 
preservation  of  my  chastity,  this  keeping  my 
charms   pure  and  sacred   procured  me  his,  the 

king's,  favor  and  inmost  love.  Dl /K*  "  welfare, 
peace,"  is  here  as  in  'ni^K?  t^'N  Ps.  xli.  10,  a 
synonym  of  jH  "favor"  or  lOn  "kindness" 
(comp.  in  K'iO  Gen.  vi.  8;  xix.  19;  Jer.  xxxi. 
2,  as  well  as  tni  ipn  Esth.  ii.  17)  and  is  not 
without  a  delicate  allusion  to  the  name  of  Solomon. 
There  is  also  a  certain  refinement  in  the  ex- 
pression   that  Shulamith   does  not   exactly   say 

DlW  VyV^  TlSSn    IS  "then  I  found  peace  in 

T  T     ■  ■   :  •         T   T  T 

his  eyes,"  but  with  a  modest  circumlocution : 
"then  was  I  as  one  (3  as  in  nX3  viii.  1)  that 
finds  peace  in  his  eyes,"  then  I  appeared  to  him 
worthy  of  his  cordial  affection  (comp.  Delitzsch 
and.HoLEMANN  in  loc).  The  expression  contains 
no  allusion,  therefore,  to  the  preceding  com- 
parison of  herself  to  a  wall  surmounted  by 
towers,  or  to  a  fortification.     If  the  poet  intended 

by  Dl^ty  nSSlDD  Vyy2  Tl'Tl  IN  to  express  the 
meaning :  "  then  he  finally  left  me  in  peace,_  in- 
stead of  assailing  me  further,"  he  did  so  in  a 
most  strange  and  unintelligible  manner  (vs. 
Hitzig),  and  to  regard  DDin  "  wall "  as  the 
subject  of  n.XS'ia  "found"  (Ewald,  Weissbach) 
will  not  answer  on  account  of  this  word  being 
too  remote;  and  such  a  form  of  speech  as  "a 
wall  or  fortress  finds  peace — it  surrenders  or  it 
is  spared,"  receives  no  confirmation  from  the 
Old  Testament  elsewhere,  or  from  oriental  liter- 
ature generally. 

5.  Continuation. — 6.  Shulamith's  interces- 
sion FOR  HER  BROTHERS,  vcrs.  11,  12. — These 
difficult  verses  can  only  be  explained  in  accord- 
ance with  the  context,  and  with  the  whole  course 
and  tenor  of  the  piece,  by  assuming  with 
Delitzsch  that  the  "vineyard  of  Solomon  in 
Baal-hamon,"  mentioned  in  ver.  11,  is  simply 
adduced  by  way  of  example ;  that  the  speaker^s 
"own  vineyard,"  as  in  i.  6  (comp.  iv.  12  ff.),  is 
a  figurative  designation  of  herself  and  her 
charms,  which  she  devotes  to  the  king;  and 
finally  that  the  "  keepers  of  its  fruit"  (ver.  12  b) 
is  a  designation  of  her  brothers,  the  faithful  anci 
zealous  guardians  of  her  innocence ;  and  conse- 
quently the  whole  must  betaken  to  bean  interces- 
sion of  Shulamith  on  behalf  of  her  brothers:  This 
intercession  fitly  connects  itself  with  their  tender 
care  for  her  little  sister,  just  now  manifested ; 
and  it  likewise  refers  back  in  a  suitable  manner 
to  the  mention  before  made  of  her  brothers, 
i.  6,  and  thus  helps  to  bring  about  a  termination 
of  the  whole,  in  which  everything  shall  be  satis- 
factorily adjusted  and  harmonized.  We  there- 
fore reject  the  following  divergent  explanations 
of  this  brief  section:  1)  Shulamith  declares  that 
she  has  herself  guarded  her  virgin  innocence 
better  than  Solomon  his  vineyard  in  Baal-hamon, 
whose  keepers  had  secretly  retained,  besides  the 
fruit,  two  hundred  shekels  for  themselves ;  she 
therefore  needs  no  other  keepers,  not  even  the 
guardianship  of  her  brothers  (Herder,  Umbreit, 


132 


THE  SONG  OP  SOLOMON 


Vlir.  5-14. 


DoPKE,  HiTZio,  Rocke).  2)  Shulamith  protests 
that  she  disdains  all  the  wealth  and  the  treasures 
of  Solomon,  which,  like  his  vineyard  in  Baal- 
hamon,  he  is  obliged  to  entrust  to  the  guardian- 
ship of  others  ;  her  vineyard,  i.  e.,  her  innocence 
and  virtue  is  under  her  own  control,  and  in  this 
possession   of    hers    she    has    enough    (Dathe, 

EOSENMDELLER,     EWALD,   HeILIGSTEDT,   etc).       3) 

Shulamith  triumphantly  relates  that  Solomon 
offered  her  the  rich  vineyard  at  Baal-hamon, 
whither  she  had  been  carried  to  his  pleasure- 
palace,  with  all  its  produce,  and  the  entire  park 
as  her  own  property,  if  she  would  be  his ;  he 
was  even  willing  to  release  her  from  the  payment 
of  the  two  hundred  shekels  due  to  each  of  its 
keepers ;  but  she  had  renounced  the  whole  for 
the  sake  of  her  lover,  who  now,  as  her  own 
chosen  vineyard(!)  stood  before  her  (Vaihinger). 

4)  Shulamith  means  to  say,  Solomon  must  have 
his  distant  vineyard  in  Baal-hamon  kept  for  him, 
and  must  therefore  pay  away  considerable  of  its 
proceeds  ;  but  she,  on  the  contrary,  kept  her  own 
vineyard,  that  is  to  say  Solomon  (!).  herself,  and 
hence  possessed  his  love  alone  without  being 
obliged   to   share   it   with   others    (Holem.vnn). 

5)  Shulamith  intends  by  Solomon's  vineyard  in 
Baal-hamon  herself,  and  by  her  own  vineyard 
the  shepherd,  her  lover;  she  means  to  say, 
Solomon  did  indeed  get  Shulamith  into  his  power 
at  Shulem  (=Baal-hamon),  and  offered  her  one 
thousand  shekels  by  each  of  the  ladies  of  the 
court  as  her  keepers;  but  he  may  keep  this 
money,  for  her  proper  keeper,  the  shepherd, 
now  stands  before  her  again  (Meiek).  6)  Shula- 
mith means  to  say  that  Solomon,  who  has  let  out 
his  vineyard  to  keepers,  receives  as  the  owner 
one  thousand  silverlings  in  cash  from  each 
keeper,  whilst  the  keepers  retain  for  their  pay 
five  times  as  much  in  fruit  =  five  thousand 
sliekels.  But  Shulamith,  who  keeps  her  own 
vineyard,  i.  e.,  herself  with  all  her  personal 
charms,  and  consequently  might,  as  both  owner 
and  keeper,  retain  the  entire  produce  for  herself, 
gives  the  use  of  the  fruit,  consequently  the  five 
parts,  in  this  case  ^  1000  (!)  to  Solomon,  and 
only  retains  for  herself  as  keeper  the  200,  i.  e., 
the  possession;  the  usufruct  shall  be  his,  she 
will  only  be  the  keeper  of  her  vineyard  (Weiss- 
baoh).  7)  Solomon's  vineyard  in  Baal-hamon 
denotes  the  kingdom  of  God  founded  in  the  midst 
of  the  world,  in  the  midst  of  the  savage  masses 
of  heathen  population.  The  keepers  of  this  vine- 
yard are  tlie  several  Christian  nations,  each  of 
which  has  to  pay  one  thousand  shekels  to  the 
heavenly  Solomon  as  the  product  of  his  labor. 
Each  must  therefore  produce  as  much  fruit  as 
tiie  people  of  Israel,  the  tenants  of  the  vineyard 
mentioned,  ver.  12,  which  forms  one  part  of  the 
great  vineyard  of  the  Church.  Each  people 
then  receives  in  return  a  reward  of  grace  of  two 
hundred  shekels,  that  is  to  say,  a  fifth  part  of 
the  produce  of  his  portion ;  and  the  people  of 
Israel  receives  no  more,  comp.  Matt.  xx.  1-16 
(IIenostenbebo).  8)  Solomon's  vineyard  at 
Baal-hamon  denotes  the  Church  of  the  Lord  in 
tlie  midst  of  the  world.  Its  keepers  are  the 
prophets,  apostles,  pastors  and  teachers  of 
Christendom,  to  whom  two-tenths  (twice  as 
much,  therefore,  as  under  the  Old  Testament) 
shall  be   given   as  a  reward  of  grace   for  their 


faithful  raising  of  fruit,  or  for  their  leading 
many  thousand  souls  to  the  heavenly  Solomon 
(Calov,  Michael.,  Marck.,  Bekleb.  Bib.,  and 
in  general  most  of  the  old  allegorists).  9)  The 
vineyard  at  Baal-hamon  denotes  the  Gentile 
world  generally,  Shulamith's  vineyard,  ver.  12, 
Japhetic  gentilism  as  one  half  of  this  Gentile 
world,  the  two  hundred  silverlings  the  spiritual 
peace  granted  by  the  king  to  Japhetic  humanity 
in  regard  for  their  loving  submission  to  him, 
etc.*  (Hahn). 

Ver.  11.  Solomon  has  a  vineyard  in  Baal- 
hamon.  Baal-hamon  is,  without  doubt,  the  place 
not  far  from  Dothaim  in  the  south  of  the  tribe  of 
Issachar,  which  is  called  BcXa^uKOr  Ba?M/ii)v,  Ju- 
dith viii.  8,  a  locality  therefore  not  very  remote 
from  Shunem.  It  derived  its  name  from  the  Syro- 
Egyptian  god,  Ammon  pDH  (=p'ni<  Jer.  xlvi.  25), 
which  may  have  been  worshipped  there,  just  as 
Baal-gad  (Josh.  xi.  17;  xii.  7,  etc.)  was  named 
from  Gad,  the  well-known  Babylonish  god  of  for- 
tune. Baal-hamon  scarcely  signifies  "  the  popu- 
lous" (VuLQ.,  Weissb.,  etc.),  and  it  is  still  more 
improbable  that  it  is  to  be  identified,  as  many 
of  the  older  writers  assumed,  with  Baalbec  in 
Ccele-Syria  (where  vineyards  could  hardly  ever 
have  flourished),  or  with  Hammon,  tlSH,  Josh, 
xix.  28,  or  with  Baalgad,  Josh.  xi.  17,  etc.  But 
if  that  locality  near  Shunem  is  intended,  it  by  no 
means  follows  that  Shulamith  had  been  carried 
off  to  just  that  spot  by  Solomon,  and  detained 
there  for  some  time  as  a  prisoner  in  a  pleasure- 
palace  of  the  king,  as  Vaih.  strangely  supposes. 
But  Shulamith  only  names  this  vineyard  as  an 
instance  very  near  her  home  of  a  royal  property 
let  out  on  high  rent,  in  order  afterwards  to  il- 
lustrate by  it  her  relation  to  the  king  as  well  as 
to  her  brothers, — He  committed  the  vine- 
yard to  the  keepers — i.  e.,  to  several  at  once, 
amongst  whom  the  piece  of  ground  was  parcelled 
out  in   greater  or  smaller  portions.     That  these 


*  [GrOOD  finds  in  these  verses  a  request  made  of  Solomon  by 
his  royal  bride  that  he  would  "  consign  the  estate  which, 
prior  to  her  marriage,  she  had  possessed  in  Uaal-hamon,  and 
which  now  appertained  to  himself  ad  a  part  of  the  dowry 
she  had  brought  liim,  to  her  younger  and  unendowed  sister." 
I3URR0WES  :  "  While  Solomon's  tenants  were  obliged  to  pay 
the  stipulated  rent,  the  spouse  speaks  of  a  vineyard  which 
wa-s  her  own,  but  which  she  would  nevertheless  so  keep  un- 
der her  own  control  and  management,  as  to  he  able  while 
paying  the  keepers  equitable  wages,  to  offer  yearly  to  the 
king  a  thousand  pieces  of  silver  as  a  testimonial  of  her  love." 
Moody  Stu.\rt  :  "  Solomon  is  the  Messiah,  and  Baal-hamon 
is  no  doubt  either  Jerusalem  or  the  land  of  Israel.  The  vine- 
yard was  let  to  keepers,  who  were  to  render  its  fruits  to  the 
king — they  were  to  render  thera,  but  the  silence  as  to  the  ful- 
illmeut  implies  that  tlie  covenant  was  not  kept.  The  New 
Testament  church  now  declares,  th.at  by  the  Lord's  grant  the 
vineyard  is  hers,  and  undertakes,  through  grace,  that  she 
will  never  lose  sight  of  it.  She  further  engages  to  assign  to 
those  who  labor  in  it  a  suitable  and  moderate  maintenance, 
and  allots  '  two  hundred  pieces  of  silver  to  those  that  keep 
the  fruit  of  it.'  At  the  same  time  she  promises  that  the 
full  revenue  shall  only  be  the  Lord's,  and  that  she  will 
never  attempt,  like  her  predecessor,  to  claim  the  vineyard 
as  her  own."  The  same  author  also  calls  attention  to  the 
"  remarkable  agreement  between  this  passage  and  the  ref- 
erence to  the  Lord's  vineyard,  in  the  lifth  chapter  of  Isaiah," 
and  adds:  "The  Song  of  Solomon  was  evidently  much  in 
the  mind  of  Isaiah,  and  ho  refers  to  it  more  or  less  directly 
in  every  page  of  his  prophecies."  This  last  statement  is 
verified  through  several  pages  filled  with  passages  from 
Isaiah,  which  bear  more  or  less  affinity  in  language  or 
idesis  to  expressions  in  the  Song  of  Solomon.  The  inter- 
esting relation  thus  suggested  as  existing  between  these  two 
books,  has  its  importance  in  determining  the  estimate  put 
upon  the  Song  of  Solomon,  and  the  interpretation  given  te 
it  in  Old  Testament  times  and  by  inspired  men. — Tr.] 


Vril.  5-14. 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


183 


keepers  rented  the  property  ia  shown  by  what 
follows.— Each  was  to  bring  for  its  fruit  a 
thousand  of  silver — i.  e.,  a  thousand  shekels 
of  silver.  From  the  high  rent  may  be  inferred 
the  productiveness  of  the  property  ;  for  that  its 
annual  yield  corresponded  to  the  agreement  is 
certainly  presupposed,  as  well  as  that  a  part  of 
the  produce  of  his  piece  annually  remained  for 
each  tenant — that  is,  on  an  average,  about  two 
hundred  shekels  (see  ver.  12). 

Ver.  12.  My  vineyard,  my  own,  is  before 
me — i.  e.,  I  take  charge  myself  of  my  own  vine- 
yard, viz.,  of  myself  and  my  womanly  charms,  of 
myself  aa  an  object  of  men's  admiration  and 
courtship.  Since  I  came  to  maturity,  I  have 
been  my  own  keeper,  and  have  with  entire  free- 
dom transferred  to  my  royal  husband  this  right 
of  mine  to  dispose  of  myself.  I  have  no  longer 
any  other  keepers  but  him,  who  is  one  with  me 
(oomp.  on  i.  6,  p.  66). — The  thousand  is 
thine,  O  Solomon,  and  two  hundred  for 
the  keepers  of  its  fruit — i.  e.,  the  jntire  pro- 
ceeds are  due  to  thee  ;  I  remain  wholly  thine  own 
with  all  that  I  am  and  have.  But  they  who  kept 
my  fruit,  i.  e.,  my  innocence  and  virtue,  before  I 
was  thine,  should  not  go  empty  away.  These 
trusty  brotherly  guardians  of  my  maidenhood, 
who  once  watched  over  me  as  they  now  faithfully 
and  sedulously  watch  over  our  little  sister  (ver. 
9),  must  be  commended  to  thy  love  and  favor,  as 
in  my  heart  they  hold  the  next  place  after  thee. 
— Tbis  explanation,  it  is  true,  does  not  completely 
remove  all  difficulties;  but  it  involves  fewer 
doubtful  and  forced  assumptions  than  the  other 
attempted  explanations  adduced  above. 

6.  CoNOLusioN. — -c.  The  cheerful  pleasantry 

AND  SINGINO  or  THE  KOTAL  COUPLE,  vers.   13,   14. 

These  two  concluding  verses  contain,  according 
to  Herder,  the  fragment  of  a  conversation ;  ac- 
cording to  Umereit  the  serenade  of  a  young  man 
from  the  city  with  the  answer  of  his  lady-love  in 
the  country ;  according  to  Dopke  a  "  small  duet " 
belonging  to  the  initial  period  of  Shulamith's  love, 
and  here  appended  by  the  poet;  according  to 
Magnus,  a  glossed  and  mutilated  fragment  of  a 
love-song ;  while  most  of  the  advocates  of  the 
shepherd  hypothesis  see  in  it  a  colloquy  between 
the  lover  and  Shulamith,  consisting  of  an  invita- 
tion to  sing  on  the  part  of  the  former,  and  a 
song  of  a  roguish  and  playful  character,  which 
Shulamith  thereupon  sings  (Ewald,  Hitzig,  Vai- 
HiNGER,  etc.).  This  last  view  evidently  has  the 
most  in  its  favor  on  account  of  the  recurrence  of 
'Jj/'DE'n  "let  me  hear,"  from  ii.  14,  and  the  un- 
mistakable resemblance  of  the  song  in  ver.  14 
to  ii.  17  (and  partly  also  to  ii.  15).  Only  there 
is  no  reason  to  suppose  the  person,  who  invites 
her  to  sing  and  whom  Shulamith  addresses  in  her 
song  as  "in  "my  beloved,"  to  be  a  young  shep- 
herd. The  epithet  which  he  bestows  upon  her, 
"thou  that  dwellest  in  the  gardens,"  makes  it 
seem  far  more  likely  that  he  was  a  citizen  of  rank, 
and  even  resident  in  a  palace,  a  man  of  royal 
race  exalted  greatly  above  her  station  in  life. 
But  little  reason  as  there  is  to  regard  another 
than  Solomon  as  the  "  beloved "  who  speaks  in 
ver.  13  and  is  then  addressed  in  the  sprightly 
little  song,  there  is  quite  as  little  for  assigning 
this  occurrence  with  Hitzio  to  a  period  conside- 


rably later  than  the  one  recorded  just  before,  or 
for  assuming  with  Bottoher  that  the  bridegroom, 
in  quitting  the  merry  engagement  feast  in  the 
house  of  Shulamith's  mother,  wanted  to  hear  one 
more  song  from  his  bride  before  he  left  her  for 
the  last  brief  interval  prior  to  the  celebration  of 
their  marriage.  Delitzsch  and  Weisseach  un- 
derstand the  passage  correctly,  only  the  latter 
preposterously  imagines  the  locality  of  the  action 
here  as  in  the  final  section  generally  to  be  the 
royal  palace  in  Jerusalem  (comp.  p.  127). — 
Thou  that  dwellest  in  the  gardens. — Lite- 
rally, "thou  sitting  in  the  gardens,"  i.  e.,  thou 
resident  in  gardens,  who  art  opposed  to  living  in 
populous  cities  and  splendid  palaces  (comp.  i.  16 
f;  iv.  6  ;  v.  7  ;  vii.  12  ff.).  Solomon  here  evi- 
dently means  to  allude  with  pleasant  raillery  to 
the  fact  that  his  beloved,  who  had  so  often  before 
exhibited  her  longing  for  the  gardens  and  mea- 
dows of  her  home,  was  now  exactly  in  her  ele- 
ment, and  ought  therefore  to  be  in  the  best  of 
moods. — Companions  are  listening  for  thy 
voice;  let  me  hear  it. — The  D'"l5n  "compa- 
nions" are,  according  to  Magnus,  "neighbors," 
or  "the  family;"  according  to  Hufnagel,  "fe- 
male friends;"  according  to  Moldenh.,  Ewald, 
Ren.,  etc.,  "bridemen"  (^des  paranymphes.  Re- 
nan);  according  to  Vaihinqer,  "  shepherds,  fel- 
low-pasturers;"  according  to  Weissbaoh,  Solo- 
mon himself,  who  here  jestingly  represents  him- 
self as  a  shepherd,  or  rather  in  the  plural  as 
"shepherds!"  and  finally,  according  to  Herder, 
Hug,  Delitzsch,  "playmates"  or  "youthful  as- 
sociates" of  Shulamith.  This  last  view  has  most 
in  its  favor ;  only  it  is  a  matter  of  course  that  the 
companions  of  Shulamith's  youth  were  likewise 
those  of  her  brothers ;  they  are  consequently  in  all 
likelihood  shepherds  and  country  people  from  Shu- 
nem  and  its  vicinity.  They  were  probably,  there- 
fore, the  same  as  the  speakers  in  ver.  5  a  of  this 
chapter;  onthecontrary  they  are  not  the  compan- 
ions of  Solomon  (oomp.  v.  1),  of  whom  Shulamith 
spoke  i.  7  (vs.  Ewald). 

Ver.  14.  Flee,  my  beloved.  The  words 
sound  like  sending  oS,  or  if  any  prefer  "scaring 
away"  or  at  least  "urging  out  into  the  open 
ground  "  (Delitzsch).  They  do  not,  however, 
by  any  means  express  seriously  intended  coy- 
ness, as  is  shown  by  the  very  form  of  the  address 
niT  "my  beloved."  They  rather  invite  to 
hasten  and  range  with  the  singer  over  the  moun- 
tains and  plains  as  is  shown  by  what  follows. 
ni3  is  not,  however,  exactly  equivalent  to 
"hasten,  up!"  as  is  maintained  by  Vaihinqer 
and  Weissbach,  who  refer  to  Num.  xxiv.  11, 
Isa.  XXX.  16,  etc.  For  even  in  these  passages,  as 
well  as  in  Gen.  xxvii.  43 ;  Am.  vii.  12,  the  pri- 
mary signification  of  this  verb  "to  flee"  is 
clearly  apparent.  Ewald  arbitrarily :  the  mean- 
ing is  that  "  he  should  cut  across,  leave  his  com- 
panions and  not  stay  opposite  to  her  but  hasten 
to  her  side,"  etc. — And  be  like  a  gazelle,  etc. 
comp.  on  ii.  17.  In  place  of  the  "mountains  of 
separation"  or  "cleft  mountains"  there  men- 
tioned wehere  have  balsam  mountains  or  "heights 
of  scented  herbs  "  (Weissbach),  which  to  be  sure 
are  meant  in  a  different  sense  from  iv.  6.  Shula- 
mith here  calls  by  this  name  the  mountains  and 
hills  of  her  home  (comp.  ii.  8)  because  they  were 


134 


THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON. 


VIII.  5-14. 


just  then  in  the  season  of  spring  or  early  summer 
covered  with  fragrant  flowers  of  all  sorts  and  ac- 
cordingly filled  with  balmy  odors  (oomp.  ii.  12 
f.,  vi.  11). — On  the  import  of  this  verse  as  the 
conclusion  of  the  entire  poem,  comp.  Delitzsoh, 
p.  153:  "Amid  the  cheerful  notes  of  this  song 
we  lose  sight  of  the  pair  rambling  over  the 
flowery  heights,  and  the  graceful  spell  of  the 
Song  of  Songs,  which  bounds  gazelle-like  from  one 
scene  of  beauty  to  another,  vanishes  with  them." 

DOCTMNAL  AND  ETHICAL. 

1.  The  allegorical  exegesis  is  in  this  section 
less  able  than  ever  to  bring  all  into  a  form  pos- 
sessing unity  and  regular  structure,  and  to  reach 
really  certain  results,  as  the  attempts  above  ex- 
hibited (p.  132)  to  give  an  allegorical  explanation 
of  vers.  11,  12  have  evinced.  Not  only  in  this 
passage  but  in  other  parts  of  this  section  this 
mode  of  interpretation  shows  a  very  great  multi- 
plicity and  divergence  of  opinions  among  its 
various  advocates.  The  "little  sister,"  ver.  8  f . 
is  by  some  made  to  denote  the  first-fruits  of  Jews 
and  Gentiles  received  into  the  church  immedi- 
ately after  the  ascension  of  Christ  (Cassiodorus, 
Beza,  Gregory,  Rupert  v.  Deutz,  etc.);  by 
others  the  entire  body  of  the  Jews  and  Gentiles 
yet  to  be  converted  (Heunisch,  Reinhard, 
Rambach,  likewise  Hahn,  who  refers  it  par- 
ticularly to  "  Hamitic  Gentilism");  by  others 
the  weak  in  faith  and  young  beginners  in  Chris- 
tianity belonging  to  every  period  of  the  church  in 
their  totality  (Mabck.,  Berleb.  Bib.,  Starke); 
and  finally  by  others  the  daughter  of  Zion  at  the 
time  of  the  first  beginnings  of  her  conversion  to 
the  heavenly  Solomon  (Hengst.  and  others). 
"  The  wall  and  the  door,"  ver.  9,  are  indeed 
mostly  understood  of  the  steadfast  and  faithful 
keeping  of  the  word  of  God  and  of  its  zealous  pro- 
clamation to  the  Gentiles  (according  to  1  Cor.  xvi. 
B,  etc.) ;  but  some  also  explain  them  of  the  valiant 
in  faith  and  the  weak  in  faith,  or  of  the  learned 
and  simple,  or  of  faithful  Christians  and  such  as 
are  recreant  and  easily  accessible  to  the  arts  of 
seduction.  And  then  according  to  these  various 
interpretations  the  "  silver  bulwarks  "  are  now 
the  miracles  of  the  first  witnesses  of  Jesus,  now 
the  distinguished  teachers  of  the  church,  now 
pious  Christian  rulers,  now  the  testimonies  of 
Holy  Scripture  by  which  faith  is  strengthened, 
etc.  And  again  by  the  "cedar  board  "  are  some- 
times understood  the  ten  commandments  or  the 
law,  sometimes  Christian  teachers,  sometimes  the 
examples  of  the  saints,  sometimes  the  salutary 
discipline  of  the  cross  and  sufferings  for  Christ's 
sake,  etc.  (comp.  Starke  in  loc).  By  the  "com- 
panions" or  "associates"  who  listen  for  the 
voice  of  the  bride,  ver.  13,  Pisoator  in  all  seri- 
ousness understands  God  the  Father,  the  Son 
and  the  Holy  Ghost;  whilst  the  followers  of 
CocCEins  for  the  most  part  referred  it  to  the 
angels;  some  of  them,  however,  to  true  Chris- 
tians; and  the  two  most  recent  interpreters  of  this 
class  suppose  that  the  Gentile  world  before  the 
time  of  Christ  is  intended  by  the  expression,  but 
with  this  difference  that  one  (Hahn)  has  in  mind 
chiefly  the  Gentiles  as  hostile  to  revelation,  the 
other  (Henostenberg)  as  kindly  disposed  to  the 
people  of  God  and  His  revelation. 


2.  It  is  apparent  from  the  exegetical  explana- 
tions given  above,  that  this  divergence  in  the 
allegorical  exegesis  is  matched  by  an  equal  va- 
riety of  opinions  and  uncertain  guess-work  on 
the  part  of  the  merely  histoi-ical  interpreters  of 
this  chapter  ;  and  in  fact  it  is  scarcely  possible  by 
even  the  most  cautious  procedure  to  arrive  at 
perfectly  certain  results  in  respect  to  the  mean- 
ing and  the  connection  of  the  sentences  of  this 
section  with  their  fragment-like  brevity  and  ob- 
scurity. This,  however,  only  makes  it  the  more 
necessary  with  a  view  to  its  'practical  applica- 
tion to  adhere  to  its  leading  and  most  perspicuous 
passage  which  formulates  the  fundamental 
thought  not  only  of  the  closing  act,  but  of  the 
entire  poem  with  solemn  emphasis  and  with  an 
elevation  and  pathos  of  language  purposely 
rising  to  a  climax.  We  mean  the  spirited  enco- 
mium contained  in  vers.  6  and  7  of  love  between 
man  and  woman  as  a  mysterious  divine  creation, 
and  a  power  superior  to  death,  Shulamifh's 
exalted  panegyric  of  conjugal  and  wedded  love, 
the  culminating  point  of  the  entire  poem,  and 
the  only  true  key  to  its  meaning  according  to 
the  unanimous  assumptions  of  interpreters  of 
all  schools.  Delitzsch  (p.  182  f.)  has  given  the 
best  exposition  of  the  thought  contained  in  this 
leading  passage,  which  has  in  it  the  gist  of  the 
whole  matter:  "Shulamith  herself  here  declares 
how  she  loves  Solomon  and  how  she  wishes  td 
be  loved  by  hirn.  This  spontaneous  testimony 
discloses  fo  us  the  intermingling  of  human  free- 
dom and  of  divine  necessity  in  true  love  between 

man  and  woman.  Love  is  a  n'  n^H/E/,  a  flame 
kindled  by  God  Himself.  Man  cahnot  produce  it 
in  himself,  and  though  he  employ  all  his  wealth 
for  the  purpose,  he  cannot  kindle  it  in  others. 
She  is  speaking,  of  course,  of  true  love,  which  is 
directed  to  the  person  and  not  to  any  mere 
things.  Man  cannot  create  this  love  by  his  own 
agency.  It  is  an  operation  of  God — a  divine 
flame,  which  seizes  upon  a  man  like  death  with 
irresistible  power,  and  can  neither  be  quenched 
nor  extinguished  by  any  calamity  or  by  any  hos- 
tile force.  There  is  thus  evinced  in  true  love  an 
inevitable  and  invincible  power  of  divine  neces- 
sity. But  this  divine  necessity  has  for  its  other 
side  human  freedom.  It  is  the  inmost  and  truest 
ego  of  a  man,  from  which  this  divine  flame  of  love 
blazes  forth.  Whilst  a  man  becomes  a  lover  by  a 
resistless  divine  energy,  the lover'spassionate  de- 
sire for  the  possession  of  the  beloved  object  is  as 
vehement  and  inflexible  as  the  resistless  and  all- 
devouring  grave.  Thelover  loves  because  he  must, 
but  love  is  at  the  same  time  his  most  pleasurable 
volition,  a  return  of  love  his  most  ardent  desire. 
Smitten  with  love  to  Shulamith  Solomon  exclaims: 
How  beautiful  and  how  comely  art  thou,  0  love, 
among  delights  (vii.  7) ;  and  smitten  with  love 
to  Solomon  Shulamith  prays  :  Place  mo  as  a  sig- 
net upon  thy  heart,  as  a  signet  ring  upon  thine 
arm  (viii.  6),"  In  this  declaration  of  Shulamith, 
which  gathers  up  all  the  main  elements  in  the 
idea  of  wedded  love  and  experience,  and  accord- 
ingly formulates  the  fundamental  thought  of  the 
entire  poem  there  is  no  allusion  indeed  to  the 
blessing  of  children  as  the  resplendent  consum- 
mation of  the  wedded  communion  of  man  and 
wife,  as  also  no  express   mention  is  made   of 


VIII.  5-14. 


THE  SONG  OP  SOLOMON. 


135 


this  matter  elsewhere  throughout  the  piece. 
For  to  see  an  allusion  to  it  in  what  Shulamith 
says,  viii.  12,  of  the  "thousand"  due  to  her 
husband  from  the  produce  of  his  vineyard,  would 
evidently  be  forced  and  arbitrary.  But  De- 
LITZSCH  properly  remarks  in  relation  to  this 
omission  of  an  apparently  essential  particular : 
"The  author  of  Cauticles  has  avoided  everything, 
which  would  look  to  an  externalizing  of  the  re- 
lation, which  he  describes.  He  makes  no  men- 
tion of  children ;  for  a  marriage  in  which  the 
parties  who  conclude  it  are  not  an  end  to  each 
other,  but  merely  a  means  for  obtaining  posterity, 
does  not  correspond  to  its  idea.  Children  are 
by  divine  blessing  the  sparks  which  result,  when 
the  flames  of  two  souls  flash  into  one.  The  lat- 
ter is  the  main  thing  in  marriage."  It  is  also  a 
delicate  feature  of  great  psychological  as  well 
as  aesthetic  value,  that  Shulamith,  the  chaste 
and  pure-minded  maiden,  though  silent  re- 
specting the  blessing  of  children,  mentions  in- 
stead with  tender  love  and  solicitude  her  little 
sister  and  her  brothers,  the  same  who  had  pre- 
viously been  angry  with  her  and  treated  her 
harshly  (i.  6),  and  consults  with  her  brothers 
respecting  the  future  of  the  former  and  in  her 
intercession  with  her  royal  husband  lays  to  heart 
the  future  of  her  brothers.  This  overplus  of  love, 
which  with  all  the  ardent  fervor  of  her  devotion 
to  her  husband,  she  still  preserves  for  her  own 
family  (see  viii.  12) ;  this  touching  sisterly  love, 
which  is  essentially  identical  with  her  faithful 
and  pious  filial  devotion  to  her  mother  repeat- 
edly shown  in  the  previous  portion  of  the  Song; 
this  combined  with  her  gladsome,  cheery,  play- 
ful disposition,  which  expresses  itself  in  her 
concluding  words,  adds  the  finishing  touch, 
sweetly  transfiguring  this  noble  picture  which 
the  poet  would  sketch  of  her  character  as  the 
ideal  of  a  bride  and  of  a  young  wife,  and  by 
which — an  unconscious  organ  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
— he  has  set  forth  the  idea  and  mystery  of  mar- 
riage itself  as  a  sacred  and  divine  institution. 

3.  From  this  luminous  and  revered  female 
figure  there  proceeds  a  transfiguring  radiance, 
in  which  the  form  of  her  royal  husband,  the 
enthusiastic  admirer  and  spirited  singer  of  her 
love  and  her  loveliness  also  shines  with  a  clear 
and  pleasing  light.  But  yet  for  the  s.ake  of  a 
complete  and  thoroughly  correct  typical  estimate 
of  the  transaction,  the  sad  truth  must  not  be  left 
out  of  the  account,  that  the  bond  of  love  so 
purely  and  holily  regarded  by  her  was  neverthe- 
less at  last  desecrated  and  broken  by  him.  For 
that  this  was  the  case,  can  scarcely  be  doubted 
from  the  manner  in  which  both  the  historians 
of  the  Old  Testament  record  the  final  fortunes 
of  Solomon  and  the  end  of  his  life  (1  Kin.  xi. 
1-43,  2  Chron.  ix.  22-31).  Of  a  sincere  and 
permanent  conversion  of  this  monarch  to  a  God- 
fearing and  virtuous  walk  in  the  evening  of  his 
days  neither  the  book  of  Kings  nor  Chronicles 
has  anything  to  relate,  the  latter  of  which  would 
scarcely  have  omitted  to  note  a  similarity  in  the 
life  of  Solomon  to  that  of  Manasseh  in  this 
respect.  That  no  proof  can  be  drawn  from  the 
book  of  Ecclesiastes  for  this  view,  a  favorite  one 
with  many  of  the  older  theologians,  the  intro- 
duction to  this  book  may  teach  us  (^  4).  We 
must  stand  by  the  assumption  confirmed  by  1  Kin. 


xi.  and  contradicted  by  no  other  testimony,  that 
the  unhappy  king  afterwards  proceeded  from 
that  stage  of  polygamous  degeneracy  indicated 
in  this  Song,  especially  in  vi.  8,  to  still  grosser 
extravagances  in  this  direction,  and  thus  at  last 
tilled  up  the  measure  of  his  sins,  and  brought 
upon  himself  and  upon  his  house  the  corresponding 
j  udgment  beginning  with  the  revolt  of  Jeroboam. 
He  must  accordingly  have  deeply  wounded  Shula- 
mith's  heart  by  a  speedy  return  to  the  criminally 
voluptuous  and  idolatrous  manners  of  his  court 
and  have  repaid  her  love  so  pure  and  ardent 
with  base  infidelity.  This  deplorable  condition 
of  things  casts  a  light  not  very  creditable  to  him 
upon  his  relation  to  his  antitype  in  the  history 
of  redemption,  the  Messiah.  Love  for  the  purest 
and  best  of  the  daughters  of  his  people,  whom 
he  adorned  with  the  crown  royal  and  raised  from 
an  humble  station  to  the  throne  of  David,  could 
not  permanently  purify  and  hallow  the  earthly 
Solomon  and  rescue  him  from  the  abyss  of  crime 
into  which  he  was  in  danger  of  sinking.  The 
heavenly  Solomon,  on  the  contrary,  must  labori- 
ously lift  the  Church,  which  He  is  gathering  to 
Himself  from  amongst  mankind,  step  by  step  to 
the  luminous  elevation  of  His  own  holiness  and 
truth  ;  He  must  have  great  indulgence  for'Tier 
weakness,  must  pardon  her  many  relapses  into 
her  old  walk  of  sin,  must  absolutely  despair  of 
presenting  His  bride  perfectly  pure,  without  spot 
or  wrinkle,  so  long  as  she  remains  in  this  present 
world.  In  the  Old  Testament  type,  therefore, 
we  find  a  sad  contrast  between  the  fidelity  of  the 
wife  and  the  unfaithfulness  of  her  husband.  Of 
the  Messianic  archetype,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is 
written  with  perfect  truth :  "  Though  we  be  un- 
faithful, yet  He  abideth  faithful ;  He  cannot 
deny  Himself"  (2  Tim.  ii.  13).  In  the  type  no 
really  pure,  complete  and  durable  realization  of 
the  idea  of  marriage  is  reached,  but  the  natural 
relation  existing  for  a  time  is  only  too  speedily 
perverted  to  its  opposite  by  the  fault  of  the  hus- 
band. In  the  fulfilment  of  the  type  it  is  the 
husband,  the  new  Adam,  the  Son  of  Man  who 
came  down  from  heaven  and  yet  is  essentially  in 
heaven  (John  iii.  13),  who  not  merely  concludes 
the  marriage  covenant  with  mankind,  but  like- 
wise preserves,  confirms,  refines  and  conducts  it 
step  by  step  to  its  ideal  consummation,  which  is  af 
the  same  time  the  palingenesia  and  perfection  of 
humanity.  To  our  human  consciousness  this 
parallel,  which  strictly  carried  out  leaves  scarcely 
more  than  a  faint  glimmer  of  resemblance  be- 
tween the  type  and  the  archetype,  has  in  it 
something  deeply  humiliating.  But  it  may  never- 
theless operate  to  the  strengthening  of  faith  in 
our  heart,  for  it  points  us  to  the  one  divine 
helper  and  physician,  who  heals  all  our  diseases; 
it  drives  us  into  the  arms  of  the  one  mediator 
and  comforter,  who  is  rich  in  mercy  unto  all 
them  that  call  upon  Him;  it  encourages  un  to 
childlike  confidence  in  the  heavenly  author  and 
finisher  of  our  faith,  whose  grace  worketh  all  in 
all  according  to  His  word  of  promise  (John  v.  16j 
Phil.  i.  6;  ii.  12,  etc.). 

HJB  love  no  end  nor  measure  knows. 

No  change  can  turn  its  course, 
Immutably  the  same  it  flows. 

From  one  eternal  source.  ' 


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